The long-lost Game Boy Color version of Resident Evil has been preserved in a far more complete form than ever before. The recovery was announced in December 2025 by Games That Weren’t, following the discovery of a final development build dating from the point of cancellation in early 2000.
Developed by HotGen for Capcom and Virgin Interactive, the project aimed to compress the full PlayStation experience onto Nintendo’s 8-bit handheld using pre-rendered backgrounds and software-scaled sprites. Despite severe hardware limitations, most locations, puzzles, cutscenes, and both playable characters were retained.
The newly preserved build is estimated to be around 98 percent complete and includes intro credits, end sequences, and the Tyrant boss, elements missing from earlier prototype releases. Debug features found in previous builds have been removed, and evidence suggests the game may now be fully completable, though some bugs and unfinished elements remain.
In addition to the ROM, Games That Weren’t also preserved extracted assets, unused content, sound effects, music data, and developer materials, offering unprecedented insight into one of the most ambitious handheld conversions ever attempted. The recovery represents a major milestone in cancelled game preservation and finally allows this infamous Resident Evil port to be studied and experienced close to its intended final form.
[Source: gamesthatwerent.com]