The Mercenaries: Operation Greener Grass

The bill comes do…always.


The reaction to the relative value being exchanged depends
on which end of the transaction one finds oneself

My opening statement can be applied to a great number of ways one “pays” of course, as the currency at hand is not always cold hard cash that one ends up paying with, so to speak. With that in mind, and following up on my thoughts from yesterday about contrasting value on the heels of my Resident Evil 3 remake, I finish up ending in a tonally appropriate way, as I look at a final, key element that the RE3 remake lacked, in showcasing a relative value of something lost, per my utilization of the A.R.T methodology, in deconstructing what did and didn’t work in Capcom’s approach to remaking Resident Evil 3. That of course, brings us to the topic at hand, and one that Conker (see above) has already posited for us.


The absolute mad lads they are

My final moments in celebrating Resident Evil 3 involve the original (not the remake), as we have one last great example of what could be used analogously as “absent rain” in my assessment of the remake. Within that regard, what an experience or moment lacks does help make up it’s very essence, as has been observed in the idea of something like a vase, in that the internal void that helps to create the “-ishness” of what is a vase, is indeed part of what isn’t there. In my original conjuration of my theory of what helps to frame value, it was relative to the lack thereof that helps us form our perspective on what remains, though in this instance, I think what isn’t there creates a painful reminder of what was lost in translation.


Fitting phrasing: imagine a remake of this film lacking Murray

Perhaps I’m being unnecessarily heady right now in complicating what is essentially “just” missing post-game content in the form of a minigame, but “The Mercenaries” felt like an extraordinarily vital part of what made the Resident Evil 3 formula work so well. Within the realm of the tradition of RE unlockables, There was a battle minigame involved as a reward for beating the original Resident Evil, but it was a mode that was exclusive to the Sega Saturn, so not many people even got to enjoy it. With that in mind, many were first treated to this style of post-game RE awesomeness in the form of “The 4th Survivor”, after one fulfilled some in-game reqs involving beating RE2, which had the player controlling an Umbrella operative named HUNK as he escaped the RPD on the eve of Raccoon City’s destruction.


Hard enough to unlock, some considered the mode
a degenerate spawned from hearsay and rumor back in the day

There was also the much harder to unlock other secret character named Tofu, who was, appropriately, a walking bean curd .


Rare you see a zombie game offer up a vegan
alternative

However, and as briefly just mentioned, both characters were quite difficult to unlock normally, so while more people were exposed to the idea of the post-game mode in the Resident Evil series with 2, it really wasn’t until 3 that people likely got their first taste of true greatness, as Mercenaries was unlocked for simply beating RE3, even just on easy, and obviously, being available on the PS1 version, there was a good chance if one at least had the constitution to simply beat the main game, you probably got down on what ended up being one of the best unlocks in a video game I’ve ever seen.


*We’ve ever seen, comrades

That’s what ended up being *just so* fascinating about Mercenaries as an entity: such a simple concept, with such basic execution providing excellency through simplicity alone. For those not in the know, you essentially just controlled one of the three main mercs involved with Umbrella’s paramilitary group from the main game of RE3, the UBCS, in the form of either Carlos, Nikolai, or Mikhail, as you fought your way through the streets of Raccoon City. No real story, no focus on dialogue or cutscenes, just the meat and potatoes of the Resident Evil experience wrapped up in a fast paced arcade experience, full tilt. What was fantastic about Mercenaries was that it had more of a compellingly relentless feel of engagement, with the player fighting against time itself to finish the scenario before the clock reached zero. The different characters all had differing loadouts of weaponry, creating some variety in how you wanted to approach the scenario, and one could score more time, depending on how many enemies one killed, or civilians saved. You could always just “zombie maze” your way right past any encounter, helping to flesh out the strategy involved. Best of all, your final score could accumulate into unlockables for the main game involving super powerful weapons, further adding to the replayability for both the minigame and the main one at the same time


Carlos, learning a grammar lesson the hard way; the
pluralization of Nemesis is Nemeses

Fairly ingenious, albeit so simple, Mercenaries added such a tremendous value to the entire package, and even Capcom knew this, as they would go on to reuse similarly structured modes for other Resident Evil games in the future, and eventually just straight up bringing back Mercenaries mode for RE4, 5, and beyond.


Guess who’s back? Back again.

Capcom ended up seeing enough value in the concept to make it into it’s very own game, The Mercenaries 3D for the 3DS. While the game did meet with some controversy over what was seen as a shady business tactic by Capcom to curb the used game market by not being able to delete the save file on the cartridge, and many others decried the game for being overpriced for what was being offered, it was still a damn good time.


Raccoon City Reunion Right Here (and Krauser)

Aside from some small blemishes in Mercenaries history, it is largely celebrated as the piece de resistance in Resident Evil fame, and with good reason. Why Capcom thought it was at all a wise decision to not include it with the remake is beyond me, as Mercenaries seems like a vital part of the DNA that makes up not just the core fundamentals of what made RE3 so groovy, but it an integral part of the value of the RE series as a whole. I would posit the notion that after Capcom justified making Mercenaries into a full game experience, they would use that reasoning as a citation enough for the exclusion of the mode in the RE3 remake, but the RE4 remake eventually saw an update including Mercenaries as well, so that notion doesn’t hold water. Were it not for that fact, you could look at the absence of Mercenaries from the RE3 remake much like Nintendo omitting the old school NES games, like Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong, Excitebike, available for play in future Animal Crossing games after the Gamecube version, operating under the assumption the company isn’t going to just give games away for free as unlocks in one of their titles, when they could easily charge you for a digital copy or the full price of a title. But again, the RE4 remake, with Mercenaries included exists, so any logic there after is whatever broken handwaving they wish to utilize.


The RE3 remake did come with a multiplayer
component, but it’s about as meh as meh gets

So yeah, that represents my celebration of what wasn’t, however queer of a notion that may be . As mentioned when I started, and as previously stated in my summation of my finalized thoughts involving the RE3 remake, what we ended up getting was a “respectable salute to the end of Raccoon City”, but a Mercenaries sized hole is left apparent in the heart of the entire experience. It’s true what they say. The grass is always greener, and you don’t really know what you had, until it’s gone. Gone.


Gone.

~Pashford

Raccoon City Limits Pt.3

When it rains, it pours.


Umbrella Corp: redefining unregulated capitalism, one city
at a time

For anyone who hasn’t been following along, I’ve basically been using the last week as a platform to discuss my thoughts on the Resident Evil 3 remake, in all of it’s monstrous glory. The whole thing started as a send up to my regularly reoccurring replay of the title, which usually starts on September 28th, in conjunction with the start of the game itself, and Jill Valentine’s last ditch efforts to escape Raccoon City. I alternate years it seems, between my autumn getaways located in Silent Hill and RC, depending on where the time shares happen to be cheaper any given year.


Cratering infrastructure has Racoon City real estate at rock
bottom prices, you see

I ended up writing “The Save Rooms” as a moment of respite, which aligned quite well with the theme of the article itself. The write up happened as a result of what would appear to be some sort of trepidation in writing my final thoughts on the RE3 remake, inspite of having played through the game a couple of times in as many days. I think I’m so used to focusing on “meatball writing”, the fast and dirty approach to get the job done, that the act has left larger scale pieces outside of my regularly flexed muscles. Though I honestly don’t like content that is gargantuan in scope, whether it be video essays or think pieces. The internet works best in small bite delights, I find.


So sayeth the memes

So yeah, I’m going to finally Frankenstein my thoughts together, involving some of the pieces I’ve already written, and finalize my reckonings on the RE3 remake, before getting back to headlines as usual on ATE, as dwelling on Raccoon City much longer will likely leave me in a similarly devastated state as the city itself. To wit; and in reiteration: I do think the game feeling as if it is “speedrunning” itself, in terms of story structure and pacing, does butcher some of the finer elements of what made the original RE3 something special. As noted, Brad’s involvement is too minimal, you meet Carlos too quickly, and Nemesis’ debut is far too sudden, with no build up of suspense at all before his big reveal. I know the new remakes are trying a balancing act of maintaining the old school feel of survival horror, while trying to keep the gas pedal pressed down in the vein of RE4, but the first third of the game feels way too compacted narratively speaking to be seen as an improvement, which is further impacted by the remakes lack of branching choices during the non-present live selection outcomes that made the original that much more fleshed out.


The meter maid situation in Raccoon City is completely out of
control

In reference to recalling my next point of interest, I mentioned a disappointment in the re-canonization of events for the RE3 remake, which is definitely more of a preference thumbs down on my behalf than a complete necessity in making the game a better experience. The series has this weird mix of leaning on the background lore to prop it up, while also playing fast and loose with the story elements at the same time. On some level: I get it. People came here to shoot zombies, not read books, but the amount the fanbase seems to care about finer details, and the small care the devs look like they’re trying to put into background stuff is apparent, but it does feel like the bare minimum to check a box. You also have to consider, between originals, remakes, additional content etc, just how much regular and expanded canon exists, the amount of info you could play with, and or the expansion of it in beefing up the story elements of RE3 would go a long way, but alas, nothing of the sort can be said for the remake. With the way they do nothing to add new elements, but on top of that, take away old ones by remixing the game so much, I feel as if we are left with a reduction of points of interests involving the S.T.A.R.S member and Raccoon City in general during it’s final days, and we’re all worse off for it.


We even lost Carlos’ accent in the remake , dammit!

We of course have the gameplay to talk about, which there is plenty to discuss, acknowledging I have only registered complaints with what the title doesn’t have thus far, but the absences are too brutally obvious not to mention (a little more on that later, even). The RE3 remake definitely has a lot of thanks to give to the RE2 remake which proceeded it, as the game makes use of the Re Engine that made 2 look so damn good and feel so nice to control in, so both aesthetically speaking and from a control standpoint the RE3 remake passes muster with luster. The audio design is a bit touch and go, as the gun effects fail to carry any weight, and the new OST kind of seems to just blend in instead of standout and accentuate the experience, save for the old audio cues they use from the original interspersed throughout the experience, which is telling, I think.


Can’t go wrong with a save room theme

Obviously, the RE3 Remake has moved on as the series has, and therefore tank controls are a thing of the past. Aiming, shooting, moving, dodging throughout the environment, all feel non-challenging, which is what you want to hear with any game, especially one where you’ll be fighting for your life on a regular basis. The series has expanded in terms of difficulty both ways: there are plenty of options to make the game both easier and harder, though the baseline difficulty level honestly feels maybe a bit too generous, as auto saves, excessive ammo, and even just regular save points, which felt like they were almost every other room, makes this feel like a very user friendly survival horror experience. One can of course pump up the difficulty and or go for some of the more limiting trophies to spice up your experience, (S rank, no healing, playing on Inferno), but I still feel as if the core gameplay involving Nemesis himself should be far more tense and challenging, given the supposed nature of the beast.


Nemesis always did take laser tag a little too seriously

For all it lacks, and as noted, the amount it does lack feels ample, (no Mercenaries, guys? so brutal), there is plenty of still “good enough” gameplay to get down on here. I think as a remake, Resident Evil 3 fails quite significantly, in basically bringing nothing new to the table, and even taking a lot of what worked off of the table in the process. This is underlined in stark contrast to just how much work they seemed to put into the RE2 remake to make it really feel like a complete reinvention of a classic game, which is an amazing feat. The RE3 remake is a pale shadow in comparison to it’s predecessor, both in terms as a follow up to the RE2 remake, and in reference to it’s original outing. It lacks greatness, but doesn’t skimp on the fun, and acts as a respectable salute to the end of Raccoon City.



~Pashford

Raccoon City Limits Pt.2

When life imitates art…


We all see bad box art Mega Man in the mirror

During my recent attempts at writing about replaying the Resident Evil 3 remake, in regards to my annual observation of the significance involving September 28th, I’ve been detailing elements of the game I feel just don’t quite hold a candle up to the original. Not because I dislike the game on any real level, mind you, but the fondness I have for classic Resident Evil throbs in my veins to this day, and that sort of energy is harder to beat into submission than a Nemesis that just won’t take the hint.


It sucks when someone misses out on hints of subtleties

While I have enjoyed the bite sized addresses to the elements I speak of, and they have fittingly run alongside the track of the days involving the demise of Raccoon City itself, it also comes at a time when my schedule has turned completely upside down, with me waking up mere hours before midnight to complete a list of activities I prefer to have done by midnight, so my time conjuring thoughts on Jill Valentine and her heroics involving tenure as a S.T.A.R.S member have been not unlike the nightmare of keeping a schedule in order while fighting against the hordes of the undead.


The textbook definition of no chill

I plan on doing some compartmentalizing of my thoughts into one super-cut article here in the next day(?) to tidy everything up a bit, given that I’m nearly out of time to write anything of long winded merit here, but I will leave you with yet another point of disinterest related to why the remake of Resident Evil 3 was kind of a step down from the original in another regard, as the game reduces a players autonomy by dispensing of the branching story options of emergency the original provided. While some were of small note in their implementation, others provided large deviation to the overall pacing of the narrative at hand, and in terms of how you went about navigating the back alleys of Raccoon City.


I hate when they don’t include the relevant number
of self-defenestrations needed when navigating a map

Just another element I’ll have to roll up into the eventual equivalent of a Resident Evil 3 Remake burrito for your enjoyment. To be continued…

~Pashford

Raccoon City Limits

Last time, on Resident Evil Z!


The crossover you never knew you needed

As I was saying yesterday, due to the exuberant vibe emanating from within me to celebrate September 28th by starting a replay of RE3 (remake), I was still of the mind to take the game to task on some of it’s failings, so that we may collectively find benefit in the experiences blemishes. The pacing issues are of a wild sort from moment one, and the game never fully recovers from that point of ingress. I know that modern day Resident Evil, even the remakes of the classic titles that possess a more survival horror oriented bent, tend to trend repping the RE4 formula, more boom than bump in the night, but the totally absent build up to the eventuality of Nemesis’ appearance is such a fall from grace for what should be the main contingency of the entire foundational merits of the game in itself, one can’t feel the developers were off the mark from moment one.


Not all Kamehamehas are created equal

And perhaps I’ve erroneously pegged Resident Evil over the years as being narratively driven, as the game marched forward in the spiritual wake of Night of the Living Dead in the virtual interactive space as the flag bearer for what was, but the complete lack of re-canonization involving the nittier, grittier details in the wake of the Arklay Mansion facilities demise, and the soon to be obliterated Raccoon City seems as if such an embarrassingly wasted opportunity in setting the record straight for the series moving forward. If nothing else, the time when one looks back on the value of life and the quality imbued with the merits of the very soul of an individual, should be within the last moments of remembrance involving the eulogy and the day of mourning, and October 1st leaves nothing but a Raccoon City crater sized hole in the heart of Resident Evil history.


The cost of corporate hubris

To be continued…

~Pashford