More than 20 years ago, Capcom’s “Chain Combination Cold Rice Set” was unforgettable

Nowadays, it has become a common thing for game manufacturers to “fry cold rice”. Although this behavior is criticized by many people as being old-fashioned and lacking innovation, some excellent “cold rice” has been recognized by players, especially those that make classic games A boutique with a new radiance.

Speaking of which, I have to mention Capcom. As the “Yuanshi Tianzun” in the cold rice industry, no matter the history, quantity, and type of fried cold rice, other manufacturers are far behind. The more common ones include many arcade games in the form of simulators. The packaged “collection cold rice”, and the “re-cold rice” that repeatedly launched old works.

However, what left the deepest impression on me was a complete set of “Serial Combination Cold Rice Package” on the PS console more than 20 years ago, which not only showed Capcom’s production attitude of excellence at that time, but also tried every means to bring feelings to players. It really makes people love and hate, and the protagonists of this package are the “Resident Evil” and “Resident Evil 2” that we are very familiar with.

PS first edition cover

On March 22, 1996, “Resident Evil” (Resident Evil) was released on the Sony PS console. The significance of this game does not need to be elaborated. The first version of PS sold 5.05 million sets worldwide and was a blockbuster. At this time, Capcom was preparing to build this series. Become a trump card, and make every effort in the fields of development and publicity. However, during the development of the first-generation works, due to the limitations of the development cycle and disc capacity, the team was forced to cut off some scenes in the game. on the agenda.

Initially, Capcom had set up a project called “Resident Evil Dash”. Originally, it wanted to add deleted scenes to greatly improve the first generation, but this project was canceled almost without starting. Capcom decided to put the main The development energy was put into “Resident Evil 2”, but it still did not give up the first generation, so a series of classic fried rice operations began.

SS version cover

On July 25, 1997, “Resident Evil” launched the Sega SS ported version. Although it was late after more than a year, Sega attached great importance to this work. The game was transplanted by Nextech. Acquired as a wholly-owned subsidiary, the SS version of “Resident Evil” can be said to be a customized game from Capcom to Sega. As we all know, the 3D function of the Saturn host is obviously insufficient. After waiting for a long time, the player finally ushered in a transplanted version whose overall picture performance is obviously inferior to PS. Due to the weakness of light, shadow, smoke and other special effects, it affects the terrifying adventure atmosphere. The host memory, the background texture is finer than the PS version, which is one of the few advantages.

SS version of fire and smoke with mesh to simulate translucency

In order to make up for the disadvantage of the screen performance, the transplant team added some original innovative content to the SS version. The most important one is the Battle Mode, which is similar to an arcade. Players need to destroy in multiple rooms under the time and ammunition constraints. The enemy survived, and there are also some brand-new enemies, such as the special-shaped hunter named Tick, and the golden tyrant BOSS that appeared in the battle mode, etc. These contents are still exclusive to the SS version.

The SS version of “Resident Evil” can be regarded as a carefully transplanted work. The developers have made full use of the advantages of the host as much as possible, and the exclusive new content makes the game worthwhile to collect and commemorate, instead of being reduced to a PS version imitation, but eventually in Japan Only 170,000 sets of sales were sold, and Capcom also completely recognized the disadvantages of the SS host, which directly led to the stillbirth of the SS version of “Resident Evil 2”.

PS director’s cut cover

On September 25, 1997, the PS version of “Resident Evil Director’s Cut” (Resident Evil Director’s Cut) was released. On the basis of the original PS version, players have a variety of modes to choose from this time: Original Mode, which is consistent with the original version, and novice-oriented difficulty. The greatly reduced Beginner Mode, and finally the new Arrange Mode.

This new mode is specially prepared for those core players who have already cleared the original game several times. Most items and enemy positions have been redesigned, the perspective of some scenes has changed, and the protagonist also has a new costume.

In the director’s cut version, the classic initial weapon Beretta 92F pistol is upgraded to an enhanced version, which not only has a higher rate of fire, but also has a certain chance of direct headshot kills. Some faster zombies are added to the scene, and they are unfortunately killed on the balcony Forrest, a member of the B team, will also become a zombie. In addition, for European and American players, the automatic aiming function that was not available in the original version has been added, which makes the operation a lot more convenient.

Director’s Cut new perspective, bottom right is the original

These new additions have greatly enriched the content of the original game, but if that’s the case, there is no doubt that this is a cold meal that lacks value, and the design of different versions of the game records is not common in the past, so that players spend more money to pay for it. To play it all over again, I am afraid that only a few fans will buy it. In order to make this director’s cut more profitable, Capcom has added an additional CD to include the heavyweight content: “Resident Evil 2” experience Version.

One of the most important demos in game history

In the environment where online media was not yet popular, players mainly rely on traditional media and store promotion to obtain information about new games. It is not convenient to obtain game experience versions in physical form. Manufacturers are also very cautious due to the cost of additional CD production, such as “Resident Evil” It is a very rare opportunity for an unreleased masterpiece such as 2” to be tried at home in person, and Capcom has also successfully seized this opportunity, allowing players to pay to experience the new work and pass it on by word of mouth.

King Ada in the trial version does not show his full face

In the experience version of “Resident Evil 2”, players can only operate Leon, starting directly from the street. The story flow is basically the same as that of the official version of Leon. Players can experience classic scenes such as talking with the owner of the weapon shop, meeting the lickers for the first time, and finally Came to the STARS office on the second floor of the police station, where the mysterious woman Ada Wang appeared, and then the black screen ended. There is no animated CG in the trial version, and the content of the official version, such as the encounter with Claire and the seriously injured black police officer Marvin, has also been cut off, and King Ada appeared earlier (the official version met Claire in the office). The experience version that didn’t even have the archive function, but let countless players replay it over and over again.

At that time, some domestic game dealers sold it directly under the name of the official version. When I played it for the first time, I used it for a long time. I turned over all the corners of the experience version scene several times, even more carefully than playing the official version later. The anticipation for the sequel is evident.

Resident Evil 2 first edition cover

The PS director’s cut version has sold 3.77 million sets worldwide. As a purely enhanced work that does not even count as a remake, it can be said to be very successful. The experience version of “Resident Evil 2” has played a crucial role. The development strength of , successfully harvested a wave of fans’ feelings, and at the same time showed players the powerful charm of the sequel.

On January 10, 1998, “Resident Evil 2” was officially released on the PS console, and soon achieved a global sales of 5.82 million sets. Capcom also opened a new wave of fried rice.

Resident Evil 2 Shock Edition Cover

“Resident Evil 2” PS version’s unique dual protagonist exterior and interior design can be described as rigorous, the fourth survivor, tofu and other hidden elements are also rich enough, the game content has not much room for expansion, Capcom set its sights on Sony’s new launch The revolutionary accessories: Dual Shock handle, also known as the first generation PS vibration handle, on June 8, 1998, the PS version of “Resident Evil 2 Dual Shock Version” (Resident Evil 2 Dual Shock Version) was released.

Resident Evil 2 Shock Edition Back Cover

In the new vibration version, when the player shoots or is attacked, the handle will have obvious vibration feedback, which was a very fresh experience at the time, but in addition, it did not bring more convenient operation to the player, tank-like movement And the design that cannot change the perspective makes the two joysticks basically useless, and players are generally more accustomed to using the cross keys to control characters. The newly added extreme battle mode (Extreme Battle), players can choose four characters: Leon, Claire, Ada King, Chris, use limited weapons and equipment to destroy the enemy and pass through many room scenes, and finally find four in the police station. Anti-virus bombs can be cleared.

There are three kinds of difficulty in the extreme battle, which can be selected and archived. The positions of props, enemies and bombs are random, and the repeatability is very strong. It can be said to be an enhancement and upgrade of the battle mode of the SS version of “Resident Evil”. Finally, a super-simple Rookie mode is designed for newcomers. You can have powerful weapons such as unlimited ammunition rocket launchers without cheats, and you can easily enjoy the fun of customs clearance.

The addition of the first-generation protagonist Chris is a highlight

“Resident Evil 2 Shock Edition” did not arouse much response. The sales volume in Japan was only 260,000 sets, which was not even as good as the 290,000 sets of the Japanese version of “Resident Evil Gun Crisis”, which had a very poor reputation. The important reason is that The new selling point of “vibration” requires players to purchase a new vibration controller. At that time, when this peripheral was just launched, there were not many games optimized for it, and most users took a wait-and-see attitude. The newly added mode is obviously far less attractive than the “Resident Evil 2 Experience Edition”, which brings a huge sense of freshness, and the final result can only be an ordinary cold meal.

Resident Evil Director’s Cut Shock Edition Cover

However, Capcom chose to dig out the players’ feelings thoroughly, and once again pulled out the first-generation works of Resident Evil. On August 6, 1998, the PS version of “Resident Evil Director’s Cut Dual Shock Version” (Resident Evil Director’s Cut Dual Shock Version) was released. , as the name suggests, the game has added a vibration function on the basis of the previous director’s cut version, and replaced some new styles of background music. If it is just these new content, it is really a work, so Capcom comes with a name called Complete Disc the second disc.

This time, the trial version of the new game is not included, but the official perfect archive of all versions of “Resident Evil” and “Resident Evil 2” is provided. Players can write to the memory card through operations, which makes up for the incompatibility of records in different versions. The trouble that needs to be replayed, in addition to that, is the demo image of “Resident Evil 1.5”, this classic unreleased experiment, which is made public for the first time here. It’s a pity that this informational CD is only available in the Japanese version, and the US version has only been cut off and only has 1CD.

Data disc with perfect record of all editions

There are two re-engravings of a game on the same platform. I am afraid that only Capcom can do such a thing. Even if the Japanese version with rich extra content is added, the director’s cut shock version will only sell 160,000 sets in the end. , From the summer of 1997 to the summer of 1998, in just one year, Capcom cleverly used players’ expectations for two Resident Evil works, and the output of a crazy fried rice, the quantity and frequency are rare in the history of the game.

Looking at it now, these Resident Evil versions of the year all have enhanced content experience, which is quite sincere from the production point of view, but due to the limitations of physical CD distribution, it can only be continued by launching new versions. Perfecting the design concept brings extra money and time cost to players, and it has also been criticized a lot. Nowadays, it is very convenient to release and update digital platforms, but how to make old games look new will always be a hot topic.

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