Resident Evil (video game)

"Resident Evil 1" redirects here. For the first live-action Resident Evil film, see Resident Evil (film).

Resident Evil
Cover art used for the PlayStation, Saturn and Windows releases
Developer(s)	Capcom PS/Win/NDS Capcom Sega Saturn Nextech
Publisher(s)	Capcom PlayStation JP/NA Capcom PAL Virgin Interactive Microsoft Windows Westwood Studios JP Capcom NA/PAL Virgin Interactive Sega Saturn Capcom Nintendo DS JP/NA/EU Capcom AUS Nintendo Australia
Director(s)	Shinji Mikami
Producer(s)	Tokuro Fujiwara Masayuki Akahori
Designer(s)	Takahiro Arimitsu (plot) Isao Ōishi (characters)
Programmer(s)	Yasuhiro Anpo (system)
Writer(s)	Kenichi Iwao (scenario) Yasuyuki Saga (story)
Composer(s)	Makoto Tomozawa Akari Kaida Masami Ueda Mamoru Samuragoch (Dual Shock Ver.)
Series	Resident Evil
Platform(s)	PlayStation Microsoft Windows Sega Saturn Nintendo DS PlayStation Network
Release date(s)	March 22, 1996 PlayStation JP March 22, 1996 NA March 30, 1996 PAL August 1, 1996 Director's Cut JP September 25, 1997 NA September 30, 1997 PAL December 10, 1997 Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver. JP August 6, 1998 NA September 14, 1998 Microsoft Windows JP December 6, 1996 PAL September 17, 1997 NA September 30, 1997 Sega Saturn JP July 25, 1997 NA August 31, 1997 PAL October 1, 1997 Nintendo DS JP January 19, 2006 NA February 7, 2006 PAL March 30, 2006 PlayStation Network JP November 22, 2006 NA May 28, 2009 PAL March 23, 2011
Genre(s)	Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player
Media/distribution	Optical disc, memory stick, download

Resident Evil, known as Bio Hazard (バイオ ハザード, Baio Hazādo) in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom originally released in 1996. Initially released for the PlayStation, ports of the game for the Sega Saturn and Windows soon followed.

The first installment in the Resident Evil series, the game introduces series mainstays Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of an elite task force known as S.T.A.R.S. At the start of the game, players select one of them as they investigate the disappearance of their fellow team members on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Soon the team finds themselves trapped in an old mansion that is infested with zombies. By solving various puzzles, finding items and exploring the mansion, they uncover clues to solve the mystery, battling the various monsters of the mansion along the way using various firearms. Depending on the player's actions, the game ends in different ways. Resident Evil establishes many conventions seen in earlier games of the series, such as the control scheme, the inventory system as well as the typewriter-based saving process.

Originally conceived as a remake of Capcom's earlier horror-themed game Sweet Home, development for the game was directed by Shinji Mikami who took gameplay design cues from the 1992 game Alone in the Dark. Resident Evil was well received and has been credited with starting the modern survival horror genre. It spawned a multitude of sequels and spin-offs, starting with 1998's Resident Evil 2.

In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo GameCube featuring new graphics, voice acting and many gameplay changes. The original game has also been rereleased for the Nintendo DS and onto the PlayStation Network.

Gameplay

A screenshot of a puzzle that has to be solved at the beginning of the game. The environmental graphics are pre-rendered, whereas the characters and the objects that can be interacted with are real-time polygonal models.

The player's character is a member of the S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) Alpha team law enforcement task force, who is trapped in a mansion populated by dangerous mutated creatures. The objective of the game is to uncover the mystery of the mansion and ultimately escape alive. The game's graphics consist of real time 3D polygonal characters and objects, superimposed over pre-rendered backdrops with pre-determined camera angles. The player controls the character by pushing the d-pad or analog stick left or right to rotate the character and then move the character forward or backwards by the pushing the d-pad up or down.

To fulfill the game's objective, the player uncovers various documents that provide exposition about the game's narrative, as well as clues that help them solve various puzzles within the mansion. Key items are also available that give the player access to other items or new areas. The player can arm their character with weapons to defend themselves from enemies, although the ammunition available for each firearm is limited and the player must learn to conserve the ammunition they have for situations where they will really need it. To restore the character's health, the player uses first-aid sprays or three types of healing herbs that can be mixed together in different combinations for different healing effects. The carrying capacity of the player is limited depending on the character and items that the player does not wish to carry at the moment can be stored into an item box to be retrieved for later use. To save their progress, the player must pick up an ink ribbon and use it on any of the typewriters scattered through key locations in the game. However, the supply of ink ribbons the player can acquire is limited much like the player's ammo and healing supplies.

The various enemies the player encounters include infected creatures like flesh-eating zombies, zombie dogs, giant spiders, crows and artificial creatures with codenames such as Hunter and Chimera, as well as the game's ultimate adversary, a new type of biological weapon known as the Tyrant.

Plot

Setting

A series of bizarre murders have occurred on the outskirts of Raccoon City, with signs of cannibalism on the victims' remains. The Raccoon Police Department's Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) are assigned to investigate the murders. S.T.A.R.S. is divided into two teams: Alpha and Bravo. Bravo team is sent first, but after contact with them is lost, Alpha team is sent to investigate their disappearance.

Characters

The player has a choice between Alpha team members Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as the main character. Jill has more firepower and a lockpick that enables her to access areas and items easily as well as an inventory large enough to hold up to eight items, while Chris has limited firepower but is more durable in terms of taking damage from enemies, and a smaller inventory that can hold only six items.

The game's supporting characters include Barry Burton, Alpha team's weapons expert who provides Jill with additional firepower; Rebecca Chambers, a surviving member of Bravo team who supports Chris with her medical expertise; Albert Wesker, the captain of STARS and leader of Alpha team; and Brad Vickers, the helicopter pilot who sends transmissions to them as he tries to find them in the helicopter.

Minor characters include Joseph Frost, the sixth member of Alpha team whose sudden death sets the story into motion, Enrico Marini, the leader of Bravo team who gives the player the game's most critical plot twist, Richard Aiken, who gives the player a radio used to receive Brad's transmissions, Kenneth Sullivan, a member of Bravo team killed just after Alpha team arrives, and Forest Speyer, whose corpse is found on the balcony by the player.

Story

The game begins on July 24, 1998, after the events of Resident Evil 0. Alpha team locates Bravo team's helicopter, but there are no signs of survivors; only a severed hand is found. While searching the area for further clues, Alpha team is attacked by ferocious dogs, one of which kills one of the team's members, Joseph. Alpha's helicopter pilot, Brad, panics and takes off alone. Pursued by the dogs who killed their colleague, Alpha team is forced to seek refuge within a nearby mansion, which is believed to be abandoned.

With the dogs roaming outside, the four remaining Alpha team members (Wesker, Chris, Jill and Barry) are trapped within. Depending on which character is the player, one of the members of Alpha team is separated from the others during the chase and does not make it to the mansion (Barry if Chris, Chris if Jill). A gunshot rings out, and the player character moves to investigate. At this point, the player takes control of the character and begins to explore the mansion. One of the first discoveries is a member of Bravo team, Kenneth, being eaten by a zombie. While searching the mansion, the character finds the other members of Bravo team, such as Richard Aiken, dying of poison, who gives the character his radio before dying; Forest Speyer, found dead on the balcony; and Enrico Marini, who reveals that one member of the team is a traitor before being shot and killed by an unseen attacker.

The character eventually finds the mansion to be riddled with puzzles, traps, and horrors. Scattered documents suggest that a series of illegal experiments were being undertaken on the property by a clandestine research team, under the authority and supervision of the biomedical company Umbrella Corporation. The creatures roaming the mansion and surrounding region are the results of these experiments, which have exposed the mansion's personnel and various animals and insects to a highly contagious and mutagenic biological agent known as the T-virus.

After navigating a series of underground tunnels, passageways and buildings, the player discovers a secret underground laboratory containing the Umbrella Corporation's experiments, including the Tyrant. In the lab, the player learns that Wesker is a double agent working for Umbrella. Wesker is killed after that by one of the creations. The player finds the other playable character in a cell, put there by Wesker, and manages to get him/her out by activating the self-destruct system. Chris, Jill and the helper character (Rebecca if Chris, Barry if Jill) head for the heliport, but the other two are separated from the player due to more creatures. The player gets up to the heliport and manages to contact Brad and meet the other two survivors there, but they are attacked by the Tyrant, a giant humanoid monster created through prolonged exposure to the T-virus. After the Tyrant is defeated, Chris, Jill and Barry/Rebecca manage to escape the premises in the team helicopter, just as the entire facility is destroyed by explosives through the self-destruct system activated earlier.

Endings

Resident Evil and its remake are the only games in the franchise to feature multiple endings, and they all end similarly, with the difference being how many people the player character saved. There is no possible way in either game to save all four characters, as Barry is presumed dead in Chris' scenario and Rebecca never meets Jill in hers; however, it is confirmed that both of them survived, as Barry is shown in the epilogue of Resident Evil 3, while in Resident Evil 2 the player may come find a report about Billy Coen's supposed death that Rebecca filed upon returning to Raccoon City.

• The best endings have the chosen player, Chris and Jill, save both their partner (Barry if Jill, Rebecca if Chris) and the other player character, who is imprisoned in a basement cell for most of the game and destroy the mansion.
• The second endings have the chosen player only save their partner and destroy the mansion.
• The third ending has the chosen player only save the other player character, and the mansion remains intact.
• The worst endings have only the chosen player survive, and the mansion remains intact.

Development

Resident Evil was created by a team of staff members who would later become part of Capcom Production Studio 4. The inspiration for Resident Evil was the earlier Capcom horror game Sweet Home. Shinji Mikami was initially commissioned to make a game set in a haunted mansion like Sweet Home, which Resident Evil was originally intended to be a remake of. Several of the mansion's pre-rendered backdrops were inspired by The Overlook Hotel, the setting for 1980 horror film, The Shining. The game was initially conceived as a first-person shooter, but soon the gameplay system inspired by Alone in the Dark was adopted instead. According to Mikami, "technically it wasn’t good enough."

Several locations, concepts, items and enemies cut from the early versions of the game were later re-introduced in the 2002 remake. A 1995 development version featured the characters Dewey and Gelzer, which were later replaced by Rebecca and Barry, respectively (a redesigned Dewey also appeared in Resident Evil Outbreak).

English localization

A scene from the uncut intro sequence, showing Chris smoking a cigarette

The original PlayStation version of Resident Evil featured several considerable changes between its original Japanese release and its English-language counterparts. The North American and European versions of the intro were heavily cut from the one featured in the Japanese releases. Shots of mangled corpses, a "Cerberus" zombie dog being shot, and Joseph's death were edited out, as well as scenes featuring the character Chris Redfield smoking a cigarette. Despite these tweaks, the game was ultimately released on the PlayStation as one of the first games to receive the mature rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board.

In the game itself, the auto-aiming function was disabled and the numbers of ink ribbons found by the player were reduced. Capcom also planned to eliminate the "fourth dimensional" item boxes for the North American version (meaning that any item the player stored in one item box could not be retrieved in another), but they were restored for the released version of the game in North America.

The Japanese releases all contain English voice acting with Japanese captions and text. Japanese voice acting for the game was also recorded, but was left unused. According to Mikami, the Japanese voice acting was removed from the game as he found the quality of the performances to be unsatisfactory. The Japanese PlayStation version, Bio Hazard, also features a vocal ending theme performed by Fumitaka Fuchigami that was not in any other versions of the game.

The game was originally called Bio Hazard in Japan. However, it was decided to change the name in North America and Europe after Chris Kramer, the Director of Communications at Capcom, pointed out that it would be impossible to trademark "Biohazard" in the United States. Among others, another game and a band already were using the name. Capcom therefore decided to run a contest within its company to find a new name. They eventually settled on Resident Evil, since the game takes place in a mansion. Interviewed by GamesRadar, Chris Kramer said: "I thought it was super-cheesy; can’t remember what I felt was a better alternative, probably something stupid about zombies – but the rest of the marketing crew loved it and were ultimately able to convince Capcom Japan and Mikami-san that the name fit."

Release history

Director's Cut

An updated version of Resident Evil for the PlayStation, titled Resident Evil: Director's Cut, was released on September 1997, a year and a half after the original game's release. Director's Cut was produced to compensate for the delay of the sequel, Resident Evil 2, and was originally bundled with a playable demo of that game.

The main addition to Director's Cut is an "arranged" version of the game that changes the location of nearly every vital item in the mansion, as well as the enemy placement. The main characters, as well as Rebecca, are given a new wardrobe and the player's handgun is replaced by an improved model where any shot fired has a random chance of decapitating a zombie, killing it instantly. The original version of the game is included as well, along with a new "beginner" mode where the enemies are easier to kill and the amount of ammunition that can be found by the player is doubled. Additionally, the auto-aim function was restored in all modes, though it is not noted in the in-game controls so the player must accidentally stumble upon it.

The North American and European releases of the Director's Cut were marketed as featuring the original, uncensored footage as seen in the Japanese releases. However, the full motion video (FMV) sequences were still censored. Capcom claimed the omission was the result of a localization mistake made by the developers and offered the uncensored intro as a free download from their website. The French and German PAL versions of Director's Cut do feature the uncensored intro FMV in color, however the French and German PAL version lacked the uncensored Kenneth death scene despite having the uncensored introduction FMVs in color. Although the PC version of Resident Evil was not billed as the director's cut version of the game, it is the only version of Resident Evil that has all of the uncensored FMVs, which includes the uncensored introduction, Kenneth death scene and ending as well.

Dual Shock Ver.

A second release of Director's Cut, known as the Dual Shock Ver., was released in Japan and North America. The Dual Shock Ver. featured support for the DualShock controller's analog controls and vibration functions, as well as a new symphonic soundtrack by Mamoru Samuragoch, replacing the original soundtrack by Makoto Tomozawa, Akari Kaida, and Masami Ueda. The Japanese Dual Shock Ver. came packaged with a bonus disc that contained downloadable save data and footage of the Japanese dubbed version of the opening cut scene and other footage, along with gameplay footage of Resident Evil 1.5, the canceled version of Resident Evil 2.

Resident Evil: Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver. was later released for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable as a downloadable game available from the PlayStation Network. In Europe, the original Director's Cut was instead made available from the PlayStation Network.

Sega Saturn version

The Sega Saturn version added an unlockable Battle Game minigame in which the player must traverse through a series of rooms from the main game and eliminate all enemies within them with the weapons selected by the player. This minigame features two exclusive enemies not in the main game: a zombie version of Wesker and a gold-colored Tyrant. The player's performance is graded at the end of the minigame. The Saturn version also features exclusive enemy monsters, such as a re-skinned breed of Hunters known as Ticks and a second Tyrant prior to the game's final battle. Exclusive outfits for Jill and Chris were added as well.

Windows version

The Windows version featured the uncensored footage from the Japanese version, but the opening intro is in full color rather than black and white. Support for 3D accelerators was added as well, allowing for much sharper graphics. Two new unlockable weapons were added, a MAC-10 for Jill and an FN Minimi for Chris. New unlockable outfits for Chris and Jill were added as well.

Unreleased Game Boy Color version

A Game Boy Color version of Resident Evil was planned, but later canceled by Capcom, citing that the port was poor quality due to the Game Boy's limited hardware. Capcom later released a new game in the series for the platform titled Resident Evil Gaiden. In January 2012, an anonymous person claimed to have a cartridge of the GBC version. The person requested $2,000 before he was willing to leak the rom files. On February 3, 2012, the goal of $2,000 was met, and the ROM files containing an unfinished build of the game were subsequently leaked.

GameCube remake

Main article: Resident Evil (2002 video game)

The same room with the puzzle as it appears in the remake with enhanced environment and character graphics. In this scene, Chris attacks a zombie with a dagger, one of several new defense items.

In 2002, a remade version of the game, known as Resident Evil in Western regions and as Biohazard in Japan, was released for the Nintendo GameCube. This was part of an exclusivity agreement between Capcom and Nintendo that spanned three new games. The title includes a variety of new gameplay elements, environments, and story details as well as state of the art visuals. The game was also later ported to Wii in 2008.

Deadly Silence

A Nintendo DS port titled Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, released in Japan as Biohazard: Deadly Silence (バイオハザード デッドリーサイレンス, Baiohazādo Deddorī Sairensu) was made to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the series. Deadly Silence includes a "Classic Mode", the original game with minimal enhancements and touch-screen support, and a "Rebirth Mode", containing a greater number of enemies and a series of new puzzles that make use of the platform's specifications.

The game makes use of the dual screen display with the top screen used to display the map, along with the player's remaining ammunition and health (determined by the color of the background); while the bottom screen displays the main action, and can be switched to show the player's inventory. The DS version also includes updated play mechanics: the 180-degree turn introduced in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, along with the knife button and tactical reload from Resident Evil 4. The updated controls are applicable to both Classic and Rebirth modes. Dialog and loading screens can now be skipped. The live-action footage was still censored, even in the game's Japanese release; however, the scene showing Kenneth's decapitated head was kept.

In "Rebirth", new puzzles are added that use the system's touch-screen. "Knife Battle" sequences, viewed from a first-person perspective, are also added, in which the player must fend off incoming enemies by swinging the knife via the stylus. One particular puzzle requires the player to resuscitate an injured comrade by blowing into the built-in microphone. The player can also shake off enemies by using the touch screen, performing a melee attack.

The game also includes wireless LAN support for up to four players with two different multiplayer game modes. The first is a cooperative mode in which each player must help each other solve puzzles and escape the mansion together. The other is a competitive mode in which the objective is to get the highest score out of all the players by destroying the most monsters, with the tougher monsters being worth more points. There are three playable multiplayer stages and nine playable characters.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score DS PC PS Saturn 1UP.com B GameSpot 7.9 7.2 8.2 7.3 GameSpy IGN 7.0 8.7 Aggregate scores GameRankings 71.91% 80.00% 89.95% 75.33% Metacritic 71/100 91/100

The game received positive reviews from critics. For example, GameSpot praised the game, describing it as "one of those rare games that's almost as entertaining to watch as it is to play", while Computer Gaming World gave a more mixed review for the Windows version in explaining that they "tried to hate it with its graphic violence, rampant sexism, poor voice acting and use of every horror cliché, however...it's actually fun."

The PlayStation game was a best seller in North America. In total, according to Capcom's Investor Relations website, the original Resident Evil has sold over 2.75 million units. The Director's Cut version, including the Dual Shock edition, sold an additional 2.33 million copies. It was also a bestseller in the UK. The PlayStation and GameCube versions of the game have sold 6.43 million units in total as of September 2011.

It was one of the first games to be dubbed a "survival horror" (it coined the term with the phrase "You have once again entered the world of survival horror", which is displayed while the player's saved game is being loaded). Accordingly, Game Informer referred to "the original Resident Evil" as "one of the most important games of all time" in 2007. The original game was put into the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008 for the "Worst Game Dialogue Ever". In 2012, Time named it one of the 100 greatest video games of all time. That same year, G4tv ranked it as the 81st top video game of all time.

Novelization

The Umbrella Conspiracy
First edition cover
Author(s)	S. D. Perry
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Resident Evil
Genre(s)	Horror
Publisher	Pocket Books
Publication date	October 1, 1998
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	304 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0-671-02439-6
Preceded by	Zero Hour
Followed by	Caliban Cove

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy is a 1998 novelization of the game, was written by S. D. Perry as the first book in her series of Resident Evil novels. The novel combines Jill's and Chris scenarios into one narrative and features all five of the main characters (including Barry, Rebecca and Wesker).

The book also takes liberty with some of the original source materials; the most notable difference being the inclusion of an original character named Trent, an insider from Umbrella Corporation who provides Jill with information about the Spencer Mansion prior to the events of the mansion incident. Since the book was written a few years before the Nintendo GameCube remake, the novelization lacks the presence of Lisa Trevor in the mansion. However, the book does allude to the original version of George Trevor's journal from The True Story Behind Bio Hazard, as well as the short story it contained, "Bio Hazard: The Beginning", which involved the disappearance of Chris Redfield's friend, Billy Rabbitson. Another notable difference in the novels is moving the location of Raccoon City from the Midwest to Pennsylvania, apparently about an hour's drive from New York. Overall, despite having been written before the retcon introduced in REmake and Resident Evil 0, the book still maintains overall similarity to what the story warped into in the early 2000s.

External links

Media related to Resident Evil at Wikimedia Commons

• Resident Evil at MobyGames

Preceded by Fade to Black

UK number-one PlayStation game September 1996

Succeeded by Tekken 2