Biohazard (called Resident Evil in North America and Europe) was first released in Japan on March 22, 1996, North America on March 30, 2006, and Europe on August 1, 1996 for the PlayStation. The game was developed and published by Capcom (and by Virgin Interactive in Europe) and was met with high success and sales worldwide. Shortly after, it was released on the PC, but sales came nowhere close to the PlayStation version.
Biohazard was then brought to the Sega Saturn, but due to the lack of popularity the Saturn had, this version did not receive as many sales as it's PlayStation counterpart. In late 1997, after the Sega Saturn release, Capcom released Biohazard: Director's Cut. The Director's Cut edition brought new camera angles, character models, weapons, and a rearranged story mode. A year after the Director's Cut was released, the Dual Shock version came out, adding the Playstation's popular rumble feature in Dual Shock controllers. The Dual Shock version also had remixed music composed by Mamoru Samuragouchi. The Dual Shock versions will be covered in this guide.
In 2002, Capcom remade Biohazard for the Nintendo GameCube due to Nintendo holding the rights to the Biohazard franchise. The remake was called Resident Evil: REmake, and is a completely different game from the original. The remake will not be covered in this guide, as it is only concerned with the original. To celebrate the original Biohazard's ten year anniversary, Capcom released Biohazard: Deadly Silence for the Nintendo DS, which featured a new Rebirth mode that took many elements from Resident Evil 4 and used the DS's touchscreen for new puzzles and knife fighting sequences. Biohazard: Deadly Silence will be covered in this guide.
The Biohazard PC North American release featured the uncut introduction movie, but the European and Australian versions did not have the uncut intro. The PC version also offers two new weapons upon completion of the game. There is an Ingram MAC-10 for Jill and a Minimi for Chris. The Japanese release includes an adjustable difficulty setting, while the North American, European, or Australian versions do not.
The Sega Saturn version had the worse graphics out of all the versions, but had several extras included. The most memorable extra was the Battle Mode, where players must fight several enemies in areas taken from the main game. New enemies were also used, such as the new Hunter species (Ticks) and another Tyrant inside the lab. The Battle Mode also featured a golden Tyrant and a Wesker zombie. New costumes for Jill and Chris were added. Also included in some versions were uncut scenes that were not meant to be displayed.
The Biohazard: Director's Cut has a brand new Arranged mode that offers new costumes for Chris, Jill, and Rebecca. Almost every room in Arranged Mode also features brand new camera angles that were not used. A new customized Beretta M92FS is also used in Arranged Mode, with the chance of getting an instant kill on any enemy. Several key items and ammo has also been rearranged in Arrange Mode, and offer a bigger challenge of the player trying to find them. Two new enemies have been added, including a former teammate, Forest, on the terrace area of the mansion, and Hyper Zombies, who are twice as fast and resistant to headshots. The Japanese release also offered a playable version of Resident Evil 2
A Beginner Mode was also featured in Director's Cut, which offers the player twice the ammo and twice the ink ribbons. Enemies are also weaker, and your weapons are twice as powerful. The Director's Cut: Dual Shock edition featured the new rumble feature incorporated into Dual Shock controllers and a brand new soundtrack. The Dual Shock version, however, was not released in Europe. The Japanese release also came with a bonus disc, titled 'Biohazard Complete Disc,' which featured exclusive footage of Biohazard 1.5.
The REmake was released in 2002 (simply called biohazard in Japan) for the GameCube. It is an entirely different game, and is featured in another strategy guide. The Nintendo DS version features a Classic Mode (the original) and a Rebirth mode (brand new mode made for the DS). The game uses both of the DS's display screens, with the top screen displaying a map and health and ammo counter while the bottom displays the actual in-game footage as well as the inventory. The Nintendo DS version takes several ideas from previous Biohazard games, such as the 180-degree quick turn (from Resident Evil 3: Nemesis) and a quick reload and knife button from Resident Evil 4. Dialogue and loading screens can finally be skipped, and the censored introduction is still kept.
In Rebirth mode, several new puzzles and challenges have been added that use the touchscreen. Knife battle sequences in a first person perspective have also been included, in which players must kill oncoming enemies with their knife (by using the stylus and touchscreen). The player can now shake off enemies using the touchscreen and perform a melee attack to fend off enemies. There is also many more enemies and ammo added into the game. New costumes for Chris, Jill, and Rebecca have also been added.
The game also features wireless LAN support for up to four players with two different modes. The first is a cooperative mode, where two players must escape the mansion together. The other is a competitive mode where players must get the highest score. There are three stages and nine selectable characters included in competitive mode.