Resident Evil 3 – My favorite survival horror game
Resident Evil 3 is a masterpiece of the survival horror genre. I would go as far to say it perfected the classic style of RE gameplay. The inclusion of a dodge, ammo mixing and randomized scenarios puts it above even RE1 remake and RE4. RE3 nails everything I love about the series. While other entries do certain things better than the 3rd entry, RE3 is never far behind in comparison.
The Remake does fall short of the magic that saturates the original. But it’s worth a few things to appreciate it for. The reimagining of Carlos, Nicholai and Mikhail are fantastic. I especially hope they bring Carlos back at a future date. He went from being a forgettable goober to one of the most likeable characters in recent memory.
The intro is the best in the series
Resident Evil 3 has one of the most viceral intros to any game ive seen. Raccoon City is a full scale war zone, theres no where left to hide and civilians and police alike are fading fast. Zombies are everywhere, desperate battles are being fought left and right- no one seems to be able to stand their ground for long.
This is where the UBCS comes into the fray; only to be just as overwhelmed as everyone else. The intro concludes with the remains of the Raccoon Swat Team…now reanimated into yet more shuffling horrors.
This intro still puts a pit in my stomach- RE3 in general emphasizes that the zombies are legion. Most of the deaths shown in this cutscene are people that have been cornered by several if not dozens of them. It gives much needed context into how terrifying Raccoon’s downfall really was.
Resident Evil 3 is a perfect blend of horror and action
I love everything about Resident Evil 3. It’s non stop challenge without losing the quiet atmospheric dread that RE2 established so well. Raccoon City in all it’s ruined dreamlike glory is on full display in this game. So much detail is in each camera angle; all the trash and wrecked cars paint a picture of absolute chaos – that may have happened only a few hours ago.
The zombies have more variation and detail put in to them as well. They’re gruesome to behold – the sickly dark green color they have has much more impact then the shade of white they usually are.
At the same time, Jill has to do some major stunts to keep surviving. From the very beginning she’s shot out the side of a building by an explosion that seems to happen for no reason. Later on She has to run from an exploding gas station and even jump out of a derailing train. The high stakes action found usually at the end of an Resident Evil is how the 3rd game drive it’s plot forward.
The icing on the cake is the dodge mechanic. It’s difficult to do relyably, but still encourages you to take risks in combat as it can set you up for a counter attack.
Nemesis is a unique challenge
To this day nothing has matched the sheer stress and panic original Nemesis instills in me. He’s such a gigantic problem everytime He shows up. His sheer aggresion and tankiness force you to focus on him even if hes not in the immediate area. A specific theme plays when hes around – and that can turn into his trademark kill theme at any moment.
Its a nightmare when he camps an area you need to go through as well. Aside from the scripted points where he always shows up, his tendency to stay in one area creates a neat organic challenge. The area where you have to gather the jewels to enter the Raccoon City Hall is the one that sticks with me. Nemesis is glued to that area and charges you as soon as you enter.
A detail about his design that I love is that the rocket launcher only slows him down. He’s way more dangerous bare handed and it only gets worse when he sprouts a tentacle. Enemies that can still attack even 10 feet away are usually the most dangerous in Resident Evil. From this range Nemesis gets several grabs and combined with his willingness to ignore bullets; He becomes a legitimate grappler.
Resident Evil 3’s randomization keeps the game fresh
The most unique thing RE3 offers is It’s variations on specific events. This game doesn’t let you get comfortable just because you’ve beaten it a couple times. Enemies, items and puzzles all have several variations you have to be ready for. Expecting a room to be full of zombies? Wrong. Its full of hunters, go get your magnum.
The randomization has had an interesting effect on the speedruns of RE3. Speedrunners memorize each possible solution to the puzzles and to get even one on the first try is a huge deal. The last run I’ve watched even used a program which always gave you the grenade launcher instead of the magnum in the S.T.A.R.S locker.
If You’ve played RE3 Remake, You absolutely should play the original.
The game has been ported to several different platforms. Not all of them are easy to get but if you can I suggest the GameCube version. The upscaled graphics are a huge improvement from the muddy PS1 textures. The old PC version at this point is too much hassle to setup and is only used for speedrunning purposes.
Regardless of what you choose the game has aged incredibly well. The pacing is the best in the series and theres no spots that ever feel like too much of a chore. It’s a crazy ride through and through.
