On this day in 1998, Capcom’sResident Evil 2first launched onto PlayStation. Not to be confused with thecritically acclaimed remake ofResident Evil 2, the originalintroduced players to new characters and enemies more than two decades prior.
Resident Evil 2’s playable protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, would then become hugely popular in the series and lead their own installments in the future.Resident Evil 2’s Raccoon City Police Departmentserves as another claustrophobic and suspenseful environment, as did the Spencer Mansion from the firstResident Evil. Further, the debut of lickers and other horrifying bioweapons offered new frights. Today, fans have another reason to honor the title as it marks its place in survival-horror history.
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Resident Evilcelebrates today’s momentous occasion with asmall tribute toResident Evil 2. It is officially the 24th anniversary of the title, which makes it only a couple of years younger than its predecessor and the IP’s inception. Contemporary survival-horror has arguably been shaped by these earlyResident Evilexperiences, withResident Evil 2’s memorable characters and A and B scenarios staying highly influential inResident Evil 2’s modern remake. Recently, fans have shared some of their favorite moments from the originalResident Evil 2.
WhileResident Evil 2accentuates action with many more zombies present at any given time, the survival-horror aspect is not undervalued and still generates some of the original trilogy’s most tense moments. For example, Worm-Baby notes a “blink-and-you’ll miss moment” with a licker that quickly crawls along the opposite side of a window in the RPD, saying that it “really set the tone” as their first horror game.
Seth T mentions the hectic introduction toResident Evil 2, where players must “bob and weave zombies while also learning the controls on the fly” as they hurry to the RPD. Indeed, the originalResident Evilgames' tank controls and fixed camera anglesmay be divisive nowadays, but they had decidedly added to the survival-horror element in each and make them uniquely identifiable.
Graphical fidelity and gameplay controls have since improved in the 24 years betweenResident Evil 2’s launch and today. But fans still appreciateResident Evil 2for the seminal attributes it lent to survival-horror and today’sResident Eviltitles. With noResident Evil 2in 1998, for example, fans would not have received a modern remake that is beloved by so many players, let alone characters such as Leon. There aremany reasons to celebrateResident Evil 2on its 24th anniversary and players continue to share their adoration for the franchise.
TheResident Evil 2remake is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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