Resident Evil Code Veronica X – How Dare You Attack My Island!

The header image for this post was created by DeviantArt user Pokie-Punk

So recently I had picked up Resident Evil Code Veronica X on the PS4 and played it from memory… Not the smartest of move I’ll be honest.

But perseverance, backtracking many times, a fare few Nosferatu fights for practice and a fair amount of harsh words directed at my loyal TV and I had completed it.

The Game

Resident Evil: Code Veronica was a Dreamcast game originally released in 2000, developed and published by Capcom. An extended version of the game named Resident Evil: Code Veronica X was later released for PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube. It was later re-released as an HD remake in 2017 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Fingers of Fury Don’t Fail Me Now!

So after a lot of time learning the route and puzzles, getting mixed up with passwords and running round in circles I realised that, despite the back and forth of this edition to the resident evil cannon, it’s probably the best game to learn control schemes and survival tactics for Resident Evil.

Okay Just Bare With Me

You start in a prison with nothing but a knife for protection.

damn that homeostatic medicine being empty, could have clotted the zombies to death!

A quick jaunt through a graveyard… What could possibly go wrong right!

Right from this you start to get the hang of baiting out zombies and dodging past them with the tank controls, and if you don’t get out of the graveyard alive? Well you start again for more practice.

Ah tank controls, how I miss you sometimes.

From zombies to spiders, to big yellow one armed vain bulging grabbers of death,

I ain’t joking bout that one. They’re not called that but that’s what I refer to them as, or brandysnatches

as well as different surprising locals; this edition to Resi was certainly the most ambitious tank control edition to the series. It also debuted on the Sega Dreamcast as a original exclusive.

Among some of the features this game has are hidden weapons, puzzles that span over both playable characters, a multitude of weapons and returning characters from previous games (including Chris Redfield before he made a healthy living smuggling large fruit through customs in his arms, high price for smuggled pumpkins).

And, as ever there, are puzzles that make zero sense.

without puzzles that make no sense, it wouldn’t be a Resident Evil title.

This is a very large game for the time, spanning 2 Dreamcast discs with multiple locations, revisited locations and a general progression that isn’t too difficult to work out – unlike previous resi titles

I’m looking at you Resident Evil: Director’s Cut!

Before I purchased this title

like I wasn’t going to get it

I watched a good friend of mine stream it. Although it had been over 15 years since I had last time played it, it was in fact an absolute joy to watch.

I’m not just referring to the fact he didn’t know where he was or what he was doing, but because he had completely forgotten how to use tank controls. I laughed way too much at this, but the nostalgic vibes were hitting me like a baseball bat to the face and I had to buy this game again, very soon after.

A very childish compunction came over me and I had to beat my friends time. Childish I know but it gave me the determination I needed to run the game and beat it into submission.

After A Decade And A Half, Could I Do It?

When I played Resident Evil for the first time I was in my early teens

short hair, bad skin, first pair of glasses. Those were the days

and although I had completed the game, I never got that elusive A rank; the one that I had with other Resi titles before this one. With jaw clenched, finger flexed and ear plugs for other people in the house (to stop them hearing my verbal onslaught), I set myself the challenge of getting my A rank. No mean feat even for a returning Resi player like myself.

More then a few unfinished runs later and I was set for my death-less, save-less and retry-less one shot run.

So did I do it you ask?

…

…

COME ON TELL US!!

After a decade and a half of waiting I FINALLY managed it. I got the elusive A rank by beating the game in 4 hours 23 mins.

The next challenge for me now is Battle Mode, and getting A ranks on that…

One Thing After Another!

The A rank Battle Mode runs can wait a while, me thinks.

I’ve unlocked a rocket launcher for the main game. Vengeance, retribution and fiery death explosions are required for the very obstacles that impeded my path the first time round.

Man I love the sounds of fiery death explosions in my Resident Evil games; well earned ones are all sweeter.

Okay. So, Final Thoughts?

Resident Evil Code Veronica X, to give it it’s proper title is a nice little blast from the past. Well worth the £12 (on PSN) and the almost 15 hours game-play average time for first runs. Solid graphics that have aged quite well, improved dialog, plenty of “itchy, tasty” and not a Jill sandwich in sight

sorry Barry

Out of all the Resident Evil titles is this one my favourite?

It’s up there near the top. Not the hardest title by a long shot but enjoyable and, for me, the most rewarding of the lot. Not for completion bonuses, although the rocket launcher is more than a bit tasty

‘itchy, tasty’ you might say

The sense of accomplishment I got from completing this title, beating the Nosferatu fight alone was enough of a buzz but getting my A rank was something else, man.

If you want a solid learning experience for getting into early resident evil games this is a good start, playing this before any of the others won’t ruin the story. It’s a contained little story, so no worries n that front.

Have you picked up this classic title? Did you get the elusive A rank like me? Did it take you as long and did you have as much of a pain in the butt time taking on Nosferatu boss like I did? Tell me all about it in the comments below. Hope you enjoyed this blog about Code Veronica X and I’ll catch you guys some other time.