Resident Evil: Raccoon City - One big game.

[Cloudbahamut]

people have been complaining about the short length of both RE 2 and 3 (even though the originals had about the same length actually and can be speedrun in 90 minutes or less as well) but now that I have fully played and completed both games it really just occured to me that RE 2 and 3 are one, big game really. You have the same graphics engine, gameplay (mostly), world and enemy design and connecting locations and both games take place in the same timeframe between September 28 and October 1st.  So these two games really are more like two episodes of the same game if you think about it.

What I wanna do next is truly experience the entire Raccoon City story from start to finish in chronological order. Starting with RE 3 until Jill gets infected, then RE 2 with Leon and Claire (2nd run) and then continue with RE 3. I used to do that with the originals all the time but obviously this is the first time I will get to do it with the Remakes and with them using the same engine, mechanics and designs it will really feel like one big story.

[abhinandhan22]

Never played the originals but just on first playthrough,Re2 was definitely substantially longer for me. Even if you completely ignore length, Re3 completely pales in comparison to Re2 and this is coming from someone who started the Re7>Re2 thread on this site. This game just made me appreciate Re2 a whole lot more. It's weaker in every aspect imo except for Jill and Carlos who I like more than Leon and Claire. I also think the two games are totally opposite in style. Re2 is definitely more of a survival horror and Re3 feels like a dumb b movie. Nemesis is just not as nerve wracking as Mr X from a design perspective(loud booming footsteps of Mr X added so much) and the puzzles in Re2 helped to elevate the tension as you had to weave around Mr X at times to solve a few of them. Re3's mostly linear game design doesn't work as well in building tension. Kinda sad that the Re games have been going downhill for me personally.

[tosSx17]

The Canon scenario for RE2 is Claire A and Leon B. 

[Givaldo150]

10 minutes ago, tosSx17 said:

The Canon scenario for RE2 is Claire A and Leon B. 

Isn't it the opposite? I always thought that it was Leon A meeting Kendo and entering the police station in front door and Claire B going in the backdoor and going up in the burning helicopter.

I played all scenarios in PS1, but maybe it was just the way i chose to play that.

[Cloudbahamut]

40 minutes ago, tosSx17 said:

The Canon scenario for RE2 is Claire A and Leon B. 

In the original yes but there is no A and B in the Remake and I was obviously talking about the Remake version. RE 2 Remake does not have two different connected scenarios like the original did. The only differences between normal run and 2nd run are different starting points, a new handgun, additional final boss and some additional enemies. Everything else is the same.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Cloudbahamut

[CasualVariance]

Well, there is one giveaway that hints to Claire A/Leon B still being the canon order even in the remakes. In the RPD section with Carlos, before entering the station, you can go to the room with the Brad Vickers poster, and if you check the locker opposite the poster, Carlos mentions a cop forgetting his uniform. In RE2 remake, Leon can only enter this same room in the 2nd run to get it. In 1st run, Marvin gives Leon the uniform straight up after saving him.

[Cloudbahamut]

20 minutes ago, CasualVariance said:

Well, there is one giveaway that hints to Claire A/Leon B still being the canon order even in the remakes. In the RPD section with Carlos, before entering the station, you can go to the room with the Brad Vickers poster, and if you check the locker opposite the poster, Carlos mentions a cop forgetting his uniform. In RE2 remake, Leon can only enter this same room in the 2nd run to get it. In 1st run, Marvin gives Leon the uniform straight up after saving him.

yeah but since 2nd run has many identical scenes and dialogues from normal run (even the bosses are exactly the same) my guess is that the canon version of the Remakes is a combination from both runs (much like Jills and Chris' scenarios are in RE 1)

So in my opinion the canon of RE 2 Remake looks something like this:

- Leon and Claire meet at the gas station, then get seperated

- Claire runs to the police station and meets Marvin

- Leon goes to the backroom and gets his uniform, then meets Claire at the gate

- Claire opens the passage that leads to the Parking garage, fights G1 and meets Sherry. Irons takes Sherry to the Orphanage

- Leon follows to the Parking Garage and meets Ada and Ben. Tyrant shows up and kills Ben.

- Claire makes her way to the Orphanage, Irons dies and G kills Tyrant.

- Leon and Ada meet Kendo, encounter Alligator in the sewers and meet Annette. Leon gets shot, Ada runs after Annette.

- Claire fights G2 in the sewers and takes infected Sherry to NEST

- Leon finds Ada and they follow Claire and Sherry to NEST

- Leon gets the G-virus sample and Ada falls.

- Claire gets the antiserum, fights G3 and returns to Sherry. Annette shows up, then dies.

- Leon fights Super Tyrant (second Tyrant from NEST), Claire fights G4

- Leon reunites with Claire on the train and either of them kills G5 (personally I think it makes more sense if Claire does it)

- G dies in train explosion, Leon, Claire and Sherry leave together.

Edited April 6, 2020 by Cloudbahamut

[Joker-Kun890]

3 hours ago, Cloudbahamut said:

people have been complaining about the short length of both RE 2 and 3 (even though the originals had about the same length actually and can be speedrun in 90 minutes or less as well) but now that I have fully played and completed both games it really just occured to me that RE 2 and 3 are one, big game really. You have the same graphics engine, gameplay (mostly), world and enemy design and connecting locations and both games take place in the same timeframe between September 28 and October 1st.  So these two games really are more like two episodes of the same game if you think about it.

What I wanna do next is truly experience the entire Raccoon City story from start to finish in chronological order. Starting with RE 3 until Jill gets infected, then RE 2 with Leon and Claire (2nd run) and then continue with RE 3. I used to do that with the originals all the time but obviously this is the first time I will get to do it with the Remakes and with them using the same engine, mechanics and designs it will really feel like one big story.

 

I'd watch a YT video of that, sounds cool.

[tosSx17]

1 hour ago, Cloudbahamut said:

In the original yes but there is no A and B in the Remake and I was obviously talking about the Remake version. RE 2 Remake does not have two different connected scenarios like the original did. The only differences between normal run and 2nd run are different starting points, a new handgun, additional final boss and some additional enemies. Everything else is the same.

Still even in the remake, Clair (1st run) / Leon (2nd run) is the canon.

1 hour ago, Givaldo150 said:

Isn't it the opposite? I always thought that it was Leon A meeting Kendo and entering the police station in front door and Claire B going in the backdoor and going up in the burning helicopter.

I played all scenarios in PS1, but maybe it was just the way i chose to play that.

nope Claire A / Leon B

[Cloudbahamut]

6 minutes ago, tosSx17 said:

Still even in the remake, Clair (1st run) / Leon (2nd run) is the canon.

 

No it is not because there are things that happen in BOTH runs exactly the same way. Claire cannot fight the exact same bosses as Leon for example. Normal and 2nd run are NOT two different scenarios like in the original They have the exact same story, events and dialogues therefore they cannot both be canon. It is like I described above - the canon story is a combination of both runs but not everything from both runs is canon. It literally cannot be because they contradict each other. people need to stop thinking that Normal run and 2nd run belong together. They don't. There is no two different scenarios. 2nd run is literally only an enhanced version of normal run but the story is exactly the same.

So you can't just say that Claire 1st run and Leon 2nd run is canon. Thats like saying that first playing RE 1 with Chris, then with Jill is canon. No. Instead the canon version is a combination of both runs. But it is impossible that something happens in 1st run to Claire and then the exact same thing happens to Leon in 2nd run.

The canon is exactly what I wrote in my last post - or at least variation of it. But 2nd run is not a seperate story like B was in the original. Leon and Claire can not fight the exact same bosses in the exact same locations under the exact same circumstances. Not to mention that Annette can not die two different deaths and Leon and Claire cannot find the same keys and unlock the same doors. They cannot both find the three medaillons. They cannot both use the detonator or both open the armory in the STARS office or both find the same ID bracelet in the NEST lab. Not to mention that the Tyrant in the RPD cannot die two different deaths lol

1st run and 2nd run cannot both be canon, only elements from them. Canon is a combination of both.

[CasualVariance]

The RE2 remake does have a lot of inconsistencies with it's narrative compared to the original. It seems that Capcom took a streamlined approach, but created confusion in doing so. I still stand by Claire A/Leon B due to the Carlos easter egg, but I agree that the events in both runs are a combination, very hard to interpret otherwise.

Edited April 7, 2020 by CasualVariance
Better explanation

[MarcusPunisher]

RE 2 Remake had the advantage of the different scenarios and even after finishing them, you could still rearrange them like playing Leon A and Claire B and vice versa. It was fairly long around 5-6 hours per scenario and even knowing the layout, it can still take around 2-3 hours to master. The game also included Hunks scenario with other unlockables like with the 4 different Tofu runs. The game feels like they kept the spirit of the original and added a lot of new content.

 

RE 3 Remake feels quite the opposite. They cut a lot of from the previous game like the park, graveyard, and mainly the Clock Tower section. The main campaign can be beaten around 4-5 hours with a lot of exploring with no additional scenario. Even going through it on different difficulties, I always managed to finish it around 1-2 hours. There is nothing post game like the mercenaries mode, instead we have Project Resistance, which lets be real, nobody asked for. 

 

Sure, Resident Evil games were never the longest, even on the first playthrough, but this feels very short even for a RE game and while there was still a lot to do in RE 2 Remake, there is not much else here, especially with the cut content. 

[Cloudbahamut]

I have played the 1st half of RE 3 Remake again and then immediately switched to RE 2 Remake (Normal run Leon, 2nd run Claire) and it felt so awesome. Especially being in the RPD with Leon and Claire after having been there with Carlos and Tyrell was really cool. Seeing Marvin again after he was bitten by Brad and then having to take him down later on when he fully turns. Seeing why the steam is coming from the pipes in the shower room which you have to shut off with Leon/Claire using the valve and stuff like that. Though I wonder how Leon/Claire can open the safe in the West Office if Carlos has already opened it (Same with the lockers) or who closed the armory in the STARS office (which Carlos can enter freely but Leon/Claire need the STARS badge flash drive). Also the boards that Carlos tears down outside the RPD (before attacking Brad) have somehow been nailed shut again by the time Leon/Claire arrive. Though that could have been Irons I guess. Still I really love that synergy between RE 3 and 2 when playing them back to back. Same with meeting Kendo with Leon after having met him the day before with Jill and finding that letter from Jill where she talks about the "arrangements" Kendo said in RE 3 to Jill he would make. Or in the Safety Deposit Room where in RE 2 locker 104 is already open, which is the exact same locker that Carlos opens in RE 3. They are just little moments between the two games but they make it so awesome.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Cloudbahamut