When the doors of villa Spencer opened to the world for the first time back in 1996, it was clear that a new videogame genre was about to permanently change the rules of the game, entering the hearts of gamers to never leave again. Let me be clear, there were already some horror titles that had established themselves on the market: just mention the now late first chapter of Alone in the Dark of 1992, and even earlier the precursors Haunted House of 1982, developed by Atari e Ghost House di Sega in 1986. Yet, the survival horror genre was born with the first chapter of the long-lived saga conceived by Shinji Mikami e Tokuro Fujiwara: jumpscare at full throttle, feeling of constant oppression, ammunition and various supplies in very small quantities, dark creatures waiting for us behind every corridor. The characteristic elements of Resident Evil were already there at the time, and still are, evolving over time to keep up with the technologies of the moment. And if as a yardstick for the highly anticipated eighth chapter, that Resident evil village which now seems very close in this 2021, we use the presence or absence of zombies and green herbs to judge whether or not it is a "real" Resident Evil, then this is really a saga that has entered our hearts.
With 135 released titles (including remakes and ports) and over 100 million units sold, Resident Evil is the longest-running and most profitable saga of Capcom. Known as Biohazard in the land of the Rising Sun (but arrived here in the West with a different title due to a legal issue with a rock band that had the same name), was born strongly inspired by Sweet home, 1989 title for NES, to which it owes many of its key elements: the setting in an old mansion, the puzzles, the loadings between one door and another. 25 years have passed since the Spencer mansion, and Resident Evil has changed both structurally and narratively. No more two-dimensional fixed camera settings, but third-person or even first-person view. No longer just zombies, but biological weapons for mass destruction, up to the step back and return to the narrow corridors of an old house to close one circle and open another. So let's try to keep up, telling you these 25 years of videogame history, without pretending, however, to be exhaustive in every detail. A small guide, for those approaching the series for the first time and do not know where to start, or for veterans, who want to review the main story while waiting for Village. Welcome to survival horror.
Resident evil zero
Although it is not the first chapter of the saga to have been published, this initial exclusive to Nintendo Game Cube from 2002 was aimed at delving deeply into the mysteries ofUmbrella Corporation, the pharmaceutical company behind the development of the T virus, a terrible bacteriological weapon capable of infecting and transforming any form of life into contact with it into zombies. The story follows the first steps of Team Bravo, team of STARS (a special body of the United States, of application to Raccon City) sent on 23 July 1998 on a mission to nearby Arklay Mountains to investigate a series of unexplained murders. Due to a helicopter failure, the team is forced to land, discovering once on the ground that the convoy carrying the detainee Billy Coen, a former marine lieutenant, was mysteriously attacked. Suspecting that it was Lieutenant Coen himself, the Bravo team splits up, looking for the inmate and any clues to the mysterious murders. We will thus take on the role of Rebecca Chambers, medical officer and the youngest member of the team.
Rebecca will meet Coen on a nearby train, but will desist from arresting him due to the sudden attack of the zombies. Thus will begin the nightmare of the two protagonists, who, joining forces (Nintendo's brilliant introduction of the Partner zapping system), will cross the Umbrella training center and its laboratories, discovering the disturbing story Doctor James Marcus, father of the T virus, and his two pupils: Albert wesker, head of the STARS of Raccon City e William Birkin, brilliant scientist, killed ten years earlier to get hold of his discoveries. A journey of terror, which will see the two protagonists face the BOW Mutants and the transformations of Marcus, up to the destruction of the training center. The two will eventually separate. Rebecca will free Coen, giving him up for missing and thus allowing him to escape, while she decides to head towards the disturbing Spencer mansion.
resident evil
The progenitor of the saga, remained in the minds (and in the nightmares) of millions of players from 1996 to today, thanks to the splendid remake for Game Cube and the incredible opening video that featured real actors. We are in the forest of Raccon City, in the night between 24 and 25 July 1998. The Alpha team STARS leaves town to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the Bravo team. Their comrades no longer respond to communications, and are dispersed in the Arklay Mountains. Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Billy Burton, Albert Wesker and the other members of the team thus begin their research, ending up in a nightmare. Attacked by mysterious zombie dogs, they decide to take refuge in the Villa di Ozwell Spencer, which together with James Marcus ea Edward Ashford he founded the Umbrella Corporation in 1962. But instead of salvation, they will only know terror.
The villa is in fact a huge trap devised by Wesker. The members of the Alpha team will have to face zombies, crows, killer plants and the traps designed by the architect George Trevor, in addition to the terrible being that responds to the name of Lisa, his daughter. Last but not least, in the most remote corners of the laboratory under the mansion, the terrible Tyrant, biological weapon of ultimate destruction. As in the previous chapter, after unmasking Wesker and reuniting with Rebecca, Chris, Jill and Barry will blow up the mansion, fleeing to Raccon City.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - part one
Although the numbering follows that of Resident Evil 2, the events of this third chapter begin one day earlier and end one day after the latter. It is September 20, 1998. The surviving members of STARS have returned to Raccon City for a few days, and have discovered a city completely different from the one they knew. The T virus arrived from the laboratory into the heart of the town, which began to mutate. In the role of Jill Valentine we will cross the alleys of a town besieged by zombies, hopelessly defended by the few remaining Swat and RPD agents, as well as a few mercenaries of Umbrella which seem to have an ulterior motive. In this way we will make the acquaintance of one of the most terrible and iconic enemies of the entire saga, the heart of the controversial remake released in 2020 and a source of inspiration for the subtitle of the game: the Nemesis. This new model of Tyrant is stronger, smarter, and with only one goal: to exterminate every single member of the STARS After joining forces with Carlos, Umbrella mercenary, Jill will look for the last survivors at the police station, until the last decisive clash with the Nemesis near the clock tower, during which she will fall unconscious after contracting the T virus.
Resident Evil 2
If your first day as a cop job in a new city starts with a zombie apocalypse, you certainly can't consider yourself a lucky rookie. The second chapter of the saga begins on September 30, 1998, when Leon Kennedy arrives in Raccon City to start his new career. But as soon as he arrives in the city, he will discover that he was preceded by the purest terror. Same truth discovered by Claire Redfield, who arrives by motorbike in Raccon City to look for his brother Chris, a STARS member of whom he hasn't heard from for days. After a daring encounter at a gas station, the two unfortunate boys decide to hide from the zombies in the nearby police station. There, as you will have understood by now, they will discover that they are as far away from salvation as possible. The power plant, in fact, is managed by the boss Brian Irons, secretly involved in the plans of the Umbrella Corporation, which controls the entire Raccon. In fact, the plant, in addition to being completely invaded by zombies, is also a cover for the gigantic Umbrella laboratory. Here, Leon will know Ada Wong, spy in the service of Wesker, who will try to seduce him to get hold of a sample of the G virus, deadly evolution of the tyrant virus, but will - apparently - find death in the enterprise. Claire, on the other hand, will try at all costs to protect the little girl Sherry Birkin, daughter of the scientist William who was able to evolve the virus, but who, betrayed by his friend Wesker himself, decides to inject a dose to escape death, turning into a monstrous creature. As per the repertoire of the series, Leon and Claire will blow up the laboratory managing to escape with little Sherry, promising to destroy Umbrella with all their might. One of the most beloved chapters of the franchise, which introduced the double CD mechanics, one for each protagonist, and which saw an extraordinary remake in 2019.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - second part
On October 1, Jill recovers, thanks to the antidote given to her by Carlos. The two decide to reach the radio tower to call for help and escape the city. They will find that the plans of Nikolai, leader of the mercenaries, are far from friendly. They will therefore have to face it to be able to save themselves, as well as having to face the continuous attacks of the Nemesis. A heart-pounding final battle between Jill and the monster, punctuated by a 15-minute timer that heralds the arrival of a missile warhead launched by the US government to contain the epidemic, reaches its climax when Jill announces the iconic phrase "I'll give you the STARS“, Before hitting the Nemesis with a final deadly blow. At this point, Barry's arrival is providential to save her and Carlos, making them escape in a helicopter before the lethal explosion.
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Originally released on Dreamcast in 2000, and then arrived on other consoles with version X, Resident Evil Code: Veronica is a spin-off that has forcefully entered the podium of the saga, so much so that many fans are clamoring for a remake. The story is set in December 1998, three months after Raccon City was bombed. Our Claire, after having managed to get in touch with her brother Chris, decides to investigate Umbrella in Paris. Here she will be captured and taken to a mysterious island, Rockfort Island, where is the T-Veronica virus got out of control. Here, Claire meets the young man Steve Burnside, in search of their father. The two will find themselves coming to terms with Alfred and Alexia Ashford, grandsons of one of the three legendary founders of Umbrella Corporation. With the help of Chris, Claire and Steve will then travel to Antarctica to fight the ancient family and their new test of the virus, as well as discover some more information about Wesker's past, which he seems to have acquired. supernatural powers thanks to the virus.
Resident Evil 4
The fourth chapter of the saga sees the return of Leon Scott Kennedy and the arrival of the dynamic view over the shoulders of the protagonist: a real breakthrough in the series, which abandons the typically horror atmospheres to travel towards thepurest action, symbolized by the disappearance of the classic zombies, which instead give way to Cattle. Leon is no longer the young little boy we met in the second chapter: in the fall of 2004, in fact, he is now an experienced government agent, sent by the president of the United States of America in search of his kidnapped daughter. His journey will take him to Spain, where he will find the mysterious sect of the gods Los Illuminados, who appears to be responsible for the kidnapping. Here, together with the old acquaintance Ada Wong, will discover that the terrorist organization has managed to control a new parasite, The pests, which confers extraordinary physical strength at the price of one's humanity. Passing through rural villages, medieval castles and fortresses on forgotten islands, Leon will be able to save the president's daughter, Ashley Graham from the hands Osmund Saddler, spiritual leader of the Illuminados and bearer of the queen plagas. The latter, in fact, wanted to infect the girl, send her back to the United States and control the American nation through the plagas. Leon will discover that, once again, Albert Wesker is hiding behind this plot.
Resident Evil 5
The best-selling chapter of the saga ever with over 12 million copies, it debuted on the market in 2009. The title is set in the same year as the game's release, when the plagas, which seemed to have been wiped out in the previous chapter, are recovered and secretly modified by Tricell, a multinational pharmaceutical company. Chris Redfield, who recently joined the anti-terror company BSAA. he is sent to Africa to investigate. Here he gets acquainted with Sheva Alomar, his partner during the mission. The two will discover that the natives of the city of Kijuju they were infected with a mysterious new virus. Tricell, in fact, is collaborating with Albert Wesker, who has kidnapped and subjugated Jill. Once he reaches Wesker, he will reveal his plan: to spread the new virus named in the world Uroboros. Released Jill from her game, the three face Wesker, who after injecting himself with the bioweapon takes on monstrous appearances. Defeated - perhaps definitively - the ancient enemy, the three leave the site and go to safety.
Resident Evil 6
The most controversial title in the series, criticized by fans for moving in a totally action direction, guilty of having completely abandoned the key elements of the franchise. This sixth chapter counts the presence of 4 main campaigns, which see the return of the main protagonists of the series: Leon, Chris, Sherry and Ada, alongside new companions. The plot begins in 2012, fifteen years after the Raccon City accident and nine after the destruction of the Umbrella Corporation. Over the course of the 4 campaigns, our heroes will have to fight against the Neo Umbrella, a sort of sect formed by the ex-scientists of the pharmaceutical company who during these years have worked on a new and powerful one virus C. The new biological weapons will threaten the whole world, but after a long and grueling battle, ours will forever end the Umbrella threat.
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 it is the closing of a circle. After the criticisms of the two previous chapters, in fact, Capcom decided to retrace its steps, bringing the saga back to its origins. Apparently, in fact, we are faced with a title that, in terms of history, has little to do with the episodes that precede it. But not in the mechanics and in the spirit. After the first few minutes of disorientation due to the first person, we will find ourselves in a cramped mansion, with very few resources and enemies around every corner. A real survival horror. Our Ethan receives a mysterious message from his missing wife, Mia, who asks him for help and invites him to join her in a remote Louisiana mansion. Here, our unfortunate hero will fall victim to the Baker family, whose members are sentient undead who feast on human flesh. They have in fact kidnapped Mia, and plan to kill Ethan himself. After a daring escape, the latter will be able to free himself, having to face the disturbing villa and its crazy and apparently immortal members. Only at the end, after getting rid of each of them and facing the monsters born from the new virus Necrotoxin E, will be saved, along with his wife, from the unexpected arrival of Chris, now a member of a new Umbrella Corporation, which has risen from the ashes of the previous one to save humanity from biological weapons.
25 years of zombies
Books, movies, spin-offs, mobile titles, t-shirts, gadgets, and so on and so forth. With all due respect to Romero, the first thing that springs to mind in the pop world when you say the word zombie is undoubtedly Resident EviL. 25 years after the first chapter, we are still here looking for that last 9mm magazine that could save our skin, or that last green grass to mix with red, to get a mix that brings our health back to the maximum. . Although with ups and downs, the Capcom saga has rightfully entered the videogame Olympus. After chapter 7 and the splendid remakes (the second more than the third) of 2019 and 2020, the saga has been relaunched, and is projected towards a new and bright future called Village. And we, almost a generation later, will still be here to try and survive this splendid horror.
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