Will the US Resident Evil be cut? (1 Viewer)

[Bjoern Roy]

I can grab my japanese copy tomorrow. If the US version is uncensored, i might wait. Whats the latest on this? Any definitive answer yet?

 

[DonaldB]

What makes you think the US edition would be censored? Is there something in the Japanese remake more gruesome than has been seen in any of the other installments of this series?

 

[DeanWalsh]

The original for ps1 was censored in the US. From what I remember, the opening movie was longer in the Japanese version. I also remember the very first time you see a zombie in the game and it switches to the fmv of the zombie crouched over a victim , a shot was removed of a severed head falling to the floor just before it turns around...

 

[Eric Nees]

I've heard nothing about the game being censored for the US. Considering how close it is to release, I'm sure we would've heard something about it by now.

 

[Demetri K]

Get the JP one. It is in english and everything. Why wait for the US release?

 

[DeanWalsh]

I know this is a bit off topic, but interesting nonetheless. I was over a friends' place yesterday and he was playing the Japanese version of MGS2. He was up to the scene where you first meet Vamp, where he slashes the soldiers' throat. I noticed straight away that this version was less bloody, and missing the geyser of blood spraying from the solidiers' neck. There was blood on the floor, but none spraying whatsoever (I have the PAL version, and I'm assuming the blood is in the US version too?).

 

[DeanWalsh]

Demetri, does the JP version have the scene I mentioned with the severed head? I'm curious to know if Capcom deliberately toned the remake down being that the series is alot more mainstream now, as well as making the move to a Nintendo platform...

 

[Dan Brecher]

Get the JP one. It is in english and everything.

Is it????!!!!

Dan

 

[Paul Richardson]

The dialogue is in English, but the menus are in Japanese.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I don't think that they would screw around with it. Square screwed around with FF before it was a huge hit in America, and so did Capcom with RE. I suppose it will be kept intact.

A scene taken out of the Director's Cut (PSX) had Chris smoking, a big no-no for American games.

 

[cafink]

The Japanese game Biohazard had Japanese text and menus, but English dialogue (with Japanese subtitles).

When it was released in America, there were a few changes made. Obviously, the text was translated to English and the subtitles were removed. The game's title was also changed to Resident Evil. A voice-over which announces the title as it appears onscreen was changed accordingly (interestingly enough, the American Resident Evil soundtrack CD uses the "Biohazard" phraseology for the title track). Another odd bit of change is on the character select screen. The Japanes version labels Jill's game as "easy" and Chris' as "hard." The "easy" and "hard" labels were removed from the American version.

More bothersome are the censorship issues. There are a whole bunch of cuts in the game's opening movie. The Japanese version shows a severed hand, several shots of the dog getting struck by bullets, and other gruesome things missing from the American release. A shot of Chris smoking was replaced (and rather poorly, at that) by repeating a scene from earlier in the movie.

In the game itself, one early scene removes a brief shot of a severed head rolling across the floor.

Even with these cuts, the game is quite violent, which makes it rather inexplicable that they'd bother to edit.

The changes affect all American releases of the game. The release of the "Director's Cut" was supposed to have included an uncut version, but that didn't happen thanks to a goof on Capcom's part. To make up for it, Capcom offered the full uncut movie for download on their website.

As for the Gamecube port of Biohazard, I believe the game will remain mostly intact. Nevertheless, the name change bothers me, so I'll be importing a copy. I know it's already available, but I don't have a Gamecube yet so I'm in no rush.

 

[Romier S]

Nevertheless, the name change bothers me

I've become so accustomed to the "Resident Evil" name...

I've always thought Biohazard was a much better title for the series. It relates a bit more to the series than "Resident Evil" does".

 

[cafink]

As a member of the Home Theater Forum, I don't think I need to tell you that I'm a stickler for original aspect ratio and such. I don't like it when films are fiddled with (like Star Wars and ET). I even prefer to have an original mono or stereo soundtrack on DVD instead of a new 5.1 remix. It's in that spirit that even minor changes like the name bother me.

To tell you the truth, looking at it from a purely objective standpoint, without regard to which is the original name, I think I prefer the name "Resident Evil" over "Biohazard" for the original game.

(spoilers ahead for those who haven't played the game)

For starters, the name "Biohazard" gives too much away. It isn't until later in the game that we discover that the zombies are a product of biological experiments. It's like a mystery that unfolds. On top of that, the name "Resident Evil" is more appropriate for the creepy mansion atmosphere that permeates most of the game.

For the series as a whole, however, I prefer the name "Biohazard." The "Resident Evil" moniker doesn't make as much sense for the second and third games (I haven't played Code: Veronica).

Like I said before, though, even though "Resident Evil" sounds a little cooler to my ears, "Biohazard" is the original title so that is the version I will be purchasing when I finally get my Gamecube.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

My main gripe with the title has always been that the games are really more "Resident" than they are "Evil." Later, they became more about action and less about horror, which makes "Biohazard" a better fit.

Maybe they should have made a different title, maybe they shouldn't have. It doesn't matter anymore.

 

[Bjoern Roy]

Carl, I fully agree with you on the naming of the series.

Ok, bought the japanese version yesterday. Let the party begin, Jill in 'hard' it is for starters. We'll see how that goes.

Btw, the sound being plain stereo is scandalous. I would kill for this title in DD5.1 on the Box. Not even my Lexicon MC-1 pulls out an enveloping soundfield from this soundtrack. Pah!

And another stinker is that its supposed to be not progressive. If it were, i would buy the progressive cable in a heartbeat. Anyone know where to get it cheap, even better cheap in europe?