Resident Evil 2 Retrospective

Adam remembers the original survival horror sequel

- Adam Kerr

The Resident Evil franchise has gone through many changes over the past 24 years. Some of them were considered a great step forward, others were greeted with resounding negativity. For all the reboots the series has taken, many fans always fall back on to the same old statement:

“Resident Evil 2 was the best though, right?”

That statement was always an inevitability when discussing the Resident Evil series. After all the twists the franchise has taken, the fanbase’s opinion on Resident Evil 2 is still spoken as gospel to a lot of people. The question is why? Despite the reimagining of the franchise, how does Resident Evil 2 still stand head and shoulders above them all?

Resident Evil 2 wasn’t my first exposure to the franchise. It wasn’t even second or third. The GameCube’s version of Resident Evil 4 was my first experience of the series – a far cry from its roots in Raccoon City. As we came into the modern era, the PlayStation Store would allow us to delve into the PlayStation’s acclaimed past. Into Resident Evil’s past. The PS3’s ‘PSone Classics’ store would give me my first encounter with Resident Evil 2.

As a side note; I had acquainted myself with other Resident Evil games going into this. Owning a GameCube got me access to the remake of the original game, Zero, and Code Veronica X. I didn’t go into Resident Evil 2 completely blind to the game’s classic style.