Because the physical editions of RE3 are going to be delayed locally, we just took the next best thing in the demo and have been playing it again and again and again and again…
We’ve basically played it to death and got killed by Nemesis quite a number of times along the way, but we’ve found some pretty interesting things that Capcom has scattered around the demo that made our side trips more than worth our while. Check them out!
The subway you start in is chock full of goodies you may have missed on your way to rid the city of the zombie infestation. One of the first things you’ll notice are these movie posters promoting Resident Evil 3. Around 3 different posters were scattered around the subway and if you were Jill or Carlos, it must be a surreal experience seeing yourself in these. You’re a S.T.A.R., literally!
Capcom sure loves its movie posters and another one we saw is this clever design referencing Capcom’s classic 1942 shooter game and the movie Top Gun. The design of the poster is strikingly close to the Top Gun poster from way back, right down to the cast placement and design of the title!
Capcom was up to it’s wily tricks again, cleverly disguising this poster for all Mega Man fans out there. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light from the Mega Man series take center stage here and even drawn differently, the captions on the poster definitely give this one away.
On the way up to ground level we saw this map of Raccoon City. Nothing really stands out until we decided to observe it a bit more… Looking familiar? Well it should, because it’s the exact same passageway you pass through while controlling Leon or Claire on your way to the RPD in their “A” scenarios! Capcom certainly has an eye for detail and it really shows with things like this and it serves as an interesting trip down memory lane knowing this part of the map is where Leon/Claire will begin their nightmarish run to the R.P.D.
Making your way to the ground level just like Carlos said and you might find this very conspicuous dedication to the Railway. While nothing may be out of the ordinary, fans of the original Resident Evil Nemesis may notice that it looks just like the the apparatus where you need to slot in the gems to open the City Hall gates. In this case, it’s just really a display but we’re excited to see it pop up again sooner or later in the game!
Make your way to ground level and you’ll eventually find the “Toy Uncle” toy store and if you take a peek inside, you may see something very familiar if you’re a Capcom fan. Yep, it’s an American Boxart Mega Man action figure for kids! There’s even a poster outside promoting the Blue Bomber, though why he’s yellow in that Western boxart and carries a gun instead of having his trademark Mega Buster is really anyone’s guess.
Look around the toy store a bit more and you’ll find this poster. While his back his turned, the title and gold armor should already chime you in on who this guy is. Yep! It’s Arthur from Capcom’s Ghost and Goblins series. And even if you had any doubt, Arthur’s name is literally spelled out at the bottom.
Here’s one more interesting poster that we found in the toy store. While it may be a longshot, the title of this game may just be a parody of Capcom’s own Monster Hunter. Is it just us or is that an Azure Rathalos, somehow?
Across the toy store is a locked supermarket that you can gain access to later in the demo. Until that time though, care to window shop for food? There’s an appetizing poster for Umbrella Noodles and… where have we seen that kind of design before? Well no doubt the font and colors look very similar to the well-known Cup Noodle brand from Japan!
It’s still quite hard to believe that Umbrella is a Pharmaceutical Company after everything that’s happened. While Safsrin and Aqua Cure may look like any other fictional product in Resident Evil, fans of the original game may remember they were used as passwords for a certain part of the game where you had to watch a video of a product commercial. Remember that random password bit? Yep, thought so!
Oh, and see the circled numbers on the lower right? Hmm, maybe it opens some sort of safe?
In another Capcom game reference, we find this Pet Store while most fans may not know who he is, the guy to the left is actually none other than Eagle from the original Street Fighter! So aside from that Sakura reference in Resident Evil 2, looks like Eagle decided to hang the sticks and get into the pet shop business. Too bad this particular branch had to be in Raccoon City, huh?
Obviously, we can’t wait to get our grubby hands on Resident Evil 3 when it comes out on April 3. Until them, time to go back and figure in a dodging match with Nemesis and maybe find a few more easter eggs along the way!