Resident Evil 2 Remake ‘progressing’; Resi 6 feedback being ‘taken on board’, says producer

Resident Evil 2 Remake ‘progressing’; Resi 6 feedback being ‘taken on board’, says producer
David Scammell Updated on by

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The producer of the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake has told VideoGamer.com that work on the project is “progressing”, and that he hopes the game will “recapture the spirit” of the original PSOne release.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Yoshiaki Hirabayashi explained that while he doesn’t “think there’s much meaning in simply saying things like ‘Yes, I’m confident we can [recapture the feeling of the original]”, his team at Capcom is “working hard on the game at the moment and there are some reasons why I think we can recapture the spirit of the first game.

“As you mentioned, the first game’s remake is held up as proof that a remaster can recapture the original game,” he said, “and as it so happens, the RE GameCube remake was my first project at Capcom. I was able to learn from more experienced colleagues and see with my own eyes how they translated their efforts into such a masterpiece that built on an already well-received game. It was an incredibly valuable experience for me.

“Also, Resident Evil 2 was the first Resident Evil I played. Everyone’s experience is different but I remember how it felt to play it for the first time, and the task of bringing that to the fans all over again is a cause of daily headaches for me (laughs). Work is progressing on the game and all I can do is ask the fans to wait patiently and excited.”

Resident evil 2

Working on the GameCube remake of the original was an “incredible learning experience,” Hirabayashi adds, with last year’s HD remaster offering the team “a chance to go over the remake and check every single thing in it – not just the audio-visual assets, but the programming code for each stage, and analysing the pacing that makes it such a great experience.

“This fine toothcomb approach to the remaster really showed me what my predecessors focused on during the original project and that’s been very valuable too,” he said.

It isn’t yet known whether the Resident Evil 2 Remake will feature the fixed camera angles of the original game, or the third-person view adopted by the later Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6. The feedback to Resident Evil 6, however, has helped shape the remake, Hirabayashi says.

“Every title brings with it learning experiences,” he added, “and of course I saw a lot of the feedback on Resident Evil 6 and have taken on board everything I’ve heard from the fans about the game and I want to show you what it taught me with through the next experience I’ll be bringing to you.”

The pressure isn’t just on from fans, however: Resident Evil 2 programmer Hiroyuki Kobayashi also tells VideoGamer.com that he hopes Hirabayashi is able to “understand” the intentions behind the original game.

“I’d like him to really understand the intention of the original title and do his best to bring it over to the remake project!” Kobayashi said.

A release date and platforms for Resident Evil 2 Remake have yet to be announced.