![]() ![]() Instead, he got in touch with an outside screenwriter named Noboru Sugimura who had some pretty fascinating idea about how things only hinted at in the first Resident Evil game could become the basis of a larger story. The reason why that decision didn’t ruin Resident Evil 2 is that Okamoto had no interest in deciding how the creators should do their jobs. They’re typically given by eager executives who see project dollars and don’t understand that the great franchises typically begin with works that, in many ways, stand tall on their own. ![]() The “save something for the sequel” directive has ruined many projects that ultimately put the franchise cart before the plotline horse. ![]() It’s an order that many film fans (especially horror film fans) are no doubt all-too-familiar with. It came in the form of a directive from Capcom supervisor Yoshiki Okamoto, who said that the game’s story should “create a proper link between the two games” in order to open the possibility for future projects. The second decision that shaped Resident Evil 2’s destiny was a corporate call that might make many fans and creators cringe. The sequel could have gone in a different direction in the hands of another producer, but Mikami was not willing to ship a sequel that didn’t match his own expectations for what a Resident Evil game should be. After all, Mikami had treated Resident Evil like a passion project. Somewhere along the way, Mikami decided that he was going to be the one to determine what the expectations of a Resident Evil game were. It’s really not that crazy when you think about it, though. Aliens is one of the greatest sequels of all-time (and inspired parts of Resident Evil 2 Remake), but the pitch meeting for it consisted of James Cameron simply walking up to a chalkboard and writing “Alien$.” The idea that a producer would take a sequel that is serviceable and ready to go and declare that it is not good enough even though that same producer had previously intended for this to be the end of that series is simply crazy. Most sequels (even good sequels with good intentions) are by their very nature cash grabs. Such a move is practically unheard of in the world of sequels. In the process, he ultimately decided that the first build of the game (now known as Resident Evil 1.5) was simply “dull and boring.” Kamiya was even less kind to that build of the game and would later describe it as a “piece of shit.” The pair decided to scrap almost the entire project even though it was, by all accounts, almost finished and ready to be shipped. ![]() While the brilliant Hideki Kamiya remained the director of Resident Evil 2, Mikami reportedly decided to take a greater hand in the sequel’s development in the months leading up to its planned release. The first decision was made by Shinji Mikami who took on the role of producer of Resident Evil 2after directing and essentially creating the original Resident Evil. There would have been those who respected its attempts to do something different, but there would have also been many fans who felt the game had tried too hard to subvert expectations. Fortunately, two decisions were made that would take However, it’s easy to imagine that this sequel would have been divisive. Had Resident Evil 2’s original build actually made it onto store shelves, we don’t know what the reaction would have been. The path of least resistance would have almost certainly been to deliver “more of the first game.” Imagine making a sequel to a game like that, and trying to live up to the expectations of fans of the original as well as studio overlords who wanted another blockbuster. You can draw a line on Resident Evil’s 1996 release date and group together every horror game that came before and has come after. It not only proved that survival horror was capable of making money, but that these games could be as terrifying (if not more terrifying) as the most effective horror films. The original Resident Evil wasn’t the first horror game, but it was the first that popularized the survival horror genre. Resident Evil 2’s task was especially daunting: it had to build upon a game that changed everything. We’ve all suffered through sequels made by people who clearly didn’t care, but the truth is that there are few jobs in entertainment more thankless and daunting than trying to deliver a sequel that actually manages to meet, and even exceed, expectations. ![]()
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