is a 1999 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation. It is the first installment in the Dino Crisis series and was developed by the same team behind Capcom's Resident Evil series, including director Shinji Mikami, and shares many similarities with it. The story follows Regina, a special operations agent sent with a team to investigate a secluded island research facility. Finding the place overrun with dinosaurs, Regina must fight through the facility to discover its secrets and ultimately escape alive with her team.
Instead of the pre-rendered backgrounds of the Resident Evil games that preceded it, Dino Crisis uses an original real-time engine with 3D environments. Gameplay features traditional survival horror mechanics including action and puzzles, and it was developed to have more consistent visceral terror with the dinosaurs being quick, intelligent, and violent. Capcom would later market the game as "panic horror" as opposed to "survival horror" due to these design changes. The team used carnivorous animals as references for animating the dinosaurs and programming their behaviors. Mikami's vision for the game was not completely fulfilled, as he wanted to develop more complex dinosaur artificial intelligence. However, he did believe the team was able to create sufficiently detailed environments despite hardware limitations.
Dino Crisis was a critical and commercial success, with the PlayStation version selling over 2.4 million copies. Critics drew heavy comparisons to Resident Evil, with some describing it as "Resident Evil with dinosaurs". They also praised the game's intensity, graphics, and gameplay. Some criticism was directed towards the lack of dinosaur variety, repetitive environments, and tedious puzzles. Dino Crisis was ported to Dreamcast and Windows in 2000, and was re-released for the PlayStation Network in 2006. Two different versions for the Game Boy Color were in development, but both were cancelled. The game was re-released for PlayStation Plus Premium tier subscribers in October 2024 and made available for purchase on the PlayStation Store in November. In January 2025, Dino Crisis and its sequel were re-released on GOG.com with support for Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as 4K resolution and modern gamepads. Furthermore in February 2026, Dino Crisis and its sequel were released on Steam both being co-developed by GOG.com.
Gameplay
thumb|left|Regina firing at a raptor which has been blocked off with a force field
Dino Crisis features survival horror gameplay that is very similar to Capcom's early Resident Evil titles. A map is available which will show Regina's location, destination, save points, and locked doors. It is a spiritual successor to Mikami's popular Resident Evil series, which Mikami and his team wanted to move away from the fantasy elements of and make something more real. He cited The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Aliens as influences, and liked dinosaurs because they were large, strong, fearsome, and violent. The number of dinosaurs in the North American version was increased from the Japanese version, although the number of species remained the same.
Dino Crisis was first revealed at the 1999 Spring Tokyo Game Show. The game was initially released in Japan in July 1999, two months before Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Ports were released for the Sega Dreamcast console and Windows platform in 2000. The protection can be bypassed disabling the mod-chip or using action-replay codes. A top-down interpretation of Dino Crisis was in development by UK company M4 for the Game Boy Color, but was cancelled. M4 would later develop Resident Evil Gaiden for the system instead. Another UK firm called Fluid Studios was also developing a version of the game for the Game Boy Color. It would have contained all four characters from the original version, as well as seven maps, a hundred different rooms, and five types of dinosaurs; this game was also canceled.
Reception
Dino Crisis was met with mostly positive reviews. Critics compared Dino Crisis to the Resident Evil series while also drawing comparisons to Jurassic Park and describing the game as "Resident Evil with dinosaurs". During its debut week in Japan, Dino Crisis achieved sales above 300,000 units, making it the country's best-selling game from July 14 through July 21. The PlayStation version of the game ultimately sold 2.4 million copies worldwide, and is listed as Capcom "Platinum Title".
Critics generally praised the action and intensity of the game, which was heightened by the real-time engine and soundtrack. In 2002, Capcom released Dino Stalker, a lightgun game for the PlayStation 2 to mixed reviews. Finally, an action-based game, Dino Crisis 3, was released in 2003 for the Xbox to mixed reviews. The protagonist of Dino Crisis, Regina, has been featured as a playable character in the tactical role-playing game Namco x Capcom for the PlayStation 2. Her outfit is also available to wear in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and in Dead Rising 3 via downloadable content.