Here's just about everything you need to know, edited for less wall of textness. I underlined the differences between versions if you don't want to read it all, but it is very interesting. Each version tends to have some pluses to it and some negatives. Also, not mentioned is that the GC version I believe has a higher resolution than the others, not positive on that though. Also underlined the last JP release since it may be importable, don't know if it offers english though.
[edit] DualShock Version
Several months after the original release, a second version of
Resident Evil 2 was released known as the
DualShock Version. As the title suggests, the game was modified to incorporate support for the vibration function and analog control of the
PlayStation DualShock controller.
The main addition is a new unlockable minigame, Extreme Battle. The objective is to reach the police station from the underground laboratory and retrieve four anti-biohazard bombs located throughout the station. There are four playable characters and three difficulty settings. The Extreme Battle became a standard feature for subsequent versions of the game.
There are also some minor additions, such as ranking screens for the Hunk and Tofu minigames, a Rookie difficulty setting for the main game, as well as a "USA version" mode in the Japanese version, based on the North American version's default setting and a new cheat code that grants the player unlimited ammo for all weapons.
[edit] Other platforms
Like the original game,
Resident Evil 2 was released on other platforms after its initial success on the PlayStation. The first of these ports was a
PC version titled
Resident Evil 2 Platinum in 1999. It features all the additions from the
Dual Shock Version and
added a new gallery mode featuring illustrations, renders and in-game character models, as well as a new Hard difficulty setting for the main game.
The Sega Dreamcast version, released the same year, features these additions, along with the added benefit of viewing the character's health in a VMU. In Japan, the Dreamcast version (where it was titled
Biohazard 2 Value Plus) was bundled with a demo of
Resident Evil Code: Veronica and also contained assorted music from several
Resident Evil soundtracks released in Japan.
A
Nintendo 64 version was also released in 1999, ported by Angel Studios (currently
Rockstar San Diego).
While it was the only port of the game that did not feature the Extreme Battle mode, it did contain some console-exclusive features. The most prominent was a series of additional in-game documents known as the "EX Files" that connected the plot of the game with the other games in the series (including the then-unreleased Resident Evil Zero). Other features include an item randomizer, violence control, first-person controls and new unlockable outfits replacing the ones from the previous versions. A Hunter from the first Resident Evil is also given a cameo appearance.
The game supported the
Rumble Pak and
Expansion Pak. The N64 version is notable due to the compression techniques that the developers were forced to use in order to fit two CD-ROMs worth of data onto a single 64MB cartridge.
It also featured, for the time, a high resolution display of 640x480 compared to the PS1 version's 320x240. The game changes the resolution at each camera cut based on the number of enemies in the room. Many enemies take more processing power, so the game chooses lower resolutions. When all the enemies are defeated, it runs again at 640x480.
The N64 version also features surround sound, not found on the PS1 version, using the Mosys system from Factor 5.
The Nintendo GameCube version, released in 2003, is identical to the PlayStation's Dual Shock Version in terms of content, featuring only a minimal set of improvements such as skippable cut scenes and a higher framerate for the game's FMV sequences.
An LCD game based on
Resident Evil 2 was also released for the short-lived game.com in late 1998. Two versions of the game.com game were scheduled to be released, one starring Leon and the other with Claire, but only the former saw release. An aborted port for the
Sega Saturn was also planned that utilized the 4MB
RAM included with
X-Men vs. Street Fighter.[
citation needed] There was also an aborted port planned for the Game Boy Advance.[
citation needed]
In 2006, it was re-released on the PC platform in Japan, with full Windows XP support and uncompressed FMV sequences.
