About this episode

This episode explores the fidelity and transformation of the 2002 remake of Resident Evil compared to the original 1996 game.

The 2002 remake of Resident Evil is often considered one of the greatest (and most faithful) video game remakes ever made. But is it really as faithful as its reputation suggests? In this episode of The Remake Trials, we compare Resident Evil (1996) with Resident Evil (2002), explore the strange development history behind both games, examine how the remake transforms the original’s horror, discuss tank controls, Crimson Heads, Lisa Trevor, B-movie filmmaking, authorial intent, and the changing identity of Resident Evil. And at the end, we place REmake on our Remake Fidelity Matrix. Is Resident Evil Remake still the gold standard for faithful remakes? Maybe, but it’s more complicated than we thought. Time Codes: (0:00) Intro (1:31) The Remake Fidelity Matrix (3:42) Welcome to The Remake Trials (5:35) Was Resident Evil Supposed to Be Campy? (11:41) The Strange Story Behind the Voice Acting (13:06) Shinji Mikami on Horror and Comedy (19:28) Resident Evil vs. The Evil Dead (23:39) The Remake’s Biggest Change: Tone (29:18) What Was Resident Evil Trying to Be? (36:05) Was the Campiness Intentional? (44:35) Why Capcom Wanted to Remake Resident Evil (49:54) Who Owns a Work After It’s…

Topics covered

• video game remakes
• horror game design
• development history
• game mechanics
• authorial intent
• remake fidelity

Keywords

• Resident Evil
• remake
• horror
• tank controls
• Crimson Heads
• Lisa Trevor
• game design
• B-movie
• Capcom

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Capcom

Books & works: Resident Evil, Resident Evil Remake, The Evil Dead, Resident Evil (1996), Resident Evil (2002)

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