Classic Versions of First Three Resident Evil Games Revived on GoG
Legacy Resident Evil 1 Available for the First Time on PC Since 1996
While there is a cornucopia of Resident Evil games available across all modern platforms - including native iOS versions and multiple ways to play the newest titles such as RE Village in third-person or PSVR2 - many fans have been pining for a release of the legacy versions that made the series so iconic. Sure, the original version of Resident Evil was remade for the Gamecube and has since been ported to nearly everything but there’s something special about the blocky polygons and terrible dialogue. Seemingly out of nowhere, GoG and Writer / Voice Actor / Capcom superfan Suzi “TheSphereHunter” Hunter announced DRM-free PC ports of not only Resident Evil but also Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis with the first game available now!
It was Suzi’s video that appeared on my YouTube feed, feeling like walking into a room full of exploding fireworks. The title of the video “The Resident Evil Classic Trilogy IS BACK!” didn’t seem real. Sure, Capcom have ported many of their best games to consoles and PC through legacy collections – I never imagined a world where nearly every Mega Man game is playable on Switch – but bringing the classic Resident Evil games seemed like a pipedream. This is where the indomitable spirit of GoG shows its power over an industry that often buries its history.
For those unaware, GoG (Good Old Games) is a digital marketplace that carries a lot of games much like Steam both through a browser and the GOG GALAXY launcher. Many of the games on offer are DRM-free which means they do not carry the online checking software that many games carry, meaning that the downloads can theoretically exist perpetually and are usually much easier to modify. One of the biggest selling points is the revival of unavailable or niche titles such as Alpha Protocol, the first Gex, and Silent Hill 4: The Room with several being exclusive to GoG, at least in that particular form.
GoG’s latest venture with Resident Evil is a godsend for fans of the origins of the survival horror genre. The first game is available now for $9.99 USD while the other two will be available later on; all three can be purchased now for a bundle price of $24.99 USD. While there is plenty of information available through each game’s page, Suzi’s in-depth coverage and early impressions of the first two games provides plenty of reasons to pick up and celebrate this release.
All in all, this release is a win for video game preservation and that’s a beautiful thing in my opinion. Hopefully this collaboration with Capcom results in more accessible ways to play games from their incredible history.
Learn more about the GoG release of Resident Evil through the official listing.
As the first of 8-Bit Legit’s first “Final Edition” that immortalizes their games as cartridges, Dead Tomb is the next game from the retro-focused team. This new NES game from Acclaim and CollectorVision is available to pre-order now with digital copies hitting consoles on Jan 26th!