MarthTrinity
Smash Lord
Resident Evil (also known as Biohazard in Japan) is a long running Survival Horror series developed by Capcom. While initially released on the Playstation 1, Resident Evil has since been featured on multiple gaming consoles including many Nintendo consoles (from the Gameboy Color/N64 to the 3DS/Wii). The games mostly revolve around a team or individual fighting for survival against a slew of monstrous beasts, most notably zombies. As the series has evolved, it has pretty much shied away from the "survival horror" genre and has geared itself more towards action. With that said however, Resident Evil is, without a doubt, Capcom's most profitable game series, surpassing even Street Fighter and, yes, Mega Man by a large number. So...why does Resident Evil deserve a rep Smash Bros rep...?
A fair question and one that's up for much debate; why does Resident Evil deserve representation in Super Smash Bros.? Well, one can answer this in a multitude of ways...
Resident Evil has a surprising amount of Nintendo relevancy.
Believe it or not, yes, Resident Evil is rather relevant to Nintendo. Well, at least moreso than Snake or many other 3rd Party characters are. For example, there are at least twelve Resident Evil games on Nintendo consoles with the entirety of the main series up until 5 being on the Gamecube. To break it down...
Gameboy Color: Resident Evil Gaiden
Nintendo 64: Resident Evil 2
Nintendo Gamecube: Resident Evil (REmake, considered the best version by far), Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil: Code Veronica X, Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 4
Nintendo DS: Resident Evil: Deadly Silence
Nintendo Wii: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil Archives
Nintendo 3DS: Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D, Resident Evil: Revelations
For a series that started on the PS1, RE sure has branched out to a multitude of Nintendo consoles...hmm...
Resident Evil characters can fit the Smash universe without being "out of character."
A common criticism my Travis Touchdown thread has gotten was that Travis would have to be toned down to fit into Smash, thus losing his character. That said, Resident Evil characters aren't particularly "off the wall violent" themselves (with the exception of one or two monsters who could be playable). Sure, Wesker can punch his hand through your torso or Chris can punch a guy's head to pieces, but they don't -HAVE- to and if they don't, they're not really losing anything.
Resident Evil has a wide variety of characters to pick from.
This is a blessing and a curse for people who would want a specific character. With that said however, I won't be going into the characters most likely to get in just yet, that'll be for later. That said, you have female reps, male reps, heroes, villains, monsters, projectile based characters, close range melee characters, speedy characters, slower characters...pretty much any character archetype could be made by picking a Resident Evil character.
Not all characters rely on firearms.
Wesker is the biggest example of this but by no means is he the only one. The potential monsters especially could be very melee based and, any of the humanoid characters, could easily play up other strengths. Look at Marvel for instance, Jill -RARELY- uses her guns in Marvel 3/Ultimate and in Marvel 2, her set is based around summons of monsters and such with very little firearm use. Chris uses the most in Marvel 3 but he plays as a very interesting zoner and could easily use more explosives (like Snake) in Smash while being a very unique character that plays nothing like Snake. Besides...who's to say the "gun ban" from Brawl will even return? I mean, it's not like it'd be anymore violent or graphic than hacking someone with Link's sword or having Bowser bite the foe.
People feel that Capcom deserves a rep.
With the number of Vs. Series games, people are dying for a Nintendo vs. Capcom-esque game. While you may not agree with the company's current...less than savory...business methods, it's undeniable that Capcom has created almost as many iconic characters as Nintendo themselves (if not more really!). While most will instantly say Ryu or Mega Man, looking at it from a sales perspective (or even a popularity perspective) will point straight to Resident Evil as well as the two "Capcom mascots."
Resident Evil is popular. Popularity = $$$.
There's a reason Resident Evil had four reps in Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3; it's REALLY freakin popular, undeniably so. For a sales figure, Resident Evil 5 has sold -5.8 million- copies as of June 30th of last year. As a comparison...Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV on both the PS3 and Xbox360 sold less than RE5...-combined.- Furthermore, Resident Evil 4 for the Wii and Gamecube sold a combined total of 3.78 million; very impressive considering RE4 was part of the Capcom 5, a series of five games developed by Capcom with the intent of driving up Gamecube sales and drawing in more 3rd party support to the struggling Ninty console.
Resident Evil in Smash is a win-win promotional deal.
Resident Evil's popular with the "older crowd", the crowd who may not have a WiiU or a 3DS. Like Snake, not only would an RE character's inclusion in Smash drive up sales from the RE fanboys, it'd raise interest in Resident Evil from those who may not have played it or may not know much about it. Considering Resident Evil Revelations is a critical success and a real powerhouse for the 3DS, it's clear that the interest is there for Resident Evil on Nintendo's turf.
Resident Evil is more relevant than most other potential Capcom reps.
To expand upon the idea up above about Capcom deserving a rep...most of the other potential Capcom reps are simply outclassed by Resident Evil's relevancy to the gaming world these days. Viewtiful Joe and Amaterasu, while amazing characters from some of my favorite games (I truly adore Okami and the first Viewtiful Joe), haven't had games in a considerable amount of time (with Viewtiful Joe being all but dead and Okamiden doing rather poorly). Sure they're in Marvel 3 and such (TvC too in Joe's case) but their future looks bleak at best with Okami HD probably being Ammy's last howl.
Mega Man is one of the most requested characters for Smash. Period. Despite Capcom's apparent "hatred" of him, his time in the sun seems to have diminished. His exclusion in Capcom's own Marvel vs Capcom 3 (and Ultimate) seemed to cement the Blue Bomber's fate and his delightfully hilarious appearance in Street Fighter x Tekken is viewed by many Megafans as a spit in the face of their favorite hero. With that said, Mega is still a classic hero (no matter how lame he may be in comparison to Protoman) and since Smash is all about All-Stars, Mega Man may be specifically requested by the dev team, especially since he'd fit into Smash better than Marvel.
Ryu is probably the biggest threat to any lesser known Capcom characters. He's Capcom's posterboy and the undeniable face of Capcom's fighting scene. -EVERY- Vs. Series game has him and almost every Capcom crossover has his goofy distant stare slapped straight onto the cover front and center. Ryu is iconic to the fighting community...in fact, Ryu is iconic to video games PERIOD. The red headband, the white gi, his trademark signature moves...-EVERYONE- knows Ryu, plain and simple. I'd honestly say he's got just as good of odds if not better than Mega (and Capcom actually likes him, zing!).
Chris is the main character of the Resident Evil series more or less, appearing in the very first game as the main playable male character opposite Jill. Since then he has appeared in all of the RE1 remakes, Resident Evil Code Veronica, Resident Evil 5, both Chronicles games, Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D and most recently in Resident Evil: Revelations. Chris is also set to appear in Resident Evil 6 as one of the main campaigns. Arguably, Chris has the most relevancy to the series' overall plot (alongside Jill) as his archenemy is the series' main antagonist, Albert Wesker.
Chris has also appeared in last year's Marvel vs. Capcom 3 as the third character to be revealed on the Capcom side along with his bitter enemy Wesker, his partner Jill and (later) the monstrous Nemesis.
Personality wise, Chris has a strong sense of justice and does what it takes to rid the world of the threat of B.O.W.'s (Bio-Organic Weapons). The man also punches boulders. For CRYING OUT LOUD THE MAN PUNCHES BOULDERS. He's pretty much the manliest thing since Captain Falcon and Snake brofisted while eating raw steak and smoking pornography. Chris is also...moderately family friendly for the Smash audience. He (repeatedly) expresses the value of teamwork and doesn't have to swear or murder or whatever to be in character. He's got some questionable moves such as MvC3's "throat slit" and his RE5 neckbreaker...but then again, Snake breaks necks too. Basically, Chris is all about justice; your regular old American hero sorta guy.
Moveset wise, Chris has a ton of potential due to having a total crapload of weaponry. His MvC3 moveset shows off exactly how he could play in Smash while having a whole lot MORE he could do in a less traditional fighter.
Albert Wesker, most commonly referred to simply as Wesker, is the main antagonist of the Resident Evil series, making his first appearance in Resident Evil as the traitorous captain of the STARS Alpha team. In the first game, Wesker was secretly working for the evil Umbrella Corporation and ultimately ended up injecting himself with an experimental virus given to him by William Birkin. This game him superhuman strength, speed and regenerative abilities but ended up costing him his humanity. It also gave him red, cat-like eyes that he hides behind his signature glasses. Wesker has appeared in most Resident Evil games and usually plays some role behind the scenes even if he isn't directly seen including RE1, RE0, RE4, RE5, RE:CV, RE:M3D and both Chronicles games.
Simply put, Wesker is an evil man with evil intentions. With delusions of a world crafted after his ideals, a world where he was the only god, Wesker views humanity as lesser beings and intends to be the judge of who is worthy and who isn't. Despite his mostly calm demeanor, Wesker hates Chris with a passion and plans to savor the moment that he finally kills his bitter enemy. This, unfortunately, leads to Wesker's greatest weakness; his cockiness. Wesker tends to toy around with his enemies (such as in Code Veronica and RE5) which ultimately ends up with them getting the better of him. Wesker, as previously mentioned, is cool, calm and collected (although he does shout "DAMMIT!" a lot, particularly in Marvel) meaning he'd be a rather unique personality to add to Smash. He's also +1 for the villain count and in all reality is probably more recognizable at this point than any other RE character meaning he could -EASILY- be the possible rep without being outclassed.
As for moveset potential, Wesker can move incredibly fast, usually represented as teleporting. He also rarely makes use of guns in the canon of the games (except his Samurai Edge) and knows a wide variety of hand-to-hand combat techniques. Marvel (like with Chris) pretty accurately shows how he would/should fight in a fighting game and moveset concepts from there could easily be ported over to Smash Bros. Plus he should remain top tier even in Smash; the right to be a god. That right is his.
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