Resident Evil 2 | 1998
Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom in 1998. Players control rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield as they try to escape a city overrun by zombies due to a bioweapon outbreak that occurred two months after the events of the original game. Gameplay emphasizes exploration, puzzles, and combat, with a significant difference from previous titles being that each character has unique storylines, partners, and obstacles.
The game was produced by Shinji Mikami, the director of the original game, with Hideki Kamiya as the director, and was developed by a team of about 50 people over 21 months. An early version known as "Resident Evil 1.5" was canceled by Mikami when he deemed it insufficient, being approximately two-thirds complete. The final design incorporated more cinematic elements.
Resident Evil 2 received critical acclaim for its atmosphere, setting, graphics, audio, scenario, overall gameplay, and improvements over the original. However, it also faced criticism regarding controls, voice acting, and certain game elements. The game is widely regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time and is the best-selling Resident Evil title on a single platform, selling over 6 million copies across various platforms. It was ported to Windows, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, and GameCube, with a modified 2.5D version released for the Game.com handheld. The story of Resident Evil 2 has been revisited in several subsequent games and adapted into various licensed works. A sequel, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, was released in 1999, and a remake for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One was released in 2019.
Resident Evil 2 features similar core gameplay as a third-person survival horror game, set in the fictional city of Raccoon City located in the midwestern Arklay Mountains. Players choose to play as either rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy or college student Claire Redfield as they confront a zombie outbreak. As players explore Raccoon City, they fight monsters and solve puzzles. Players can equip firearms, but limited ammunition adds a strategic element to combat, forcing them to decide whether to engage or avoid enemies.
The game uses tank controls, where pressing up moves the character forward, down moves backward, and left/right rotates independently of the camera angle. The status screen allows players to check the character's status, view maps, reread acquired files, and equip or combine items. The character's health can also be gauged by their posture and movement speed; for instance, an injured character may clutch their abdomen in pain, and a character near death will limp and move slowly. Characters take damage from enemies or hazards, and excessive damage results in death and a game over. Healing items like herbs and first-aid sprays can be used for recovery. Safe rooms scattered throughout the city contain typewriters and item boxes, allowing players to save their progress with ink ribbons. Players can only carry a limited number of items.
Unlike Chris and Jill from the previous game, Leon and Claire only differ by the key item they start with (a lighter for Leon and a lockpick for Claire). The game introduces a "Zapping System," where the two characters experience different puzzles, story developments, and encounters. After completing "Scenario A" with one protagonist, "Scenario B" for the other protagonist is unlocked, reflecting the events of Scenario A with changes to enemies and solved puzzles. This results in two unique playthroughs for each character, allowing for a total of four playthroughs, thus enhancing the game's replay value. Each protagonist has a supporting partner, who accompanies them in certain scenes and is playable for short periods. As with previous games, multiple endings are possible, determined by which of the four scenarios is played.
The graphics consist of real-time rendered polygonal character and item models layered over pre-rendered backgrounds viewed from fixed camera angles.
Upon completing a scenario, players receive a rank based on their playtime, save count, and special healing item usage. High ranks unlock additional weapons and costumes. Resident Evil 2 includes two standalone missions: "The 4th Survivor" and "The To-fu Survivor," where players fight enemies with basic items to reach a goal. The PlayStation version requires players to complete the two scenarios with high ranks to unlock these missions, while the Dreamcast version allows access from the start. Subsequent versions, except for the Nintendo 64, added an "Extreme Battle" mini-game where players fight enemies as Leon, Claire, Ada, or Chris from the first game while trying to place four antivirus bombs across one of three maps.
The narrative primarily follows the paths of Claire in Scenario A and Leon in Scenario B, as suggested by Capcom as the canonical version of the events.
Set on September 29, 1998, two months after the first Resident Evil incident, Raccoon City in the American Midwest faces an outbreak where most citizens have turned into zombies due to the T-virus secretly developed by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. On his first day at work, Leon S. Kennedy meets Claire Redfield, who is searching for her brother Chris. They become separated as they head to the Raccoon Police Department. Upon arriving, they discover that most officers are dead and learn that Chris has gone to investigate Umbrella's European headquarters. They separate to find survivors and a way to escape the city. Claire encounters Sherry, a girl being chased by an unknown monster, while Leon meets Ada Wong, who claims to be looking for her boyfriend, a researcher at Umbrella.
Police Chief Brian Irons, bribed by Umbrella, is hiding evidence of the company's experiments and the development of the G-virus, which can mutate humans into ultimate bioweapons. Leon confronts a monster called Tyrant that has been brought into the police station to locate the G-virus. Irons attempts to kill Claire but meets his end due to a G-virus mutation. Claire escapes with Sherry through the sewers but they become separated. After parting from Leon, Ada meets Sherry, who drops a lost golden pendant while trying to escape. Deep in the sewers, Ada and Leon team up when she encounters danger, but Leon is shot while intervening between Ada and a mysterious woman. The woman, Annette, is the wife of William Birkin, the scientist behind the G-virus. Recognizing Sherry's pendant, she tries to take it away, leading to a struggle that results in her being thrown over a railing. Ada realizes the pendant contains a G-virus sample and, moved by emotion, returns to treat Leon's gunshot wound.
Meanwhile, Claire reunites with Sherry and learns that William is implanting embryos into his daughter to create a new life. Leon, Ada, Claire, and Sherry navigate through a factory connected to Umbrella's underground lab. Ada is gravely injured during an attack by William, prompting Leon to search for something to heal her in the lab. He encounters a deranged Annette, who claims Ada was using Leon to gather information. Leon refuses to believe her, insisting he trusts Ada. As Annette tries to shoot Leon, Tyrant appears, causing Annette to retreat. Ada returns to save Leon, battling Tyrant, which eventually falls into a furnace. Ada is mortally wounded and confesses her love to Leon before dying. Annette attempts to escape with the G-virus sample but is fatally wounded by her mutated husband. Before dying, she reveals to Claire how to create a vaccine to stop the embryo mutation inside Sherry. With the vaccine prepared, Leon and Claire reunite on an emergency escape train, where they save Sherry's life by administering the vaccine. During this process, Leon receives help from an unseen figure to defeat the mutated Super Tyrant, mistaking it briefly for Ada's voice. The transformed William chases Leon and Claire, but the train self-destructs, eliminating the threat. Claire escapes the city with Sherry, while Leon plans to bring down Umbrella, and Claire continues her search for Chris. HUNK, an Umbrella special operative, successfully retrieves the G-virus sample.
Development for Resident Evil 2 began in early 1996, just one month after the completion of the previous title. A team of approximately 45 people, later becoming part of Capcom Production Studio 4, worked on the game. Led by director Hideki Kamiya, the team included new Capcom staff and over half from the original Resident Evil team. During the early development phase, producer Shinji Mikami often clashed with Kamiya over creative differences, trying to impose his vision on the team. Ultimately, he stepped back to a producer role and requested monthly updates on the latest builds. The production budget exceeded $1 million.
The first footage of Resident Evil 2 was showcased at the V Jump Festival '96 in July 1996. This build was referred to by Mikami as "Resident Evil 1.5" and was significantly different from the final version. The story followed the basic premise of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City occurring two months after the original game's events, but Umbrella had already been shut down due to illegal experiments.
The development team aimed to maintain the horror of the original while introducing two inexperienced characters: Leon S. Kennedy, who remained largely unchanged in the final build, and Elza Walker, a college student and motorcycle racer from Raccoon City. Unlike the final version, their paths did not intersect, and each character had two supporting partners instead of one. Leon was aided by fellow officer Marvin Branagh and researcher Linda (the early version of Ada), while Elza received help from Sherry Birkin and a character named John, who was the gun shop owner in Resident Evil 2. Mikami also mentioned in 1996 that the sequel would introduce new monsters, increasing the number of on-screen enemies to "about seven or more" to create a sense of fear with monsters surrounding the characters.
Real-life cases influenced character designs by artists Isao Oishi and Ryoji Shimomura. For example, Oishi modeled Leon after his bloodhound, and Annette Birkin was based on actress Jodie Foster. The police station design became smaller, more modern, and realistic. There were more interactions with surviving officers, and characters like Roy, Leon's superior, were introduced. Enemy models were designed with fewer polygons to allow more zombies on screen. The game utilized dynamic music that reacted to gameplay events, altering the pre-rendered backgrounds. Playable characters could use gear, like protective suits, to enhance defense and carry more items. Character models changed based on clothing and damage taken.
Mikami felt that while individual game assets were good, they didn't cohesively meet expectations, hoping everything would come together by the planned release in May 1997. However, "Resident Evil 1.5" was canceled when it was around 60-80% complete. Mikami later explained that the game wouldn't meet the desired quality for timely release and noted that the gameplay and locations felt tedious.
