Video games have changed a lot in the past 21 years. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the original Resident Evil 3 was released, so much so that it can be easy to forget, looking at next month’s Resident Evil 3 remake, just how different things are now than they were back in 1999.
That’s why Capcom has decided to remind fans of that with help from the official PlayStation YouTube channel. A new video was released there this weekend featuring Capcom producer Peter Fabiano, which shows off footage of the classic PlayStation game and compares it to how the RE3 remake reimagines those sections for the modern era, and it doesn’t take long for the differences to become crystal clear.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, the original version’s full title, was very much a product of its era, and it shows here. Its tank-like controls, pre-rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, and tight corridors starkly contrast the remake, which boasts a larger, more open version of Raccoon City, reworked controls and gameplay in the same vein as last year’s Resident Evil 2 remake, and more unpredictable enemies, including a version of Nemesis who can now come at players with a giant flamethrower.
While it highlights just how different the remake will be, the video also serves as a reminder of the innovations RE3 brought to the Resident Evil formula, like explosive red barrels and action moves like the ability to dodge, which the remake will expand upon even further with new attacks. All in all, it’s not a bad way for longtime fans who haven’t played Resident Evil 3 in a long time to look back on a classic of the horror genre, and for younger series fans who weren’t around back in 1999 to see what Resident Evil was like in its early days.
Only a few weeks remain before the remake launches and everyone can compare the two more thoroughly, but they’ll likely get the chance to try it out before then. Capcom announced that Resident Evil 3 will be getting a demo at some point, though as of this writing it hasn’t specified when exactly. Given that the Resident Evil 2 remake got a demo two weeks before launch, though, one assumes that the demo for RE3 will arrive at a similar point, so the wait probably won’t be much longer.
Resident Evil 3 will be out on April 3 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
