Key Takeaways
- Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster does not resolve the Nick Ramos plot hole from Dead Rising 3.
- Capcom missed the opportunity to correct the discrepancy in the remaster.
- The game made other changes but chose not to fix this notable plot hole, for whatever reason.
For those curious, I can confirm that Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster does not fix the big plot hole involving Nick Ramos from Dead Rising 3. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is out now, giving franchise fans the chance to revisit the zombie-infested Willamette Parkview Mall as veteran photojournalist Frank West. Please note that in order to discuss the franchise plot hole that is not addressed by Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, I have to get into SPOILER territory.
This article contains major SPOILERS for Dead Rising
In Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster‘s Overtime Mode, Frank West and Isabela discover that Carlito has infected 50 orphans with the parasite that transforms people into zombies. 2013’s Dead Rising 3 stars Nick Ramos as the protagonist, and he is revealed to be the 12th orphan infected by Carlito. However, the list of infected orphans that players can see in the original Dead Rising contradicts that claim.
In the original Dead Rising, the 12th orphan mentioned in Carlito’s list is someone named Lisa Jackson, not Nick Ramos. In fact, Nick Ramos isn’t mentioned at all on the list. With Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Capcom had the opportunity to fix this plot hole by adding Nick Ramos (and the other orphans established in DR3) to the list, but it chose not to, for whatever reason.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Doesn’t Fix the Nick Ramos Plot Hole
It’s possible that Capcom simply didn’t even think about the plot hole when making Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, or maybe it didn’t feel like it was necessary to dedicate resources to it. It’s also possible that Capcom intends Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster to kick off a new canon of sorts for the series, kind of how it’s done with the Resident Evil remakes. Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that the Nick Ramos plot hole is not resolved in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, despite many other changes made to the game.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster tweaks Psychopath backstories, adds a new fast-forward feature, and makes some significant graphical changes. It doesn’t seem like this change would have been relatively easy to make compared to the other changes, so it likely boils down to Capcom didn’t think about it or didn’t think it mattered. Whatever the case may be, Dead Rising fans will have to continue living with this plot hole. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see if Capcom brings any of the other classic Dead Rising games back from the dead as it did with the original.