Hello fellow Gamers, gather round to hear my rambling thoughts about a cheesy videogame from 25 years ago!
When I was about 12 years old, circa 2010, a friend of mine dug out an old n64, and a few games, and one of those games was Resident Evil 2.
For those who haven’t played this charmingly bad game from 1998, in the midst of this gory, violent, and gritty (by 1998 standards) game, you come across a little girl named Sherry, and you have to escort her around.
Sherry is simultaneously the most interesting character in the entire game, and also the most annoying. And among the reasons she is annoying, are the segments where you have to play as her.
Now, when I was a kid, when a game asked me to pick a gender, I would always pick boy, because I felt like I had to. But when I played these Sherry segments, this was the first time I had played as a girl in a video game, that I could conceivably relate to in some way.
I wasn’t having fun, really… These segments are god awful to play. But they did awaken something in me. I was like, “…You mean I get to be the little girl???”
I wanted to be her so bad! This didn’t crack my egg, and I quickly buried all of these feelings once I finished the game. But it’s definitely a thing I look back on and think "oh the signs were always there.
Anyway, this post is mostly just an excuse to get people to talk to me about my Trans Sherry headcanons.
Also, ask me my opinions on the RE2 remake. I just finished it!
While Ada’s and Sherry’s playable sections in the original were not exactly the most riveting bits of the game, I did like how they used the same mechanics as the rest of it, even if Sherry was unable to defend herself. Them passing any items they found back to Leon/Claire was also a cool touch and made it worthwhile to explore everywhere thoroughly when you played as them.
I already mentioned how I didn’t like the unneeded edginess of the orphanage section or how it was just a short scripted stealth sequence, but I didn’t care for how Ada’s gameplay revolved entirely around the goofy hacking tool either. Both Ada’s and Sherry’s playable sections end up feeling like complete chores on repeat playthroughs