Why Mikami shifted Resident Evil from horror to action
There is a clear line of delineation within the Resident Evil series that splits the games into either the survival-horror camp of the originals, or the more action-focused affairs of Resident Evil 4 and beyond. Series creator Shinji Mikami says this switch in tone was fueled by the reception of the Resident Evil remake for the GameCube.
"The Resident Evil remake is actually one of my favorites of the series too. But it didn't sell very well," creator Shinji Mikami tells IGN. "Maybe there weren't many people ready to accept that. Because of the reaction to the Resident Evil remake, I decided to work more action into Resident Evil 4. Resident Evil 4 would have been a more scary, horror-focused game if the remake had sold well."
Resident Evil 4 has been displayed to the public in (at least) two distinct forms. There's the Resident Evil 4 we all know and love, but prototype video suggests an experience akin to the slow, hulking pace of the original games.
"That all came out of the commercial failure of the Resident Evil remake. And then of course Resident Evil 4 sold really well," Mikami says. "I have kind of a lingering trauma there, because the Resident Evil remake didn't sell – much more than people would think."
