Key conclusions
- Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster contains a reference to one of Frank's first models from the original beta.
- Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is filled with references to the series' roots.
- Frank West covered wars, you know.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster features an image of Frank West's beta model from 2005, both as an homage to the series' roots and possibly a tongue-in-cheek reference by Capcom to some of the discourse surrounding Frank's appearance in the remaster.
Dead Rising fans will know that Frank West's gross facial features have changed throughout the series, particularly his variable recession line. When Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster was first announced, some disgruntled fans compared Frank's redesigned appearance to his original beta mode, especially in the hair department.
You look good, Frank
As it turns out, the Deluxe Remaster has an easter egg of Frank's 2005 beta model. Jessica (Jesse) McCarney, the national security agent who communicates with Frank via walkie-talkie, knows West more intimately than we could imagine.
As user X, YouTuber and huge Dead Rising fan STiP0 pointed out, if you look closely at Jessie's phone during one of the cutscenes, you'll see that her screensaver is none other than Frank West, circa 2005. Capcom is probably just referencing the beginning of the series, but it's funny how the new Frank West resembles his beta counterpart.
The Deluxe Remaster is filled with accurate references to the series and the fandom that grew up around it. Frank West's iconic “I've covered wars, you know” response to Jesse's suggestion that he can't take care of himself became a meme in the community, so much so that Capcom included a war correspondent outfit for Frank in the remaster.
Dead Rising had such an interesting development cycle, with some game features, locations, and content changing mid-development. This resulted in a lot of truncated content; Capcom restored some content, such as the rocket launcher, but not all of it. Despite the wait, Dead Rising fans continue to wait a long time to try out the beam cannon.
