Gamertell

And so, here we are at the pinnacle of our list of the top 5 hardcore Wii franchises. We’ve been to fantasy worlds, we’ve been to hospitals, we’ve been in outer space, and we’ve explored dungeons. Now, we’re going to a quiet little town named Raccoon City for a home tour, to take in the local color, and maybe get our head eaten off.

Resident Evil is likely as hardcore as franchises get on the Wii. You’re killing zombies, after all. Violently.

There are shotguns and chainsaws and axes and RPGs and giant fish but there’s also fancy jewelry you can wash off for cash reward. See? Something for everyone.

Although the Resident Evil games involve numerous characters in various locales, they all center around Umbrella Corporation and the “biohazard” that created all manner of hideously mutated monsters you must kill, not to mention all the zombies (or “not zombies,” depending upon the game you’re playing).

For the most part, there are two types of Wii compatible Resident Evil games. You’ve got your third-person shooters, in which you have complete control of your characters movement and decisions while exploring mansions, castles, cities, etc. Then, you’ve got your on-the-rails shooters, in which movement and camera positioning are controlled by the game, leaving you in charge of aiming and shooting. Both provide effectively creepy (if not downright frightening) moments and both can get quite intense. You don’t get the freedom of exploration you do within the world of Zelda but the puzzles can be equally as tricky and the boss battles are much more challenging and fun to play.

Is it hardcore?
In every sense of the word. The mature ratings come pretty much solely from the graphic violence and horror but violence doesn’t necessarily beget hardcore (or shouldn’t, anyway), and it in no way means you’ll be getting a great game. Rather, what makes these games such incredible experiences are the seriousness with which they’re approached and the faithfulness to the world they’ve created. It’s easy to drop into lowbrow comedy with zombie action but Resident Evil continues its focus on the terror.

The characters in the game feel real (with the possible exception of Ada Wong, who fights zombies in heels and an evening dress), which helps to draw you into the game. If confronted with zombies, giant snakes and rabid dogs, are you going to crack one-liners or are you going to concentrate on not becoming food? I thought so. And because the various Resident Evil games recycle characters, we come to know them and like them: Leon, Jill, Chris, Ada, Rebecca… ah, adorable Rebecca. You will not be harmed on my watch, young lady.

With Resident Evil, Capcom has created a universe that’s fun to visit over and over again. It’s a horror franchise that’s more fulfilling than any horror movie franchise out there these days (including the godawful Resident Evil movies), and is also at the top of Wii hardcore game franchises. If you don’t mind watching monster heads explode, you owe it to yourself to check this series out. Even the WiiMakes are a blast.

How deep does it go?
Pretty deep, thanks to the aforementioned WiiMakes. Resident Evil 4, an over-the-shoulder shooter, is a good place to start, as it offers the best gameplay experience for the Wii. If you’d rather start with something that requires less brain power, you can try the on-the-rails action of Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. Get through that before Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles comes out next year (2010).

Beyond that, Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil, the WiiMake of the Game Cube remake of the original PlayStation game, is now available (see the Gamertell review), with Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero due out later this year (2009). The Game Cube versions of both games, along with Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and Resident Evil Code: Veronica X—can likely be found now on eBay and at used game shots if you don’t want to wait. It’s a lot of zombies that must be killed. Think you have enough bullets?

In Summary

So, there you have it; the top 5 hardcore Wii franchises for those seeking proof that the Wii can handle more than balloon popping and yoga. There are other franchises that could’ve made this list (Call of Duty and Tomb Raider come immediately to mind) but in my years of Wii gaming, I’ve found these to be the best. The Wii will never appeal to developers of hardcore games as do the Xbox and PlayStation, but four of the five franchises here will likely never exist outside the Wii, and that’s certainly something that works in our favor.

Game on, my friends.

Top Five Hardcore Wii Franchises:

Series Introduction
#5: Fire Emblem
#4: Trauma Center
#3: Metroid
#2: The Legend of Zelda
#1: Resident Evil

Read [Legend of Zelda]