Getting to replay almost the entire Resident Evil series thanks to the Switch 2 ports this year has been a treat, but most of them have been at least somewhat familiar to me. Even though I hadn’t played the Resident Evil 2 remake a whole lot before, I played around half of the original. Resident Evil 4 and 7 are two of my favourite games of all time, so going back to them was like a wonderful warm zombie hug. I’d never played Resident Evil 3 in any form before this review though, not even for five minutes at a friend’s house. I knew it was the Nemesis game, I knew that it featured fan favourite Jill Valentine, and I knew it was famously short but sweet, but that’s it. For all intents and purposes Resident Evil 3 is a new game for me, and it was a wonderful rollercoaster ride while it lasted.
In Resident Evil 3 you play as Jill Valentine, who is currently trapped in quarantine in Raccoon City. Obviously this is because of zombies and the T-Virus, which have pretty much destroyed this once thriving metropolis. Jill herself isn’t just some ordinary citizen trapped in a shitty situation though, she’s a special forces badass who’s a member of a team called S.T.A.R.S. She got to see all sorts of Umbrella corruption on her previous mission, and the evil megacorp want her and all the other S.T.A.R.S lot dead because of it. That’s why they created Nemesis, an unstoppable monster who will pursue and destroy until it gets the job done. The rest of the story of Resident Evil 3 is pretty fantastic, with plenty of memorable supporting characters alongside a whole lot of action.
When Resident Evil 2 switched to over the shoulder shooting it was able to maintain the tension thanks to tight spaces, but Resident Evil 3 is a totally different beast. Set out in the city you rarely feel quite so trapped by single enemies, and with the addition of a quick dodge you can weave through crowds untouched if your timing is on point. Despite many similarities Resident Evil 3 feels more like an action horror romp than a terrifying struggle, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Resi 3 is a game that never takes its foot off the accelerator for a second, constantly sending you from one nightmare to another without a care in the world. As the world around you burns and floods with the undead, you’re rushing between locations to fix trains and find hoses to put out the flames. This is still overwhelming and stressful of course, and requires that same careful management of inventory and limited bullets.
Completing your objectives and escaping the city is made all the more difficult thanks to Nemesis, who makes regular appearances to ruin your day. Unlike Mr X before him there’s no real stealth you can employ to deal with this tentacled tank, and instead you just have to run and dodge. There’s nothing Nemesis loves more than smashing through a door to ruin your day, and despite his size he’s also able to move fast thanks to his tendrils that boost him about. His constant presence means you end up dodging your way through more zombies than you kill, and that’s exactly how I like to play my horror games.
The action movie nature of Resident Evil 3 means there’s always something going on, be it some wild chase sequence or a tricky task like navigating a spider maze to flip some switches. The variety is just wonderful, and will keep even those with the shortest attention spans hooked from start to finish. Once you’re done with the six hour campaign though there’s not really much else to do, other than replay on harder difficulties. There are no bonus stories, different routes or mercenaries modes to jump into here, just one exceptional campaign.
Resident Evil 3 was already beloved on the other home consoles, and you probably don’t need me to tell you it’s great. You do need me to tell you about the Switch 2 port though, which (as you’re probably expecting from Capcom) is spectacular. On the smaller screen of the Switch 2 this horror masterpiece looks just as good as it did on the powerful behemoths hiding behind your TV, and it runs flawlessly. There’s no reason at all to play the game somewhere else if handheld gaming is your preference, so just let Nemesis follow you everywhere with the power of the Switch 2.
Resident Evil 3 is an intense and action packed horror game that never lets up the pace for a single second. The Switch 2 version of the game is exceptional too, and as far as I’m concerned the ideal way to play it. As long as you don’t mind that the extras are a little limited compared to other Resident Evil games you’ll have a blast with Jill and Nemmy, just remember to take a breath every so often.
