Resident Evil - Grim Beginnings ROM

Welcome to Resident Evil: Grim Beginnings – a Game Boy demake of the original Resident Evil. The game is approximately 90% complete, but can be fully played from start to finish. The game was developed over an extended stay when stranded across seas during the pandemic. Not knowing when the flight embargo would lift, I worked on this project as a way to keep myself sane and creatively engaged.

What started as a simple toy-around with the GB Studio, slowly expanded into an attempt to fully demake the original Resident Evil! But life got in the way when I returned, and I never got around to finishing up the rest. It had been sitting on a shelf collecting dust, which never sat right with me, so I decided to release the game as it currently stands and offer some comments down below explaining all that is missing, glitched, or otherwise.

SPOILERS! (Things that can be easily missed)

• You can kick Joseph’s (and Kevin’s) head around like a football if you return to the helicopter crash site. There is hidden dialogue if you kick it long enough.
• You can find Barry taking a nap in the ‘Keeper’s Room’ after giving him the Serum.
• There is unique dialogue when looking in the bathroom mirror while wearing each of the unlockable costumes.
• While wearing the Zombie costume you can speak to walking Zombies and Cerberus that roam the mansion.
• Many crates and desks hide party paraphernalia, alluding to the birthday party twist ending.
• You can find a painting of a Shotgun in the ‘Shotgun Room’ and a painting of a grenade launcher on the 2F east balcony.
• If you tell Wesker you don’t think this sunglasses are cool in the intro, he will shoot you dead.
• The musical score plays to the tune of ‘Mary had a little lamb’.
• Finding all 9 Bottle Caps gives no prizes (the Merchant does warn you!)