A miraculous cartridge port of Resident Evil 2 in its Japanese guise. Squeezing that PlayStation monster onto N64 was a tall order, and the result is technically dazzling, with extra content and a flexible save system to boot. Some squished audio aside, the horror still grips hard.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player16+
Description
N64 port of Capcom's survival horror classic with Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield surviving zombie-infested Raccoon City. Published by Virgin Interactive, released in 1999 in Europe and North America. Two interlinked campaigns, terrifying atmosphere, puzzles and limited inventory management, N64-exclusive content.
Resident Evil 2 review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
The N64 port of Resident Evil 2, a technical feat of cartridge compression, preserves the horror aesthetic of the 1998 masterpiece: settings of the Raccoon City police station gnawed by the outbreak, sewers and lab, bathed in wan light and menacing shadows. The art direction sets a cinematic survival horror that became canonical. A timeless visual atmosphere.
Resident Evil 2's score, by Masami Ueda and his team, orchestrates fear with a proudly B-movie craft: anxious pads, strings that screech during attacks and a soothing save-room theme that became a cult favorite. The music alternates constant tension and rare breaths, matching the flight through Raccoon City. A sonic pillar of survival horror.
Leon Kennedy's first day on the force, Claire's arrival in search of her brother: the night Raccoon City falls to the outbreak. The two-character story, with interlocking scenarios, blends survival, the Umbrella conspiracy and memorable encounters, from Ada Wong to little Sherry. Efficient, poignant storytelling, the template of the zombie saga.
Angel Studios and Capcom North American October 1999 pressing, a technical feat condensing both PlayStation discs onto a single 512-Mbit cartridge via Angel Studios compression. The original US cartridge retains a few loading bugs specific to the RPD cinematic before the Rev 1 fix, which paradoxically makes it the most contested version among Capcom enthusiasts wanting to freeze the port's first iteration. A major technical piece in the N64 catalogue.
Is Resident Evil 2 still worth playing in 2026?
The N64 cartridge port of Biohazard 2 remains a genuine technical feat. Compressing this PlayStation monster onto a cart was no small task, and the result is impressive, with bonus extras and a more flexible save system on top. Some audio compression is audible and a few pre-rendered shots show their age, but the horror still works in full, carried by Capcom's intact direction. For classic survival horror fans on N64, it still stands today as a major historical curiosity and a fine way into Resident Evil 2.
