It’s understandable that Capcom would want to rerecord all of Resident Evil’s voice acting when it rebuilt the classic for Nintendo’s GameCube in 2002. After all, that original voiceover is undeniably terrible. Yet it still feels like something’s missing when playing the recently launched HD rerelease of that GameCube version. In the 13 years since the remake’s first appearance, the original Resident Evil’s charming sub-B-movie voice work and script have become one of its most fondly remembered features, with lines like “You were almost a Jill sandwich!” reaching peak meme status. Now, thanks to the power of modern technology, one intrepid Resident Evil fan has set out on a noble quest to restore the crappy acting people know and love into the remake.
A few days after the remake’s HD rerelease, a user named Bunny shared their voiceover restoration project on a message board dedicated to modding the PC versions of Resident Evil games. It seems far from complete—Bunny is replacing the voice tracks on a room-by-room basis and has finished five rooms—but even if the mod still has a way to go, Bunny has uploaded a few videos showcasing their handiwork (including the one embedded above). As you might suspect, hearing the ridiculous 1996-era voiceover coming out of these pristine, modern characters is a jarring and hilarious juxtaposition. The out-of-sync lip flapping only enhances the accidental campy horror feel of the original game, adding in a newfound Godzilla-style dub. Maybe Capcom should’ve considered including an alternate audio track in the first place.
