Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

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Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

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Here's where you can leave your thoughts regarding Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape) for possible inclusion in the podcast when it's recorded.
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

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3 WORD REVIEW: Weirdest Resi Game
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Simonsloth »

This game is strange one for me. I completed it around the time of release shortly after finishing the second game. At the time I thought it was incredible and held it in far higher regard. Trivial improvements like not having to press x to climb stairs and the more notable choice system were a huge deal. The nemesis was a constant threat and was genuinely frightening in a way that the previous games antagonists hadn't been. Until replaying it recently I would have considered it my favourite in the series. I was that invested in the series at this point that I even went as far as to read all the resident evil companion novels which fleshed out the story and lore.

My opinion has now changed drastically. Adjectives like exciting, scary and challenging which I would have previously used are now replaced by annoyance and frustration.

I think it really boils down to the game's respect for my time or lack of. I died more times than I could count at points when I hadn't saved for a while. Invariably the nemesis would turn up out of nowhere lifting me up then tossing me into a corner where he would gleefully pick me up again just as I rose to my feet. No amount of fancy dodging or quick turns could help in these situations which happened far too often. Maybe i'm rubbish, maybe this helplessness is supposed to convey fear but it just made me throw the controller in annoyance. As a teenager perhaps this is what drew me in and with an exorbitant amount of leisure time I could handle the demands. In the here and now I just don't have time for this. Despite that I ploughed on through saving a total of 27 times just in case I could rekindle the old magic. Instead i'm left with a few new creases on my forehead from frowning from start to finish.

I'm sad that something I had warm fuzzy feelings toward now leaves me cold but i'm sure this is inevitable. Here's hoping that code veronica has faired a little better.

3 word review:

STAR- ARGH- ARSE
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Combine Hunter »

I'm excited to cover this one. I know the community is mixed on it, but as a newcomer, I think it's gonna make for a fascinating recording session.
Todinho

Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Todinho »

There is this trope in horror fiction that I like to call "The undying monster" ,this trope was popularized by movies such as Alien and Terminator(though you could argue that movies such as Duel and even Jaws did it first) and it involves a creature that constantly tries to kill the protagonist but more then that what makes this type of monster so intimidating is that no matter how many times you think the protagonist escaped or killed the monster, it always comes back.
Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 falls exacty in that category, but to me he is more then just another example of a trope, Nemesis is the best "Undying monster" ever made not only in videogames but in all of horror fiction, this statement might seem preposterous to many but let me explain why.

First off one of the more brilliant things about Nemesis is how his design blends together different types of monsters into one terrifying combination: First you have the imposing humanoid figure and turncoat reminiscent of the terminator mixed in with some body horror and alien design with his leather skin and tentacles erupting from his body and finally his face that could easily pass for a slasher villain in a B-movie.

While these visual elements form an interesting creature, their true addition is in making a monster that embodies multiple traits that together create a unique character. Nemesis has the calculating and relentless aspect of a machine combined with the viciousness and instinct of an animal and most importantly, intelligence, not alot of it but enough intelligence to make it seem that above anything else this creature hates you.
The best example of all of these elements is probably in how he says his iconic phrase "STARS", its almost like he is reciting his programing indicating that he has locked into his target but at the same time it`s spoken with a guttural voice of something that clearly is not human and with a malice of someone that truly wants to kill you. This is not the only thing of course, other examples include: how he calmly walks until he sees you and then starts to run like an animal chasing prey, how he gets angry at you during fights when you hit him enough, how he's capable of complex plans like blowing up the helicopter to prevent you from escaping and lastly how it never ever quits, even at the end of the game when he is reduced to nothing but a pile of burnt flesh he is still crawling towards you trying to kill you.

While his visual design and personality are certainly important aspects of why Nemesis is great, what truly elevates him above other iconic monsters is how he was implemented in a interactive medium. Now to be clear Nemesis wasnt the first "undying monster" in a videogame, hell he wasnt even the first in a Resident Evil game but what made him different to every other enemy before, and since, was that Nemesis broke the rules.

In 1996 Resident Evil introduced a new kind of game and after 2 games the playerbase had become used to the games rules, especially unwritten rules like: enemies are slow, enemies cant follow you through rooms and once enemies bleed on the floor they are dead. Nemesis takes all these rules and throws them out the window, I'll never forget the first time I realized that I wasnt dealing with just another monster, he had just reappeared inside the police station and I quickly ran to another room, thinking the danger had passed I started walking only to be startled again by his theme and a running monster coming to get me, sufice to say it didnt end well for me that time.
Once Nemesis starts breaking some of the rules you start to wonder- "Well what other rules can he break? Are the save rooms that always provided me safety truly safe this time around?".

That feeling of uncertainty was something new and it took players of the previous 2 games completely out of their comfort zone, more then that though Nemesis added a whole new layer to a Resident Evil game, in a normal RE game you'd worry about how to best conserve resources to deal with enemies,how to best use your saves, which rooms to go,etc. RE3 follows the same logic only now all of these decisions have to account Nemesis first, all these important decisions you have to make in previous game now have more weight because you're constantly thinking about this new threat, for example: "Should I go in that a new room already and run the risk of him appearing? Should I always carry a healing item in case he shows up? Should I try to fight him and if I do will I have enough resources for the area ahead? How should I save?,etc".
Because of this Nemesis presence is felt throughout the entire game, even when he's not on screen you have to constantly think about him and this creates a level of fear and anxiety that have never been matched in the entire series.
It doesnt stop there however, every good Resident Evil game starts with you scared and almost powerless but as you play the game makes you overcome that fear and by the end you're usually rocket launching a monster in the face. RE3 follows the same formula but there is no greater triumph over fear then defeating Nemesis in this game, the best part is that it's not just because the story demands it but because you the player has improved, got past the fear of encountering him,prepared and defeated him. Resident Evil 3 in a brilliant move of ludonarrative synchronicity puts you right with the protagonist with game mechanics alone, by the end the satisfaction doesnt come just from Jill blasting the monster away but because that monster chased you, fought you and in the end you defeated him. This is only expanded with repeated playthroughs, where the first time around you might've been terrified and always running away from him, coming back with more knowledge and skill and being able to best him everytime he shows up feels incredibly cathartic and the game takes that into account by providing incentives for you to fight Nemesis in a great risk reward system that no other RE has.

Other games have had similar type of monsters to Nemesis before and after RE3 but none of them integrated them as well, their apperance is either too scripted for you to feel their constant presence or gameplay impact and even if they arent you usually cant fight them whenever you want, one thing is too run from a monster because you cant fight him and another is being able to fight but still run because you`re afraid to. Even if you dislike Nemesis the impact he had not only on Resident Evil but in gaming in general cant be denied, for years Nemesis was not only the symbol of Resident Evil but of the entire survival genre, he became an icon in gaming because he left an impression, an impression that few characters much less monsters in games can leave and if that is not a triumph by the developers of Nemesis then I dont know what is.

So yeah Nemesis is a big reason as to why I love Resident Evil 3 so much but there are other reasons too and one of the big ones is, the setting.

RE3 more then any other game I ever played really sold the idea of a city overtaken by the undead, this is set really well in the opening cutscene with the last stand of the police and the umbrella mercenaries, while RE2 technically took place in the same setting you spent 90% of your time inside the RPD or underground, in 3 you spend most of your time on the streets and what really makes me buy this setting more then any modern open world zombie game are the pre rendered backgrounds, I really cant overstate how good they are in this game and how well they convey the destruction of Raccon City but every area is very teeming detailed, from debris, to the architecture, to objects and even bodies, it really immersed me in a way that no other zombie game that tried the same setting ever did. The game also has a lot of little touches that enchance the setting like for example having civilians sometimes running in the street, with you always being just a bit too late to save them and of course the increased amount of enemies in comparison to the previous games and the increased amount on environmental interaction.

Gameplaywise RE3 makes some small but great improvements that make going back to RE2 and RE1 a bit hard at times, like the quick turn that makes getting around faster and easier, the dodge that can save your life when used right, the shove to push away enemies when cornered and of course the ability to go up SOME stairs without a loading screen, incredible isnt it! Most of these were likely added to account for Nemesis and they might seems small but they greatly improve the basic gameplay of classic resident evil.

A really great addition was the new gunpowder system where you find different types of gunpowder in the city and then is be able to make bullets, where it gets interesting is that you can then combine different types of powder to create new ones that in turn create different kinds of ammo, this is great because it preserves the resource management importance of the game but it gives you a lot more control over the ammunition you have, you dont have to have 50 handgun bullets if you dont want to, you can have 24 for the shotgun or whatever you need at the time. It's a great system that works together with the rest of the game since the gunpowder takes item slots and you need an item to make the bullets,this type of crafting fits perfectly into the Survival horror genre and it's a shame that the series didnt revisted this concept until recently.

Another great addition is the "choice" system in the game, that coupled with the game randomizing a few aspects automatically makes it so that while no run will be as different as say Leon A and Claire B each one will be different enough to keep the game always fresh and to keep you always on your toes, in one playthrough you may find a room filled with zombies and in the other the same room will have hunters, the same goes for many itens such as ammo and herbs and of course Nemesis follows this too, in one playthrough he might appear in the dinner while in another he might show up at the paper. These small variations make each playthrough unique and make RE3 perhaps the game in the series with the most replay value, even now almost 20 years after it`s release speedrunners still can get caught of guard by these features(see AGDQ 2018 RE3 race).

Resident Evil 3 might've started development as a spin-off title but to me it has more then earned it`s place as the rightfull third entry of the franchise, it refined and expanded the gameplay of the previous games and it inovated in many areas, most important of all the inclusion of the titular Nemesis. Many will not like this and I know that RE3 sits on the bottom of the list for many RE fans but to me RE3 is the best entry in the series, the best until Remake came out that is which is why Im with my fingers crossed for a Remake 3 in the future.
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Suits »

Combine Hunter wrote: January 31st, 2018, 5:08 pm I'm excited to cover this one. I know the community is mixed on it, but as a newcomer, I think it's gonna make for a fascinating recording session.
I’m sort of in the same boat as you here dude.

In fact, my mate (who’s a RE fan also) skipped this one too, so we’re going to gather around my GameCube and play this for the first time together 8-) .
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by KSubzero1000 »

I think it is very much a testament of my love for the classic Resident Evil series that even though I consider RE3 to be the weakest of the bunch, I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of my many playthroughs. If I had to summarize my issues with this game, I would say that a lot of its defining features sound a lot better in theory than they work in practice.


* The idea of an implacable antagonist who follows you through the entire game is just as great here as it was in Resident Evil 2, but the restrictive core mechanics are rather ill-suited to counteract Nemesis' hyper-mobility and aggression, which can make some of the fights against him rather tedious and frustrating, especially in the beginning of the game. And it also means that the non-Nemesis bosses are few and far between, and usually fairly disappointing in their own right.

* The dodge mechanic is a nice addition to the overall toolbox which certainly helps with the increased focus on action, but it is rather temperamental and doesn't mesh very well with the slow and deliberate nature of the other animations.

* The gunpowder crafting system is fun, but it can easily be abused to the point of borderline breaking the game (Freeze Rounds).

* The randomized puzzles are a nice touch by virtue of remaining challenging even on repeated playthroughs, but a direct consequence of that system is that the vast majority of the puzzles are simply math-based, which takes away some of their creative potential.

* The randomized nature of some of the encounters and enemy placement is cool in theory, but can lead to some rather odd balancing issues considering how some enemies are significantly easier to deal with and how some environments are significantly easier to navigate than others.

* The quick-time "choice" events are an interesting concept, but aren't usually making that much of a difference in retrospect. Some of them will simply result in a slightly different cutscene, and others will often result in the player visiting one of two different areas, both of which will be accessible later anyway.

* The game being set in the chaotic streets of Raccoon City was an ambitious choice, but it also leads to the environments being a bit too spread out for their own good and a lot less visually memorable than others in the series. The clocktower alone has a more distinct style than the endless streets and office buildings that precede it, which is why it's by far my favorite part of the game.


With all that being said, the game does follow the incredibly solid structure of its predecessors, which is why it's important to take all this criticism with a grain of salt. It may not reach the heights of RE2 or REmake, but it is still a fantastic game with solid gameplay, great replay value and a lot of personality. Nemesis' design is memorable, the mid-game time skip is really cool, using a U.B.C.S. unit as supporting characters is an interesting narrative choice, the various epilogues are the good kind of fan-service, and it gave us Mercenaries!

Great game all around, just perhaps not quite on the same level as some of the others.


Three Words Review: "You want S.T.A.R.S.?!"
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Hunter30 »

Three Word Review: "STAAARRRSSS." Change underwear.
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Suits »

Any sort of idea when this show is going to be recorded ??

:)
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by ratsoalbion »

Scheduled for Sunday 1st April.
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Suits »

Cheers man.
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Re: 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by ashman86 »

I was a pre-teen when Resident Evils 1 and 2 launched and shamefully afraid of the series. I can remember a classmate in the sixth grade wearing a shirt emblazoned with the infamous face of the series' very first zombie, and when she asked if I'd played the game, I recall vainly attempting to hide my terror by defensively suggesting the games weren't all that good anyway.

And then the Dreamcast's Code Veronica happened, and, not wanting to miss out on one of the console's first new killer apps, I found I had a taste for flesh, I mean, zombie survival-horror after all.

Nemesis had launched just a couple short months before Code Veronica in the states to positive reviews, although I believe the consensus at the time was that it hadn't quite been the achievement its predecessors were and that, while its visuals were remarkable for the now-aging Playstation, it wasn't much of a looker next to its younger, Dreamcast-exclusive cousin. Even now, it's baffling to me that the two games launched so close to one another as I've always felt that each stole a bit of thunder from the other and created a rift within the Resident Evil playerbase about which game was the better successor to Resident Evil 2.

Still, after Nemesis finally got a port to the Dreamcast later that fall, I found myself hungry for more brains—er, Resident Evil—and picked it up with some Christmas money that year.

After playing Code Veronica, which had traded out the pre-rendered backgrounds for in-engine ones, Nemesis looked distinctly like a "last-gen" game to me, and the Dreamcast port was barely enhanced at all from the Playstation original. Beyond that, though, I found I really enjoyed Nemesis for the time. It was a solid survival-horror entry whose most memorable feature was its recurring... Nemesis.

In fact, after all these years, I find it difficult to recall most of my experience with RE3 while my memories of Code Veronica and the younger RE4 are still quite vivid. The one exception to the rule is Nemesis, himself, and the way he'd groan, "Starrrrs," as he shambled onto the screen. He was the quintessential recurring horror villain, the kind who feels more at home, maybe, in a teen slasher film than a zombie apocalypse story, the kind who JUST. WON'T. DIE.

In one of the final scenes of the game, Nemesis is reduced to a monstrous glob of meat, but still, he persists in his quest to silence Jill Valentine. I remember gleefully ending its miserable life once and for all with an action roll and a round discharged from the legendary magnum.

Resident Evil 3 isn't my favorite entry in the series, nor is it my least favorite. It lies somewhere in the middle for me: a safe but solid horror game that doesn't do much to change the formula of its predecessors but accomplishes what it sets out to do well enough. It's largely forgettable but enjoyable in much the same way that so many of the Hollywood horror films that influenced the genre tend to be.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.4.18) - 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by ThirdDrawing »

RE3 is where the series as a whole started to lose its way for me.

It just wasn't what I wanted from an RE game. I wanted, slow methodical dread around every corner.

Instead I got a video game version of "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down". (Simpsons joke)

It's not the worst RE game there is, but it was the first nail in the coffin of the series for me.

There were only two good RE games after this - Code Veronica and RE Zero. Everything else is garbage and this game is to blame for that.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.4.18) - 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by Shenzhen88 »

Despite the many, many times I've replayed this game, I am still terrified when I play through Resident Evil 3. The use of Nemesis as an nearly unstoppable undead Terminator was a masterstroke of horror. The idea that he could bust into a room and stop Jill's quest dead at any time is highly scary, although as I've got older you can figure out the points and timings of when he'll pop his head in. Nonetheless, the uncertainty creates a level of fear I feel modern horror games lacks today and the tension gave 11 year old me an incredible rush.

Away from the star(s) of the show, Resident Evil 3 is the perfect use of the 'classic Resi' formula. Movement feels as best as it can be for the tank controls era with the 180 turn helping out immensely. Actually going outside a Police Department/Spencer Mansion type of location and into Raccoon City expanded the world and lore of Resi. The backgrounds and objects of destroyed cars and buildings on fire added to the apocalyptic atmosphere, away from the quiet moments in Resi 1 and 2. The soundtrack impressed me more than the other Playstation 1 outings being honest.

I can understand people struggling with the difficulty. It's certainly a step up from 2. To finish this outing with no saves is a challenge that I have only managed once or twice. Then again, the genre is survival horror and you are meant to be on the back foot throughout. Nemesis randomly popping his head into Jill's desperate mission of survival never gets frustrating to me though. Whilst not directly, I see similarities in the Dark Souls series & Bloodborne of the 'getting good or going home' mentality. Additions like the live action choices push you to think quickly creating a mental panic since the right decision could help out Jill and being too slow may give you a nasty surprise.

There's plenty of replay ability here which is something I think is lacking from 1 & 2. With the now traditional Mercenaries bonus game, different ways to take down Nemesis and multiple route choices & cutscenes throughout, I think this is the most value I have had from a pre-4 Resident Evil game.

I have such a connection with this game. It's bare bones usually would warrant a "it's fine" response from me. However, it's a perfect storm of technical evolution, a desperate and relatable quest of our heroine's battle to survive against the odds, a hilariously dodgy B-movie script and one iconic nigh-on unstoppable villain that touched me as a kid and still to this day. Even though I realise it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I have no problem placing Resi 3 as my favourite Resident Evil game.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.4.18) - 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by AndrewBrown »

Resident Evil 3 feels like the most inconsequential entry in the mainline series. Jill, clad in an extremely impractical miniskirt and tube top combo, tries to escape from the infected Raccoon City and accidentally gets embroiled in another Umbrella plot along the way. Ultimately, she succeeds, and the rest of the series seems to promptly forget that Resident Evil 3 exists except as a broad strokes "the one where Raccoon City is nuked" concept.

But if RE3's contributions to the early story arc feels inconsequential, its experiments feel significant. Nemesis feels like the biggest addition, a powerful and singular foe (a nemesis, you might say) who can appear at any time to menace Jill and her companions, heralded by his iconic growl of "STARS." The Nemesis concept would be further built upon in the RE1 remake with more intelligent zombies capable of moving from room to room in the mansion. Also added are survivors around the city, the last breaths of life in the zombie apocalypse. Few of them can be saved, and the ones that can feel doomed; it all adds to the fruitlessness of Carlos' mission and further add to the tragedy that the UBCS's real mission is to extract Umbrella assets and not help survivors. Lastly is the addition of The Mercenaries minigame which would go on to become a series staple. It exists here in a rudimentary form, but it's definitely The Mercenaries. Resident Evil 4 usually gets the credit for "creating" this mode (and indeed, it's RE4's version which later Mercenaries modes are based upon).

Resident Evil 3 feels more notable for the additions it brings to the Resident Evil game design than for the steps it takes forward in its narrative, making it simultaneously feel like a step forward for the series but also like it's standing still. Its origins as a gaiden game likely contribute to this. It would be fair to describe Code Veronica as the "real" Resident Evil 3.
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Re: Our next podcast recording (1.4.18) - 313: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Biohazard 3: Last Escape)

Post by seansthomas »

May have missed the boat for this, but if not...

Of the 6 or so Resident Evil games I've played, I'd have 3 as the one that has failed to leave a real lasting impression. Like the Tomb Raider and Syphon Filter sequels that appeared at a similar time, it felt when this title landed, the formula and controls were starting to creak. I still enjoyed the game, but the added touches like dodging and crafting ammo felt like diminishing returns.

The central idea, Nemesis and its ability to randomly appear, was obviously the main draw and at times worked amazingly well. It definitely added heightened fear and had me mashing that dodge button in blind panic on several occasions. However equally there were areas you'd emerge in where the larger than usual playing area heavily hinted who was about to emerge. Nemesis made for a great, unrelenting foe but one that I never overly connected with.

All in all, I have no ill feeling towards this third entry, it just started to feel like more of the same, which is probably why radical change was needed...
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