One Thing Resident Evil 3 Remake Does Better Than RE2

Capcom’s recent Resident Evil 3 remake is generally looked down on by fans, who found it disappointing in the wake of the stellar Resident Evil 2 remake. But Resident Evil 3′s focus on action fixes a problem with RE2, which runs into issues when trying to straddle the line between action and survival horror, especially when it comes to players’ access to unlimited saves.

Although the original Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was more action-oriented than its predecessors, some fans felt Resident Evil 3′s remake approached the spectacle-first tone of later Resident Evil games rather than the methodical tension of RE and RE2. Some Resident Evil 3 remake changes also removed replayability, cutting the original’s “live selection” story choices and delivering a campaign that’s exactly the same in each run.

Resident Evil 3′s remake made up for this with its replay-enhancing unlockable item shop, but it struggles in other areas, too. RE3’s Carlos sections kill its pacing, especially on repeat playthroughs. While these flaws make for a game that’s somewhat disappointing overall, its linearity and de-emphasis of survival horror actually helps it overcome the Resident Evil 2 remake in certain areas.

Resident Evil 2 Remake’s Unlimited Saves Problem (& How RE3 Fixes It)

Besides graphics, which Resident Evil 3 somehow managed to improve over RE2′s already impressive look, Resident Evil 3 had a better ammo economy and save system than Resident Evil 2. Ammunition and other resources in Resident Evil 2 are scarce, so players have to carefully manage their inventory. Many quickly discover it’s better to run from zombies than try to take them down, as some can take upwards of 15 bullets to fully kill. The introduction of RE2′s “Mr. X” Tyrant stalker complicates this, however, since being chased into a horde of previously avoided zombies can spell certain doom.

Ammo conservation is a key part of the survival horror genre, and there’s a certain satisfaction to be found in surviving with only a few bullets left. But enemies are occasionally so beefy and ammo is so scarce that RE2 players can feel like they’re just not playing the game right, and this wouldn’t be an issue if not for Resident Evil 2′s save system. Unlike the original Resident Evil 2, where Ink Ribbons were required to save at typewriters, RE2′s Standard and Assisted difficulty settings feature unlimited saves. Since players can save whenever they want, it’s easy to simply reload a save from a few minutes ago and use the knowledge of what’s ahead to avoid wasting ammo or healing items, making the game feel more like a series of memorized encounters than one cohesive act of survival. Certain sections of the game improve this by limiting the number of save rooms, but others are so packed it’s almost impossible to be in danger of significant lost progress.

Resident Evil 3 also has unlimited saves, but it knows it’s going for horror-themed action rather than true survival horror. Either more ammo is given out or zombies are much weaker, and a dodge system lets players avoid zombies more easily, so they’re never so out of resources that they feel the need to scrap a section and try again. RE2′s Hardcore mode uses Ink Ribbons, but most players won’t try this difficulty until they’ve mastered the others, leaving their first few playthroughs open to being marred by an unsatisfying loop of saving and reloading. If Resident Evil 2 gave out more ammo (or its zombies felt less unkillable), players wouldn’t ever feel the need to abuse its save system and optimize parts of a run. If it had limited saves, they wouldn’t be able to, and the game would instead encourage surviving any means possible.

Resident Evil 3 released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 3, 2020.

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Camden Jones
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Camden Jones is one of Screen Rant’s gaming features editors. He loves video games, but he’s even more interested in the people who make and play them.

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