Resident Evil

バイオハザード (Baiohazādo)PlayStation, Windows, Saturn, Nintendo DS +41996

  1. JP1996
  2. NA1996
  3. EU1996
  4. RU—

Resident Evil was released in Japan as Bio Hazard (バイオハザード); later Japanese releases use the spelling Biohazard. The easiest legal way to play it today is the original PC version on GOG or Steam, updated for Windows 10/11; the PS1 Director's Cut is part of PlayStation Plus Premium.

Resident Evil is a survival horror game by Capcom, released as Bio Hazard for the PlayStation in Japan on 22 March 1996. It was directed by Shinji Mikami and produced by Tokuro Fujiwara. Every version, the Japanese one included, uses English voice acting; a Japanese voice track was recorded but never used.

The regional versions differ noticeably. The North American release was made harder than the Japanese one, partly so that it could not be finished during a weekend rental, and the live-action intro was cut overseas. The Windows port is the only version whose intro is completely uncensored and in color. The game also came out on the Sega Saturn, and in 1997 as Resident Evil: Director's Cut for PlayStation.

In 2006 the Nintendo DS version Deadly Silence added a new Rebirth mode and became the first DS game rated Mature 17+ by the ESRB. GOG re-released the original PC version on 26 June 2024, and Capcom brought the same version to Steam on 1 April 2026.1234

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Resident EvilTCRF and Japanese Wikipedia give 30 March; English Wikipedia gives 1 April 1996 PlayStation Mar 30, 1996 Capcom 1
NA Resident EvilUncensored colour FMV; PAL release the same year Windows Sep 17, 1997 Virgin Interactive 2
NA Resident Evil: Director's CutDirector's Cut PlayStation Sep 30, 1997 Capcom 2
NA Resident Evil Saturn Oct 1, 1997 Capcom 2
NA Resident Evil: Deadly Silence Nintendo DS Feb 7, 2006 Capcom 2
JP バイオハザードBaiohazādo PlayStation Mar 22, 1996 Capcom 1
EU Resident EvilTCRF and Japanese Wikipedia give 1 August; English Wikipedia gives 16 August 1996 PlayStation Aug 1, 1996 Virgin Interactive 1
JP バイオハザード Windows Dec 6, 1996 NEC Home Electronics / Capcom 2
JP バイオハザード Saturn Jul 25, 1997 Capcom 2
JP バイオハザード ディレクターズカットDirector's Cut PlayStation Sep 25, 1997 Capcom 2
EU Resident Evil: Director's CutDirector's Cut PlayStation Dec 10, 1997 Virgin Interactive 2
EU Resident EvilSources differ on the exact day (31 August vs 11 September 1997) Saturn 1997 Sega 2
JP バイオハザード ディレクターズカット デュアルショックver.Dual Shock Ver.; NA release 14 September 1998, no PAL release PlayStation Aug 6, 1998 Capcom 2
JP Biohazard: Deadly SilenceDeadly Silence, with new Rebirth mode Nintendo DS Jan 19, 2006 Capcom 2
EU Resident Evil: Deadly SilenceEnglish, German, French, Spanish and Italian text Nintendo DS Mar 31, 2006 Capcom 5
JP バイオハザード ディレクターズカットPlayStation Game Archives (PSP version 2006-11-22) PlayStation 3 Apr 26, 2007 Capcom 6
JP バイオハザード ディレクターズカットPlayStation Plus Classics (PS4/PS5); paused for re-rating and resumed 2025-01-21 PlayStation 4 Jun 14, 2022 Capcom 6
WW Resident EvilGOG Preservation Program re-release of the original PC version Windows Jun 26, 2024 GOG.com / Capcom 4
WW Resident Evil (1996)Steam release of the GOG-updated PC version Windows Apr 1, 2026 Capcom 7

Also known as: バイオハザード JP6Bio Hazard JP1Biohazard JP8Baiohazādo JP6Resident Evil: Director's Cut WW2Resident Evil: Deadly Silence WW2Обитель зла RU9

Box art by region

  • Resident Evil box art, North America release
    NA Resident Evil

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • DifficultyPS1 (NA)PS1 (EU)

    The Western PlayStation release is harder than the Japanese one: auto-aim is off, enemies are tougher and hit harder, and each ink ribbon gives two saves instead of three. American staff asked for this so the game could not be finished during a short rental.1

  • CensorshipPS1 (NA)PS1 (EU)

    The live-action intro was trimmed overseas, removing mangled bodies, a dog being shot and Joseph's death; Kenneth's severed head was cut from the first zombie scene, and Chris's smoking was removed from the cast roll and an ending.1

  • AudioPS1 (JP)

    Only the Japanese PlayStation release has vocal songs over the cast roll and ending; the Western versions and the Japanese Director's Cut use the instrumentals "Terror" and "Still Dawn" instead.1

All differences (8)

Translations

  • Spanish Official

    Capcom2006Nintendo DS · Deadly Silence (EU)Released · complete

    The European DS version, Resident Evil: Deadly Silence, includes Spanish text.5

  • Spanish Fan

    IlDucci / Traducciones del Tío Víctor, with Resident Evil Castellano (dub)2024Saturn · PAL and NTSC-U versionsReleased · complete

    IlDucci and Traducciones del Tío Víctor released a Spanish (Spain) fan text translation in 2024, a project first started around 2010, together with a full fan-made Castilian voice dub by Resident Evil Castellano for the Saturn and PlayStation versions.10

    Project page: segaxtreme.net

  • French Official

    Capcom / Virgin Interactive1996PlayStation · PAL versionReleased · complete

    European versions use English voices with subtitles in other languages; the PC re-release on GOG and Steam offers French and German text.1

  • Japanese Official

    Capcom1996PlayStationReleased · complete

    The Japanese release keeps the English voice acting and adds Japanese text and subtitles.2

Where to play legally today

  • PlayStation Store Subscription

    Resident Evil Director's Cut

    PS1 Director's Cut emulated for PS4/PS5 (US store: English text; EU store: English, French, German text)

    Checked: 2026-10-1311store.playstation.com

  • GOG Purchase

    Resident Evil

    Original PC version (uncut), updated for Windows 10/11 with modern controller support

    Checked: 2026-10-1312gog.com

  • Steam Purchase

    Resident Evil (1996)

    Original PC version as updated by GOG

    Checked: 2026-10-137store.steampowered.com

How to run it today

The GOG and Steam editions are the original PC version, officially supported on Windows 10/11, with windowed mode, integer scaling, v-sync and controller support added by GOG.

12

Reception

The PlayStation original scored 91/100 on Metacritic. By December 1997 the game had sold about 4 million copies, and Capcom counts 5.08 million sales across all PlayStation versions.2

In lists

Sources

  1. 1tcrf.net
  2. 2en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3es.wikipedia.org
  4. 4gematsu.com
  5. 5nintendo.com
  6. 6ja.wikipedia.org
  7. 7store.steampowered.com
  8. 8new.tcrf.net
  9. 9ru.wikipedia.org
  10. 10retrorgb.com
  11. 11store.playstation.com
  12. 12gog.com
  13. 13ja.wikipedia.org
  14. 14ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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