Resident Evil 2 Features Hunk, Tofu & Mutant Gator

Screen Rant

By Padraig Cotter

Published Jun 15, 2018

The forthcoming Resident Evil 2 remake will feature the return of Hunk, Tofu and the giant alligator boss despite rumors suggesting they were cut.

The upcoming remake of Resident Evil 2 will feature the return of the mutant gator boss, and the bonus modes featuring Hunk and Tofu. The original Resident Evil dropped players into a mansion infested with zombies, giant spiders and various mutated creatures, and it was up to them to manage a limited supply of ammo and resources to survive. The game proved to be a surprise smash hit for publisher Capcom and is credited with making survival horror a popular genre.

A sequel was inevitable, but Resident Evil 2 had a bumpy ride to release. A version of the game was around 60 percent complete before it was scrapped, with the game's producer feeling it was too dull. The development team essentially started from scratch and kept only a handful of concepts. The reworked Resident Evil 2 was eventually released in 1998 and became an instant classic. The game also cemented the entire franchise, which has since produced countless sequels, spin-offs and spawned a movie series.

Fans had been clamoring for a remake of the game for years, and Capcom finally confirmed one was happening in 2015. News on the game went very quiet for three years until the first trailers and gameplay footage appeared at E3 2018. The game will be a mix of the old and new, and will feature familiar locations and enemies, but with a new camera perspective and major surprises along the way.

Prior to the game being revealed, rumors suggested old favorites like the Hunk and Tofu missions and the iconic mutant alligator wouldn't be coming back. Thankfully that won't be the case, with producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi revealing to Polygon they'll all be present. Hunk and Tofu will be available on the disc and not as downloadable content, and while the development team had to go back and forth on how the gator would appear, they were able to make it work. Says Hirabayashi, "I really like the alligator character and want to have it in there. I think it’s part of Resident Evil 2’s history, and people have lots of great memories of it."

While some fans were a little thrown off by the design changes made to the Resident Evil 2 remake, it seems Capcom really committed to making it an intense, old-school horror ride. Classic survival horror tropes like limited supplies and health items will make a return, and the team will use experienced players knowledge of the original title against them.

Resident Evil 2 is considered by some to be the best game in the series, so remaking it in a way that pleases fans and new players will be tricky. That said, Capcom seems to be working hard to meet expectations, and they've invested years of development into the new title, so hopefully, players will be pleased with the end result.