Capcom is set to release Resident Evil VII in a day or so and we all know that that survival horror series is their bread and butter but they have so many other IP’s in their vault from earlier years too. It makes me wonder why they don’t shave a little off the budgets from all the Resident Evil Remasters and look into rebooting some of these survival horror classics. There’s already an established audience and some guaranteed revenue for Capcom and those who never had the chance experience these franchises would surely check them out as well. They could even fix up the earlier releases and remaster them a la REMake for some additional cas- I mean nostalgia.
5. Haunting Ground
Haunting Ground is a psychological thriller where you’ve got to hide from your attackers. Think of it like an older Outlast but in the third person perspective. You play as Fiona Belli and along with her canine pal Hewie, you’re both trapped in a hellish castle after a terrible car accident. Fiona wakes up in a cage with no idea where she is or how she got there but there is a spot of luck, her cage is unlocked and she can escape. Controlling Hewie is a huge key to your success. You need to make sure you gain his trust so that he will attack for you, sniff out for you and basically lead you to safety. Haunting Ground was said to be Capcom’s homage to the Clock Tower series with a few added twists and they nailed that vibe completely. What makes this title stand out in the survival horror genre is the fact that you don’t really get to fight in this game; it’s all about hiding, running and surviving. There are some spots where you can damage your assailant, but they are far and few between and sometimes can only be used once. The A.I. that developers can program in current games is simply amazing, like Alien: Isolation for example, where the Alien follows you throughout the game and is never in the same spot. Alien: Isolation truly revolutionized survival horror games for this generation, and I hope that Capcom utilizes it for a new Haunting Ground, or dare I say it: Nemesis in Resident Evil 3.
4. Onimusha: Warlords
I had this title in my original Xbox recently, and never in a million years did I expect to see beloved Keiji Inafune’s name as co-creator. Never had I known that he had dabbled in survival horror, and it makes me want to continue my journey with this series. The game is somewhat historical as it takes place during Japan’s Sengoku period. You play as Hidemitsu Samanosuke Akechi, who recently received a mysterious letter from his cousin. His cousin Princess Yuki tells him that strange things are afoot at the castle. Being a family man Samanosuke rushes to the castle to see what all the hubbub is about. He finds the Genma are the cause of all these issues and that he must destroy these demons or lose Yuki and the castle forever. To me this game is basically Resident Evil with swords and I fell in love with it. Capcom is sitting on some Samurai gold here and I don’t know why they are scared to take another chance. People love to be scared, and to be scared by some historical demons and ghosts is even more entertaining. I can just imagine how beautiful feudal Japan would look running on Capcom’s new RE Engine; it would be jaw dropping but I’d like them to leave it in the 3rd person.
3. Resident Evil: Outbreak
Capcom’s only shot at an online Resident Evil experience came on the PlayStation 2 console, and while it was not forgettable, it just came before its time. The title was released in March of 2004 and sported the controls of the GameCube classics, but instead of playing as a Redfield or a Kennedy you were just a common person in the Resident Evil universe. You were teamed up with a eight other people either online or A.I. and had to survive certain scenarios to escape the city. Slant 6 attempted a multiplayer Resident Evil title and it failed miserably. I enjoyed playing through the very short Umbrella Corps campaign but felt that playing as the wrong side of history just wasn’t what I was looking for. With the online capabilities that Microsoft, Sony (and to a lesser degree Nintendo) have created an online Resident Evil title would sell like hotcakes. The most similar title I can think of right now that fits this idea is Tom Clancy’s The Division. You are thrown into a world of chaos where a virus has taken over and have to retake the city while killing copious amounts of looters. Heck, you could even call it Resident Evil: S.T.A.R.S. and have people defend Raccoon City from the first onslaught of the T-virus. I know that I would buy this game and I would play this with all my buddies for hours on end. I really hope the success of Resident Evil VII gets the head-honchos at Capcom thinking about a nice online Resident Evil experience for today’s consoles.
2. Ghosts ‘n Goblins
I have some very fond memories of playing as Arthur to save his princess when I was just a wee lad. This game had some comedic sprites and such and I always laughed as I ran through the dark forest in my underpants since two hits killed me in that game. Capcom could seriously turn this into their version of Dark Souls. I think keeping the cartoony aspect to the game while making it insanely difficult would be something very new to us. The last “cute” game that was difficult and very adult oriented was Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and that was 3 video game generations ago. We all know Capcom has it in them to create a vast and wonderful world, Dragon’s Dogma and Breath of Fire come to mind, I would just like to see Arthur’s take fleshed out more. A nice dramatic story of how Arthur goes to hell to save the love of his life from an eternity of torment. Who wouldn’t buy this game? Since I’m hoping Capcom has a sense of humor, I’m thinking instead of the classic “You Died” screen they could just go with a shot of some Ignore with a skid mark. I know that I’d poop my pants if I have to fight a walking skeleton with just a sword so give me my pistols and shotguns instead please!
1. Dino Crisis
The same man that brought us Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, also brought us Dino Crisis, which makes me wonder why it didn’t take off as well as his other creation. Instead of mowing down slow mindless zombies, Regina is tasked with surviving an intelligent dinosaur onslaught on the island of Ibis. When you arrive on the island, you and your team are tasked with extracting Dr. Edward Kirk. Dr. Kirk, who was reported dead three years ago, is an important scientist who likes to make weapons, just think Tony Stark going bad. I remember enjoying this game when I was younger, but it was considerably more difficult than Resident Evil, looking for two or three pieces of a key-card was mind numbing. Poor Regina kept dying as I navigated her through the labs on the island and the jungle exterior. I think that with the constant popularity of dinosaurs, and the uptick in survival horror interest that Capcom could put some new life into this series. That way all of us Capcom fans can forget the terrible Dino Crisis 3 where somehow dinosaurs have escaped into space.
I was tempted on adding the Clock Tower series to this list, but I think that Haunting Ground is a better route to go just due to the fact it has a dog, and dogs are awesome. Sounds stupid I know and I’m giving up being chased after by a crazed man with huge scissors, but I’ll take a dog over that. What do you think? Will Capcom bring back any of these titles for the Switch, Xbox One or PlayStation 4?