Today, another classic Resident Evil title joins the ranks of RE1 and has been brought up to modern systems thanks to GOG. As announced and promised previously, the original Resident Evil 2 from 1998 is now available for PC on GOG, alongside a whole bunch of Quality of Life improvements to bring compatibility for modern systems.

The list of new features include:

• Full compatibility with Windows 10 and Windows 11.
• 6 localizations of the game included (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese).
• Improved DirectX game renderer.
• New rendering options (Windowed Mode, Vertical Synchronization Control, Gamma Correction, Integer Scaling and more).
• Improved audio volume and panning.
• Improved cutscenes and subtitles.
• Improved savegame manager.
• Improved game video player.
• Issue-less game exit.
• Improved game registry settings.
• Improved key-binding settings and audio settings screens.
• Improved end credits in the German version.
• Fixed issues with Rooms 114 and 115 (missing text), Room 210 (invisible diary), and Room 409 (looping sound).
• Full support for modern controllers (Sony DualSense, Sony DualShock4, Microsoft Xbox Series, Microsoft Xbox One, Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, Logitech F series and many more) with optimal button binding regardless of the hardware and wireless mode.
• 4th Survivor and Tofu modes enabled from the very beginning.

Some sources online have confirmed that this release is specifically based on the original 1999 Capcom/Virgin release, instead of the SourceNext port from 2004 which is compatible with Classic Rebirth and the Seamless HD Project. It's still unclear if the developer in charge of Classic Rebirth, Gemini, will port the patch or not into this new official release. Compatibility with Seamless HD Project remains to be seen as well.

fyi as expected, Resident Evil 2 GOG is the 1999 Capcom/Virgin release, not the 2004 Sourcenext release pic.twitter.com/TbAF8RdN6i

— Jake Baldwin (sj33) ボールドウィン・ジェイク (@sjake333) August 27, 2024

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Resident Evil 2 on GOG
Resident Evil Bundle on GOG

 

[ShadowOne333]

Ha, thanks for reading that huge post.

I'm trying to think of the factors.

• Low Dreamcast sales lead to poor CV sales
• Low interest in PS2 port (still baffles me)
• Overpriced GameCube port ($39.99 USD!)
• HD port overlooked

If all of those are true, CV may be the most unlucky sequel ever. Plus, the game isn't infamous for being bad or poorly received. (I would still argue that the 6 on IGN was harsh on the reviewer's part.) At least we know why Capcom keeps passing it over.

With game dev budgets high/risky, CV/CVX will be lucky if it gets a port let alone a remaster. A remake is definitely off the table.

Well rumours say both CV and RE5 Remakes could be next, but who knows.

Honestly, with how fucking offended everyone is in today's society, I find really hard to see both of those games come forth with their story points intact, they will surely sugar coat a lot of things in them, they already did it to some extend in recent Capcom titles.

Either CVR changes Alfred's psychotic dual personality which manifests as cross dressing as her sister, or RE5 really dumbs down the enemies' race or locality even further than the original.

Both games have points of "criticism" that sadly the Devs will prefer not to touch upon rather than properly convey them with more depth in a modern remake.

That said, I would just like to have the originals, unmodified (or CV HD) available for modern systems, that's it.

 

[Robert Newbie]

I pray youre wrong, but the lack of news is disheartening to me. imho RE CV is the 3rd best RE game ever made, behind REmake and OG RE2. I heard mumbles a few months ago that they were 'working' on it but capcom has been silent on everything since. RE5 was controversial even when it came out in 2009, so honestly it makes sense for them to do CV before it regardless. Would be a lot easier for them to remake that without backlash than a RE game literally set in africa where you have Chris blasting away Africans.

My lone source is VGChartz, so I wouldn't lose all hope. Both @ShadowOne333 and myself have memories of RE:CVX selling decently on the PS2. I pre-ordered it, if that means anything, and the PS2 was still building its library back in 2001. An RE game would have made a huge splash back then.

Also, someone out there paid the full $39.99 USD for CVX on GameCube. The probability's there.

Remake projects do require several years, so it's possible something could appear out of nowhere. I could even put on my tin foil hat and guess that the "rumor" was put out there to gauge interest. One could even argue that a port doesn't exist on PC because it would take sales away from a remake.

I am confident that, if sales were truly that low across all those platforms, Capcom's higher ups aren't going to greenlight an expensive remake project.

 

[ShadowOne333]

My lone source is VGChartz, so I wouldn't lose all hope. Both @ShadowOne333 and myself have memories of RE:CVX selling decently on the PS2. I pre-ordered it, if that means anything, and the PS2 was still building its library back in 2001. An RE game would have made a huge splash back then.

Also, someone out there paid the full $39.99 USD for CVX on GameCube. The probability's there.

Remake projects do require several years, so it's possible something could appear out of nowhere. I could even put on my tin foil hat and guess that the "rumor" was put out there to gauge interest. One could even argue that a port doesn't exist on PC because it would take sales away from a remake.

I am confident that, if sales were truly that low across all those platforms, Capcom's higher ups aren't going to greenlight an expensive remake project.

That reminds me...
I am one proud owner of CVX on GameCube
Back around 15 years I started hunting down all the GameCube RE titles, and I still have them all in my possession.

 

[dalmatian666]

That reminds me...
I am one proud owner of CVX on GameCube
Back around 15 years I started hunting down all the GameCube RE titles, and I still have them all in my possession.

Geez im a proud owner of the original CV on dreamcast. still have it and the console sitting in a cupboard somewhere. Remember being absolutely blown away by the graphics in early 2000 of it, Soul Calibur and Sonic Adventure. I dont think it would be that hard to rewrite the cross dressing thing tbh, a lot easier at least than it would be for RE5. Games are trending away from "woke" stuff in games so there is even a chance Capcom says fk it and remakes it like for like. There would be far less blowback from them doing that, then them remaking RE5 in any form. Black men and women are a sizable portion of the consumer base and 95% of them couldnt care less about a cross dressing antagonist in CV but a lot of them would have a huge issue with RE5. Transgenders make up like 10% of the LGBT community, and that isnt that big in the grand scheme of things either if compared to the entire pool of people including straight people.

And i dont want people to think im sounding bigoted or anything here, its far from the case. I'm just being pragmatic about what would be running through Capcom executives head about remakes for either of the two games

 

[ShadowOne333]

Going back a bit to the Resident Evil 2 GOG release...

I tried making the whole steps to make Classic Rebirth + Seamless HD Project run on the GOG release again yesterday, and I had good success, currently playing with CR+SHDP without issues under Linux on a Steam Deck. I even managed to unlock Hard Mode and all the Special options right from the get-go, similar to the GOG but with the SourceNext conversion.

I'll try to make a step by step guide on how to do so here (I'll make a specific Tutorial post as well).
Do note that I made all this on a Steam Deck, so steps might vary on Windows:

1. (Steam Deck) Download and install the Heroic Launcher and link your GOG account to it.
2. Install Resident Evil 2 (1998) from GOG in your system
3. (Steam Deck) Once RE2 is installed, go to the game's "Settings", and go to the "Advanced" option. Here under environment variables, add the following:
   WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b"
4. (Steam Deck) If you are instead running the RE2 EXE directly on Steam as a non-Steam game, then inside Steam settings for the game add the following line under "Launch Options":
   WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b" %command%
5. Download the "Unofficial SourceNext 1.1.0 Conversion Patch for RE2 Windows 95-98" mod from NexusMods (Archived link)
6. Extract the contents of the patch's ZIP, and then copy over all the folders inside the "SourceNext" folder (Common, Pl0, Pl1, Zmovie, savedata) into your game's installation folder (where the RE2Launcher.exe file is). It should prompt you to overwrite the files and folders, do so and overwrite all files. If you didn't get an overwrite prompt, the files were not copied in the proper folder. The SourceNext folder is the only thing we need from this mod, the rest can be ignored.
7. Copy over the CD-Key.txt file inside the SourceNext conversion Zip, this will be used later.
8. Inside the game's installation folder, copy both the "ddraw.dll" file and the "RE2Launcher.exe" file. Rename the copies to "ddrawR.dll" and "RE2LauncherR.exe". This just so you can have a backup of the original files and are able to launch into the original GOG release if desired later on.
9. Download the Resident Evil 2 Classic Rebith patch, as well as the SourceNext 1.1.0 official patch.
10. Extract both patches, and copy over the "ddraw.dll" file from the Classic Rebirth patch over to the game's installation folder (should prompt to overwrite), and for the SourceNext 1.1.0 update patch, rename the "bio2 1.10.exe" file to "RE2Launcher.exe", then copy it over to the game's installation folder and replace the existing file.
11. Once all files are copied over, try to launch the game (or through Steam if on Steam Deck). It should open up the Classic Rebirth configuration/settings window.
    Enable or disable whichever options you desire (enable Quick Turn for testing), just make sure that you have the option "Color" set to "RGB888" for compatibility with the Seamless HD Project mod.
12. While the Classic Rebirth Settings window is still open, go back to where you copied the CD-Key.txt file from Step #7 and copy the key, paste it in the textbox inside the Classic Rebirth settings window (the one above the "Legacy framerate" option), and then click on OK.
13. The game should launch properly if the setup was done correctly. Get in game, and press Down+Run to test if the Quick Turn works, if it does work, then Classic Rebirth is working properly with your RE2 installation.
    
    
14. Once the game has launched successfully with Classic Rebirth, a new "config.ini" file will be created inside the game's installation folder. Open it, and modify the following parameters with these matching
    
    1. GALLERY0 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    2. GALLERY1 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    3. GALLERY2 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    4. GALLERY3 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    5. GALLERY4 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    6. SPECIAL = 0xA
    7. SuperHardSwitch = 1
       
       These changes will make all the stuff under "Special" to be unlocked by default, just like the GOG release does, but ported over to the SourceNext version.

Now if you want to apply other Quality of Life mods, follow these next steps:

• For the High Quality Sound Mod by lexas87:
  Download the package from Mega, extract all its contents into a separate folder. For Windows users, you can copy-paste all the contents directly into your installation folder without any issues, you should be prompted to overwrite the contents straight away.
  However, for Linux or Steam Deck users, be absolutely sure that each of the files and folders match the naming convention that the GOG installation uses, it is absolutely important that the folders and files match letter by letter, since Linux systems and the Steam Deck are case sensitive when it comes to file/folder names, and even the slightest of change in an upper or lower case letter will create a second file or folder if they don't match.
  Once you have checked/modified the files and folders and they match precisely, copy-paste the contents into the game's installation folder.
  NOTE: Using this mod changes the title's "Resident Eeeeeevil 2" voice to be that of the Gamecube release. If you want the original voice line instead, go to Common/Sound/core/ and delete the CORE17.SAP file, and rename the "CORE17.SAP.BAK" file to "CORE17.SAP". The BAK file is the sound with the original voiceline, so if you want that voiceline, we want to be the main core17.asp file instead of the one provided by default.
  
  
• For the MP4 movie replacement Mod by Reza Molaee:
  Download the package, extract the files and copy them over to the game's installation folder. You should be prompted to overwrite.
  Be aware, as while this mod brings better quality FMVs, it also adds Japanese subtitles and these cannot be removed.
  As far as I'm aware, this pack doesn't have any case sensitive issues for users on Linux / Steam Deck, but double check to be sure.
  
  
• For the Seamless HD Project Mod:
  You need to download TeamX's RE2 HD mod first, make sure to download the mod from ModDB (around 1.8GB), and extract from this pack ONLY the following three files: bio2hd.asi, dsound.dll and libwebp.dll. Without these files, the HD textures won't load into the game! The rest of the folders from the pack can be ignored, though it you want to, you can keep the Pl0, Pl1 and Zmovie folders, since those offer really high quality FMVs (albeit with Japanese subtitles still).
  Next, download the main Seamless HD Project mod from ModDB (around 700+MB), and extract the "hires" folder in the game's installation folder. Then download the bugfix uploded later to display the Flamethrower and Sparkshot ammo correctly from ModDB too and extract it over the hires folder from SHDP.

If setup correctly, then you will have the RE2 GOG modified to use the SourceNext EXE, with the unlockables from the GOG added into the SourceNext one by default, and also with full Classic Rebirth, HQ audio and Seamless HD Project installed into it as well for the ultimate RE2 experience. (Even though Classic Rebirth is missing the EX Files from the N64 update )

 

[Ryab]

I pray youre wrong, but the lack of news is disheartening to me. imho RE CV is the 3rd best RE game ever made, behind REmake and OG RE2. I heard mumbles a few months ago that they were 'working' on it but capcom has been silent on everything since. RE5 was controversial even when it came out in 2009, so honestly it makes sense for them to do CV before it regardless. Would be a lot easier for them to remake that without backlash than a RE game literally set in africa where you have Chris blasting away Africans.

Really I think the only reason we are getting these ports is because PC ports of the games existed already. They were made back in the 90s so they just updated them.

 

[dalmatian666]

Going back a bit to the Resident Evil 2 GOG release...

I tried making the whole steps to make Classic Rebirth + Seamless HD Project run on the GOG release again yesterday, and I had good success, currently playing with CR+SHDP without issues under Linux on a Steam Deck. I even managed to unlock Hard Mode and all the Special options right from the get-go, similar to the GOG but with the SourceNext conversion.

I'll try to make a step by step guide on how to do so here (I'll make a specific Tutorial post as well).
Do note that I made all this on a Steam Deck, so steps might vary on Windows:

1. (Steam Deck) Download and install the Heroic Launcher and link your GOG account to it.
2. Install Resident Evil 2 (1998) from GOG in your system
3. (Steam Deck) Once RE2 is installed, go to the game's "Settings", and go to the "Advanced" option. Here under environment variables, add the following:
   WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b"
4. (Steam Deck) If you are instead running the RE2 EXE directly on Steam as a non-Steam game, then inside Steam settings for the game add the following line under "Launch Options":
   WINEDLLOVERRIDES="d3d9,d3dcompiler_47,ddraw,dinput8,dsound,libwebp,xaudio2_9=n,b" %command%
5. Download the "Unofficial SourceNext 1.1.0 Conversion Patch for RE2 Windows 95-98" mod from NexusMods (Archived link)
6. Extract the contents of the patch's ZIP, and then copy over all the folders inside the "SourceNext" folder (Common, Pl0, Pl1, Zmovie, savedata) into your game's installation folder (where the RE2Launcher.exe file is). It should prompt you to overwrite the files and folders, do so and overwrite all files. If you didn't get an overwrite prompt, the files were not copied in the proper folder. The SourceNext folder is the only thing we need from this mod, the rest can be ignored.
7. Copy over the CD-Key.txt file inside the SourceNext conversion Zip, this will be used later.
8. Inside the game's installation folder, copy both the "ddraw.dll" file and the "RE2Launcher.exe" file. Rename the copies to "ddrawR.dll" and "RE2LauncherR.exe". This just so you can have a backup of the original files and are able to launch into the original GOG release if desired later on.
9. Download the Resident Evil 2 Classic Rebith patch, as well as the SourceNext 1.1.0 official patch.
10. Extract both patches, and copy over the "ddraw.dll" file from the Classic Rebirth patch over to the game's installation folder (should prompt to overwrite), and for the SourceNext 1.1.0 update patch, rename the "bio2 1.10.exe" file to "RE2Launcher.exe", then copy it over to the game's installation folder and replace the existing file.
11. Once all files are copied over, try to launch the game (or through Steam if on Steam Deck). It should open up the Classic Rebirth configuration/settings window.
    Enable or disable whichever options you desire (enable Quick Turn for testing), just make sure that you have the option "Color" set to "RGB888" for compatibility with the Seamless HD Project mod.
12. While the Classic Rebirth Settings window is still open, go back to where you copied the CD-Key.txt file from Step #7 and copy the key, paste it in the textbox inside the Classic Rebirth settings window (the one above the "Legacy framerate" option), and then click on OK.
13. The game should launch properly if the setup was done correctly. Get in game, and press Down+Run to test if the Quick Turn works, if it does work, then Classic Rebirth is working properly with your RE2 installation.
    
    
14. Once the game has launched successfully with Classic Rebirth, a new "config.ini" file will be created inside the game's installation folder. Open it, and modify the following parameters with these matching
    1. GALLERY0 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    2. GALLERY1 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    3. GALLERY2 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    4. GALLERY3 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    5. GALLERY4 = 0xFFFFFFFF
    6. SPECIAL = 0xA
    7. SuperHardSwitch = 1
       
       These changes will make all the stuff under "Special" to be unlocked by default, just like the GOG release does, but ported over to the SourceNext version.

Now if you want to apply other Quality of Life mods, follow these next steps:

• For the High Quality Sound Mod by lexas87:
  Download the package from Mega, extract all its contents into a separate folder. For Windows users, you can copy-paste all the contents directly into your installation folder without any issues, you should be prompted to overwrite the contents straight away.
  However, for Linux or Steam Deck users, be absolutely sure that each of the files and folders match the naming convention that the GOG installation uses, it is absolutely important that the folders and files match letter by letter, since Linux systems and the Steam Deck are case sensitive when it comes to file/folder names, and even the slightest of change in an upper or lower case letter will create a second file or folder if they don't match.
  Once you have checked/modified the files and folders and they match precisely, copy-paste the contents into the game's installation folder.
  NOTE: Using this mod changes the title's "Resident Eeeeeevil 2" voice to be that of the Gamecube release. If you want the original voice line instead, go to Common/Sound/core/ and delete the CORE17.SAP file, and rename the "CORE17.SAP.BAK" file to "CORE17.SAP". The BAK file is the sound with the original voiceline, so if you want that voiceline, we want to be the main core17.asp file instead of the one provided by default.
  
  
• For the MP4 movie replacement Mod by Reza Molaee:
  Download the package, extract the files and copy them over to the game's installation folder. You should be prompted to overwrite.
  Be aware, as while this mod brings better quality FMVs, it also adds Japanese subtitles and these cannot be removed.
  As far as I'm aware, this pack doesn't have any case sensitive issues for users on Linux / Steam Deck, but double check to be sure.
  
  
• For the Seamless HD Project Mod:
  You need to download TeamX's RE2 HD mod first, make sure to download the mod from ModDB (around 1.8GB), and extract from this pack ONLY the following three files: bio2hd.asi, dsound.dll and libwebp.dll. Without these files, the HD textures won't load into the game! The rest of the folders from the pack can be ignored, though it you want to, you can keep the Pl0, Pl1 and Zmovie folders, since those offer really high quality FMVs (albeit with Japanese subtitles still).
  Next, download the main Seamless HD Project mod from ModDB (around 700+MB), and extract the "hires" folder in the game's installation folder. Then download the bugfix uploded later to display the Flamethrower and Sparkshot ammo correctly from ModDB too and extract it over the hires folder from SHDP.

If setup correctly, then you will have the RE2 GOG modified to use the SourceNext EXE, with the unlockables from the GOG added into the SourceNext one by default, and also with full Classic Rebirth, HQ audio and Seamless HD Project installed into it as well for the ultimate RE2 experience. (Even though Classic Rebirth is missing the EX Files from the N64 update )

I got it and the brilliant mod, Mortal Night to work with it thankfully. Only issue is there is only two options for resolution highest being a fair bit under 1080p while there are options for re1 to play the game around QHD. also if only there was a way to incorporate the backgrounds from rechp into mortal night we would have the perfect re2 experience.

 

[alexfree]

Yeah Code Veronica for some reason never got a PC release. I think it's the only main series game that never got one, interestingly enough.
All we could hope for is that they either re-release the PS2 or Dreamcast CVX version through emulation.
I still hope that Capcom would one day make the CV HD version available for current systems, but that's hardly gonna happen.

After fumbling the RE2 port for Saturn, capcom promised a Dreamcast RE (CV). I think it was supposed to be DC exclusive, but somehow later they managed to get it out to the PS2 towards the twilight of the Dreamcast’s life.

Only RE game I’ve finished (so far).

 

[Robert Newbie]

After fumbling the RE2 port for Saturn, capcom promised a Dreamcast RE (CV). I think it was supposed to be DC exclusive, but somehow later they managed to get it out to the PS2 towards the twilight of the Dreamcast’s life.

Only RE game I’ve finished (so far).

I'm sure the legalities were worked out, like a timed exclusivity deal.

CV released on the Dreamcast in February, 2000 (Japan), and the PS2 launched in March, 2000 (Japan). The timing was a good way for Sega to boast its headstart. Unfortunately, the PS2's upcoming library (Metal Gear Solid 2, Final Fantasy X, etc.) was poised to crush the Dreamcast, and the DVD functionality helped move units.