Resident Evil

aka: Biohazard, Biohazard: HD Remaster, REmake, Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil
Moby ID: 12847
GameCube Specs
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Description official descriptions

Special forces S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team's helicopter malfunctioned and crashed during their mission, disappearing into the Arklay Mountains. This and what happens to them is told in the story of Resident Evil Zero. Now, S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team is sent on a mission to investigate a series of murders around Raccoon Forest. Spotting the Bravo team's helicopter, or what's left of it, they land nearby and investigate the surrounding area. Unaware of what they might expect, one member is attacked and devoured by zombified Dobermans. The rest of the team, with a little bit of luck, find shelter in a nearby mansion, not knowing it was probably better to stay out.

You play the entire game with one of the two selectable characters, Chris Redfield, or Jill Valentine. The starting point is the lobby of the mansion the three surviving S.T.A.R.S. members just stepped in. After a short while, the team decides to split and search for any possible survivors or anything useful that may help them break out of this dreadful place. To their amazement, they encountered an enemy they never were trained to confront, zombies. There is only one mission to be considered now: survival.

The GameCube and the later Wii versions are largely a remake of the original Resident Evil for the PlayStation, with some additions. While the floorplan of the returning locations is almost entirely unchanged, several new areas have been added in, extending your stay in the mansion. A new enemy, Lisa, has been added to the game, making your trips outside of the mansion much more dangerous. Finally killing a zombie is now no longer good enough to put them to rest. They must be destroyed totally with fire or else they will rise again; faster, deadlier, and madder than before.

The 2015 PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Windows version called Resident Evil (also known as Biohazard: HD Remaster) is a remastered version of GameCube remake of the original Resident Evil with enhanced graphics and sounds, widescreen support and an alternative control scheme next to the default one. Additionally, when starting a new game, the player can choose between original character models, or Chris and Jill models from Resident Evil 5 which came after the original GameCube release.

Spellings

  • バイオハザード - Japanese spelling
  • バイオハザード HDリマスター - Japanese spelling
  • 生化危机 - Chinese spelling (simplified)

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Screenshots

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Credits (GameCube version)

209 People (197 developers, 12 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 72 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 114 ratings with 9 reviews)

The Stuff of Legends

The Good
I'm a massive Resident Evil fan. I have been ever since the original was released back in '96. In fact, this game is the reason I bought my Gamecube. To this day I haven't regretted it in the slightest.

This "REmake" is also my all time favorite game in the series. It takes the game that started it all and ups the ante with improved graphics, a creepier atmosphere, and a heightened sense of dread. Many of the classic puzzles and areas have been redone as well, and a good deal have been added to spice things up for series veterans. I still have a special place in my heart set aside for the Aqua Ring lab.

The Bad
There's only one thing I didn't like about this game, and that's Lisa. If you've played the game, you know who I'm talking about. Everything else was great though.

The Bottom Line
It's a wonderful remake of a classic game. Scary, fun and intense. It's a game that will fry your nerves and then get you coming back for more. One of the greatest survival-horror games ever made.

GameCube · by Robstein (199) · 2007

The remake of one of horror gamings most influential titles steals the crown all over again.

The Good
It's true that Resident Evil was not the first Survival Horror title ever made but it certainly revolutionized the genre and brought it into the mainstream. Now the remake is set to bring about the biggest evolution that the RE series has seen since, well... since the original that it's based on.

Of course the first thing that jumps out at you is that the visuals have been vastly improved. Capcom have finally done away with the circle shadows of previous titles and now figures arch up walls and tree branches outside are silouetted in motion against ceilings as they sway in the wind. Lights flicker and cast real-time shadows and colours over everything enriching the environment in a thick, dank, dread. Characters are so detailed that even the creases in their clothes are fully modelled, not texture maps and in-game models are the same models used in the stunning real-time cutscenes. The game looks so good in fact, that it puts even the pre-rendered CG cutscenes of any previous RE game to shame. The abundance of eye candy does more than just look good though, it creates an atmosphere so thick with tension that nothing else can compare with it, coupled with the amazing soundtrack of course. Each footstep echoes out with unnerving realism and suspense. Music is a beautifully haunting blend of old and new tracks that have been completely revamped and, like the visuals are better than ever.

Yes it looks and sounds fantastic but Capcom didn't stop with a facelift, many things about the actual game have been changed also. There are new areas to explore as well as a host of new puzzles (which are a lot better) new weapons plus some new enemies including an extremely creepy woman who I'll always remember as the scariest character ever to grace a RE title. It's always a joy to see areas from the original redone for old school players of the series but pretty soon you start treating them like new areas because most of the jumps and sequences are changed leaving you very susceptable to attack. One section, new to the game but shall remain nameless for spoiler purposes had me so tense I started to feel sick in the stomach, something I have not felt playing a horror game for many years.

One of the new features is that if you take a zombie down but don't do it appropriately, they can come back to life even more dangerous than they were before. There is also a very handy emergency weapon feature that allows you to use various small arms on zombies just before they are about to attack you, saving you some health and allowing for a quick getaway.

As before the layout of the game and overall story is much the same but a really nice addition is the Trevor Spencer side story that was originally to be included in the first game but was removed for various reasons. In fact, many of the new areas relate directly to this story too and this helps add a richness to the game that was painfully absent in the original version.

The Bad
It's always the same for every game in the series, the voice acting is terrible. Yes it was redone for the remake and while the lines and acting are an improvement over the abysmal example that the original gave us, they are still awful and fall in line with the average offerings of more recent RE titles.

None of the core controls have been changed either and while this is open for debate as to whether it's a good or bad thing, some players may be a little put out by this. There is also a lack of the quick dodge feature that RE3 had which is a real shame and I still don't see why you can't walk around with your gun pointed ahead. Many other games have done this such as Nocturne and there's no reason why this otherwise brilliant game should lack this simple but effective feature.

The Bottom Line
The finest example of Survival Horror to date. Similar enough to the original to be considered a remake but different enough in many ways to be more than worth getting for long time fans of the series.

GameCube · by Sycada (177) · 2004

A leap beyond Konami.

The Good
| Unspeakable Perfection |
I thought I've seen everything there is to see when I was playing Resident Evil Zero, which would only be logical if it came after this one, but no, this game simply breaths perfection. And not just everyday perfection we yearn to achieve or easily get tired of. No, it doesn't show you perfection itself, but the feeling it casts upon you while you're being a resident of this evil breaches all the limits developers tried to make you experience. Games like this don't deserve to cost anything less than $100 and yet we can find them for ten times less price. Either way, getting a console for this game alone is a good bargain I'll say.

| The Setting |
After a prelude of opening cinematic, depending upon your selection, you are casted either as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Each of them starting differently, and ending differently, yet generally experiencing the same storyline and visiting same places. Starting point - mansion. Ending point - end of a long line of RE fans awaiting for next RE game similar to this to come out. Forget about this game as some silly AITD clone without head or tail, this one has a story, this one does connect to every sequel and prequel, and this one does carry an immense sensation of atmosphere with every step you make. Every footstep alone will tell you where you are, walking over the muddy water, under the loosen boards of floor, or across the broken glass. Blowing wind, flickering lights, it's all not only visible on objects around you, but accompanies by the sound that will get the chills up your spine if you let yourself go too much.

| Details, Details, Details |
I've never seen so many details as in Capcom's games, that's a fair statement. But this one outstands all the things you throw against it. There's detail in sound, atmosphere, graphic, motion, and objects. You are not just walking past the static 3D pre-rendered backgrounds that will take your breath away, you are walking past very dynamic backgrounds, and characters and monsters are on home terrain there, as their details are just as breathtaking as the background art. Just think of being in a mansion where you can see your shadow casted properly up on any light source you encounter. And if that's not enough, think of the flickering lights that add up to the spooky effect. And if that's not enough, think of lightnings that crack the clouds in the sky during the stormy night and you see every flash through the windowses and reflected on your character's face. And if that's not enough, think of raising a dust with each step you make over the wooden floor. And if that's not enough, think of seeing moths flying and bumping into any outside light or lamp post. And if that's not enough, think of seeing all kinds of bugs and cockroaches wandering around the rooms and corridors. And if that's not enough, think of breaking a statues or windowses every now and then when in need, making a piles of debris and broken glass that stays all the time afterwards. And if that's not enough, think of reflection you can see upon every mirroring surface, such as glasses, water pools, and such. And if that's not enough, think of every grass type, every bush, every tree that swings on the wind. Naming details is a rather tough job when it comes to this game, and noone should have grudge against the lack of details.

| Momma, Is This A Cinematic? |
No baby, it ain't. This game barely has any cinematics. If you don't count the first one, you won't see but a very few in the game itself, and that mostly goes for showing some water-filling effect or such, no characters included. But the game has lots of ending cinematics, as there are lots of endings you can achieve. I can think of at least four with each of the characters. That might explain why you get to play only like half an hour or so when you reach disc two. But ingame cinematics, that's every now any then, and it looks amazing. Perhaps not any better than in Silent Hill 3, but not worst either. Depends upon which part you look more carefully. Character motion is outstanding, especially ingame, it looks even too real to believe a set of skillful artists could achieve something like that. Accordingly, monster script for movement is just as emphasized with each of them moving accordingly to the look, skills, and other attributes, and making a perfect combination when character and monster interact, it's not just bunch of 3D polygons running each other through, it's a melody of balance and perfect assembly.

| Play Me More |
The replayability level is done as good as the one of Resident Evil 2 or such, only this one bares to have lot more different ending cinematics, selections in the game that may ultimately change the balance that affects ending, and thus lets you try over and over to your amusement. And although I don't care about replaying the game but rather prefer it to be longer instead of wasting talent for making it more repetitive, Code Veronica comes to mind as longer, lets you play with more characters and has different ingame parts yet all sums up to one ending. Plus, you play as either Jill or Chris which is a definite must replay, like it was with Leon and Claire in Resident Evil 2. However, this all just makes it sound like a different story, depending the character you play as, so continuations and sequels loose meaning on it. I haven't seen any game beside AITD4 that made it great on such account, there you replayed game with different characters, and each was accordingly solving one's puzzles, visiting one's places, and battling one's bosses, and all that for the same ending. So, if they couldn't do it this way, Capcom should've make it like in Resident Evil Zero. But all this is kinda weird, 'cos it didn't bother me in Resident Evil 2, and doesn't much bother me here, but still... to which of the multiple endings from this game do sequels continue? Is Wesker disappeared without a trace? Is he just plain killed by Tyrant? See, that just complicates the stuff, bah. Whoever likes replayability, such players are not for horror-survival and adventure games. They should play some online or multiplayer games where you do same thing on and on and on... tsk tsk tsk.

The Bad
| Itzy-bitzy Err...#&%$#&$ |
There's not much to repel you from this game, no matter what you like, but there are some minor things that do apply to this section. No matter how perfect everything may seem, character movements and all that by itself, but you can clearly see an error when your character is using the stairs, seems like his/her footsteps are basically flying a little above. But it's a small price to pay to overall quality. Makes me wonder why did I even mention such a detail... must be 'cos this was done errorless in Resident Evil Zero, so I was just wondering why not here as well. Perhaps they realized this error and fixed it in the next game, which is, by the way, a great game with lot more cinematics and a definite must have alongside this one.

The Bottom Line
You owe it to yourself to play this game (remake, I don't care for the original).

GameCube · by MAT (240759) · 2012

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

Development

Actress Julia Voth's likeness was used in the Jill Valentine character.

Sales

According to publisher Capcom, the GC version of Resident Evil has sold 1.35 million copies worldwide since its initial release, while the HD Remaster versions have sold an additional 2.3 million copies (as of September 30, 2018).

Awards

  • 4Players
    • 2002 – #2 Best GameCube Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
    • 2002 – Best GameCube Action Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)

Analytics

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Wii added by Robond. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One added by Jay Chay.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Joshua J. Slone, Crawly, —-, Robond, CalaisianMindthief, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, Kennyannydenny.

Game added April 15, 2004. Last modified March 13, 2024.