Thinking back on it, this is one of very few games I can even still remember that I started playing when I was younger but just gave up on because it was too hard. It was probably some ten or so years ago that I tried playing the American Director’s Cut version of RE1, but I ended up giving up after being completely stonewalled by the first boss. Now admittedly, this game is a slightly easier version (it has auto-aim, enemies are a bit weaker, and you get 1 more ribbon per pile of ink ribbons), but I was definitely happy with how I was finally able to best a game that had stumped younger me (even it’s not exactly an all-time favorite). I wanted to play at least one spoopy game this October, and I ended up being able to beat this one in the one day I figured it’d take me. I even managed to play through the whole thing with the weird ASCII RE1 PS1 controller I got that inspired me to give this game another try in the first place x3. It took me about 10 or so hours (in-game time being just a hair under 8 hours) to beat the Japanese version of the game on real hardware, and I got the best ending with Jill.

Biohazard 1 is a well known story by now to pretty much anyone reading this review. After mysterious monster attacks in the rural American town of Raccoon City, the STARS special forces team is sent to investigate. After Bravo team mysteriously disappears, your unit is sent in after them, and they flee inside the mysterious Spencer Mansion to escape the monstrous dogs that attack them after their initial helicopter landing. It’s up to Jill (or Chris, if you decide to play his harder route), to explore the mansion and survive all of the monsters and zombies out to get them! It’s a cute story that’s aged pretty well. The English voice acting still has that campy fun, and it’s a delightful homage to old American horror B-movies. It’s hardly high art, of course, but it’s a fun story with twists and turns that accomplishes more or less exactly what it sets out to do.

Mechanically, it’s the dawn of survival horror as we know it so well today. Lots of pre-rendered environments for your character to run around in with their tank controls, clunky combat, inventory management, and puzzle solving. While the better auto-aim in this version definitely made the clunky combat a lot easier to bare (and the relative abundance of ammo and health making Jill’s route at least not too difficult overall if you play smartly), the inventory management absolutely did my head in XP. SO much walking back and forth between storage boxes and safe rooms, even with the enemies in the way taken care of, the loading screens between rooms (charming door opening effects or no) take up SUCH a significant amount of the playtime in RE1. It’s a remarkably good effort for a game effectively founding the genre it’s in, particularly in little way like the game telling you that you’ve opened every door a key can open (and giving you the opportunity to throw it away right then), but the at this point iconic inventory management system of this game is definitely as much of an obstacle as it ever was to playing it these days.

As far as its presentation goes, this game still looks quite nice for such an early (March ’96) PS1 game. The pre-rendered backgrounds look very nice, the character models are very expressive and well designed, and the monsters are really cool too. My only real complaint is that I wish interactable items were a bit better highlighted, as it’s a tad too easy to not realize the puzzle you’ve been stuck on for ages was all down to you not realizing you didn’t interact with a shelf in QUITE the right way to actually access what’s inside it. The sound design is also nice, with the music setting a really nice tone for the action at hand, whether that action is more spoopyful or action-y.

Verdict: Hesitantly Recommended. There is absolutely still fun to be had with these old PS1 survival horror games, but being a genre so in its infancy, there’s still a lot of crap to deal with just as a result of where gaming was at the time. If you’re ready to meet the game where it’s at and deal with its clunkyness, this is still a relatively easy experience still worth playing, but if you’re not ready for that, it’s probably better looking elsewhere for your horror games. While I didn’t dislike my time with Biohazard 1, I didn’t exactly love it either, and it’s not something I have a ton of willingness to run out and grab other entries in. I liked it okay for what it is, and you very well might do as well~.

Many years ago, I had a lot of mixed feelings on the classic Resident Evil titles, and a lot of them revolved around their limited inventory system. Growing up with Silent Hill first, where there was no need to worry about stuff like that for most of their games, the inconveniences of Resident Evil were a hard pill for me to swallow. Coupled with the door opening animations, that - while iconic - take up obnoxious amounts of time while trying to get around the mansion faster, the franchise came off as this antiquated little thing that was only there for the people who grew up with it. I thought it was far too late for me to be getting into this series.

And then Resident Evil 7 came out, along with Resident Evil 2 Remake shortly after. Which is a topic for another day, but within one fell swoop (or two fell swoops), these games turned me into a huge fan of the franchise, and retroactively got me to beat as many of the other games as possible. Except the classic trilogy. Once again, I would try them, but not really be able to commit to their design, so I would just save state through it all. But I could feel it. Even with the aged PS1 original, I could feel this alluring challenge calling out to me. Especially after playing RE2 Remake, I decided that perhaps if I truly dedicated myself to RE1's challenge, I would be able to appreciate it more than ever before.

And so, I set out a goal: To play the original RE1 with the goal of getting good enough to unlock the Infinite Rocket Launcher. Save states were mostly disabled, at most only used near the designated save points as a way to quickly return to them without having to sit through the game over screen. This handicap also meant that if I was doing miserably, or came into something unprepared, I had a load state button I could use to quickly get back to the nearest Safe Room and re-organize my strategy for what's coming up next.

I have to stress just how nice it was to be able to do that in this game, as Resident Evil 1 does a really poor job conveying what's actually useful to carry in your limited inventory for the road ahead. Weapons are one thing, but sometimes you'll get a puzzle item which the game will either decide you'll need to use 5 minutes from now, or 2 hours. And all the while you're carrying it, a sense of decision paralysis washes over you, "Should I store this puzzle item in a Safe Room for now? But what if I'm about to use it? But if I keep it now, that's one less inventory space..." The crank is a fun example of this, an item you use once, are absolutely confident you'll no longer need it, only for the game to tell you 2 hours later "Haha, gotcha, you actually needed that crank for this spot as well!" Limited ammunition is scary in survival horror. Having to wrestle with limited inventory for puzzle items on the other hand, is just a frustrating time waster, and one that I'm glad I managed to somewhat circumvent.

One more complaint I have about RE1, and it's something that most new players are likely to fall into, is its deliberately misleading difficulty select. Intreestingly, the Japanese version of the game ensures to mark both Chris and Jill as "Hard Mode" and "Easy Mode", respectively. Meanwhile, the western releases took that bit of text out and places Chris as the default choice, ensuring most players will pick him for their first playthrough. I do not recommend doing that. The difference between Jill's 8 inventory slots and Chris's mere 6 is staggering, and alongside giving him more items to carry than Jill needs to, makes him a way bigger pain in the ass to play. Don't let the game fool you, Jill is the Normal Mode. Chris is what you play when you've familiarized yourself enough with the game to desire a more advanced challenge.

In spite of these gripes I had with RE1, I'm pleased to say that after my first playthrough fully concluded, I grew to enjoy the game a lot more. In fact, I kinda went crazy for it, and replayed it 12 more times in the span of two weeks. Totaling 13 playthroughs in total, I've done 8 runs of the original PS1 release (4 runs for both characters to get all of their endings), 2 runs of the Director's Cut, 1 run of the Dualshock Edition, and 2 runs of the PC version. About halfway through these runs, save states were completely abandoned altogether, and I grew comfortable enough to play the game as fully intended.

What the hell happened to cause that many runs? Familiarity happened. As you may remember, my initial goal when I started playing was to unlock the Infinite Rocket Launcher. To unlock this weapon, you are required to beat the game under 3 hours. Keeping in mind that this is the ultimate reward of Resident Evil 1, it becomes clear what the game aims to be on secondary playthroughs: A speedrunner's challenge. For your first playthrough, you don't know what's happening, you don't know what items go where, you don't know if there's gonna be an enemy or a boss around this next corner... now that you've beat it and the "fear" of the whole thing is gone, the game effectively turns into a Time Attack, where all your knowledge is used to efficiently optimize the hell out of everything. By my 2nd run, I've shaved off over 2 hours of playtime, and that's when I knew I was in love. What was once a game that required at least 2-3 sessions, I could now cozily knock out under 2 hours. Then I could show off my skills to my friends, and inevitably fuck up along the way!

So, the appeal of the gameplay turned out to show itself during secondary runs. But is there anything to appreciate during the 1st run? Well, I suppose that all depends on your enjoyment of irony. The entire aesthetic of the mansion is comprised of dated, surrealistic 90's CG graphics, at times it looks like my old grandma's house. It's not really scary as the "horror" in survival horror would suggest, nor is it atmospherically realistic, but it is atmospheric nonetheless. Atmospheric in the sense of it whisking you away into a world that doesn't quite feel like yours, but is enchanting to explore, overcome, and discover its secrets. Much like a point 'n click adventure, the more puzzles you solve, the more things click together. One mystery solved after another, with the satisfaction of knowing each one brings you closer to your end goal, until eventually you've wrapped up all of them with a neat ribbon.

Bonus points go to the feel of the weapons. The knife's a worthless piece of trash, and the handgun is deliberately weak. But that only serves to make weapons like the shotgun and grenade launcher feel so much more amazing by comparison. Getting in those shotgun headshots to instantly take out a zombie, or loading up a grenade launcher with acid rounds and taking out a boss in seconds feels so good, man. By the time you get to the final boss, the game loads you up with enough powerful weaponry to go all out, to end things on an explosive note. Does that lend itself to horror well? Not particularly, but it is by all means deliberate. The 1st half starts you off as a vulnerable mess, but by the end, it wants you to feel like you've grown into something much more experienced and powerful. It's the zombies who should be running away from you now. It's not scary, but it feels really good.

I adore this voice acting. Yes, it's awful, laughable, the writing for it is downright nonsensical at parts. They have fucked it up beyond all understanding, and it is exactly what makes it so enjoyable. Every line is stuck in my head, and kept me looking forward to whatever stupid thing the next cutscene will do. This sort of B-movie camp would become synomous with the Resident Evil brand for many games to come. And even though the voice acting would go on to improve, I think that each of the game's writers understood well, that Resident Evil's uniqueness comes from the very fact that it's not just a straightforward horror experience, but a balance of heavy tension, and cheesy levity.

Oh yeah, so, because of the fact that I've played so many versions of RE1, the big question is, which one would I recommend? So, there are some gaps in my experience, I haven't touched the Sega Saturn or the DS ports for example. But, if I were to recommend one to a newcomer... I'm a little torn between the original PS1 release, and the PC port. Once you apply a fanmade patch to the PC port, it is by far the best way to play. FMV's are present in all their uncensored gory glory, you have a button to spin around 180 degrees for quick turning, you can save without needing Ink Ribbons, and best of all: You can skip the door loading animations! However, I've noted its audio quality (specifically the voices) as being lower than the PS1 release, and at times, the voices were drowned out by the music. Unless there's a way to adjust this, I would recommend playing the original PS1 version despite its lesser QoL, and then switch over to PC once you've got to gripes with things.

As for the other versions, the PS1 was also home to "Director's Cut" and the "Director's Cut Dualshock Edition" versions of RE1. The regular Director's Cut adds some small new features, alongside the biggest addition of an "Arrange Mode", which rearranges enemies, items, and adds new camera angles. I'd recommend it for subsequent runs of the game, but not as your first experience. I would ESPECIALLY not recommend that you make the "Dualshock Edition" your first playthrough. Everybody clowns on its replaced soundtrack, in particular the Basement theme, and the rest of the music is about as dissonant. It has little to offer beyond that. So, really, just stick to the original PS1 release if you want to play it absolutely safe.

Among all the choice, some people would also tell you to just play the RE1 Remake instead. But I don't believe that the remake outright replaces the original. The remake is a different type of experience, with a set of mechanics that makes you adapt a different mentality on how to play. By comparison, the original feels faster, simpler, more arcadey. It's its own game, and there's no need to invalidate its existence when both can co-exist and attract different types of players. In my case, I somehow actually prefer the original over the remake, due to its simplicity. As a whole, I fully recommend it for anyone who's willing to sink a little bit of time into learning how it works. If you're willing to go out of order though, RE2 original is a much more refined take on what this game's doing. Otherwise, if you can't put up with any of the jank that came with these older games, start playing from the easily accessible Resident Evil 7 and onward, then see if you can work your way into the other titles from there.

Пока жду скидок на Tomb Raider решил закрыть другой гештальт. Проходил японскую PC версию с патчем Classic REbirth.

Патч отличный, легко устанавливается, можно накатить русификатор, поставить высокое разрешение и играть в кайф. Правда эта версия полегче версии на PS1 из-за неограниченных сохранений при игре за Джилл. Легко было японцам в резике в отличие от запада получается. До этого я пытался проходить игру именно на версии с консоли, но забросил в один момент. Тут уже решил забить и пройти хотя бы так. Львиная доля напряжения пропадает. При игре за Криса уже сохранения ограничены и я потом обязательно перепройду игру по трушному.

Ну а по нынешнему разу могу сказать, что мне понравилось. На PS1 версии я дошел примерно до здания с растением, поэтому быстро пробежал игру до этого момента. Из-за неогранничых сейвов зомби стал бояться меньше и тупо по приколу решил потраить и зарезать всех ножом, и у меня получилось. На самом деле удивился, насколько неограниченные сейвы упростили игру, ведь до этого мне первый резик казался буквально непроходимым, это была самая сложная игра в которую я играл. На этой версии вообще на чилле прошел большую часть игры. Хоть сурвайвл хоррор составляющая стала хуже из за патча, в остальном было в кайф исследовать особняк и решать пазлы.

В любом случае, я рад, что наконец допрошел первый резик, хоть и в таком упрощенном, тру джапаниз варианте (казуал да да). Для первого знакомства патч вполне может подойти, особенно тем, кого напрягали ограниченные сохранения сильно. Но для тех кто хочет сразу разрыв жопы и полный тру сурвайвл хоррор экспириенс лучше поиграть в PS1 версию ну или в эту, но за Криса.

Dude, let me tell you about Resident Evil 1, the original game that made history. You know that tense atmosphere that gives you the chills? That's exactly what Resident Evil 1 delivers. From the graphics to the soundtrack, everything conspires to leave you on edge.

The gameplay is the kind that makes you think twice before opening a door. You're always on the edge, trying to save ammo, searching for essential items, and, of course, trying not to get scared by the surprises the game throws at you.

The story is kind of crazy, but that's what gives it charm. It's like a 90s horror movie, but interactive. There are moments when you just go, 'seriously?' with the plot twists, but in the end, it's all part of the fun.

Resident Evil 1 is one of those games that leaves a mark, you know? It's an absolute classic that will always have a special place in gaming history.

I remember watching my cousin play this in the middle of the day and still being terrified of the zombies and their moans. These days it sounds silly, given the graphics and how the blood and gore looks like pixelated ketchup, but at that time the graphics were insane to what we’ve ever seen. And the feeling of getting lost and isolated in a mansion full of zombies and monsters just creeped me out as a kid. I didn’t need to own or play Resident Evil to know that it was for sure going to be the landmark game that it was. Within a few minutes of watching someone else play it, I was already scared.

2 STARS: I LIKED A COUPLE THINGS

Impressed with the loading screens between areas, really helps set the tone for those beginning hours.

Appreciate the novel attempt to make what was for all intents and purposes the first "survival horror" game. In retrospect it seems as though it was very experimental and took a lot of chances. Not just with the controls or the mansion itself, but to give it so much replay value as well, and with branching endings to boot.

The physical playing I didn't mind, the controls are straightforward enough. My issue was getting lost (and not in the fun way) several times, each taking me up to an hour to get back on track. I often put the game down in boredom, returning later as though it were a chore. Looking back I suppose keeping notes on hand is the best way to enjoy the experience, but I preferred to keep my hands on the controller.

I wouldn't recommend playing it now, not unless you're intent on simply getting some context like I was. It's a type of fun you can find elsewhere, the legacy exists in more refined forms.

Este es el primer acercamiento que tengo a un juego tan antiguo, por lo que el puntaje que le doy y lo que pienso puede cambiar a futuro y esa es la idea, quiero aprender sobre las cosas que me gustan. Está más que claro que es difícil calificar una obra sin conocer bien su contexto de salida, pero siempre se inicia por algo. Como es de esperarse, se le notan bastante los años con algunas cosas: hay puzzles un tanto cuestionables y el ritmo se ve bastante cortado por las limitaciones técnicas, cómo con las puertas; ya que al tener que pasar por los sitios una y otra vez llega a frustrar bastante, pero dejando de lado las obvias limitaciones que tendría y algunas cosas a mejorar (como su historia, que al contarnos el pasado lo hace excelente pero el avance de la trama no tiene peso y lo hace muy mal) es un juego al que se le nota mucho la calidad en varios aspectos (el diseño de la mansión y el como se avanza por esta, todo lo relacionado a la administración los recursos, la ambientación excelentemente lograda, etc.) Es sorprendente que sea una experiencia tan completa y con puntos tan altos a pesar de los años. Entendiendo el contexto, en su momento si que fue toda una obra maestra del survival horror. La frustracion que me causo no la hace una de mis mejores experiencias, por lo que espero muchisimo del remake. Calificación crítica: 8/10

Gráficos
( ) Minecraft
(X) 144p
( ) Pixel Art
( ) Aceitável
( ) Bom
( ) Ótimo
( ) Cada frame foi pintado por Da Vinci

História
( ) Que história??
( ) Até tem história, mas não entendi nada
( ) Tem história só pra não dizer que não tem
(X) Uma história digna de prestar atenção
( ) Uma história bem elaborada
( ) Mais complexa que Machado de Assis

Jogabilidade
( ) Tudo travado igual a coluna de uma senhora de 90 anos
( ) Precisa de dois dedos pra jogar
( ) Ruim, mas com muita determinação até que vai
(X) Esquisito no começo, mas você acostuma
( ) Gostoso de jogar
( ) Orgasmo para os dedos/mãos

Trilha sonora
( ) Meu peido faz um barulho mais bonito
( ) Deixa mutado
( ) Nada de especial
( ) Boa
( ) Memorável
(X) Toque isso no meu funeral

Nível de diversão
( ) Tão legal quanto assistir uma poça d'água evaporar
( ) Da pra passar um tempo
( ) Vai te prender por horas!
( ) Vai te dar raiva
(X) Meu mundo melhorou depois de jogar isso aqui
(X) Já amanheceu ???

Bugs
( ) Praticamente feito pela Bethesda
( ) Dá pra jogar
( ) Os bugs deixam o jogo mais divertido
( ) Alguns bugs
( ) A palavra bug é desconhecida
(X) Esse jogo saiu perfeito do forno

Tempo de jogo
(X) 1-5 horas
( ) 8-15 horas
( ) 24-48 horas
( ) + 100 horas
( ) Multiplayer infinito
( ) One Piece acaba e você ainda não fez tudo

Dificuldade
( ) Você adapta a dificuldade
( ) Dá pra zerar vendado e bêbado
( ) Médio
(X) Com um pouco de prática vai
( ) Bem desafiador, as vezes difícil
( ) Soulslike
( ) Você precisa despertar o instinto superior para jogar

Para melhor experiência
( ) Desinstalar
(X) O jogo é Offline
( ) SinglePlayer
( ) Coop
( ) Multiplayer

Vale a pena ?
( ) Arrependimento
( ) Reembolsa isso ai
( ) É bom, mas pra zerar uma vez só
( ) Recomendo!
( ) Bom pra caralho, JOGUEM!
(X) Queria apagar a memória só pra me encantar de novo

So this year i’m planning to play as many classic survival horror games as i can. Of course i had to start with the founder –despite the very well known precursors- of the genre, Resident Evil.

As a kid, i’ve always been curious about the Resident Evil franchise and it’s lore, but for many reasons i never got to play the games –Except for RE3 Nemesis but that’s another story-, and by the time teenage came, i stopped being interested in video games in general. But still, i think one of the main reasons why i was attracted to Resident Evil and other survival horrors was actually it’s gameplay, which is probably the thing thatmany people consider to be one of those things that hasn’t aged well. To me, games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Dino Crisis, were essentially a 3D graphic adventure with the adition of action elements. It was a perfect combination at the time. Nobody complained about tank controls back then, we just sat and played instead of getting all picky about minor details. And just as it happens with point and click games, this was a great genre to play with someone else at your side: Not just for the story and the cinematic aspects, but also because it was nice to discuss how to solve the puzzles. And also it was really fun to share a couple scares.

So i finally sat down and played Resident Evil. I played with Jill which is not just “the easy way” but rather the proper way, in my opinion. I got the best ending and i have to say that i had a fantastic time while playing it. All those things that seem “dated” were just a fundamental part of the fun for me: i was surprised to see that tank controls weren’t a problem at all (yes, it takes a while to get around with them but sooner than later you just get used to them), i was also totally in love with the low-poly graphics, and also, i actually found that the infamous dialogue was a really funny way to have a certain relief from the tension, also providing some kind of Horror Comedy B-Movie vibe to it.

Resident Evil isn’t a game that could scare someone to death nowadays, but it definitely succeeds in creating an atmosphere full of tension and mistery. It’s curious to think how most of the precursors of the genre -Alone in the dark, Clock Tower, Sweet Home, even Maniac Mansion – they were all going for the haunted house trope. It’s also noteworthy, just like it happened with it’s precursors in the haunted mansion theme, how the story is overall pretty minimalistic here. In the case of Resident Evil though – This also happens somehow in Clock Tower – the most interesting pieces of actual story are not really shown on-screen, but rather in the various documents that you can find throughout the mansion, which serve as the basis of the whole RE lore. There is some criticism concernig the latter parts of the game, those were you’re kinda leaving the mansion and going into different environments. To me they were all fine. I have to admit i didn’t have the best time of my life during the segment of the mines, but mostly because that was the part with the biggest spider of the game. Spiders were the only thing that kinda creeped me out to be honest.

I’m not sure if it has been adressed how important Resident Evil was for the revival of the whole zombie culture. On one hand, it should be mentioned that incorporating the classical concept of the zombie designed by George Romero in Night Of The Living Dead was something that hasn’t been done at that time, and even less, with this degree of perfection: Zombies are slow, they have to be shot in the head, they can be left behind just by walking if the area is big enough, but they can corner you if the space is tight. This hasn’t been done in videogames at this time (Alone in the dark probably tried but without this level of results). Also, zombies were pretty much forgotten during mid and late 90’s, so Resident Evil pretty much held the torch of the zombie myth and pave the way for the big revival that happened during the 2000’s, with titles like 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead as the prime examples.

In conclussion, playing Resident Evil felt like an experience that holds up perfectly well nowadays, contrary to many opinions. I’d like to believe that this is not due to me being an old-fag, but rather because the game is inherently good. It’s not that certain mechanics are replaced because they are bad. Maybe they are replaced only because the industry says so, and maybe because other mechanics prove to sell better at a certain time. But honestly, with the proper mindset, any youngster should be able to play this game. This new wave of indie developers designing survival horrors in the style of the three classic Resident Evils serves as a proof of that. But being aware of the existence of all those games, i can’t help but feeling a little sad knowing that we might never see a game in the RE franchise going back to this particular style. Or something like the first remake, with it’s visual enhancements but with the gameplay almost intact.