Summary
Welcome to RE-Rewind. Brig Newspaper's latest column tracking the importance of gaming's most iconic horror franchise. Each article in this series will focus on one mainline Resident Evil entry in the run-up to Resident Evil Requiem
Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 in all its forms has captivated audiences for over 25 years, and this is due to how iconic the game is.
From letting players explore the series’ most iconic location, the RPD, to experiencing the narrative from the point of view of franchise poster boy Leon S. Kennedy, Resident Evil 2 is an almost perfect package that only got better when it was remade in 2019.
Initially released a year and a half after the original Resident Evil, the sequel was developed to be twice as ambitious. The controls became slicker, the voice acting remained uncanny, but stood leagues above that of RE1, and the level design got an upgrade, both in terms of replayability and general design.
Taking over from Shinji Mikami was director Hideki Kamiya, who led a larger team than Mikami had with most of the staff being new to Capcom. Though both men disagreed about the direction of the game early in production, they settled when Mikami shifted into the producer position.
Released January 21, 1998, Resident Evil 2 went on over 6 million copies across all consoles. Most recently the game received a port to Sony’s PlayStation 4 and 5 consoles.
A Shiny New Remake
If the sales figures for the original game seem impressive, then the remake’s sales will be shocking. As of 2025, Resident Evil 2 remake has sold 15.8 million units, with this number likely to spike up after the release of Resident Evil Requiem.
The number of sales are no surprise, the remake swept through the gaming industry and left a sizable impact that’s still felt seven years on. It stands as proof that modern remakes that are made with a general audience in mind can still hold the same weight as their original material.
Following the same story of rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, Resident Evil 2 remake is less of a straight forward sequel to RE1 than some may think.
Though taking place after the Spencer mansion incident, Leon and Claire finds themselves in the middle of a full blown zombie apocalypse in Raccoon City. Seeking shelter in the city’s police department, the duo stumble upon Umbrella’s horrifying bio-weapon research, trying their best to avoid the global conglomerate’s most powerful weapon – the imposing Mr X.
Their’s a reliability to the stars of the sequel that’s missing in the original. Leon and Claire aren’t trained search and rescue operatives like the members of S.T.A.R.S, they are just ordinary people fighting against an unstoppable force.
It’s a great place to start in the franchise because of the reasons above, and that’s why Capcom remade the game instead of jumping back to do an over-the-shoulder version of Resident Evil 1.
New Gameplay, New Challenges
Ditching the fixed camera angles the original trilogy of games were known for, Resident Evil 2 remake takes on the third-person perspective that the series helped popularise.
The player now experiences the horror’s of bioweaponary safely tucked behind the shoulders of Leon and Claire. This change is one that was done for both accessibility reasons and original purposes.
To separate Capcom’s set of remakes from the new mainline entries like Biohazard (7) and Villiage (8), the decision to use the third-person perspective was made. This meant that players that prefer third-person survival horror could run through the remakes, and those that prefer their horror more vivid could take on the task of running through 7 and 8.
Leon and Claire are more nimble than they were in 1998, easily jogging around the halls of the R.P.D but they don’t have enough tools to be safe all the time. Sure they can briskly run, but how can they run away from that quadrupedal Lickers that can rip them apart from half way up a hallway?
The answer is simple – you have to fight back. Combat in the remake has been given a major upgrade with weapons being responsive and powerful, Leon and Claire’s arsenals are split 50/50. Leon gets strong weapons like the shotgun and magnum to power through tough enemies, whereas Claire is given the SMG and grenade launcher to better deal with crowds.
Players can choose to play Leon or Claire at the beginning of the game. Both characters face different challenges but explore the same areas. Unlike the original game’s twin story format that would make picking up items on one character, leave the other character without said item, Resident Evil 2 remake’s stories remain separate no matter what.
Both characters can grab the same items on different runs and not have to worry about missing out on a herb or a batch of ammo.
The changes brought to Resident Evil 2 remake made it a joy to play through for old fans and new comers a like, as someone who had only played Resident Evil: Biohazard before, the remake left blew me away.
Personal Experience
I picked up my first copy of Resident Evil 2 remake the day before I moved to Stirling for university. It was my going-away present for myself that would tide me over for the coming months.
Booting up the remake in my halls with the volume low and lights off felt like I was playing a game I wasn’t meant to as a kid again – it’s a moment I have cherished for almost half a decade.
I chose Leon for my first run. This decision came down to the fact he could get a shotgun early into his campaign and I knew that to go against the horrors of Raccoon City I would need a bit of buckshot.
The crawl to figure out the medallion puzzle early in the game got me acquainted with a rule that would hold me for the rest of my playthroughs of the RE games – sometimes running is the best option you’ve got.
I couldn’t spare the rounds to kill the Licker on the west wing second floor hallway to the S.T.A.R.S office, so I had to learn fast to stay quiet and move slow, unfortunately, Capcom knew players like me would do this so they introduce Mr X to squash any sense of comfort.
The wall of a bioweapon hits like a truck and moves like one too. Outmaneuvering him was my biggest obstacle in the R.P.D section, but the stalker-like enemy made me truly fall in love with the cat-and-mouse gameplay.
It took me 12 hours to beat Leon’s side of the story on normal difficulty, 4 of those hours were spent in the sewers. I felt relieved to have survived, but I knew to really experience the breadth of the story, I would have to give Claire’s side a bash.
Doing the second run on Claire, I was able to clear the game in almost half the time. I knew where I was going and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of different story beats the game offered between the dual protagonists.
Four years after beating both stories for the first time I’ve replayed them at least two more times each. It’s not my favourite of the series, but the accessibility and instantly iconic status it’s received is hard to disagree with.
Compared to the Resident Evil 3 remake, Capcom’s 2019 offering stands as their best showcase of modern third-person horror.
Featured Image Credit: Capcom