It was the year 1999. I was just a kid, and I was with my brother visiting a video game club, they were the only ones who had a PlayStation. While we waited for our turn, I started to see a game that caught my attention because of its impressive graphics. In the center of the screen was a subject in blue uniform and with the acronym RPD. He was in a dark room, and when he opens the door and two zombies enter with their guts outside; The image was forever etched in my mind. We are for less was facing the great Resident Evil 2.
I could not play it until a couple of years later when I could have my own PS1.
An authentic jewel
Resident evil 2 is responsible for making the franchise become one of the most legendary survival horor. And it is the debut of two of the most recognized characters in the franchise, the brave Claire and a rookie cop named Leon.
Directed by Hideki Kamiya (director of Bayonetta or the promising Scalebound) and produced by Shinji Mikami (The Evil Within), Resident Evil 2 can be used as an example and referent of what is expected of a sequel. If Resident Evil defined a genre, survival horror (with permission of Alone in the Dark), Resident Evil 2 raised the bases used in the original with a big delivery whose '2' was not limited to being a mere identification number. We had two new characters, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, two CD's and two ways to start the adventure. The cover letter could not be more tempting.
Excellent story
In this installment, you did not just go through the terrifying Spencer mansion of the first. We were expecting Raccon City, a city infested with zombies and creatures products of the T virus created by the umbrella corporation. The events happened only two months after what happened in the first Resident Evil, but the characters conveyed a sense of vulnerability greater than that of Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. After all, Leon was a police officer on his first day at work and Claire a college student in search of his brother, Chris himself.
The game opened with a spectacular intro. At that time, the intros of the games were, to define it somehow, the food of hype. Now we are used to seeing several trailers before launching a game that create expectations, but two decades ago, the intro of a game was the perfect hook to leave you with your mouth open, tempting you to try the product and want to take it home . They could even be considered as a kind of short films that we taught our friends when we wanted to present the game in question.
Playability
Although it maintained the same mechanism that its predecessor worked of wonderful. The camera in third person added tension to the game since sometimes you did not know that you would be around the corner and you had to use the sound to get an idea, the only moan of the zombies made us nervous.
You had a good arsenal, but something innovative about the previous was the possibility of improving some weapons. Such as the Matilda.
Secondary characters
A good story can not be complete without a deal that adds something to the story. Resident Evil 2 had them. Like forgetting when you enter the Kendo gun shop, and then seeing it die eaten by a horde of zombies, which warned you that group zombies are a threat. And the scene where Marvin is transformed, then have to shoot him. And how to forget the despicable boss Brian Irons who dies of astonishing form.
Enemies
It is incredible how many creatures you had to face other than zombies. Lickers, dogs, mutant plants, moths. But there were two who took the title of antagonists.
The T-00
This gigantic creature harasses you throughout the game of the second scenario. When you see that it breaks the walls gives you the impression that it will not stop until you kill yourself.
Willian Birkin
He is guilty of all the disaster. It terrifies you with your screams. Each encounter with this character is interesting too, because you observe as it is mutating without control until there is nothing left of Birkin, something disturbing of the terrible virus G.
Atmosphere
One area where Capcom failed in other REs is the atmosphere. The graphics, sound effects, music and level design work together to create a creepy and horror filled world that really keeps you on the edge of your seat. In fact, Resident Evil 2 may have the best sound design yet for a PS1 game.
Many things can be said of RE2. It's a good sequel, and a super game that you can spend hours playing. A true classic, and a legend not only of survival horror ... of video games.