Resident Evil 7 biohazard and Resident Evil 3 were not positioned as realistic games, but Resident Evil 2 was positioned. That's the difference.
I gave the example of the hand only to show what approach these games had. The developers didn't think about making a realistic situation. They needed to shock and stump the player, so they made this scene. This is not a realistic approach. Moreover, the game at times is not serious about itself. It allows itself self-irony, trash and humor, which Resident Evil 2 never does.
When the developers developed the game, they considered choosing a realistic approach, but then decided to give up realistic puzzles, because, according to the team, this is not what makes the game of this series itself:
Resident Evil 2 was created as a game with a plot that needs to be as grounded as possible. This was a very controversial decision, because the original itself never claimed to be realistic, so it is very difficult to make a realistic story out of it, but the developers tried. And people liked it.
Even the concept of DNA mimicry, thanks to which anthropomorphic plants were born, seemed unrealistic to developers, so they made an analog of Cordyceps from ivy, but in Resident Evil 7, mold is a fungal colony that mimics the human form. Yes, like the ivy from the original or Marcus's mimicry.
From the same site where we learned that Las Plagas and Nemesis are now linked:
https://blog.playstation.com/2020/0...ident-evil-resistance-in-new-update-live-now/
I don't know how you can call Resident Evil 3 part of a realistic vision of the series, when it does exactly the same thing as Resident Evil 4: ignores the logic of situations in favor of entertainment and fun.
I am convinced that Resident Evil 7 biohazard is as close as possible to the tone of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero with the only difference that now we have westernized dialogues. If you think the series has always had a unified tone, I strongly disagree. If anyone puts Resident Evil 4 on a par with Resident Evil 2002, I would assume that they are different universes.
I watched the re7 video you posted and it just proves my points. The " This is not a realistic approach. " statement of yours is only used for puzzles; mainly cause even for re7; there needs to be a limit in realism obsession. I'm not sure if you played the re games ( At least canon ones. ) in release order / timeline order but if you did that; then you'll understand what ı'm talking about when it comes to re7's weird direction. Some of the statements in that video also annoyed me; like all they cared when it comes to making re7 is " survival horror " . Survival horror is only one piece in the puzzle; it's not the only thing that makes resident evil games, resident evil. Not to mention; resident evil isnt the only survival horror franchise out there. Re7 has an identity crisis; it's like it wants to be a reboot but at the same time; it doesnt.
Re2 2019 also have humorous moments like the end of 2nd run or where claire and leon find each other for the 1st time while rain is happening. " Hope ı dont have to write a report on this. " This line too. Just cause those 3 recent entries are obsessed with realism dont mean they cant have humorous moments. Plus when ı was talking about japanese cheese, charm and charisma of the franchise; ı said " some " , not " all " . Those 3 games still have that but compared to previous entries; they feel nerfed in favor of gritty realism and this causes an identity crisis.
Problem with mold is the files dont reveal the origins of it well and it's not told if it's related to progenitor virus or any virus related to it in the files. I've seen people theorizing that it's related to t-veronica due to hcf getting mentioned but ı dont buy it. It can also be t-virus. And what if it's not related to any progenitor based virus at all? Re2 2019 confuses t and g viruses. With that logic; it can also be said that mold isnt related to progenitor. Plus it lazily steals aspects from other dangerous compounds. Thank you for giving me more examples but ı'll add more. Molded look like bloodshots, fat molded look like a combination of whopper and lepotica and eveline's mutated form looks like a ripoff from carla's mutated form. But anyway; the origins of it should have been fully revealed in re7; ı also have this issue when it comes to plaga which also have some cheapness to it since it's not fully confirmed if that's related to progenitor either. They could have made that parasite connected to progenitor in re5 but capcom didnt do it and instead only left hints. I recommend checking this video to understand what ı'm talking about.
I think capcom should have used c-virus in re7 instead of mold. Especially since re6 got 2 prequels and the files hint at enhanced c-virus being recovered by the family due to them getting their hands on simmons' corpse. Wonder when will leon will store simmons' corpse at a museum...
As for that article:
" Nemesis undergoes an even more dramatic transformation with Type 2 in the RE3 remake compared to the original game. Please discuss the goals and inspirations behind its Type 2 design. "
" In the original game, Nemesis’s second form is simply the restrictions coming off, allowing it to utilize its tentacle attacks. The differentiation from its first form was not as dramatic, both from a visual and gameplay standpoint. Our goal was to make a transformation more dramatic, not only from a visual standpoint, but also from a gameplay standpoint as well. "
It never mentions dramatic horror; it simply talks about nemesis' 2nd mutation and its dramatic effects. They also wanted to increase the drama in re2 2019 when compared to og re2. And ı still dont see how the devs wouldnt want to tone down some aspects of re3 when remaking / reimagining it while also wanting to tone down some aspects of re2 when remaking / reimagining it at the same time. Especially since like ı said; re3 is more action packed / crazier than re2.
I didnt say re games prior to re7 didnt have crazy impossible stuff happening in them but they werent obsessed with realism unlike re7 where starting from that game; capcom got obsessed with realism. Making the games feel both more grounded and more over-the-top absurd at the same time. Clearly that is why stuff had to be cut.
Sorry but ı think re7 along with the recent re2 and re3 feel less like resident evil compared to previous mainline entries. The " westernized " dialogue is one of the reasons. It's no different from saying that dmc reboot stays true to past dmc games' tones even though it doesnt and it's full of edginess while not feeling like devil may cry at all.
I dont think the series had a fully unified tone prior to re7 but ı would say most of the time; they knew when to take themselves seriously and when to not. And the japanese cheese, charisma, charm dont feel like removed from the games / other canon material up until re7 when the series seems to lose its identity in favor of gritty realism in an attempt to get more westernized.
As for re4; the story feels disconnected to canon lore ( Though despite killing umbrella in intro; the story still feels more connected than re7 which feels even more disconnected. ) but it's a good evolution of resident evil. I think re4 ( and re6 ) are better evolutions than re5. Re5 started to disappoint me these days. Not a big fan of the online exclusive gameplay elements or the game focusing mostly on chris and wesker while not focusing that much on sheva ( Her backstory barely any role in the story and due to this; she feels forced to the game just for the sake of being chris' partner. ) and jill, ( The p30 stuff is a lazy way to handle her plus without her antibodies; uroboros would have been more brutal. ) excluding barry and rebecca from the main story when the game's supposed to be a re1 reunion doesnt help either. The racism complaints also hurt the game's potential; ı'm so glad re4 and re6 didnt get racism type of complaints while it's painful to think that re5 got the racism complaints. I'm still glad it made re4 more connected to lore though but wesker's death could have been done better just like umbrella's destruction could have been done better. ( Both umbrella chronicles and re5 are written by the same person just like how darkside chronicles and re6 are written by another same person and ı prefer darkside / re6 to umbrella / re5. )
Might as well drop this essay:
" I disagree about re4; ı'm honestly glad it turned out the way it did. I prefer it over re 3,5 every single time. I think they were planning to kill leon in that version. Not to mention the weird supernatural elements it has along with hookman. ( Which came back in re7 for a weird reason. )
It's awesome and one of the best games ever. Plus the re games started to become more action oriented with re2 anyways. 4 / 5 / 6 being the way they are made sense; both from gameplay and story perspective.
Though ı have to agree that the game is a bit overrated, just a bit. I dont like when people say it's a flawless masterpiece. ( Overpraising re4 to heavens while overbashing re6 to death for example which is extremely annoying. ) I love re games; they are awesome but none of them are flawless masterpiece imo. All of them have at least one small aspect that annoys me, especially after replaying the games multiple times.
One thing that bothers me about re4 for example is mikami not hiring a writer for a weird reason. Plus killing umbrella in the intro is a weird decision mainly cause re2 / re3 / recv's endings heavily hinted at characters taking down umbrella. The main cast is still memorable though. ( Excluding re7 and the newest " remakes " ; all main re games have good story imo and have memorable main cast with the exception of rerev. While the story is good and ı found the backstory of bsaa interesting, characters feel boring. I think it's due to voice acting. I remember seeing somewhere; a interview or something, the devs told / forced the voice actors to sound dull or something. It's not as bad as re1 obviously but still pretty weird. Plus no patricia ja lee for jill... )
But anyways; ı also like plaga, the backstory is interesting unlike the lame mold in re7. Plus after t-virus and zombies; it feels like a nice change to keep things fresh. In terms of plaga monsters; ı prefer the ones in re4 over the ones in re5 even though re5 has a better story than re4 imo. I wished c-virus also appeared in another mainline entry tbh similar to how plaga appeared in re5 as well as the last 2 cgi movies.
I wouldnt call it a " reboot " unlike re7. Not even gameplaywise, mainly cause like ı said; the games started to become more action oriented with re2 and they continued this process in re3 and recv as well. The change in re4 ( And later on in re5 and re6. ) make sense. Storywise; it still follows previous re games, especially when it comes to leon and ada. ( Meanwhile for re7; they decided to call the main character " Ethan Winters " in an attempt to reference re5 but this doesnt work and comes off lame mainly cause " Ethan W. " died after 1998. )
Another thing ı want to say is ı dont think capcom knows to follow the storyline after re6. That's why they are remaking the games in a half baked way for quick nostalgia cause they are out of ideas. I mean remaking re4 literally says that. "