Nineties nostalgia: How the original Resident Evil games survive to continue the infection

Having celebrated thirty years of survival horror and with the successful blending of legacy and novelty with its recent hit, Resident Evil: Requiem, many would expect Resident Evil (RE) to focus on the future. However, RE remembers its roots, and as of April 2^nd the first three games have been added to Steam and put on sale, giving RE fans both recently turned and long infected a chance to return to the world of survival horror as it was in the halcyon days of the 90s. This isn’t the first time these games have been available, as in addition to frequent console ports, GOG (Good Old games, a site dedicated to older games) has carried the games for several years, but it does help make the games even more accessible, and as games mimicking the original formula grow more numerous, horror fans find themselves drawn back through the mansion doors.

Courtesy of Capcom

Developed by Capcom and released for PlayStation in 1996, Resident Evil, or RE 1 for clarity, is renowned not only for creating the survival horror genre but also helping to bring zombies back to prominence in the world of horror. With its sinister secrets, focus on careful inventory management, and emphasis on exploration and multiple paths, RE 1 set the standard for survival horror and started influencing other game series from day one. Resident Evil 2, the debut of series favorite Leon S Kennedy and the source of many of the mysteries and horrors of Requiem, released to even greater acclaim less than a year later in January of 1998. Fans prized RE 2 for innovating on the original ideas without losing the original's charm, and for having a trailer made by George Romero. Finally, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis debuted in 1999, introducing concepts such as pursuer enemies which are staples of the series today amongst other gameplay elements which, while not as successful, would not be out of place in many modern games.

This original trilogy established the baseline of the genre. Amidst an aesthetic atmosphere, players navigate their hapless hero through an isolated, labyrinthine location filled with deadly monsters. Players can pick their own route as they explore the area, but many paths are locked until the proper key item is located, which usually involves trekking through zombie-infested hallways in order to solve various puzzles. With ammunition limited and littered throughout the location, players have to choose their battles carefully and learn when to fight and when to avoid enemies, as health items are equally scarce, as is inventory space. Juggling the need for ammo, health, and key items made every encounter feel tense and dangerous, especially as saving the game also required a finite resource.

Courtesy of Capcom

Modern gamers reading the above might think the 90s were indeed a primitive time, and to a certain point, they are right. Many of the mechanics have not aged well by modern standards. Certainly, the risk of running into a boss while low of supplies resulting in setting you back hours of playtime is a major turn-off if, like the author, you have become used to automatic checkpoints and having your objectives listed and organized. In a way, even the hardcore brutality of Dark Souls pales compared to the idea of finally reaching a new floor of the Racoon City Police Department, only for an unfortunate run-in with a Licker to remind you that you hadn’t saved in several hours. Add in antique graphics, voice acting which can be considered hilariously campy at best, and gameplay that could be considered basic by fans of more modern survival horror entries, and it perhaps becomes clear why even mainline RE entries abandoned many of these elements after the turn of the millennium.

Courtesy of Capcom

So why do horror fans young and old, once bitten, return to these games so often? What has slipped beneath the skin of our thumbs and surged through our veins, transforming our tastes and instilling a hunger for RE that modern games, or even the more recent remakes of the trilogy, can’t sate? On the one hand, a likely part of the appeal is the solid story and the fact that these games contain so many firsts for the series: The first appearances of so many fan-favorite characters, from Jill Valentine to Albert Wesker, from the Lickers to Nemesis. Ask any RE fan what image first appears in their mind like an apparition, and odds are the iconic zombie reveal, the Licker crawling along the roof of the RPD entrance, or Nemesis’ wet, raspy “Stars” will top the list.

Part of the answer may lie in the simplicity and nostalgia for a happier, less busy time. This is likely the outbreak vector of the countless “RE Clones” which fill the survival horror genre today. RE clones began appearing shortly after RE 1 and often follow the original formula more closely than typical survival horror games. While they eventually faded in popularity, recently they’ve returned from the grave and often serve to scratch the classic itch. Some, such as Tormented Souls and Echoes of the Living, stick to the original formulas but add their own unique twists or modern touches, going back to vital elements such as fixed camera angles, limited resources, and in-game documents to deliver lore. However, they make use of better graphics or a more realistic, serious tone. Some more recent clones have morphed RE’s style into radically different genres of games. For example, Vultures- Scavengers of Death, which released a demo on Steam recently, is a turn-based strategy game which simulates PlayStation 1-era graphics and RE 1’s design style and includes RE-style item management.

Still from Tormented Souls courtesy of PQube

With so many higher-cost, twenty-plus hour games that have more complex strategic factors, busier user-interfaces, and heavier graphics in modern gaming, there’s a soothing charm in older, shorter games such as the original RE trilogy. Fans who enjoyed them before can find it easier to play through a familiar, simpler game. Certainly, the length makes it easier to squeeze in a little bit of gaming on busy worknights, and it is the older fans' nostalgia that suggest what the author considers the core reason why these games are not only worth replaying today, but why they have stayed available in one form or another for over thirty years.

Courtesy of Capcom

While many horror fans, the author included, spawned too late to play RE when it came out, they still recall RE as a major game in their childhoods because they watched their parents or older siblings play it. Others, the author again included, found RE as their first steps into the world of horror, and it remained a major influence. In fact, often these connections in turn built the latter entries. As Voice Actor Nick Apostolides states in a recent interview here at the Horror Lounge, Resident Evil is multi-generational. Fans might have first stumbled upon the franchise through the original trilogy, latter mainline games which were more action-focused, one of its many spin-offs and they may not have even been the ones holding the controllers. Milla Jovovich, the star Paul Wes Anderson's Resident Evil movies, played the games with her brother, and Zach Cregger, director of the next RE film, is a fan of the series. In much the same way that RE influenced and inspired the next wave of horror, it sent similar ripples through those who played it.

By returning to the original games, horror fans can reload their save and return to those times, much like we return to the original Friday the 13^th when there’s more recent reboots available (questions of quality aside.) The remakes and newer games of RE are frighteningly fun and push the boundaries of the genre and the stories began in 1996, but the original trilogy remains timeless because of the connections we formed while playing them. In turn, these connections continue the spread of RE's and introduce mutated strains which can still be traced back to the original.

For those looking to add evil to their residence, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis are available on Steam for $9.99