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Resident Evil 2
Version Changes Guide
For PlayStation, Dreamcast, PC, GameCube and N64
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By Shakey_Jake33
Released 12th December 2003
Version 1.0
Best Read in Notepad with Wordwrap ENABLED
This guide was made in follow up to my recent Resident Evil 3 Version Changes Gu
ide, and was designed to help people understand the differences between all the
versions of Resident Evil 2. This will be followed up with a comparison of the
versions of Code Veronica, when I get round to playing the GameCube version.
Just to note, this guide will not be covering the Game.com port because I have n
ever played it, nor have most people, and I’d imagine the changes are too great
to list anyway. I will say that this only included Leon’s mission. I will also
not cover Resident Evil 1.5 .. geez people give far too muchh credit to a game
they have never played. Yes, I am pro current RE2.
The usual stuff applies, no stealing portions of the FAQ etc... got anything
to ask? Check the email at the bottom.
And btw, from now on, the latest editions of my FAQ's can be found at either
GameFAQ's (www.gamefaqs.com), and now, IGN at faqs.ign.com , other sites are
free to host it, but I only guarentee the above to have the latest editons.
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CONTENTS
========
1. About the game
2. About the ports and conversions
3. Rough Outline of the ports
4. The Ports Explained
5. Best?
1. About the game
-----------------
Resident Evil 2 has a bit of a rough and rocky history.
Starting off as a very different game, the original version of this game bared m
ore resemblence to the original Resident Evil. Starring Leon and a new characte
r called Elza, some leaked movies of this game showed a game which looked very a
dvanced. Many Resident Evil fans in fact wish this version was released instead
, although I must disagree – I love the current Resident Evil 2, and would hate
to think it would not be here.
When it got canned, it pushed the release date back from Spring 1997 to Winter 1
997, and then back to Spring 1997 (At this same announcement, the Saturn version
of the original Resident Evil was announced).
Nevertheless, the game finally hit the stores, on the PlayStation, in a very dif
ferent form, to rave reviews, hailing the game as a big improvement on the origi
nal – and it was.
2. About the ports and conversions
----------------------------------
A few months after the original game hit the shelves, a special edition version
of this game was announced, with Dual Shock support, arranged mode (which basica
lly included the Japanese mode which was easier and had some items re-arranged a
mong others). This ‘Dual Shock Editon’ never hit European Stores, although it m
ay have hit American stores. This was accompanied by a rehash of the previous g
ame, Resident Evil: Directors Cut – Dual Shock Edition.
Rumours of a Sega Saturn port also grew, and a rough port to the Game.com follow
ed.
What was suprising however was the appearance of an N64 version. The version, d
eveloped by developers Angel Studios, and they somehow managed to cram 2 CD’s wo
rth if FMV-filled game onto one 512mbit cartridge. A technical achievement for
sure, and should go down in history if there is any justice – there is a quite f
ascinating read about this game here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000728/meynink_pfv.htm
About a year later, people realised a Saturn version was never going to come, al
though an enhanced PC version hit the shelves. This included all the extras tha
t the ‘Dual Shock Edition’ included, but accompanied it with high resolution gra
phics, and extras like art galleries, movie galleries and concept art among othe
rs.
At the end of 1999, a Sega Dreamcast editon arrived, to somewhat make up for the
disappointing lack of a Saturn version. This game was near-identical to the PC
version, with the added extra of supporting the VMU to display stuff like healt
h, current weapon and ammunition. This feature was unfortunately missing from
the later Dino Crisis Dreamcast port, as was analogue support. Unfortunately, t
he increased resolution in the character graphics meant the pre-render backdrops
stood out even more, and many people complained of this, although in fairness,
it was unavoidable. It is worth mentioning that the later GameCube port has thi
s problem also, although it is not as noticable because it’s not in as high a re
solution.
Nevertheless this is regarded as the ultimate port. It also had the rumble supp
ort btw... which the PC version lacks I think.
Looooong gap follows until, suprisingly, a GamCube port was announced in 2001.
This was expected to me a remake much like the one for Resident Evil 1, but unfo
rtunately, it was a mere port – a pretty lazy one at that. But more about that
later.
Aaaand that’s the mediocre history of Resident Evil 2!
3. Rough Outline of the ports
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PlayStation
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+ N/A
- N/A
PlayStation Dual Shock
-----------------------
+Dual Shock Rumble Mode
+Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
+Extreme Battle Mode (With Chris and Ada).
+Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
-N/A
Dreamcast
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+Enhanced Graphics
+Rumble Support.
+Extreme Battle Mode (With Ada and Chris).
+Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
+PAL version has 60Hz mode, along with 5 full screen 50Hz modes!
+VMU health display
+Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
+Art Galleries
+Movie Gallery
+Concept Art Gallery
+Character and Ememy Model Galleries.
+Full Screen movies at 60fps.
-Slightly muddy Backgrounds.
PC
--
+Enhanced Graphics
+Extreme Battle Mode (With Ada and Chris).
+Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
+Art Galleries
+Movie Gallery
+Concept Art Gallery
+Character and Ememy Model Galleries.
-N/A
N64
---
+Slightly Enhanced Graphics
+Choose Colour of Blood/Amount of Blood
+Item Randomiser
+Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
-Low Res Movie Due to Cart
-No Extreme Battle Mode?
GameCube
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+Enhanced Graphics (Slightly)
+Brightness Adjust
+Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
+Extreme Battle Mode (With Chris and Ada).
+Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
+Skip Cuescenes
-No PC/Dreamcast Extras – At this late Stage?
4. The Ports Explained
----------------------
I shall explain the additions to each version of the game one by one, and also
make a little comment about the port.
-PLAYSTATION
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Released: Spring 1998
Discs: 2
What's added?: Nothing.
This is the original release of the game, so logically, this is the
bog-standard game with no real additons.
PAL version is 50Hz boardered and slower, unfortunately.
-PLAYSTATION DUAL SHOCK
-----------------------------------
Released: August 1998
Discs: 2
What’s added?:
-Dual Shock Rumble Mode
-Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
-Extreme Battle Mode (With Chris and Ada).
-Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
This was a cheap re-release made a good few months later. Some say this is a bl
atant cash-in, and they’d be right… but at $20, who are you to complain?
As stated above, this version supported the Dual-Shock controller, as well as An
alogue mode to an extent... although it was not true analogue, you still just wa
lked unless you held Square, but some may find the stick easier to handle. I st
ill, to this day, prefer the D-Pad on Resi, but there you go.
Much more appriciated was the Extreme Battle mode avaliable when you completed t
he game with a certain rank which I do not remember.. which, suprisingly, starre
d Chris and Ada. It also featured an ‘Arranged Mode’, which was nothing more th
an the somewhat easier Japanese game.
Overall, not worth picking up unless you are an extreme fan, but hey, if you wer
en’t a fan, you wouldn’t be reading this. Pretty cool at the time, but the supe
rior later ports sport the same extras and then some.
-DREAMCAST
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Released: Winter 1999/Spring 2000
Discs: 2GD
What's added?:
-Enhanced Graphics
-Rumble Support.
-Extreme Battle Mode (With Ada and Chris).
-Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
-PAL version has 60Hz mode, along with 5 full screen 50Hz modes!
-VMU health display
-Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
-Art Galleries
-Movie Gallery
-Concept Art Gallery
-Character and Ememy Model Galleries.
-Full Screen movies at 60fps.
This game is actually identical to the PC release. It sported superior polygon
characters, which were more detailed, at a higher resolution and had more
polygons. Although as a side effect, the backgrounds looked a tad weird because
they stood out more from the higher resolution characters.
It also featured all the extras that were present in the PlayStation Dual Shock
version like Rumble Support (Which was absent from the PC release), Analogue sup
port, although like the PlayStation Dual Shock release, it was merely the D-pad
mapped onto the analogue stick. It also had the other extras like Extreme Battl
e mode unlockable and arranged mode. On top of that, it had the extras from the
PC version like art galleries, concept art, movie gallery, character and enemy
model galleries and more…
It also supported movies at full screen 60fps – something no other version featu
res.
It's also worthy of menion that on the VMU screen, it had the little
Screen displaying your health, as well as the weapon you are using and ammunitio
n count (in place of the statiograph thingy that was in Code Verionica and Resi
dent Evil 3, but I prefer Resident Evil 2’s way of doing it.).
This proved to be very useful as you did not have to keep switching to your inve
ntory to view your health. This is a feature exclusive to the Dreamcast also.
Also, the PAL version has 60Hz mode... neither the PAL versions of the
PlayStation or GameCube one has this, but on top of that, it supported 5 differe
nt full-screen 50Hz PAL modes... all for different types of Television, which I
don’t think any other game features.
This is the most feature-packed of the lot, if you can bewar with the slightly m
uddy background graphics.
-PC
---
Released: Summer 1999
Discs: 2
What's added?:
-Enhanced Graphics
-Extreme Battle Mode (With Ada and Chris).
-Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
-Art Galleries
-Movie Gallery
-Concept Art Gallery
-Character and Ememy Model Galleries.
-Skip Door Opening Animations.
This game is near-identical to the Dreamcast release. As with the Dreamcast
release, it contained superior polygon characters, which were more detailed, at
a higher resolution and had more polygons.
It also featured all the extras that were present in the PlayStation Dual Shock
version like Extreme Battle mode unlockable and arranged mode. On top of that,
it had even more extras like art galleries, concept art, movie gallery, characte
r and enemy model galleries and more...
You can also skip the door opening animations.
N64
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Released: Summer 2000
Discs: 1 512Mbit Cart.
What’s added?:
+Slightly Enhanced Graphics
-Choose Colour of Blood/Amount of Blood
-Item Randomiser
-Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
This was the biggest technical achievement of the lot – the whole process of con
verting this mammoth 2CD game onto a mere cart is just stunning, and I point you
towards this page once again -
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000728/meyni
nk_pfv.htm
The graphics are also slightly enhanced, but are even moreso enhanced when used
in conjunction with the Expansion Pak, making it look even more lovely.
Things are a little down on the extras tho, although it includes different colou
red blood, and to change the amount of blood, this is largely useless and only t
here because Nintendo of America wanted it there, although they were much more l
enient with the Gamecube release, oddly.
Item Randomizer is of some use, although the Arranged mode kinda fills that void
.. and no Extreme Battle mode, or PC extras. But it’s hard to complain at this
– it’s stunning they got what they did on the cart.
-GameCube
---------
Released: Spring 2003
Discs: 1 (Optical Disc)
What's added?:
-Enhanced Graphics
-Abilty to change brightness in-game
-Analogue Support (Well.. supported the stick.. it was still digital)
-Extreme Battle Mode (With Chris and Ada).
-Arranged Mode (Featuring the Japanese Game)
-Skip Cutscenes
This game is actually, disappointingly, near identical to the PlayStation Dual S
hock release. In fact, I think they just ported that lock, tock and barrel.
It lacks all the additions the Dreamcast and PC versions supported, such as the
galleries, or even the N64 extras.
I did even hope for the high resolution 60fps movies from the Dreamcast version,
but it was not to be.
On the flipside, the GameCube release does look significantly superior to the
PlayStation version. Some say the graphcis are even better than the Dreamcast
release. This is arguable... but you'd be hard pushed not notice... although th
e GameCube release does have superior backgrounds to the Dreamcast release.
One other small thing I did notice was that you could change the brightness of
the game in-game, as opposed to having to change it on the TV. This is only a
minor addition, but it is worthy of mention.
The disappointing lack of a 180 degree turn in this game is unforgivable tho. I
t was in no other version granted, bit I half expected it to be here given it wa
s in GameCube RE3 and I expected them to put it somewhat on a level.
Also, the voice on the title screen is different. It’s nothing major, but it is
noticable. No biggie.
Disappointingly the PAL version lacks 60Hz mode, although it is still
full-screen, it's noticably slower.
You cal so skip cut-scenes in this release, even the in-game ones. Much apprica
ted. No skipping the doors like in the PC one tho.
Capcom could really have gone to town with this one, remade it like Resi 1 and m
ade this into a MUST own purchase for sure.. but they neglected to... shame, a m
issed opportunity for sure.
A somewhat disappointing port, but Resi-loving GameCube owners should not miss
it.
5. Best?
--------
The Dreamcast version could be considered the best... it has all the additions
of the PC version, such as the galleries and enhanced graphics, as well as the P
layStation Dual Shock extras, health and weapon/ammunition display on the VMU's
LCD screen. This is a very nice touch which is only possible on the Dreamcast,
not to mention the full screen 60fps movies.
That said, the original PlayStation version is very cheap now, going for a fiver
a piece, so it makes it the version to go for in that respect.
On the flipside, I cannot fail to love the GameCube version. Maybe it’s cause I
love my Gamecube, but I play it more than any other version, and it’s graphical
ly superior to the original. So if you don't care about extras or movies and jus
t want the best version of the main game, go for the Gamecube one.
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CONTACT & THANKS
================
You can contact me at
[email protected], it's also my MSN name too. I
do use Aim, ICQ and Yahoo, but I don't like giving those names out.
Big hi to lily (love you ^_^ *huggles tight*), Monaro, S Walch, teh good Cappy
Drake, Rick, Sara, Tiles44, Jiomand, Scabbers9, and anyone else in the Sega
scene right now!
And cheers to faqs.ign.com for emailing me about the FAQ's, and CJayC at
GameFAQ's for inspiring me with his site.
Also a high to all the people keeping the Resident Evil scene alive! Bar those
who support the blasphamous movie...
Props to the guys at REHorror, Resevil, and anywhere else I occasionally drop
in at.
Also cheers to Alexander Ashford for revitelising my interest in the series!
(C) Shakey_Jake33 2003
