Resident Evil Code: Veronica,  (or Biohazard: Code: Veronica) released for the Dreamcast initially in 1998 and later remastered in the year 2000 (with additional cutscenes), is perhaps the hidden gem of the Resident Evil franchise. With one of the most elaborately detailed stories and two of the most excellently developed villains the franchise has ever seen, its plot, both emotional and riveting while staying true to the roots of survival horror, is conveyed beautifully through the use of motifs and symbolism that occur throughout the game.

The game, due to its release on the Dreamcast, is not as widely known to players of the Resident Evil series and is often regarded as a ‘spin-off’ or ‘not canon’ when in fact the game’s contribution to survival horror history and the development of the game’s many characters is astounding. Impacts associated with the Ashford Legacy and Steve Burnside’s death become recurring themes associated within both of the Redfields’ future and part of their character. The story is incredibly detailed and meticulous, and successfully overlaps the stories of five different characters in a way that Resident Evil has never once returned to.

Claire Redfield, our initial protagonist, is imprisoned during her search for her brother, Chris, but she tells a story of her own, not just her brother’s. Steve Burnside, the boy encountered on the island by Claire, two years younger, ( part of the game’s beautiful success is the setting----hauntingly detailed and memorable to old time fans, complete with a breathtaking soundtrack ) is initially seen as stubborn and even reckless, but behind his personality is an almost heart wrenching story. The Ashfords tell a tragic, haunting tale of their own, and to first-time player the story is unpredictable and is incredibly original.

A player playing Code Veronica for the first time would have been unable to predict the outcome of the story, partially due to the incredibly detailed development of the game’s villains, the Ashford Twins. Less-intelligent twin Alfred (although still highly intelligent) has been driven to insanity by his sister’s alleged ‘death’, and eventually takes on her identity as a second persona, to the point where he believes that she had never disappeared. As the player gets further in the game, more and more of the tragedy and twisted fate of the Ashfords is unraveled, through in-game documents and incredibly good graphics for the time, until the ‘Code’ of the game is finally recovered at the end. A brilliant masterpiece that has never once been trumped by future games in the series.

Yet despite this, players of the newer games (which focus heavily on game mechanics and not so much story and plot, and also feature mediocre soundtracks) often refuse to acknowledge the game’s significance in the series, perhaps as a result of its early graphics or difficult mechanics. A variation of the game was released for the Wii in 2009, but it heavily altered the storyline and much of the game’s signature characters and lines, which resulted in its failure. Also, instead of the game’s signature fixed camera angles, Capcom opted for a rail-shooter, which not only heavily altered the mechanics but proved to be an issue for old-time players.

So why exactly remaster/remake it? Perhaps because the game’s critical to the Resident Evil storyline needs to be addressed to newer players (and revive Capcom’s legacy, where Resident Evil 6 was a disappointment to many old time fans), or perhaps because the storyline is one of the most heavily detailed ones of its time with well-developed characters who have not been seen since fifteen years.

The Antagonists, the Ashfords, were allegedly “taken down” in a single game, whereas the Weskers have been present in the Resident Evil storyline for almost the entirety of the franchise’s history, but Alexia was much too intelligent and powerful to have been taken down so easily. To reimagine the game in the stunning graphics that Capcom has granted to newer titles such as Revelations 2 (where Code Veronica references were expected and not given) would be a success to both the franchise and to those who have waited long enough for Code Veronica to break from the Dreamcast and come, re-imagined, with a breathtaking remaster of the already stunning soundtrack.

So, with this all said, let there be a remaster of Resident Evil Code: Veronica and let it stay true to the storyline that was perfected so well.

To waste the potential of this game would be a complete and utter disappointment to the RE community. Code Veronica has everything you could possibly want in a survival horror genre, sticking to classic creepy implements of taboo nature.