Resident Evil’s history with remakes has always been a positive one. BeyondResident Evil(2002,) even enhanced ports likeResident Evil: Deadly Silencedo wonders in capturing the essence of the franchise while introducing modernizations.Resident Evil 2(2019) proved the early spirit of the series could thrive even without fixed cameras, so expectations were naturally high forResident Evil 3(2020.)
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Like its source game,Resident Evil 3is a far more action oriented experience– arguably to its detriment. As a remake,RE3(2020) all but abandons the faithful approach of its two predecessors, opting for a more adaptation-esque approach.Resident Evil 3is the latest in a long line of legendary video game remakes, but it’s far from the greatest.
10Remake: Better Gunplay
One ofResident Evil 2(2019)’s greatest contributions to the franchise was settling on a gunplay style that managed to capture the fluidity of the post-RE4games with the tension & terror of the original fixed cameras games. With a focus on dynamic body reactions and well designed guns to play with,RE2set an excellent foundation forRE3to build itself off of.
While enemies themselves have been rebalanced (headshots are now more viable over taking out their knees,) Jill’s access to a dodge and her insane roster of weapons ensures that both her & Carlos will always have an exciting time making their way through Raccoon City.
9Original: Better Level Design
It’s important to recognize that theResident Evil 3remake has quite strong level design. The streets, the hospital, and even the sewers and NEST 2 are well designed stages– but they’re not as well designed as the original game’s Clock Tower or Racoon Park. Not just that, the remake completely drops the ball when it comes to puzzles.
As a result, the act of exploration is far less tense and players need to engage with the level design less meaningfully than they did in the original or evenResident Evil 2(2019.)RE3R’s core combat is good enough to carry the experience, but the level design isn’t quite up to stuff.
8Remake: Better Art Direction
The originalResident Evil 3is not a bad looking game by any means, but its art direction ultimately isn’t as strong as either of its predecessors. While it does make some good use of color early on, the game gradually gets darker and greyer in tone before settling on the rather drab Dead Factory for the finale.
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While the remake has similar issues in getting darker as the game goes on, the art direction is much better. This perhaps goes without saying, though, since the RE Engine is just so downright beautiful. The lighting, the shading, and the color palette used in the remake manage to invoke the originalRE3’s drabness.
7Original: Mercenaries Mode
One of the originalResident Evil 3’s most lasting contributions to the franchise was the introduction of Mercenaries Mode. Upon clearing the game, players can unlock an alternate scenario where Carlos, Nikolai, and Mikhail take on Operation: Mad Jackal. It’s an incredibly fun unlockable mode that quickly became a series staple.
So where is it? If there were ever a time to reintroduce Mercenaries back into the franchise, it should be with the remake of the game that quite literally introduced the mini-game. It’s a shame Capcom didn’t see fit to add Operation: Mad Jackal, especially since the core combat suits itself to a Mercenaries Mode extremely well.
6Remake: The Shop
Resident Evilis not the kind of franchise designed around single playthroughs. Even the later games likeResident Evil 4onwards consistently and actively try to encourage replay value. The remake capitalizes on this need for replay value with the inclusion of a Shop. By completing challenges in-game, players can earn Points to buy items for future play through.
Not only are the challenges fun to complete and reward playing through the campaign in creative ways while experimenting with different difficulty modes, the actual Shop unlockables are great. To name a few notable ones: two Hip Pouches, early access to both the Lockpick & Bolt Cutter (perfect for speedrunning,) infinite ammo, and coins that buff Jill’s damage & defense while gradually healing her over time.
5Original: More Costumes
Cosmetics always make for nice, safe, and fun unlockables. Even if a game can’t offer much else besides a change in clothes, sometimes that’s enough to incentivize another playthrough. The originalResident Evil 3notably featured more costumes than any other game in the series, allowing players to customize Jill with quite a bit of wiggle room.
For whatever reason, the remake all but downplays this, only featuring a revised version of Jill’s mini-skirt as Pre-Order DLC and her S.T.A.R.S. uniform fromResident Evil 1. Carlos does at least have a costume variant this time around, but it’s just his classic hair from the original game (also locked by Pre-Order DLC.)
4Remake: Better Writing
Perhaps it goes without saying, but theResident Evilfranchise’s writing quality has increased considerably over the years. While the original games all have incredibly charming scripts and genuinely gripping stories, they leave much to be desired in actual character depth and, at times, even plot cohesion.
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The remake does a great job at fleshing out Jill’s character, giving Carlos actual depth & a deeper connection to Jill, fixing Nikolai’s motivations where his actions now make consistent sense, and generally just being paced better than the original as far as storytelling goes. The final confrontation between Jill & Carlos and Nikolai in particular is a nice note to end the game on.
3Original: Nemesis Is Actually Scary
Resident Evil 3(2020) does a good job at building up to the boss fights against Nemesis, but the in-game encounters against him leave much to be desired. For starters, Nemesis isn’t isn’t that aggressive in the remake, barely stalking Jill. The original, on the other hand, has Nemesis constantly popping out at Jill.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that Nemesis isn’t actually as present as he may seem in the original release, but his abrupt and sudden appearances aren’t accompanied with cutscenes that immediately take players out of the action and essentially signal that they’re safe for the time being.
2Remake: Great Companion Piece To Resident Evil 2 (2019)
With a story that’s much smaller in scope than eitherResident Evil 1or2while set roughly around the same time as the latter,Resident Evil 3has always felt like something of a companion piece toResident Evil 2. The remake capitalizes on this even further than its source game, really driving the connections home.
While there’s a bafflingly missed opportunity to showcase Nemesis inside of the police station,RE3ties intoRE2in a lot of clever ways while also fleshing out the world the second remake established.Resident Evil 3works in conjunction with2to create a realer depiction of Raccoon City.
1Original: Live Selection
Beyond just Nemesis, Live Selection is arguably the defining feature of the originalResident Evil 3. Along with featuring multiple endings, the original game would allow Jill to feature instances where players would be forced to make a split-decision, usually tied to Nemesis. Not only were these instances frequent, certain choices changed the game considerably.
It seemed as though Live Selection would be integrated into the remake’s core gameplay loop, but it’s actually stripped out entirely. There are absolutely no branching paths in the remake, nor is there anything even remotely resembling Live Selection. The remake is far more linear on a whole.
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