Resident Evil – PSX OG
Very few stories have ever scared me. I wont say nothing has, because that would be a lie. The first time I watched The Exorcist as a kid I was creeped out. Dumbo used to give me nightmares (pink elephants are scary, ok?). Movies and books had done their part to entice the fear toxin in my brain, but usually it was more along the lines of jump scares and “oh man that was creep-tastic!” than truly scaring me.
Then came Resident Evil.
This was like nothing else I ever played! It was one of the first games I got for my Playsation, purely because I was somehow able to convince my mom and dad to buy me a mature rated game (I was 14) and this was it. Released March 22, 1996, only 6 months after the initial US release of the Playstation. So this sorta counts as a launch title? First round at least.
Fun fact, as seen in the image to the left, the original Playstation games came in long boxes similar to the Sega CD and Sega Saturn games of the time. They had not migrated to the standard jewel case size yet. I kinda liked this size cause it made them easy to separate from your music CDs back then. I know, kids are like “Music CDs? you didn’t just youtube it?” No kids, we used to buy physical media.
I had heard this game was “The scariest game ever!” so I decided that I would only play it in the dark and at night. Figured this would lean into the scare factor and make it more enjoyable.
I don’t know if it was the game itself, the fact there just simply wasn’t a game out like this (that’s the answer), or that I was a giant wuss, but my first play through scared the CRAP out of me. This new survival horror genre (I know, Alone in the Dark and D came first, but this was the first GOOD one) was quickly one of my favorites!
I couldn’t stop playing. The jump scares all got me. I was legit creeped out by a lot of the scenes. I let myself get fully emerged in this game. The dialog was…well dialog, but the GAME! the Graphics, for the time, were amazing!
Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you.
Barry Burton – Resident Evil (Playsation)
Just like Final Fantasy this game has been re-released on everything.
Director’s Cut
Director’s Cut Duel Shock Version
Sega Saturn
Windows
Game Boy Color
Nintendo DS (Resident Evil: Deadly Silence)
GameCube
Playstation 3
Playstation 4
Xbox 360
Xbox One
PC
Those last 6 are all the Remake edition, which has enhanced graphics, better dialog and more, but still the same game.
All in all, Resident Evil holds a special spot in my childhood. It’s another game I’ve bought on multiple systems to play, having owned in on at least 4 of the list above. The remake is good, the original is cheesy as hell now. Go get the remake and play through them all.
Oh, final thought. I’ve always found it weird that in Japan it’s called “Biohazard” which is arguably a sweet as name.