Resident Evil Gaiden (Biohazard) – Game Boy Color
The Game Boy Color was a strange place to find one of the best survival-horror franchises of all time; Resident Evil. How does it hold up?
I bought Resident Evil Revelations because I was curious how the survival-horror experience worked on a handheld. Obviously the technology has come a really long way for these handheld games and, surprise surprise, Revelations soon after got a console port.
I knew about Resident Evil Gaiden since its release. But I really had trouble getting into the game. Once I played Resident Evil Revelations, I was ready to go back to Capcom’s original attempt. Resident Evil Gaiden shares the boat setting. The intense need for survival. And a miniature story packed up for handhelds. This is Resident Evil Gaiden for the Game Boy Color.
How does Resident Evil Gaiden stack up?
Short version: It doesn’t hold up as a survival-horror game. Resident Evil Gaiden itself has been labelled as an action adventure game. That label works a lot better.
As mentioned in the video, I opted for the Japanese version of the game; Biohazard Gaiden. It’s cheaper. And paired with a good guide, I found it perfectly playable without knowing Japanese. I’d recommend the guide regardless, just to make it to the next checkpoint.
So in the video I had a bit of fun talking about how Resident Evil Gaiden ‘set the scene’ for Revelations. Both set on a boat. A new kind of BOW. And even that first-person fighting perspective. Resident Evil Gaiden itself didn’t receive much praise upon its release. But it’s interesting going back to see how Capcom’s survival-horror franchise evolved on handheld systems.
It was also interesting looking at Capcom’s first attempt at Resident Evil on the Game Boy. Quite literally, a port of the first game. Technically it looks amazing. But it’s understandable why Capcom decided to pull it down and start again with Resident Evil Gaiden. A Resident Evil game built from the ground up for the Game Boy. Not a port.
With Resident Evil Revelations 2 on the way with more Barry Burton, it was fun to look back at the original handheld aquatic Barry Burton game… Sure there was some demand for it…
Game Boy Screen Replace Effect
For the keen special effects geeks out there, some of you may notice the use of a classic screen replacement effect. Really effective for systems that don’t have backlit (or frontlit) screen and it’s been a great way to add some personality to my handheld game reviews.
It’s a pretty straight-forward effect, easy enough to do on Aftereffects or even Blackmagic Fusion if you want to try some professional software at the best price (free).
For this installment of LOCR FX, I’ll cover how to layer your composition, blending modes I used to retain the original screen glare (and ensure the original camera grain is present) and finally, adding a bit of blur to ensure everything looks right in your final product.