Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Encyclopedia
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, known as in Japan, is an on-rails shooter video game for the Wii
developed by Capcom
and Cavia. The game was released on November 17, 2009 in North America. It was released in Europe on November 27, 2009 bundled with the Wii Zapper accessory.
and Resident Evil Code: Veronica
, and a new chapter is featured. For the Resident Evil 2 segment, the player takes control of protagonists Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, with Sherry Birkin acting as an escort character in one chapter. The Code: Veronica chapter features Claire, accompanied by fellow Rockfort Island prisoner Steve Burnside and later her brother Chris Redfield
.
In 2002, somewhere in South America, Leon S. Kennedy and his partner Jack Krauser are searching for Javier Hidalgo, an ex-drug lord who had been reported to be approaching Umbrella Inc. However, when Leon and Krauser reach the nearby village, they discover that the people there have been turned into zombies. Some zombies have the Sacred Snakes indentation, meaning that they worked alongside Javier. Leon and Krauser find their guide who, before he dies and has his body taken away by a water-bound BOW, says that the girl (Manuela) "brought devils to this village." Fighting their way past more BOWs and hungry piranhas, Leon and Krauser eventually find the girl, but have to face the creature that took their village guide. They successfully chase it off after Leon shoots the bell tower which causes it to fall on the creature. Krauser asks Leon to tell him everything about how he first encountered the BOWs. The scenario resumes after Resident Evil 2
.
Due to rising water levels, the survivors make their way to the water dam, where Javier and his BOWs await. Javier releases the monsters to attack Leon and Krauser while attempting to retrieve Manuela. It is revealed by Javier that Manuela is his daughter and that he had been tampering with the T-Veronica virus. Leon tells Krauser the "Game of Oblivion" incident from Resident Evil Code: Veronica
to give him the knowledge of the virus. Both of them also discover that Manuela has been receiving regular doses of the T-Veronica virus to contain her illness. At this point, Krauser finally pledges to Leon that he will view Leon as a worthy partner. Soon after, they learn that the reason Javier has been kidnapping young girls is because he was trying to extract organs to perform transplants in order to cure Manuela. Almost immediately, they are confronted by the gigantic monster that ambushed them back at the church, who they soon learn is actually Manuela's mother. Having the same illness as Manuela, she mutated due to the failure to keep the virus in check. Right before dying, she shoots out spikes from her body, one of which pierces into the arm of Krauser, wounding him. After defeating Manuela's mother, Javier injects himself with the T-Veronica virus. He begins to mutate and attacks Leon and the injured Krauser. Manuela assists Leon and Krauser in the battle against her father by using T-Veronica, at the risk of turning into a monster herself. The three survive, and are rescued by helicopter. The US government takes care of Manuela, and Leon and Krauser's story continues in Resident Evil 4
.
An alternate ending occurs if the player takes too long to defeat the final boss, where Manuela loses too much blood from the fight and fades into embers in the helicopter.
Memories of a Lost City
This scenario re-tells the events of Resident Evil 2, leading up to when Leon and Claire destroy 'G' (a mutated William Birkin). Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy have just arrived in Raccoon City, when they learn that the city has been infested with zombies and other monsters. They decide to go to the police station, hoping to find answers and discover Umbrella's involvement in the ordeal. William's own daughter, Sherry, becomes his target and Leon and Claire must protect her from becoming mutated by his G-virus. All the while stalked by the powerful Tyrant and dealing with the mysterious agenda of Ada Wong.
Game of Oblivion
An abridged re-telling of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside remain together and attempt to escape Rockfort Island in a seaplane, while having to contend with the psychotic Alfred Ashford, and eventually, his sister Alexia. Claire and Steve are eventually separated and Chris arrives to help her find him, before taking on Alexia. In this iteration of the story, their father Alexander Ashford makes his first physical appearance, in a video, prior to becoming the monster known as Nosferatu.
Darkness Falls
Darkness Falls is a hidden story of the game which tells the thoughts of Krauser. This scenario follows right after Krauser's acceptance of Leon in the middle of the game. As the trio goes deeper into Javier's hideout, Krauser's faith is shaken when he discovered the background of Leon. As he learns more about Javier's intentions with the virus, he finds himself beginning to accept Javier's thinking. The injury sustained during the fight against Manuela's mutated mother causes Krauser to lose confidence when he found himself having to rely on Leon, rendering his thought of what is going to happen to him after completing the mission. During the final battle against the mutated Javier, Manuela uses her T-Veronica virus to fight her father. The demonstration of the T-Veronica virus helps in convincing Krauser that the dark side is the path he has to take, especially when he believes that the military will throw him aside once they learn of his injury. After the mission, it was discovered that there's no way to heal Krauser's arm. Krauser soon begins his search of Wesker for power.
that will try to convey a sense of actually being in the game. To research realistic camera shaking in hectic situations, one of the team members went out in town for a day to make motion tests with a camcorder
. Another important aspect to create the game's atmosphere was achieving high-quality graphics, which cavia used all their resources for. Kawata was very satisfied with the result and went on to say that the only thing really setting the visuals apart from next-generation consoles is the lack of HD display
. He also mentioned that there is a plethora of attractive content to use for more games in the Chronicles series and the decision of their development would largely depend on cavia's future involvement.
As the game's development began before the production of Degeneration
and because of the different timeframe, Kawata ruled out connections to the CG film and Resident Evil 5
, though he hinted at the appearance of new characters and the exploration of the Birkins' and the Ashfords' family ties.
who is also highly experienced with classical music.
gave The Darkside Chronicles 8.1 out of 10. Compliments were given to the graphics, music, playability, and longevity of the title, but the camera was said to be mildly distracting and the story can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the Resident Evil franchise.
GameSpot
gave the game a 6.0 out of 10. They stated "The only thing scary about this light-gun game is the dreadful shaky camera."
AceGamez scored the game 85%, praising its simplicity but criticising the erratic difficulty at higher levels, saying this made "the game insanely difficult on any setting above Easy. An awful lot of enemies appear so close to you that you have to land headshots just to avoid a nasty bite".
In November 2009 Capcom was forced to defend the game from the allegations from the Christian Church
of the United Kingdom, which said that it glamorizes violence and promotes the occult, with spokesperson Leo Tan stating: "This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society’s ills on video games. It’s just absurd." However, the website totalvideogames.com states that, in an interview with the clergymen in question, that he never commented on the game, and the whole incident was a misunderstanding. TVG.com further goes on to say this was all likely a PR stunt.
The Darkside Chronicles placed at number 151 on NPD Group
's year-end 2009 sales ranking. In Japan, the game began as the third best-selling game in the region at 73,000 units sold. In France, the game sold 16,000 units during its debut.
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
developed by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
and Cavia. The game was released on November 17, 2009 in North America. It was released in Europe on November 27, 2009 bundled with the Wii Zapper accessory.
Plot
The game's plot revolves around the personal stories and tragedies in the series. Its main focus is retelling the events of Resident Evil 2Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
and Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica, released in Japan as , is the fourth installment in Capcom's Resident Evil survival horror series, originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000...
, and a new chapter is featured. For the Resident Evil 2 segment, the player takes control of protagonists Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, with Sherry Birkin acting as an escort character in one chapter. The Code: Veronica chapter features Claire, accompanied by fellow Rockfort Island prisoner Steve Burnside and later her brother Chris Redfield
Chris Redfield
is a fictional character from Capcom's Resident Evil series.Chris is one of the two main protagonists in the first Resident Evil game, the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his...
.
Scenarios
Operation JavierIn 2002, somewhere in South America, Leon S. Kennedy and his partner Jack Krauser are searching for Javier Hidalgo, an ex-drug lord who had been reported to be approaching Umbrella Inc. However, when Leon and Krauser reach the nearby village, they discover that the people there have been turned into zombies. Some zombies have the Sacred Snakes indentation, meaning that they worked alongside Javier. Leon and Krauser find their guide who, before he dies and has his body taken away by a water-bound BOW, says that the girl (Manuela) "brought devils to this village." Fighting their way past more BOWs and hungry piranhas, Leon and Krauser eventually find the girl, but have to face the creature that took their village guide. They successfully chase it off after Leon shoots the bell tower which causes it to fall on the creature. Krauser asks Leon to tell him everything about how he first encountered the BOWs. The scenario resumes after Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
.
Due to rising water levels, the survivors make their way to the water dam, where Javier and his BOWs await. Javier releases the monsters to attack Leon and Krauser while attempting to retrieve Manuela. It is revealed by Javier that Manuela is his daughter and that he had been tampering with the T-Veronica virus. Leon tells Krauser the "Game of Oblivion" incident from Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica, released in Japan as , is the fourth installment in Capcom's Resident Evil survival horror series, originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000...
to give him the knowledge of the virus. Both of them also discover that Manuela has been receiving regular doses of the T-Veronica virus to contain her illness. At this point, Krauser finally pledges to Leon that he will view Leon as a worthy partner. Soon after, they learn that the reason Javier has been kidnapping young girls is because he was trying to extract organs to perform transplants in order to cure Manuela. Almost immediately, they are confronted by the gigantic monster that ambushed them back at the church, who they soon learn is actually Manuela's mother. Having the same illness as Manuela, she mutated due to the failure to keep the virus in check. Right before dying, she shoots out spikes from her body, one of which pierces into the arm of Krauser, wounding him. After defeating Manuela's mother, Javier injects himself with the T-Veronica virus. He begins to mutate and attacks Leon and the injured Krauser. Manuela assists Leon and Krauser in the battle against her father by using T-Veronica, at the risk of turning into a monster herself. The three survive, and are rescued by helicopter. The US government takes care of Manuela, and Leon and Krauser's story continues in Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
.
An alternate ending occurs if the player takes too long to defeat the final boss, where Manuela loses too much blood from the fight and fades into embers in the helicopter.
Memories of a Lost City
This scenario re-tells the events of Resident Evil 2, leading up to when Leon and Claire destroy 'G' (a mutated William Birkin). Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy have just arrived in Raccoon City, when they learn that the city has been infested with zombies and other monsters. They decide to go to the police station, hoping to find answers and discover Umbrella's involvement in the ordeal. William's own daughter, Sherry, becomes his target and Leon and Claire must protect her from becoming mutated by his G-virus. All the while stalked by the powerful Tyrant and dealing with the mysterious agenda of Ada Wong.
Game of Oblivion
An abridged re-telling of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside remain together and attempt to escape Rockfort Island in a seaplane, while having to contend with the psychotic Alfred Ashford, and eventually, his sister Alexia. Claire and Steve are eventually separated and Chris arrives to help her find him, before taking on Alexia. In this iteration of the story, their father Alexander Ashford makes his first physical appearance, in a video, prior to becoming the monster known as Nosferatu.
Darkness Falls
Darkness Falls is a hidden story of the game which tells the thoughts of Krauser. This scenario follows right after Krauser's acceptance of Leon in the middle of the game. As the trio goes deeper into Javier's hideout, Krauser's faith is shaken when he discovered the background of Leon. As he learns more about Javier's intentions with the virus, he finds himself beginning to accept Javier's thinking. The injury sustained during the fight against Manuela's mutated mother causes Krauser to lose confidence when he found himself having to rely on Leon, rendering his thought of what is going to happen to him after completing the mission. During the final battle against the mutated Javier, Manuela uses her T-Veronica virus to fight her father. The demonstration of the T-Veronica virus helps in convincing Krauser that the dark side is the path he has to take, especially when he believes that the military will throw him aside once they learn of his injury. After the mission, it was discovered that there's no way to heal Krauser's arm. Krauser soon begins his search of Wesker for power.
Gameplay
The Darkside Chronicles is an on-rails shooter. The player's partner is seen on screen during gameplay. There is a new evade move to set The Darkside Chronicles apart from other on-rails shooters. There were also some gameplay changes; for example, head shots were made easier for players to perform and a status screen was implemented. The game automatically adjusts its difficulty, depending on the players' skill level. Other new features include online leaderboards and a system to tell the players' reticules apart from each other in a co-op session.Development
The development of The Darkside Chronicles as an on-rails shooter was decided because Kawata considered it the best way to retell the scenarios that could not be included in the previous game. With this title, he wanted to put a much bigger emphasis on horror, employing a camera systemVirtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
that will try to convey a sense of actually being in the game. To research realistic camera shaking in hectic situations, one of the team members went out in town for a day to make motion tests with a camcorder
Camcorder
A camcorder is an electronic device that combines a video camera and a video recorder into one unit. Equipment manufacturers do not seem to have strict guidelines for the term usage...
. Another important aspect to create the game's atmosphere was achieving high-quality graphics, which cavia used all their resources for. Kawata was very satisfied with the result and went on to say that the only thing really setting the visuals apart from next-generation consoles is the lack of HD display
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
. He also mentioned that there is a plethora of attractive content to use for more games in the Chronicles series and the decision of their development would largely depend on cavia's future involvement.
As the game's development began before the production of Degeneration
Resident Evil: Degeneration
Resident Evil: Degeneration, known in Japan as , is the first full-length CG animation feature based upon Capcom's Resident Evil video game series. The film was made by Capcom Studios in cooperation with Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Entertainment...
and because of the different timeframe, Kawata ruled out connections to the CG film and Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe...
, though he hinted at the appearance of new characters and the exploration of the Birkins' and the Ashfords' family ties.
Soundtrack
For the music of The Darkside Chronicles, series veterans Shusaku Uchiyama and Takeshi Miura have been brought back to compose and arrange tracks for the retellings of the games they originally worked on, with Uchiyama being responsible for Resident Evil 2 and Miura in charge of Code: Veronica. Part of the soundtrack has been recorded with a group of over 40 musicians known as Tokyo Shitsunaigaku Kyokai Co., Ltd. and a chorus of 30 singers. The orchestral arrangements were done by game and anime composer Yoshihisa HiranoYoshihisa Hirano
is a Japanese composer.- Biography :Yoshihisa Hirano studied composing at Juilliard School in 1992, and later at Eastman School of Music. Some of the awards he has received include first prize in the Axia Tape Competition in Japan during his high school years and New York's New Music for Young...
who is also highly experienced with classical music.
Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave The Darkside Chronicles 8.1 out of 10. Compliments were given to the graphics, music, playability, and longevity of the title, but the camera was said to be mildly distracting and the story can be confusing for those unfamiliar with the Resident Evil franchise.
GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a 6.0 out of 10. They stated "The only thing scary about this light-gun game is the dreadful shaky camera."
AceGamez scored the game 85%, praising its simplicity but criticising the erratic difficulty at higher levels, saying this made "the game insanely difficult on any setting above Easy. An awful lot of enemies appear so close to you that you have to land headshots just to avoid a nasty bite".
In November 2009 Capcom was forced to defend the game from the allegations from the Christian Church
Christian Church
The Christian Church is the assembly or association of followers of Jesus Christ. The Greek term ἐκκλησία that in its appearances in the New Testament is usually translated as "church" basically means "assembly"...
of the United Kingdom, which said that it glamorizes violence and promotes the occult, with spokesperson Leo Tan stating: "This is scaremongering and typical religious hysteria. You cannot blame society’s ills on video games. It’s just absurd." However, the website totalvideogames.com states that, in an interview with the clergymen in question, that he never commented on the game, and the whole incident was a misunderstanding. TVG.com further goes on to say this was all likely a PR stunt.
The Darkside Chronicles placed at number 151 on NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
's year-end 2009 sales ranking. In Japan, the game began as the third best-selling game in the region at 73,000 units sold. In France, the game sold 16,000 units during its debut.