Resident Evil 2 Should Be For RE9 What Resident Evil 4 Was For RE Village

Resident Evil 9 is shrouded in mystery and has been the subject of great speculation, especially as it pertains to its rumored open-world. Indeed, it’s interesting to ponder what direction Capcom will take when it comes to Resident Evil 9‘s mechanics, setting, and even its camera perspective, as the game is caught between the third-person style of the remakes and the FPS framework of the new, mainline entries. It’s impossible to say what RE9 will look like, but it may benefit from some RE2 inspiration, like how Village drew from RE4.

Though they don’t share the exact same setting, the similarities between Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 are hard to ignore. Both take place in an unspecified European location characterized by Gothic architecture and antiquated living, and both seem to favor wide outdoor areas over the cramped corridors and dingy interiors of their predecessors. In terms of gameplay, both Village and RE4 fall on the ‘action-survival-horror’ end of the Resident Evil spectrum, and they are the only games in the series to have proper in-game merchants. All in all, it’s clear that Resident Evil Village drew a good bit of inspiration from RE4, and it would make sense to pay the same respect to RE2.

Resident Evil 2 Would Be a Great Launching Pad for Resident Evil 9

Village Tackled the Countryside, Now Resident Evil 9 Can Get Back to Civilization

It makes sense that Resident Evil Village would be inspired by RE4, as the latter is perhaps the series’ most widely praised entry. Sitting right behind it, though, is Resident Evil 2, which is generally considered to be in the upper-echelon of RE games. So, it stands to reason that Resident Evil 9 would take a few cues from it, especially when it comes to its setting.

Resident Evil has been removed from civilization for a while now, with RE7, Village, and the RE4 Remake all taking place in remote or rural areas. But if Resident Evil 9 drew from Resident Evil 2 and took place in a city, it could breathe new life into the franchise, letting players explore more modern environments similar to something like the RPD or orphanage. This could be especially interesting if Resident Evil 9 adopts an open-world formula, as rumors have suggested; players could explore a large-scale, urban map built around survival-horror gameplay, making for a wholly new sort of experience for both new and veteran fans of the franchise.

Learning from Resident Evil 2 Could Mean the Return of Multiple Campaigns

Resident Evil 2 is famous for having multiple different campaigns, each with two different versions, or “scenarios,” as they are called in the original 1998 release. Players can choose to play as either Claire or Leon, who both star in radically different adventures with distinct weapons, side characters, and areas to explore, but that run parallel to each other and merge at the end. To get the true ending of Resident Evil 2, players have to complete both of these main campaigns. They can then choose to complete the alternate scenarios, though these only offer minor departures from the core campaigns.

Aside from setting, this would be another great note that Resident Evil 9 could take from Resident Evil 2. Multiple playable characters is a staple of the Resident Evil franchise, but most entries limit these alternate characters to specific chapters, like Mia’s flashback/video recording sequence in Resident Evil 7. In Resident Evil 2, Claire and Leon felt like equals in many ways, as they each had dedicated stories to play through, which makes the game more compelling as a whole. If Resident Evil 9 could do something like this, especially if it brings back classic Resident Evil characters, it would be a great homage to RE2 and a sensible choice in its own right.

Resident Evil 4 Remake

A remake of 2005’s Resident Evil 4, Capcom’s game follows Leon S. Kennedy as he heads on a mission to save the President of the United States’ daughter from the Los Illuminados cult. Blending survival horror and third-person shooter gameplay, Resident Evil 4 (2023) will build on the success of 2019’s Resident Evil 2 and 2020’s Resident Evil 3 remakes.

Released

March 24, 2023

Genre(s)

Survival Horror

ESRB

M for Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language

How Long To Beat

16 Hours

Metascore

93

PS Plus Availability

N/A

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