Shinji Mikami
Resident Evil

The first chapter of the Resident Evil series, which has now become a globally renowned franchise with dozens of chapters and spin-offs on various platforms, was released in 1996 for the then-young PlayStation.
Behind the work is a team that would also become famous over the years, Capcom by Shinji Mikami, which would later produce other masterpieces like Dino Crisis, but whose name is primarily linked to the series in question.
They are credited with decisively contributing to the birth of a new way of understanding horror, a genre that has always made strong involvement of the viewer/reader/generic user a cornerstone, succeeding where the work penetrates the consciousness and instills fear. This new way was based, in fact, on an additional level of involvement: interactivity, a tool able to increase the intensity of the experience, if used correctly.
Needless to say, this is the case.

Resident Evil institutionalizes the so-called Survival-Horror, which saw the light, albeit in its embryonic stage, not long ago with titles like Alone In The Dark, which also became part of a series that, although earlier in time and pioneering in the field, would not achieve its notoriety nor sometimes its quality.
The goal is to combine action with horror by introducing gameplay essentially based on exploration and combat but with a less arcade and more realistic approach. The player no longer only has to advance through linearly designed levels to achieve a goal, but must explore a hostile environment literally "fending for themselves," managing the resources it offers and planning the necessary countermeasures to face it.

Already from the introductory sequence, the most immediate influences are apparent: the approach is decidedly cinematic, and in particular, much is owed to George Romero and his "zombie" films (which in the game are the quintessential "enemies"), above all, the masterpiece "Night of the Living Dead".
The narrator, who is later revealed to be protagonist Chris Redfield, introduces the film, which is in black and white, and acted by (terrible) real-life actors: STARS, the special police squad of the fictional town Raccon City located in the Midwest where the events take place, arrives on the scene of the disappearance of some comrades who were supposed to investigate murders in the area apparently involving a mysterious form of cannibalism. All around is the silent and desolate nature of the forest surrounding Raccon City. The suspense is tangible and soon the unsuspecting protagonists find themselves facing a nightmare of merciless flesh-eating creatures and fleeing into the nearby mansion, which will be the true setting for the entire game.

The concept thus comes very close to that of Romero's works, to the point where some episodes verge on citation: few characters (all well-characterized, the sunglasses of the utterly bastard Albert Wesker and the allure of heroine Jill Valentine are things every fan has learned to love) trapped in a house, apparently safe, in reality, not at all, having to contend against the threat and themselves to survive.

However, little remains of the American filmmaker's "political" approach, which the creators draw mainly from on the formal side.
From this point of view, one undoubtedly encounters a masterpiece and a fantastic experience: the strength of this first Resident Evil is its conciseness, turning some hardware limitations into a virtue.
 Consider, for example, the device of the doors that open by initiating a sequence during which the character performs the action mechanically, an excellent contrivance to cover loading times.
Concise but effective are also the dialogues and the story, original and not without twists and interesting developments.

The best, however, lies in the overall visual aspect: the settings are made with splendid pre-rendered backgrounds, with the fixed camera typical of the early chapters of the saga, certainly not functional in terms of playability but absolutely in terms of emotionality. There aren't many monsters around, but they are lethal and noticeable, and the experience of sensing their presence and advancing trembling, weapon aimed and loaded, until the next change of view is priceless.
The sound mostly consists of few unsettling background motifs and, most notably, the true touch of class, the creatures' moans which accompany the protagonist through the numerous rooms of the enormous mansion where it all takes place. It is dosed with truly remarkable expertise; with few strokes, the settings are brought to life even where one finds themselves in absolute silence, lost in a sparsely furnished room, a long corridor with few windows through which only the night’s darkness is visible, a luxurious hall abandoned to dust, or a damp underground teeming with abominable beings. 

A story ultimately narrated borrowing all the genre's techniques, from the aforementioned suspense to the heart-stopping surprise effect, to the frenzy of the fights, whose goal is no longer to advance, but to save one's skin, as there are few bullets and the enemies have already died once. Saving skin while moving forward among few friendly encounters with mission companions, shot with few animations and few but highly refined FMV sequences, only occasionally resorting to computer graphics, numerous and well-conceived puzzles and enigmas to solve, some unsettling notes left around by who knows who that reveal a sinister detail each time.

Resident Evil currently holds the status of a masterpiece in video game history and the influence it has exerted on more or less immediate chronotopological proximities is notable, so much has been and continues to be its success: many other inspired titles, numerous films (a porting was made a few years later), even a remake of the essential Romero. A remake named Resident Evil: Rebirth was realized in 2002 for the new generation Nintendo Game Cube console, practically consisting of some minor plot tweaks and additions and a total graphic restyling, which with its virtuosity and almost-baroque features, impressive yet essentially superficial, at least offers the opportunity to appreciate the original's value irrespective of the technology used.

All, of course, richly deserved, since Capcom has created what a video game or even a work of art can offer at its best: emotions and, above all, an experience, which as such never ages.