Resident Evil (PlayStation)

Resident Evil
Also known as: Bio Hazard (JP) Developer: Capcom Publishers: Capcom (JP/US), Virgin Interactive (EU) Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: March 22, 1996 Released in US: March 30, 1996 Released in EU: August 1, 1996 This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused sounds. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

To do: More difference between prototypes and final release. source A whole lot of text, and not a lot of media.

Originally inspired by Capcom's early Famicom horror game Sweet Home, Resident Evil would eventually morph into its own thing and become one of the most influential horror games of all time, spawning several sequels, a remake and numerous other media, including a load of less than desirable movies. Everything people associate with classic survival horror games is here: fixed camera angles, pre-rendered backgrounds, tank controls and a cheesy English dub. Also inventory management. A fair bit of it.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Unused Backgrounds Unused backgrounds present in the rooms' data.

Rooms Differences Many rooms were changed in the Advanced/Arrange mode of the Director's Cut version.

Unused Content

Items

DumDum Rounds

DUMDUM ROUNDS
More powerful than magnum
rounds. For the C.Python.

Alternate bullets for the Colt Python magnum. Though the game describes them as more powerful, they actually do less damage than the standard .357 magnum rounds. They can only be used in the original game through hacking and were removed entirely for the Director's Cut version. They are use-able in the January 31 1996 prototype, while in that version regular Magnum Rounds deal less damage than they do in the final.

Flamethrower Fuel

FUEL
Fuel for the flamethrower.

Much like in the sequel, fuel for the flamethrower is hidden in the game's coding but goes unused. It is use-able in the January 31 1996 prototype and, in that version, can be found in the Underground area in Chris' scenario.

Pickaxe

Removed from the final game for unknown reasons. Interestingly, when attempting to use this item a prompt will appear on-screen giving you the choice of yes/no instead of the default "this item cannot be used" message though nothing seems to happen with either choice. Has a black inventory graphic but a full 3D model when examined.

Oil

An orange can of oil with a flame graphic on the front. Its intended use is unknown.

Comm Radio

COM. RADIO
The battery is still
charged.

This item is given to the player in the storyline but never used in-game outside of cutscenes. Features a glitchy inventory graphic.

Lock Pick

LOCKPICK
A simple lock can be
opened with this.

An image of a makeshift lock pick can be found in the inventory graphics of the 1996 release. While Jill does receive a lock pick from Barry early on (and uses it throughout the game), it is never actually shown anywhere in the game.

In the January 31 1996 prototype version, the lock pick is an actual inventory item using this icon, this system is re-used in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

A similar design is used for Claire's lock pick in Resident Evil 2, and is visible in her status screen as a "personal item" from the beginning of the game.

The GameCube remake uses a different, "professional" design for the lock pick instead.

Files

Trevor's Letter / Eric's Letter

The background image for a file that isn't found in-game. It is however present in the ReBirth Mode of the Nintendo DS version of the game, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, in which the letter entitled "Eric's Letter" hints at the location of Doom Book 1 in this mode. Looking at the data of the Trial Edition of the game reveals that this image was originally intended for one of the scrapped Trevor's letters.

Letter

The background image for an unknown file. Presumably also meant for one of the scrapped Trevor's letters or Spencer's Invitation for Trevor.

Health Status

A "Good!" health condition is present in the graphical file for the status screen. This condition is never used in-game, instead both the green and yellow status indicate "Fine".

Voice Acting

The following voice acting can be found in the game's data but remains unused in any version of the game.

VOICE5.XAS[4].wav

VOICE5.XAS[5].wav

It looks like a cutscene for Chris' scenario during which he could meet Rebecca in the third laboratory engine room was planned, possibly with a variant if she was hurt. This scene would have foreshadowed the triggering system, something which arguably does lack foreshadowing. It is worth noting that vents can be seen all over the laboratory, including in the first engine room, which is presumably what Rebecca is referring to. The concept of having the protagonist's partner flee through draft holes will later be re-used in Resident Evil 2, its earliest execution seen in the earliest available build for that game.
More unused voice acting can be found in the PC ports of the game.

Backgrounds

Unused Backgrounds Unused backgrounds present in the rooms' data.

Build Date

Japan 1.0	USA	Japan 1.1	PAL (English)	PAL (French)	PAL (German)
01/01 01 MASTER 21:00 19960222 ＢＩＯ ＨＡＺＡＲＤ	01/01 01 MASTER 09:00 19960308 ＲＥＳＩＤＥＮＴ ＥＶＩＬ	01/01 02 MASTER 14:00 19960309 ＢＩＯ ＨＡＺＡＲＤ	01/01 01 MASTER 09:00 19960614 ＲＥＳＩＤＥＮＴ ＥＶＩＬ	01/01 01 MASTER 10:00 19960621 ＲＥＳＩＤＥＮＴ ＥＶＩＬ	01/01 01 MASTER 09:00 19960712 ＲＥＳＩＤＥＮＴ ＥＶＩＬ

These are the build dates for different completion builds of the original 1996 release found in the CAPCOM.INF file. They can also be seen by inserting the game disc in any disc drive on your computer, and simply seeing the "last modified" date on the SLPS_002.22 file or such equivalent.

Regional Differences

Original 1996 Version

Title Screen

Japan	USA

The Resident Evil series is known as Biohazard in Japan, although the title in this first entry was spelled as two words.

Demos

All three gameplay demos which play when waiting at the title screen are shorter in the North American version than they are in the Japanese version, and two of them play out differently.

Font

Japan	USA

Japan	USA

Bio Hazard contains a few lines of English text. When the game was localized, it was given a new variable-width font. However, they didn't take advantage of this for the lines of text that was originally in English as those retained their original formatting.

File Images

Botany Book	Keeper's Diary	Researcher's Will & Letter

Researcher's Will (Torn)	Orders & Fax	Plant 42 Report

"V-JOLT" Report	Scrapbook	Security System

The Japanese version includes background images for all files with gray-colored text over them. The international versions lack these images and have just white text on a black background and only includes the images for the Pass Number, Barry's Photo, and the Pass Codes.

Difficulty

The international versions have an adjusted difficulty.

• Auto-aiming was disabled in the international versions.
• Enemies have more health and deal more damage.
• The player is given three ink ribbons in the Japanese version with every pickup, but only two in the international versions.

Censorship

• Some of the more gruesome scenes in the intro were censored in the international versions.
• The Japanese version shows Chris smoking in the cast roll and in one of the ending cutscenes.
• The FMV played when encountering the first zombie had a shot of Kenneth Sullivan's decapitated and torn-apart head dropping to the floor in the Japanese version. This was removed from the international versions.
• The Japanese version contains an alternative end credits cinematic where it shows the characters getting killed in various ways. To unlock it you must finish the game a second time (from a cleared save with the unlimited rocket launcher unlocked) and get a good ending.

Changed Intros

Some of the more gruesome scenes were censored in the international versions. The shot of Chris Redfield smoking during the cast roll call was censored with footage of him from the intro overlaid on him just standing there. The cast roll in the initial Japanese release also had a completely different song, "ICY GAZE" originally performed by the J-pop artist Fumitaka Fuchigami. (His original version wasn't actually used and instead A truncated English version of the song is used.) This was replaced with a new song for the international versions called "Terror" which doesn't feature any lyrics. All later versions of the game including the Japanese releases would use "Terror."

Changed Endings

The Japanese version of the original release also has a vocal ending theme during the credits, "Yume de Owarasenai"/"I Won't Let This End As a Dream", also by Fumitaka Fuchigami. This was replaced with a new song for the international versions​ called "Still Dawn" which doesn't feature any lyrics. All later versions of the game including the Japanese releases would use "Still Dawn."

Other Differences

• At the Japanese version's character select screen, the difficulty level is displayed under the character (Jill is easy, Chris is hard). This text was removed from the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, the opening FMV displays the helicopter rotor blades against the cloudy sky at the top-left corner of the screen. For some odd reason, this was mirrored in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, you can not skip the ending cutscenes with the helicopter or the credits, no matter how many times you beat the game.

Most of the changes listed above would be reverted in the Deadly Silence DS remake..

(Source: Rage Quitter 87)

Revisional differences

Rev 1

The build date of Bio Hazard (Japan) (Rev 1) is March 9, 1996, sixteen days after the initial release build.

Title Screen

Bio Hazard	Bio Hazard (Rev 1)

The color of the trademark symbol was changed to be the same as the title name. The Resident Evil versions use the red trademark but its placement differs.

V-Jolt Report

...But what does it mean? This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Bio Hazard	Bio Hazard (Rev 1)

On the last page of the V-Jolt Report, a character and its spacing was changed on the first line.

Executable Files

To do: Investigate potential differences in the executable files.

The dates of all the executable files in the PROG2 sub-folder, in which most of the game's code is located, differ. When comparing the files of the two versions with a hex editor some of them vary quite a bit, though at this point it is unknown if it makes any difference in-game. With the files pertaining to the title screen and to the V-Jolt Report, it is the only files that differ from the original release.

Director's Cut

Resident Evil: Director's Cut is a revised version of the game that was released in late 1997 to fill-in for the postponed release of Resident Evil 2. The subtitle is a bit of a misnomer, since it doesn't really restore any missing content (such as the George Trevor letters, which eventually were implemented into the 2002 remake). Nevertheless, it does feature a slew of new content and notable changes from the original releases.

• All versions of the Director's Cut still contain some censored FMV, which differs depending on region. For the full details, see the FMV differences section below, but essentially, the only versions of the Director's Cut that brought back any uncensored FMV were... the French and German releases, for some reason.
• The Capcom opening logo video from the original version was changed to the "flashing cubes" version that was being used in their newer games at the time.
• In the Japanese version, the opening and ending songs featured in the original release have been replaced with the instrumental music used in the international versions​.
• The game now consists of three play modes: Standard (known as Original in the Japanese version, basically the same main game as the original version), Training (known as Beginner in the Japanese version, an easier version of Standard where the amount of ammunition and ink ribbons are doubled) and Advanced (known as Arrange in the Japanese version). An easier version of Advanced mode can also be accessed by highlighting Advanced on the main menu and holding right, essentially serving as a fourth difficulty level. Advanced mode, features:
  • New room visuals/camera angles.
  • Item and enemy placement have been altered. The strength of enemy characters were also altered.
  • The default handgun was changed from a regular Beretta to what appears to be a Custom Beretta Inox, which has a higher chance of a critical hit (zombie head explosion).
  • The default outfits for Chris and Jill, as well as Rebecca's, were changed.
  • The wardrobe room is now accessible without needing the Special Key (although the player still needs the Armor Key to get through the room leading to it). The room itself was also completely redesigned, showing the outfit options available for both, Jill and Chris, on display.
  • Forest Speyer's corpse on the 2nd floor balcony is reanimated into a zombie when the player checks his body. However, this does not happen in Jill's storyline if Barry is present.
  • Checking the mirror on the 1st floor bathroom, just as the player enters the room and before changing the camera angle, will trigger a brief scene in which a zombie is reflected in the mirror coming out from the toilet alcove. This does not happen if the player goes straight where the zombie is located, without checking the mirror first.
  • A Colt Python with unlimited ammo replaces the Special Key as the reward for getting the best ending.
  • While the Original and Beginner mode on the Japanese version's character select screen still feature the difficulty level, it is not displayed in Arrange mode.
• Standard mode restores the original Japanese difficulty to the international versions (including Auto-Aim), otherwise all other regional differences still apply.
• A bonus disc was included that contains a trial version of Resident Evil 2. The Japanese version of the disc also contains a trial version of Mega Man Legends (at the time known as Rockman Neo), as well as a video trailer of Breath of Fire III.

This is the version that is available on the Japanese and European PlayStation Store, and the version included on the PlayStation Classic.

Text Differences

Art Gallery Puzzle

Bio Hazard	Resident Evil	Bio Hazard Director's Cut	Resident Evil Director's Cut
タイトルが記されている 「私に安らかなねむりを」	The title is “Give Me Peaceful Sleep”.	タイトルが記されている 「ゆりかごから墓ばまで」	The picture is entitled. “From cradle to grave.”

Bio Hazard	Resident Evil	Bio Hazard Director's Cut	Resident Evil Director's Cut
メッセージが記されている 「私に死の安らぎを 　あなたに生のよろこびを···」	There's a message. “Give me the peace of death, and I'll give you the joy of life...”	タイトルが記されている 「人生のおわり」	The picture is entitled. “The end of life.”

The art gallery clues were rewritten in order to make the solution easier to understand.

Pool Table Puzzle

Bio Hazard	Resident Evil	Bio Hazard Director's Cut	Resident Evil Director's Cut
まるで時計のようだ 何かの暗号だろうか···	It looks like a clock dial. Some kind of a code...	まるで時計のようだ #···#·#··· 何かの暗号だろうか···	It looks like a clock dial. #···#·#··· Some kind of a code...

Likewise, the quite confusing pool table puzzle in the guard house outright tells you the code at the end of the table in the Director's Cut.

Dual Shock Version

Resident Evil: Director's Cut: Dual Shock Version, if it wasn't apparent by its ridiculously long title, is a revised edition of Resident Evil: Director's Cut (making it a revision of a revision) released in late-1998 that adds support for the newly-released at the time DualShock analog controller (a similar revision of Resident Evil 2 was released around the same period, despite the original version of that game being only a few months old). It features the following other changes as well:

• The original soundtrack by Makoto Tomozawa, Masami Ueda, and Koichi Hiroki was notoriously replaced by a new soundtrack credited to the now-equally notorious Mamoru Samuragochi. In 2014, it would be revealed that most of Samuragochi's work, including this soundtrack, was actually ghost-written by his assistant Takashi Niigaki.
• The end credits is always shown without the gameplay montage (the same end credits you get in the previous versions after getting one of the bad endings).
• The different game modes, Standard, Training and Advanced, now go by their original Japanese names: Original, Beginner and Arrange.
• Once again, the Original mode in the US release is harder than the Japanese version. (Enemies have more health, both characters have less, and ink ribbons come in sets of 2 instead of 3.)
• The Japanese version was packaged with a bonus disc known as the Bio Hazard Complete Disc, which includes save data for all versions of Bio Hazard and Biohazard 2 (save data for the standard and Dual Shock editions of Bio Hazard: Director's Cut are cross-compatible, despite not being indicated as such). Also included was footage of the most complete build of Biohazard 1.5 with voice acting implemented, as well as the live-action cutscenes from the first game featuring performances of the previously unused Japanese voice acting and different musics. The North American version on the other hand, came with no such bonus disc and was issued directly as a "Greatest Hits" release with no prior "black label" print run. No PAL versions were produced.

This is the version that is available on the North American PlayStation Store.

Gore Warning

Bio Hazard: Director's Cut Dual Shock Version	Resident Evil: Director's Cut Dual Shock Version

The Dual Shock Version has a "Gore Warning" screen which appears at the start of the game in between the publisher logo and the title screen. This warning screen wasn't present in the previous releases, Resident Evil: Director's Cut included, and would become a staple in the series. Other survival horror games like Dino Crisis or Silent Hill would also include a warning screen.

FMV differences

Resident Evil had a staggering number of different releases on the PlayStation alone. Japan, North America, the UK, France and Germany all got bespoke versions of the 1996 original and the 1997 Director's Cut, topped off with Dual Shock versions for Japan and North America. Among the multitude of releases, various FMV cutscenes were censored or edited for content, sometimes deliberately and sometimes (apparently) because of localization mix-ups. Music was changed as well, for various reasons. This section attempts to explain, in a comprehensive manner, the numerous FMV differences between all PlayStation versions of Resident Evil.

It is worth noting that no single version of Resident Evil (on the PlayStation, at least) contains totally uncut and uncensored FMV, though the original Japanese versions come the closest. With the exception of the opening prologue (which is uncut, but still mildly censored), Bio Hazard, Biohazard: Director's Cut and Biohazard: Director's Cut: Dual Shock Edition all contain uncut and uncensored FMV cutscenes.

Cutscenes in all versions of the game contain spoken English dialogue, which was never dubbed for non-English-speaking regions. (The game uses softcoded subtitles for this purpose instead.)

PJ.STR

This is the opening prologue of the game, filmed in color throughout, which depicts simulated (but graphic) blood and gore. It's followed by a cast roll, during which Chris Redfield smokes a cigarette, and ends on a title card (Bio Hazard or Resident Evil). The prologue's uncut length is 3 minutes and 47 seconds. This file was changed the most often among all PlayStation releases of the game; counting music differences and the two title cards, there are no less than six different versions of the prologue.

Inexplicably, among all twelve PlayStation versions of Bio Hazard and Resident Evil, the opening prologue is uncut and unaltered only in the French and German releases of the Director's Cut. These are also the only two versions which show the cinematic portion in color.

The three Japanese releases are all uncut (runtime: 3:47), but show the cinematic portion in black and white. During the cast roll, the original Bio Hazard replaces the BGM with licensed music that the developers were obliged to use.

All other versions of the prologue are in black and white for the cinematic, edited for violence (runtime: 3:30), and censor Chris' smoking (rather clumsily) during the cast roll. The two Dual Shock versions (JP and NA) of the prologue contain a new orchestral score, meaning that all three PlayStation releases of Bio Hazard have differing soundtracks for this cutscene.

DM3.STR

This is a short, 15-second cutscene triggered when the player approaches the first zombie of the game. The full cutscene depicts the severed head of Kenneth, another S.T.A.R.S. member, falling to the floor and rolling towards the camera.

The three Japanese versions all show this scene uncut, while the overseas versions (runtime: 13 seconds) all cut out the shot of Kenneth's severed head. The two Dual Shock versions contain a different score, with the Japanese version staying uncut and the NA version staying cut.

ED1.STR

This is the worst ending for Chris' storyline (the "lone survivor" ending), which runs 59 seconds. In all three Japanese versions, this cutscene depicts Chris removing a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one up.

Instead of edits or censoring, the overseas versions of this scene contain alternate footage of an exhausted Chris staring into the distance (runtime: 44 seconds). Once again, the Dual Shock versions contain a new orchestral score during this cutscene, which extends their lengths by ten seconds each (1:09 and 0:54 for JP and NA, respectively).

Credits

The credit sequences differ significantly between the various versions of the game. That being said, the original 1996 Bio Hazard has the most unique set of credits FMVs.

• STFJ.STR and STFC.STR are the FMV files used during the "good ending" credits for Jill and Chris' storylines, respectively. They contain bits of remixed gameplay footage that are played underneath the credits text itself, with accompanying BGM. In the original Bio Hazard, a piece of licensed music was used instead.
• STFZ.STR is a "gag reel" credits sequence exclusive to the original Bio Hazard, depicting Jill and Chris getting killed by various enemies. To see it, finish the game a second time (that is, from a cleared save with the unlimited rocket launcher unlocked) and get a good ending.
• STFR.STR is the credits sequence for the Dual Shock version, and is identical in both the NA and JP releases. It's used for both Jill and Chris' storylines. The gameplay footage has been removed, leaving only empty black, meaning that obtaining a "good" ending now results in the same credit roll as a "bad" ending in the Dual Shock version. A new orchestral score plays during this sequence.

(Source: Original TCRF research)