10 Video Game "Remakes" That Changed EVERYTHING
5. Resident Evil 3
The award-winning 2019 reimagining of Resident Evil 2 dramatically shifted the gameplay style of the PS1 original from fixed camera angles to over the shoulder. Despite major changes, it still felt like RE2 because of the location of the ravaged Raccoon City police department.
The game’s follow-up, itself a reimagining of Resident Evil 3, struggled to run that same line.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was perhaps not the most memorable of the original trilogy but the presence of the player-stalking Nemesis gave it a unique tone instead of a fixed point of interest. There was no puzzle-box style mansion or police station, instead players were forced to sprint through Raccoon City, chased by this leatherbound monstrosity.
As such, Capcom felt that they could remove or dramatically remix locations for the remake. The issue was, they sort of forgot to put the Nemesis in.
Even the staunchest defenders of Resident Evil 3’s enjoyable, fast-paced gameplay and right to do something different will admit that the overall lack of Nemesis appearances crippled it. Instead of keeping players guessing where in the city he might show, Nemesis was merely fixed to one location. As such, RE3 felt like it was missing the key element from the game it was adapting.
The result felt far more like a sequel to Resident Evil 2’s remake rather than a remake in its own right.