Resident Evil is among the most iconic horror video game franchises in history. Containing eight mainline games, many spinoffs, two movie series, stage shows, books and even an upcoming Netflix series. According to the publisher of the Resident Evil series, Capcom, the games have sold a total of 125 million copies. For over 25 years, fans have been surviving the many zombie outbreaks that occur in the games, from the streets of Raccoon City, to the deep forests of Spain.
Despite this success however, the history of the series might be unknown to many people. Resident Evil (abbreviated by fans to just RE) actually has its roots about a decade before the first game even hit store shelves. This is because, believe it or not, the first RE was heavily inspired by an obscure Role-playing game from the Famicom, which we know over here as the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES.)
“Sweet Home” is a 1989 RPG based on the film of the same name, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. The game and movie revolve around a group of filmmakers who venture into a haunted house to record a documentary about the man who lived there, who left a series of valuable paintings on the property after his death. The group soon discover that the house his haunted, and they have to work together to survive the night.
The game did not achieve much success financially, as it was a movie-based game that only released in Japan. The film itself did not even release outside of Japan, so Capcom did not see much reason to bring the game to the states. So there Sweet Home sat, until the games director Tokuro Fujiwara came up with an idea.
In an interview, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami recalls Fujiwara’s idea and the subsequent conversation that lead to the birth of Resident Evil:
“Mr. Fujiwara called me one day and told me to make a horror game. And he wanted to use game system from the game “Sweet Home” He also told me “Create something worth seeing” and we were so excited” said Mikami.
From there, Mikami and his team took the concepts and mechanics and updated them for the time, and then the game released as “Biohazard” in Japan in March of 1996. However, when bringing the game outside of Japan, Capcom had a problem. Outside of Japan, the name “Biohazard” could not be used be used due to licensing problems. So, the team looked at the game and decided on the name “Resident Evil” due to the game taking place in a mansion filled with zombies. From there, the rest is history.
Alex Cuter
Executive Editor/Intern