On March 22, 1996, Capcom’s survival horror video game Resident Evil was unleashed upon the world. Originally intended to be a remake of Capcom’s 1989 psychological horror game Sweet Home, which was itself based on the Japanese horror film of the same name, Resident Evil eventually broke off into its own property under the eyes of developer Shinji Mikami, who would go on to revamp the franchise with a new identity with Resident Evil 4. While it borrowed plenty of elements from Sweet Home (the mansion setting, the puzzles, the limited inventory, the “door” loading screen), Resident Evil took on its own identity with an original story and added elements homaging Alone in the Dark and The Shining. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s damn fun. After all, there’s a reason it’s credited with defining the survival horror genre.
Notable for it’s cringe-worthy, yet absolutely hilarious dialogue, sometimes obscenely difficult puzzles, and multiple endings, Resident Evil had its fair share of scary moments as well (the franchise wouldn’t have gone on as long as it has if it didn’t). There are tons of jump-out-of-your-seat moments that the series is known for, even if they were sandwiched between moments of epic cheesiness.
And who could forget the live-action cut-scenes, which were so masterfully acted by an extremely talented cast:
Resident Evil introduced us to some classic characters. From Jill “the master of unlocking” Valentine to Chris “we got to the root of the problem” Redfield, Capcom’s survival horror game also gave us Albert Wesker, one of the most formidable villains in video game history (even if he did end up going out like a tool 13 years later).
One can’t discuss Resident Evil without talking about its horrific yet iconic tank controls (which you can try out again with the HD remasters). Looking back, they are absolutely atrocious. The remaster at least gave you the option to switch to a slightly less bothersome control scheme, but honestly, if you’re going to play Resident Evil you might as well play it the way it was meant to be played. The tank controls add to the incredible difficulty of the game (and make no mistake, it is very difficult), not to mention its charm.
It’s usually Resident Evil 2 or 4 that is brought up when discussing the high quality of the franchise (and Resident Evil 6 when discussing the low), but the first entry in the seminal franchise is usually forgotten. Well, maybe forgotten is the wrong word, but it’s certainly mentioned less. It’s not mentioned as little as Code Veronica, mind you, but the first one still doesn’t get enough love. After all, it does provide one of the greatest jump scares in video game history, and that should never be taken for granted.
It’s one of the many frightening things to take place in a game littered with them. Do you remember the first time you faced a hunter? Or when the tyrant busted out of this chamber? Personally, Yawn was always my favorite reveal, but that’s just because I like snakes. Anyway, I’m curious to know what your first experience with Resident Evil was. When did you first enter the mansion, and what was your experience like?
Unfortunately, I was just seven years old when RE came out, and I was a Nintendo kid so I was all about the Nintendo 64. The only thing I knew about RE was that it had scary cover art. Oddly enough, I actually thought that Resident Evil and The Evil Dead were the same thing for the longest time because the cover art for Evil Dead 2 was similar to the cover art for the Director’s Cut of RE, but I digress. My introduction to RE officially came in 2002 with the release of the GameCube remake (which to this day is one of my favorite video games of all time).
Actually, I just lied to you. My first exposure to RE was the it’s-really-not-that-bad 2002 film adaptation directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich (it’s a fine movie, it’s just a terrible Resident Evil movie). That motivated me to ask for the GameCube REmake for Christmas, and boy was I not prepared for that. Once that was done I quickly snatched up the GameCube ports of 2 and 3 before 4 was finally released in 2004. I was forced to get a PlayStation 3 and make the conversion away from the Wii when RE 5 was announced to be released solely on the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360, and the rest is history. Needless to say, I’m sort of a Resident Evil nut now, so I’m planning on playing my copy of the Resident Evil Origins Collection tonight to celebrate!
What are your first Resident Evil memories? What do you want for Resident Evil 7? Let me know in the comments below or feel free to shoot me a Tweet, and while you do that, listen to this video containing some of Resident Evil’s spectacular dialogue!