In a recent interview with Official PlayStation Magazine, Resident Evil 3 producer Peter Fabiano confirmed that the upcoming Resident Evil 3 remake will not have multiple endings like the original.
Truth is that makes total sense. The Resident Evil series has had multiple entries since its third chapter and now has an established canon, which the Resident Evil 3 remake will need to fit into. Multiple endings would feel out of place and could cause confusion.
Also the multiple endings in the original RE3 weren’t really that different. Now just in case you care about such things; here’s a spoiler alert for a twenty year old game:
SPOILER ALERT
The original RE3 had three endings:
- Nikolai is killed by Nemesis so Jess and Carlos take his helicopter and escape.
- Nikolai steals the helicopter and get’s away. Jill and Carlos are rescued by Barry Burton. (Canon ending)
- Nikolai steals the helicopter but Jill shoots him down. Jill and Carlos are rescued by Barry Burton.
As you can see these endings are not that varied. The only real difference is that Nikolai escapes or he dies. Canonically, Nikolai escaped and has gone on to do other nefarious things in the Resident Evil universe. Although he’s never been seen again in person in any game.
As this is an established part of the Resi mythos it’s unlikely the RE3 remake will retcon it. But who knows they might, but isn’t it more interesting to leave the door open on Nikolai? Let’s not forget that Resident Evil 3’s story regarding Jill’s infection at the hands of Nemesis played an important role in Resident Evil 5. Changing it too much could risk shaking the established timeline.
Let’s not forget that Resident Evil 2 also had multiple endings, but the remake stripped these back so no matter what happened, the game always ended with Leon, Claire and Sherry escaping on the train. The remake needed to correct any scenarios where Ada Wong really did bite the dust, and therefore created an ending where no matter what happens, her survival is plausible. After all, Ada has an important role in RE4 and RE6. So changing endings for future story continuity is something Capcom aren’t afraid to do and have done before.
SPOILERS OVER
The multiple endings in RE3 felt a little tacked on and unnecessary, they were largely artificial and existed to give the player choice for choices sake. So we support dropping them in favour of one complete and consistent ending. Resident Evil is not Mass Effect and has never pretended to be. In survival horror choices are best made by the player through gameplay, not through arbitrary decisions that have no lasting consequences. Do we board up that window so more zombies can’t get in, or do we wait and board up a route that we use more often? Do we use this ammo now or run past monsters and save it for the boss?
The Resident Evil 1 remake also has multiple endings but it was a little strange to include them, as we all knew the canon ending was Chris, Jill, Barry, Rebecca and that chicken-$hit Brad, all escaped the Arkley Lab. What’s bizarre is the remake of RE1 didn’t actually feature an ending where all 5 characters escaped together, but we know they did; as each of them have appeared in later games or canon spin-off media. It seems like Capcom don’t want to repeat this mistake.
Capcom have used the RE remakes as ‘soft reboot’s in many ways, creating one coherent story in the process. We’re looking forward to seeing which ending they adapt, although we’re confident we know which one it will be. With some added surprises along the way.