Resident Evil (PS1)
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Resident Evil, known as Bio Hazard in Japan, is one of the premiere titles for the original PlayStation. It was not the first game that could be considered “survival horror” but it has defined the genre ever since.
The Japanese and North American releases were only about a week apart but there are still some differences in the game. The biggest change was probably that some of the more graphic cut scenes were removed. Despite this, the title still received a Mature rating. Interestingly, while Japanese dialogue was recorded, it ended up not being used in the Japanese release. Instead, the English dialogue was used with Japanese subtitles.
There have been a large number of sequels and spin-offs since the original game was released in 1996 but the original has also had multiple remakes and re-releases. In the fall of 1997, a Director’s Cut was released for the PlayStation which was basically the same game but it changed the locations of the enemies and items, included some of the censored material from the original Japanese release, and had a few other small enhancements. Around the same time, the Windows and Sega Saturn versions were released with the Windows version being completely uncensored and the Saturn version having an exclusive mini-game and enemies. In 1998 a Dual Shock Ver. was released that supported the dual shock controller and included a new soundtrack. This one was eventually released on the PlayStation Network. A Game Boy Color version was developed in 1999 but despite the fact that it included almost everything from the original PlayStation version it was decided not to release it because of quality concerns related to the limited hardware. The ROM was discovered (or leaked) in 2012. Resident Evil: Deadly Silence was released for the Nintendo DS in 2006 and included a classic mode that was essentially a very slightly enhanced version of the original game. In 2002 Resident Evil was remade for the GameCube with greatly improved graphics, new and improved (and more accurate) voice acting and other enhancements. In 2008, this version was ported to the Wii with a new control system. Finally, in 2015 a high definition version was released for Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
While there was the occasional criticism, every release of Resident Evil received outstanding reviews overall and sold very well. One of the recent HD versions is probably the best to get today but I might pick up the GameCube version one of these days if I find one cheap.
