The N64 Port of Resident Evil 2 is WILD

This video (hopefully) covers everything about the N64 port you could ever need to know.
As obsessed with Resident Evil 2 as I am, there’s only two versions of it I never got to play. The N64 Port, and the Dreamcast Version. The N64 version eluded me for years because I’ve exhausted all emulation attempts, it just doesn’t work and left me with the only option of buying an actual N64 and playing it from there.
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[@kyrozudesoya1829]

There's actually more to the backstory of this game's development than you might think. I don't know if this interview still exists anymore or where to find it, but many years ago there was an interview done with one of the developers involved with this port and they talked at length about the challenges they faced in making it. The biggest challenge they had was in compressing the audio (which you'll notice in the audio quality compared to the other versions). They were basically stymied, but someone managed to send them Chris Huelsbeck to help them out. If you don't know who that is, he's an old-school German game designer and musician/composer who worked on stuff like Turrican, The Great Giana Sisters, and the Rogue Squadron games. The man is an incredible musician and was able to help them overcome the technical hurdles with the audio of the game to actually fit it on there, albeit in a compromised state. For being a port this game had a much more interesting development history than people realize.

[@knightshousegames]

I heard they did some trick with the FMVs where they like cut out some amount of frames out of each second of video, as well as reducing the color depth and shrinking the videos themselves down to a smaller resolution, then scaling them up. Like every trick in the book to make them look shockingly good Certainly if you compare them to the titantron videos from the WWF games back then

[@kyrozudesoya1829]

@@knightshousegames lol damn that takes me back...

[@knightshousegames]

@@kyrozudesoya1829 I just remember the girl flapping her arms at like 2 frames a second in Chris Jericho's entrance video in Wrestlemania 2000, and it always cracked me up.

[@jonb2756]

Liar

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

@@knightshousegames That’s basically what I remember from the interviews I’ve seen/read about how they pulled it off. They developed some new codecs for very advanced compression but it still wasn’t enough, when they hit upon the idea of removing frames then playing them back in a way that doubled them up so the eye wouldn’t notice or something like that. It’s a wild achievement to pull off from a technical perspective.

[@jv-man3698]

Props to the development team. Turning a 1.4 gig game into 64 mbs is a crazy feat.

[@yosoydave8521]

that's wrong tho, the entire game actually fits in roughly 760 mb, it was due to some audio errors that were too expensive to fix that the game came out in 2 different discs, still what they did to make the game fit in a n64 cartridge is amazing

[@DennisMHenderson]

@@yosoydave8521 repeating what someone said in shittier drawn out or mundane terms to make yourself feel@home is “amazing”

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

@@yosoydave8521 The final product is 1.4GB isn't it? Fixing the issue Capcom couldn't for this port was part of the development and greatness of this port.

[@yosoydave8521]

@@xmaverickhunterkx not really, 1.4 gb is the total capacity of both discs, and of course games never use all the space, in reality disc 1 only needs 370.8 mb and disc 2 needs 373.51 mb, if they fixed the issue, they could perfectly fit both versions on a single disc, as i said it's still some serious engineering shit to manage to fit everything in a cartridge

[@xmaverickhunterkx]

@@yosoydave8521 I understand your point, but you kinda dodged mine lol.

[@i-N-k-Primus]

Not only they managed to make a 2CD game playable on ONE DAMN CARTRIDGE, but also added cool exclusive features???? Absolute legends

[@djhero0071]

Just imagine if more companies had contracted them

[@lamiamekni2802]

@@djhero0071 what would it be like ?

[@djhero0071]

@lamiamekni2802 Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, all the Capcom fighters, and probably so many more games could've been brought to the system. The library on the N64 punched way above its weight for the amount of support it had but I wonder how many games exclusive to the PlayStation could've been ported with the right amount of optimization and compression knowledge, and willingness to go for it. The ports probably wouldn't have been NEARLY as good as the PlayStation counterparts but at least the N64 wouldn't have been looked down upon as much as it was.

[@lamiamekni2802]

@@djhero0071 also I have a question about the whole fifth generation of consoles

[@ozmond]

@@djhero0071maybe the n64 shouldn’t of been a piece of crap that used cartridges instead of CDs. The N64 could’ve been so much better and had a real library of games if it wasn’t for Nintendo making it a cartridge system

[@vladv5126]

0:30 "It just doesn't work with an emulator". Me, having finished it about 10 times on Ultra64 in 2005: "Uh... okay?"

[@HarambeTheHutt]

Shout out to the dude that gifted the 64. Legendary move, friend. Keep up the videos!

[@MLPIceberg]

I wish I could get one for free... with a select few games that'd keep me entertained for years.

[@hyakugame]

@@varosanchez1 "me, having grown owning the game, never selling it" : what the hell are these guys saying lol

[@BalboaBaggins]

Sure, but I mean that dude, just like us, can play any N64 game in higher resolution on PC whenever he wants so, yeah.

[@MLPIceberg]

@@BalboaBaggins Better than pirating games, if you ask me.

[@BalboaBaggins]

@@MLPIceberg No, lower resolution.

[@absolutions6108]

Always thought the EX files were the best addition to this version. Loved seeing Rebecca's Report and how she wrote off Billy as being dead to keep him from being pursued by police.

[@Juggalo42240]

Isn't that in Resident evil 0?

[@Juggalo42240]

Sorry I was incorrect, my memory failed me lol. I forgot this version tied them all in so well. I literally played this version around the time that it was released so... many years ago LOL

[@ciciad2010]

I loved that too!! I rlly liked that little detail even tho she spelt his name with a k in coen instead lol

[@JamesT094]

@@Juggalo42240 so it’s not Resident Evil 0? Lol

[@sidlukkassen9687]

She did spell his last name wrong in the memo.

[@neoqwerty]

On the blue-scale thing, I can answer that one from modding Fire Emblem GBA: the more colors there are in an image, the more space you need for each color. A palette is limited to 16 colors so to get a LOT of colors, you then need to split it into tiles and have each tile get a palette with the colors it uses that aren't shared. Reduce the colors and you can share the same group of colors with more tiles, reducing how much data you need for images in general, since you need less palettes for it.

[@lra1095]

According to The Cutting Room Floor, the blue tint is actually an error, caused by the red and blue channel information being swapped. You can see things that are supposed to be blue are tinted red instead. The images are apparently all in JPEG format.

[@hyakugame]

A 16-bit palette is limited to 15 colors, and then a "16th" for transparency. This mostly goes for Super Nintendo, GBA... It's not the same for every console.

[@twistypunch]

I started watching this a long time ago, took a break, and finally came back. I don’t remember the reference to blue scale.

[@joker345172]

The blue tint in the loading screen is just another way to save space. And a clever one too! Generally you display images in 3 channels: R for Red, G for Green and B for Blue, and that's why it's called RGB. Generally each channel has 8 bits to work with (making it 24 bits in total for each pixel), but it doesn't have to be this way. If you remove R and G, you end up with only a blue channel, thus saving 16 bits for each pixel in the image. This adds up to a LOT, because essentially you're cutting off 66% of the size of the whole picture! But why blue specifically? Because it still manages to look ok. There are papers out there that test how our eyes perceive change in colorspaces, and the red and blue channels are the ones we notice the most. If it was all red it would probably look too agressive, and green would just make it weird. Blue has a nice feel to it and still works, so that's probably why they went with blue.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

I also think I read somewhere that red isn't the best color for improving human night vision but a soft blue is.

[@Hexaven]

@@randomlyentertaining8287 Fire/EMS here: it's the easiest hue on the eyes comfort-wise in low light condition, too. When we get calls in the middle of the night and audio tones wake us up, we have soft blue LED light strips inside our regular fixtures that light up the whole station at my department. Fun facts!

[@nikhernandez8435]

Û

[@Web720]

I thought we were perceptive to green, due to nature.

[@dmywololowol]

@@Web720 You're right, the other guy is just full of shit.

[@solidussandwich]

RE2 being on two discs was a mistake. Close to launch they realized the audio files were too big. They decided that they didn't have time to compress them being already delayed and over budget

[@goatintuxedo2206]

yep. bad compressing on most psx titles. some games are ridiculously large in size when they shouldn't. some even have unnecessary files that are never used by the cpu. ..to deter piracy maybe ?

[@juanatenco453]

Yeah, I remember watching a video about that mistake, since they didn't have the time nor the budget, they decided to release the game as 2 discs, but the overall experience could fit in just one.

[@jsr734]

Most of the audio in RE2 PS1 is sequenced samples, that doesn't take too much space. Dialogs though are streamed XA ( yellow book) audio, that is as compressed as it could. What really takes a lot if space are fmv, wich are stored at 30 fps 320x160 resolution at 24 bit color depth. Indeed the N64 version cut the fmvs framerate to 15 fps and reduced the resolution to 288x144 to fit into the cartridge.

[@goatintuxedo2206]

@@jsr734 and it doesn't make it less appealing. fmv's are nice.. but once they've been watch a number of times, we'll all skip them. so they don't weight much in the balance for my rating of a good game. if they cut important playable scenes like the real final boss William birkin in the underground train, then it would really bothers me.

[@nullbyt]

Wow 2 disks 😲 much value

[@giggles10126]

RE2 on N64 was my “officially” first time playing RE, and I’ve never looked back since then~ I used to change the blood colors whenever I would die… 😅

[@TheBoofGod]

Same bro ! It was my neighbors my pops went and got it for ps1

[@TedwardsTube]

Same here.

[@joshuawhitson135]

Dude this was the first survival horror game I ever witnessed as a kid and it was on the Nintendo 64 resident evil 2 I'll never forget especially the infinite ammo cheat & the infinite life cheat I would change the blood to green or blue cuz it just stood out so crazy to me

[@maxcool123456789]

For me as well

[@hyakugame]

why

[@ScratchMyAnchor]

someone mightve already commented this but I think it's very important to note that the ps1 release didn't actually have to be 2 discs. according to an interview I read the main reason it ended up as a 2 disc game is because near the deadline where they had to push the build out they realized they hadn't compressed the audio files enough to fit the whole game on one 700MB disc and didn't have enough time to correct it. Also if you download a ps1 rom of the game it's only 376MB for Leon and 379MB for Claire. Most games do not use the full storage capacity and when you consider that most of the files are the same since both discs largely use the same map the actual total game size is far less than 1.4GB. great video but I felt compelled to point out the math error. no matter what it's an impressive port

[@hyakugame]

So long story short, it *actually had* to be 2 discs. Cool.

[@SilentTray]

@@hyakugame the matter is it wasn't compressed from 1.4Gb It would make 755 mb, but the assets between the discs are still reused (sprites, textures, some sounds, etc) so it would be even less

[@raikohzx4323]

They wouldn't have even had to compress the audio to N64 levels to fit things, but then the cutscenes being 30 FPS probably did a number on size. There's a lot of reasons why not many PS1 games had cutscenes as smooth as RE2's, and RE3 compromising on that was a pretty good sign that they learned to optimize a bit better.

[@GTMrCat]

Quiero decir que el juego comprimido pesa 748 MB por hay y los dos discos practicamente tienen reutilizado todo exepto los trajes y cinematicas creo

[@joepearson6644]

My question is if they used two discs like they had to was the audio still compressed? No need right as they have lots of mb left 😮

[@matthatter56]

A moment of silence for all the viewers who watched this on their televisions and nearly had a heart attack at 0:01.

[@LeCrabBoi]

aint funny

[@eliasb22]

I remember watching my older cousin playing RE2 on his PlayStation growing up. I only had Nintendo consoles as a kid, and it was the first time I saw a mature game with realistic characters in a captivating, haunting setting. I asked for it like a year later for Christmas when I saw it came out on N64. My 13 year old self was ecstatic and proceeded to suck at the game for a couple years until my critical thinking skills kicked in during puberty. Now RE2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and the N64 version introduced me to the series and has made me a lifelong fan :)

[@deslacooda]

Same! I rented this game from my local Mom and Pop video shop and loved it, the foreboding atmosphere, the fixed camera angles constantly changing, just the experience of my first survival horror game! And I too have been an RE fan for decades now. Plus the infinite ammo/health cheats always made sure I never got stuck due to anything other than some of the puzzles for the first time. I will never forgive myself for getting stuck on RE3's water sewage puzzle though, I had to buy a strategy guide just to start playing it again and even then hindsight about your older brain vs your babby brain is always gonna be 20/20 but realizing you could just brute force it - I dunno, maybe I was overthinking it too much?

[@imdoneplus]

The book Itchy, Tasty explains some of the specifics of how they pulled off this game. It’s a really good read/listen (as it has an audiobook) so I don’t want to spoil it!

[@osurpless]

Link? Available in hardcover hopefully?

[@luketrochinski3954]

Lol, it's a file in the game of a guy who got bit, turns zombie, and somehow writes about eating people, feeling itchy, and eating tasty (People).

[@Deadrum]

@@luketrochinski3954nope it’s an actual book lol. I wanna get a copy myself.

[@bobbuilder5902]

​@@luketrochinski3954 They are talking about a book, not the file from re1.

[@calypsohandjack9278]

4, itchy, tasty

[@smoothALOE]

This is one of the reasons I consider RE2 the greatest of the franchise, at least from the tank controls era. The fact that it was so popular and sought after that it was condensed so it could be made for the N64 is very telling. I remember being so stunned by this game the first time I saw video of it and I recall how amazing it was to make this happen.

[@Psyphix1220]

I actually had a class that was taught by someone who worked at Angel Studios before R* bought them. He talked about about working on the port, he was really proud of what they did. Even called it the crowning achievement of his career and the studio.

[@King_Firebrand]

I remember a coworker of my father showed my brother and me the N64 with Goldeneye, which made us go crazy. But then, he put in RE2 and we had been shocked. This game was heaven, and we begged our father to buy it for us. We played this game soooo much, it was glorious.

[@felman87]

If there's ever an N64 Mini, I would love for RE2 to be included. The N64 port really is unique in what it offers, the alternate control and randomizer mode, specifically. We wouldn't get those controls again until Remake HD and as far as I can remember, there still isn't a randomizer mode on any other RE title. A shame because it definitely makes playthroughs more interest.

[@312mattzway]

I first watched my friend play RE2 on PS1, and later played it to death on my N64. I suspected back then this was a special port given the amount of exclusive content it had compared to my friend’s version. I am so thankful to Angel Studios (Rockstar San Diego) and Capcom for giving me the opportunity to play this incredible game on my N64 as a kid.

[@alexbee3997]

I had it on PS1, my favorite ever. I saw it came out on N64 and even remember thinking as a kid that it would be terrible because it was on one cartridge. I regret never trying it.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@alexbee3997 I recommend Evil Tonight, It's basically a sprite based Resident Evil.

[@IliadDreyfus-js9oe]

Calm down, it's a video game

[@user-bs4qu7tb2g]

​@@IliadDreyfus-js9oe If you are going to make these kinds of statements, why in the *world* are you watching these kinds of videos that are ALL ABOUT the intricacies of games? 😂

[@Bawkbasoup]

This is the version I grew up with and still love it the most of all :) REALLY WANNA PLAY AGAIN SOME DAY

[@WestonEvans]

I had the Dreamcast version

[@philthestampede]

Do it tomorrow. Why wait to do what makes you happy?

[@rjdiggs738]

I had an N64 with RE2 and always pulled it out once in awhile to play it. Sadly, I think my family members who were drug addicts stole it from me and sold it for their addiction.

[@InkRibbon]

Randomizer mode needs to be a thing for ALL RE Games

[@philthestampede]

@@InkRibbon Don't stop there. Give us "Resident Evil Maker"!

[@dranimations7902]

The Dreamcast version was pretty good also having the battle game and a playable Chris Redfield and additional features for the VMU (ammo/health display).

[@GatorShins-CovenDev]

Chris was in the PC version of 2 as well I think?

[@MrDmoney156]

@@GatorShins-CovenDev I think he was in the Sourcenext version if i recalled, i could be wrong.

[@frombuenosaeris]

Dreamcast RE2 also had Nightmare difficulty mode, which I don't think any of the other RE2 ports had.

[@daigu2509]

Chris was in the original in extreme battle aswell

[@FallingPicturesProductions]

@@frombuenosaeris Dreamcast RE2 was basically a straight port of the PC version, both share the same features.

[@Dcook85]

I grew up playing this version as opposed to the much more known PS1 version. Watching those cutscenes on an N64 was insane to me at the time.

[@Sinner90s]

For the time this was absolutely revolutionary and still is! Fitting all the FMV cutscenes, more options with the blood colour and violence type and the fact it had both Claire and Leon’s story all installed on the N64 cartridge! Mad the price of this port has gone up glad I’ve got my copy! Fantastic review✌🏼

[@EB07]

Somewhere in 1999-2000 I was 6-7 years old… me and my brothers went to a cousin’s house and played what became one of my favorite games and one of my favorite game franchises of all time. Time was passed…. Im 29 years now and I’m here looking to this great video and bringing back amazing memories from my childhood. Life was good, life’s still good.

[@alanlee67]

To be fair, the 2 discs had a ton of redundancies. Fmvs for solving puzzles, every background, weapon sound, enemy sound, etc. So it was not really a matter of fitting 2 discs onto a cart.

[@lwvmobile]

I think the game was even originally supposed to be one disc only, just they accidentally miscalculated and had more audio storage than they thought and didn't have enough time to go back and trim it down, and they were just barely over the limit for one disc.

[@patrickmurphy9470]

Ah Re2 for N64. A technical marvel that wasn’t supposed to be possible. Despite the grainy FMV this is my favorite platform to play this on. The EX files and item randomizer make this stand out.

[@brianmcdonald7017]

One of the most astounding technical feats in videogames

[@racc4716]

I just found a copy of this yesterday as well as the ps1 versions, and feeling the cartridge in my hand is so weird knowing that i have this impossible port in my collection. Also comparing it to other N64 cartridges its slighter heavier :) great video

[@Noctem0RebelGamer]

I ca confirm the one hit kill deaths will kill u even invincible. Fun fact ur not really invincible, ur just healing super fast, I noticed when testing it on some bosses where I’d hit pause and see my status. Pretty cool.

[@richyroa]

This is true! The cockroaches can kill you as sherry. As Leon and Claire, The G virus spawn's parasites, lickers, crows, and other monsters that can gang on you will kill you if they attack fast enough. All in all, every enemy that can swarm you or stick in to your body """may""" kill you.

[@patricksoltys6687]

I can support this as well. When fighting the pipe wielding Burkin, I actually died here and was super shocked because nothing else had caused and damage.

[@Noctem0RebelGamer]

@@patricksoltys6687 omg yes, that is the first time I figured out it wasn’t traditional invincibility. Lol

[@bobcatbix]

Same. The cockroaches in the tunnel kill you if u dont get out quick😆

[@SckharVawn]

As someone who played only the N64 version all my life, it's so strange to see some stuff in the PS1 version that most people actually think its normal xD Like the safe code, the nemesis code, the ex-files. I never knew these were different in the ps1 version until recently lol

[@erichardnett9394]

This was my Resident Evil growing up. The graphics blew me away and even as an 8 year old, I knew this game had no business on the N64

[@emilianotechs]

I appreciate that you mentioned the surround sound. I just started playing Resident Evil games recently and playing them with surround sound has been a huge advantage to be able to actually pinpoint where a zombie is!

[@Elligons]

Nothing like discovering something new about something old. Thanks for sharing.

[@jess648]

I found this more recently and I also had the similar thought of “how the hell is this possible” its actual technical wizardry that they got it to work even though there’s some kinks in the FMVs, some of the pre rendered backgrounds and ending images

[@DTM1337]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video, knew about some of the differences but good to see properly, glad you got a N64 to enjoy too!

[@slasherbuddha]

It was the version of Resident Evil I grew up playing, but I never knew it was that different. This makes me appreciate this version even more.

[@SeanVito]

Same

[@orangeslash1667]

@@SeanVito I recommend Evil Tonight, It's basically a sprite based Resident Evil.

[@t.jgiles888]

This was my first RE game. 20 years later and I'm a superfan. I specifically remember playing a randomiser game that gave me nothing but magnum bullets and red herbs. In the police station before you get the magnum. Had to play about half the game without health or ammo.

[@maxcool123456789]

This is the version and game that got me into the RE verse, thanks for sharing the facts that I didn't know already and glad you got to experience it. I would of geeked out even more as a kid if knew the importance the unique features this port had. I swear, you can get an A or S ranking using unlimited ammo and health cheats as well as the shotgun from Kendo after he dies.

[@johndoe7270]

I'm so glad you got to experience this game. I have never had any luck with emulation either. I read about it in a prima guide and wanted to try it. I ended up renting it and loving it. It was a great introduction to the Resident Evil series of games.

[@JustFun598]

Its honestly amazing how they had managed to pull this off, and fit the game for N64. I miss these times where really smart people made games, games received so much love and care, and not to mention content. These days developers are nothing like that, games are unoptimized, content gets ripped constantly, level/world designers have no vision and imagination, only thing left are the stories, at least there are still games with good stories, but even this is in a slight decline since publishers prefer multiplayer games these days over single-player.

[@adamlapinski7590]

I agree with you completely. Been saying this for years! This holds true with today’s pop culture, music, cars...etc. What happened?!

[@unscripted3209]

Arkane Studios is one of the few developers that still create games where you can really feel the passion behind it. Games like Dishonored and Prey

[@albo2591]

@@unscripted3209 dishonored and prey suck balls

[@HonsHon]

There are still tons of smart developers. Just the priorities are different now.

[@AgentAsh]

The only thing that changed is that big studios have money to push marketing for sub-par product aimed at the widest audience. There are still hundreds of talented developers out there, creating awesome games. If you judge the quality of games nowadays by Assassin Creeds and Call of Duties, that's your problem.

[@TedwardsTube]

I’m a big Resident Evil fan and this was my first RE game I played. All I had was an N64, so when this came out I was excited. It birthed my fascination with the series. Your video brought back nostalgia. I haven’t played RE2 on other systems and while I remembered all the features you talk about, I didn’t know they were unique to the N64 version.

[@Gojiro7]

It should be noted Kai, its been confirmed RE2 didn't actually need to be on 2 discs, the entire game could have fit onto one with the zapping system intact, the double disc thing was just a marketing gimmick so 700 mb was all that was needed rather then double that which means while still very impressive, fitting the game onto a N64 cartridge wasn't as impossible as it seemed.

[@carlosaponte2349]

Exactly, most of the storage data was basically audio quality and fmvs, everything was perfectly fine to be in a cartridge and even more than that. I don't know why people keep making it sound like the RE classic games were too much for the Nintendo 64 when it was actually the other way around.

[@Gojiro7]

@@carlosaponte2349 im not technical with that sort of thing so ill assume your right about that, but considering RE Zero was originally going to be a N64 game, that does sound right.

[@steelbear2063]

@@carlosaponte2349 Bruh even the smallest ps1 games are mostly more than 64mb. The other way around? That's just lunacy

[@carlosaponte2349]

@@steelbear2063 Bruh you don't need a big forehead to undertsand what I'm trying to say.

[@octo6829]

@@steelbear2063 I think what he meant was this, yes the nintendo 64 was limited with storage, but most of that storage in discs was mostly audio, images & FMVs. Basically if you take all of that away then easily you can fit any game, which is why most ports for the N64 suffered badly because their PS1 counterpart while didn't look nicely it had all the content, so pros and cons for both consoles. Imagine Metal Gear Solid on the N64 that game would've looked monumentally gorgeous compared to the PS1 which was aleady good looking, but it would not be the same without the audio quality and all FMVs that were not real time cutscenes would have to be compressed. There's a reason why final fantasy games shifted to the PS1 four discs but not because the games were that long but because of the amount of audio and FMVs put in these games, but you could argue the same about the Sega Saturn and it didn't see any FF ports and it had discs. So the thing is not about data storage but what you can do with the hardware. Again, some games like Reisdent Evil zero were being developed exclusively for the N64, why didn't they do that for the PS1? Because the capabilities of the Nintendo were far superior for what they were aiming for, yes of course except for the quality you can get from a PS1 disc, they could've done it for the PS2 but they shifted to the Gamecube.

[@ttvp]

Great video! I was one of those weirdos whose only hands-on experience playing the game growing up was on N64 lol. I remember being amazed with how they managed to compress the cutscene videos down so much even though (as you noted) it gets extremely noticeable from a resolution/framerate perspective. I don't remember if it was just my imagination but the cartridge literally FELT heavier in the hand than other games, and that for some reason impressed upon me the technological achievement of the port (and RE2 as a whole). It also supported a higher definition 640x480 mode that the Playstation didn't, so that was neat. I also, weirdly enough, grew up to prefer the 1st person controls based on their objectively quicker turning capabilities. I don't dislike the standard tank controls and over the years adjusted better to them, I just preferred the instant-turning as I was not very good at video games lol. Unfortunately the only way I could figure out how to beat it was by using a guide, but I still had a blast experiencing the whole thing with all scenarios. Good to see more people recognizing the N64 port for what it was.

[@WeedGrandma]

I don’t know how I stumbled across your channel but thank god I found this video. I remember my brother playing this when I was like 5; I’m 26 now but I got into RE a few years ago and was so confused as to why the outfits looked different then I remembered This brought back so many memories ❤

[@sleeper_wave]

Love this breakdown. One other “difference” is that there are two versions of the N64 port, one of them being the USA-1 version. According to The Cutting Room Floor, the USA-1 version is a patched version, however to my knowledge there isn’t much documentation about it. Have you ever heard of it? Do you know what differences lie in the two versions? Would love to finally know.

[@lisztophobia]

Back in those days, console game updates were uncommon. Developers usually only did them if they found something that needed to be censored or bugs that needed to be fixed in the first release. Considering that RE was meant to be bloody, I doubt that it was a censorship thing. So it was probably a bug fixing update. Exactly what bugs they fixed, I have no idea.

[@nick13b]

@@lisztophobia it was a save bug they patched.

[@edgarherrera7758]

I remember getting this port day one. It was pretty cool to see the whole game on one cart. Not enough people have played re2 on the n64.

[@ShiningAroha]

This was the first version of RE2 that I ever played. I remember trying to figure out the tank controls and being so confused as to what was supposed to be happening as Leon repeatedly side-stepped closer to zombies. What memories.

[@abdelali9279]

This was my version of RE2, because I never had a PlayStation growing up, so it was this and then PC ports for 3, 4, 5 and then I grey up to buy my own consoles, but man, this game was awesome and those violence modifiers were great for when my parent were around.

[@DarkestAB1]

This was the only version of the game I’ve seen in person, I was 5 or 6 and my aunt was playing it for me and my cousin to watch. She always asked us what color blood, and IT WAS BLUE!!

[@solid_fire9388]

it’s still amazes me that they managed to put all these content into the N64 cartridge, great stuff man 😊 the dreamcast port also have some unique stuff in it too.

[@sociallyresponsiblexenomor7608]

Gamecube had a similar problem. Discs held less data, but it was more powerful than PS2.

[@brunoutechkaheeros1182]

knowing that a Rockstar Studio made that port, says a lot about the optimization skills Rockstar in general has... its amazing

[@AdamEspersona]

I loved the N64 port of RE2. I got to play it. The Randomizer was THE best part. That they were able to cram 2 CDs into one cartridge was amazing, even with all the cuts they had to make. Also, the EX Files.

[@PartTimeLyricist]

IM SO HAPPY this was my first introduction to RE. I thought all versions got this stuff. This is actually a work of art how they managed.

[@33Dannyb]

I wish I had played it back then but I felt I was satisfied with the ps1 version at the time so I never bothered.

[@tyke2829]

Honestly never saw the appeal of these diff RE versions unless you’re a mega fan. By the end of the day, you’re still getting the experience from the game, don’t think having the ability to change the color of blood, for example, is really gonna change your experience of the game

[@33Dannyb]

@@tyke2829 Yeah that’s why I never bothered. I felt it would just be the same and even a little worse. But it is interesting now as a piece of gaming history.

[@solidsnakeandgrayfox]

@@33Dannyb emulation is your friend.

[@tyke2829]

@@33Dannyb the only RE game I think would be worth checking out over the original would be RE 1 on DS for its Rebirth mode the changes the game a lot in terms of gameplay

[@Raccon_Detective.]

@@tyke2829 It's also about the story.

[@Lyinginwait3]

This was the version of RE2 I played and I never knew how unique it was compared to the other iterations.

[@wasteland6961]

That bit with the gunshop owner getting swarmed by the zombies breaking through the glass, lives in my childhood nightmares.

[@jamessalter6592]

That was a really cool video, I have never played the N64 version, but i knew that it was a hard game to port to the N64. Was really cool to see the number of differences, i may have to go hunt this version out for my self Thanks.

[@Juggalo42240]

It's worth it

[@ifeelnothing2]

While the N64 port of RE2 was absolutely amazing... imo the story of making "1.4 GB to 64MB" seems pretty unlikely since RE2 wasn't meant to be a 2 disc game and they planned to ship it on a single CD. A miscalculation of the size of the final audio data algorithm, noticed too late, forced them to print the game at a higher cost since they didn't have the time to reprogram the audio algorithms (the game was already way behind schedule). Mikami has said he remember hanging up the phone so a team member had to run to his office to tell him, then gasping in surprise when learning about the mistake :o

[@themeangene]

Exactly. The Playstation version of Resident Evil 2 can fit on about 600 MB. Resident Evil 2 is a relatively small game when you consider every background is pre rendered and the campaigns all share about 80% of the same assets. I mean compare RE2 to Final Fantasy 7. The campaign is at least 3-4x smaller. The amount of 3D character models and FMVs is insignificant. The only advantage FF7 had was lack of voice acting. CD quality audio took up a LOT of space. Audio optimization in the 90s did a lot of work. They also cut out a lot of frames from the FMVs. Still impressive but reducing 1.4 Gigs to 64 MB would definitely have made for a far worse outcome lol.

[@silverfr3ak]

Actually a LOT of assets are reused on the disc 2. This surely doesnt take the credit from Angel Studios, but this is the kind of thing that seems impossible before it's done and, after it's done, it seems easy.

[@carlosaponte2349]

Ok well it would still mean a lot MB to port on a cartridge.

[@TheLegend-zd4mb]

If only they didn't include the FMVs and instead of just still images with text on them, it would have included Extreme Battle, 4th Survivor, Both A and B Scenarios for Leon and Claire, and Tofu.

[@carlosaponte2349]

@@TheLegend-zd4mb Bruh you seem to not know that only extreme battle was not included, everything else was still in the game EVERYTHING plus the randomizer options, cheat codes and the blood colors, did you even play the N64 version??!

[@MurphDoggTK_89]

This was my intro to Resident Evil, love this game so much.

[@P5dfsf64g36]

3:34 i does recall hearing the Ada voice in that scene in the N64 ver probably bcs i played the PAL version and it's just a few years ago back then using emulation

[@TomKiyosakiLong]

It is one of the few games released for the N64 to have FMVs, overcoming the limited storage space on the cartridge. The PlayStation version with two CD-ROMs of up to 700 MB per disc was faithfully replicated (with unique enhancements) on a 64 MB Nintendo 64 Game Pak. In the process, audio and video assets had to be more aggressively and creatively compressed, using novel techniques that shift the burden away from storage and toward the console's high real-time processing power. Across twelve months and with a budget of $1 million,Resident Evil 2 was ported to the console by a team led by nine full-time and one part-time personnel from Angel Studios. Further help was provided by ten staff from Capcom Production Studio 3 and Factor 5.

[@yanceyboyz]

Holy fuck, dude I always thought they had made a magical 512MB cart but it was 512 megabit (64MB) cart, jeeeesus now I see what all the fuss was about back then!

[@troywright359]

he didn't mention Pokemon Puzzle League which also had FMVs

[@bearcommander7278]

Resident Evil 2 on the N64 was my first RE game as well. I still have mine and have no intentions of getting rid of it. Claire has always been my favorite character.

[@claireredfield7368]

Thank you for the Support.

[@cyberpunkholiday]

This is how I got my first RE game for my 11th birthday. I’m so glad that they figured this out! Amazing work.

[@bm10626]

This was my intro to the Resident Evil series. I had wondered why the other games didnt have the randomizer option, I just thought I hadn't been able to unlock it or I needed a cheat code similar to the codes in this game

[@prodigal_rebel_2062]

Big missed opportunity to include the EX Files in the RE2 Remake.

[@steelbear2063]

They cut out like half of the original. Yeah I think EX files never stood a chance

[@angelnobody7137]

The remake was the big missed opportunity

[@knightshousegames]

The remake forgot to put the original game mechanics in the game, maybe they should have started there....

[@GugureSux]

I am still waiting for RE2 to get THE REmake treatment. But alas, that kind of tasks seems too impossible for modern devs and gamers to handle.

[@krich451]

This is the version I played the most as a kid. I remember feeling like I got ripped off when the PlayStation version didn't let you change the blood to blue.

[@DR.K14]

That's what bothered you? That you couldn't change blood color? Who cares if you can do that? It doesn't effect the gm at all. Even if that was an option, i can't imagine many ppl even using it. The gm looks dumb with green, blue, etc colored blood

[@KvltKommando]

@@DR.K14it's not fun to lose featured, and we didn't have mods or dlc, cheats were all we had to refresh our experience.

[@jerryseinfeld1345]

Back in those days Easter eggs were everything

[@gjg5789]

​@@DR.K14 You seem awfully bothered by a youtube comment about someone remembering a thought they once had as a kid.

[@DR.K14]

@@gjg5789 no, not really, but nice try. Its just that it wasnt a cool or good feature. It had zero effect on gameplay and brought nothing to the table. If that's what their focus was on then thats pretty sad

[@Anonymous8421]

The notes talking about RE0, CV, and 3 are really crazy. What a cool port.

[@Backgroundtvstatic]

It’s so wild because everyone says they never played this version but it’s the only version me and my friends had

[@ricardohernandezvega8588]

Ink Ribbon, you are one of my favorite channels. Thank you for existing and your ongoing efforts.

[@offspringfan89]

Despite the lack of Extreme Battle minigame and very low resolution FMVs, this is my favourite port of RE2, due to several exclusive and cool features. It's a shame N64 emulation is so difficult, I wonder if it will be 100% playable without glitches one day.

[@Aiyoros]

Did you try playing with retroarch's paraLLEl core? Graphically it's very accurate

[@alexandermcluvin88]

Ah, what nostalgia! The one that started it all for me! I bought this version at a local toy store in Miami, FL and man what a experience it was to play this with my siblings. The stuff of nightmares! Good fun! Thank you good sir!

[@shelagado1379]

Fun fact: The only reason why the EX files exist in the Nintendo 64 port is because Resident Evil 0 was being developed for the Nintendo 64 at the time so they wanted to add lure to this version to prepare players for Resident Evil 0 but of course it was cancelled and later released on GameCube.

[@victoriousf.i.g.3311]

I was going to mention Starcraft 64 (the video beat me to it); that game was also a heck of a feat for the N64. I remember being blown away when I beat the three main campaigns only for the Brood War expansion to open up. Realizing the game had just doubled its content out of nowhere blew my mind back in the day. Some of these ports were insane.

[@xTJC1988x]

As much as I would rather play a RTS game on a computer instead of a game system, I can understand why some companies actually did that at the time. The problem back then was that RTS games were of course usually on PC but compared to today not a lot of people could afford computers or if they had a computer they might not be powerful enough to handle those kinds of games. Some of the game companies realized this and took the risk and took some RTS games and make them playable with a controller instead of a keyboard and mouse and brought them to game systems. Playing games like that on a game system and using a controller is clunky as hell compared to using a keyboard and mouse on a computer but back then it was the only practical way a lot of people would be able to play games like Starcraft or Command and Conquer.

[@syn-militia9059]

I missed your videos so much man! hope you enjoy your new place and cant wait for some more banging content.

[@DecisiveThreat204]

I'm shocked! No mention of being able to shoot the camera! Such an Important feature of this port. Loved the video. I was always amazed that I could play re2 on my 64 as a kid.

[@varosanchez1]

Congratulations for such a detailed video ! A lot of interesting stuff in this version of the game, i thought it wasn't worth it at all just for being the weekest version of all (in graphics), i was so wrong ! Thanks again

[@Johnny2Cellos]

Great video! I had no idea about any of these differences, even though this was the first version I played. Might try to get myself a copy now

[@alexgeorge501]

i hope we get to see you narrate the EX files from this port one day!

[@InkRibbon]

It's on my list!

[@NoxianSoulHarvester]

Thank you Mathew Long for gifting this to ink ribbon so we could have this video and delve into the game with one of my favorite RE content creators

[@swampert564]

This was my first entry way back in the tail end of 1999. I was 7 years old at the time. Our dad was never particularly worried about violence in movies and games, he always figured we were smart enough to treat the matter seriously enough. He played through it first just to make sure and then said I could play if I wanted to. He told me that if I get scared that its my choice to do so. I did and I was scared but I had a great time too. Its still probably my favorite entry other than 4.

[@DeltaSpark8]

About the 1st person controls, when enabled, you can still use tank controls with the D-pad. Also, they're somehow superior to the alternate controls from REmake HD as the orientation of the controls won't change with a camera angle switch until you stop moving. Basically, as long as you keep tilting the control stick and never return it to the zero point, it's quite effective as a means of navigation since your controls won't just switch without warning. Trying to change direction even a little bit after a camera switch in REmake HD doesn't do this and will throw you off completely. Just another high point of this port.

[@amcstud2346]

The real question is how in the hell did you manage to record gameplay footage off the N64! If I ever played that version I would have kept the blood blue the entire time.

[@Flak_Dancer]

Maybe like old times with a TV and VHS connected xD.

[@gameskyjumper1721]

pass thru converter box. record into usb stick probably.

[@proto-geek248]

Green seems more zombieish, but blue's cool too.

[@jesse646]

Thirium

[@octo6829]

The real question here is why are you so shocked when there are TONS of options for recording footage from actual hardware nowadays?

[@dmxdxl]

I love that this has MORE content and yet is so much smaller, and them making an N64 port of a game 64mbs is just pure gaming poetry!!!.....

[@Gungho73]

The opening to this video surprised me. I figured if someone hadn't played 2 versions of RE2, it would've been safe to assume the N64 version due to its costs. But I didn't even consider the Dreamcast getting a version! I thought you were gonna bring up the GAME COM version for sure!

[@CoryHart00]

Damn, this version is really unique, isn't it ? Thank you for the knowledge Kai ! ♥

[@jamesbounds]

I remember using the green blood mode. It was cool seeing it on the mutated monsters like the lickers and bosses.

[@prvdntus]

RE2 for the N64 is a total gem of game. I still have my copy and that bad boy is gonna be a relic

[@boomvoyaj9998]

This is the first time I know about this information, thank you for this wonderful video

[@Chris.in.taiwan]

Always wondered what made the N64 version so special!

[@IslandBoy-808]

Don't know.From what I seen, the N64 port is the worst version of a great game.

[@1andTheOnlyy]

This is unreal . Makes the other versions look in complete . So much more content .

[@sebastiann.8088]

lol the other versions had their own share of content so I wouldn't go as far as to say that

[@adamvialpando106]

RE2 on the N64 was the first RE game I played and I have been in love ever since.

[@AnotherSeeker]

this went from " I don't know if this will be the most interesting video" to " absolutely fantastic" reeeal quick. Thanks Ink. I watch regardless,

[@Volgotha]

I own this thing in my collection, it's great!!

[@CucasNerdyCorner]

The first time I played this version was on a emulator on my old laptop and I had no issues with it at all

[@ryan-tc3rk]

Love your videos Its helped me so much knowing someone has the same love for resident evil

[@richardjohnson8796]

I played it on N64, but didn't realize how amazing it was or what features it had beyond what the PS version i played more had. I do remember the option to change the blood color, although I always picked red

[@atheling889]

I really like the N64 port for all its extras it’s such a cool version to have as a RE2 fan the Dreamcast is still my fav though just for the Insane hard mode they added that really gives you a run for ya money even if you are a RE2 veteran haha plus with a hdmi adaptor u can play it on modern hd tvs no prob an it looks crisp too not as good as the PC version can look but out of all the console versions it’s top dawg for me lol

[@ManOnHorizon]

3:50 - something tells me that the second cutscene in the A scenario is the same for both Claire and Leon - the impact is always on the rear of the police vehicle.

[@richyroa]

It has both instances of the body flying, rear and front. The only difference I could spot as a kid, was the sound when the truck was approaching (loud on PSone, no sound on 64). Also, the text when you start the adventure is different. In fact, I don't remember it being present on 64, as It takes longer to load on PSone. I will check this with my copy and report later, haha.

[@timmytacoburrito]

I've played the PS1 version, and the only way i was able to play the N64 version was thru emulator. As glitchy and funny it looked (so many, many graphical glitches) i really liked this version, and honestly feels nostalgic at this point

[@Haachamahusband]

This was actually the version I grew up with. I remember playing this when I was 4.