(AfroGamers.com) I’m not the biggest horror fan but I dig zombie films and comics. Video games—it depends. A legendary series like Resident Evil never really appealed to me—then again, I never gave it that strong of chance. It’s odd because I gave Dino Crisis a go, beat it and the sequel. Odd, I know since Dino Crisis is basically Resident Evil with dinosaurs.
Dino Crisis: Resident Evil with Dinosaurs
Or Onimusha with dinosaurs! The main connection are the dreaded tank controls which I’ve never liked. I often think of the time when RE was released and try to remember if 3D camera scrolling was a thing on PlayStation. You could say the absence of DualShock controller didn’t factor into Capcom’s camera movement decision.
Resident Evil came out a year or so before PlayStation introduced the DualShock controller. However, Capcom continued using tank controls post-1997 in games. It turns out it was a designer choice which is fine. For me, I always felt RE would’ve been more enjoyable in that time with more conventional camera and movement controls.
With that said, I found Dino Crisis to be a blast with the tank controls. I think it was the dinosaur element of the game that allowed me to actually enjoy it. For some reason, RE-style suspense-heavy survival horror with dinos don’t startle me as much as the undead or chemically altered to where I need the controls to control like they’re supposed to.
Another interesting thing is that the events of DC take place in 2009 on a fictional island at a time where if it existed in the same universe as RE or Dead Rising, that would’ve been an unnecessary but welcome scoop of disaster. I mean, those series came out in the 1990s, eventually we would’ve gotten zombie dinosaurs, right?
Resident Evil: The OG
Of Capcom’s old pantheon of the 90s and 00s, Resident Evil proved to be the consistent one. There were Street Fighter spin-offs and offshoots that did well and were remembered fondly like Final Fight, Darkstalkers, and Rival Schools but also offshoots that we kind of remember but tend not to bring up such as Street Fighter EX—not a bad game at all!
Meanwhile, Resident Evil pretty much kept things confined to the main franchise. There were gameplay mechanic changes and spin-offs but it was such that the canon and lore of the series was easy to follow for newcomers. Also, horror sells and will always sell while Street Fighter had this hot period when martial arts was big in pop culture.
RE proved to be a franchise worth investing in for Capcom as it has proven to have strong crossover appeal. The ongoing story of Resident Evil involving an outbreak of zombies-not-zombies is one that could see the series go on for another couple of decades either by stretching the story or eventually rebooting it.
Dead Rising: A Double Dose of Dead
In case killing zombies-not-zombies with interesting movement controls don’t do it for you, you can kill them in a more action game fashion in Dead Rising. I got into DR a bit after the hype behind Dead Rising 2 and found it to be a blast. While Resident Evil focused more on the doom element of horror with one or a few zombies causing concern, in DR it’s like taking the Dynasty Warriors approach, mixing in some of that World Warriors DLC-friendliness with cosmetics, and some fun goals. It’s an action-horror series and it works.
There’s enough danger and excitement for veterans of beat ‘em ups and slash ‘em ups while not being complex to the point of putting new players off entirely. That’s a perfect balance to move copies and warrant sequels.
I found the zombie disaster in Dead Rising more enjoyable than in Resident Evil but the situation itself isn’t necessarily meant to be fun—the gameplay and experiencing the story is. On that note, DR’s story was easy to dive into and it helps that it’s the youngest of the franchises mentioned.
It’s wise that Capcom didn’t make a shared universe with RE, DC, and DR because that would’ve been the hardest multi-front disaster. Most of it is covered up but notice in movies and games, it’s usually the one location before it gets out to the rest of the world.
Zombies of two separate origins and experimental dinosaurs on the loose makes for too many disasters to manage—unless you just drop a bomb on it. That’s another game, though.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.