Sure, you can hold out for the download-only North American release of Resident Evil HD Remaster, but I’m seeing the more hardcore fans of the long-running franchise and a few gaming friends running for the Eastern border and snapping up pre-orders for the Japanese or Asian versions of Biohazard HD Remaster instead. Why? Well, for starters, the game comes on a physical disc with a manual and as you know (or should know), PS3 games are region free, so the game should run on any console anywhere in the world. Both the Japanese and less expensive Asian version (which is for Chinese gamers and should come with an English manual or instruction sheet fold-out common to that region’s software) will have dual-language support (English and Japanese voice and text based on the console settings), so jumping back into this classic experience will be a breeze for anyone.

From what I see, that much more expensive E-Capcom Complete Edition is sold out in a few import shops, so folks who want that pack for all the goodies it contains will need to hold out and see if Capcom plans to get that out over here. Anyway, go take a gander at some comparison screenshots so you can see what you’re in for. We won’t be seeing this remaster in the US until early 2015 at the earliest, but as the import ships out this November, I have the feeling that a bunch of people will be grooving on this game before that and posting their impressions left and right in the usual spots. Will I be one of those people? Hmmm… we shall see…