Head constantly in the clouds

Like RE2 REmake, this game is extremely dark and I'm amazed that Wesker can still see shit in those sunglasses of his. xD

I had a choice of choosing Chris or Jill as my starting character, and (thankfully) chose Jill. A lockpick and an extra two inventory slots make a huge difference in my opinion because inventory management in this game is actual HELL. xD I now appreciate more all those little quality of life updates in later games like getting inventory pouches, being able to combine an item you picked up with an item you already have despite having a full inventory, and being able to discard regular items.

All this talk of a Jill Sandwich has made Barry very hungry.

This game though, despite being released in 2002 and being now over 20+ years old, looks fantastic despite its age. The character models look great amongst the pre-rendered backgrounds. The dev team also absolutely nailed the claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere of Spencer Mansion, both on a visual aspect and auditory aspect.

I found the use of sound (and sometimes total lack of save for ambient noises like footsteps and thunder) really effective on giving me the creeps as I mentally steeled myself for whatever horrors were just waiting for me around the corner, which was also complemented by the fixed camera angles.

Fuck Crimson Heads, Hunters, and Chimeras especially. :( Could you imagine Crimson Heads in the RE Engine? Even more nightmare fuel. 😱 Zombies are scary, so cue my heart exploding when I found out zombies in this game can run. I'd rather race them in go karts if it meant I could be SAFE in my car UGH-

*ahem* But sadly S.T.A.R.S. are not to go joyriding in a big scary mansion. :( We're the Special Tactics and Rescue Service not the Speed Turbo and Racing Superstars. Even Ethan Winters got to go joyriding. :(

And despite my gripes with inventory management in this game, I did like how it added to the stress of limited resources and the presence of Ink Ribbons even on Easy difficulty also let me be careful on when to save (I only found out at the end of the game that I had been playing on Easy mode when I thought I was on Normal xD). But I still had a hard time... ._.

Day 1 at Spencer Mansion - Today I got a shotgun and Barry called me a sandwich.

Speaking of Ink Ribbons, this one is my favorite save room without a doubt, the typewriter placed atop a desk with the lamp lighting it up just feels extra cozy.

While the gameplay of Resident Evil is without a doubt exhilarating, I can't say the same for the story but there's a certain narm charm in this installment's voice acting. xD Resident Evil lore on the other hand though is something I find to be really fascinating, and reading through the various files in RE1 REmake was quite fun.

The fact that I'm not a Jill Sandwich. Thanks Barry.

I also really liked Jill's companion in her side of the story, the cool and capable Barry Burton. I wanted to get the best ending so I made sure to hand Barry back his Silver Serpent gun in the Lisa Trevor bossfight, and to unlock the path to Chris' cell with the three MO disks.

But Lisa Trevor is probably the most tragic character I've encountered in Resident Evil so far. Just reading all the notes left behind by the Trevor family and their fates really just filled me with a sense of sorrow. How evil do you have to be to even experiment on children? It's story details like these that make you want to root for people like Jill and Chris when they say they want to take down Umbrella, as the ones who suffered the brunt of Umbrella's experiments were without a doubt the people who didn't even have the means to protect themselves.

It was also quite obvious from the get-go that S.T.A.R.S. had a traitor and who said traitor was (think of your cat!!), but for the sake of plot, we only confirm our suspicions once we reach the Tyrant fight at the Lab.

My girl Jill plays the piano and breaks bad?! Can she get any more awesome?! ♡ (˘▽˘>ԅ

The journey to the Labs wasn't easy though, as I had to complete the Courtyard and Residence sections, which despite both being out of the creepy mansion still had me on edge. xD

As much as I love Barry, him leaving me to deal with Lisa Trevor on my own in the Tunnels made me go "how could you?!" just like Jill. xD (while I'm aware his family was being threatened it was still a real "why Barry why" moment)

Barry I'm still pissed you ditched me at the elevator. Also the fact you called me a sandwich.

We eventually make it to the Labs though, and I absolutely didn't mind using my Magnum rounds on the boiler room Chimeras if it meant peace of mind with transporting the nitro compound fuel capsule later. xD Wouldn't want to be Jill popcorn!! xD

It's also here that I meet up again with Chris, who's been in this dingy cell for how long, poor guy. :(

I also regroup with Barry, who has the gall to ask me to wait up for him so I play a little prank in going up the elevator without him as revenge. >:) (in reality it was me trying to talk to him and accidentally going up lol)

"Oh? You're approaching me?"

We confront Wesker and the Tyrant, and thanks to Jill having the OP Grenade Launcher, take the Tyrant out in a few shots. Wesker is seemingly knocked out, and Barry and I make our escape out of the Labs with Chris as the self-destruct mechanism has activated.

It's at the Helipad that we have one last fight with the Tyrant and I've never pressed YES. YES. YES. (I AM!) so fast. xD

After defeating the Tyrant, we make our escape and watch as Spencer Mansion blows up.

Chris aurafarming real hard in this shot. (Queen Jill deserves a good rest after everything :3)

Glad to see Barry made it out too...but at this point I kept wondering...where is Rebecca??

It turns out that the companion is quite literally character campaign-exclusive (so Chris' best ending will only show Chris, Jill and Rebecca), though canonically Chris, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca all make it out of Spencer Mansion alive.

I am by no means a skilled player when it comes to Resident Evil, but I feel going through the games methodically is more my speed, as it's the way I enjoy games the most! Also because I want to minimize my heart exploding lol

I highly recommend RE1 REmake, as it's really a timeless game, and while I never replay games, the fact that a game from more than 20 years ago is still fun and often talked about even today is a testament to its status as a classic.

I died a few times, but this simple statement gave me that drive to keep pressing on anyway.

Bonus screenshots and silly captions because I like to think I'm funny 🤨:

You're saying sorry for calling me a sandwich, right? RIGHT?!

Even Crimson Heads are POWERLESS against the almighty furniture!! >:)

"Barry, be straight with me. Burgers or sandwiches?"

"Actually...hotdogs, Jill."

"But isn't a hotdog a sandwich?"

"That's like asking if soup is a drink."

When we get out of here, I should teach Chris how to play the piano...I'm sure he'll put that skill to good use.

It looks like Barry left me a note:

"3 slices of bacon, 3 leaves of lettuce, 6 slices of tomato, two slices of bread...huh?"

Barry: "I hope Jill got my note." *ruffles pockets*