To celebrate the oncoming CG Resident Evil film - "Resident Evil: Degeneration", I've decided to come up with a Top 10 Facts about the game!
1. “Resident Evil” or “Biohazard” as it is better known in Japan, was renamed as the former name for Western release in order to avoid copyright infringement with New York 80s punk-metal band “Biohazard”.
2. For main developer Shinji Mikami, his main inspiration behind the “Resident Evil” was from an earlier movie tie-in game produced by Capcom in 1989 called “Sweet Home” for the NES. The premise is similar with 5 people exploring a mansion except this time the enemies are paranormal as opposed to George A. Romero zombies.
3. Speaking of George A. Romero, he was also commissioned to write a script for the original film adaptation of the first “Resident Evil” game. Notably, his script was comparatively much closer to the game then the Paul W.S. Anderson version with a few minor changes including extra characters not in the game (for more deaths scenes) and Chris Redfield not being a member of STARS while also being Jill Valentine’s lover.
4. Although Sony Pictures nixed his script, Romero did direct a Japanese commercial for “Biohazard 2” (Resident Evil 2) starring the late Brad Renfro as the game’s main antagonist, “Leon S. Kennedy”.
5. Sienna Guillory portrayed Jill Valentine as the first cross-over playable character from the games into the movies for Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)” along with Oded Fehr as “Carlos Olivera”. Other notable game characters to be brought to life for the big screen include Ali Larter as “Claire Redfield” and Jason O’Mara as “Albert Wesker” in “Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)” – the final installment in the “Resident Evil” film trilogy.
6. There were many reasons why the original “Resident Evil” game was able to reach cult status with Western audiences from the gore, the B-movie horror elements and the purportedly intentionally bad script, although some say it’s a simple case of “Engrish”. Such classic lines as when Barry proclaims Jill as “The Master of Unlocking” having given her a lock-pick or commenting on how she could have been a “Jill Sandwich” once he rescues her from a room with descending ceiling.
Resident Evil - The Porno (for the Blind)
7. In a cute acknowledgement of games-imitating-films-imitating-games, “Resident Evil 4” features a sequence where main character, “Leon S. Kennedy” must dodge and evade high-intensity lasers that have been built to attack the player in formations, similar to the laser sequence in the first Resident Evil film.
8. There have been several versions of Resident Evil games that were scrapped for completely new re-imaginings although footage of “Resident Evil 1.5” (which later became “Resident Evil 2”) and “Resident Evil 3.5” (which became “Resident Evil 4”) can be found on YouTube. The most notable aspects of these beta-builds included female character Elza Walker in place of Claire Redfield in RE2 and RE3.5 featuring paranormal aspects as the main source of scares, again in reference to “Sweet Home” (1987).
Resident Evil 1.5:
Resident Evil 3.5:
9. “Rebecca Chambers”, who is the main protagonist of GameCube game “Resident Evil 0” as well as appearing in other games in the series, is actually based on J-Pop sensation Ayumi Hamasaki whom also happened to be the spokesperson for that game during promotion in Japan.
10. The very first Resident Evil game released on the Sony PlayStation in 1996 is the only game to feature live-action actors and sequences as means to the introduce and end the game. Every other game following has used either CGI or in-game graphics during cut-scenes. Hmmm... I wonder why...
Anyone else know any insider info on this awesome game?
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April 03, 2010, 03:37:15 PM
