Resident Evil (1996 game)

Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan) is a survival horror game by Capcom and is the first game in the Resident Evil series. It was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and has been subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC, then re-released twice on the PlayStation in the form of a Director's Cut. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo GameCube featuring new graphics and voice acting among other significant changes. A Nintendo DS port of the original was released in early 2006.

While not the first survival horror game, its success propelled the genre to new heights of popularity and was the first game to coin the term.

Story
The original game opens on the evening of July 24, 1998 in the fictional Raccoon City where a number of grisly murders have taken place on the outskirts of town. Victims were attacked in their homes by a group of assailants with evidence of cannibalism. Local law enforcement sends in the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team. After contact is lost, the Alpha Team is sent out to find Bravo Team and to continue the investigation. Alpha Team locates the downed Bravo Team helicopter, but there is only the body of the pilot in the helicopter, and no other sign of the survivors; only a severed hand is found attached to a handgun. Alpha Team is suddenly attacked by group of Cerberus, which kill member Joseph Frost in the process, and they flee to a nearby Mansion, believed to be abandoned (during the run Chris Redfield loses his handgun, which is why players don't begin with it when they play as Chris). Though they find out later in the game that this mansion is The Arklay Research Facility disguised as a mansion and owned by the Spencer Family.

Trapped inside the mansion, the four remaining Alpha Team members (Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Barry Burton and Albert Wesker) split up and search the mansion for a way out and clues to explain the murders. At this point the player takes control of either Chris or Jill and explores the mansion with him or her. One of the first discoveries to be made is a member of Bravo Team, Kenneth J. Sullivan, being eaten by a Zombie. The mansion turns out to be full of secrets and anything but abandoned. Scattered documents and computer discs suggest that a series of experiments were being executed on the property by the Umbrella Corporation. The zombies and other monsters are the results of these experiments, which have exposed humans and various animals to a biological weapon known as the t-Virus (hence the Japanese title, "Biohazard").



After navigating a series of tunnels, passageways, and other buildings on the property, Chris/Jill discover a secret underground laboratory containing detailed records of the Umbrella Corporation's experiments. In the lab, Wesker reveals that he is a double agent working for Umbrella and releases the "Tyrant T-002," a giant humanoid monster created through prolonged exposure to the t-Virus. Upon release, the Tyrant immediately impales Wesker on its elongated claws. Chris/Jill apparently slays the Tyrant using firearms and Wesker triggers a self-destruct program to ensure an end to the laboratory and the experiments held there. After Chris/Jill calls for a rescue chopper, the Tyrant bursts through the roof of the lab onto the chopper landing pad and attacks. Suddenly resistant to bullets, the Tyrant is finally slain when the chopper pilot, Brad Vickers, drops a rocket launcher and Chris/Jill uses it to completely destroy the creature. Chris/Jill escape into the chopper before the mansion explodes and the game ends.

The ending sequence varies depending on choices made by the player as he/she explores the mansion. So long as the player escapes with two teammates, the ending plays out as described above. Rescuing only one or none of your teammates changes the outcome, in particular the fate of the laboratory and the Tyrant.

Overview
Unlike subsequent Resident Evil games, the first game had live-action openings and endings. The acting and dialogue in these scenes are often mocked (as is the general dialogue in the series), but some argue that the perceived deficiencies perfectly fit the mood of a B-grade horror movie, and that the actors were surely more entertaining than the CGI that would later permeate the series. The opening footage in the western releases was significantly re-cut to exclude most of the gore, using alternate footage. CAPCOM was supposed to include the unadulterated version of the intro in later revisions, but only the PC Version and the German and French PAL PlayStation Director's Cut contain the original FMV.

The gameplay environment consists of polygonal 3D characters placed over pre-rendered 2D backgrounds. As such, the game relies on pre-determined camera angles for view of the action instead of a real-time camera like most games. As a result, the game uses a "tank-like" control scheme where the character controls in a first person manner. Instead of moving the character in the direction the player is pushing, the character moves forwards by pressing up and backwards by pressing down and turns the character on the spot by pushing left or right. Many Resident Evil detractors have criticized this control scheme, claiming it's unsuitable for a third-person action game, but many fans defend it, arguing that a conventional third person control scheme wouldn't be very feasible considering the various camera angles.

The player fights against enemies by arming their character with a weapon. The player draws their weapon by holding down the "Weapon Draw" button (usually a shoulder button, such as the R1 button) and pressing "Fire" (or X button) In the attack stance, the player character remains static in one place and can turn their character and/or tilt their weapon up or down. Initially, the only weapons available to the player are a combat knife and a Beretta 92FS, but later in the game, more weapons become accessible to the player such as the Remington M870 and a Colt Python. Ammunition for firearms is limited and is often recommended that the player save their strongest weapons for boss battles.

The player must survive by fighting against the various monsters that populate the mansion. The most common enemies in the game are zombies, which are slow-moving and easy to outrun, but hard to avoid in tight corners. During later sections of the game, the player must also fight against zombie dogs (known as "Cerberus'"), Hunters, Chimeras and Web Spinners, as well as small enemies such as crows, Wasps and Adders. Remember to take careful aim while fighting these pesky things, for they are small and you want to conserve ammunition. The player must also fight against bosses such as a giant snake (Yawn), a mutated plant (Plant 42), a giant spider (Black Tiger), a giant shark (Neptune), and the Tyrant T-002.

Health is restored by using First-Aid sprays or healing herbs. Of the two, healing Herbs are more common and restore a portion of the player's health, while first-aid sprays are scarcer, but will restore the player's health completely. There are three types of healing herbs available: the Green Herb (for restoring health), the Blue Herb (which cures poison) and the Red Herb (which can't be used by itself, but will triple the healing power of a green herb when mixed with one). The player can mix herbs for up to six usable combinations.

The player must navigate through the mansion by picking up various keys and items which are integral to the game's progress, while solving puzzles along the way. The player has a limited capacity for carrying items and thus, enforcing the need to carry only essential items while still having space for new items. As such, storage boxes are available for the player to store any item for later use.

The player can only save their progress by going to a typewriter and using Ink Ribbons to save the game. Ink ribbons are available in a limited quantity, forcing the player to think carefully on whether they have made enough progress to justify saving the game. This saving method has also been criticized by many, but designer Shinji Mikami defended it by arguing that it increases the tension in the game.

There are also various documents available to the player within the mansion which serves to provide the solutions to certain puzzles or simply to further divulge the plot to the player.

The game gives you control of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team members Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as they look for another way out and try to locate the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team. The characters play out similar scenarios but they have different skills. Chris is assisted by Bravo Team medic, Rebecca Chambers (who becomes playable in certain portions of his scenario), while Jill gets help from fellow Alpha team member, Barry Burton. Jill's quest is easier because she has a higher item-carrying capacity (eight compared to Chris's six), can pick simple locks, and has a comparatively stronger teammate. She also has access to a grenade launcher (although, Chris has very limited access to a flamethrower) and can complete certain puzzles by herself, while Chris needs Rebecca's help in certain areas. Chris's limitations make his quest arguably harder but he has more stamina than Jill, and can therefore sustain greater damage, and also runs faster.

Playable characters
Resident Evil gives players a choice between two playable characters (one male and one female): S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. The differences between both characters are more than superficial, with differnces in abilities, items and even supporting characters (resulting in a slightly different scenario for both characters). Later Resident Evil titles would often follow this tradition of including a male and female lead, although in some, they aren't both available at the start of the game (i.e. Code Veronica). Notably, Resident Evil 0 has players control both protagonists simultaneously.


 * Chris Redfield - One of the protagonists of the game. Chris is much stronger than Jill, making him more resistant to enemy attacks, but to compensate for his strength, his scenario is made more problematic, especially for the inexperienced. He can only carry six items and starts with only a knife. To make things worse he needs Old Keys to unlock places where Jill can simply use her Lock-pick. Chris's supporting character is Rebecca. She will not rescue him as much as Barry would for Jill, but she is useful and can heal all Chris's wounds at certain areas of the game. Chris also finds the flamethrower, a weapon exclusive to his scenario, but cannot acquire the grenade launcher. Chris is pretty much "hard mode".


 * Jill Valentine - One of the protagonists of the game. Jill's scenario is the simplest of the two, as she has a higher carrying capacity (eight items simultaneously) and has a lock pick that serves as a substitute for the old keys in Chris's scenario (as well as the Sword Key in the original game). Jill's supporting character is Barry. He wields a powerful .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda and is more helpful than Chris's Rebecca, as he eliminates the need for the broken shotgun (as long as the player hasn't picked up the armor key), and assists in fighting several of the bosses. Jill also gets to use a grenade launcher, a weapon exclusive to her scenario and capable of firing several types of rounds. However, these are offset by the fact that she is more vulnerable to enemy attacks than Chris. All in all, Jill has a much easier time than Chris and is the "easy mode".

The character who is not chosen becomes a prisoner of Wesker at the end of the game. In order to unlock the passage leading to the cell, three MO Disks must be collected by the player and then inserted into terminals (which are apparently modeled off of Nintendo Gamecubes in the remake) located through out the lab. The cell's door can only be unlocked by activating the self-destruct mechanism or by using Wesker's Master Key. Deciding whether to free them or not affects several of the ending cutscenes.

Supporting characters

 * Barry Burton - In Chris's scenario, Barry only appears in the opening scene and disappears in the beginning, with Wesker presuming him dead (his disappearance is never solved). In Jill's game, Barry helps throughout the game. Barry often shows up whenever Jill is in need of help to get her out of trouble. He, for instance, kills the first zombie seen in Jill's scenario, and gives her ammo on two occasions. However, Barry is blackmailed by rogue S.T.A.R.S. officer Wesker, who threatens to kill all of Barry's family unless he lures the other S.T.A.R.S. members (Jill) into danger. In the original version, depending on the player's trust on Barry (such as waiting for him to replace a lost rope or seeing Enrico with him), Barry survives to help Jill at the end of the game or gets killed by one of the monsters. In the GameCube version, Barry aims his revolver at Jill on one occasion, but she thwarts his attempt, and, depending on a choice made by the player, may or may not give him his gun back. If the player gives him his gun back, Barry helps out with the subsequent battle as well as the final battle with the Tyrant. However if the player doesn't give the gun back he is thrown to his death by Lisa Trevor into a bottomless pit, dropping a photograph of his family.


 * Rebecca Chambers - A sub-character who appears only in Chris's scenario. Chris meets her either: when she is attending to a wounded Bravo team member Richard (in both the original and GameCube version), or when Chris first enters the Mansion's infirmary (in the original version only). Rebecca appears during portions of Chris's scenario which calls for her intellect such as mixing chemicals or playing the piano. She also becomes a playable character when Chris needs her help in one time of the game; she either goes to get Serum for Chris, or she mixes chemicals to weaken a boss which ensnares Chris. Rebecca also needs Chris's help occasionally; for instance, when she is cornered by a Hunter and is out of ammo, Chris must go to her aid, though the player can choose not to, which results in Rebecca's death. However, if Chris saves her, Rebecca continues to help Chris. Wesker shoots Rebecca, and he believes to have killed her, but Rebecca in fact had a bulletproof vest on. Rebecca, if alive, helps with the final battle with the Tyrant.


 * Albert Wesker - A supporting character in both characters' scenarios. Wesker only makes sporadic appearances through the game, usually to advance the plot. In Chris's scenario (especially in the GameCube version), Wesker takes the place of Barry on a few occasions. He helps him in the third battle with Lisa Trevor, whereas Barry helps Jill. Wesker also leaves Chris ammo on one or two occasions. Wesker is actually Chief of Security at Umbrella and one of the company's top researchers. He is the one who unleashes the Tyrant on the main character. After unleashing the Tyrant, the monster apparently kills Wesker.


 * Richard Aiken
 * Edward Dewey
 * Kevin Dooley
 * Forest Speyer
 * Kenneth J. Sullivan
 * Brad Vickers
 * Enrico Marini
 * Joseph Frost

Most of the other members of S.T.A.R.S. make minor appearances throughout the games, usually as victims of the monsters. In later versions, Forest appears as re-animated corpse, while Richard dies, but is not re-animated(even if given the serum in time).Only Rebecca or Barry will make it out alive, in the canon of the series, it is known that both were involved with and survived the mansion incident.

Enemies
The following is a list of creatures the player faces during the course of the original game. The main enemies in the game are known as Bio-Organic Weapons or B.O.W.'s, creatures that were infected with the T-Virus and transformed into ravenous monsters as result. There are also creatures in the game (such as crows and adders) that underwent secondary mutation (a considerable growth in size and/or aggressiveness) as a result of the viral outbreak in the mansion, although they're not technically considered B.O.W.'s. This includes the infected research and security personnel wandering the mansion, as human T-Virus hosts have been deemed ineffective as weapons due to their slow movement, lowered intelligence and lack of any natural defensive strengths such as claws or fangs.


 * Zombie - Standard enemy. Previously members of Umbrella's Arklay research team, but infected by the T-Virus during the course of their activities. Hosts show complete loss of memory, extremely heightened aggression and severe tissue/organ deterioration.


 * MA-121 Hunter - Emerging after the player returns to the mansion from the residence building; these enemies bear an appearance described by some as a "skinned gorilla". They are extremely fast, strong and aggressive, making them one of the most dangerous enemies in the entire game. They are capable of decapitating your character if your health is low enough.


 * Cerberus - Dobermans injected with the T-Virus. These creatures were deemed a major success by the Umbrella Corporation, due to their increased strength, speed and aggression. The Cerberus poses a serious threat when attacking in pack numbers.


 * Crows - Regular crows that inhabit the Arklay Mountains. These crows have been infected with the T-Virus and, as a result, have become extremely aggressive. Their strength lies in their large numbers. They are difficult to shoot and dangerous if the character is already critically injured, but otherwise present only a minor threat to an armed opponent.


 * Plant 43 - A mutated plant that was infected with T-Virus contaminated water. Found within Spencer Mansion's greenhouse. Not particularly dangerous, the plant will simply strike out at detected movement. It can only be killed by pouring herbicide into the water pump. Not to be confused with the far deadlier 'Plant-42'.


 * Web Spinner - Large Tarantula-based B.O.W.'s, noted for their ability to jump and spit venomous acid. The Web-Spinner was deemed a failure, due to the fact that it couldn't be properly adopted to a specific mission profile.


 * Spider - Small zombie spiders, they don't do any real damage by themselves, however in large numbers they can be dangerous. You can step on them to kill them, they are mostly found near large spiders.


 * Adder - Poisonous snakes that infest the area surrounding Spencer Mansion. Much like the infected crows, the snakes are another accidental byproduct of the T-Virus leak. These snakes are poisonous, aggressive, difficult to shoot, and will drop down from the trees to surprise the character. When encountered, fleeing the area is generally recommended, although the combat knife can be useful against this opponent.


 * Wasp - Created when a nest within the mansion's rear guardhouse became infected with the T-Virus. These wasps are about the size of a fist, extremely aggressive and produce toxins within their abdomens. The wasps can be eliminated via the destruction of their nest.


 * Shark - Small sharks that are found near the Guardhouse. There are 2 of them flopping around without water outside, and 2 inside with Neptune.


 * Neptune - Sharks that underwent infection with the T-Virus. Found in the Aqua Ring beneath the Residence, these sharks have not responded to the effects of the T-Virus as positively as Neptune. That fact aside, they have nevertheless been deemed a successful creation by the Umbrella Corporation. Note that Neptune is much larger than its standard counterparts.


 * Chimera - B.O.W.'s located in the underground lab. Created by combining T-Virus-infected human DNA with T-Virus-infected fly DNA. Although capable of incredible agility, the Chimera was deemed a failure, due to its extremely weak profile. The Hunter, with similar abilities and far greater physical strength, was officially chosen to replace the Chimera.

Bosses

 * Yawn - A giant python-based B.O.W. with venomous fangs. It earns its name due to the fact that appears to be yawning before biting its prey.


 * Fi-3 Neptune - A shark-based B.O.W. Much larger and stronger than its counterpart specimens. The Neptune has responded incredibly well to the t-Virus, supposedly even gaining the ability to survive in both Fresh AND Salt water.


 * Plant 42 - A giant carnivorous plant that was created by Henry Sarton. It occupies two entire rooms of the mansion's guardhouse, and its roots have grown into every inch of the building.


 * Black Tiger - A giant Web Spinner, six times the size of its infected counterparts, that has responded far better to the t-Virus. The Black Tiger is able to capture large prey in its webs.


 * Tyrant T-002 Umbrella's most prized Bio-Organic Weapon. The Tyrant is the driving force behind the Umbrella Corporation's continual t-Virus research. An un-controllable, agile and extremely powerful B.O.W. that rogue S.T.A.R.S. operative, Albert Wesker, unleashes on the player in the latter stages of the game. Upon release, Tyrant will kill Wesker and you will have to escape Tyrant. The Tyrant will later mutate into a 'Super Tyrant', increasing it's threat profile significantly, after undergoing its 'limiter release' phase.

Weapons

 * Survival Knife - A close quarters knife designed for Survival orientated scenarios. This is the Knife available for Jill and is in her Inventory at game start. Although the player can save ammo by using this weapon, the character has to be within attacking range of the enemy, and thus it's generally considered a useless weapon. Some players try to do 'knife runs', where the game is completed using only the combat knife. It is recommended this weapon be disposed of as soon as possible, as it is almost impossible to properly utilize to any significant effect. Jill operates her Knife with a quick slashing motion but doesn't do much damage. This weapon is only shown in the Remake.


 * M9 Bayonet - A close-quarters military combat knife, and Chris Redfield's only available weapon at the beginning of the game. Although the player can save ammo by using this weapon, the character has to be within attacking range of the enemy, and thus it's generally considered a useless weapon. Some players try to do 'knife runs', where the game is completed using only the combat knife. It is recommended this weapon be disposed of as soon as possible, as it is almost impossible to properly utilize to any significant effect. Chris uses a stabbing and thrusting method of attack with his Knife which only inflicts marginally higher damage than Jills Survival Knife. It is standard for both characters in the "Original" Resident Evil.


 * Beretta M92FS - A 9 mm handgun available as Jill's starting weapon and shortly after the beginning of Chris's scenario. While it's effective against zombies and dogs, most of the tougher monsters will take many rounds before going down. The remake of the original game sees the 92FS replaced with the S.T.A.R.S. customized 'Samurai Edge' sidearm. This weapon is essentially the same 9 mm pistol, slightly altered for licensing purposes. The 'Samurai Edge' pistol is also customized for S.T.A.R.S. to be an effective Law Enforcement pistol, modified with a second safety switch. Both the 92FS and the 'Samurai Edge' both carry a 15 round magazine of 9 mm bullets.


 * Remington M870 - A pump-action shotgun. Can blow a zombie's head off if aimed at the head and is effective against virtually all enemies due to its power and wide range. The GameCube remake had a M1897 Trench shotgun instead, and also offered the player improved firepower with the inclusion of Richard's Remington M870 Tactical shotgun. This weapon will become available to both characters after Richard is killed.


 * Colt Python - A revolver that uses high-caliber magnum rounds and one of the game's most powerful weapons. Since magnum rounds are scarce, it is generally recommended by expert players to save this weapon for tougher enemies (particularly bosses). In Resident Evil's remake, the firepower was slightly improved, and is aesthetically identical to Barry's 44. revolver.


 * Milkor MGL Mk.1 - Also known as the Grenade Launcher. A weapon available to Jill, it can fire three separate kinds of ammunition. In addition to standard explosive rounds, it can also launch flammable napalm rounds, as well as sulfuric acid rounds. The grenade launcher is considered a good alternative to the shotgun, although ammunition is far more difficult to come by. In the GameCube remake of Resident Evil, there is a glitch that allows nearly unlimited rounds. The Grenade Launcher can be found beside the corpse of Forest Speyer.


 * Flamethrower - A weapon available to Chris, the flamethrower has a decent range and is effective against most enemies. However, it cannot be reloaded once it runs out of fuel (since replacement ammo is not available) and is needed to unlock certain doors in the underground passage. It is recommended this weapon be used against the giant 'Black-Tiger' arachnid located within close proximity to the flamethrower.


 * M202A1 FLASH - Known in-game simply as "Rocket Launcher". Available only for the final battle (or in the main game as a secret unlockable weapon), the Rocket Launcher is the most powerful weapon in the game, able to kill any enemy in one shot. However, it cannot be aimed at high or low angles. The Rocket Launcher at the end of the game only has four rockets without any replacement ammo available. However, a version of the Rocket Launcher with unlimited ammo can be unlocked with a cleared file after finishing the game in less than three hours. This weapon is difficult to use, and it is highly recommended that the character be positioned far from the enemy, especially agile opponents such as the Hunter, to properly utilize it without taking damage.

Trivia

 * In the game, it is possible (if searching every room thoroughly) to locate a diary. The diary contains the gardeners experiences as one of the living dead. Slowly losing his mind, he tells the story about the underground facility, while talking about where to find certain plants (useful for Rebbeca). At the last entry, as he is turning into a zombie, he states, "Last night I have eaten the master's dog, a sign that I am becoming one of them, actually, it tasted rather unique, it was... itchy, scratchy, tasty....


 * The inspiration for Resident Evil was the earlier Capcom game Sweet Home. Shinji Mikami was initially commissioned to make a horror game set in a haunted mansion like Sweet Home.


 * The idea of using zombies as enemies came from George A. Romero's Living Dead movie series. Earlier ideas for the game proposed paranormal enemies instead of living creatures.


 * The design on the back of Chris's alternate costume is a reference to an album by the rock group Queen entitled Made in Heaven. Other references to the album appear in Resident Evil 2, Code Veronica and Resident Evil 0. In Resident Evil 2, the Made in Heaven design is also seen on the back of Claire's vest. In Resident Evil: Code Veronica, the back of Claire's jacket reads "Let Me Live", the third track off "Made in Heaven". In Resident Evil 0, Billy's tattoo reads "Mother Love", the fourth track off 'Made in Heaven'. Fans of the series use these occurrences to justify the theory that there must be a hidden group of Queen fans working for Capcom.


 * In Resident Evil 2, Chris's brown jacket, part of his alternative costume from the first title, is seen hanging above his desk in the S.T.A.R.S. office.


 * The "Made in Heaven" design on Chris's jacket and sweater has 20 bombs. The one on Claire's vest only has 16. The style of the image is similar to airplane nose art, popular in World War II, and a reference to Chris's days in the Air Force.

The following details are from The True Story Behind Biohazard (1997, Capcom):


 * Resident Evil was initially envisioned as a first-person shooter until it was decided that playing from a first-person perspective wasn't scary enough.


 * A series of documents, known as the "Trevor's Letters", were proposed for the original game, but not included in the final version due to the fact that they revealed too much of the game's plot too soon. They were later restored in the GameCube remake with a few differences due to the retroactive changes made in the new version.


 * When playing as both characters, an early puzzle involves playing a song on the grand piano in the mansion's bar. The composition is Ludwig van Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."


 * Two characters appeared in an early draft of the game's storyline as Jill's and Chris's supporting characters. Gelzer, a muscular Caucasian man with a cybernetic eye who was scheduled to hold an entire roof up at one point of the game, and Dewey, a thin African American man modeled after Eddie Murphy who would've served as the comic relief. In the finished version of the game, these two were replaced by Barry and Rebecca respectively. The name Dewey was then used for an unrelated member of S.T.A.R.S. (Edward Dewey).

Later versions
Since its initial release in 1996, various versions of Resident Evil have been released for several platforms over the years, each introducing new features and gameplay aspects. The following is a list of versions.


 * 1) Resident Evil - original - 1996
 * 2) Resident Evil: The Director's Cut - 1997
 * 3) Resident Evil - 2002
 * 4) Resident Evil: Deadly Silence - 2006
 * 5) Resident Evil: Genesis - 2008

Regional differences
When Capcom released Biohazard in North America and Europe, the game's title was changed to Resident Evil, partly under Capcom USA's suggestion, but also because the heavy metal band Biohazard holds the copyright on that name in North America and Europe. The following is a list of differences between the Western and Japanese releases of the original PlayStation game, although the changes are mostly true for all subsequent releases unless otherwise noted.


 * Increased difficulty - The game's difficulty was increased in order to make the game hard to complete in one rental. Most notably, the omission of auto-aiming (later restored in Director's Cut) and a reduced number of uses per ink ribbon (from five to two).


 * Censorship -　Three of the game's FMV files were changed; the opening intro, the appearance of the first zombie and Chris's solo ending. The intro was recut to exclude most of the gore, using alternate footage, and the first zombie's scene was shortened to remove a CGI severed head. Obviously, the game's name was also changed in the intro video, and scenes that featured Chris Redfield smoking a cigarette were edited as well due to SCEA's strict policy against the glorification of tobacco use.


 * Different opening and ending themes - The Japanese version of the original Biohazard for PlayStation featured vocal opening and ending themes performed by J-Pop artist, Fumitaka Fuchigami, titled Kôri no Manazashi ("Icy Gaze") and Yume de Owarasenai ("I Won't Let This End as a Dream") respectively. These were replaced by two instrumental themes composed internally by Capcom, "Terror" and "Still Dawn", for the North American and European releases. Only the initial PlayStation release contains the vocal themes. All subsequent releases in Japan (including Director's Cut and the Saturn version) replaces them with the instrumental themes from the overseas release. In the Dual Shock Version of Director's Cut, "Still Dawn" has been replaced by "Tempest."


 * Background images for documents - When the player is reading a document in the Japanese version, a graphical representation of the actual document itself is displayed on the background behind the text. In the English version, the text is displayed on a black background with no graphics.

Unlike many Japanese games that are translated to the western market, the dialog and voice acting in the Japanese version were in English as well. While Capcom originally planned to include Japanese voice acting in Biohazard, they decided in the end to use English voice acting in order to make the game more immersible with its setting. All subsequent Biohazard titles have since followed this tradition (with Biohazard 4 featuring English and Spanish dialog).

Saturn version
In 1997, Capcom released a Sega Saturn version of Resident Evil on July 27 in Japan and on August 31 in North America, a few months prior to the release of Resident Evil: Director's Cut for PlayStation. This version has some graphical differences from the PlayStation version, such as more detailed backgrounds, but worse cut-scenes resolution, and contains new exclusive content not found in any other version of the game as a compensation.


 * Battle Game - A new minigame becomes available after completing the main game or by inputting a cheat code. In the Battle Game, the player's objective is to go through a series of areas from the main game and clear each stage of monsters (while trying to conserve ammo). The player is graded at the end based on their time. This minigame is often considered as a precursor to the various minigames included in subsequent installments such as Extreme Battle in Resident Evil 2 and Leech Hunter in Resident Evil 0.


 * New costumes - Alternate outfits for Chris and Jill are also available in addition to the ones from the original PlayStation version. They become usable by either: finishing the game or inputting a cheat code.


 * New monsters - New creatures appear at certain points during the main game, including a new species of Hunter (called Ticks) within the underground tunnels and a second Tyrant within the lab. In addition, new monsters are present in Battle Game, including a golden Tyrant and a zombiefied version of Wesker.


 * Uncut FMV files - Accidentally, some U.S. and European versions of the game contained the original, uncut, coloured intro with Kenneth's head scene and Chris's original bad ending.

Certain copies of the game in Japan came packaged with the book The True Story Behind Biohazard, which contained transcripts of Trevor's Letters, the original novel Biohazard: The Beginning by Hiroyuki Aniga and an interview with Shinji Mikami.

PC version
The original Resident Evil was ported to PC in 1997 by Westwood Studios and published in North America and Europe by Virgin Interactive. This conversion only officially supported first-generation 3DFX and PowerVR cards, alongside the now-obsolete Rendition series, with software rendering only becoming available in the later conversion of Resident Evil 2.

The PC versions of the game are nearly identical to the original PlayStation release in most aspects, but contain a few subtle differences.


 * Uncut FMV files - Like some Saturn releases, instead of the black and white version of the intro shown in the console releases, the PC version contained the original intro in colour. The coloured intro was previously shown in a Japanese documentary titled Birth of Biohazard, but this was the only version of the actual game to include it. The North American release featured this intro (and other FMV sequences) uncensored. However, the European and Australian releases were still edited for violence.


 * New Weapons - Two new weapons were introduced in this version as an award for finishing the game under three hours, replacing the Rocket Launcher with unlimited ammo from the console releases. A MAC-10 for Jill and a Minimi for Chris.


 * Adjustable Difficulty Settings - The Japanese release allows players to choose between the original Japanese difficulty or the harder American setting.

Novelization
A novelization of the game titled Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy Side A, was written by author 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 and Rebecca).

The book also takes liberty with the original source materials; the most notable difference being the inclusion of an original character named Trent, an insider from Umbrella who provides Jill with information about the Mansion prior to the events of the mansion incident. Since the book was written a few years before the GameCube remake, the novelization omits 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 Biohazard, as well as the short story it contained Biohazard: The Beginning, which involved the disappearance of Chris'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.

Most fans consider the novel to be non-canon.