While the original Resident Evil didn't invent the survival horror genre, it perfected it. A game for the ages.
Lows: Not as scary as it once was, atrocious backtracking, only 6 item slots for Chris, easy to get lost.
Verdict: Even though it hasn't held up as well as it should have, the original Resident Evil is still one of the most important titles in video game history, as people still play it even to this day.
There has been survival horror games that came out before the original Resident Evil. There was the Clock Tower series, there was Castlevania, and more. But those games didn't really give us the true feeling of "survival horror". Those games didn't really give us the true feeling of being scared and being forced to conserve our resources. Then in 1996, Capcom straigtened up the genre, as they brought out Resident Evil for Sony's new PlayStation and a year later for the Sega Saturn. In Resident Evil, you play as either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield as they enter a mansion (depending on who you play as) filled with zombies and they must find out who is behind some recent cannibalistic murders in a forest outside of Raccoon City. If you play as Jill first, you need to rescue Chris in the end, if you play as Chris first, it's the other way around. As you explore the mansion, you will enounter lots of zombies, and other dangerous creatures along the way. You also have to solve puzzles too to get some key items like keys and what have you. There are all sorts of different weapons to use as well, ranging from your standard handgun, to a shotgun, grenade launcher, and a magnum. The graphics are decent as some of the CG animation done in this game is pretty good. The game does a great job of using the Metroidvania-style of gameplay as there are save points, lots of exploring to do, and you need keys to access different areas of the mansion. Even though the voice acting is terrible, it's very enjoyable as it will make you laugh your a$$ off. There are some problems however. Chris can only carry 6 items compared to Jill's 8, the backtracking is totally insane as it can make you get lost around the way, Some of the enemies are overpowered, annoying and unfair (like the tyrant), and after 17 years now, the game really isn't as scary as it once was. Still, that dosen't mean it's no longer a classic. The original Resident Evil is still a fantastic game to play, as it still holds high replay value, and people still play it today. It may have gotten a better remake on the GameCube in 2002, but while I compared the two, I prefer this over the remake. Some may argue that the Sega Saturn port which came out a year later is the superior version, but you can't go wrong with either version because if you still own a PSone or Saturn, this is a must have. Don't miss out on this important piece of video game history.