The original Resident Evil games are classic and beloved titles that revolutionized the horror genre and raised it to a level of prominence in the video game industry. Millions of fans have fond memories of solving their complex puzzles, slaying terrifying zombies and other nightmarish creatures, and discovering the depth and insanity of the Umbrella Corporation's experiments.
As great as those original games are, no one can deny how important the recent remakes of the first three games have been. And with each sequential game has come more changes and improvements to the original versions. This can be seen well in the Resident Evil 2 remake. Capcom added much to the remake, but for the sake of creating a new and relevant experience, they also made the choice to cut certain features that appeared in the original game.
10 Tank Controls
In the original game, the playable character always moved in a direction relative to the camera's position. This meant that players would essentially "steer" the character in a way that was similar to how a tank moves, hence the nickname.
This control method was replaced completely in the remake. With the camera now having a free range of motion, the player can move the character in any desired location regardless of where the camera is positioned. This makes fighting the zombies a more thrilling experience and also helps improve the exploration of and immersion into the game's environments.
9 Static Camera
The ability to allow players free controls in the remake was possible by removing the static camera. In the original game, the camera would adhere to a fixed position in every area the player explored. Each new area would always change the camera's point of view as well, which would then change the orientation of the tank controls.
Now, the player has full control of a camera that has an "over the shoulder" design approach. The goal of the new camera is to provide the player with the best vantage point while also keeping the viewpoint close to the game's tense action.
8 The Giant Spider And Moth Enemies
Resident Evil 2 introduced many new enemy types to the Resident Evil franchise, with some of them being terrifying versions of real-world creatures. The giant alligator is one of the most memorable to fans, but there were others present, such as the giant spiders and giant moths.
The alligator returned, but the spiders and moths are completely absent from the remake. While some enemies were relocated to later parts of the game, an example being the infamous Clicker enemy, Capcom saw fit to remove every encounter with the exoskeletal monsters. There is no definite confirmation of the reason for their removal, but the prevailing theory is that they were seen as bizarre inclusions for the more detailed and realistic remake.
7 Large Quantities Of Zombies
Originally, zombies would crowd the players in much larger numbers. There was more of an emphasis on the shock value of having to quickly deal with many nearby enemies. Players would need to react quickly to the oncoming enemies and deduce the quickest option to escape the terrifying onslaught.
For this reimagined experience, zombies do not attack in mass. Instead, they are more complex threats that take more work by the player to bring down. They are more resilient to firepower, especially when playing a higher difficulty, with it usually taking numerous shots to the head to take them down. They will also actively pursue players, even from room to room.
6 Entering Rooms To Escape Zombies
When things became dangerous or risky for a player in the original game, they had the option to simply leave the area. Zombies always stayed in the same locations and did not venture into new portions of any buildings such as the Raccoon City Police Department (RPD).
This has been changed completely in the remake. The player can still skip fighting zombies and flee into an adjacent room, but their relief will not last long. Zombies will easily burst through any doors and continue to lock onto and chase the player. This change, which is due mostly to the absence of loading screens, creates a whole new level of intensity and challenge for the game.
5 Loading Screens
A brief loading screen would play in the original game anytime the player entered a new area. This feature delayed the gameplay every time, but it was also a signal that the player was free and clear of any stubborn zombies that might have been giving them too much trouble in the previous location.
Thanks to the new and much more powerful hardware of the latest consoles, the is no longer a need for these loading screens. This allows the game to feel more connected and removes the break in immersion. But for many players, it also takes away a saving grace that protected them from enemies they could not defeat.
4 Brad Vickers
In the original game, the player would pass through a tunnel pathway that led to RPD's entrance. In that tunnel, they could fight a lone zombie. If they inspected that zombie closely, they could discover that it was the zombified body of Brad Vickers, a supporting character from the first Resident Evil.
Capcom decided to remove this gruesome cameo in the remake. Instead of finding and fighting Brad's remains, if Leon or Claire passes through the tunnel, they can instead find a poster that promotes the RPD. Brad is featured prominently in that poster. This poster also hangs in the same spot where Brad's zombie was fought in the original, making it a clear reference to the character's now-redacted cameo.
3 Unbreakable Knives
Knives in the original game were simple and reliable tools. They were used to take down zombies when in close quarters and when the player was out of or needed to conserve ammo. It was a mechanic common to almost every game in the series.
For the remake, however, knives have seen a radical change in use and performance. Knives now have limited durability, meaning they will break after multiple uses, whether those uses be to open sealed objects or to kill zombies that have the player in a death grip. They also are fairly fragile, enough so that they will break after a couple of uses. This loss of repeated use is at least supplemented by the abundance of new knives the player can find throughout the game, though. The ability of the knives to break and the player's option to replace them are a combination that forces the player to be strategic with their use of the weapon.
2 Claire's Bow Gun
In both versions of the game, Claire is the primary protagonist of the game's second scenario. And in the original game, she and the other main protagonist, the aforementioned Leon, had noticeable differences in abilities. One of those differences was Claire's use of a bow gun.
In the spirit of adding calculated changes that help the remake feel like a new experience, Capcom removed the bow gun as a weapon option and essentially replaced it with two different ammo types for Claire's grenade launcher. In lieu of using a bow gun, the player is given both acid and incendiary rounds for the grenade launcher.
1 Campaign Interaction
One of the more interesting features of the original game was the way that Leon and Claire's story scenarios could interact and have an effect on each other. One example of this connectivity is that certain items, such as health or ammo, could be left alone in one playthrough so they could be found and used by another character in another story.
This level of interaction is not seen in the remake. Due to the game's alterations and a greater focus on strategy, each scenario works independently from each other. Item quantities cannot be manipulated to make one story easier or harder.