This page is for the original game. For the remake, see Resident Evil HD Remaster.
Resident Evil [Note 1] is a singleplayer survival horror game developed by Capcom. It is the first entry in the Resident Evil series.
Originally released in 1996 on PlayStation, it was ported to PC in-house and released in Japan on December 6, 1996, followed by releases in North America and Europe on September 17, 1997. The original PC version suffers from poor compatibility with modern systems, and a bug where the game become bugged on PC with CPU speed higher than the recommended system requirement as the game speed is tied to CPU speed.
An updated version was later re-released on GOG.com on June 26, 2024, and now includes compatibility with modern systems, all four localizations, uncut contents, improved DirectX renderer, new rendering options and wider controller support.
The game is capped at 30 FPS. Note that the original PC release can be run directly from the CD.
General information
- GOG.com Community Discussions for game series
- GOG.com Support Page
Availability
Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
Retail |
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Simple disc check |
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GOG.com |
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Version differences
- The GOG.com version is the uncut edition, which features more scenes of extreme violence and gore than the original PlayStation version.[2]
Essential improvements
Patches
- Latest version is 1.01.
- Adds compatibility with modern systems and several quality-of-life improvements. A full list of features are listed here.
- Provides extended mod support, which is required for most mods.
- Requires a Japanese release with the version 1.01 EXE file. The MediaKite release is 1.01 out-of-the-box. Non-MediaKite releases can be made compatible by applying patch 1.01.
Use Gemini's REbirth patch with the GOG.com version
- The GOG.com port is fairly barebones and overshadowed by Gemini's REbirth patch.
Instructions[3]
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- Install the game using GOG Galaxy.
- Click on the drop-down menu that's to the right of Play and click on Manage Installation → Configure.
- In this menu, choose Japanese as language, which will prompt GOG Galaxy to install the Japanese version.
- Click on the drop-down menu again and click on Manage Installation → Show folder.
- Rename
biohazard.exe , ddraw.dll , and dinput.dll to anything else.
- Download patch 1.01 and Gemini's REbirth patch and extract to <path-to-game>.
- Now run the game and you should get a launcher with quite a few more features than GOG.com's wrapper.
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- Replaces the original audio with higher quality sounds and includes FMVs.
- Includes an older version of the REbirth Patch and the Japanese MediaKite 1.01 executable.
- Replaces textures and the original FMVs with higher quality MP4 files that have reduced artefacts, smooth interpolations to 30 FPS, and better compression.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
- For the MediaKite version:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\capcom\BIO HAZARD
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Save game data location
Video
Input
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
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Surround sound |
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Subtitles |
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Closed captions |
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Mute on focus lost |
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Royalty free audio |
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Localizations
- All fan translations require Resident Evil Classic REbirth.
- To use some translations in the Seamless HD Project, it is necessary to paste the TEXT folder and the XML and INI files (except description and manifest) into the MOD_SHDP folder. If you place all the translation files in this folder, some HD textures will not load.
Issues fixed
"Jill Bug"
- Fixed in the GOG.com re-release.
- While playing as Jill, the image freezes during the encounter with Barry after killing the first monster. This bug is triggered if the PC specs exceed the game requirements.
To prevent this issue, it is necessary to decrease the FSB (Front Side Bus) frequency to reach a value that does not cause problems with the game, usually 100Mhz or 66Mhz.
For all those who do not have the possibility to configure this option, it's necessary to rely on 3rd party solutions such as "CPUKILLER" or "Resident Evil Classic REbirth".
Error: "Failed to initialize the Graphic Hardware Device.(3)"
- This issue is caused by incorrect detection of Z-buffer formats on AMD cards.
Error: "The game would only be able to run only when Windows95"
- Fixed in the GOG.com re-release.
Set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 for the following files: Checker.exe , launch.exe , ResidentEvil.exe , and Setup.exe .[5]
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Installing the game
- During installation, the installer goes fullscreen. Sometimes an error message pops up behind the background of the installer.
To view and then get rid of the error message by clicking OK, it is necessary to use Alt+Tab ↹ or the Task Manager.
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
3 |
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Software renderer |
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Also supports PowerVR's PowerSGL and Rendition's RRedline APIs |
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
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System requirements
Original release
Windows |
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Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
95 | |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 90 MHz
| Intel Pentium 133 MHz |
System memory (RAM) |
16 MB |
32 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
5 MB |
400 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
4 MB of VRAM DirectX 3a compatible | |
GOG re-release
Windows |
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Minimum |
Operating system (OS) |
10, 11 |
Processor (CPU) |
CPU with 2.0 GHz |
System memory (RAM) |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
650 MB |
Video card (GPU) |
DirectX 9.0c compatible |
Notes
References