TheResident Evilseries is often considered the root of thesurvival horrorgenre. When the original landed in 1996, it broke the mold and established all manner of conventions that the fledgling genre would (somewhat) stick to for years to come. Horribly limited ammo, equally limited inventory space, fixed camera angles and more would become classic survival horror elements.
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Capcom’s iconic series may be stuffed full of atmosphere andgigantic, monstrous bosses,but it also has a hilarious side, ripe for the meme treatment. Here are some super funny and very strange things that are uniquelyResident Evil.
10Terrible Voice Acting
Now, it’d be remiss of us not to point out that awful voice-acting is peppered across the history of video games.Resident Evilsure as heck doesn’t have a monopoly on this one. The thing is, though, no series has become legendary for it, reveled in it, quite as much as this one has.
The original game is notorious for some truly stunning lines.“I hope this isn’t… Chris’s blood.” “Wait! DON’T OPEN! That. DOOR!” “It was a huge snake, and also poisonous. OUCH!”From Jill sandwiches to masters of unlocking, these lines were tweaked in a very self-aware sort of way for the remake. As often as they’re referenced, gamers are never really scornful. It’s just part of the B-movie cheese that makesResident Evilwhat it is.
9The Classic Crank
As long-time fans will know, the earlier titles in the series are very different to the ones we know today. Afterthe much-belovedResident Evil 4,the TPS-style action became more of a focus, seemingly leaving classic survival horror behind.
Those of us who have played the classics and/or their remakes, however, will appreciate that familiarResident Eviltrope: the trusty crank. This item will find its way into your inventory at some point, whether you know what the heck you’re supposed to do with it or not. These obscure puzzles are just another thing that makesResident Eviltick.
8Chris Redfield’s Boulder-Punching Incident
Hey, remember that time series stalwart Chris Redfield punched a boulder into sad, defeated pebbles with his bare fists? Of course you do, because the absurdity of it all is burned ontoResident Evil 5players’ retinas forever.
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In this series, we don’t tend to question the ridiculous superpowers villains seem to have. They’ve injected themselves with something terrible or other and that’s all we need to know. Quite why Chris Redfield had gigantic ham-like biceps in this title, however, is a mystery. Still, that boulder business in the volcano was just par for the course in the franchise by this point.
7The Ridiculous, Brilliant And Ridiculously Brilliant Mods
Resident Evilhas carved out a reputation for itself as a franchise that can be much too heavy on the melodrama. The various comical moments tend to be unintentional (there’s that boulder again) and we’re left with global threats and harrowing transformations into mutated killing machines.
It all gets a little heavy around here, in short. This is whyResident Evilfans have become accustomed to the many absurd mods that fun-loving fans create.As reported over on The Gamer, a mod to replace Nemesis with Thomas the Tank Engine was created forResident Evil 3one day after the game’s release (you haven’t known true fear until you’ve been pursued by this beloved children’s mascot with his cold, dead eyes). Franchise fans have long learned to embrace this silliness.
6The Whole Wesker Situation
In every piece of horror media ever, there has to be a villain that just won’t stay down. Why has the monster been taken down when there are twenty minutes of the movie left? Because it’s not darn well dead yet, that’s why.
The trick is to ensure that your villaindu jourdoesn’t overstay their welcome. Don’t get back up too many times, or we’ll be bored of you. In theResident Evilseries, Albert Wesker personifies this concept, the mastermind behind a lot of the franchise’s overarching sinister plots. We just accept that he’s going to make a cameo somewhere or other along the way, whether directly, by lurking in the shadows and manipulating events (as he did inResident Evil 4), or through his ‘extended family.’ His abilities have fluctuated more than those of your average comic book character along the way.
5That Time We Played As Deadly, Knife-Wielding Tofu
Resident Evilfans will be familiar with The Mercenaries, a bonus mode with more of an arcade feel. As the mode expanded in later games, characters and stages from across the series were added, making for an addictive score-chasing experience that can be quite the time sink.
Precursors to The Mercenaries, such as The 4thSurvivor, have also featured in the series. This mode appears in the remake ofResident Evil 2, tasking the player with making an escape from overwhelming numbers of enemies as HUNK. On completing this mode, Tofu Survivor is unlocked. Yes, you’re able to now play as various different Tofu ‘characters’ (after unlocking them). Yes, they do each have different colors and loadouts. Yes, this is ridiculous.
4Jack Krauser’s Deadly Arm
Jack Krauser’s former partnership with Leon S. Kennedy isn’t really explored in any depth over the course ofResident Evil 4. InResident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, we learn more about the mission they were on, the injury Krauser suffered at the hands of a B.O.W., and his subsequent loyalty to Albert Wesker.
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This is all well and good, but one thing we never learn is why he thought taking the dominant Plaga into his own body was a good idea. That arm-blade is one of the most peculiar mutations a character in the series has ever had (which is really saying something, when you consider Birkin and that gigantic eyeball thing of his). We don’t question it –or why it gives him a cheap insta-kill option on any enemy in The Mercenaries—because it’sResident Evil.
3The Magical Item-Teleporting Storage Boxes
Now, granted, this may be something we don’t need to scrutinize too closely. Suspension of disbelief is crucial to our enjoyment of games, movies, and TV shows at times. Even so, there’s something that’s just too fantastical about those darn storage boxes.
In earlier titles, players were given an abundance of items to collect and a pitiful number of inventory slots to keep them in. Part of the survival horror experience, then, was determining which would be needed in a given situation. Cue an unhealthy amount of backtracking to and from storage boxes, which held everything you’d deposited in every other storage box too. This series likes to think it’s quite ‘logical’ at its core, so how does that work?
2The Stage Shows
As we’ve mentioned,Resident Evilhas never been afraid to wear its B-movie inspirations on its sleeve. From the melodrama of the plotting to the outrageously hammy delivery, the games just evoke that spirit perfectly.
It’s understandable yet very, very strange, then, that two stage shows have been created based on the series.Bioroid: Year Zerowas a comedy that told the zombies’ story from that perspective, while the JapaneseBIOHAZARD THE STAGEstars familiar characters including Chris Redfield, Rebecca Chambers, and Piers Nivans. It’s set betweenResident Evil 5and6and is quite the spectacle.
1Some Of The Unlockable Weapons Are Beyond Ridiculous
As a rule, survival horror is about conserving the limited ammo you have for your small selection of weapons. LaterResident Evilgames play fast and loose with this concept (loose enough to fall right off and roll under the kitchen counter, frankly), but that’s the basic idea.
When it comes to unlockable weapons for beating the main story and such, all bets are most definitely off. From infinite ammo rocket launchers to the absurdly strong P.R.L. 412 (aResident Evil 4laser weapon that can immolate everything in the game within a shot or two, including the final boss), theResident Evilseries has brought us some real doozies. In the case of the P.R.L. 412, that kind of parasite removal technology is far beyond anything available in the main game!
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