A highlight of this year’s Summer Game Fest was Capcom’s reveal of the long-rumored Resident Evil: Code: Veronica remake. With a tense trailer and the same polish that’s come to be expected from the RE remakes, what is now christened Resident Evil Veronica was not only revealed to the world; it was bound for Switch 2.
Last weekend, we had the opportunity to sit in during a closed-door session dedicated to the game. Capcom opened their presentation with a special video focusing on the series timeline, using footage from the remade titles throughout, with one exception — more on that later.
That meant opening with the Resident Evil remake on GameCube (which still looks pretty good!), then cutting to the Resident Evil 2 remake. Care was put into emphasizing the characters’ roles in these games, tracing the path from Chris and Jill to Claire and Leon, and then to how Leon’s story pivoted to Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Requiem.
It was then that things rewound to the original Code: Veronica, including footage of the original release, Dreamcast graphics and all. I’m a fan of the aesthetic, but its age really showed. I imagine that was the point of including that specifically rather than any remake footage. How Veronica is Claire’s equivalent to Leon’s narrative path was emphasized repeatedly, highlighting their shared experience as Raccoon City survivors. The video closed by emphasizing Veronica’s role as the intersection of both Redfield siblings and the return of Albert Wesker, something that’s arguably essential to about half of the series’ narrative.
After the video, Resident Evil producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi opened the room for a Q&A session through an interpreter. No new footage was shown, but with the debut trailer fresh on all our minds, it was easy for the room to get the conversation going.
The first question, why remake Code: Veronica, was met with an easy answer. Hirabayashi re-emphasized how the game’s story fills in gaps in the series timeline for the remakes and more contemporary entries. Most reassuring was hearing something that those in the know have always believed — that Code: Veronica is seen as just as crucial to the series as any “numbered” title, and the remake would be given that same care and attention.
The intent behind the remake from a design standpoint was touched on as well. Just as Code: Veronica was largely informed by the original Resident Evil 2, they’re looking at the RE2 remake as a jumping-off point for Veronica. That said, they noted they’ve consistently looked at feedback from more recent titles. It was emphasized that Claire would be different from Leon’s playstyle in RE4 and Requiem.
When asked what specifically about Claire resonates with the team at Capcom, Hirabayashi noted her “strong sense of humanity” was something the entire team felt passionate about portraying. Claire and Leon weren’t the only characters discussed in the Q&A, though — when asked if the masked individual seen at the trailer’s conclusion was HUNK, he gave a coy answer, encouraging fans to guess.
Talking story (and coy responses), when asked if Veronica’s plot would be changed at all to better fit and tie into the remake continuity of events, Hirabayashi noted this as a “great question” and confirmed that there would be some changes, though nothing was specified. This prompted an ask about the game’s volume. Per Hirabayashi, Capcom doesn’t think “longer = better” when it comes to their games, and that REV would be a satisfying experience with a satisfying amount of content. And if you’ve never played Veronica? No worries — he made it clear you don’t have to appreciate what REV brings to the series and the remakes’ narrative.
Some questions tied to the game’s development were particularly illuminating. When asked how many dev teams Capcom has working on Resident Evil specifically, Hirabayashi noted that was a secret before adding a few crumbs. Specifically, that REV includes team members who worked on the remakes of 2 and 4, but a different team than Requiem.
When asked, he also clarified that the first-person portion of the Veronica debut trailer was just to maintain a level of surprise behind the game and Claire’s reveal to fans. REV will be third-person, with no way to change your POV to first person.
The Q&A wound down with a few questions that prompted laughs and appreciation. Perhaps spurred by the weekend’s reveal of Annapurna’s The Lost Wild, which features dinosaur-based survival horror, the subject of Dino Crisis came up. Naturally, we all got the expected “no comment,” but points for trying and keeping the dream alive.
I personally brought the conversation onto Switch 2, asking if there was any comment on the experience of developing for the system, which has proved itself quite capable with Capcom’s catalog if this weekend’s Monster Hunter Wilds news and the success of Pragmata and RE Requiem are anything to go by. Unfortunately, it was my second question that caught his attention, so that remained unanswered.
“Any hopes for a Claire Redfield amiibo?” prompted a big laugh from Hirabayashi, who noted that while it isn’t up to him, he’d absolutely love to see it. Speaking personally, with the emphasis on the throughline from RE2, having a Claire to complement the Leon figure only makes sense to me — we’d love to see it too!
If one thing became clear from this Q&A, it was Capcom and the dev team’s dedication to bringing totality to the Resident Evil series’ modern titles and remakes. RE2’s longstanding importance and influence were evident from the answers given, and it’s reassuring that the importance of giving Code: Veronica a similar treatment in its own remake has us even more eagerly anticipating when Resident Evil Veronica arrives in 2027.
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Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
