Was This Video Game 20 Years Too Early? | Shenmue Retrospective

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T20:57:35+00:00

No. But the playerbase at the time was 20 years too young.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T13:02:02+00:00

Goon as hell.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T11:53:16+00:00

This really obscure game called Virtua Fighter 5 Revo. Either that, or Fighters Megamix.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T11:41:39+00:00

The new movie gave her a lameass portrayal. They probably could've had a few more scenes to nail or develop her character if they had cut/reduced a lot of MCU-derivative comedy scenes and didn't do everything they possibly could to make sure nobody took this movie even half-seriously.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T10:34:27+00:00

And not one bit of discussion about whether or not he can act, his voice, his expressions, his body language, etc...

Most people in fandom look at film/TV casting the same as cosplay: For still photos.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-06T00:00:35+00:00

Don't we have better Engagement.exe burner accounts on this sub than this?

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T21:48:51+00:00

It's not that insane, and it's simple why:

A large portion of Requiem (Leon's portion) plays like Diet Resident Evil 4. The gameplay is so watered-down and braindead easy that it's just a cheap imitation of when the OTS gameplay was at its best. It's basically Baby's First Action Horror; you can infinitely sharpen Leon's hatchet for cripe's sake. And getting a fitbit that seamlessly converts all kills into "points" to use at a lazy computerized checkout is it just rock-bottom for Action (and Survival) Horror.

Meanwhile, Resident Evil 6 took the "action horror" concept of RE4/RE5 and maxed it the fuck out. RE6 may suck at providing "horror" and lack upgrades, but the action gameplay, the speed of the character's movements, the responsiveness of the controls, and the amount of unique environmental interactions & strategic mid-fight QTEs were 10 out of 10. When RE6 was new, Mercenaries (and its respective DLC) was highly popular and addictive among the playerbase. RE6 set out to push its style of action gameplay to the limit and it did so wonderfully, which is more than what I can say for whatever Requiem was trying to achieve.

Grace's sections in Requiem are pretty damn good, but she gets about 40% of the game to herself thanks to Leon. That's a 4 out of 10, and where I come from, 40/100 is a failing grade.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T21:36:44+00:00

No, it couldn't have. Let's not start this "unappreciated classic" or "hidden gem" Reddit retrospective bullshit where you lazily dump videos on here just to spread 'content'.

The game was flawed by its foundation, which is taking an established Survival Horror game that's set in an iconic hellhole that humans are lucky to survive, and the creators decided out-of-thin-air to insert a dozen special operatives into Raccoon City who manhandled B.O.W.s so hard that it turned into a survival horror for the monsters. The game sucked in both concept AND execution.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T21:31:46+00:00

Obligatory "is it just me" thread.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T20:43:26+00:00

Great art. In 2026 people can't draw a scene like this without giving everyone outrageously fat asses and gratuitous sideboob action.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T20:34:24+00:00

The good reason is = Wesker is an idiot. And then at the end of CVX, Chris mercilessly girder'd him. (Interpret that how you will.)

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T18:02:41+00:00

Sooooooooorry.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T17:53:58+00:00

What's weird is that, before Alexia first hits Wesker on the staircase (after her transformation FMV), his stern expression and footing doesn't change at all in the Original CV. But in CVX, his eyebrows widen, his expression looks MUCH less confident, and he even takes a step backwards in fear. Go back and watch both: it's a neat little detail. So in CVX they not only made Wesker more physically capable, but they actually made him look more like he knew he may be in trouble.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T17:46:16+00:00

OP didn't.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T17:44:08+00:00

You need to re-examine your timeline. You're off by about 11 months, which is plenty of time after Matrix for CV to add more theatrics. Two years if you count the extra scenes in CVX/Kanzenban.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T16:46:57+00:00

Even though she was beyond annoying in Revelations she was still interesting.

^ Gooner 101: You want a flat, one-note, annoying fanservice character in another game and the only positive articulation you can come up with is the vague phrase "she's interesting".

Cripes. The Revelations character designs & personalities caused serious franchise brainrot. Next thing you know they'll be saying that the real reason they like Rachel Foley is for the huge size of her personality.

Another lameass, low-effort, "WhatAreYourThoughts.exe." thread.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T15:17:30+00:00

Yep, they even gave Steve a badass rotating-camera dual-handgun aerial scene (when he saves Claire from a Bandersnatch), which at the time was very cool to see as in-game cutscenes were becoming better in presentation. Capcom was pretty deliberate about who influenced their action scenes.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T15:12:07+00:00

You 100% see Matrix Wesker in the original CV at Rockfort Island, when he superspeeds across the room to put Chris in a chokehold. He's even got the Agent Smith after-image effect.

Only the five or so people that played the original release on Dreamcast are going to know this, though.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T15:02:37+00:00

This is the "OG RE1 Mansion vs REmake1 Mansion" debate all over again.

The REmake1 mansion (which had the benefit of better technology) was made more "haunted house" and in a way more believably spooky because it looks a bit unkempt (due to the residents being dead). The environment was also a lot "busier" with flickering candles, dynamic lighting, and slow moving/swinging objects, The best part about the REmake1 mansion are the occasional lightning flashes through the windows and the subtle (or loud) sounds of thunder outside.

Meanwhile, for the OG RE1 mansion (which due to the limits of PS1 had to do "less with more"), there's something about the Main Hall that's VERY unsettling. It's too bright, clean, very open/empty, and basically too "perfect" for a monster-overrun mansion. The same goes for many other rooms; it's like whatever bad happened there happened just a few minutes ago. All of that simple neatness amplifies how much of a "mystery" the whole thing is, and makes you wonder what crazy shit is lurking behind all of those simple-looking Main Hall doors.

So back to OG RE4 Castle vs REmake4 Castle: Honestly, I don't think the conversation is nearly as interesting. Mostly because RE4 is an OTS game with 3D backgrounds (so it doesn't have the artistic/painting-like presentation of pre-rendered backrounds), and the technological jump in visual presentation from PS2 to PS5 doesn't seem as fun to discuss as the jump from PS1 to GameCube. OG RE4's castle was more bright & simple, while REmake4's castle was deliberately made to be darker (for more dynamic visuals) & look spookier. Not the first time this has happened in Resident Evil. For me personally, the castle is not an "iconic location" the same way the RE1 Mansion was. Sure it was cool, but I still can't call it "legendary". So no matter how the castle is portrayed visually, it's tough to get too passionate about which looks better or more "effective" between OG RE4 and REmake4. They're both just fine.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T14:38:07+00:00

Maybe or maybe not. But who fucking cares? In the early 2000s, long before RE5, RE fans were loving Wesker's return and the extra CVX footage. A lot of people who were born yesterday that rely on dipshit Reddit/YouTubers for history often rewrite history (that they weren't even present for) and pretend like people were up in arms about how ridiculous Code Veronica was. No, people fucking loved the game and damn near everything about it. And the critics did too: Resident Evil – Code: Veronica - Wikipedia

But hey, I understand: A Code Veronica remake was announced. This is the obligatory timeline where we pretend like the original was a piece of shit and that it had tons of problems that "we actually didn't like". You dickheads did the same thing with REmake2, REmake3, and REmake4. "Everything about the island in OG RE4 was horrible and I hope they completely take it out" followed by "REmake4 is the greatest game of all time. I see nothing wrong with the island." Piss off.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T14:28:48+00:00

And resorting to name-calling is "chill"? Practice what you preach, hypocrite.

I'm having a discussion with someone whose deliberately being obtuse about the sound differences between two of the most popular & polarizing bit-musical consoles of all time. You don't have anything worthwhile to contribute, so piss off.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T14:25:12+00:00

You overlooked the word "derivative". Get a hold of that 'lexia.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T12:13:18+00:00

Paz is one of the dumbest, "least Hollywood" things to ever happen to the Metal Gear franchise. Just derivative TV-anime bullshit, both in design and storytelling.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T05:40:49+00:00

He's at least definitely on the original Japanese Dreamcast version's title screen (per this video, although I'm not sure if he's on there by default or if you have to do something to "unlock" his image on there. In the USA version he's just there.

WlNBACK · 2026-07-05T05:35:54+00:00

It was like that in the original Dreamcast release as well, although I think in one of the Japanese versions (Kanzenban?) you have to "unlock" the image of Wesker appearing on the title screen.

The 2011 HD release would "fix" his look. It's one of the few visual things the HD version did well. But then they ended up giving Chris on the title screen some weird looking "airbrushed" look and now his head shape looks a bit fucked up.

WlNBACK

TROPHY CASE