RE4 Tells A Better Story than RE5

[News Bot]

As a sidenote of sorts, Noboru Sugimura wrote the original story for the earlier versions of biohazard 4, as he revealed in April 2001:


Obviously, the story would have developed differently if Mikami hadn't changed the premise of the fourth part. A new plot was developed for Devil May Cry (written by Kamiya himself) while the various versions of biohazard 4 used Sugimura's draft, changing some things over the time.

The trailer for the second major biohazard 4 revision was revealed on November 14th, 2002 and released on CAPCOM's website on November 22nd, 2002. The November Famitsu issue reported that the game was 40% (fourty percent) finished.
Its scenario revolved around the "birthplace of the Progenitor Virus" (already determined to be Africa around the time of CODE:Veronica and first revealed in GUNSURVIVOR4 BIOHAZARD HEROES NEVER DIE, as seen in my signature...though a mistranslation destroyed that definite confirmation in the English version). Leon got infected with the Progenitor Virus, which made his left hand transform into leech-like beings that just so happened to be an early version of Uroboros and gave him a hidden power (as mentioned by Kobayashi on page 52 of Electronic Gaming Monthly from April 2005). According to the March 2003 issue of GamePro, it was meant to take place in December 1998, shortly after CODE:Veronica, and involved the rescue of Sherry who was held captured in Umbrella's Paris Research Institute (Kobayashi said in EGM that there was "a different woman - a girl who actually never got revealed to the public", he could have talked about the girl in the next demo, though). A dubious Umbrella employee was to team up (just like the partner system in biohazard 0) with Leon, the latter of which would later die from the painful infection, should Paul Mercier not just have made a joke (the original trailer suggested that Leon would go rampant, so it could be that the Umbrella employee would have had to kill him). The enemies were zombies and other creatures.

The trailer for the third version was released on May 13th, 2003, along with a video message from Mikami advising gamers not to pee their pants. This revision is widely known as "Hooked Man Version" or "Hookman Version", but is officially titled Hallucinatory biohazard 4.
The stage was no longer the Paris Research Institute but rather another mansion-like building. Leon was still infected and had to suppress the contamination of his body by tying off his left arm with a rope, but in addition to the powers the Progenitor Virus gave him, he suffered from severe hallucinations. The game then included an unknown girl (obviously not Sherry) and the dog.

Sugimura's scenario drafts were then reworked into several games: Hallucinatory biohazard 4 became DEMENTO / HAUNTING GROUND, the infection subplot was reused for the final version of biohazard 4 and the Progenitor Virus and Uroboros story was reworked into BIOHAZARD 5. It could be that THE UMBRELLA CHRONICLES and THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES also recycle some last remains of it.

And about biohazard 0:

So that story was written sometime in early 1999.

Holy shit, this entire post confirms a lot of my hypothesises and suspicions I've had.

[TheBatMan]

Very interesting stuff indeed. Thanks for posting.

[Stars1356]

I still wish we had got RE 3.5 and after hearing this info still feel that way. RE 4 was a great game but the horror and story were missing.

[Bianca]

The stage was no longer the Paris Research Institute but rather another mansion-like building. Leon was still infected and had to suppress the contamination of his body by tying off his left arm with a rope, but in addition to the powers the Progenitor Virus gave him, he suffered from severe hallucinations. The game then included an unknown girl (obviously not Sherry) and the dog.

I've always been really curious what role the dog had in that beta of RE4. Since that version obviously became Haunting Ground, where Hewie, the German Shepherd in the game, basically serves as your guard to fight off enemies. I wonder if you got to play the girl in RE4's beta and since she wouldn't carry around weapons (like Ashley), if you would have to use the dog?

Strange how our final version of RE4 still has a dog in it, too, who looks basically identical to Hewie anyway. I guess they decided to partially reuse the dog's role, since RE4's dog helps you during the El Gigante fight similar to Hewie.

[killer7ITA]

I real love Resident Evil 4 Beta n. 2 and n. 3

[Canas Renvall]

^ What? Not sure what you're saying.

[Stars1356]

Think he is talking about the 2nd and 3rd versions of the uncompleted RE 4. The second one was were they showed Leon shooting a black blob and getting infected. The Third would was the hooked man version.

[killer7ITA]

Think he is talking about the 2nd and 3rd versions of the uncompleted RE 4. The second one was were they showed Leon shooting a black blob and getting infected. The Third would was the hooked man version.

Yuo have right.

[Canas Renvall]

Oh, right. Got it.

[Guest]

Just found an interview from GamingWorldX. It turns out that the GamePro guys just copied that information (see "Progeny Virus") without checking its reliability. The interview was faked and thus, several details about the second version's story (Sherry's rescue and Leon's partner, an Umbrella employee) are flat-out wrong.

Joe: First of all, thank you very much for taking the time out of your schedule for this.

Capcom: Any time.

Joe: Can you tell us how you are involved with Resident Evil 4?

Capcom: On this specific project I'm working as an "Associate Designer". My formal position is Associate Producer, though.

Joe: When did Resident Evil 4's development begin, and approximately how far along is it?

Capcom: At present, the game remains about 60% complete. The project is well past the design document phase, and much of the core code is already rock solid. This is the point where it really starts coming together, and soon becomes a playable Alpha. The game officially had its first recognized features documented just after the release of Biohazard-Code Veronica, so you could say it has been a while.

Joe: Is RE4 a radical departure from previous titles in the series, as previously thought? How so?

Capcom: Radical departure is a harsh term. We want fans of our games to know that they are still receiving a "Biohazard" product, and thus the things they love will be intact. The same themes preside. However... there are quite a few "new" elements that should shock and amaze.



Joe: Can you describe some of these new elements for us?

Capcom: Sure. One of the new play mechanics features an update of the very well received, "zapping system" from prior games, and most recently BioHazard 0. But what would happen if the two characters were not on the same side of the conflict? What if they were on opposing sides, in fact? That is one of the new aspects that really enhances what we can do with our story telling.

Joe: When in the Resident Evil timeline does this game unfold?

Capcom: Ah. This is a toughie as we have some debate amongst ourselves. It is between one day, and one week from the events of Code Veronica. This allows for some curious over-lap that perceptive fans will be able to enjoy.

Joe: What can you tell us about the storyline?

Capcom: The very opening of the story in fact leads into one of my favorite gameplay aspects of the game. Leon S. Kennedy has discovered the kidnapping of Sherry Birkin from those he thought she would be safer with. At this point Leon travels to France where he incidentally reaches the complex that Claire Redfield is seen in at the beginning of Code Veronica. It is here, where he encounters the "Progeny Virus". Soon after, the player becomes infected with the fearsome virus and we learn a horrible truth about Umbrella. The events that have transpired across all the games have been their manipulations in order to provide them with a bank of suitable hosts for the "Progeny" virus. Leon becomes the first test subject and it is here where the real meat of the game begins. The new theme of the game is "survive at all costs", and Leon must deal with his humanity being stripped of him, while he pursues Sherry Birkin and her captors.

Joe: What kind of effects does the virus have on Leon? How will they alter the gameplay?

Capcom: No comment. I wouldn't want to ruin the issue.



Joe: You mentioned the character-zapping feature from RE0. What characters will the player be zapping with?

Capcom: As one can imagine, Leon would be one of the characters. The other character is a certain Umbrella Special Forces operative that some could be familiar with.

Joe: Can you elaborate on the role and identity of the Umbrella operative?

Capcom: I'd rather not, though I'm sure some of your readers will have it figured out already. It is NOT Albert Wesker. He no longer works for Umbrella, if you remember correctly.

Joe: Besides Leon and the Umbrella operative, will we be seeing any other familiar characters?

Capcom: "Seeing" yes. "Playing" no, unless a mini-game eventually comes to feature them. Surely fans have been wondering what happened to the likes of Sherry Birkin, and Steve Burnside. A few other familiar friends and foes inevitably show up as well.

Joe: Besides zombies, what types of creatures will we be encountering?

Capcom: Well, it would not be a Biohazard title without the much-loved Hunter creatures. There are also, of course, the traditional dogs. A Tyrant or rather Tyrants are also in the game, but maybe not in the capacity players will expect. There are also four uniquely new creatures, and then bosses.

Joe: Can you elaborate on the role of the Tyrants, or describe any of the new creatures?

Capcom: I'd rather not describe the new enemies as we are trying very hard to make each have a special and shocking introduction to the player. It would ruin the surprise. Tyrants are interesting. For one example, one cutscene shows several Tyrant-like creatures destroyed in mere moments by one of the "Progeny".

Joe: How is the team taking advantage of the full 3D environments?

Capcom: 3D environments provide both asset and challenge at once. Players now expect graphics to look as good as our pre-rendered remakes, as well they should... but few realize how difficult it is to maintain this with real-time graphics and lighting. As for what we are doing with the graphics, the main benefit was blurring the lines between what is and what is not interactive. Players can now be surprised by monsters springing through walls, destructible environments and much more.

Joe: Will changes be made to the series' standard control scheme?

Capcom: I'd like to say "no comment", but I know that your readers will not tolerate that, right? I can just say this. Without losing the speed/pace of Resident Evil, we've managed to include a more camera centric control scheme related more to Devil May Cry. There is also a first-person limited function now.

Joe: Can you elaborate on the first-person functions?

Capcom: It isn't complete so really, I cannot. It will at least be used to view and explore your environment, but may end up extending to play depending on gameplay balance issues.

Joe: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Capcom: Merely that I hope we bring something really wonderful to our loyal fans, and a unique game experience to those playing their first Biohazard.

Joe: Thank you again for your time.

Capcom: Absolutely. Maybe we can do this again some time soon.

Joe: We would certainly like that, as would our readers.

Capcom: May I ask a favor of your readers?

Joe: Of course.

Capcom: Please buy our game! *Gives peace sign*

[News Bot]

Well at least we can confirm it as a fake... surprised the news about it being fake wasn't thrown around the internet. Never heard anything about it, heh.

[Agent_Wong]

But holy crap what a game that would make. Someone made sure to try and make that as authentic as possible. Sounds completely insane...and fun.

[Inferno04]

This.

The main point of video games is to just have fun playing them....not to entirely focus on whether this charcter or that character has a realistic personality or not. Now, I'm not saying none of that stuff matters, but to me it's definitely not something to be that overly concerned about. Character development and good storytelling are things movies and books specialize in, not video games.

Shadow Hearts imo is a good exception to this. XD AMAZING story/characters.

As for RE4 vs RE5...I haven't played 5 yet, but I've watched playthroughs and I can say to me...I guess I don't care which tells a better story. 4 sticks out a bit more as its action system was NEW, whereas 5 is nearly identicial. However, 5 at least continues the ongoing story instead of a side one like 4 did. Even if 5 kinda skewered what story there was, it still continued with it.

[cooker]

i don't know, re4 story it's just boring and not interesting like the characters,villains,story telling and so on.

[ashkan]

EGM Interview with Hiroyuki Kobayashi:

The first version of RE4 picked up directly from where Code: Veronica left off.

HK: Well, the first version was the story of Leon as he infiltrated the headquarters of the umbrella corporation. The enemies were completely different from what you see now....

EGM: Zombies and that sort of thing?

HK: That, and other monsters very close to that style. The twist was that there was some sort of hidden power locked inside Leon's left hand, and you'd discover what it was as you played through the game.

EGM: So no rescuing the president's daughter or anything.

HK: Not at all, no, although there was a different woman around at that time - a girl who actually never got revealed to the public, now that I think a bout it. The next major version [was] the one where Leon was inside a building with the dolls and the hook enemy. The idea here was to create a very otherworldly sort of game, one that was filled with flashbacks and camera shaking and odd color effects; the sort where you never knew whether what you were seeing was real or just a hallucination. It took much more of a strong RE style approach to horror.

EGM: Ah, that hook guy was awesome!

HK: Thanks! I liked that guy too, but he ended up getting cut out.

EGM: What was the problem with the third revision?

HK: Well, by this time, we knew that the one thing we wanted Resident Evil 4 to be was a revolutionary new experience. We saw that this version wasn't going to be a great leap forward, so we started over one more time. It was a very traditional Resident Evil sort of game.

EGM: In earlier versions of the game, there were dialogue choices available to the player in some of the cut-scenes. Why did you remove them?

HK: It was mainly a matter of concentrating the player's attention on what we wanted them to see. The conversation choices never really changed the situation all that much, although there were some choices you could make in the middle of the game that change the experience.