Resident Evil is now 20 years old. That's 20 years since that dog jumped through the window, 20 years since "Itchy. Tasty." 20 years since we first fought zombies, giant snakes, giant plants, giant spiders, and of course, 20 years since...
BARRY: "... Jill Sandwich!" REBECCA: "Oh nooo!" WESKER: "What is this?" BARRY: "What is it?" BARRY: "What?! What is this?" BARRY: "What is it?" BARRY: "What IS it?!" Few games have had a bigger impact on culture than Resident Evil! But the one question we are most interested in here on Re:Certified Classic: Is it still good? Because some classics, no matter how old, got it right the first time and hold up just fine, while others are only quaint reminders of how far we've come. So, how does the father of survival horror hold up? Let's dig in! First off, a couple of things: I'm sure you know Resident Evil is the American name for Biohazard, as it was known in Japan. It was changed because Capcom USA felt it would be difficult to trademark Biohazard in light of other existing properties. Through an in-house competition, they picked the lovable, but terrible, terrible pun "Resident Evil". Get it? "Resident"? It's 'cuz of the house. If you're just getting that now, it's okay, it took me like 20 years to realize that "Phoenix Down" is not about your character being down in combat, it's about feathers. Also, Resident Evil / Biohazard 1 is an incredibly difficult game to talk about, because there are at least six North American versions of this game, that are not only distinct from each other, but also from their Japanese counterparts. So in the interest of focus, we'll just stick to the original game. But before we put it in the hot seat, a little history. When you think about the making of Resident Evil, one name comes to mind: Shinji Mikami. And though he personally directed some of the series' best games and was a series producer for nearly a decade, a little research shows this first game was the product of a perfect storm. That's not to say that Mikami isn't a genius: His pedigree of Goof Troop, which is a better game than you may realize, Dino Crisis, which was almost brilliant, and most importantly, Resident Evil 4, speaks for itself! However, if anyone should get the credit for guiding this game into greatness, it should be The Man himself, Tokuro Fujiwara, who was credited as the general producer of Resident Evil, and was the general manager of Capcom's console games division from '88 to '96. You may be familiar with his work. WESKER: "Wow!"
BARRY: "Oh my god!" But most importantly, he is responsible for horror masterpiece and true great-grandfather of survival horror, Sweet Home. With the Playstation nearing its December 1994 release in Japan, Fujiwara felt it had the graphical capabilities to finally make horror a viable genre in video games. Specifically, Fujiwara wanted to take another stab at Sweet Home, which reportedly did not sell well. It's important to remember that this occurred during the 3D explosion, and Capcom wanted to reposition itself to better compete with then-3D heavyweights Sega and Namco. According to Akio Sakai, then-head of Capcom's consumer software division, part of this shift was to break away from Capcom's kid-friendly and arcade strategy, in favor of adult-oriented games because, in Japan at least, the Playstation's primary audience was over 18. It also made good business sense because kids think grown-up stuff is cool, while it's harder to convince adults that kids' stuff is cool. At least at the time; Remember, this was the nineties. KID: "So dudes, why not get your games from Blockbuster?" KID: "It's the mature thing to do!" Capcom was also in need of a new IP after a few years of releasing mostly Mega Man and Street Fighter titles. Not to mention they were definitely aware of their more violent arcade fighting rival, Mortal Kombat. As the 32-bit era of gaming approached, it seemed like the stars aligned for Capcom to venture into mature, horror-themed video games. When Fujiwara approached Mikami with the idea of directing a new horror IP, Mikami told Fujiwara he didn't want to do it, because he hated being scared. Apparently this convinced Fujiwara that Mikami was right for the project, because "you can't make a horror game if you don't have any fear". For his part, Mikami says that he was ready for a project with a more realistic style after three straight Disney games. Development of Resident Evil started in 1994, with Mikami reportedly working solo on the game for the first six months. As is common in development, the initial game was conceptually very different from the final product. Though Mikami claims he drew a lot of inspiration from Hollywood horror, especially the Romero "Dead" series, the concept of the mansion with its flow, backgrounds and scares were created with little attention to actual story because, in a way that feels really old-school, Mikami felt that "a haunted mansion doesn't really need story". Mikami, who we've come to realize is primarily a game designer first, storyteller second, if at all... JILL: "What is this all about? I can't figure it out at all!" ... was largely focused on figuring out how to create the survival horror genre. Initially the game was supposed to be a Doom-style first-person shooter, though after a year of trying to make this work, Fujiwara made the call to cut this concept because the Playstation wasn't able to render full 3D AND make it scary. That's The Man again, Fujiwara. That's not to say there weren't some early concepts of the story: Jill and Chris were already central figures, and concept art featuring a buff cyborg named Gelzer would eventually evolve into Barry. There was also an African-American comic relief character named Dewey, who was spiritually resurrected as Rick in Dino Crisis. According to the scenario writer for Resident Evil, Kenichi Iwao, who was brought onto the project about halfway through development, this early iteration of the story had a lot of Terminator-style cyborg characters, and a mad scientist that he cut because they weren't scary. The story was expanded to make the villain the much more nebulous Umbrella Corp. The development of Resident Evil was beset with many challenges: Because Capcom was taking a chance on a new IP, Resident Evil did not have a huge budget. Mikami later claimed that he was paid so little for the first and second Resident Evil games, he couldn't afford to get married until after Resident Evil 2 had shipped. This also explains the FMV opening: It was cheaper than CG animation, and the results speak for themselves. JILL: "Joseph!" The development team, which called itself Team Horror, was made up of young, new developers split between two floors. They became notorious in the Capcom offices for passionate stairwell shouting matches. This team was not only relatively new to game design, this type of game had never been made before, not really. I mean, there was Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark as templates, but neither of those games brought things to the graphical or design level of Resident Evil. Not to mention, on a brand new system! It was a daunting task! According to Fujiwara, the team agonized over their decision to go with the tank controls over FPS controls right up until the very end of development. Reflecting this, the game design continued being meddled with after development: The inherent clunkiness of the tank controls was mitigated in Biohazard by an aim assist, which, it must be noted, was intentionally cut from Vanilla Resident Evil. Capcom made Biohazard much more difficult for its US release, to the point where it was difficult for the research and development team to even finish it! They even put in more monsters, tougher monsters, and less ammo, real talk: This game, Vanilla Resident Evil 1, was intentionally broken by Capcom USA in order to make more money. The 90s US game market was all about rentals, and Capcom USA thought that if they made the game harder, Americans would have to rent the game more in order to finish it. Renting wasn't an issue in the Japanese market, because it has essentially been illegal since 1984. We were unable to confirm this, but apparently even the fourth-dimensional interconnecting storage boxes were not in review copies of this game. Of course, if you grew up playing this game like I did, this is just how it was! It's a tough game, but I didn't really notice at the time, and it certainly didn't seem to affect Capcom's bottom line. Biohazard / Resident Evil came out in March 1996, and became a huge worldwide success. It was the best-selling Playstation game until being dethroned by Final Fantasy VII the following year. One month after finishing Resident Evil 1, Capcom started work on Resident Evil 2, though a troubled development led to a handful of re-releases of the first game to hold over fans. And this is when we start diving into the weeds of the many different versions of Resident Evil 1, and like we mentioned at the top, it's a bit outside of the scope of this video. One thing worth mentioning is Capcom USA's voluntary censorship of the game, most notably the opening cinematic. The Director's Cut was supposed to be released uncensored, but because of a localization error, Capcom Japan printed and shipped a version that was still censored, something that personally bummed me out. Instead of reprinting the discs, Capcom chose the presumably-cheaper avenue of removing the word "censored" from the back of future pressings. Fun trivia: The rare PC port is the only North American version with the full uncensored, colored intro. Resident Evil was not just a huge hit, it launched one of the longest-running and most successful franchises in video games. And that's not even the game's greatest achievement! Here are its claims to fame: #1: It brought horror to mainstream. It's not about who did it first, it's who did it best! Alone in the Dark, Phantasmagoria... Nice try, but Resident Evil brought video game horror to the masses. We know that Sweet Home predates all these, but Resident Evil was the multi-million mega-hit that put horror on the map. It's also special in that it's one of the only horror-style games that ditches the supernatural, a choice made deliberately to distinguish Resident Evil from other titles. It's one of the first departure points from its inspirations Sweet Home and Alone in the Dark, and it's still a departure from most other horror games: Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Siren, shit, even Clock Tower all have some ghosty stuff goin' down. Granted, 'science run amok' is technically supernatural by some degree, but there's nothing in Resident Evil you can't kill with a well-placed explosive round. #2: Successful movement and combat in 3D. Resident Evil was released in 1996, and let us not forget how old that makes this game. Looking back, the third dimension was a tough hurdle for video games, taking two whole console generations to nail down. Regardless of where you stand on Resident Evil's tank controls and stationary camera, they were a pragmatic work-around for an entire industry that wouldn't crack that nut for years. Even just staying in '96, Resident Evil still controls and plays better than most 3D games, with or without the aim assist. Tomb Raider? Terrible camera. Mario 64? Be honest now, there's some terrible camera! Crash Bandicoot locked things down and removed camera control from the equation completely. The stationary camera and tank controls did unfortunately become a tradition that was never really meaningfully improved upon until Mikami himself shook things up with Resident Evil 4. But it was revolutionary nonetheless. #3: Gave the PlayStation its first big exclusive hit. Final Fantasy VII and Gran Turismo may have been defining moments, and Sony's debut console had no shortage of exclusive hits in the early years, but Resident Evil was the first mega-hit killer app exclusive for Sony. The Saturn port was a consolation, and by the time it made its way to Sega's struggling system, it was a very distant third place in the market. Even the many re-releases sold well. Capcom couldn't keep this game on shelves and Sony was more than grateful, we're sure. #4: Playing as a woman. Female representation is a hot-button issue now, but Resident Evil had Jill 20 years ago! Granted, her game was made easier, which on its face looks shitty, but it was because she was arguably a better soldier than Chris: She was a better shot, could pick locks, play the piano... One knock against it though is the annoyingly submissive Rebecca, who even Mikami has on-record said he regrets. It's incredible to consider that, at the time, Capcom's typical demo was only 5-10% female, but Resident Evil essentially doubled that to 15%! Still not close to today's female playership, but a pretty good showing for a game made in the 90s. But now is the time to answer the question, we leave our nostalgia at the door, and we ask, Resident Evil: Is it still a certified classic? And... that's a tough one. And it's a tough one because it depends on the version. If you're talking about North American Vanilla Resident Evil... ... the answer is no, it does not. And it comes down to controls, specifically the combat. Now, I'm not hating on the tank controls and stationary camera. They take some getting used to, but I do think most people who give it a solid chance will see that the game was designed around these controls, and they get the job done well enough. My sticking point is the aim assist that was present in Biohazard, but removed in Resident Evil. It ruins the combat. Now this revelation, on its face, doesn't make the game bad. Games are changed and retooled in localization all the time, but this does in fact make the game incredibly hard! It's first apparent with the dogs and snake boss: They are more agile than the zombies, and the aim assist allows you to put distance between. But without that quick turn, it's nearly impossible to turn fast enough without taking damage. Walking backwards is your only meaningful option, and boy is that cold comfort, and only really helps if you know where enemies are. Dogs aren't a common enemy, and the snake goes down pretty easy. It only goes truly rotten when the Hunters come into the picture. They're swift, extremely deadly, and you are flat-out not equipped to deal with them. In order to maximize the scare factor, Mikami designed the game so every enemy encounter could kill you, but moving like robotic tanks instead of actual people is not scary, it's frustrating and almost breaks the game! It didn't have to be like this, people! This is why tank controls got a bad name! Thankfully it wasn't always like this! Capcom backpedalled with nearly every future Resident Evil release, at least all the ones we can get our hands on. Vanilla Resident Evil 1, the Saturn port, Vanilla Resident Evil 2, and its PC port are the only North American region Resident Evils without the aim assist! That's right, the only ones! The director's cuts of both Resident Evil 1 and 2 featured the aim assist, as did all versions of Resident Evil 3, Code Veronica and the Resident Evil remake. Even Dino Crisis 1 and 2 have the aim assist! And I can hear the comments: "Naw man, this is MY version, this is the one I grew up with!" and I can respect that, but this show is No Nostalgia. These are the facts: This is not how the game was originally meant to be played, and was only changed to squeeze more money out of North American consumers. If you are not familiar with early Resident Evil or never liked the tank controls, this is not the game to make you a believer. I can also hear the comment section: "Pff, whatever chump! Game's not hard, git gud!" ... and you're right! No, seriously! How many people who grew up playing this game beat it fast enough to get the unlimited rocket launcher? While the combat is seriously busted, Resident Evil does such a brilliant job emphasizing and rewarding planning and strategizing, it dares you to speedrun it, dares you to plan out every room, every enemy, every bullet. With enough practice and planning, the Hunters are no problem. So if you're a Resident Evil superfan and you've somehow been sleeping on the Vanilla Resident Evil, it's a must-have! And again, I think Capcom knew this: It stands to reason why the unlockable mode in the remake that brings all these things back is called Real Survival Mode! It's the version for the real, hardcore fans of Resident Evil! But for everyone else, I recommend the Director's Cut. Outside of featuring a few new modes, the otherwise series standard aim assist makes the combat so much more manageable. However, the only version currently available on PSN is the Director's Cut Dual Shock version, which has TERRIBLE music! So I recommend either the DS port or the non-Dual Shock version, which in its earliest run came with a Resident Evil 2 demo disc. But the combat aside, I think this game holds up just fine, provided you don't mind the item management, puzzles and cheesy voice acting the series is known for. Resident Evil 1 is a groundbreaking game that simultaneously invents and nearly perfects something new. Though not all versions are for everyone, hardcore fans owe it to themselves to track down the vanilla release, while for everyone else I recommend the non-Dual Shock Director's Cut or the DS port. Thanks for watching! If you liked this video and want more video game documentaries and reviews, I recommend hitting that subscribe button and checking out our other videos! On the left, we put Resident Evil 4 in the hot seat and see if it still holds up, and on the right we examine how the new Doom redefines the retro throwback. Stop Skeletons From Fighting is a Patreon-supported show, huge special thanks to all these wonderful people here! To see your name here and for access to other SSFF shenanigans, click the logo on the middle and give what you can, or maybe tell a friend about the show! Thanks again for watching, and we'll see you again real soon!
