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Welcome to the world of survival horror. Good luck.
"Itchy. Tasty."

Resident Evil (Bio Hazardnote  in Japan) is a horror-themed game released for the PlayStation in 1996 and the first entry in the Resident Evil franchise. Shinji Mikami conceived the game when his superiors at Capcom requested an updated version of their horror classic Sweet Home (1989). With graphics and game design inspired by Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil spawned one of Capcom's most iconic franchises, which now includes several video game sequels and spinoffs as well as other media tie-ins. This game also gave us the term "Survival Horror".

The story begins in the fictional American town of Raccoon City in July 1998. Tourism has taken a hit recently thanks to a spate of murders in the Arklay Mountains—each of them cannibalistic in nature. Bravo Team, one-half of Raccoon City's Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) squad, flies out to investigate the area. When the team makes no radio contact a day after their departure, Alpha Team deploys to find them.

When Alpha Team arrives at the scene, they find a wrecked chopper, a dead pilot, and no one else from Bravo Team, dead or alive. A pack of zombified dogs chase the team members into a nearby mansion. A handful of survivors—team leader Albert Wesker, weapons specialist Barry Burton, and Player Characters Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine—agree to comb the house for stragglers from Bravo Team. Wesker decides it would be a smart idea to split up, and that's when the shit really hits the fan. The mansion's architect, being a fan of spy movies, has enhanced their home security in elaborate ways—but all of the mansion's booby traps don't present nearly the same kind of omnipresent threat as the bio-engineered murder machines shambling down the hallways...

Players choose to control either Chris or Jill, and this choice determines which characters will show up during the campaign: Chris will run across piano-playing medic Rebecca Chambers in his scenario, while Alpha Team's Barry accompanies Jill. Jill also comes equipped with a lockpick, which saves you the trouble of juggling keys.note  The game limits how much ammunition and how many healing items players will find during the game to heighten tension, and players can only carry a limited amount of items at a time (which is mitigated by the item boxes scattered around the house). Item management and knowing when to flee are essential skills for finishing the game.

In true Capcom fashion, the original Resident Evil received numerous re-releases. The Sega Saturn and PC both received ports of the original game with some exclusive new content in 1997, while the PS1 received a revised edition titled Resident Evil: Director's Cut (which added a new difficulty setting with different item and enemy placements and came packaged with a playable demo of Resident Evil 2). Capcom released a third edition for the PS1 in 1998 (Resident Evil: Director's Cut: Dual Shock Edition) that added vibration and analog support for the DualShock controller as well as a different soundtrack. The Nintendo DS received its own version of the game in 2006 titled Resident Evil: Deadly Silence; this version added an enhanced Rebirth mode, numerous touch screen puzzles, and multiplayer game modes.

In 2002, Capcom produced a completely revamped version of the game for the Nintendo GameCube in an effort to bring the main series to Nintendo's new home console. This new version featured revamped character models set against full-motion backgrounds, CGI cut scenes (which replaced the cheesy live-action versions from the original), a brand new soundtrack, wholly redone (but still cheesy) voice acting, updated gameplay mechanics, and story line revisions that bring it in line with the sequels released up to that date. The remake was exclusive to Nintendo consoles for many years (it was re-released for the Wii in 2008) until Capcom announced an HD remaster of the game for the PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms as a digital download. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in Japan in November 2014 (the former has an exclusive physical release in the region), while the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions achieved complete global saturation alongside the overseas releases of the other versions in January 2015. Upgrades from the GameCube version include fully remastered graphics, the ability to switch between widescreen and "standard" screen sizes, an option to choose between the original's "tank controls" and a modern control scheme inspired by more recent entries in the franchise, and B.S.A.A. outfits for Chris and Jill. A Nintendo Switch version was released on May 21, 2019.

Along with the second entry in the series, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City uses this game as partial source material. It also has a Fan Game Prequel in the form of Resident Evil: REVisited.


Resident Evil contains the following:


  • Ability Required to Proceed:
    • You won't get anywhere without those keys, cranks, or crests, and some of them require you to solve a puzzle before you can even get the items.
    • The flamethrower in Chris' scenario is required to proceed further in the underground caverns due to certain doors only unlocking when you place the weapon on the latches.
    • The battery needed to give the elevator leading to the heliport power is done in this way so that you will have one free space in your inventory to pick up the signal flares, which you need to signal Brad to rescue you. The flares also double as a way to keep one slot open in your item list so that you have room to pick up the rocket launcher during the final Tyrant fight, which you need in order to beat him. However, in Director's Cut's Arrange Mode, you get the battery sooner, which means that you will have to plan in advance for that.
  • Action Girl: Jill, Alpha Team's B & A specialist and a Master of Unlocking, stated in some material to be a former member of the Delta Force.
  • Adaptation Dye-Job: Sort of. Chris canonically has brown hair, but the actor who plays him in the original game's live-action sequences is a redhead.note  It wasn't apparent in some versions of the live-action sequences, due to being changed from color to black-and-white to hide the '80s grade amount of blood and gore.
  • Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Japanese version of the original version uses "Icy Gaze" and "I Won't Let This End as a Dream..." as the opening and ending theme, both sung by Fumitaka Fuchigami.
  • Always Night: The game begins sometime in the evening and finishes at dawn.
  • American Kirby Is Hardcore: The covers for all versions of the game (the original release, Director's Cut, the remake, Deadly Silence) have differences overseas. The Japanese versions all use a minimalist approach, such as having a shot of the empty main hall for both Director's Cut and the remake. The North American versions meanwhile, emphasize the horror and action you should expect, to the point of exaggeration. For example, Deadly Silence depicts Jill dual wielding a pair of pistols, something that is impossible to do in-game.
  • And Now for Someone Completely Different: Chris' scenario briefly lets you play as Rebecca when you have to destroy Plant 42, depending on whether or not Richard dies of his poisoning, and/or if Chris gets poisoned during his first encounter with Yawn; Barry doesn't get the same treatment in Jill's Plant 42 scenario.
  • And Then John Was a Zombie:
    • In Advanced/Arrange Mode, the remake, and Rebirth Mode in Deadly Silence, Forest Speyer comes back from the dead after being pecked to death by T-Virus infected crows.
    • A zombified Wesker appears as an enemy in the Saturn version's Battle Mode.
    • Taken literally with the letter to Ada Wong from John, who was turning into a zombie.
  • And Your Reward Is Clothes: After completing the game by saving both of your partners, you can restart the mission with the Closet Key in your inventory, allowing your character to change into casual clothing. Later versions of the game feature other sets of alternate outfits as well:
    • The PC version featured different casual clothes for Jill and Chris in addition to the ones that were in the PS1 version.
    • The Saturn version has a different set of alternate outfits that are just redesigned versions of the default S.T.A.R.S. uniforms.
    • The Director's Cut version has the same outfits from the original release, plus new default outfits (not just for Chris and Jill, but also Rebecca) for the Arrange mode.
    • Deadly Silence has a ninja outfit for Chris, a policewoman costume, complete with sexy miniskirt, for Jill and a cheerleader suit for Rebecca.
  • Anime Theme Song: The original Japanese PS1 version has two vocal songs: an opening theme titled "Kouri no Manazashi" ("Icy Gaze") and the ending theme "Yume de Owarasenai..." ("I Won't Let This End as a Dream..."). Other versions, including the Japanese re-releases (such as the original Director's Cut and the Saturn port) use the instrumental "Still Dawn" instead. Both Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya admitted that the songs were only included in the Japanese version due to a contract Capcom had with a record company for Rockman 8, which was released shortly afterward and featured vocal intro and ending themes. The developers didn't want any vocal songs in the game, since they felt they clashed with the horror atmosphere they were trying to set up.
  • Anti-Frustration Features:
    • Did you get poisoned by an enemy, but the last known blue herbs you spotted or stored in a box are a distant jog away? Look around your current location or the adjacent room. Chances are, there are some conveniently placed blue herbs, right around the corner. Unfortunately, this is not the case if you get poisoned by Yawn during the first encounter, since the blue herbs haven't appeared yet, so you'll have to get the same serum you used on Richard for yourself.
    • The exit within the room where you fight the Black Tiger is covered in thick spider webs that can be burned away with Jill's flame rounds from her grenade launcher or Chris' flamethrower. If you happen to run out of ammo for either weapon, you can also use the knife to cut down the webs. Forgot to bring the knife? No problem! There's an extra knife sitting on the floor for you so you don't have to backtrack to an item box.
  • Apocalyptic Log: Tons of these are scattered around to provide backstory, clues, and general atmosphere. Also, the saving mechanism consists of using ribbons on a typewriter, technically making an apocalyptic log of the player's exploits.
  • Arrange Mode:
    • The Director's Cut adds the Advanced/Arrange Mode, which rearranges enemy placements and moves key items around.
    • Rebirth Mode in Deadly Silence includes puzzles that utilize the Nintendo DS' touchscreen and microphone.
  • Artistic License – Biology:
    • Yawn is repeatedly described as being poisonous. Since Richard is dying from the snake biting him and not the other way around, this would make it venomous.note 
    • In real life, every attempt to keep great white sharks in captivity has ended in abject failure - after a few days, the sharks seem to enter a state of depression where their natural aggression gets ramped up to eleven. The behavioral pattern can perhaps be Hand Waved since they're ostensibly zombie sharks, but Great Whites also require huge aquariums to themselves and a lot of live prey.
    • The wasps are clearly Japanese giant hornets, which aren't wasps to begin with, but also wouldn't be found as natives anywhere near the American Midwest.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
    • Yawn is an infected snake that's grown to about the length of a bus.
    • The Web Spinners are infected spiders that have grown to the size of a pony, and there's an alpha spider, the Black Tiger, that's about two or three times their size. Possibly justified, at least in the Black Tiger's case, as Umbrella was trying to create a bio-organic weapon out of them, as with Neptune (giant sharks).
  • Author Appeal: Inverted. In contrast to Jill, who is his favorite, Shinji Mikami has stated multiple times Rebecca is conceptually his least favorite character ever. However, due to being beloved by the rest of the development staff, he begrudgingly added her into the game.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: The Flamethrower that Chris can get is indeed awesome, but it burns through all of its fuel very quickly. It is really only useful in one boss fight and even then you have to get right up to the boss and risk getting hurt, and there are no refills for the fuel.note  The Rebirth Mode in Deadly Silence puts a Flamethrower in the mansion basement that has the same purpose in the original mode (opening a door), but you get to roast several zombies along the way...
    • From Umbrella's perspective, the Neptunes, a fabulous example of the company's For Science! attitude. Though the experiment was technically a success as it proved that the T-Virus works on marine organisms, the researchers then found that... well, there's not much you can actually use giant zombie sharks for. And then there's the issue of transporting the things. So the poor creatures were just left in a big aquarum in the basement to live out their wretched unlives.
  • Badass Normal: All of the main characters. Greatly supported by this live action cast intro sequence.
  • Bee Afraid: In the guardhouse, one of the rooms is infested with mutated bees and you have to approach a nest in order to get the key underneath it. Luckily, the bees barely do any damage with their sting and serve as nothing more than a minor annoyance.
  • Big Bad: More directly in this game, Wesker.
  • Big Boo's Haunt: The mansion could be considered a more "mundane" version of this. No ghosts, just zombies and some other critters.
  • Big "NO!": Wesker, when the Tyrant turns against and kills him.
  • Black Dude Dies First: Played with. The first casualty of Bravo Team found by the player is Kenneth J. Sullivan, the only black member of S.T.A.R.S. However, Joseph Frost is the first character to be killed onscreen and before that, Alpha Team finds the disembodied hand/mutilated corpse of Bravo Team's pilot.note  When put in canonical order, the deaths are: Kevin Dooley, Edward Dewey, as shown in Resident Evil 0, Forest Speyer, Joseph Frost from Alpha Team, Kenneth J. Sullivan, Richard Aiken, and Enrico Marini.note  According to supplementary material, the gunshot heard in the first in-game cutscene was shot by Kenneth, so by this, the black dude died fourth.
  • "Blind Idiot" Translation: The original game is notorious for its bad translation and Z-grade acting. Subsequent games - and the remake - toned this down, mainly due to better budgets. Some lines actually became iconic and were kept as continuity nods. What's more ironic about this is that, apparently, they didn't have someone on-staff for the original game to provide a proper translation. They just wrote the dialogue in Japanese and translated it into English as best as they could. Adding to the irony was that English voice actors were used throughout the game, and yet, the cast read from a script that obviously had improper English.note 
  • Block Puzzle: Four puzzles require you to push statues or boxes around.
  • Blown Across the Room: In the Tyrant's second phase, it makes a charging claw-swipe attack that will send the player across the arena and deal massive damage if it connects.
  • Body Horror: The zombies and the B.O.W.s.
  • Bold Inflation:
    • Barry is particularly prone to this.
    • Wesker gets a moment of this earlier on, where he seems to be channeling Barry:
    Wesker: STOP IT! Don't OPEN that DOOR!
  • Bonus Feature Failure: The Director's Cut contains many improvements over the original 1996 version. However, despite what the subtitle implies, it still retains all the censorship of the earlier version, apparently due to a localization error.
  • Boss-Altering Consequence: You have the option of using V-Jolt against Plant 42. Using it as Jill lets you skip the fight entirely, while using it as Chris significantly weakens it.
  • Bowdlerise:
    • The intro cutscene was heavily censored and altered by taking out scenes with blood in the Western releases. The PC version, some PAL releases of Director's Cut, and some copies of the North American Saturn version contained the original cutscene. Notably, Chris' intro and ending were altered, both which originally has him lighting a cigarette. The Japanese version, however, did have the uncut cutscene albeit in black-and-white to hide the amount of blood and gore.
    • There's a brief snippet of the first game's zombie dropping Kenneth's severed head when Chris/Jill finds him. This was cut from the international releases until Deadly Silence.
    • A smaller edit was to make severed heads and limbs instantly vanish upon hitting the ground. Originally, they were to remain visible. This was even taken out of the original Japanese retail version, so only the Japanese demo version and the PC edition left this detail in.
  • Bragging Rights Reward: Finishing the game in three hours or less unlocks a rocket launcher with infinite ammo. You know what would be handy on a speedrun? A powerful weapon which would quickly finish any impassable enemy, and didn't require you to spend time looking for ammo. This is downplayed in the Director's Cut releases, where you unlock an infinite ammo Colt Python simply for getting the best ending, which you can then use to do an easy speedrun.
  • Broad Strokes: How this game's events are taken by the rest of the series. Canonically, Jill, Chris, Barry, Brad, and Rebecca all survived, but it's impossible to get this outcome while playing the game since Barry never makes it to the mansion in Chris' scenario, leaving his fate ambiguous, while Rebecca is completely absent in Jill's. The novelization actually does its best to try and reconcile all of the members of S.T.A.R.S. being in the mansion at once.
  • But Thou Must!: Attempting to leave the mansion from the front door will have the player character confronted by a zombie dog. A Pre-Rendered Cutscene plays where the dog sticks its head through the door and the player character hurriedly yanks it closed. They'll refuse to try opening it again after that.
  • Camera Abuse: In a couple of locations, you can literally break the fourth wall by turning your gun to the camera and shooting, at which point bullet holes will appear on the glass of the "camera". This is harder to do in one location in Advanced/Arrange Mode due to the slightly different camera angle.
  • Captain Obvious:
    • "It's a weapon. It's really powerful — especially against living things!" Why, thank you for that very insightful observation, Mr. Burton, but that's sort of the definition of a weapon. If it was for non-living things, it'd be called a tool. Although, Barry probably meant that the acid rounds would be more effective against Yawn and the Hunters rather than the undead (as in "non-living") zombies and dogs.
    • Depending on when she gets there, Jill may run into Barry in the room where Martin Crackhorn's letter is found, likely destroying evidence on Wesker's orders since only half of it is found. After reading the remaining half of it, Barry then asks Jill what she makes of it...to which Jill just remarks that she's "been thinking there's something WRONG with this HOUSE". Barry's pause and somewhat strained "...Right..." comes across as "Gee, I hadn't considered that yet, Sherlock!".
  • Choice-and-Consequence System: There are several interactions that will determine whether the secondary character associated with your player character (Barry for Jill, Rebecca for Chris) will survive, as well as an optional side-quest to collect 3 MO disks to allow the unchosen player character to survive.
    • Barry: After killing Yawn in the library, there comes a sequence where Barry will lower Jill down a hole, only to then drop the rope. If Jill waits for Barry to return, this will set up an encounter between the two in the caves beneath the mansion. If Jill does not wait, she will encounter a mortally wounded Barry when she finally reaches the lab, who will die in front of her. When they meet in the caves, Barry will ask Jill two questions; does she want to go with him, and does she want him to go first. If Jill says "Yes" to both questions, Barry will automatically live. If she agrees to go with him but asks to go first herself (Yes/No) or refuses both suggestions (No/No), he will walk away and then Jill will hear a shot from the direction he went; if she follows Barry, she will find him fighting a Hunter, and he will live if she kills it — if she fails, or simply doesn't follow, then he is killed, with a unique cutscene. If Jill refuses to go with Barry, but tells him to go first (No/Yes), then he will be encountered dying in the lab, as if she refused to wait when he dropped the rope.
    • Rebecca: Chris's interactions with Rebecca are even more complicated, depending on whether he goes to the Medicine Room first or towards Yawn's first fight first. If Chris says that Rebecca can come with him upon meeting her in the medicine room, or retrieves the serum for Richard in time, she will survive the events of the game. If he says no, or fails to retrieve the serum fast enough, then when Chris returns to the mansion with the Helmet Key, there will be a new event with Rebecca depending on where she was met first. If she was met in the medicine room, she will have returned there; if Chris goes directly there, she will be found inside and will live, but if he picks up the battery first, he will find her outside the medicine room being attacked by a Hunter; whether she lives or dies depends on if the player fights the Hunter. But if she was met with Richard, Chris will hear her screaming, as she is under attack by a Hunter in the 2nd floor study — if he goes there quickly and kills the Hunter, she lives, but otherwise, she'll die. Also, leaving the mansion for the caves without trying to find her will result in her dying.
  • Clown-Car Grave: Zombies will sometimes pop up in rooms after you have already cleared that room and even any surrounding rooms. Where are they all coming from? Yes, they can open a few doors, but there are still instances where the player character will come from a completely zombie free area, and then have a zombie come into the room from right behind them.
  • Conveniently Interrupted Document: The letter written by Martin Crackhorn is normally missing its top half. This is subverted if you find the letter quickly enough, as it will still be intact and you can read the first half to find out that the author couldn't meet with the note's intended recipient because a "guy in sunglasses" forbade it.
  • Creepy Cave: Near the end of the game, the protagonists explore a series of caves accessed from the courtyard of the Spencer Mansion, which are inhabited by infected snakes, Hunters and Web Spinners. The largest of these spiders, the Black Tiger, is fought as a boss.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death:
    • Joseph is mauled to death by zombie dogs.
    • A zombie chews Kenneth's head off, and he was alive and conscious for most of it. If the player triggers the alternate encounter with Barry, the zombie has torn off Kenneth's lower body.
    • Forest is killed by being pecked to death by infected crows. This is after he was already heavily injured by either the zombies or Cerberuses.
    • Richard dies from a combination of blood loss and envenomation.
    • Edward Dewey gets it even worse than Joseph, who at least was still whole last we saw of him, as it's heavily implied that he was literally torn to shreds by the same pack of Cerberuses.
  • Custom Uniform: Every single S.T.A.R.S. member wears a different uniform that follows a basic style, but the individual looks and color schemes are all unique, including M69 flak vests in half the colors of the rainbow.
  • Cutscene Incompetence:
    • Chris is the only one to actually lose his handgun in the opening intro.
    • Jill has an unerring ability to get herself in trouble and needing Barry to save her, such as with the ceiling trap or if she gets bit by Yawn in the first fight.
    • When Enrico is shot and killed right in front of them, common sense would dictate that Chris and Jill/Barry immediately pursue the shooter and, considering the confined space and limited escape routes of the cave they're in, have a good chance of identifying and even capturing him. Instead, they just mope over his corpse and let the shooter get away.
    • If you trigger either of the "zombie attacks Jill and Barry" scenes at the start of the game, it takes three shots from his Colt to put it down — if you can get your hands on the gun's cousin, it's normally a One-Hit Kill to any enemy in the game. Made worse in the remake because, whilst he blows the zombie's head off in the original game, it now survives the shots and goes back to where you first met it.
  • Cutscene Power to the Max: A few cutscenes show Hunters and even zombies opening doors by using the door knobs, something they're completely incapable of doing in-game (the Director's Cut Arrange mode has another encounter with a zombie that opens a door and lets itself into the room from offscreen, but this is also a scripted event). In the remake, the zombies and Hunters just bust the doors open by slamming into them instead. Then there is Barry kicking in a locked door, something neither Jill or Chris will even attempt.
  • Damsel in Distress: Rebecca, a new recruit to Bravo Team, who is almost completely helpless and even has a scripted event where she gets killed off by a Hunter if you don't arrive in time. This is slightly rectified in the remake.
  • Descending Ceiling: The origin of the immortal "Jill Sandwich" quote. Jill can grab the shotgun early and escape with Barry's help, whereas Chris, who has no backup up to this point, will have to replace the shotgun with a broken replica, Raiders of the Lost Ark-style.
  • Developer's Foresight: The grenade launcher's acid rounds are less effective against poisonous enemies.
  • Difficulty by Region: The Japanese version of the original game has an auto-aiming function, more ink ribbons, more ammo available and enemies took less shots to kill. The overseas versions were made harder so that the game would be harder to complete during a rental. Thankfully, the overseas versions of Director's Cut has the auto-aim option added back and the non-Dual Shock Ver. uses the enemy health of the Japanese version.
  • Distress Ball: Both Jill and Chris are subjected to this at various points; Jill needs Barry's help to escape the ceiling trap, though it's possible for him to not show up, forcing you to do the puzzle to keep the trap disarmed, and she also needs his help to kill the first zombie at the start of the game. There's also a possible scene with Plant 42 where Jill gets snared by the monster and Barry comes in with a flamethrower, killing it. Chris gets captured by Plant 42 when he encounters it, thus requiring Rebecca to make the poison needed to kill the roots in order to save him. Chris can also have an optional scene where Rebecca is suddenly trapped by a Hunter and will die if he doesn't kill the creature quickly.
  • Doomed by Canon: The Rebirth Mode in Deadly Silence allows Chris or Jill to give Richard CPR to save him, but he'll still die anyway. Succeeding the CPR minigame has Richard give you a hint about a secret in the clock in the dining room.
  • Dull Surprise: None of the characters save for Barry say their lines with much enthusiasm or emotion in general.
  • Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Jill actually had long hair under that beret of hers, as seen in the endings. But thanks to that beret, and her alternate outfits giving her her now familiar bob, it can be a surprise to see all of that hair tumbling out when she does pull off her cap.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • The live action opening and ending sequences in the original PlayStation version. They were redone entirely in CGI in the remake in order to bring it in line with the rest of the series. Additionally, a cast roll call is included, something no other game has done since, not even the remake.
    • This is the only game in the series where there are no automatic weaponsnote  or weapon upgrades, although given the setting, it wouldn't make much sense. This game also lacks the "near-death" animations (i.e limping) that appears in some form in every other game, had very limited ammo, and oddly enough, it probably has the most enemies that can inflict poison on you.
    • The game lacks a proper physics system for pushing zombies off you when they bite you. You shove them away, but they slightly stagger back and can potentially latch onto you yet again. It wasn't until Resident Evil 2 that pushing zombies can knock them back quite far, onto the floor, or even get shoved into other zombies and make them stagger at the same time.
    • The "check" function for items allows you to examine the item as a 3D model with some flavor text, only needed to use receive a pair of Plot Coupons. This feature was dropped in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, but was brought back in Code: Veronica and the remake.
    • There's no quick turning, and a button press is required to climb stairs. This would continue in Resident Evil 2, but with the release of 3, quick turning has been a feature in every game since, while other than Code: Veronica, walking up stairs no longer needs any extra input.
    • All weapons, except for the Rocket Launcher and the Grenade Launcher, are labeled with real life weapon names. The sequels gradually shifted gun names to be the standard generic names (Handgun, Shotgun, etc.) and then shifted towards the A.K.A.-47 trope to avoid licensing issues.
    • The game is the only one to have difficulty that is based on the characters; Jill = Easy (8 inventory slots, lock picking desks and certain doors Chris needs a key for, she can brute force her way into getting the shotgun early, and an exclusive weapon) and Chris = Hard (6 inventory slots and a flamethrower that has limited use, more enemies and they take more damage, less ammo and other resources, some resources are locked in desks that require keys to open, and he needs Rebecca's help with a couple of puzzles). Jill compensates a bit by having less health than Chris. The remake ironed this out a lot by making enemy health and placement consistent across both characters, and giving Chris some advantages like higher headshot chances and faster running speed. The rest of the series made all characters equal in performance apart from some sensible gender-related distinctions like durability and strength.
    • The environments in the original game are extremely bright and colorful, being heavily inspired by the Overlook Hotel and Sweet Home (1989). Later games, including this game's remake, would have a more conventional horror aesthetic.
    • The mansion having traps that could kill you was an element that wasn't used again until Resident Evil 4 and later where the traps made more sense. It was Hand Waved by the developers saying that Spencer loved spy novels and wanted his mansion to have hidden rooms and traps. The idea of a mansion having deathtraps was a concept used in Sweet Home, which is where the developers got their inspiration from when it came to creating this game. Likewise, the characters in this game refer to the zombies and other bioweapons as "demons" on occasion whereas they just call them zombies or monsters in later games. Sweet Home had demonic creatures.
    • The monsters themselves were fairly mundane compared to later games, possibly as a result of them being based on monsters or creatures from horror movies. Later games would have more bizarre and original creatures.
    • The game itself focuses more on puzzle solving with the puzzles themselves being very outlandish. Later games would tone down the puzzles and rely more on actionized scenes. Likewise, the atmosphere in the first game was more mysterious, being something like a modern-day haunted house with many rooms to explore and files indicating what happened before everything went to hell. Most of the sequels would rely on being more actionized and bombastic in scope to raise the stakes, though a few games would revert to the slower paced exploration in a mysterious location setting like with the first game.
    • Health dropping to yellow would still be labeled "Fine". Later installments would use "Caution" for both yellow and orange health, though Resident Evil 2 (Remake) would go back to using "Fine" for yellow health.
    • Being poisoned wasn't obvious unless you checked your health directly and even then, the color did not change. Later games would change your health to purple when poisoned and your character would always limp.
    • Most games in the series give you a graded rank at the end of a completed game, which also determines what you can unlock. The first game did not have such a system and the method used to unlock the rocket launcher with infinite ammo was based on how long you took to beat the game.
    • Handgun ammo is portrayed as a pistol magazine (incorrectly called a clip) rather than a box of bullets like the rest of the series. The remake kept the loaded magazines for old times' sake.
    • The original Japanese version of the game used J-Rock style opening and ending themes by Fumitaka Fuchigami. Later versions went with instrumental pieces by the game's composers.
    • While there is still a mid-game temporary character swap, it's only for one character (playing as Chris may make you switch to Rebecca briefly) instead of both character scenarios having such set-pieces, and it's entirely optional.
    • The final fight with the Tyrant on the helipad is dependent on what ending you're going for, with the fight being skipped if your character's partner (Barry/Rebecca) is dead. Later games force you to fight the final boss no matter what.
    • The "Orders" file has the Umbrella Corp sign off as "White Umbrella." Later games had them a lot more open with naming themselves, including the remake's version of this file.
    • In Chris's campaign, he has only a knife at the start of the game due to him losing his gun on his way to the mansion, though he would find Jill's gun very early on. Later games would always start the player character with a handgun or at least justify not having one the first few minutes of the game.
    • The concept of the amount of inventory space being character dependent was used only in the first game and in the remake. Future games would have inventory space be consistent between characters.
    • Player characters had no animations for standing still (unless they enter their idle stance if the controls aren't touched for a few seconds), which made them look like they weren't breathing. Later games would give player characters breathing animations in their idle state.
  • Easier Than Easy: Both versions of the Director's Cut have a difficulty mode called Training Mode, with double ammo, double ink ribbons and fewer monsters, along with a secret option to enable double ammo and ink ribbons in Advanced/Arrange Mode.
  • End-Game Results Screen:
    • Clearing the campaign in the original game ends with a picture of Jill or Chris continuing with their normal lives after the Mansion Incident along with the player's accumulated play time and total number of saves. Jill is shown relaxing in her apartment with her hair down, while Chris is watching a news report about Umbrella on a giant screen in the city.
    • The result screens in the Director's Cut Dual Shock Ver. shows Chris going out on a night walk and Jill shopping.
  • The End... Or Is It?: When you beat the game without saving your supporting character (Barry for Jill and Rebecca for Chris), you'll get an extra cutscene after the credits roll that shows that the Tyrant is still alive, watching as you escape in the helicopter.
  • Enter Solution Here: An upstairs door in the mansion in the original version only opens with the correct code, and only after the player learns it in-game. However, the player doesn't actually enter the code; the door opens automatically. Also, only Jill can get the code.
  • Elite Mooks: Hunters appear inside the mansion once you've explored the Residence, replacing many of the (much slower) zombies.
  • Elites Are More Glamorous: Chris is an ex-USAF fighter pilot and Jill is ex-Delta Force. S.T.A.R.S. itself is essentially the Raccoon Police Department's equivalent of a SWAT team.
  • Everybody's Dead, Dave: Whether you choose Chris or Jill, you still spend most of the game running around on your own. Whenever you find another member of your team, they're almost always either dead or dying (except for each other and Rebecca/Barry). You can end the game with the playable character and Brad being the only survivors as well.
  • Everything Trying to Kill You: The original and remake had the most ways to be killed in the series. Monsters, traps, poisoning, even going the wrong direction in the aqua ring could result in an instant game over.
  • Evil Is Hammy: Once he reveals himself to be the traitor in the original version, Wesker does this.
  • Face-Revealing Turn: Famously, the first zombie encountered in-game.
  • Fake Difficulty: Though still demonic spiders in every appearance, Hunters are at their worst in the original version for one major reason: they are completely invincible when leaping at you for the entirety of their attack animation. Note this is, in fact, an example of malice on the developers' part and not a programming bug, because the Japanese demo does allow you to shoot Hunters out of the air in mid-leap, meaning the ability was deliberately taken out of the final version just to make things harder.
  • Faux Action Girl: Rebecca, who despite saving Chris a couple of times from Yawn's envenomation and Plant 42, cowers from a lone Hunter and can go the whole game without firing a shot. She doesn't even have the excuse of REmake Rebecca, who had been pushed to her limit by then, as this game saw Alpha team come in as soon as Bravo team went down.
  • Final Girl: Jill, if Barry dies and Chris is left behind. Likewise, Rebecca is the sole survivor of Bravo Team.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • Chris' and Jill's S.T.A.R.S. membership cards at the character select screen have Brian Irons' (the police chief from Resident Evil 2) signature on them.
    • A note left for Ada Wong can be found in both versions, but in the original game, the password to unlock the laboratories is MOLE.
  • Game-Favored Gender: In Jill's scenario, to the point that she is essentially easy mode. Her only major flaws are the fact that she runs slower than Chris and can take fewer hits. Some re-releases (such as the PC version giving both Chris and Jill automatic weapons) and the remake tones down the discrepancy. Her advantages, on the other hand, include:
    • Having eight item slots; Chris has six.
    • A lock pick as her personal item, which allows her to bypass a few doors and access to any locked drawer. Chris needs to find the Sword Key and a few small keys for these, which is a hassle with his smaller inventory space.
    • Starting off right away with her gun; Chris loses his, and he has to find the zombie eating Kenneth and report it back first (Jill's gun will be on the floor for him to take).
    • Can get the grenade launcher, which is probably her biggest advantage. Chris briefly has a flamethrower, but it runs out of fuel quickly and he needs to discard it at some point anyway to proceed through the game.
    • If you take her to get the shotgun right after finding the first zombie, she doesn't have to detour and find the broken shotgun first (the shotgun weighs down a ceiling trap); Barry will rescue her if she does so.
    • She can avoid directly fighting Plant 42 with Barry's help; depending on your actions, Barry will also instantly come to her rescue if Yawn poisons her (although she can also be left to find the serum on her own).
    • Barry himself is far less prone to danger than Rebecca is. The only time he falls into trouble is if you (optionally) split up with him in the undergrounds or don't wait for him to get a new rope after the second Yawn fight.
    • On a meta level, if you feel squeamish about visiting the first zombie, you can try to leave the dining hall, and the zombie will come in for Barry to kill.note  Chris will always have to see the zombie and either fight or run from it.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: There is one other advantage to playing as Chris if you remember that Rebecca is a Combat Medic. Go to her and she will heal you up.
  • Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: The Black Tiger, which is a giant Australian funnel web spider.
  • Giant Spider: The Web Spinners make their first appearance in the guardhouse then take up residence when you return to the mansion. Advanced/Arrange Mode has a surprise in that it adds more of them.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: The Umbrella Corporation who is responsible for unleashing the various abominations.
  • Grenade Launcher: Jill gets one from Forest's corpse.
  • Guide Dang It!:
    • When you encounter a fountain with hollows on its east and west sides that contain carvings of an eagle and wolf, respectively. By now, you've already obtained the Last Book Vol.1 and Vol.2 but have no clue what to do with them. It turns out that you have to examine them in the inventory screen and rotate it at the right angle to open them (something that no other puzzle in the game requires you to do), revealing the needed medals. The remake makes it a little easier to guess the solution, given that, way earlier, you had to check the back of a book to get the Sword Key.
    • The Multiple Endings. Depending on your actions and where you explore, you could have your support character killed off as early as mid-game. For example, answering no to both of Barry's questions in the caves will get him killed by a Hunter shortly after you run into Enrico. There's another scene in the game where Jill gets trapped in a hole and Barry runs off telling you to wait until he comes back, which is exactly what you need to do in order to save him and get the good ending. There's one problem: the game lets you control Jill the very moment he leaves and the next thing you find is a secret passage to an unexplored area, and considering it takes a good while for him to show up again, there is no indication that you should wait for him to come back.
  • Half the Man He Used to Be: One possibility if you fall victim to Plant 42 is having it pick Chris or Jill up by the waist with one of its tendrils and slowly pinch them in half.
  • Hand Wave:
    • Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca all survive the Mansion Incident. This is 100% accepted canon in the sequels. However, in every iteration of RE1 available (the original, the Director's Cut, the remake, Deadly Silence, the RE1 scenarios of The Umbrella Chronicles and the HD remaster), it is impossible to have Barry and Rebecca in a scenario simultaneously, and Capcom has never offered a concrete explanation for what happened in their surviving aside from, "They just did." A pachislot adaptation of the game that finally features all four of them together exist, at least.
    • A comic book adaptation of the game takes a Mind Screw approach. During a recap with all four S.T.A.R.S. members present, Chris states that he found Jill in a cell in the Umbrella lab. When Jill tries to correct him that she rescued him, he cuts her off.
  • He Knows Too Much: Enrico knows that Umbrella set the S.T.A.R.S. team up to die and that there's a double-crosser in their ranks. Wesker kills him before he can reveal more.
  • Hidden Supplies: The save points in the game are mostly hidden, out-of-the-way places with good lighting and calming music where your supplies are stashed. After you've been battling zombies for a while, finding a safe place to relax can be an incredible relief.
  • His Name Is...: Enrico is shot by an unseen assailant (Wesker) moments after he reveals there's a mole.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Chris is much bigger than 5'3" Rebecca and Barry is much larger than Jill, who is of average height.
  • I Have Your Wife: Wesker claimed to have Barry's family at leverage in order to get him to work for him during the Arklay Mansion incident. However, while gloating, he admits that was entirely a bluff, which Barry overheard before knocking him out. It still doesn't stop the family moving to Canada to hide after the whole ordeal.
  • Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels: Selecting your character affects the game's difficulty. Jill can carry more items (eight instead of six), has an exclusive weapon (the grenade launcher), earlier access to some rooms thanks to the lockpick and can completely skip at least one boss battle thanks to Barry. On the other hand, Chris can sustain more damage than Jill and has Rebecca around to heal him, but Jill's advantages outnumbers Chris'. The difficulty of each character are actually shown in the Japanese version from the get go (Jill = Easy, Chris = Hard), but they're not as obvious in the overseas versions unless you've played the game before.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: The cause of Wesker's "death" is being impaled on a Tyrant's claws in all scenarios except for the Barry Burton Lives ending.
  • Impending Doom P.O.V.: A quick, live action intro shows Chris being attacked and (possibly) killed by some unknown monster in a dark hallway. It's shown from the perspective of the said monster and all we see and hear is Chris's horrified reaction.
  • Infinity -1 Sword: Jill's Grenade Launcher is this. You can find a good amount of ammo for it (assuming you only use it on boss monsters or tough enemies like the Hunters) and you'll probably be using the weapon far more often than the Magnum due to ammo for it being very scarce. Most people save the Magnum for the Final Boss. For Chris, most people get more mileage out of the Shotgun (since the Grenade Launcher isn't available to him. On the other hand he gets a lot more ammo for the Shotgun as a result; pretty much every Small Key drawer has Shotgun Shells in it) while still saving the Magnum for the bigger nasties.
  • Infinity +1 Sword:
    • The Rocket Launcher is needed to kill the Final Boss, and beating the game in three hours or less lets you start a new game with the weapon plus infinite ammo for it. Most enemies will die in a single hit because rockets are just that damn powerful and explosive. Sadly, it can't kill crawling enemies, so you'll still have to bring a gun with you.
    • The Magnum revolver is the only other weapon in the game as powerful as the Rocket Launcher, as it too will kill most enemies in a single shot. Getting the Golden Ending in Advanced/Arrange Mode even rewards you with an infinite ammo version.
    • The full-auto weapons from the PC version are essentially reskinned, fast-firing versions of the Beretta, meaning they pack significantly more firepower per shot compared to the automatic weapons featured in later games and they stunlock enemies. Even the fearsome Hunters are reduced to a complete joke with these guns.
  • Insurmountable Waist-Height Fence:
    • Those locked doors sure would be an easy bypass if you could kick them in like Barry does in one cutscene.
    • This applies to enemies to some extent. The player can use certain barriers and crates to prevent enemies from reaching them, even though they could be only two-feet tall. This actually make the knife useful in the early game, as the statue in the second floor dining room and the banister the next room over prevents zombies from grabbing you, but not you from stabbing them. Furthermore, zombies and Hunters are blocked by staircases until you reach them.
  • Irony: Brad's retreat in the original game actually helps S.T.A.R.S more than it hurts them — Joseph was already being attacked by the time he left, most of Bravo Team were already dead before Alpha Team even showed up, Richard is doomed no matter how the player attempts to save him, and the Mansion Incident actually leads to the exposure of Wesker as The Mole and the discovery of Umbrella's heinous actions. In fact, the only reason why Rebecca escapes alive is because Alpha Team was left behind, meaning his cowardice actually saved a life.
  • It's the Only Way to Be Sure: The laboratory has a self-destruct device, though whether it is intended to prevent the virus from spreading or to destroy the evidence is uncertain. Knowing Umbrella, it may have been for both reasons.
  • Kick the Dog: Specifically invoked in one instance: while Rebecca is in disbelief over Wesker admitting to his deception and killing off all her friends, she's shot in the chest. Fortunately, she survives thanks to her bullet-proof vest.
  • Kill It with Fire: Fire grenades are the best weapon against Plant 42.
  • Lame Pun Reaction: After killing Plant 42, Chris will make a truly dreadful pun regarding it ("So much for him! We got to the ROOT of that problem!") Rebecca just stares at him before changing the subject.
  • Large Ham:
    • Barry "WHAT IS THIS" Burton.
    • Wesker, especially after the truth is revealed.
    • Chris is one in some instances.
  • Late-Arrival Spoiler:
    • Wesker is a mole working for Umbrella. It is sort of hard to avoid knowing this now, especially since he is the Big Bad of Resident Evil 5, as well as several of the live-action films, and appears in a villainous role in Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
    • Chris, Jill, Rebecca and Barry surviving the Mansion Incident. It can't be done in the game itself, yet it's recognized as canon.
  • Let's Split Up, Gang!: Three of the S.T.A.R.S. team members make it to the mansion together, then promptly decide to split up. Seems like a bonehead move until you remember it was Wesker's order and he's working against the others.
  • Live-Action Cutscene: The original game used live-action actors in its opening and Multiple Endings cutscenes, as well as a character gallery.
  • Lock and Key Puzzle: Several puzzles require you to collect items from widely separated locations.
  • Lonely Piano Piece: There is a piano in the mansion, and Jill and Rebecca (for Chris) use it to melodically play Moonlight Sonata (so they can unlock a hidden door).
  • Made of Iron: The most basic attacks involve zombies trying to chew out Chris or Jill's throat, and it still takes three to five hits to kill them.
  • Major Injury Underreaction: More due to the hilariously lifeless line-readings of Richard's actor in the original; he reacts to the blood spurting from the giant snake-bite on his shoulder with a soft little "ouch" that sounds more like he banged his hand against something.
  • Malevolent Architecture: Mostly in a platonic sense, but there are a few deathtraps, ridiculous puzzles, and secret passages scattered around.
  • Man-Eating Plant: Plant 42 was contaminated and mutated when the Neptune tank was broken, flooding one lab with T-Virus contaminated water. It managed to devour several researchers in the confusion before people figured out what was going on. Fortunately, it's immobile. Unfortunately, it covers most of the Residence and its main bulb takes up most of a room.
  • Master of Unlocking: Jill, given by Barry.
  • The Medic: Rebecca. She will treat Chris if he is injured.
  • Minigame:
    • The Saturn port was the first title in the series to feature a minigame in the form of Battle Game, which was later resurrected and refined in RE2 and Code: Veronica. Said minigame featured a few unique enemies such as a zombified Wesker and a golden Tyrant.
    • Deadly Silence adds Master of Knifing mode and two multiplayer minigames. These minigames are the only time in the series where Bravo Team members other than Rebecca are playable characters.
  • Mirror Scare: In the Advanced Mode in the Director's Cut version, looking in the mirror in the bathroom causes a zombie to sneak up behind the character.
  • The Mole: Wesker is an Umbrella employee leading the S.T.A.R.S. team to destruction to test the B.O.W.s.
  • Mood Whiplash: In Director's Cut Dual Shock ver., it can be quite jarring to play through the mansion's basement (one of the game's gloomiest and creepiest areas) while this plays.
  • Multiple Endings: There are seven different outcomes, albeit all of them end with the players escaping via helicopter:
  • Mythology Gag: The American version of the box art for the Deadly Silence port depicts Jill dual wielding a pair of pistols, something which is impossible in the game, but was something she did in the novelization of the game.
  • Next Sunday A.D.: The original was released in 1996 and takes place in 1998. When the sequel (which takes place two months later) came along, it was 1998, so the whole near-future angle was dropped from the series until Resident Evil 6.
  • Nintendo Hard:
    • The original game is pretty difficult for a number of reasons:
      • Ammo isn't plentiful, so you have to watch how you used your supplies.
      • Limited inventory space discourages you from picking up everything, as you might not know when to bring something along and when to leave something behind for later. The item box lets you put things away for safekeeping, but they're few and far between.
      • Zombies can take you down from fine to caution status in just a few bites (or even danger, for the slightly weaker Jill), zombie dogs are fast and hard to evade, the boss monsters hit very hard (including one that can poison you early in the game), and the Hunters can do a One-Hit Kill on you if you're anything less than in perfect health.
      • The controls don't help you as you can't run and shoot at the same time. The original American version of the game doesn't have auto aim, though the Director's Cut versions added it in.
      • To top it all off, saving could only be done on typewriters by using the limited-in-number ink ribbons.
  • No Body Left Behind: This is almost totally played straight, as monsters' bodies disappear once you leave a room after killing them.
  • No Final Boss for You: If your partner is killed (Barry or Rebecca), you skip the final fight against the Tyrant and the ending reveals that it's still alive.
  • Non-Standard Game Over: If Chris gets poisoned by Yawn, you'll take control of Rebecca (if you had her accompany you and meet her in the safe room) and get the serum to cure Chris. If you take too long to do this sequence, Chris will die.
  • Not Quite Saved Enough: You end up being too late to save Richard from dying from poison even if you do deliver the serum in time.
  • Not So Invincible After All: One-Hit Kill attacks like Hunters and Boulder traps will bypass Invincibility cheats.
  • Off with His Head!:
    • Hunters can slice your head off in a single stroke and Rebecca can suffer the same fate if she is not rescued in time.
    • Chimeras have a move where they hoist the player character up and decapitate them if not shaken off.
    • The best ending for Jill sees finding Wesker's decapitated corpse if she goes back to the power room.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse: Wesker got Barry Burton to aid him in luring several STARS to their death because he threatened to hurt his family if he didn't do so. Ironically, he had no intention of carrying out the threat, which bit him in the butt when he admitted it.
  • Pain & Gain: The Tyrants are humanoid creatures created by the Umbrella corporation to serve as biological weapons. When a Tyrant is seriously injured, the T-virus will trigger a secondary mutation which increases their strength and durability to the point that only heavy weaponry can reliably destroy them.
  • Permadeath:
    • If you leave Rebecca alone for too long after refusing her plea to come with you (which only happens if you met her for the first time in the left save room on the first floor), a Hunter will kill her in either the library on the second floor or in the hallway leading to the same save room where you first met her.
    • Splitting up with Barry in the undergrounds outside the lab (answer "no" twice to the two questions he asks) will result in him being killed by a Hunter as well (he'll live if you answer any other way). He also will die if you immediately go in the mansion basement secret passage without waiting for him to get a new rope (this time, he will die in the laboratory after the Tyrant has been dealt with, next to the ladder where you came from).
    • In all versions of the game, leaving Chris/Jill behind in the laboratory cell, as it will explode along with everything else in the mansion, or slowly starve to death with no one to free them.
  • Personal Space Invader: The zombies will grapple and try to eat you.
  • Personality Blood Types: The intro includes small character bios, including blood types. Interestingly, most of the villains in the series, Wesker included, have Type O blood.note 
  • Plotline Death:
    • Richard dies whether you gave him the serum or not; your decision only determined whether you'd get his radio sooner with Jill.
    • With Chris, however, it also changes what happens to Rebecca depending on if you gave him the serum on time or not (she can be killed by a Hunter later if you did not). And even then, you have to meet Rebecca for the first time while she's trying to save him in order to do the whole thing.
  • Raising the Steaks: The zombified dogs are a series mainstay. This is justified in that they were one of the experimental lines of B.O.W.s being created in the mansion. The crows also make an appearance here, though due to the fact that they only attack under very specific circumstances, it might be hard to realize they're zombified unless you're extremely familiar with crow biology. The same happens with the infected adders. Things become more obvious with the bees, which are exceedingly large in comparison to normal bees, and even more with the Web Spinners and Black Tiger. This game also has Yawn, a giant snake, and Neptune, mutated sharks.
  • Respawning Enemies: There are 3-4 zombies in the main lab area that will respawn whenever you reenter the room. This can be very annoying because the player needs to revisit this room quite often.
  • The Reveal: When exploring a monster-infested, puzzle-and-trap-filled mansion, players would have had the frame of mind of perhaps a 1950s-inspired supernatural problem. Even if they considered mad science, they would have assumed it was a Frankenstein-style "they called me mad!" experiment gone wrong. But when they reach the laboratory under the mansion, the cause turns out to be something never considered in pop culture before: corporate, capitalist-fueled mad science gone wrong, best exemplified by the Wham Shot where a room with a slideshow shows all those horrible monsters upstairs are carefully manufacture and branded products intended to be shipped out as weapons of war.
  • Rewatch Bonus: Barry acting strange around Jill makes more sense once you discover that he's being blackmailed by Wesker.
  • Say My Name: REBECCAAAAAAA! This happens if Rebecca gets killed by a Hunter.
  • Schmuck Bait: Go ahead and open the mansion's front door, despite being chased by zombie dogs through the forest during the game's opening. See what happens. One of the dogs will try to get inside and the player character will immediately slams the door shut.
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: In the uncut version, Joseph does this when he gets bitten in the leg by the zombie dogs.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Brad does this after Joseph is killed. He does come back to rescue the survivors at the end.
  • Self-Destruct Mechanism: The mansion is rigged to explode in order to either prevent a major biohazard outbreak or destroy evidence. Naturally, this is triggered at the game's end.
  • Shaky P.O.V. Cam: The first appearance of the Hunter, and the zombie that attacks the player in the kitchen.
  • Shout-Out: See here.
  • Skippable Boss:
    • In both scenarios, you can skip the first fight with Yawn by madly running around it and getting the Moon Crest. It will still be there until his second appearance, though.
    • In Jill's scenario, you can skip the Plant 42 boss fight under certain conditions. When you enter its room after poisoning it, Barry will burst in and destroy it with a flamethrower.
    • When it comes to the fight against the Black Tiger, you can skip the fight by burning the cobwebs blocking the doors with Chris' flamethrower or using Jill's flame rounds in her grenade launcher, and then leaving since there's nothing important in the boss room. If you don't have ammo for either of those weapons, you can try to use the knife, but it will take longer and you'll leave yourself open to the Black Tiger's attack. Or if you really trust your reflexes, you can trick the Black Tiger into spitting at the door and destroying the webbing that way.
    • If you got your supporting character killed before the fight with the Tyrant, you only have to face it the one time.
  • Sleep Cute: Any of the endings with both Jill and Chris has the former sleeping on the latter's shoulder (this makes sense in a Jill playthrough too, given that she had been dealing with B.O.W.s the entire night while Chris was in a cell during that time). Chris' version of the best ending also has Rebecca doing this.
  • Smoking Is Cool: In the original Japanese PlayStation version, Chris smokes a cigarette during the uncensored cast roll. A haphazard attempt at censoring this in other versions merely overlays footage of Chris from the intro over a still of Chris just standing there. The audio is still the same, and sharp-eared people can still hear Chris lighting his cigarette.
  • Solve the Soup Cans: The game is notorious for its bizarre puzzles, which often require several components scattered all over the mansion. A handwave is offered by explaining that the owner was an almost otaku-like devotee of old spy/horror movies and had the resources to hire an architect who would design the place that could live up to the owner's dreams.
  • Sound of No Damage: In Deadly Silence, during the knife fight against Yawn in the guardhouse, attacking it when it has its mouth closed will create a harmless spark and the sound of scraping metal as if the snake's body is armored.
  • Soundtrack Dissonance: The Japanese PS1 version features an alternate ending credits in which a montage of character and monster deaths are shown while a triumphant J-Rock song (Fumitaka Fuchigami's "Yume de Owarasenai..."/"I Won't Let This End as a Dream...") is played. The PC version uses the localized track "Still Dawn" but keeps the more violent credits montage. Both are strangely incongruous.
  • Speed Run Reward: Finishing the game in three hours or less unlocks a rocket launcher with infinite ammo for the New Game Plus.
  • Spiritual Successor: To Sweet Home. An early trailer even features a rendition of the Sweet Home battle theme. Elements from Sweet Home—a mansion filled with deadly monsters, characters with personalized inventory items, limited supplies, and deadly puzzles—definitely inspired this game. The original game's loading screen doors are also a nod to the opening door animations used in Sweet Home.
  • Squashed Flat: While the shotgun trap has the capability to crush Chris to death on his route, on Jill's route she can be saved by Barry before she becomes a Jill Sandwich. However, this is only if Jill did not encounter Barry after they split up in the main hallway; if Jill did encounter Barry or has already obtained the Armor Key (which unlocks the Broken Shotgun storage room), he will not appear, and Jill must also use the Broken Shotgun to avoid being squashed.
  • The Starscream: Wesker is an inversion. Wesker is the leader of the entire S.T.A.R.S. unit, and Enrico is the second in command to Wesker. Wesker ends up gunning down Enrico in cold blood while the latter is distracted.
  • Stop Poking Me!: In Deadly Silence, Jill and Rebecca will jolt and look around if you tap their breasts or buttocks, while Chris will react in an annoyed way if you tap his hair or be surprised if you tap his butt.
  • Story Branch Favoritism: While Jill and Chris generally have the same gameplay, their stories are quite different with Jill getting most of the lion's share. Jill has a lot of interactions with Barry and he can save her hide twice (once from the ceiling trap, letting her bypass the shotgun exchange puzzle, and the other having him burn Plant 42 with the flamethrower, skipping the fight entirely). You also get to see Barry acting suspiciously around Jill due to Wesker blackmailing him, which adds some conspiracy to the story. If Barry gets killed, his death is played up as very tragic when he leaves behind a photo of his family. By comparison, Chris doesn't interact much with Rebecca and the two of them are more focused on trying to escape the mansion. If Rebecca dies, her death is heavily downplayed compared to Barry's and she's quickly forgotten.
  • Sunglasses at Night: Wesker is given these simply for Rule of Cool and to establish his badass credentials.
  • Super Soldiers: This is the whole point of the Tyrant and B.O.W. program in general.
  • Super Title 64 Advance: The subtitle of the DS version (Deadly Silence).
  • Survival Horror: This game both originated the term and popularized the genre.
  • Swallowed Whole: Yawn has a One-Hit Kill where it grabs the player character and devours them.
  • Take Your Time: When the self-destruct system is activated, the announcement system will constantly blare that you need to evacuate. You can take as much time as you need. Only when you get to the elevator leading to the heliport you will actually need to hurry up thanks to the countdown timer appearing.
  • Threatening Shark: The Neptunes, mutated great white sharks.
  • Title Drop: There was supposed to be one, but you'd never notice thanks to the "Blind Idiot" Translation:
    Chris: Now, the worst possible situation has occurred: The failure of the experiment created a virus, a biological weapon, polluting the entire lab.note 
  • Timed Mission:
    • Jill/Chris has a limited amount of time to get Richard the serum. While you won't get a game over if you take too long, and you have to intentionally take your time due to how long it takes for Richard to die on his own, you will miss out on his radio and pistol ammo (Jill) and Rebecca could potentially be in danger later in the game (Chris).
    • If Chris is poisoned by Yawn, you get to play as Rebecca to get the serum to Chris. However, taking too long will result in Chris dying from the poison and earning you a game over.
  • Too Awesome to Use: The Magnum revolver has only 24 spare rounds. Acid rounds are also very rare. There are only twelve rounds.
  • Unique Enemy: Zombie Forest in Director's Cut and in Rebirth Mode in Deadly Silence.
  • Unusually Uninteresting Sight: If you examine the hole in the room right after you've killed Yawn, Barry will walk in while the giant snake's corpse is dissolving, and ask "Jill, have you found anything interesting?"
  • Updated Re-release: This game received a bunch. There are ports of the original version for the Saturn and Windows PC platforms, each with exclusive content, the Director's Cut and Dual Shock ver. re-releases on PlayStation and Deadly Silence for the Nintendo DS.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: It's possible to get Rebecca killed, but it involves ignoring her for over 10 minutes, much longer than most players will. A much easier way is to exit the room once you find her without killing the Hunter, which will immediately kill her the moment you leave.
  • Violation of Common Sense: Imagine the following situation: You are in the middle of nowhere, you are completely surrounded by deadly monsters, you have no contact with the outside world, and your friends are possibly dying. Why would you stop to practice your piano skills?
  • Waiting Puzzle: When Barry says to wait while he goes to fetch another rope, it'd be a good idea to listen if you want him to make it to the credits.
  • With This Herring: Jill starts out with a loaded pistol, (maybe) one extra magazine of ammo, and a knife. Chris doesn't even start with a gun at first despite having one in the intro. The story justifies this: you're a cop who wasn't expecting to be locked in a mansion crawling with bio-engineered horrors and you just ran a marathon to escape a pack of killer zombie dogs, firing wildly at them in an effort to avoid being eaten.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?:
    • Rebecca is a supporting character for Chris's game and a main character for Zero, but she hasn't been mentioned in the main games since, save for a report found in Resident Evil 2 about the Mansion Incident. She did get some expansion in The Umbrella Chronicles, but it's an interquel showing how she got from the Training Facility at the end of Zero to the library where Chris meets her in this game. She also appears in RE5's Mercenaries Reunion DLC, but that is non-canonical. As of the 2010s, she's been revealed to still be alive, working as a college professor in Australia and is one of the main protagonists in Vendetta.
    • In Chris's scenario, Barry disappears soon after the opening and is never seen or heard from again. Wesker heavily implies that he's dead, but no one ever mentions Barry again after that.
  • Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Raccoon City is "Somewhere in Midwestern America"... except the high, mountainous terrain doesn't really match that region of the country. Fanon sometimes puts it in Pennsylvania or Colorado, which makes a lot more sense geographically, and the overall vegetation and rolling mountains tend to lean more towards Pennsylvania.
  • Women Are Wiser: This is implied, as both Jill and Rebecca are capable of playing piano, though Rebecca does need some practice with the piano first, and messing with chemicals, which Chris can't do. Jill is also blessed with knowing how to use a lockpick and, supposedly, defusing bombs. Contrast with Chris, who loses his handgun in the intro for no apparent reason and is forced to take care of himself with only a knife.
  • You Are Too Late: Alpha Team arrives at the mansion with most of Bravo Team dead or dying.
  • You Have to Burn the Web: When playing as Chris, you can get a flamethrower to fight Black Tiger, which you may then use to burn through the webbing that's holding the door closed. Jill has to settle for chopping it down with her knife or unloading on it with an Incendiary round.
  • Zombie Gait: The game plays this straight; the zombies even have the ability to occasionally make a Deadly Lunge.
  • Zombie Puke Attack: Zombies sometimes do this if the player runs by them in a hallway or staircase, or otherwise isn't able to be grabbed (e.g., if the zombie is on a slightly lower platform).

 
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Alternative Title(s): Resident Evil Deadly Silence

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Resident Evil

The story begins in the fictional American town of Raccoon City in July 1998. Tourism has taken a hit recently thanks to a spate of murders in the Arklay Mountains—each of them cannibalistic in nature. Bravo Team, one-half of Raccoon City's Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) squad, flies out to investigate the area. When the team makes no radio contact a day after their departure, Alpha Team deploys to find them.<br><br>When Alpha Team arrives at the scene, they find a wrecked chopper, a dead pilot, and no one else from Bravo Team, dead or alive. A pack of zombified dogs chase the team members into a nearby mansion. A handful of survivors—team leader Albert Wesker, weapons specialist Barry Burton, and Player Characters Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine—agree to comb the house for stragglers from Bravo Team. Wesker decides it would be a smart idea to split up, and that's when the shit really hits the fan. The mansion's architect, being a fan of spy movies, has enhanced their home security in elaborate ways—but all of the mansion's booby traps don't present nearly the same kind of omnipresent threat as the bio-engineered murder machines shambling down the hallways...

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