Resident Evil 2 is a great sequel, and the N64 version does the game justice.
RE2, like its predecessor, was considerd a critical success on the PS1 , and a Dreamcast port and a PC port (and a much later Gamecube port) released later improved on it, with sharper graphics. The N64 version , despite the cartridge limitation , manages to be better then its disc based PS1 counterpart, retaining everything from the voice acting to cutscenes, and even adds its own extras.
Story - RE2 follows the RE1's incident in the mansion in the mountains near Racoon City. The S.T.A.R.S members escaped and attempt , with little sucess , to convince the authorities of the of the dangers the city faces. a few months later, The city becomes the victim of a zombie outbreak created by the T-virus.
Caught in the middle are Claire Redfield, coming to look for Chris Redfield , her brother and one of the heroes of RE1, and Leon Kennedy , a recently appointed police officer. The two meet up but quickly get seperated by an explosion and so decide to each make their way to the police station , in an effort to escape.
Resident Evil 2 improves on the original in terms of its story telling , telling a more complex storyline with more involved characters, The story relies less on mystery and more on the simple task of trying to get out of the city alive, making the story more compelling given the premise of the game.
Being released last, the N64 has extra text portions found in the game , which help connect the game with RE3 .
Gameplay - RE2 retains the gameplay from the first game. gameplay involves a combination of puzzle solving, item retrieval and 3rd person combat, with a number of weapons scattered throughout the game. Ammo is limited and thus forced the player to conserve ammo and thus make the choice between killing, or simply avoiding enemies. Health is restored through herbs, which can be mixed for greater effect, as well as first aid sprays.
Controls are probably the most dividing thing about the game, which relies on a grid based system of controls , not unlike that of the old Tomb Raider games. This system of controls is a hit or miss, though nothing overly confusing.
Overall, RE2 continues the gameplay convensions set by RE1 and thus can be hit or miss for some, though the gameplay does diversify itself with puzzle solving and combat.
Graphics and Sound - RE2 , much like its predecessor, uses pre renderd backgrounds with 3D polygon characters moving in those backgrounds. The game featured plenty of voice acting as well as a decent amount of videos.
For a while , the idea of an N64 port seemed unfeasable. while the N64 was easily able to handle RE2, the cartridge format had its limits in regards to the voice acting and videos.
Thankfully, RE2 on the N64 has all the FMV videos and voice acting present on the PS1 and Dreamcast, an amazing feat by any measure. The polygon characters are smoother then on the PS1 version , and feature less clipping too. The game even utilizes the RAM expansion pack for a higher resolution , making it better then the PS1 version graphically in every way. The backgrounds are a little blurrier, most likely due to compression, though its nothing serious.
Soundwise, everything has been kept, music, voice acting , sound effects, everything has been preserved on the N64. While the voice acting is improved over the first game, its still a little cheesy. The music and sound effects are better , and overall set the atmosphere for the game.
RE2 on the N64 fixes some of the issues of the PS1 version , and overall presents great production values.
In conclusion , RE2 is a great game for any platform , and the N64 version is well done , as well as being a technical feat. The interesting and fun gameplay, the good storyline and overall good production values, makes RE2 a worthy game to own.