Resident Evil: HD Remaster(Nintendo Switch) Review

I played the game around 9 years ago before I played the PS1 Resident Evils, indie surivival horror games like Tormented Souls, Crow Country and Signalis and replaying the Silent Hill games. I've been on a binge on with these games in recent years. I originally played the remastered version of RE 2002 on PS4 but I wanted to play on a different system and since the game started off life on a Nintendo system, I decided to replay the game on a Nintendo console. I recall this being one of if not the best survival horror game ever made. For the most part, I'd say it still holds up but there are some issues with it now that prevent the game from being something I consider a "masterpiece".

I'll start with that big issue: the difficulty. Difficulty is subjective and what is hard for one person can be easy for another and vice versa but the way RE 2002 handles it is as questionable as it is interesting. First, you have to choose between as playing either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Probably most first time players will pick Jill due to her lockpick and her having more inventory space.

It doesn't end there, the game has 3 difficulties, Walk, Hike and Mountain. I supposedly beat the game on Mountain difficulty according to my Playstation Trophies but playing this mode now, I was shocked how difficult it was. Jill can only take 2 hits before getting a game over and the PS1 REs let you took 3 on their default difficulties. The ammo you get is the same on Hike, you get less healing items, there are MORE zombies and they take a lot more damage to go down the first time on Mountain. This would all be fine but the knife you get is useless and if there is some praise I can give Code Veronica is that the knife in that was geniunely useful. On Mountain, you have to rely on the hopefully having the zombie AI lunge at you so you can run past them, but this feels like a game of luck and zombie evading is what put me off the game to begin with.

The dogs are even worse since on Mountain difficulty, they will bite your hand more instead of running and jumping so you can get shots in. The worst part with this is, that when dogs bite you by the hand, defense items will not work. It will work when they lunge at you but not when they bite you. Combine this with frequency of the biting, the 2 hit points, and lack of ammo, I decided to lower it on Hike which is said to be the easy mode.

I get what Mountain difficulty was trying to do and it feels like it was attempting to appeal to people who enjoy RE games like Code Veronica but I found the execution lacking. Hike difficulty can feel a little too babying with the amount of ammo and healing items you get but I take that over dying every time I enter a room with zombies and dogs. Hike difficulty feels like it's more in line with Resident Evil 1996 Director's Cut and Resident Evil 2 1998.

Outside of that? The game is still just as great as I remember minus the crazy "moon" logic with it's puzzles. Like using a lighter to light a specific room to pick up an item, remembering the colors and numbers of billard balls to open a door later on, having to turn off a light and have an animal head statue not see you to pick up an item, or using a crank late game to move a waterfall among a few others, playing the game for the first time and even people returning to it a decade later, it can still stump me.

I have been complaining about the game, but when you ignore all of these issues, the moment to moment gameplay of RE 2002 is great. Combat while not amazing is very satisfying to land headshots on enemies especially with the shotgun or magnum. With the Crimson Heads, now getting headshots is even more encouraged if you want to avoid using kersone to burn bodies.

Defensive items gives the player more options when grabbed by enemies since now you don't have to just tank hits.

The inventory system is as great as ever, while I did criticize the game for having too much healing items and ammo, the limited inventory means you can't carry everything so now it becomes a question of, "what should I carry more of, puzzle, healing items or maybe some more ammo?" The decision making process before journeying outside of save rooms is where the tension can be found.

The save system too, some can bash for being archaic, but there is tension to be found knowing when or when not to save even when rolling in ink ribbons can be very thick. The question of "should I do more story milestones and save or should pop a save away" is a question to comtemplate every time.

Level design minus the "moon" logic is great. The various hubs like the Mansion, Courtyard, Tunnels and Lab all feel like you a solving an epic puzzle within a puzzle. Puzzle items you get early game might not be useful until later on. Like the Metal Object to open the Mansion Basement or the Medals to open the Labatory which just keeps your mind wondering.

Bosses are the only big negative but they go down fast on Hike difficulty, and are beaten before they really start to annoy me.

Overall, minus the difficulty and the "moon" logic for some puzzles, I really enjoyed the game.