LogFAQs > #946306845

33. Resident Evil Code: Veronica [Game] (20 points)
Nominated by: Dark Silvergun (1/5 remaining)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0qQQ4iSp2E

Importance: 4
Fear: 6
Snake: 10

The black sheep of the franchise. Not quite a main series title, not quite a spin-off, it exists in a weird limbo for the series, initially released on a quickly failing console that would be the first time the series appeared on a non-Sony system. Code: Veronica boasted impressive 3D visuals for the time, and in my opinion, still looks pretty damn awesome today. It stars my girl Claire, and is a direct sequel to her ending in Resident Evil 2, where she heads to a European Umbrella headquarters in search of her brother Chris. If you thought RE3 was bombastic, the intro of Code: Veronica will leave your jaw dropped. It will even make the Anderson films blush as normal college student Claire dodges out of the way of helicopter bullets, sprints faster than a helicopter, and clears a flight of stairs in a single bound. It's stupid, it's ridiculous, it's pure Resident Evil and I love it! The rest of the game is rather subdued however. After the intro, Claire is captured and brought to Rockfort Island, as a prisoner. The island is quickly attacked, and the prison's guard, Rodrigo, lets you out. The game starts off with this impressively slow atmosphere, a dank prison cell dripping with moisture, leading to a rainy scene up above, in a cemetery. It doesn't take long for zombies to start rising from their graves however, and Claire is caught in the middle of it all, as she scrambles and cowers out of the way, full of PTSD fresh from the Raccoon City Incident a mere two/three months ago. This intro quickly sets up the player for what kind of RE experience this is going to be: challenging, claustrophobic, and full of zombies and monsters. We meet Steve, the most annoying character in the series depending on who you ask, and then the true game pretty much starts here. We explore the complex, find out twists and turns through files, and dodge and shoot plenty of enemies along the way.

As an RE vet, I can safely say this is one of the most challenging games in the series. Zombies seem to take a ton of hits to be put down, zombies now populate rooms by the dozen, and healing and ammo can be tough to find, especially in early game. Bosses here are the hardest in the series, no ifs, ands, or buts. Tyrant T-078 is an unflinching tank fought in a prison cell-sized arena, and if you don't have the proper amount of grenade rounds or explosive bow gun bolts, you're not getting through it. A mutated Steve you run from in the late game hits hard and seems impossible to avoid, once again, if you don't have the proper healing items, you're not getting through it. My first time ever through this game, I didn't even finish it because of this fight. Then there's the final boss, Alexia; her first form is easy enough, but once she starts flying all bets are off as the game struggles to target her as well as having to deal with annoying insects she lets out to pester your feet. There are also some spots of artificial difficulty unfortunately, and you can't see them coming either. Midway through the game, Claire will get captured by Alexia and switch you over to Chris; the thing is, whatever you had in Claire's inventory, will not be available to Chris. There are even more soft-lock opportunities like this, and I really have to question why they either didn't you warn first or just emptied her inventory into the box for you. It's not like RE really follows any sort of continuity with item boxes & inventories anyway. I think this really soured the game for many people, and I totally understand why.

So, maybe the gameplay isn't the series' best here, but what I really love about this game is its Gothic atmosphere, main villains, and strong thematic storytelling. This is the first game in the series to use full 3D environments, and while some areas look a little empty and has that Dreamcasty aesthetic (which I totally love by the way), areas like Alfred's private residence, the Ashford palace, and torture chamber are some of the creepiest and intricate areas in the franchise. Alfred's residence boasts a suspended doll as a centerpiece, the camera slowly panning up with it constantly in view, before revealing its head on the very top floor. It's shots like these that make fixed camera angles so worth it, it brings a level of film-making craft on not just a cinematic level, but a gameplay level too that few other series can even come close to matching. On to the story, the game establishes this rivalry between the Redfields and the Ashfords, both brother-sister combos, comparing and contrasting their relationships with each other. Interestingly, opposite genders are placed as the main rivals, Claire to Alfred, and Chris to Alexia. Claire and Alfred are similar in that they both idolize and can be somewhat dependent on their sibling, while Chris and Alexia act as the guardians and guiding hands to their siblings. Barring some incredibly out-dated dialogue ("cross-dressing freak" anyone?), Code: Veronica further examines gender by having Alfred impersonate his sister Alexia, showing just how attached he is to his sister and how insane he has gotten over the years since she had frozen herself. This is still Resident Evil and must be taken at a B-movie grain of salt of course, but I still find these relationships the game weaves to be incredibly compelling and is a lot of the game's main source of horror.

Ultimately, I really think Code: Veronica is a hardcore survival horror fan's game. Its incredibly tough gameplay and plot that can verge on stupidity for many will be a hard sell for your average gamer. There's a reason Capcom mistreats this game, such as seemingly skipping over it for the remake treatment or putting out a version on PS4 that's the PS2 version instead of the nice HD port the released just a few years prior. For Resident Evil fans, it's a must though. I think it's Claire's best game, has amazing lore for both Umbrella and the expanded universe at large, and the monster design and soundtrack are superb. If you somehow missed this one, rectify that as quick as you can. The rest of you, play at your own risk.

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Bare feet on the tile with my head up in the clouds
https://imgur.com/1e1e70S