Watch Resident Evil Dev Reminisce About 20th Anniversary

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Resident Evil franchise. One of the ways Capcom is celebrating the milestone is through a video series in which veteran designers reminisce about the franchise's first days and speak about the enduring appeal of the survival-horror series.

In this latest video, Resident Evil 0 director Koji Oda talks about working on the 2002 GameCube game and its recently released high-definition version. He mentions the novelty of 0 being the last entry in the series with a fixed camera, as this changed to a third-person style with Resident Evil 4.

He also discusses designing the character Billy (specifically his origins and tattoos), as well as other story elements and design decisions.

Regarding the HD re-release, Oda explains that Capcom was worried that Wesker Mode (an extra mode you can play after completing the game) might break the game, as the GameCube original wasn't designed with Wesker having super-powers. He also reveals that Capcom kicked around the idea of letting you play as an enemy creature for another mode.

Also in the video, Oda thanks Capcom for taking a risk--at the time--on a game that "works against you." It was a new concept at the time for a game to limit players' ability to see HUD elements and heal/save themselves. But as it turned out, it was this very concept, which created more tension and suspense, that players gravitated towards and have kept coming back for.

"We hoped that players who could accept these concepts would come along for the ride," he said. "The fact that we're here now 20 years later is so amazing to me. And that's because the fans were able to understand what we wanted to achieve. We want to keep betraying your expectations in the best way possible."

The first Resident Evil retrospective video featured commentary and insight from Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who has worked on the series since its inception.

In other Resident Evil news, Capcom re-released Resident Evil 6 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 last week, with Resident Evil 4 and 5 to come to the same platforms later. Additionally, shooter spinoff Umbrella Corps is coming in May, while the publisher has told gamers to "stay tuned" for news about Resident Evil 7.

Other big-name video game franchises celebrating major anniversaries this year include Pokemon (20 years) and Sonic the Hedgehog (25 years).