http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsUdzKuXMFg
I heard a few times that Resident Evil was originally going to be a sequel to a game called Sweet Home on the NES, but it wasn't till recently that I finally decided to see what Sweet Home was about. So I got a translated rom and wow, this game... Had this actually came out to the states when I was a kid, I'd be horrified of it.

You're basically playing an old horror movie: there are dark places, bodies littered throughout the mansion, and a dark secret that you're trying to find out. Hell, the game even forces you to split your team of five up, with three members max for a team! Splitting up is never a good thing in a movie, but it's done extremely well in this game especially since each character wields a unique item that can't be swapped and helps you progress through the mansion. Each character can also hold two other items in their inventory, so you really need to think about what should you take and what should you leave behind. (You can swap any new item you find with something already in your pockets, so you never have to worry about picking up a "useless" item) The team managing is without a doubt the highlight of this game. Who get's the medic? Which two travel alone? The vacuum lady and the photographer should stay together right? But who will our key girl travel with? But it doesn't even stop there. There are random battles in this game on top of exploration. One awesome mechanic is the ability to call the others for help. Should your team of two get into any trouble, selecting the Call option will let you control the character you called for and any group members they're with in the middle of battle! Your job now is to get to the battling team as fast as you can. If you don't make it in time, it switches back to the fighting party and you'll have to Call again.

This. Is. Genius. And on the NES? This is an awesome gameplay mechanic! It adds a sense of urgency to the player allowing them to feel more connected with the game. Your trying to SURVIVE. And what happens if even one member dies? You get a game over right? No the game continues, but that character is dead for good. You HAVE to keep going. There are replacement items throughout the mansion that you can pick up should a character dies. Example, if your medic dies, there are Pills you can use in place of her Med Kit. If your key girl dies, there's a Wire item you can use as a lock-pick instead. The problem is, this will take up an inventory slot on another character. Since you can save anywhere, and anytime, you should.

Playing this first time through is QUITE an experience. Though I did have to look up what to do at one point. After all this was an NES game, and old school games like these have a tendency to leave you stumped. What happened was there's candlestick item that lights up dark places. Later in the game you don't need them anymore but I was still finding them in rooms. But these candlesticks were blue in color and I didn't know I actually needed them to progress. They had the same sprite but I didn't really pay attention to the color. Also, it helps to use the Look and Item->Move commands on the field on anything the looks suspicious.

Overall, this game is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend playing it.
Currently in the final area of the game. -w-