Resident Evil 3 Review

Capcom certainly hasn’t slowed down since the release of the reimagined Resident Evil 2, and won’t be slowing down for some time. Fans were surprised to hear that Resident Evil 3: Nemesis would also get a reimagining, but only a year after RE2’s remake. 

You wouldn’t be the only one to think this next remake is a little underdone, that, however, doesn’t make it any less awesome. 

Just like last time, let’s have a little history lesson. 

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was released on September 22nd, 1999 for the PlayStation, GameCube, Windows, and Dreamcast. It followed in the footsteps of its famed predecessor Resident Evil 2, but the game actually takes place before, during, and after the events in RE2. The game follows S.T.A.R.S. officer and veteran zombie hunter, Jill Valentine as she struggles with the aftermath of the Spencer Mansion incident (Resident Evil) and the recent Raccoon City outbreak.

We are also introduced to UBCS (Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service) special-ops mercenary Carlos Oliveira. During the game, you switch between playing as either Jill or Carlos, different than RE2’s Leon or Claire campaign. RE3 also took a more action-oriented approach to the series and was a shorter game compared to the other games in the franchise. The game has sold around 3 million copies worldwide since release. 

Resident Evil 3 (remake) was released on April 3rd, 2020, and has kept most of the same aspects from the original. It stays true to the more action-oriented approach of the original and the shorter run time, but Capcom did leave important scenes like the Clocktower and others out of this remake, leaving some fans disappointed. Being that the remake has only been out for a month, it has shown pretty impressive sales, with 2 million copies being sold so far. It is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. 

Now, let’s return to the horrific zombie-filled world of Raccoon City.

Before the arrival of heroes Leon and Claire from Resident Evil 2, Jill Valentine was in the midst of a full-blown zombie apocalypse. 

The game opens in a first-person perspective similar to that of Resident Evil 7, and after a glimpse into Jill’s nightmares, we get to experience them for ourselves. Less than ten minutes into the game, we are introduced to the terrifying Nemesis creature who is sent into Raccoon City with one goal in mind; destroy all remaining S.T.A.R.S members. Our girl Jill along with fellow S.T.A.R.S officer Brad Vickers are the only members left in town, unfortunately for Brad, Nemesis isn’t the one who leads to his untimely demise. In a desperate attempt to save Jill, Brad sacrifices himself to a horde of zombies. Now alone, you help guide Jill through the infested city streets as she is relentlessly pursued by Nemesis. After the second encounter with Nemesis, and narrowly surviving a fall off a parking garage, Jill meets UBCS mercenary, Carlos.

Carlos informs Jill that his platoon is rounding up survivors and keeping them safe in the subway. With the power to the subways shut off, however, an escape plan is put on hold. Carlos’s platoon leader Mikhail Victor asks for Jill’s help in restoring power to the subway. Hesitant to trust them because they are working for Umbrella, Jill eventually agrees to help restore power to save the citizens. 

This leads Jill to venture back into the streets of Raccoon City and beyond. Unlike Resident Evil 2, in Resident Evil 3 you are not confined to the police station, sewers, or underground lab. Instead, you are forced to explore the many ins and outs of the city, circling back continuously to look for items and equipment. Some bigger locations throughout the city are the return of Kendo’s Gunshop (and Kendo himself), and as Carlos, we return to the RPD and explore a monster-infested hospital, eventually leading to a secret Umbrella lab underground. That freedom is a huge change in pace but is necessary for the more action-oriented game that RE3 is.

The graphics for the game are breathtaking just like those of RE7 and RE2, showing once again how beautiful and realistic a horror game can be. One thing I love about this game is that it has a lot more color set into the dark atmosphere. The first time you walk out into the streets with Jill, you see bright neon street signs and billboards but take one wrong step and you could become zombie chow. The sound design is not as menacing and creepy as RE2 but is still enough to make you want to jump out of your skin, especially when Nemesis breaks through a wall unexpectedly. While working on this article, I got the chance to watch Nicole Tompkins, the voice and motion capture actor for Jill Valentine, play the game live on Twitch. While playing she answered questions from fans about her audition experience and what it was like to bring Jill to life, and got a surprise visit from fellow actor Nick Apostolides who plays Leon in RE2. It was fun watching her talk about different scenes, and how they were all constructed to form what you see in the game. 

There are a lot of things to like about this remake, but nothing is ever perfect. This game is a lot more action-packed then it’s predecessors. Sometimes straying far from its survival horror roots. There are a lot of boss fights between Jill and Nemesis, and as I watched most of those fights unfold, I started to wonder how Jill was even still alive. She is constantly jumping, falling, or being thrown off buildings, even getting shot at by a rocket launcher and still coming out alive. One of my favorite mechanics from RE2 was the ragdoll effect on the zombies. For example, if you shot a zombie and they died, they would go limp and fall to the ground like a ragdoll, adding a cool human-esque element to the monsters. That mechanic is very toned down, and almost non-existent with the zombies in RE3 and makes them feel less threatening and scary. 

This game overall is a remake, it is not the same as the original version, and it isn’t supposed to be and should be treated as such. This game, despite it being fantastic, has gotten lots of criticism. People don’t like the short run time or the heavy action gameplay, but then again, those things were part of the original game. 

I for one think this is another great game in the Resident Evil franchise, and I think right now is a really exciting time to be a Resident Evil fan. With Capcoms next announcement of a Resident Evil 4 remake expected to be released sometime in 2022, and rumors of Ethan Winters from RE7 set to return for Resident Evil 8 in 2021, the horror isn’t stopping anytime soon.