The Complete History of Resident Evil

Horror, action, zombies and tank controls. Oh My! Welcome to MojoPlays – today, we’re taking a look at the origins of what is arguable the greatest Video Game Horror Franchise of all time: (“Resident Evil”.) Back in the early '90s, Capcom was well established as a trailblazer following hits like "Street Fighter II" and the "Mega Man" franchise. With the 3D era on the horizon, the publisher set its sights on redefining the horror scene. That’s not to say ghoulish games had yet to be a thing; however, with the industry moving in 3D in the mid to late 90’s; gaming was becoming move immersive than ever before. So, who did Capcom single out as the visionary to guide this new project home? That person ended up being none other than Shinji Mikami. He cut his teeth on a slew of Disney video game adaptations; prior to working on “Resident Evil,” the director had no experience handling horror games. Luckily, Tokuro Fujiwara – who directed several of Capcom's early titles – handed the assignment to the inexperienced developer. "Resident Evil" or “Biohazard” as it’s known by in its native Japan was not created in a vacuum. According to Mikami, the initial plan was to modernize the 1989 Japan only Famicom title: "Sweet Home" for the 3D era. Created by Capcom and directed by Tokuro Fujiwara, "Sweet Home" introduced various mechanics later expanded upon in "Biohazard." Along with sharing a similar item management system, both games take place within a mansion, contain somewhat obtuse puzzles, and reveal plot points through collectibles. One of “Resident Evil 7’s” hidden VHS tapes even pays homage to “Sweet Home’s" storyline. At the time, the horror genre was not exactly known for producing sure-fire commercial hits. "Biohazard" was regarded as just another project and Mikami often worked alone during the initial concept forming stage. As development picked up steam, the team grew to approximately 80 people. Nobody – including Mikami – expected “Biohazard/Resident Evil” to become such a massive hit. Mikami set out to foster a threatening atmosphere that forced users to play a proactive role during encounters. Zombies present an immediate physical danger that, for example, Japanese spirits lack. Similar to approximately 90% of modern zombie flicks, George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” served as an inspiration. Although the “Biohazard/Resident Evil” franchise comfortably ranks among Capcom’s greatest earners, the original game was not designed to please a wide audience. In a comprehensive interview included in 1997’s “The True Story Behind BIO HAZARD,” Mikami compares “Biohazard” to beer, a strong drink loved by some but definitely not for everyone. While a few things fell into place, “Biohazard” was still a long way off from completion. In order to help shape the story and characters, designer Isao Ōishi and writer Kenichi Iwao joined the development team. Two of Iwao’s contributions consisted of changing the characters from cyborgs to normal humans and establishing the Umbrella Corporation as the central villain. “Biohazard’s” cast of American heroes began to take shape, with the developers settling on Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Rebecca Chambers, and Albert Wesker. Originally, the roster also included a comedic African American named Dewey and a hulking behemoth called Gelzer, but both men failed to make the final cut. The initial idea was to produce a completely 3D version of “Sweet Home,” which meant opting for a first-person perspective. “DOOM” and “Wolfenstein” had already taken the gaming industry by storm, and the camera angle seemed to promote the sense of fear desired by Mikami. A first-person prototype was produced featuring Japanese spirits instead of zombies, although very little information about this demo has been made public. Alas, the PlayStation’s hardware constraints proved too steep of a hurdle to overcome, prompting the director to begrudgingly shift to a 3rd person view. Crafting detailed 3D environments was also beyond the console's capabilities. A solution arrived in the form of 1992’s “Alone in the Dark,” a earlier survival horror game pairing pre-rendered sets with 3D enemies and objects. With the environments consisting of terrifying but static images, “Biohazard” could allocate more resources to crafting detailed monsters. The fixed camera was also selected to help heighten the tension by limiting a player's perspective to a single area. On a slightly less positive note, “Biohazard/Resident Evil’s” infamous tank controls are a byproduct of the shift to static angles and a third-person perspective. “Biohazard/Resident Evil’s” iconic design and aesthetic can partly be credited to the technological constraints encountered during production. In 1995, Capcom unveiled previews of a prototype featuring cooperative gameplay, an element inspired by “Sweet Home’s” five playable characters. While co-op would eventually be introduced in the 2003 online multiplayer spinoff: “Resident Evil Outbreak,” 1996 was a tad too soon for a 3D two-player adventure. Other dropped features included real-time weapon swapping and an early rendition of the graveyard, though the latter was restored in the 2002 GameCube remake. Unlike “Sweet Home,” “Biohazard” targeted an international market. Capcom’s North American division changed the title from “Biohazard” to “Resident Evil” due to a trademark issue with New York based metal band going by “Biohazard.” They also ramped up the difficulty so the campaign needed more than a quick rental to be completed. The most significant alteration was excluding the Japanese version’s auto-aim function, which made it all that more likely for a zombie to trigger a panic attack in players. Originally the game had both English & Japanese Voice Acting, however the team was disappointed by the awful acting put on by the Japanese actors. Ultimately it was decided that due to the American setting, the studio elected to use only English voice acting for all versions. Little did they know that English track wasn’t that much better. Following an exhausting development cycle, in 1996, Capcom published “Resident Evil” to critical acclaim and – surprisingly – commercial success. According to VGChartz, Capcom’s experimental horror game is the 15th top-selling title on the PlayStation 1.“Resident Evil” was such a big hit, that not only did development on a sequel commenced instantly, but two rereleases of the first game in the form of a Director’s Cut and A Dual Shock supported version. The franchise’s continued to go from strength to strength, with the string of similar success stories with Resident Evil’s 2, 3, & Code Veronica. Capcom was on a roll. We got a film series. We don’t like to speak of that series … Moving On! Between 1999 & 2004 “Resident Evil 4” underwent very troubled development period, with the game having gone through multiple project restarts. Eventually the game set on embracing a more action-oriented tone, but it still managed to preserve the series’ trademark horror atmosphere while shifting the perspective to an over-the-shoulder angle, a decision that would eventually become the industry standard for all third-person shooters, as Resident Evil 4 was an astounding critical and commercial success. We have another video on that game's development history if you'd like to find out more. Shortly after “Resident Evil 4’s” Development concluded however, Shinji Mikami left Capcom to help form the short lived: “Clover Studio”, though he left that company after only 2 years and would go on to join PlatinumGames, before forming his own studio in 2010 with “Tango Gameworks”, where he would produce “The Evil Within” and it’s sequel. Both games drew heavy inspiration on “Resident Evil” After RE4’s success, Capcom decided to double-down on the action at the expense of the franchise’s roots without Mikami. Considering 2009’s “Resident Evil 5” and 2012’s “Resident Evil 6” outsold the previous four entries, the publisher’s plan worked, at least on a commercial level. However, success arrived at the cost of the license’s reputation, with “Resident Evil 6” proving to be especially divisive. Capcom UK’s head of marketing Dave Turner would later go on to say that Resident Evil 6’s action heavy direction was intended to attract fans of “Call of Duty”. A statement that angered fans of the franchises original horror direction, many of whom saw this as a betrayal of Mikami’s original vision. Not all was lost for the series however. In the same year as “Resident Evil 6”, Capcom also released “Resident Evil: Revelations” on the Nintendo 3DS. This game opted to retain the claustrophobic maze like horror corridors of the original Resident Evil titles, while also including the 3rd person over the shoulder action of “Resident Evil 4”. That game received better critical reception than “6”, and as a result; Capcom released an episodic based sequel in 2015, though critical reception wasn’t as strong as it’s predecessor. It wouldn’t be until 2017 that the mainline series would finally return to its horror roots. “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” finally brought to life Mikami’s original vision of an immersive first-person freight-fest. That momentum of confined horror is still going thanks to the recent critical and commercial success of the incredible “Resident Evil 2” remake, Even more exciting is that “Resident Evil 8” has now officially entered development. The future of the series looks better than ever, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.