History VideoGame / ResidentEvil

[[quoteright:280:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chris_jill0_3461.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:Welcome back to the world of survival horror. Good luck.]]
->"''Itchy.''' Tasty.'''''"
-->-- '''[[ApocalypticLog Keeper's Diary]]'''

'''''Resident Evil''''', known as '''''Biohazard''''' in Japan, is a horror-themed action-adventure game released for the {{PlayStation}} in 1996. It is the first ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' game. The game was conceived when ShinjiMikami's superiors wanted an updated version of their cult horror-themed Famicom RPG ''VideoGame/SweetHome''. With graphics and game design inspired by ''{{Alone in the Dark}}'', ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' went on to become one of {{Capcom}}'s most iconic franchises, spawning several sequels, spinoffs and other media tie-ins, as well as [[TropeNamer coining]] the {{survival horror}} game genre.

On July 1998, the Midwest town of Raccoon City has been whipped into a panic due to a series of horrific murders of residents and tourists alike -- murders where corpses were found to have been partially devoured near the Arklay Mountains. Bravo Team -- one-half of Raccoon City's elite Special Tactics And Rescue Service ([=S.T.A.R.S.=]) -- flew out to investigate the area a day prior, but when no radio contact is received after their departure, Alpha Team is deployed to find them.

Alpha Team discovers upon its arrival to the scene that Bravo Team's helicopter has crashed, its pilot has been mutilated, and there is no sign of Bravo Team's other members. While searching for their comrades, Alpha Team is attacked by a pack of partially-decayed dogs. These savage beasts kill one teammate, then chase the others into what appears to be a deserted mansion. Alpha Team's survivors are team leader Albert Wesker, weapons specialist Barry Burton, [[BadAss Chris Redfield]], and [[ActionGirl Jill Valentine]]. Players can control either Chris or Jill, and their choice determines what other characters they'll see during gameplay -- Chris will run into surviving Bravo Team medic Rebecca Chambers in his story, while Jill is accompanied by Barry. The group [[LetsSplitUpGang separates to investigate the situation]] regardless of character choice -- and that's when trouble ''really'' [[HilarityEnsues breaks loose]].

The mansion turns out to be riddled with {{death trap}}s and inhabited by bio-engineered killing machines; with limited firepower and no idea what's going on, Chris and Jill uncover dark truths about pharmaceutical giant [[MegaCorp Umbrella]] and their captain Wesker as they explore the mansion for their teammates -- and a way out of their nightmare. Ammunition and healing items are limited and the player can only carry a limited amount of items at a time. As a result, item management and knowing when to fight or flee is an essentially part of clearing the game.

[[CapcomSequelStagnation In true Capcom fashion]], the original ''Resident Evil'' saw numerous re-releases in addition to its original form. In 1997, the SegaSaturn and PC both received ports of the original game (both versions offering exclusive new content), while the [=PS1=] got a revised edition titled ''Resident Evil: Director's Cut'', which added a new difficulty setting with different item and enemy placements (it also came packaged with a playable demo of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''). A third edition for the [=PS1=] was released in 1998 titled ''[[ColonCancer Resident Evil: Director's Cut: Dual Shock Version]]'', which added vibration and analog support for the [=DualShock=] controller and featured a different soundtrack. A NintendoDS version was released in 2006 titled ''Resident Evil: Deadly Silence'', which added a [=ReBirth=] difficulty setting with numerous touch screen puzzles and a couple of multiplayer game modes.

In 2002, Capcom produced a completely revamped version for the {{Nintendo GameCube}} in an effort to bring the main series to Nintendo's new home console. This new version, colloquially known among fans as the ''[=REmake=]'', features all new 3D graphics (with full-motion backgrounds), CGI cutscenes (instead of the original's live action FMV), a new soundtrack, redone voice acting, updated play mechanics and storyline revisions to bring it in line with the sequels released at that point. ''[=REmake=]'' has remained a Nintendo-exclusive since its release, with the other version of the game being the {{Wii}} port released in 2008.
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!!This game provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Jill Valentine, Alpha Team's B & A specialist and a [[MemeticMutation Master of Unlocking]], stated in some material to be a former member of the Delta Force.
* AdaptationDyeJob: Sort of, Chris canonically has brown hair, but the actor who plays him in the original game's live-action sequences is a redhead.
* AlwaysNight: The game begins sometime in the evening and finishes at dawn.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie
** In both, ''Resident Evil: Director's Cut'' and the [=GameCube=] version, [[http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091108082807/residentevil/images/4/4a/Ct93_lg.jpg Forest Speyer]] comes back from the dead after being pecked to death by T-Virus infected crows.
** A zombiefied Albert Wesker appears as an enemy in the Saturn version's Battle Mode.
** Taken literally with the letter to Ada from John, who was turning into a zombie.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: 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=].
** 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.
** The DS version has a ninja outfit for Chris, a policewoman costume (complete with sexy miniskirt) for Jill and a cheerleader suit for Rebecca.
** The [=GameCube=] version has an entirely new set of alternate costumes, including Jill's and Chris' outfits from ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'' respectively.
* AnimeThemeSong: The original Japanese [=PS1=] version had two. One was an opening theme titled "Kouri no Manazashi", meaning "Icy Gaze" and an ending theme titled "Yume De Owarasenai", translated to "I Won't Let This End As A Dream". Other versions, including the Japanese re-releases (such as both ''Director's Cuts'' and the Saturn port) use the instrumental "Still Dawn" instead. Both, ShinjiMikami and HidekiKamiya, admit that the songs were only included in the Japanese version due to {{executive meddling}} due to a contract Capcom had with a record company and that the developers were actually opposed to their inclusion.
* ApocalypticLog: Tons of these are scattered around to provide backstory, clues, and general atmosphere. Also, the saving mechanism consists of using ribbons on a type writer, technically making an ApocalypticLog of the player's exploits. [[NightmareFuel 4// Itchy. Tasty.]]
* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever:
** 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 (a giant shark).
** This does not explain Yawn, an infected snake that's grown to about the length of a bus, or Plant 42, which covers an entire room in the Residence and no longer resembles any natural plant.
* AwesomeButImpractical: 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.
* {{Badass}}: All of the main characters. Greatly supported by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXutugd67DA this live action cast intro sequence.]]
* TheBattleDidntCount: While playing as Jill, the very first zombie the player encounters can be killed while still in the hallway, but he will always be revived and follow Jill into the dining room for Barry to kill. In the [=GC=] version, after the he is killed by Barry, the zombie will get back up and return to the hallway, where he will still be walking or lying dead depending on whether Jill killed him earlier or not.
* BigBad:
** The Umbrella Corporation who is responsible for unleashing the various abominations.
** More directly in this game, [[spoiler:Wesker]].
* BigBoosHaunt: The mansion could be considered a more "mundane" version of this trope. No ghosts, just zombies and some other critters.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: The first casualty of Bravo Team found by the player is Kenneth, the [[TokenMinority only black member]] of S.T.A.R.S. However, Joseph Frost is the first character to be killed on-screen and before that, Alpha Team finds the disembodied hand[=/=]mutilated corpse of Bravo Team's pilot (implied to be Edward Dewey in the [=PS1=] version, but later explicitly shown to be a different character named Kevin Dooley in the [=GC=] version).
** If put in canonical order, the deaths are: Kevin Dooley, Edward Dewey (as shown in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''), Joseph Frost from Alpha Team, Kenneth J. Sullivan, Richard Aiken, and Enrico Marini (Alpha team's helicopter pilot, Brad, gets killed off in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis''). According to supplementary materials, the gunshot heard in the first in-game cutscene was shot by Kenneth, so by this, the black dude died ''fourth.''
* BlandNameProduct: While the original [=PS1=] version used real brand names for the firearms used by the player (Beretta, Remington and the Colt Python), the [=GC=] version changed them to generic names instead (the Colt Python in particular became the Silver Serpent).
* BlindIdiotTranslation: The original [=PlayStation=] version was notorious for its bad translation and Z-grade acting (both, in the live action FMV and in the actual game's voice acting). Subsequent games, and the [=GameCube=] version, toned this down, mainly due to better budgets. Some lines actually become iconic and were kept as continuity nods.
** What's more ironic about it 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 the game used English voice actors throughout the game and yet the voice actors read from a script that had obviously improper English.
* BodyHorror: The zombies, the B.O.W.s, Lisa Trevor from the [=REmake=].
* BoldInflation:
** Barry Burton is particularly prone to this.
** Even Wesker gets a moment of this earlier on, where he seems to be channelling Barry:
--> '''Wesker''': STOP IT! Don't OPEN that DOOR!
* BoringButPractical: With the Handgun in the ''[=REmake=]'', it can actually be better to aim ''downwards'' at the knees of zombies when shooting them than at their heads. The chance to blow out a kneecap seems to be slightly better than getting a headshot, and (somehow) this also instantly kills them ''and'' prevents Crimson Head transformation.
* {{Bowdlerize}}: 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 FMV. Notably, Chris' intro and ending were altered which originally has him [[SmokingIsCool lighting a cigarette]].
** There's also a brief snippit of the first game's zombie (pictured above) [[NightmareFuel ripping off Kenneth's head]] when Chris/Jill finds him. This is cut from the international releases.
* BroadStrokes: 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 from 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.
** Even the revised ending in Jill's scenario from the GC version, where [[spoiler:Wesker survives and escapes]] isn't consistent with the sequels, since there Wesker doesn't get gored on the Tyrant's claw, ergo rendering [[spoiler:Wesker's revival, future vendetta against Chris and his infection with the prototype virus]] utterly nonsensical. Then again, the virus may play in on his survival from [[spoiler:Barry's gunshot]].
* ButThouMust: Attempting to leave the mansion from the front door will just invite in a zombie dog. The [=PS1=] version just shows an FMV scene where the dog stick its head into the door and the player character hurriedly closing it. In the GC version, the dog manages to invite itself in and after disposing, the player will refuse to open the door from that point on.
* CaptainObvious: "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.
* ClownCarGrave: 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 doors in the ''[=REmake=]'' (well, a few can in the PS1 version), but there are still instances where Chris/Jill will come from a completely zombie free area, and then have a zombie come into the room from right behind them! There are also instances of [[FromBadToWorse Clown Car Hunters]].
* TheDanza: Subverted with Barry's FMV/voice actor, Barry Gjerde; the actor's real name is [[AwesomeMcCoolname Oddbjorn Egil Gerde.]]
* DescendingCeiling: The origin of the immortal "Jill Sandwich" quote. Jill can grab the shotgun and escape with Barry's help, whereas Chris (who has no backup up to this point) will have to replace the shotgun with a replica, ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''-style.
* DifficultyByRegion: The Japanese version of the original game has an auto-aiming function, more ink ribbons, and more ammo available. The overseas versions were made harder so that less players could complete it in a single rental.
* DiscOneNuke: Using the Grenade Launcher glitch in the GC version can make the game very easy.
* DistressedDamsel: Rebecca Chambers, 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 GC version.
* DoomedByCanon: It is actually possible to rescue Richard in the GC version by delivering the serum to him on time. However, he will simply end up being killed off at a later point of the game, since the plot of the sequels requires the deaths of all the S.T.A.R.S. members except for the main characters ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Brad]]).
* DroneOfDread: The remake's soundtrack has a number of these, such as "Lost in Darkness"(second floor), "Narrow and Close"(basement), "The Encounter"(Lisa's cabin), "Ivy's Domain"(guest house), and "Rush of Horror"(second floor revisited). That last example is especially creepy with its use of near-infrasound low frequency drones. Also present to a lesser extent in the original, such as in the revisited mansion and the underground areas.
* EnterSolutionHere
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The live action opening and ending sequences in the original [=PlayStation=] version. They were redone entirely in CGI in the [=GameCube=] version in order to bring it in line with the rest of the series.
** This is also the only game in the series where there are no semi-automatic weapons 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 (again, sensible for the setting), and oddly enough, it probably has the ''most'' enemies that can inflict poison on you (and it's still not a lot).
* EasterEgg: Beat the extra modes in the remake, specifically Invisible Enemy in under 5 hours or less and you get a [[http://ironmouse.za.org.nyud.net:8090/dragon/jill/006/022302.jpg secret photo]].
* EliteMooks: Hunters appear inside the mansion once you've explored the Residence, replacing many of the (much slower) zombies.
* ElitesAreMoreGlamorous: 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.
* [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Even Genetic Freaks Love Their Mamas]]: Lisa Trevor is still wandering through the catacombs, looking for her mother.
* EverybodysDeadDave: 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 [[CaptainObvious (except for each other and Rebecca/Barry)]]. You can end the game with the playable character being the only one that survives as well.
* EvilIsHammy
* FaceRevealingTurn: The first zombie encountered in-game, famously.
* FacialHorror: Lisa stitched together the faces of her assorted victims, wearing them like as a mask. In later playthroughs, you do get a brief peek at her real face.
* FakeNationality: The actor who plays Barry in the FMV sequences (and in-game; he's the only actor to both do the FMVs and do a game voice) is Norwegian, while the in-game voice for Jill (Una Kavanaugh) is Irish.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In the original, you could not save Richard. The only difference getting the serum to him on time makes is whether you get his radio or not. In the ''[=REmake=]'', you can save him, but he suffers a PlotlineDeath shortly afterwards.
* FauxActionGirl: Rebecca Chambers.
* FinalDeath: Losing Rebecca in Chris' scenario or Barry in Jill's scenario is permanent:
** If you leave Rebecca alone for too long after saving/not saving Richard, a Hunter kills her.
** In the original game, splitting up with Barry in the sewers 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).
** In the remake, if you don't give Barry the magnum during the Lisa Trevor fight, she'll launch him off a cave wall into an abyss.
*** Even if you *do* give him his gun back, it's still possible for him to be knocked off the platform and killed if Lisa decides that he's more worth going after than you (which isn't often, but it ''can'' happen). Interestingly, the same thing can also happen to Wesker during this boss fight if you are playing Chris's scenario, but unlike Barry he still shows up later in the laboratory anyway.
* {{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 [[EarlyBirdCameo Ada]] [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 Wong]] can be found in both versions, but in the original game, the password to unlock the laboratories is [[spoiler: [[TheMole MOLE]]]].
** The [=REmake=] adds a file that mentions [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Alexia]] and the G-Virus.
* GeniusBonus - A password in the final Laboratory must be decoded from runes in an ApocalypticLog. The players is ''supposed'' to switch black-lights in the room, which will change some runes on the painting in the corner to the English equivalent. That gives the player enough letter-rune combinations to decode the encrypted password.
** That's not the genius bonus. The bonus is that the runes used to encode the password are authentic historical [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runes futharc]] runes. Consulting an encyclopedia permitted the player to translate/decode the password directly.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: The Black Tiger. A giant Australian funnelweb spider.
* GiantSpider: They make their first appearance in the Watchhouse then take up residence when you return to the mansion. The Director's Cut had a surprise in that it added more, and the remake kept the huntsman\tarantula\wolf design for the normal variety and reskinned the Black Tiger into the highly venomous and aggressive funnelweb.
* GoshHornet: In one segment, your character must get an important item that somehow wound up under a giant hornet's nest. In the remake, you have to kill the nest with insecticide first.
* GrenadeLauncher: Jill gets one from Forest Speyer's corpse.
* GuideDangIt
** Knowing exactly ''when'' to fire the rocket at the second Tyrant boss fight.
** 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 Doom Book 1 and 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, revealing the needed medals.
** The MultipleEndings also count towards this. Depending on your actions and where you explore, you could have your support character killed off either early in the game or near the end and it's not always easy to tell what actions lead to which scenario. For example, the trap that triggers when you take the shotgun requires a broken shotgun in the display case so that it holds down the levers to stop the trap. However, when playing as Jill, it's possible to get the shotgun without needing the broken shotgun in its place due to a scene where both doors in the trap room are locked and Barry comes in time to save Jill. To even see this scene, after Jill and Barry split in the main hall, you have to go directly to the east side of the mansion and get the shotgun. If you go somewhere else first and meet Barry in a different spot, then this scene doesn't trigger.
* HandWave: 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'', ''[=REmake=]'', ''Deadly Silence'' and the ''[=RE1=]'' scenarios of ''Umbrella Chronicles''), it is impossible to have Barry and Rebecca in the scenario simultaneously, and Capcom has never offered a concrete explanation for what happened in their surviving aside from, "They just ''did''." There does exist a pachislot adaptation of the game that finally features all 4 of them together at least.
** Funnily enough, having Rebecca die/disappear during the Mansion Incident would not have changed the following story at all, because she was [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome never mentioned again]] post-''[=RE2=]'' (Barry cameos at the end of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' and is mentioned in that game's epilogue).
** A comic book adaptation of the game took a MindScrew 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. Jill tries to correct him, about to say that ''Chris'' was in the cell, but he cuts her off.
* HarderThanHard: [=REmake's=] ''Real Survival'' mode. Auto-aim is disabled, and item boxes are no longer linked which means if you leave something in one box, you have to trek all the way back to said box to retrieve it. This is especially painful with Chris as he can only hold six items at a time, so planning far ahead what and what not to take is absolutely critical. Oh, and the difficulty is also locked on Hard, which means much less ammo and health pickups all-around. Good luck.
** ''Invisible Enemy'' mode also qualifies. You'd better have memorized the positions of every enemy in the game, as they're now [[CaptainObvious completely invisible]] (except when hitting you) and auto-aim is also disabled. One saving grace is that unlike the mode above, item boxes are still linked and you can choose your difficulty.
** To a lesser extent, ''One Dangerous Zombie''. A zombified Forest Speyer chases after you at a lot of set points, can match your running speed, and the bandolier of grenades he's wearing means shoot him once and they go boom and kill you too.
* HiddenSupplies: 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, enough so to make players reluctant to leave.
* HisNameIs: Enrico is shot by an unseen assailant ([[spoiler:Wesker]]) moments after he reveals there's a mole.
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Chris is much larger than Rebecca and Barry is much larger than Jill.
* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: 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 version unless you've played the game before.
** A much more traditional example occurs in the GC version, in which the game's Easy and Normal modes are labelled "Hiking" and "Mountain Climbing" respectively when you start a new game for the first time.
* ImplacableMan: Lisa Trevor and [[spoiler:Forest Speyer in NewGamePlus mode]] in the [=REmake=]. The latter is particularly irritating as attempting to defend yourself against him will trigger an instant Game Over.
* InsurmountableWaistHighFence: One of the doors in the [=REmake=] is so rickety that the knob falls off if you go through too many times, but the combat-boot wearing protagonists will never kick it in. [[{{Padding}} It's a blatant game lengthener]]. In "Real Survival" mode, that doorknob never breaks, though.
** Or, knowing that it's about to happen, the character will never do anything so bold as leave the door open to allow unrestricted access, considering the fact that it's a very useful shortcut.
* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: 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.
* KillItWithFire: In the [=REmake=], after you kill a zombie, unless you used a flame round with the grenade launcher or managed to get a [[BoomHeadshot headshot]] you need to use a flask of kerosene and a lighter to burn the corpse (you can also try blowing its knees off). Otherwise it will remain where you dropped it until it transforms into a [[DemonicSpiders Crimson Head]].
* KingMook: Crimson Head Prototype 1 in the [=GC=] version, who is the only Crimson Head needed to be killed to complete the game.
** Forest (AKA the One Dangerous Zombie) can match the main character in running speed, hits harder, and intentionally pops up at the least opportune times. [-(Also he's covered in grenades and if you shoot him he goes plooey.)-]
* LargeHam:
** Barry 'WHAT IS THIS!' Burton.
** Wesker in all versions.
* LateArrivalSpoiler: [[spoiler: Albert Wesker is a mole working for Umbrella.]] It is sort of hard to avoid knowing this now, especially since he is the BigBad of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'', and appears in a villainous role is ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''.
* LetsSplitUpGang: Three of the S.T.A.R.S. make it to the mansion together then promptly decide to split up. Seems like a bonehead move [[spoiler:[[FridgeBrilliance until you remember that it was Wesker's order and he's working against the others]]]].
* LonelyPianoPiece: There literally is a piano in the Spencer Mansion, and Jill and Rebecca use it to melodically play ''Moonlight Sonata''.
* LostForever: In the [=REmake=], once the self-destruct in the laboratory is triggered (only if Barry or Rebecca are alive), a PointOfNoReturn is created due to the entry elevator being disabled which prevents you from backtracking to the mansion and other areas. If you missed the [[spoiler:MO Disk in the tiger statue]] and you saved your game at this point, then rescuing your partner becomes impossible. In ''Real Survival'' mode, all items in item boxes not in the laboratory also become inaccessible when the self destruct is triggered.
* MadeOfExplodium: The remake has an unlockable mode where a certain zombie has a ton of explosives strapped to his body and one bullet to him will instantly kill you and destroy half the mansion.
* MadeOfIron: 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.
* MalevolentArchitecture: Mostly in a platonic sense, but there are a few deathtraps, ridiculous puzzles and secret passages scattered around.
* ManEatingPlant: 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.
* MasterOfUnlocking: [[TropeNamer Jill]], given by Barry.
* TheMedic: Rebecca Chambers.
* {{Minigame}}
** The Saturn port was the first title in the series to feature a minigame in the form of "Battle Game", later resurrected and refined in ''[=RE2=]'' and ''Code: Veronica''. Said minigame featured a few unique enemies such as a ''zombie'' Wesker and a golden Tyrant.
** The DS version added "Master of Knifing" mode and two multiplayer minigames. Notable since this is the only time in the series where the other Bravo Team members besides Rebecca were playable characters.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Albert Wesker]], who turns out to be an Umbrella employee [[spoiler:leading the S.T.A.R.S. team to destruction]] to test the [=BOWs=].
* MultipleEndings: There are seven different outcomes, albeit all of them end with the players escaping via helicopter:
** The best two endings has the chosen player (Chris or Jill) save both their partner (Barry for Jill, Rebecca for Chris) and the other protagonist (the one who was not chosen spends most of the game in a prison cell), and the mansion is destroyed.
** The second endings have either Chris or Jill save only their partners (not the other protagonist), and the mansion is destroyed.
** The third ending (the only one that's the same for either scenario) has only Chris and Jill surviving and not saving their partners, and the mansion remains intact.
** The worst endings have only the chosen player character survive, and the mansion remains intact.
** For the DualShock version of the game, the ending music is triumphant when the mansion is destroyed, and tragic when it's intact. It seems weird having that music play when Jill realizes that Chris was in that mansion that was recently blown up!
** In ''[=REmake=]'', the player's partner will assist the protagonist during the final battle with the Tyrant. It's possible for the partner to die during this battle, resulting in an alternate ending where the mansion will blow up and only Chris and/or Jill escape without Barry or Rebecca.
* NextSundayAD: The original was released in 1996, and takes place in 1998. By the time the sequel (which takes place two months later) came along, it ''was'' 1998, so the whole near-future angle was dropped from the series (at least until ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'').
* NitroExpress: The remake has you refuel the laboratory's power generator, which requires you to walk slowly while carrying the fuel to avoid exploding.
* NoBodyLeftBehind: Played straight, with the exception of regular zombies in the [=REmake=], whose corpses remain unless you destroy their heads or use fire to burn them; they later revive, turning into [[DemonicSpiders Crimson Heads]], heavily bleeding zombies with nasty claws and gaseous breath. You have limited amounts of fuel with which to burn them, too. This served to heighten the tension in the game by making it unsafe to backtrack unless you meticulously burned every zombie you could, but it probably wasn't popular enough to warrant continuing, because the next game that got made, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', ignored the whole Crimson Head thing.
** The lead director of ''[=RE0=]'' stated that the Crimson Heads were purposely omitted, because backtracking was downplayed in that game, making their inclusion pretty pointless. He regretted the decision, since players who experienced the ''[=REmake=]'' [[NightmareFetishist were completely terrified by]] the Crimson Heads.
*** Anyone who has played Resident Evil 0 will quickly discover that there is ''plenty'' of backtracking involved, especially on the train and inside the Training Facility, so that is not much of an excuse. If anything, Crimson Heads probably were included in very early development (along with Molotov Cocktails needed to burn dead Zombies) but ultimately scrapped and replaced by the Leech Zombies.
*** It's highly unlikely that Crimson Heads were ever part of ''Zero'', considering the game came out a mere 7 months after the [=REmake=] and was actually in development long before the remake (it started off as a ''Nintendo 64'' project).
* OneHitKill: In the original game, Hunters can decapitate you by simply swatting at your head. The Hunters in the GC version are [[BadassDecay notably weaker]], but can still slit your throat (resulting in game over) if they get close.
* PersonalSpaceInvader: The zombies grapple you and try to chew you. In the [=REmake=], you're even able to find items that allow you to avoid taking damage by instead ramming a small knife in their head, tazing them, or ramming a flashbang grenade into their mouth which promptly [[YourHeadAsplode blows their head up]] due to [[strike: them biting it]] Chris pulling the ring.
* PlotlineDeath: Richard Aiken is doomed to die. In the original game, he would die whether you gave him the antidote serum or not and doing so or not only decided if you'd get his radio or not. In the [=REmake=], if you give him the serum, he'll survive, but consequently get himself eaten by either Yawn (in Jill's scenario) or Neptune (in Chris's scenario). However, if he dies in this way, he leaves you his assault shotgun, which is a much better weapon then the ordinary shotgun you found.
* RaisingTheSteaks: The zombified dogs are a series mainstay. Justified in that they were one of the experimental lines of B.O.W. being created in the mansion.
* RevivingEnemy: In the GameCube remake, zombies that aren't completly destroyed via decapitation or KillItWithFire come back as Crimson Heads after a while (making simply avoiding them a better option sometimes).
* SayMyName: '''''REBECCAAAAAAA!'''''
* SeeYouInHell: Wesker doesn't take kindly to getting winged by Barry's revolver.
-->'''Wesker''' ([=REmake=]): Jill and Barry, together...in hell!
* SelfDestructMechanism: The mansion is rigged to explode in order to either prevent a major biohazard outbreak or destroy evidence. Naturally, it gets triggered at the game's end.
* ShakyPOVCam: [=REmake=]'s Richard about to get gulped down by Yawn.
** The first appearance of the Hunter in both versions.
* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ResidentEvil See here.]]
* SkippableBoss: It is possible to skip the first fight with Yawn by just running in a grabbing the item you need, and then running back out. He will still be there if you go back in afterwards though.
* SmokingIsCool: Chris smokes a cigarette during the uncensored cast intro. A haphazard attempt at censoring this in other versions merely overlays footage of Chris from the intro over a still of Chris jsut standing there.
* SolveTheSoupCans: The game is notorious for its bizarre puzzles, which often require several components scattered all over the mansion. An attempted HandWave is offered in the owner being an almost {{Otaku}}-like devotee of old spy and horror movies who is wealthy enough to hire an indiscriminating architect to design the place to live up to his dreams.
* SoundtrackDissonance: The Japanese [=PS1=] version features an alternate ending credits in which a montage of character deaths are shown while a triumphant J-Rock song is played.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/SweetHome'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpiYBDjvIJE&feature=feedrec_grec_index this]] ad even used some music from Sweet Home.
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Albert Wesker]] is an inversion of the trope. Wesker is the leader of the entire S.T.A.R.S. unit, and [[spoiler:Enrico Marini]] is the second in command to Wesker. [[spoiler:Wesker ends up gunning down Enrico down in cold blood while the latter is distracted. From behind, no less.]]
* SleepCute: Any of the endings where Jill and Chris survive together has Jill sleeping on Chris' shoulder.
* SuicideAttack: The [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast One Dangerous Zombie]] (i.e. Forrest). Upon unlocking him, Forrest chases you around the mansion while wearing a grenade-covered vest.
* SunglassesAtNight: Wesker. Apparently simply for RuleOfCool or to establish his {{badass}} credentials.
* SuperSoldiers: The whole point of the Tyrant and, indeed, the Bio-Organic Weapons program in general.
* SuperTitle64Advance: The subtitle of the DS version ('''''D'''eadly '''S'''ilence'').
* SurvivalHorror: Originator of the term. Also popularized the genre.
* TakingTheBullet: Poor Richard. Even if you manage to cure him, he ends up shielding Jill from a giant snake or shielding Chris from a giant shark, getting [[SwallowedWhole devoured]] in the process. Rebecca does not take it well.
* TentacleRope: In the [=REmake=], Plant 42 uses these to pull the player into its bulb-chamber from the flooded ring even if they used the poison on it (in the previous editions, the poison automatically killed Plant 42).
* ThreateningShark: The Neptunes - mutated great white sharks.
* TorturedAbomination: [[spoiler:Lisa Trevor]] is a twisted mockery of a woman who's been trapped in a constantly-mutating, undying body for thirty years, and was driven insane by her ordeal a long time ago.
* TragicMonster: The [=REmake=]'s Lisa Trevor.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: If you examine the hole in one of the giant snake rooms right after you've killed it, Barry will walk into the room, possibly walk ''through'' the giant snake's dissolving corpse, and ask "Jill, have you found anything interesting?"
* UpdatedRerelease: ''Director's Cut'' and ''DUAL SHOCK Ver.'' on [=PlayStation=] and ''Deadly Silence'' on DS. Then there's the [=GameCube=] remake, which is an entire remake with all-new graphics and play mechanics. The [=GCN=] version was later released for the Wii and there's also ports of the PS original for the Saturn and Windows PC that added new content too.
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: 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.
** In the remake, you can refuse giving Barry his revolver back, which gets him killed by Lisa. However, it is highly recommended to not do so in a speed run as you will not have to fight the final boss (saving a few minutes), and his magnum is the second-most powerful weapon in the game capable of killing almost anything with one shot, including the Tyrant (again, saving a minute or two).
* WithThisHerring: You start out with a loaded pistol, maybe one extra clip of ammo, and a knife. Justified in that you're a cop who wasn't expecting to be locked into a house 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.
* WhatHappenedToMommy: Lisa Trevor.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Rebecca Chambers is a supporting character for Chris's game and a main character for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' yet hasn't been mentioned since, save for a report about what happened seen in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.
** She did get some expansion in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles The Umbrella Chronicles]]'', but it's an interquel showing how she got from the Training Facility at the end of 0 to the library where Chris meets her in this game. She does appear in ''[=RE5=]'''s Mercenaries Reunion DLC, but that is non-canonical.
** In Chris's game, Barry disappears soon after the opening and is never seen or heard from again. Wesker heavily implies that he's dead, but he is never brought up again by anyone.
* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is Raccoon City]]: "Somewhere in Midwestern America"... except [[TheMountainsOfIllinois the high, mountainous terrain]] doesn't really match that region of the country. {{Fanon}} sometimes puts it in Pennsylvania or Colorado instead.
* WorstAid: When Rebecca offers to treat Chris's wounds in [=REmake=], the cutscene basically consists of her looking at Chris's sleeve, a brief blackout, and then her telling him he's all better now. [[http://paladin12345678.deviantart.com/art/Welcome-to-Umbrella-Chp-11-130930219 Parodied in this chapter of the Resident Evil fanfic Welcome to Umbrella]].
* YouHaveToBurnTheWeb: When playing Chris, you can get a flamethrower to fight Black Tiger which you can then use to burn through the webbing holding the door closed. Jill has to settle for chopping it down with her knife or unloading on it with an Incendiary round.
* YoureInsane: [=REmake=] treats us to "[[spoiler:Wesker]], you've become senile!"
* ZombieGait: Played straight, including with the ability to occasionally make a DeadlyLunge. The [=REmake=]'s [[DemonicSpiders Crimson Heads]] however avert it, being capable of running constantly and moving even faster then the player can.
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** This is also the only game in the series where there are no semi-automatic weapons 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, and oddly enough, it probably has the ''most'' enemies that can inflict poison on you (and it's still not a lot).

* FloorboardFailure

''This game has a [[ShoutOut/ResidentEvil1 Shout Out]] page.''

* ZombieApocalypse: Does anything need to be said?