Resident Evil (video game)



""Itchy.Tasty""

- Keeper's Diary

Resident Evil -- sometimes called Resident Evil 1 to denote its chronological status -- is the first installment in Capcom's long-running Zombie Apocalypse Survival Horror series and the Trope Codifier and Trope Namer of the Survival Horror genre. Its Japanese title is Biohazard, a reference to the storyline (which is centered around a viral outbreak), but its Western release required a name change since "Biohazard" was too generic to be properly trademarked (a heavy metal band and an unrelated video game titled Bio Hazard Battle had already used it). RE1 was first released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, then had multiple alternate versions released afterwards. A remade version for the Game Cube (also known as the "REmake") -- which expanded certain plot points, added new areas, incorporated gameplay aspects of later Resident Evil games, and generally tightened continuity -- was released in 2002 (prior to Resident Evil 0's release). The original game (not the GameCube remake) is also available on the Nintendo DS as Resident Evil: Deadly Silence. As well as including the original game, Deadly Silence has an enhanced mode that mixes things up for you (dropping enemy and item placements in new locations) as well as adding some touch-screen interaction.

RE1 takes place in the Arklay Mountains near Raccoon City (which is located somewhere in the Midwestern United States) late in the evening of July 24, 1998. Raccoon City has been whipped into a panic due to a series of horrific murders of residents and tourists alike -- murders where corpses were found to have been partially devoured. Bravo Team -- one-half of Raccoon City's elite Special Tactics And Rescue Service (STARS) -- flew out to investigate the area a day prior, but when no radio contact is received after their departure, Alpha Team is deployed to find them.

Alpha Team discovers upon its arrival to the scene that Bravo Team's helicopter has crashed, its pilot has been mutilated, and there is no sign of Bravo Team's other members. While searching for their comrades, Alpha Team is attacked by a pack of partially-decayed dogs -- these savage beasts kill one teammate, then chase the others into what appears to be a deserted mansion. Alpha Team's survivors are team leader Albert Wesker, weapons specialist Barry Burton, Chris Redfield, and Jill Valentine. Players can control either Chris or Jill, and their choice determines what other characters they'll see during gameplay -- Chris will run into surviving Bravo Team medic Rebecca Chambers in his story, while Jill is accompanied by Barry. The group separates to investigate the situation regardless of character choice -- and that's when trouble really breaks loose.

The mansion turns out to be riddled with death traps and inhabited by bio-engineered killing machines; with limited firepower and no idea what's going on, Chris and Jill uncover dark truths about pharmaceutical giant Umbrella and their captain Albert Wesker as they explore the mansion for their teammates -- and a way out of their nightmare.

This game has a Shout-Out page.

"Wesker: STOP IT! Don't OPEN that DOOR!"
 * Action Girl: Jill Valentine, Alpha Team's B & A specialist and a Master of Unlocking, stated in some material to be a former member of the Special Forces.
 * See Did Not Do the Research below.
 * Always Night: The game begins sometime in the evening and finishes at dawn.
 * And Your Reward Is Clothes: After completing the game by saving both of your partners, you can restart the mission with the closet key in your inventory, allowing your character to change into casual clothing. Later versions of the game feature other sets of alternate outfits as well.
 * The PC version featured different casual clothes for Jill and Chris in addition to the ones that were in the PS1.
 * The Saturn version has a different set of alternate outfits that are just redesigned versions of the default S.T.A.R.S. uniforms.
 * The Director's Cut version has the same outfits from the original release, plus new default outfits (not just for Chris and Jill, but also Rebecca) for the Arrange mode.
 * The DS version has a ninja outfit for Chris, a policewoman costume (complete with sexy miniskirt) for Jill and a cheerleader suit for Rebecca.
 * The GameCube version has an entirely new set of alternate costumes, including Jill's and Chris' outfits from Nemesis and Code: Veronica respectively.
 * Anime Theme Song: Only the Japanese version of the PlayStation game's very first edition had two, an opening theme named Kouri no Manazashi, meaning Icy Gaze and an ending theme named Yume De Owarasenai, translated to I Won't Let This End As A Dream. Other versions, including the Japanese re-releases (such as both "Director's Cuts" and the Saturn port) use the instrumental "Still Dawn" instead.
 * Apocalyptic Log: Tons of these are scattered around to provide backstory, clues, and general atmosphere. Also, the saving mechanism consists of using ribbons on a type writer, technically making an Apocalyptic Log of the player's exploits. 4// Itchy. Tasty.
 * Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever:
 * The Web Spinners are infected spiders that have grown to the size of a pony, and there's an alpha spider, the Black Tiger, that's about two or three times their size. Possibly justified, at least in the Black Tiger's case, as Umbrella was trying to create a Bio-Organic Weapon out of them, as with Neptune (a giant shark).
 * This does not explain Yawn, an infected snake that's grown to about the length of a bus, or Plant 42, which covers an entire room in the Residence and no longer resembles any natural plant.
 * Awesome but Impractical: The Flamethrower that Chris can get is indeed awesome, but it burns through all of its fuel very quickly. It is really only useful in one boss fight and even then you have to get right up to the boss and risk getting hurt, and there are no refills for the fuel.
 * Badass: All of the main characters. Greatly supported by this live-action cast intro sequence.
 * The Battle Didn't Count: While playing as Jill, the very first zombie the player encounters can be killed while still in the hallway, but he will always be revived and follow Jill into the dining room for Barry to kill. In the GC version, after the he is killed by Barry, the zombie will get back up and return to the hallway, where he will still be walking or lying dead depending on whether Jill killed him earlier or not.
 * Big Bad:
 * The Umbrella Corporation who is responsible for unleashing the various abominations.
 * More directly in this game,.
 * Big Boo's Haunt: The mansion could be considered a more "mundane" version of this trope. No ghosts, just zombies and some other critters.
 * Black Dude Dies First: The first casualty of Bravo Team found by the player is Kenneth, the only black member of S.T.A.R.S. However, Joseph Frost is the first character to be killed on-screen and before that, Alpha Team finds the disembodied hand/mutilated corpse of Bravo Team's pilot (implied to be Edward Dewey in the PS1 version, but later explicitly shown to be a different character named Kevin Dooley in the GC version).
 * Bland-Name Product: While the original PS1 version used real brand names for the firearms used by the player (Beretta, Remington and the Colt Python), the GC version changed them to generic names instead (the Colt Python in particular became the Silver Serpent).
 * Blind Idiot Translation: The original PlayStation version was notorious for its bad translation and Z-grade acting (both, in the live-action FMV and in the actual game's voice acting). Subsequent games, and the GameCube version, toned this down, mainly due to better budgets. Some lines actually become iconic and were kept as continuity nods.
 * Body Horror: The zombies, the B.O.Ws, Lisa Trevor from the REmake.
 * Bold Inflation:
 * Barry Burton is particularly prone to this.
 * Even Wesker gets a moment of this earlier on, where he seems to be channeling Barry:

"Wesker (REmake): Jill and Barry, together...in hell!"
 * Bond Villain Stupidity:
 * Boring but Practical: With the Handgun in the REmake, it can actually be better to aim downwards at the knees of Zombies when shooting them than at their heads. The chance to blow out a kneecap seems to be slightly better than getting a head-shot, and (somehow) this also instantly kills them and prevents Crimson Head transformation.
 * Bowdlerize: The intro cutscene was heavily censored and altered by taking out scenes with blood in the Western releases. The PC version, some PAL releases of Director's Cut, and some copies of the US release of the Saturn version contained the original FMV. Notably, Chris' intro and ending were altered which originally has him lighting a cigarette.
 * Broad Strokes: How this game's events are taken by the rest of the series. Canonically, Jill, Chris, Barry, Brad and Rebecca all survived, but it's impossible to get this outcome while playing the game since Barry never shows up in Chris' game and Rebecca is completely absent from Jill's. The novelization actually does its best to try and reconcile all of the members of STARS being in the mansion at once.
 * Even the modified ending in Jill's game from the GC version, where isn't consistent with the sequels, since there Wesker doesn't get gored on the Tyrant's claw, ergo rendering  utterly nonsensical. Then again, the virus may play in on his survival from.
 * But Thou Must!: Attempting to leave the mansion from the front door will just invite in a zombie dog. The PS1 version just shows an FMV scene where the dog stick its head into the door and the player character hurriedly closing it. In the GC version, the dog manages to invite itself in and after disposing, the player character will refuse to open the door from that point on.
 * Captain Obvious: "It's a weapon. It's really powerful - especially against living things!" Why, thank you for that very insightful observation, Mr. Burton, but that's sort of the definition of a weapon. If it was for non-living things, it'd be called a tool. Although to be fair, Barry probably meant that the acid rounds would be more effective against Yawn and the Hunters rather than the undead zombies and dogs.
 * Contrived Coincidence: One secret door with vital items inside can be opened by playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on a nearby piano; thank goodness Jill's mother was so insistent she take those lessons, right?
 * This is downplayed in the remake, however, as Jill is the only playable character who knows how to play the piano enough to open the door right away. If you're running through Chris' scenario, he cannot play the piano, and must have Rebecca do so; she isn't as good as Jill, and requires time to practice before the door can be opened.
 * Clown Car Grave: Zombies will sometimes pop up in rooms after you have already cleared that room and even any surrounding rooms. Where are they all coming from?! Yes, they can open doors in the Remake (Well, a few can in the PS 1 version), but there are still instances where Chris/Jill will come from a completely zombie free area, and then have a zombie come into the room from right behind them! There are also instances of Clown Car Hunters.
 * Did Not Do the Research: At 23 years old, Jill is already a former member of the Delta Force. However, U.S. special forces do not allow women in their ranks and even if that were not the case, you have to be at least 22 to be part of SFOD-D, and Jill has already been in S.T.A.R.S. for two years.
 * Chris Redfield as well. He joined the US Air Force at 17 and became a pilot of fixed wing aircraft. Only officers can become pilots for fixed wing craft and officers are required to have a college degree to be eligible for commission. If he had attended the Airforce Academy at 17 this would be acceptable but there is no mention of this.
 * Difficulty by Region: The Japanese version of the original game has an auto-aiming function, more ink ribbons, and more ammo available. The overseas versions were made harder so that less players could complete it in a single rental.
 * Disc One Nuke: Using the Grenade Launcher glitch in the GC version can make the game very easy.
 * Damsel in Distress: Rebecca Chambers, a new recruit to Bravo Team, who is almost completely helpless and even has a scripted event where she gets killed off by a Hunter if you don't arrive in time.
 * Descending Ceiling: The infamous "Jill Sandwich" trap.
 * Doomed by Canon: It is actually possible to rescue Richard in the GC version by delivering the serum to him on time. However, he will simply end up being killed off at a later point of the game, since the plot of the sequels requires the deaths of all the S.T.A.R.S. members except for the main characters (and Brad).
 * Early Installment Weirdness: The live-action opening and ending sequences in the original PlayStation release. They were redone entirely in CGI in the Game Cube version in order to bring it in line with the rest of the series.
 * Easter Egg: Beat the extra modes in the remake, specifically Invisible Enemy in under 5 hours or less and you get a secret photo.
 * Elite Mooks: Hunters appear inside the mansion once you've explored the Residence, replacing many of the (much slower) zombies.
 * Elites Are More Glamorous: Chris is an ex-USAF Fighter Pilot and Jill is ex-Delta Force. S.T.A.R.S. itself is essentially the Raccoon Police Department's equivalent of a S.W.A.T. team.
 * Even Genetic Freaks Love Their Mamas: Lisa Trevor is still wandering through the catacombs, looking for her mother.
 * Everybody's Dead, Dave: Whether you choose Chris or Jill, you still spend most of the game running around on your own. Whenever you find another member of your team, they're almost always either dead or dying (except for each other and Rebecca/Barry). You can end the game with the playable character being the only one that survives as well.
 * Evil Is Hammy
 * Facial Horror: Lisa stitched together the faces of her assorted victims, wearing them like as a mask. In later playthroughs, you do get a brief peek at her real face.
 * Failure Is the Only Option: In the original you could not save Richard. The only difference getting the serum to him on time makes is whether you get his radio or not. In the REmake, you can save him, but he suffers a Plotline Death shortly afterwards.
 * Even if, there's no way to exploit that information.
 * Foreshadowing
 * Chris' and Jill's S.T.A.R.S. membership cards at the character select screen have Brian Irons' (the police chief from Resident Evil 2) signature on them.
 * A note left for Ada Wong can be found in both versions, but in the original game, the password to unlock the laboratories is.
 * The REmake adds a file that mentions Alexia and the G-Virus.
 * Giant Space Flea From Nowhere: The Black Tiger. A giant Australian funnelweb spider.
 * Giant Spider: They make their first appearance in the Watchhouse then take up residence when you return to the mansion. The Director's Cut had a surprise in that it added more, and the remake kept the huntsman\tarantula\wolf design for the normal variety and reskinned the Black Tiger into the highly venomous and aggressive funnelweb.
 * Gosh Hornet: In one segment your character must get an important item that somehow wound up under a giant beehive. Despite being a horror game, the way characters flail their arms around while being stung is pretty hilarious.
 * Grenade Launcher: Jill gets one from Forest Speyer's corpse.
 * Guide Dang It
 * Knowing exactly when to fire the rocket at the second Tyrant boss fight.
 * When you encounter a fountain with hollows on its east and west sides that contain carvings of an eagle and wolf respectively. By now you've already obtained Doom Book 1 and 2 but have no clue what to do with them. It turns out that you have to examine them in the inventory screen and rotate it at the right angle to open them, revealing the needed medals.
 * The Multiple Endings also count towards this. Depending on your actions and where you explore, you could have your support character killed off either early in the game or near the end and it's not always easy to tell what actions lead to which scenario. For example, the trap that triggers when you take the shotgun requires a broken shotgun in the display case so that it holds down the levers to stop the trap. However, when playing as Jill, it's possible to get the shotgun without needing the broken shotgun in its place due to a scene where both doors in the trap room are locked and Barry comes in time to save Jill. To even see this scene, after Jill and Barry split in the main hall, you have to go directly to the east side of the mansion and get the shotgun. If you go somewhere else first and meet Barry in a different spot, then this scene doesn't trigger.
 * Hand Wave: Chris, Jill, Barry and Rebecca all survive the Mansion Incident. This is 100% accepted canon in the sequels. However, in every iteration of RE1 available (the original, the Director's Cut, REmake, Deadly Silence and the RE1 scenarios of Umbrella Chronicles), it is impossible to have Barry and Rebecca in the scenario simultaneously, and Capcom has never offered a concrete explanation for what happened in their surviving aside from, "They just did." There does exist a pachislot adaptation of the game that finally features all 4 of them together at least.
 * Funnily enough, having Rebecca die/disappear during the Mansion Incident would not have changed the following story at all, because she was never mentioned again post-RE2.
 * Harder Than Hard: REmake's Real Survival mode. Auto-aim is disabled, and item boxes are no longer linked which means if you leave something in one box, you have to trek all the way back to said box to retrieve it. This is especially painful with Chris as he can only hold six items at a time, so planning far ahead what and what not to take is absolutely critical. Oh, and the difficulty is also locked on Hard, which means much less ammo and health pickups all-around. Good luck.
 * Invisible Enemy mode also qualifies. You'd better have memorized the positions of every enemy in the game, as they're now completely invisible (except when hitting you) and auto-aim is also disabled. One saving grace is that unlike the mode above, item boxes are still linked and you can choose your difficulty.
 * To a lesser extent, One Dangerous Zombie. A zombified Forest Speyer chases after you at a lot of set points, can match your running speed, and the bandolier of grenades he's wearing means shoot him once and they go boom and kill you too.
 * Hidden Supplies: The save points in the game are mostly hidden, out-of-the-way places with good lighting and calming music where your supplies are stashed. After you've been battling zombies for a while finding a safe place to relax can be an incredible relief, enough so to make players reluctant to leave.
 * His Name Is--: Enrico is shot by an unseen assailant moments after he reveals there's a mole.
 * Hell Hound: The zombie hounds aren't from Hell, but the way they viciously attack sure suggsts it.
 * Hopeless Boss Fight:
 * Hot Amazon: Jill, according to Brad.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Chris is much larger than Rebecca and Barry is much larger than Jill.
 * Idiosyncratic Difficulty Levels: Selecting your character affects the game's difficulty. Jill can carry more items (eight instead of six), has an exclusive weapon (the grenade launcher), earlier access to some rooms thanks to the lockpick and can completely skip at least one boss battle thanks to Barry. On the other hand, Chris can sustain more damage than Jill and has Rebecca around to heal him, but Jill's advantages outnumbers Chris'. The difficulty of each character are actually shown in the Japanese version from the get-go (Jill = Easy, Chris = Hard), but they're not as obvious in the overseas version unless you've played the game before.
 * A much more traditional example occurs in the GC version, in which the game's Easy and Normal modes are labelled "Hiking" and "Mountain Climbing" respectively when you start a new game for the first time.
 * Implacable Man: Lisa Trevor and in the REmake. The latter is particularly irritating as attempting to defend yourself against him will trigger an instant Game Over.
 * Insurmountable Waist High Fence: One of the doors in the REmake is so rickety that the knob falls off if you go through too many times, but the combat-boot wearing protagonists will never kick it in. It's a blatant game lengthener. In "Real Survival" mode, that doorknob never breaks, though.
 * Or, knowing that it's about to happen, the character will never do anything so bold as leave the door open to allow unrestricted access, considering the fact that it's a very useful shortcut.
 * Irony: When Barry tells Jill "this hall is dangerous!" they're actually in the safest area of the game.
 * It's the Only Way to Be Sure: The laboratory has a self-destruct device, though whether it is intended to prevent the virus from spreading or to destroy the evidence is uncertain.
 * Kill It with Fire: In the REmake, after you kill a zombie, unless you used a flame round with the grenade launcher or managed to get a headshot you need to use a flask of kerosene and a lighter to burn the corpse (you can also try blowing its knees off). Otherwise it will remain where you dropped it until it transforms into a Crimson Head.
 * King Mook: Crimson Head Prototype 1 in the GC version, who is the only Crimson Head needed to be killed to complete the game.
 * Forest (AKA the One Dangerous Zombie) can match the main character in running speed, hits harder, and intentionally pops up at the least opportune times. (Also he's covered in grenades and if you shoot him he goes plooey.)
 * Let's Split Up, Gang!: Three of the S.T.A.R.S. make it to the mansion together then promptly decide to split up. Seems like a bonehead move.
 * Loads and Loads of Loading: The original version suffered from this; every time you opened a door, went up stairs, climbed a ladder, etc., there was about a five second lapse.
 * Lonely Piano Piece: There literally is a piano in the Spencer Mansion, and Jill and Rebecca use it to melodically play Moonlight Sonata.
 * Lost Forever: In the REmake, once the self-destruct in the laboratory is triggered (only if Barry or Rebecca are alive), a Point of No Return is created due to the entry elevator being disabled which prevents you from backtracking to the mansion and other areas. If you missed the and you saved your game at this point, then rescuing your partner becomes impossible. In Real Survival mode, all items in item boxes not in the laboratory also become inaccessible when the self destruct is triggered.
 * Made of Explodium: The remake has an unlockable mode where a certain zombie has a ton of explosives strapped to his body and one bullet to him will instantly kill you and destroy half the mansion.
 * Made of Iron: The most basic attacks involve zombies trying to chew out Chris or Jill's throat, and it still takes three to five hits to kill them.
 * Malevolent Architecture: Mostly in a platonic sense, but there are a few deathtraps, ridiculous puzzles and secret passages scattered around.
 * Man-Eating Plant: Plant 42 was contaminated and mutated when the Neptune tank was broken, flooding one lab with T-Virus contaminated water. It managed to devour several researchers in the confusion before people figured out what was going on. Fortunately, it's immobile. Unfortunately, it covers most of the Residence and its main bulb takes up most of a room.
 * Master of Unlocking: Jill, given by Barry.
 * The Medic: Rebecca Chambers.
 * Mini Game: The Saturn version was the first Resident Evil to introduce these in the form of "Battle Game", later resurrected and refined in 2 and Code: Veronica. Said minigame featured a few unique enemies such as a zombie Wesker and a gold Tyrant.
 * The Mole:, who turns out to be an Umbrella employee to test the BOWs.
 * Multiple Endings
 * Next Sunday A.D.: The original was released in 1996, and takes place in 1998. By the time the sequel (which takes place two months later) came along, it was 1998, so the whole near-future angle was dropped from the series (at least until Resident Evil 6).
 * Nitro Express: The remake has you walk slowly with explosives or you get a Game Over.
 * No Body Left Behind: Played straight, with the exception of regular zombies in the REmake, whose corpses remain unless you destroy their heads or use fire to burn them; they later revive, turning into Crimson Heads, heavily bleeding zombies with nasty claws and gaseous breath. You have limited amounts of fuel with which to burn them, too. This served to heighten the tension in the game by making it unsafe to backtrack unless you meticulously burned every zombie you could, but it probably wasn't popular enough to warrant continuing, because the next game that got made, Resident Evil Zero, ignored the whole Crimson Head thing.
 * The lead director of RE0 stated that the Crimson Heads were purposely omitted, because backtracking was downplayed in that game, making their inclusion pretty pointless. He regretted the decision, since players who experienced the REmake were completely terrified by the Crimson Heads.
 * One-Hit Kill: In the original game, Hunters can decapitate you by simply swatting at your head. The Hunters in the GC version are notably weaker, but can still slit your throat (resulting in game over) if they get close.
 * Personal Space Invader: The zombies grapple you and try to chew you. In the REmake, you're even able to find items that allow you to avoid taking damage by instead ramming a small knife in their head, tazing them, or ramming a flashbang grenade into their mouth which promptly blows their head up due to them biting it Chris pulling the ring.
 * Plotline Death: Richard Aiken is doomed to die. In the original game, he would die whether you gave him the antidote serum or not and doing so or not only decided if you'd get his radio or not. In the REmake, if you give him the serum, he'll survive, but consequently get himself eaten by either Yawn (in Jill's scenario) or Neptune (in Chris's scenario). However, if he dies in this way, he leaves you his assault shotgun, which is a much better weapon then the ordinary shotgun you found.
 * Raising the Steaks: The zombified dogs are a series mainstay. Justified in that they were one of the experimental lines of B.O.W. being created in the mansion.
 * Reviving Enemy: In the Game Cube remake, zombies that aren't completely destroyed via decapitation or Kill It with Fire come back as Crimson Heads after a while (making simply avoiding them a better option sometimes).
 * Say My Name: REBECCAAAAAAA!
 * See You in Hell: Wesker doesn't take kindly to getting winged by Barry's revolver.


 * Self-Destruct Mechanism: The mansion is rigged to explode in order to either prevent a major biohazard outbreak or destroy evidence. Naturally, it gets triggered at the game's end.
 * Shaky POV Cam: REmake's Richard about to get gulped down by Yawn.
 * Skippable Boss: It is possible to skip the first fight with Yawn by just running in a grabbing the item you need, and then running back out. He will still be there if you go back in afterwards though.
 * Smoking Is Cool: Chris smokes a cigarette during the uncensored cast intro. A haphazard attempt at censoring this in other versions merely overlays footage of Chris from the intro over a still of Chris jsut standing there.
 * Solve the Soup Cans: The game is notorious for its bizarre puzzles, which often require several components scattered all over the mansion. An attempted Hand Wave is offered in the owner being an almost Otaku-like devotee of old spy and horror movies who is wealthy enough to hire an indiscriminating architect to design the place to live up to his dreams.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: The Japanese PS 1 version features an alternate end credits sequence (when the player completes the game with the unlimited rocket launcher) in which a J-Rock song titled "Yume De Owarasenai" (the same one played during the regular end credits) is played over a montage of gruesome character deaths.
 * Spiritual Successor: To Sweet Home, this ad even used some music from Sweet Home.
 * The Starscream: is an inversion of the trope. Wesker is the leader of the entire S.T.A.R.S. unit, and  is the second in command to Wesker.
 * Sequel Difficulty Drop: Players coming from RE 2 and 3 will be surprised when healing items are extremely scarce and it takes more than half a clip to down a zombie.
 * Snakes Are Evil: The Yawn, a colossal snake infected with the T-virus, possibly one of the most terrifying enemies in the whole series.
 * Suicide Attack: The One Dangerous Zombie (i.e. Forrest). Upon unlocking him, Forrest chases you around the mansion while wearing a grenade-covered vest.
 * Sunglasses at Night: Wesker. Apparently simply for Rule of Cool or to establish his Badass credentials.
 * Super Soldiers: The whole point of the Tyrant and, indeed, the Bio-Organic Weapons program in general.
 * Super Title 64 Advance: The subtitle of the DS version (Deadly Silence).
 * Survival Horror: Originator of the term. Also popularized the genre.
 * Taking the Bullet: Poor Richard. Even if you manage to cure him, he ends up shielding Jill from a giant snake or shielding Chris from a giant shark, getting devoured in the process. Rebecca does not take it well.
 * Tentacle Rope: In the REmake, Plant 42 uses these to pull the player into its bulb-chamber from the flooded ring even if they used the poison on it (in the previous editions, the poison automatically killed Plant 42).
 * Timed Mission: In both the original and the remake, there is a part where you hear Rebecca scream. When that happens, you have 10 minutes to save her; take longer, and she'll be dead when you finally do reach her. (Or, in the remake, there will be a cutscene showing her bloody, brutal death.) Seeing as it only takes about one minute to get there, this can overlap with Video Game Cruelty Punishment.
 * Tortured Abomination: is a twisted mockery of a woman who's been trapped in a constantly-mutating, undying body for thirty years, and was driven insane by her ordeal a long time ago.
 * Tragic Monster: The REmake's Lisa Trevor.
 * Unusually Uninteresting Sight: If you examine the hole in one of the giant snake rooms right after you've killed it, Barry will walk into the room, possibly walk through the giant snake's dissolving corpse, and ask "Jill, have you found anything interesting?"
 * Updated Rerelease: Director's Cut and DualShock Edition on Playstation and Deadly Silence on DS. Then there's the Gamecube REmake which was also rereleased on Wii. The DS version is also an Updated Rerelease.
 * Video Game Cruelty Potential: It's possible to get Rebecca killed, but it involves ignoring her for over 10 minutes, much longer than most players will. A much easier way is to exit the room once you find her without killing the Hunter, which will immediately kill her the moment you leave.
 * In the remake, you can refuse giving Barry his revolver back, which gets him killed by Lisa. However, it is highly recommended to not do so in a speed run as you will not have to fight the final boss (saving a few minutes), and his magnum is the second-most powerful weapon in the game capable of killing almost anything with one shot, including the Tyrant (again, saving a minute or two).
 * The Virus: The T-Virus, naturally.
 * Was Once a Man: Most enemies, although the T-Virus also works on animals (like the Yawn) and plants (like Plant 42)..
 * With This Herring: You start out with a loaded pistol, maybe one extra clip of ammo, and a knife. Justified in that you're a cop who wasn't expecting to be locked into a house crawling with bio-engineered horrors and you just ran a marathon to escape a pack of killer zombie dogs, firing wildly at them in an effort to avoid being eaten.
 * What Happened to Mommy?: Lisa Trevor.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:
 * Rebecca Chambers is a supporting character for Chris's game and a main character for Resident Evil Zero yet hasn't been mentioned since, save for a report about what happened seen in Resident Evil 2.
 * She did get some expansion in The Umbrella Chronicles, but it's an interquel showing how she got from the Training Facility at the end of 0 to the library where Chris meets her in this game. She does appear in RE5's Mercenaries Reunion DLC, but that is non-canonical.
 * In Chris's game, Barry disappears soon after the opening and is never seen or heard from again. Wesker heavily implies that he's dead, but he is never brought up again by anyone.
 * Where The Hell Is Raccoon City: "Somewhere in Midwestern America"... except the high, mountainous terrain doesn't really match that region of the country. Fanon sometimes puts it in Pennsylvania or Colorado instead.
 * Worst Aid: When Rebecca offers to treat Chris's wounds in REmake, the cutscene basically consists of her looking at Chris's sleeve, a brief blackout, and then her telling him he's all better now. Parodied in this chapter of the Resident Evil fanfic Welcome to Umbrella.
 * You Have to Burn the Web: When playing Chris, you can get a flamethrower to fight Black Tiger which you can then use to burn through the webbing holding the door closed. Jill has to settle for chopping it down with her knife or unloading on it with an Incendiary round.
 * You're Insane!: REMake treats us to ", you've become senile!"
 * Zombie Apocalypse: Does anything need to be said?
 * Zombie Gait: Played straight, including with the ability to occasionally make a Deadly Lunge. The REmake's Crimson Heads however avert it, being capable of running constantly and moving even faster then the player can.