2025.09.03
Part of the Red Dead series. Doing a watchthrough before moving ahead to Red Dead Redemption.
Watchthrough choices on YouTube, preferably with no talking, that seem well produced:
by GTA Series Videos views=3M posted=7 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8yxEqmxOvE
"Red Dead Revolver - Full Game Walkthrough [Very Hard Difficulty]"
2:51:43 1080p Premium HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGgNipHtysw
by SourceSpy91 views=208k posted=Jun 3, 2016
"Red Dead Revolver - Full Game Walkthrough - No commentary"
3:38:16 1080p60HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-vLDGnjEHI
by D'Flayer view=12k posted=Jan 11, 2024
"Red Dead Revolver HD Edition with ReShade Full Game - Playthrough Gameplay"
3:11:27 1080p60HD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVy9Vymnzs
by Gamer's Little Playground views=33k posted=1 year ago
His name is already Red. His hand is made red. Seems obvious.
Do the longer times indicate things like more time spent doing story stuff, or just less efficient combat?
I need to know more about journal pages.
"RED DEAD REVOLVER Full Gameplay Walkthrough / No Commentary【FULL GAME】4K Ultra HD"
3:26:13 1440p60HD
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKFPHM0tJAYgDRcLDocNauyTsILm8rTzy
by ACMANISH views=73k posted=4 years ago
"Red Dead Revolver - Complete Walkthrough"
Playlist 24 videos 1440p60HD
I'm noting multiple videos, because one video probably won't be enough. From previous watchthroughs I have learned that some videos may be better or worse quality, but some may be more complete. For example, just sampling the first few seconds of my top picks, I notice some videos start with the intro cinematic, some with the language selection screen, some go right into the first cut scene (I'm assuming). It might seem obvious to go with the most complete (why not start with system boot up), but it might not be the best over time. With a game this linear it shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Some of these are available higher than my monitor, so anything 1080p should be enough. There's also a remaster 'Reshade' that looks good, but does that make my experience less authentic? I was going to play using the PCSX2 emulator, and this one uses that.
I'm just going to start with GTA Series Videos, get a feel for the game play, then check others. Instantly annoying, there's obnoxicons in opposite corners of the screen; trying to not see it.
The intro cut scene is fine, but quickly establishes the mood as a spaghetti western (ex: Once Upon a Time in the West), and not a drama that just happens to be set during this time (ex: Unforgiven). I assume (and hope) as the series progresses, it moves more from the former to the latter.
I like that there's a tutorial, but it does emphasize I would have to learn a PS2 controller, and I never quite got used to the Xbox controller (only ever used playing GTA on Windows). Maybe PS2 is different, and better, but it looks like a learning curve I'm not interested in climbing for one game.
* spoilers *
Red's origin story is classic for most any genre, but it's heavy handed with the idiot ball - the player is good and shows one can clear the map quickly, but parents still need to die somehow to move on to the next chapter. The art style is very crude and simple, which is fine for the background and objects, but really bizarre for humans. Red looks normal, but everyone else looks really cartoonish. The action is very early arcade style, with humans taking a dozen bullets to kill. Without fantasy or sci-fi excuses, humans acting as bullet sponges knocks me right out of the story.
Speaking of story, where did it go? After the initial family farm burns down scene, there's no more story, so I may need to start checking other videos. I do enjoy the little interstitial drawings and animations of newspapers describing events and purchases made from catalogs. You need that because the game is not building much of an atmosphere.
I've got no problem with the Dead Eye game mechanic; I liked the way it worked in Max Payne.
Next video has some more detail, but still looks like a lot of just action set pieces roughly crammed together. The dueling section seems like a controller headache. Finally, someone goes down with a single rifle blast to the face at close range. I wonder how later Red Dead Redemptions will handle this issue. I have to assume they found a reasonable solution that doesn't feel like you're playing an arcade game from the 80s.
A character mentions sending a telegram ahead of Red. When did this get to the west? Wikipedia: "By 1844, the Morse system connected Baltimore to Washington, and by 1861 the west coast of the continent was connected to the east coast." Better question - when is this game supposed to be taking place. It's kind of late to be asking, but what text should I have before even playing this game? Was there a manual?
How are we moving from one scene to the other? I assume each video creator is editing it out, but there may not actually be much to see. After action there is the newspaper update and the store, where it seems certain purchases can unlock more of the story. I'm still looking for a story that's probably not there.
I would like to go looking for additional materials, but I'll probably spoil what little is left of the story.
This part is different - you're on a train, and can walk around and talk to people, almost like an RPG.
The ReShade makes this game look so much better. Is that a different soundtrack? You can make out so much more detail - was that detail always there, and just under a muddy yellow filter? I can finally read the whole newspaper, and see the showdowns that are being unlocked with purchases.
Watching Red's origin story for the fourth time, why didn't they name this story Red Hand Revolver?
His name is already Red. His hand is made red. Seems obvious.
And why does he have Naruto style whisker scars on his face?
Watching the fight on the train; now there's health kits.
Should I be paying attention to names of people and towns, weapons and stuff? Will this be part of RDR lore? There's no way to know from here. There's probably an RDR wiki, but I don't want to risk spoiling RDR1 or 2. I'll try to pay a little more attention, but everything seems so disposable here.
And now it's a platformer, ducking and jumping.
Finally, horses. Will there be riding in this game?
The music is different across videos; could be for any number of reasons. It's also interesting to see different play styles. I didn't even really know melee was an option. Players solve problems different ways, with different levels of experience. It doesn't look especially complicated, and I think I'm getting bored already.
Sound effects are mostly good, and the voice work is adequate. For every interesting death rattle, there are enemies that utter whole sentences after being shot in the face a bunch of times. Some voices feel right out of a western, some feel like blind or phoned in line reads.
The physics is really out the window now, with enemies jumping off horses up to the top of the train, ready to fight.
I like the ReShade visuals, but the music feels like an add on from somewhere else (it is), and its turned up way too loud. I can't even hear what the NPCs in town are saying without subtitles, and I have to turn to the other videos.
The clown camp level should be much more offensive, but at this point in the game I'm just not that invested. Having you play as an NPC you rescue is interesting, especially if it means exploring a different play style.
Some players don't wander around town and talk to NPCs, and just go straight to the next scene like it's their job. I like an explorer, so it's good to have several videos going. One player goes to the gun store where there are things other than guns, things that can unlock journal pages. What is that? Have I missed any so far?
Ah, a saloon, another western staple. More journal pages for sale here. You can buy dead eye upgrades here too. Red Eye... is 96 proof.
It's interesting to compare the run times so far:
I need to know more about journal pages.
https://reddead.fandom.com/wiki/Sheriff_Bartlett%27s_Journal
"Sheriff Bartlett's Journal is accessed from the main menu of the game. The Journal contains detailed information on every character, location, and weapon in the game, all adding up to 365 pages total. The title page heading is "Journal of Sheriff Bartlett".
A small number of pages are available from the start of the game. Players can unlock more pages by purchasing items from shopkeepers, using cheats, completing missions in story mode and Bounty Hunter Mode, and playing Showdown Mode itself."
This makes sense. A lot of the heavy lifting for the environment can't really be done in game, so there's extra text if you want it. And the video walkthroughs can't really do all that text in video, so I'll have to read it along side, and try not to get ahead of what I'm watching. Just browsing through what I should have seen so far; it's hard to avoid spoilers.
2025.09.08
There is a manual with some actual story text.
https://www.video-games-museum.com/en/manual/Playstation%202/55234_us-Red-Dead-Revolver.pdf
So, when Red picked up his dad's gun the scorpion got branded onto him - I would have never picked that up from the cut scene. Maybe they showed it, but I couldn't make it out. Still no explanation for the facial scars. Some explanation of how the story immediately goes to adult Red, the bounty hunter, but not much more than you see in game.
I really should have looked at the manual first. It's not really a spoiler. If you would have bought the game at the time, you would have had to look at this. The game mechanics of purchasing to unlock the story is right there, the journal, the bounty system, and even a picture of Red on a horse. There's a picture of a journal page - still not sure where to find that, and read it without spoilers.
The very first weapon describe is Old Pistol from 1875, helping place the date. There's a bow and arrow, and a gatling gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yexgp1QpP6A
"Red Dead Revolver (PS2) Full Playthrough (No Commentary)"
I find another playthrough, scrubbing through I find some new (to me) video of Red in a general store, purchasing items that unlock showdowns and journal pages. It would be nice to be able to find a well organized way to look at this in game order. There's a bank - you can buy a saloon in Widow's Patch!? That feels very RPG for such a linear story.
Part way through chapter 8 you jump a bridge, catch the edge, and mantle up. You are then suddenly in a one on two duel, everyone has taken their places and you are just standing there. I was just starting to get that old guilt feeling of watching a playthrough instead of playing it myself, but these little frustrations make that go away.
Another frustration I'm glad to miss out on, it looks like it takes the work of two playthroughs to unlock the whole journal. Now I'm just piling on excuses, because if I did one playthrough reading the remainder of the journal would be no big deal.
The wiki
https://reddead.fandom.com/wiki/Sheriff_Bartlett%27s_Journal
is good for reading the journal as a text summary, but impossible to read without spoilage. I'll review that at the end. What I want is something more like you would see in the game. This is the best I found for now; the chapters are too much information, but I can quickly gloss over those and go to just the section I need.
https://www.ireddead.com/reddeadrevolver/guides/journal-entries
Actually, not so much - the screenshots are nice, but it's easy to drift into a new territory I haven't seen yet.
