Retro Corner: Resident Evil 2: Dual Shock Edition (PS1) Review · 3:48am Nov 1st, 2019
A new edition of Retro Corner is up, and we continue the Halloween season with arguably the best game in the franchise. It's no surprise that Resident Evil 2 is often hailed as one of the most noteworthy games in the series. That took the series in the right direction and if not made Resident Evil more popular. It also would usher the genre further because thanks to the game’s success helped other studios chip into make their own. Komani would come out with Silent Hill a year later in 1999 and producing a less action version with the focus on atmosphere. While Infogame would throw their luck once again with rebooting Alone in the Dark in 2001. Of course, more followed in the years to come with IPs like Eternal Darkness, Fatal Frame and Amnesia. They would even expand the horror genre into multiplayer with Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th the game.
For the review, RE2 might have moved the series in a proper direction, but there are many questions that need asking. How bad has the game aged since its release in 1998? I asked this because when looking at RE1, it's clear how flawed the original came off. With odd level design choices, limited actions such as no 180-degree turns, and back tracking showed these in spades. Despite the first entry’s issues, RE1 was a success with selling 2.75 million units for its first release in 1996. Even the Director’s Cut sold over a million convincing Capcom to make a second entry. On a side note, I will be reviewing the Dual Shock Edition that came out in late 1998 since there is no point of reviewing the original release. The Dual Shock Edition is still the same title but with added features so you can see my reason.
