''Resident Evil'' is a 1996

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...

game developed and published by

Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...

for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. It is the first game in Capcom's ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' franchise. Set in the fictional Arklay mountain region in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, players control Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of the elite task force S.T.A.R.S., who must escape a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

infested with

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

s and other monsters. ''Resident Evil'' was conceived by the producer Tokuro Fujiwara as a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same s ...

of his 1989 horror game '' Sweet Home'' (1989). It was directed by

Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the Resident Evil (1996 video game), first installme ...

. It went through several redesigns, first as Super NES game in 1993, then a fully 3D first-person PlayStation game in 1994 and finally a third-person game. Gameplay consists of action, exploration, puzzle solving and inventory management. ''Resident Evil'' established many conventions seen later in the series, and in other survival horror games, including the inventory system, save system, and use of a vitals-monitoring system instead of a health counter. ''Resident Evil'' was praised for its graphics, gameplay, sound, and atmosphere, although it received some criticism for its dialogue and voice acting. It was an international best-seller, and became the highest-selling PlayStation game at the time. By December 1997, it had sold about 4 million copies worldwide and had grossed more than US$200 million. ''Resident Evil'' is often cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. It is credited with defining the survival horror genre and with returning zombies to

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

, leading to a renewed interest in zombie films by the 2000s. It created a franchise including video games, films, comics, novels, and other merchandise. It has been ported to

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it is the successor to the succes ...

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

. '' Resident Evil 2'' was released in 1998, and a remake was released on

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

in 2002.

Gameplay

In ''Resident Evil'', the player chooses to play as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine as they explore the Spencer Mansion to find their missing compatriots and secure an escape route. The environment is presented from a

third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to del ...

, using fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds, while the player uses

tank controls Tank controls are a control system used in video games whereby players control movement relative to the position of the player character, rather than the perspective of the game camera. They have become less common over time and free-roaming cam ...

to move. Certain parts of the environment can be examined, items can be collected, heavy objects can be pushed around, and the player can navigate from room to room using doors, stairs, or elevators. Both characters have different perks: Chris has more health, handles weapons more effectively, and starts with a lighter for solving certain puzzles, while Jill has an increased inventory capacity, and starts with a lockpick that opens several locked doors which Chris must find keys for. Chris and Jill begin with only a survival knife and a Beretta M92FS, and zombies and various other monsters scattered around the Mansion will attack them on sight. While the player can procure other firearms to defend themselves, including a

Remington Model 870 The Remington Model 870 is a Pump action shotgun, pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms, Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and mi ...

and a

Colt Python The Colt Python is a double action/single action revolver chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge. It was first introduced in 1955 by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', Ne ...

, there is limited ammunition throughout the area, preventing the player from killing everything they come across. Taking damage depletes the player's health, shown on an electrocardiogram in the inventory screen – it can be restored using

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s and first aid sprays, but if the player takes too much damage, they will die and must restart from their last save. The player has a limited inventory capacity of 6 slots as Chris, or 8 as Jill – spare items can be deposited in item boxes found inside various safe rooms, alongside

typewriter A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...

s that let the player use ink ribbons to save their progress. In the inventory screen, items can be examined, equipped, discarded, or combined with each other to produce various effects – e.g. combining two herbs to increase their potency, or making an item needed to progress. Certain items are needed to solve puzzles and either provide the player with more supplies or open new areas. Each character has a supporting partner that joins them during the story – field medic Rebecca Chambers for Chris, weapons specialist Barry Burton for Jill. Depending on the player's actions, their partner can either die or accompany them throughout the entire game – different endings exist depending on whether the player is able to save their partner and/or the other playable character and escape with them.

Plot

On July 24, 1998, the Bravo Team of the Raccoon City Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) is sent out into the surrounding Arklay forest to investigate a recent string of cannibalistic murders. When contact with them is lost, Alpha Team is sent out to investigate – consisting of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Joseph Frost, Brad Vickers, and captain Albert Wesker. They discover Bravo Team's

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

crashed in the forest, with pilot Kevin Dooley dead at the scene. Alpha Team continue to explore the surrounding forest, but are suddenly attacked by a pack of ravenous

Dobermann The Dobermann is a German list of dog breeds, breed of medium-large working dog of pinscher type. It was originally bred in Thuringia in about 1890 by Karl Friedrich Louis Dobermann, Louis Dobermann, a tax collector.Kenneth J. Sullivan being eaten by a

. When Wesker mysteriously vanishes (alongside Jill in Chris' story), the player is left to explore the mansion alone and attempt to find their allies. As they explore, they find that Bravo Team has been massacred – Forest Speyer was pecked to death by infected

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

s and has zombified, while Richard Aiken dies from venom poisoning after being bitten by Yawn, a giant mutated snake, and captain Enrico Marini is shot dead by a mysterious sniper just after revealing that there is a mole in S.T.A.R.S.. The only Bravo Team survivor, field medic Rebecca Chambers, is rescued by Chris. The player eventually comes to discover that the mansion was a research facility of

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

, a pharmaceutical corporation that was secretly producing Bio Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) to sell on the

black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...

. The cannibalistic murders were caused by an outbreak of the " Tyrant Virus" (t-Virus for short), a virulent agent capable of turning any species it infects into flesh-eating zombies. At an underground laboratory beneath the mansion, the player discovers that Wesker is the mole, being an employee of Umbrella placed in S.T.A.R.S. to keep an eye on their operations; He also blackmailed Barry into helping him under the threat of killing his family, but if Barry survives, he turns on Wesker upon learning that he was bluffing. Wesker releases a Tyrant, a B.O.W. super soldier, in an attempt to kill the survivors, but it turns on and kills him first before focusing on the player; Optionally, the player can save the other playable character from a holding cell if they collected a set of MO disks scattered around the mansion, and if their partner survived, activate the self-destruct sequence for the mansion. The player and anyone they saved flee up to a helipad, chased by the Tyrant, where Brad Vickers returns to search for them and they manage to signal him down using a

flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

. If the Tyrant is still alive, it follows them onto the helipad, but Brad drops a

rocket launcher A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile. History The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few i ...

down, which the player uses to kill it. Regardless, the survivors of the incident escape the mansion with Brad, with the mansion being destroyed if the lab's self-destruct sequence was activated – if the other playable character was not freed, they are left for dead. The game's ending varies depending on whether the partner and/or supporting character survived; if the former did not survive to trigger the self-destruct sequence, the cannibalistic murders continue, and the Tyrant is now loose in the wilderness. Canonically, all four protagonists (Chris, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca) survive and the mansion is destroyed.

Development

Design

''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'' (1989), itself a video game adaption of the Japanese horror film of the same name.

was commissioned to make a game set in a haunted mansion like ''Sweet Home'', and early on, the game was intended to be a remake of ''Sweet Home''. The project was proposed by ''Sweet Home'' creator Tokuro Fujiwara, who was Mikami's mentor and served as the game's producer.Shinji Mikami, « Resident Evil » et la source du jeu d'horreur
, ''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'' (October 10, 2014) Fujiwara said the "basic premise was that I'd be able to do the things that I wasn't able to include" in ''Sweet Home'', "mainly on the graphics front", and that he was "confident that horror games could become a genre in themselves." He entrusted Mikami, who was initially reluctant because he hated "being scared", with the project, because he "understood what's frightening."The Man Who Made Ghosts'n Goblins: Tokuro Fujiwara Interview
, '' CONTINUE'', Vol. 12, 2003 Since Capcom no longer had the rights to the ''Sweet Home'' license, they had to invent a new universe, but the game still adopted many elements from ''Sweet Home''. ''Resident Evil'' was based on ''Sweet Home''s gameplay system, adopting many elements from the game, including the limited item inventory management,Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami Reflects on the Series' Roots
,

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

(March 22, 2016) the mansion setting, the puzzles, the emphasis on survival, the door loading screen, the use of scattered notes and diary entries as storytelling mechanics, multiple endings depending on how many characters survive, backtracking to previous locations in order to solve puzzles later on, the use of death animations, individual character items such as a lockpick or lighter, restoring health through items scattered across the mansion, the intricate layout of the mansion, and the brutally horrific imagery. Part of the inspiration for limited ammunition came from the

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

port of the game '' Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress'', according to scenario writer Kenichi Iwao. The idea of having limited ammunition was inspired by the limited amount of supplies in the game's randomized dungeons. Iwao wanted to take more elements from the game, such as adding more ways to attack zombies with items such as mines and traps, but was unable to due to schedule constraints.

Production

Production began in 1993, and the game took three years to develop. During the first six months of development, Mikami worked on the game alone, creating concept sketches, designing characters, and writing over 40 pages of script. The project was originally planned for the Super NES, before moving development to the

in 1994. Koji Oda was working on the Super NES version, after having worked on '' Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts'' (1991). Oda revealed that the setting was originally more of a

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

ish place, before being changed to a more realistic setting. Several of the ''Resident Evil'' mansion's pre-rendered backdrops were inspired by The Overlook Hotel, the setting for the 1980 horror film, '' The Shining''. Mikami also cited the 1978 film '' Dawn of the Dead'' as a negative inspiration for the game. The game was initially conceived as a fully 3D first-person update of ''Sweet Home'' (influenced by the game's first-person battles), with action and shooting mechanics. A first-person prototype was produced, and initially featured a supernatural,

psychological Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Japanese horror style similar to ''Sweet Home'', before opting for an American zombie horror style influenced by George A. Romero films. During production, Mikami discovered ''

Alone in the Dark ''Alone in the Dark'' is a survival horror video game series originally developed by Infogrames. In most of the games, the player controls private investigator Edward Carnby, who goes to investigate a haunted house or town that is full of undea ...

'' (1992), which influenced him to adopt a cinematic fixed-view camera system. Mikami said that, if it was not for ''Alone in the Dark'', ''Resident Evil'' would have had a first-person view instead. Mikami was initially reluctant to adopt ''Alone in the Dark''s fixed-view camera system, saying it "had an effect on immersion, making the player feel a bit more detached", but eventually adopted it because the use of pre-rendered backdrops allowed a higher level of detail than his fully 3D first-person view prototype, which "didn't get along so well with the original PlayStation's specs." A concept art claimed to be of the original first-person prototype has been available since the 1990s, showing more similarity to '' Doom'' rather than ''Alone in the Dark''.What Resident Evil Could Have Been
,

Shacknews ''Shacknews'' is an American video game journalism website founded in 1996. It that publishes news articles, reviews, and cheat codes. History ''Shacknews'' was founded in 1996 by Steve Gibson. The website, originally named 'Quakeholio', was ...

A first-person perspective was not used again for the mainline ''Resident Evil'' series until '' Resident Evil 7: Biohazard'' (2017). A later prototype featured cooperative gameplay, but this feature was eventually removed, as Mikami said it "technically...wasn't good enough." Early footage of this co-op prototype was revealed in 1995. At this stage of development, a local co-op mode was present, along with different outfits. A later demo made for the 1995 V Jump Festival presentation in Japan featured real-time weapon changes, with the co-op mode removed and rudimentary character models and textures. An early 1996 preview in ''Maximum Console'' magazine featured a graveyard and a slightly different version of the final boss. The graveyard, which was removed from the final game, eventually made it into the 2002 remake. Also featured in the game until late in development were guest houses and a tower, which were replaced by the guard house and the lab respectively. Another feature that was removed from the final game was the real-time weapon changing, from the earlier 1995 V-Jump demo. Capcom did not use any

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

in the game, despite having their own motion capture studio; instead, the animators referred to books and videos to study how people, spiders, and other animals encountered in the game move. In pre-production, other characters were conceived. Dewey, an African-American man, was intended to perform a

comic relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

role, while Gelzer, a big cyborg, was a typical "strongman" character. Both were later replaced, by Rebecca and Barry, respectively. Almost all development was done on

Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and soft ...

hardware using the software program Softimage. The PlayStation was chosen as the lead platform because the development team felt it was the most appropriate for the game in terms of things such as the amount of polygons. The development team had upwards of 80 people towards the end of the game's development. According to Akio Sakai, head of Capcom's consumer software division, Capcom were hesitant to port ''Resident Evil'' to the Saturn because the hardware was not as ideally suited to the game as the PlayStation, ensuring the port would take a long time. A Saturn version was finally unveiled at the April 1997

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

, at which Capcom also showed a demo for the sequel on PlayStation. The

live action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...

full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

sequences were filmed in Japan with a cast of American actors; Charlie Kraslavsky (Chris), Inez Jesionowski (Jill), Greg Smith (Barry), Linda (Rebecca), Eric Pirius (Albert), and Jason Durkee (Joseph). All Japanese releases contain English voice acting with Japanese captions and text, recorded at a recording studio in Tokyo and provided by Scott McCulloch (Chris, Narrator), Lisa Faye (Jill), Barry Gjerde (Barry), Lynn Harris (Rebecca, Triggering System), Sergio Alarcon (Brad, Joseph), Clay Alarcon (Richard, Zombie Forest Speyer, Zombies), Dean Harrington (Enrico, additional voices), Pablo Kuntz (Albert, Radio Transmissions), and Ward E. Sexton (Title and Character Names Announcer). Harris was also the voice director for the game, basing her direction on making it camp, loosely on ''Dawn of the Dead'', '' The Blob'' and ''

The Rocky Horror Picture Show ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 independent musical comedy horror film produced by Lou Adler and Michael White, directed by Jim Sharman, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay was written by Sharman and Richard O ...

''. However, Japanese voice performances were also recorded but were left unused, as Mikami found the quality of the performances inadequate. However, lead programmer Yasuhiro Anpo later said that, due to all of the development staff being Japanese, they were unaware of the "poor localization" that apparently "hindered the realism and immersion of the title" for the international release, which was one of the reasons for the re-dub in the 2002 remake. The original Japanese PlayStation version also features a vocal ending theme, , performed by Japanese rock artist Fumitaka Fuchigami, that is not in any other versions of the game. Fujiwara said the game was originally targeted towards a core audience and he only expected it to sell around 200,000 copies, before the game went on to sell millions. Mikami said he was "a little worried about how well a horror game would really sell." Anpo said that Capcom did not expect the game to be successful.

English localization

''Bio Hazard'' was renamed for the North American and European markets after Chris Kramer, the director of communications at Capcom, pointed out that it would be impossible to

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

it in the United States. Among others, the 1992 video game '' Bio-Hazard Battle'' and the New York alternative metal band

Biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect huma ...

were already using the name. Capcom ran an internal company contest to find a new name. ''Resident Evil'' was chosen since the game takes place in a mansion. Kramer thought the name "was super-cheesy ... but the rest of the marketing crew loved it and were ultimately able to convince Capcom Japan and Mikami-san that the name fit." The cover artwork for the American and European release was created by Bill Sienkiewicz. The original PlayStation version of ''Resident Evil'' went through several changes between its original Japanese release and its international 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, Joseph's death, and Kenneth's severed head 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 Rating Board The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings to consumer video games in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The ESRB was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Soft ...

. 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 interconnected nature of item boxes, meaning that items could only be retrieved from the locations where they were originally stored. This change made it in preview copies of the US version, but was removed from the retail release. This particular game mechanic would resurface in the GameCube remake as part of an unlockable difficulty setting. Shinji Mikami noted that they made the American version harder at the request of the American staff so that the game could be rented and not be completed in a few days. Mikami said that this version proved fairly difficult for Capcom staff, who had to play very carefully to complete it.

Releases

''Resident Evil'' was initially released for the

in Japan on March 22, 1996, in North America on April 1, and in Europe on August 16. It was then reissued and ported to other systems, with many gaining new features in the process.

Windows

The

version, released in December 1996, featured the uncensored footage from the Japanese version, and the opening intro is in full color rather than black and white. It is the only version of ''Resident Evil'' that has all of the uncensored full motion video (FMV) sequences, which includes the uncensored introduction, Kenneth's death scene in its entirety, and ending. Support for 3D accelerator cards were added, 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. It also skips the door animations and allows saves without ink ribbons only in Jill's game. The original Windows version was re-released on June 26, 2024 by GOG.com to include quality of life improvements and enhanced compatibility. Following the re-release of the first title, GOG.com released ''Resident Evil 2'' on August 27 and ''Resident Evil 3: Nemesis'' on September 25, both individually and as a $24.99 bundle.

Sega Saturn

The Sega Saturn version, released in July 1997, added an unlockable battle mode 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. It features two exclusive enemies not in the main game: a zombie version of Wesker and a gold-colored Tyrant. The player's performance in the battle mode is graded at the end. The game's backgrounds were touched up to include more detail in this version. The Japanese version is the most gore-laden of all the platforms; after decapitating a crawling zombie with a kick, the head remains on the floor, and Plant 42 can cut the character in half before the game over screen; though the live-action footage is censored in the U.S. version. 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 in Chris's game. Exclusive outfits for Jill and Chris were added as well. This version was published in Europe by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

instead of Capcom's usual European publisher,

Virgin Interactive Entertainment Avalon Interactive Group, Ltd., formerly known as Virgin Interactive Entertainment, was a British video game distributor based within Europe that formerly traded as the video game publishing and distributing division of British conglomerate the V ...

''Director's Cut''

A second version for the PlayStation, ''Resident Evil: Director's Cut'', was released in September 1997. ''Director's Cut'' was produced to compensate for the highly publicized delay of the sequel, '' Resident Evil 2'', and was originally bundled with a playable pre-release demo of that game. The Japanese version of the demo disc also included a pre-release demo of ''Rockman Neo'', later retitled ''Rockman DASH'' ('' Mega Man Legends'' outside Japan), and a trailer for the newly released ''

Breath of Fire III ''Breath of Fire III'' is a role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation console as part of the '' Breath of Fire'' series. It was released in Japan on September 11, 1997, and in North America and Europ ...

''. 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. The North American and European releases of the ''Director's Cut'' were marketed as featuring the original, uncensored footage from the Japanese releases. However, the FMV sequences were still censored, and Capcom claimed the omission was the result of a localization mistake made by the developers. The game's localization was handled by Capcom Japan instead of Capcom USA, and when submitted to Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), it was rejected because of one line of copyright text. Rather than remove the individual line, Capcom Japan decided to save time and simply swap in the cinematics from the U.S. release of the original ''Resident Evil''. SCEA then approved the game and manufactured a full production run without Capcom USA having any idea that the uncensored scenes had been cut. Three days after the game's release, the uncensored intro was offered 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, though they lacked the uncensored Kenneth death scene. ''Director's Cut'' was included in the lineup for the PlayStation Classic, which was released on December 3, 2018. It was made available on

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

on June 13, 2022.

''Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver.''

A third version for the PlayStation, ''Resident Evil: Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver.'' (デュアルショックver.), co-produced by

Keiji Inafune is a Japanese video game producer, character designer, game designer, and businessman. In 2009, he was chosen by IGN as one of the top 100 game creators of all time. Starting his career at Capcom in the late 1980s, his job was as an artist and ...

, was released in August 1998. It features support for the

DualShock The DualShock (originally Dual Shock, trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK, with the PlayStation 5 version as DualSense) is a line of gamepads developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) for the PlaySta ...

controller's analog controls and vibration functions, as well as a new symphonic

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

, replacing the original soundtrack by Makoto Tomozawa, Koichi Hiroki, and Masami Ueda. The symphonic music was credited to composer Mamoru Samuragochi, although he admitted in 2014 that he directed his orchestrator Takashi Niigaki to ghostwrite the new soundtrack. The Japanese ''Dual Shock Ver.'' came packaged with a bonus disc that contained downloadable save data, footage of the unused Japanese dubbed versions of the live-action

cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...

s, along with brief gameplay footage of the canceled original version of ''Resident Evil 2''. The soundtrack was generally deemed inferior to the original, with the ambient theme for the mansion's basement considered to be one of the worst video game compositions of all time. In 1998, Capcom USA released the game under PlayStation's Greatest Hits label. In North America, ''Resident Evil: Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver.'' was released as a downloadable game available from the PlayStation Network soon after it launched in November 2006, although the game is advertised with the original ''Director's Cut'' box art. In Japan and Europe, the original ''Director's Cut'' was instead made available from the PlayStation Network.

Game Boy Color version

Game Boy Color The (GBC or CGB) is an 8-bit handheld game console developed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on October 21, 1998, and to international markets that November. Compared to the original Game Boy, the Game Boy Color features a color TFT scre ...

version of the game, developed by the Software House HotGen, was supposed to be released in late 1999 or early 2000, until Capcom decided to cancel this project citing that the port was poor quality due to the Game Boy's limited hardware. This version contains every room, cutscene, and almost all the items that were present in the original PlayStation version. In January 2012, an anonymous individual claimed to have an

EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) integrated circuit, chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored d ...

cartridge of the GBC version and requested $2,000 before he was willing to leak the playable ROM. The goal was met in February and the ROM files containing an unfinished build of the game were subsequently leaked.

''Deadly Silence''

port, ''Resident Evil: Deadly Silence'', known in Japan as , was released in January 2006, 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 capabilities. The character's models are remade with better textures and different clothing, and enemies have higher quality of detail. Although the graphical changes are difficult to notice on the DS' dual screen, they are easier to notice on an HD emulator. Exclusive new outfits for Jill, Chris and Rebecca were added as well. The player's handgun and magnum are replaced with the models from the 2002 remake. The soundtrack prior to ''Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver.'' was restored with a remixed track from the game's ''Original Soundtrack Remix'' album released in 1996. 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. Just like the PC version, the door animations can be skipped as well as the cut scenes. The live-action footage was still censored, even in the game's Japanese release; however, the scene showing Kenneth's severed head was kept. Gameplay and combat are otherwise uncensored, thus making this the first of 11 DS games to ever be rated Mature 17+ by the ESRB. 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.

Other versions

In March 2008, Capcom Interactive Canada released ''Resident Evil: Genesis'', based on the plot of the original game. It includes only Jill's game. ''Genesis'' was developed from the ground up as a mobile phone title and designed to work more effectively with the limited control scheme and screen size. It uses turn-based movement and grid system combat borrowed from the previous mobile game '' Resident Evil: Confidential Report''. The result is a game that is more of a puzzle adventure game than the survival horror titles found in console versions. The game scored 7.8 out of 10 points on ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' and an 'A' on '' 1UP.com''. A sequel to ''Genesis'', '' Resident Evil: Uprising'' based on ''Resident Evil 2'', was released in 2009.

Reception

The original PlayStation version of ''Resident Evil'' was critically acclaimed, receiving an aggregated rating of 91 out of 100 at

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on eight reviews. Among those who praised the game was ''

'', describing it as "one of those rare games that's almost as entertaining to watch as it is to play". ''

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' gave it ratings of 9, 10, 10 and 9 out of 10, adding up to 38 out of 40. This made it one of their three highest-rated games of 1996, along with '' Super Mario 64'' (which scored 39/40) and '' Tekken 2'' (which scored 38/40). ''Resident Evil'' was also one of only ten games to have received a ''Famitsu'' score of 38/40 or above up until 1996. ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' described the storyline and cinematics as "mostly laughable", but felt the gameplay's "gripping pace" and the heavy challenge of both the combat and the puzzles make the game effectively terrifying. They reassured readers that the unusual control system becomes intuitive with practice and applauded the realism instilled by the graphics and sound effects. The four reviewers of ''

Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...

'' also commented on the realistic graphics and sounds, and additionally praised the selection of two playable characters. Sushi-X remarked that it, "at first glance, may appear to be a clone of ''Alone in the Dark'', but in reality, it is a totally new experience". Mark Lefebvre particularly remarked, "The element that really grabs a player here is fear. After trading blows with the first zombie, you'll quickly become hesitant to turn down any uncharted corridors in the mansion." A reviewer for '' Next Generation'' said it "manages to be as genuinely scary as a good horror film - no small achievement. There are a lot of things that work around games being this frightening ... In this case, however, the fine character work, creepy and well-executed sound effects, and just the right music in just the right places all have a subtle, cumulative effect ..." While criticizing the "laughable" dialogue and voice acting, he felt they were overridden by the game's positive aspects. He pointed out that the lack of genuinely confounding puzzles allows the game to move at a good pace, and the use of prerendered backgrounds allowed the PlayStation to handle much more detailed characters. Yasuhiro Hunter of ''Maximum'' stated that "The game has the greatest atmosphere of any other game in existence - naming a game that makes you jump as much as when encountering your first pair of Cereberos in this title would be very difficult." He also praised the heavy difficulty of the puzzles, the great care required in combat, the 3D graphics, and the exceptionally high replay value. ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

'' gave a more mixed review for the Windows version, 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 Saturn version was also very well-received. While most remarked that Capcom had taken too long to bring ''Resident Evil'' to the console (the game had been out on the PlayStation for well over a year, and hype had built up for ''Resident Evil 2'', which would be released in just a few months), critics agreed that the game was still as stunning as it had been on its initial release and had been accurately recreated for the Saturn. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') is a British-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot web ...

'', for example, commented that "With all the talk about the Saturn being inferior in this department, the raphicsquality cannot be surpassed. All of the rooms, the enemies and the animation are almost identical." ''GamePro'', which gave it identical scores to the PlayStation version (a 4.0 out of 5 for control, and a perfect 5.0 for graphics, sound, and funfactor), summarized that "It would have been nice to have it on the Saturn sooner, but this is as close to a sure thing as you could ask for." ''

Sega Saturn Magazine ''Sega Saturn Magazine'' (originally known as ''Sega Magazine'') was a monthly magazine from the United Kingdom covering the Sega Saturn, a home video game console. It held the official Saturn magazine license for the UK, and some issues incl ...

'' said that "the intense feeling of terror heightened by the chilling music and eerie silences ... sets ''Resident Evil'' apart from any other adventure game you may care to mention." Critics also widely praised the Saturn-exclusive Battle Mode. The ''Director's Cut'' was positively received as well, with most critics regarding the advanced mode and the bundled ''Resident Evil 2'' demo as the highlights. However, all four reviewers for ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' decried it, arguing that a handful of changes and a demo disc were not enough to justify the price.

Sales

''Resident Evil'' was a best-seller in Japan, North America, and Europe, including the United Kingdom. Shortly after release, it became the best-selling PlayStation game ever at the time. In Japan, the game sold units in 1996 which made if the 4th best-selling game of the year, only trailing ''Pocket Monsters'', '' Tekken 2'' and ''

Super Mario RPG ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'' is a 1996 role-playing video game developed by Square (video game company), Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was the final ''Mario (franchise) ...

''. Overseas, it topped the US charts and entered at number-two on the UK charts. In the United States, the game sold over copies by early September 1996, becoming a system-seller for the PlayStation and increasing its install base at the time. In Europe, the game shipped 230,000 units on its first day of release, with 21,500 sold on its first weekend in the United Kingdom where it was one of the fastest-selling CD releases up until then. The game went on to sell at least more than 300,000 units in Europe by December 1996. By December 1997, the game had sold about units worldwide and grossed more than . According to Capcom's

investor relations Investor relations (IR) is a "strategic management responsibility that is capable of integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law Regulatory compliance, compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a com ...

website, the original version of ''Resident Evil'' has sold over 2.75 million copies, while the ''Director's Cut'' version (including the ''Dual Shock'' edition) sold an additional 2.33 million copies. All PlayStation versions of the game have sold a combined units worldwide.

Accolades

''Resident Evil'' was the first game to be dubbed a "

", a term that it coined for the genre. It was ranked as the 91st top game of all time by ''Next Generation'' in 1996, stating that it "successfully redefine the genre which started with Infogrames' ''Alone in the Dark''." In 1996, '' GamesMaster'' rated the game 14th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time". ''

Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...

'' referred to the original ''Resident Evil'' as "one of the most important games of all-time" in 2007. In 2012, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' named it one of the 100 greatest video games of all time. That same year, the game ranked as one of G4TV's top video games of all time for how it has "launched one of the most successful series in gaming history and provided one of its most memorable scares." ''Resident Evil'' was inducted into the

World Video Game Hall of Fame The World Video Game Hall of Fame is an international hall of fame for video games. The hall's administration is overseen by The Strong's International Center for the History of Electronic Games, and is located at The Strong National Mus ...

in 2024. In 2004, readers of ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering Retrogaming, retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' ...

'' voted ''Resident Evil'' as the 37th top retro game, with the staff calling it "one of the finest horror-themed games ever" and adding that "full of shocks, surprises and perfectly poor

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

dialogue, ''Resident Evil'' is the gaming equivalent of ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...

''." It entered the '' Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008'' for the "Worst Game Dialogue Ever". ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

'' ranked it as the 3rd best PlayStation game of all time.

Sequels

The game's success resulted in a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, o ...

that has since branched out into comic books, novels and novelizations, sound dramas, a non-canonical series of live-action films and animated sequels to the games, and a variety of associated merchandise, such as action figures. The series has become

's biggest franchise. The events of the game were also retold in '' Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles'', originally released for the Wii in 2007.

Novelization

''Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy'' is a

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...

of the game, was written by S. D. Perry in 1998 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 the 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 Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, apparently about an hour's drive from New York. Overall, despite having been written before the

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

introduced in the ''Resident Evil'' remake and ''Resident Evil Zero'', the book still maintains overall similarity to what the story warped into in the early 2000s.

Remake

In 2002, ''Resident Evil'' was remade for the

as part of an exclusivity agreement between Capcom and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

that spanned three new games. The remake includes a variety of new gameplay elements, environments, and story details, as well as improved visuals and sound. The game was also later ported for the Wii in 2008. A remastered version of the remake, featuring high definition graphics, was released as a download for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

in 2015 then later for

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

in 2019, with a limited edition PlayStation 3 version released at retail in Japan.

Cultural impact

'' listed ''Resident Evil'' as one of the 15 most influential video games of all time. It is credited with defining and popularizing the

genre of games. It is also credited with taking

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

in a cinematic direction with its B-movie style cutscenes. Its live-action opening, however, was controversial; it became one of the first

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

s to receive the "Mature 17+" (M) rating from the

(ESRB), despite the opening cutscene being censored in North America. ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' said it "revolutionized" gaming in 1997. ''Resident Evil'' is credited with sparking a revival of the

genre in popular culture since the late 1990s, leading to a renewed interest in zombie films during the 2000s. ''Resident Evil'' also played an important role in the zombie genre's shift from supernatural themes to scientific themes, using science to explain the origins of zombies. In 2013, George A. Romero said it was the video games ''Resident Evil'' and '' The House of the Dead'' "more than anything else" that popularised zombies in early 21st-century popular culture. A documentary based on his adaptation was released on digital on January 7, 2025. In a 2015 interview with ''

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

'', screenwriter-director Alex Garland credited the original ''Resident Evil'' video game as a primary influence on his script for the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' 28 Days Later'' (2002), and credited the first ''Resident Evil'' game for revitalizing the zombie genre. '' Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) star and co-writer

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. He and Wright co-wrote the ...

also credits the original ''Resident Evil'' game with starting the zombie revival in popular culture. ''The Walking Dead'' comic book creator Robert Kirkman cited ''Resident Evil'' as his favorite zombie game, while ''The Walking Dead'' television series director

Greg Nicotero Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American Prosthetic makeup, special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead (1985 fi ...

credited ''Resident Evil'' and ''The House of the Dead'' with introducing the zombie genre "to a whole generation of younger people who didn't grow up watching ''Night of the Living Dead'' and ''Dawn of the Dead''." After the original ''Resident Evil'' video game sparked a renewed interest in the zombie genre, it was followed by zombie films such as ''28 Days Later'', '' Dawn of the Dead'' (2004), ''Shaun of the Dead'', ''

28 Weeks Later ''28 Weeks Later'' is a 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rowan Joffé, Enrique López Lavigne and Jesus Olmo. It serves as a standalone sequel to '' 28 Days Later'' (20 ...

'' (2007), '' Zombieland'' (2009), '' Cockneys vs Zombies'' (2012), and '' World War Z'' (2013), as well as zombie-themed graphic novels and television shows such as '' The Walking Dead'' and '' The Returned'', and books such as '' World War Z'' (2006), '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' (2009) and '' Warm Bodies'' (2010). The ''Resident Evil'' film adaptations also went on to become the highest-grossing film series based on video games, after they grossed more than worldwide.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* * * {{Shinji Mikami 1996 video games 1990s horror video games Cancelled Game Boy Color games Cancelled Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Censored video games Golden Joystick Award winners Midwestern United States in fiction Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo DS games Novels based on video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games Resident Evil games Sega Saturn games Single-player video games Video games about genetic engineering Video games about police officers Video games featuring female protagonists Video games directed by Shinji Mikami Video games set in 1998 Video games set in the United States Video games set in abandoned buildings and structures Video games with pre-rendered 3D graphics Virgin Interactive games Windows games Video games set in country houses World Video Game Hall of Fame Video games with multiple endings