Resident Evil

1001 Video Games

Resident Evil appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cancelled Port

Significant work on a port to Game Boy Color was completed before Capcom pulled the plug citing quality concerns. This port was a fairly direct adaptation of the original with characters moving about in 3D on prerendered backdrops.

Cut Content

• When originally released in the US and Europe (for the PlayStation), the game had several cuts in its cutscenes, and some death sequences. Thankfully the PC version (excluding the UK version) restores all the missing stuff and plays like the original Japanese release.
• The Japanese version had a color intro but in the Western release the intro was Black & White and was censored.

Dewey

Bravo Team's pilot, Dewey, was originally conceived as a thin African-American member of STARS who would've also served as the game's comic relief. He and another character named Gelzer (a giant man with cybernetic implants) were planned to appear in the game, but were discarded from the final version. The Edward Dewey in Biohazard 0 is a tall Caucasian and is a departure from the character's initial concept. The thin African-American 'comic-relief' character was eventually recycled into Jim from Resident Evil: Outbreak.

Ending

Along with the remake, this is the only Resident Evil to feature a "best-case-scenario" ending which does not elude to a possible sequel or spin-off and suggests that "everything is finally over". The reason for this is possibly because the company was uncertain how well the game would be received, so this game could stand on its own story-wise if it failed economically.

GameCube Remake

Completely redone for the Nintendo GameCube: includes better graphics, CG FMVs (rather than live-action), different item placement and other goodies. Part of the Resident Evil exclusive GameCube deal which includes ports of other instalments as well as Resident Evil Zero.

Inspiration

• Resident Evil was originally inspired by the Japanese game Sweet Home for Famicom (NES).
• The American film Night of the Living Dead was credited as inspiration for this, the first game in the series.

Japanese Voice-Acting

Although Japanese games with English text/dialogue are not uncommon, Resident Evil was originally intended to have Japanese dialogue for its domestic release. These were discarded before release, however, and to date the only Resident Evil media to not have spoken English in its home land has been Resident Evil: 4D Executer, a short movie that played over an "interactive ride" that was only shown in Japan.

Name Change

Originally entitled Biohazard, the game's name had to be changed to Resident Evil in US and European versions because of copyright issues - the name Biohazard was (and is) being used by an American metal band.

Novels and Movies

A book adaptation of this game was published in 1998 by Pocket Books, written by S.D. Perry and entitled The Umbrella Conspiracy, launching a seven-book series of novels by the same author adapting from the Resident Evil games (described under the individual games' trivia sections) and inspired by their themes and premises -- of those latter, notably number 2 in the series, 1998's Caliban Cove, and #4, Underworld, published in 1999.

A separate series of novels inspired by Resident Evil has been published in Japan:1. Biohazard: The Beginning (1997), by Hiroyuki Aniga; 2. Biohazard: The Beast of the North Sea (Biohazard Hokkai no Yôjû) (1998), by Kyu Asakura; 3. Biohazard: to the Liberty (2002), by Suiren Kimura; and 4. Biohazard: Rose Blank (2002), by Tadashi Aizawa.

Of course, the series has also inspired two movies starring Milla Jovovich: Resident Evil: Genesis and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, with which you are likely to be far more familiar, each of which also boasts novelizations of their own.

Parental Consent Trial

In 2002, St. Louis Judge Stephen Limbough reviewed a videotape of four games, in order to decide whether or not parental consent would have to be granted for children to purchase M-rated games. There was much hilarity online when the original Resident Evil, one of the four games, was incorrectly identified by the court and its reports as The Resident of Evil Creek. In the end, the judge's decision said the city could regulate video games because they were not free speech protected by the First Amendment.

References to the Game

This game is referenced in the Eiffel 65 song My Console.

Sales

According to publisher Capcom, Resident Evil has sold 2.75 million copies worldwide since its initial release (as of June 30, 2016).

Sega Saturn Release

The Japanese Sega Saturn release of Biohazard does indeed contain the uncensored introduction but it is still monochrome. Joseph's death is extended and there are shots of the Cerberi being torn to pieces by the gunshots.

Awards

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
  • May 1996 (Issue 82) - Game of the Month
  • March 1997 (Issue 92) - Adventure Game of the Year runner-up (PlayStation / Saturn version) + PlayStation Game of the Year (Readers' Choice) + Adventure Game of the Year runner-up (PlayStation version) (Readers' Choice) + Game of the Year runner-up (All Systems) (PlayStation version) (Readers' Choice)
  • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #1 (Readers' Top 10 Games of All Time) (PSX version)
  • 1998 Buyer's Guide - Worst Voice Acting Runner-Up
• Retro Gamer
  • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #37 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)

Information also contributed by Ace of Sevens, Andrew Pine, J. Michael Bottorff , Kyle Levesque, Lain Crowley, Matthew Bailey, MegaMegaMan, Oyn, Pseudo_Intellectual, Sciere and Tiago Jaques