However, fans still can’t help but wonder what’s next for the Resident Evil franchise. The past two numbered games have wrapped up Ethan Winters’ story arc, and it’s unclear how far the remake line will go after Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 9 should be the next major stop for the series, possibly with another side game in the vein of Resident Evil Re:Verse along the way. However, there aren’t many clues as to what the game will be about. The fact that Resident Evil Village’s epilogue takes place sixteen years after the initial game plays fast and loose with the timeline, and doesn’t address some of its hanging plot threads. The only surefire thing that can be said about the next modern Resident Evil is that it will follow its predecessors in de-emphasizing the number in its title.
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Titles and Gameplay Both Changed with Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 and 8 have marked a sort of rebirth for the Resident Evil franchise. After Resident Evil 4 became a runaway success that redefined third-person shooters, Resident Evil lost its original identity. In an attempt to recapture the magic of RE4, Capcom diverted the series from survival horror-action into horror-themed action. A heavy emphasis on multiplayer elements also emerged, and the lion’s share of RE spin-offs became cooperative or competitive titles instead of typical Resident Evil adventures. This was not what fans wanted, and the whole franchise suffered from this direction.
Resident Evil 7 was intended to get the series back on track, and it did so with flying colors. Returning to Resident Evil’s mansion-based horror roots, players got the chance to explore the Baker family estate. Just to emphasize how different this entry was, Resident Evil 7 employed a true everyman protagonist with no combat experience, and shifted the whole game into first-person. For its final differentiating detail, Resident Evil 7 became the first entry since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis to adopt a subtitle, that being Resident Evil’s Japanese name Biohazard. It did, however, make a point of hiding the Roman numeral for seven in the “vil” part of “Resident Evil.” This was a fresh take on the classic horror franchise, and its success meant that fans hadn’t seen the last of its unique traits.
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Resident Evil Village Crystallized The Change to RE’s Name
Next came Resident Evil 8, which was immediately rechristened to Resident Evil Village. Like in the previous game, the Roman numeral indicating the game’s place in mainline RE was hidden somewhere in the logo. This time, the “Vill” in Village served as the perfect place for a Roman eight. Resident Evil Village carries on what Resident Evil 7 did in many ways, but its title dropping the typical number in advertising is one of the more subtle. It does work to group the Winters games together, but there is a more practical reason for it.
Long-running media franchises have a tendency to start off numbering their entries, but abandon those numbers as they go on. This is meant to attract new fans, and make it appear like this new entry is a good starting point. How much that’s true can vary, but it is successful enough to keep happening. The recent pair of God of War games are technically God of War 4 and 5, but they have distanced themselves enough from prior entries to ditch the numbers. The Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest franchises are the exceptions that prove the rule, taking pride in their ever climbing numbers.
How Changes To Resident Evil 7 and 8 Will Impact 9
There’s a good chance that Resident Evil 9 will not return to the gameplay of the original Resident Evil trilogy, the action of RE4, 5, and 6, the remakes, or the Winters duology. With the firm statement that Ethan Winters’ story has concluded and a return to third-person gameplay in the Winters’ Expansion, Resident Evil 9 is shaping up to be something altogether different. It could be a hybrid of Resident Evil’s iterations, or it could try something new. Regardless, it should set itself apart from the rest of the series, and signpost that it’s doing so upfront. Masking its designation as the ninth Resident Evil with a subtitle will likely return from Biohazard and Village.
What that will be is a mystery for now. Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise is ripe for expansion in any direction, with the past couple games having essentially introduced magic to the setting. The series has established itself as a globetrotting adventure, with the nearby settings of the initial trilogy quickly giving way to foreign soil. Even the return to North America in Resident Evil 7 shifted backdrops to the swampy southern parts of the United States.
Regardless of what Resident Evil 9 turns out to be, its subtitle will probably foreshadow some significant part of it, in addition to having some letters in it forming the Roman numeral IX, or nine. Whether it’s a return to zombies or continuing the current narrative of biological threats resembling other monsters, Resident Evil 9 and its true name should make for a novel experience.
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