Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Playthrough with Chris. This game turns 30 years old tomorrow -the release of the original Japanese version was March 22nd, 1996. This game was a turning point for Capcom, as it would quickly grow into their biggest franchise and replace Street Fighter as their cash cow series.
This was my fourth Resident Evil game -my first was Code Veronica, then 2, then 3 and then finally I got to play this when I got the PC version. Unfortunately I never got to play it much because it kept crashing. I didn’t get to really play it properly until I got the Saturn version a few years later.
Chris is the harder of the two characters to use. He has more health than Jill, but that’s his only advantage. He only has six inventory slots, which makes item management much more complicated. His weapons aren’t great either -the shotgun is fine against zombies, but I’d much rather have the bazooka to deal with hunters.
This is the PAL version, which like the American version, was famously censored -the opening FMV had several violent shots removed completely, such as images of corpses and Joseph killing one of the zombie dogs. The FMV of the first zombie also removed a shot of it dropping Kenneth’s severed head. I’m not sure why they only censored the FMVs though -during gameplay you can still blow zombie heads off and there are several violent death sequences for the S.T.A.R.S members depending on how you play.
One alternate cutscene I wasn't aware of until recently can happen after you encounter the first hunter at 1:26:53. If you go to see Rebecca quickly after this, it triggers an alternate cutscene where she's hiding in the save room, but will be safe (1:31:08). If you take too long to get to her, it causes an alternate scenario where she will be attacked by a hunter outside the save room, and you have to rescue her.
In Japan, this game was called Bio Hazard, but due to trademark issues the name was changed to Resident Evil. The game was also made more difficult, the auto aim the Japanese version had was disabled and enemies were given more health. Ink ribbons, the items needed to save the game with, came in packs of three originally, the non-Japanese version made them packs of two.
To add replay value, there are several choices you can make which effect gameplay. For example, if you say yes to letting Rebecca go with you, you’ll get to play as her later on in the game. Choose no like I did in this playthrough, and you won’t get to play as Rebecca at all. There are multiple endings too, on this run I got the best one, where Chris, Rebecca and Jill escape the mansion together.
Playthrough with Chris. This game turns 30 years old tomorrow -the release of the original Japanese version was March 22nd, 1996. This game was a turning point for Capcom, as it would quickly grow into their biggest franchise and replace Street Fighter as their cash cow series.
This was my fourth Resident Evil game -my first was Code Veronica, then 2, then 3 and then finally I got to play this when I got the PC version. Unfortunately I never got to play it much because it kept crashing. I didn’t get to really play it properly until I got the Saturn version a few years later.
Chris is the harder of the two characters to use. He has more health than Jill, but that’s his only advantage. He only has six inventory slots, which makes item management much more complicated. His weapons aren’t great either -the shotgun is fine against zombies, but I’d much rather have the bazooka to deal with hunters.
This is the PAL version, which like the American version, was famously censored -the opening FMV had several violent shots removed completely, such as images of corpses and Joseph killing one of the zombie dogs. The FMV of the first zombie also removed a shot of it dropping Kenneth’s severed head. I’m not sure why they only censored the FMVs though -during gameplay you can still blow zombie heads off and there are several violent death sequences for the S.T.A.R.S members depending on how you play.
One alternate cutscene I wasn't aware of until recently can happen after you encounter the first hunter at 1:26:53. If you go to see Rebecca quickly after this, it triggers an alternate cutscene where she's hiding in the save room, but will be safe (1:31:08). If you take too long to get to her, it causes an alternate scenario where she will be attacked by a hunter outside the save room, and you have to rescue her.
In Japan, this game was called Bio Hazard, but due to trademark issues the name was changed to Resident Evil. The game was also made more difficult, the auto aim the Japanese version had was disabled and enemies were given more health. Ink ribbons, the items needed to save the game with, came in packs of three originally, the non-Japanese version made them packs of two.
To add replay value, there are several choices you can make which effect gameplay. For example, if you say yes to letting Rebecca go with you, you’ll get to play as her later on in the game. Choose no like I did in this playthrough, and you won’t get to play as Rebecca at all. There are multiple endings too, on this run I got the best one, where Chris, Rebecca and Jill escape the mansion together.
