When Capcom spontaneously announced a remake of the original Dead Rising, I was genuinely surprised, especially considering they could have easily cashed in by remaking a more popular title like Resident Evil 5.
Turning back the clock to a time before Capcom became a globalized entity obsessed with pushing Diversity and Inclusivity, I would have been ecstatic to revisit the Willamette mall as everyone’s favorite journalist, Frank West.
However, my enthusiasm for the remake quickly dissipated upon learning about the new design for the game’s main protagonist. Capcom has turned Frank West into an older, more macho character and replaced his original voice actor, Terence J. Rotolo, with someone new. This approach in my eyes seemed cheap, slapdash, and unfaithful.
Since the announcement, snippets of gameplay from the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster were showcased as part of Capcom’s NEXT Summer 2024 livestream, giving us a closer look at the game in greater detail.
I initially had concerns about the redesigns of prominent female characters in Dead Rising, such as Jessica McCarney. However, she doesn’t appear to have been drastically altered in the remake, aside from looking slightly fatter. There are no noticeable changes to her breast size or outfit, which is a good thing.
Another prominent female character I had concerns about was Isabela. While her outfit hasn’t been modified, Capcom has given her a gray-haired makeover, effectively aging her appearance compared to the 2006 cult classic.
I dislike this change, likely due to the RE Engine, which has consistently struggled with unsightly hair sheen since the Resident Evil 2 Remake. Whether because of lighting issues or a terrible normal map, Capcom has always had issues depicting dark or vibrant colors in hair using the RE Engine.
This has resulted in Frank’s hair shifting from dark brown to a completely out-of-place gray in the remake, as does Isabela’s.
The remake introduces significant changes, such as auto-save functionality and an in-game time skip feature to enhance narrative flow, removing the need for manual saves. While these updates could be seen as improvements, Frank’s unappealing new voice actor and these design changes detract from the original experience.
Additionally, the game will likely include DENUVO DRM and possibly The Enigma Protector to deter modders as Capcom themselves have a bone to pick with the PC modding community.
To address my concerns, Capcom is offering the option to play as the original Frank West model, acknowledging that their revised version might not be well-received by consumers who have braincells.
To put my worries to rest, Capcom will offer players three additional costumes: the original 2006 design of Frank West, a Chuck Greene rendition from Dead Rising 2 (another fan favorite), and the hilarious Willamette Mall Bee outfit.
One problem, however, is that to obtain these costumes and play as the unmodified Frank West, you must pre-order the game. Another concern I have is whether Capcom will faithfully recreate and depict the game’s psychopaths who serve as survivors driven to insanity by the outbreak who serve as memorable bosses throughout your Dead Rising playthrough.
I raised the issue regarding whether the globalized and inclusive Capcom would faithfully depict Jo Slade, seen at the bottom far left of the image. Jo is a psychopath who serves as a morbidly obese police officer who has captured and sexually assaulted various women.
I consider this portrayal to be too problematic for Capcom’s ESG scoring and for modern audiences who’ve never played Dead Rising before.
Thankfully, Jo hasn’t been removed or modified in any significant way. She’s even uglier now, but her appearance is pretty much faithfully recreated as far as I’m concerned.
However, I wasn’t looking in the right direction. Others have discovered that Capcom has unfaithfully modified the psychopath Larry Chiang. While not the most memorable boss in the game, Larry Chiang is another quirky figure who was originally depicted as a morbidly obese Asian butcher speaking in broken English. He captured humans and butchered them like cattle inside a meat locker.
Given Larry’s original design, which was likely removed because it was an “Asian stereotype,” Capcom has radically modified the character. Preview footage shows Larry as a fat White man sporting glasses and a mustache, effectively erasing his original identity and race-swapping him into a generic fat White bloke.
This change results in the loss of the character’s unique personality and entire identity, seemingly to ensure that the Dead Rising’s remake wouldn’t be viewed as problematic or racist by modern standards, since a fat Asian man with slanted eyes is now considered highly offensive.
I knew Capcom was going to butcher this remake one way or another. Gatekeeping Frank’s original design is one thing, but race-swapping one of the game’s bosses to avoid offending consumers is simply unforgivable. Everything now has to be mundane, sanitized, and harmless to avoid hurting the delicate feelings of someone who struggles to separate fiction from reality.
As a result of Capcom’s globalized allegiance, they’ve alienated actual Dead Rising fans by presenting a solid remake marred by uglified characters and political correctness.
Capcom is a company that ought to be avoided. Despite their own survey proclaiming that the overwhelming majority of gamers are male and prefer attractive character designs over gameplay, they continue to dumb down their games to make them more accessible and easier to play. They also make inclusive choices like this one, prioritizing diversity and inclusivity as a key part of their modern identity, so long as it doesn’t rub sensitive people the wrong way.
