After the incredible success of Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube in 2005, Capcom took their sweet time coming out with a fifth entry in their survival horror franchise (Resident Evil 5 had one year of concept and planning and then three years of actual development before being released in 2009). Since that game would be released on the Playstation 3 and XBox 360, Capcom still needed to develop a game for the Wii. That game would be the on-rails shooter Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, which they co-developed with Cavia.
Interestingly enough, The Umbrella Chronicles was meant to be more like Resident Evil 4, but when the Wii was revealed to have a different control system, Capcom adapted the game to suit that platform’s controls.
From IGN’s 2007 interview with the game’s producer Masachika Kawata:
“At the initial stage of development, Umbrella Chronicles’ play system was similar to Resident Evil 4’s,” producer Masachika Kawata told Famitsu in a video interview. “But, it’s extremely difficult on Wii. Too complicated to enjoy. Wii users like easiness. Umbrella Chronicles is not only for game enthusiasts. Complex operability can be an obstacle for Wii users. We want players to enjoy the game’s horrifying and creepy world and its thrilling shooting action. By reducing enthusiast-only elements, players can purely enjoy the world.”
That statement is a little insulting to Wii users as it generalizes us as being particularly lazy, but it is what it is. Wii users were given The Umbrella Chronicles and PS3/XBox 360 users were gifted with Resident Evil 5 two years later (Resident Evil 5 is actually the reason I bought a Playstation 3 after years of being a Nintendo kid).
When discussions of the Resident Evil franchise are taking place, The Umbrella Chronicles and its sequel The Darkside Chronicles are rarely mentioned (including on this site). This is a travesty, as it’s actually the best installment outside of the main series of games (and it’s certainly better than Resident Evil 6). Why isn’t the game mentioned more or celebrated as a successful alteration on the tried-and-true Resident Evil formula? I am sure I don’t know, but I’m going to change that with this article. #JusticeForTheUmbrellaChronicles
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles essentially serves as a Sparknotes version of Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Each of the various episodes in The Umbrella Chronicles (each main game received about 3-4 episodes), you were caught up on the storyline of the main Resident Evil games. It was a puzzling decision to exclude Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica and Resident Evil 4 from the game, but they would get their attention in the sequel Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (a fun but lesser sequel that made head shots easier but increased the amount of dizzying shaky cam mechanics).
In addition to abbreviated versions of those games, The Umbrella Chronicles also put you in control of series villain Albert Wesker in an original storyline that shows how he survived the events at the mansion in Resident Evil and what he was up to before Resident Evil 5. The game also featured a sequel episode that featured Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they and other armed anti-bioweapon activists investigate the Umbrella Corporation’s final stronghold in Russia. There are plenty of rewards for longtime Resident Evil fans hidden in The Umbrella Chronicles.
The Umbrella Chronicles puts you in control of the main two characters of those main games (Billy and Rebecca, Chris and Jill, Jill and Carlos) in an on-the-rails shooter where all you have to do is use the Wii-motes to shoot the monsters that attack the screen. To make the game even more fun, Capcom and Cavia added co-op gameplay, giving the game a House of the Dead feel. To prevent the game from getting boring, the players’ tasks weren’t limited to just killing zombies. You were graded during each episode based on the number of critical hits (aka head shots) you dealt, the number of files you uncovered, objects you destroyed, and how long it took you to beat the episode (this would be determined by how long boss fights took you). For being a rail shooter, it’s a really immersive experience that sucks you in. the unlockable files make the game more addicting than most games of its kind.
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles was criticized for the difficulty of the head shots, but once you practiced a bit it actually became very easy (head shots only counted if you hit the zombies at the very tip of their forehead). Also, once you find all of the secrets there isn’t much replay value other than having a fun game night with a friend. That being said, it was still a fairly long game. While one playthrough takes about 7 hours, it could take you over 20 hours to find all of the collectibles and unlock all of The Umbrella Chronicles’ secrets.
Is The Umbrella Chronicles the best Resident Evil game out there? Hardly, but it is certainly the best game that is not in the main series and it deserves to be discussed more often. Did you play The Umbrella Chronicles when it was released nine years ago? If so, what were your thoughts? Share your memories of this underrated game in the comments below!
