Dead Rising is getting a “Deluxe Remaster”, set to launch on modern consoles at some point this year. More information about the game – including, presumably, some clarity on what a “Deluxe Remaster” actually is – will be revealed next Monday during a CAPCOM showcase.
On the one hand, this is very exciting news. The original Dead Rising is one of my favourite games of all time, an abrasive and challenging experience that masterfully blends slapstick comedy with domestic horror. I feel like I summed up my feelings about it pretty well when I revisited the game two years ago for RPS:
…this is one of most complete and dynamic spaces ever featured in a video game. The Willemete Parkview Mall is stuffed full of weapons and items to use against the zombies, your abilities bolstered by a fistful of inventive systems that encourage emergent play. Basically, Dead Rising is a sandbox wrapped in barbed wire, a creative toolkit that threatens to slam the lid shut onto your fingers if you have too much fun. It’s startlingly antagonistic in a way that feels absurdly unique in 2022. It makes me wish there were more games like Dead Rising, titles that present you with a buffet of possibilities but only the tiniest of plates. I can’t see it happening, sadly. A bit too abrasive these days, perhaps.
In many ways, Dead Rising is the perfect candidate for a lavish CAPCOM remaster. The original game is full of small issues that would benefit from some tweaking. Survivor AI is wank. Being unable to interact with the environment while accepting missions via the radio is infuriating. Although I firmly believe that the time-based mission structure should not be changed, I’ll concede that the game could do a better job of visualising its various branching paths. Better yet, it could communicate that missing some things is part of the fun, something many players have struggled to make peace with in the 15 years since its original release.
What I would not change, however, is Frank West, the game’s main character. The history behind Frank’s design is unique, in that it neatly symbolises CAPCOM’s approach towards game design – and marketing – in the mid-2000s. Western gamers weren’t gravitating towards Japanese games, so CAPCOM decided to pivot more towards their (perceived) interests instead. Project lead Keiji Inafune commented in 2010 that they “wanted to make a more rough, tough, gritty character” that would better appeal to American audiences, a stark change in direction from the usual pretty boys and babygirls that had fronted previous CAPCOM favourites such as Resident Evil, Ominusha and Dino Crisis. In fact the original requirement was to “make Frank ugly”, which is an incredible dunk on western game protagonists during the PS2 and 360 generations.
The result was a schlubby everyman that works in two ways. For starters, Frank is not a seasoned zombie-killing professional, making his reactions to the situation at the Willamette Parkview Mall feel believable. He helps events feel grounded, no matter how ridiculous they may get. More importantly, the nature of Frank’s profession as a photojournalist enhances the game’s meta-commentary on American excess and the way capital is prioritised even when faced with an incomprehensible disaster. Frank is a leering, paparazzi-style figure who views events through the lens of his camera first, distilling the horror into a point-based minigame that rewards the player for shots emphasising gore and erotic content. It’s intentionally gross. Frank doesn’t need to look slimy. His actions speak for themselves!
Combined with an excellent performance by TJ Rotolo, Frank became an iconic CAPCOM character to the extent that the developers have struggled to replicate the original’s success without his presence. Dead Rising 2 was a worthy follow-up, but fans missed Frank so much that the company re-released it with Frank replacing newcomer Chuck as the game’s lead one year later. Dead Rising 3 lost sight of the series’s tone entirely, while Dead Rising 4 brought back Frank in what was clearly a cheap nostalgia play to abysmal results. Frank is an essential component of what makes Dead Rising work, and CAPCOM can’t seem to understand that.
So with all this in mind, I have mixed feelings about Frank’s new design in this remaster. My gut reaction is simple: I think he looks fucking terrible. From certain angles I suppose he looks alright, I guess? When we first see him removing his sunglasses on the helicopter, he looks like Frank West! But as he leaps out of the helicopter, he looks like Al Bundy.
Frank looks older, uglier and more unkempt. His receding hairline is exaggerated, his features are more comically proportioned. Dead Rising is famously full of grotesque characters, but as we discussed earlier in this post Frank is intentionally not one of them.
With a vague 2024 release date, my concerns at the moment are fairly minimal (despite the exaggerated headline lol). I suspect this isn’t a full remake developed in CAPCOM’s impressive RE Engine – they’ve said as much by purposefully using the word remaster in the title, I think – and I imagine that leaves them unable to leverage the impressive facial tech that framework provides. Perhaps there’s only so much they can do in the face department!
On the other hand, they could also alter it to better reflect the original character model in the run-up to release. We saw that happen with Infamous 2, if you remember that whole saga (it’s probably a good thing if you don’t).
My biggest problem is that CAPCOM have once again snubbed TJ Rotolo, opting to re-record Frank’s voice lines with a new actor despite this being billed as a fancy remaster. Why? The upcoming Metal Gear Solid 3 Delta is choosing to reuse the original game’s dialogue! And that’s a full remake! Is this merely a petty decision, or is this more of a remake than they’re letting on?
I suppose time will tell. Qualms aside, I’m very happy to see CAPCOM revisiting one of my favourite games. I’m excited to see it in action during next week’s showcase and, hopefully, that face model looks less jarring in action. Probably not, though.
Oh and just re-use TJ Rotolo’s voice lines, CAPCOM. Stop being silly.
Any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or badly phrased sentences in this post are all intentional. Cheers.