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Resident Evil 1.5

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Resident Evil 1.5
Gameplay screenshot of Resident Evil 1.5, showing protagonist Elza Walker and a more modern Raccoon Police Station.
Developer(s)Capcom
Director(s)Hideki Kamiya
Producer(s)Shinji Mikami
SeriesResident Evil
Platform(s)PlayStation
Genre(s)Survival horror
Mode(s)Single-player

Resident Evil 1.5 is the unofficial name given to a scrapped prototype version of the 1998 survival horror game Resident Evil 2. It was under development by Capcom for the PlayStation, and was directed by Hideki Kamiya and produced by Shinji Mikami. Beginning development a month after the completion of Resident Evil in early 1996, the game was drastically different than the completed version of Resident Evil 2.[clarification needed] It featured police officer Leon S. Kennedy and biker Elza Walker, rather than Claire Redfield, as the playable characters. It ultimately reached 60-80% completion before development was restarted nearly from scratch.

With rumors of leaked builds circulating since the 1990s, Resident Evil 1.5 became the focus of dedicated fans and video game preservationists to obtain and release a copy to the public. Purchased by a small group of fans in 2011 from a video game collector and kept private, a half-finished version was leaked online in 2013. While it is theorized that Capcom possesses a more complete version of the game, it has never been shared in any capacity. Despite its unofficial status, 1.5's existence has been publicly referenced by Capcom, who included Elza's motorcycle suit as an unlockable costume for Claire in Resident Evil 2's remake.[1]

Gameplay

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See also: Resident Evil 2 § Gameplay

Resident Evil 1.5 played in a fairly similar manner to the eventual Resident Evil 2, but had some differences in its mechanics. It featured fewer puzzles, and a more standard keycard system to unlock areas. Vials of medicine replaced the first game's healing herbs, and players were able to equip two tiers of upgraded armor, an RPD bulletproof vest and high-tech Umbrella Corporation body armor, represented visually on their character model. Rather than a character limping when injured, their clothing would gradually become more damaged.[2]

Plot

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Characters

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The story of Resident Evil 1.5 was split into two scenarios that both took place during a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City, similar to Resident Evil 2. In 1.5, the story lines had separate player characters and never overlapped. While the actions of one character affected the environment of the other, they did not directly encounter each other. They would have their own NPCs who helped them escape, who, despite being featured in the final game, were significantly different in 1.5.[2]

  • Leon S. Kennedy - A police officer and protagonist who was already on the roof of the Raccoon Police Station, attempting to defend it from undead. He was conceived as a veteran in 1.5 and carried over into the final game as a rookie entering town.[2][3]
  • Elza Walker - A blonde motorcyclist, college student and protagonist who fled for safety at the police station, crashing her bike into its front entrance. Elza was replaced by Claire Redfield in the final game. Despite having similar traits as Claire, she was not related to any existing characters.[2]
  • Marvin Branagh - A police officer who was Leon's sidekick in 1.5, surviving through most if not all of the game. He perishes from a zombie infection partway through Resident Evil 2.[2]
  • Linda - An Umbrella Corporation researcher sent to retrieve the G-Virus, who was trapped in a burning police van until she was rescued by Leon. Linda was carried over in Resident Evil 2 as a spy named Ada Wong.[2][4][5]
  • John - A fellow civilian found in an RPD prison cell and Elza's sidekick, whose role was later divided between Robert Kendo, owner of the gun store, and Ben Bertolucci, a reporter, in the finished game.[2]
  • Sherry Birkin - A lone little girl found by Elza, who was also featured in Resident Evil 2 with a similar role.[2]
  • Roy - Leon's superior officer who helps Elza and John escape. He later became zombified. Roy was removed from the finished game.[2][4][6]

Characters who appeared in both routes included Chief Brian Irons, who was initially a helpful and professional supporting character rather than insane and villainous, and Sherry's parents, Annette and William Birkin, who was without most of his transformations.[2]

Story

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While the story of 1.5 generally resembled its final incarnation, some aspects were different. As the developers had assumed the first game would not be a massive success, the sequel was intended to be the conclusion of the series and put all unanswered questions to rest. Umbrella Corporation, rather than escaping any serious responsibility for the events of Resident Evil, is instead closed down entirely based on the testimony of the surviving members of STARS. The T-Virus is spread throughout Raccoon City by escaped creatures from Umbrella's underground labs. After fighting through the police station, which looked more modern, as the idea to depict it as a former museum had not yet materialized, both characters then travel into the sewers in search of Umbrella's secret lab, ending up being forced to fight William Birkin. Because much of the story text, as well as the game's full motion videos, are missing from leaked builds, it is difficult to piece together specific details.[2]

Development

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Resident Evil 2 was originally scheduled for a May 1997 release date, with Shinji Mikami as producer and Hideki Kamiya as director. Features that were being experimented with included a large amount of zombies on screen, made possible via lower polygon counts, and the ability of monsters to mutate over time. Both the game's pre-rendered backgrounds, and the outfits of the main characters, could be altered based on story events and what items the characters equipped. However, as the 1.5 version approached release and was 60-80% completed, no one at Capcom was satisfied by it, with Mikami stating in a later 1998 interview that "no one element was specifically boring, just everything as a whole", adding in a different interview that the game "was no fun". The Raccoon Police Station, initially heavily inspired by the 1976 film Assault on Precinct 13, was seen as visually uninteresting compared to Spencer Mansion, and was redesigned based on photographic references that the team was "told off" for taking. Additionally, the low polygon counts caused the zombies to not be scary enough, despite their large number. The team did not enjoy the lack of a link to the previous game, bringing in Noboru Sugimura, then a professional script writer, as a consultant. He advised them to restart development to remedy the issues.[7]

The game's first delay, announced in February 1997, pushed the release date back to August as the game was reworked into what eventually became Resident Evil 2.[7] The delay allowed developers to improve the game's core code, which was later described by data miners as having "poorly optimized" aspects.[8] In the meantime, various builds of 1.5 were used to promote the game at demos and trade shows. While the last public appearance of 1.5 is widely considered to be at the April 1997 Tokyo Game Show, Hyper PlayStation Remix, a Japanese gaming magazine, seemingly had access to content from the 1.5 version as late as December 1997. Adding to the confusion amongst fans, as well as the legendary status of the game, a promotional video from the 1997 E3 used footage spliced together from both 1.5 and an initial build of 2, causing fans to believe a third version existed. Resident Evil: Director's Cut was released to fill the gap caused by the delay, and included clips of cut content, such as a burning factory and a fight with zombie apes and a Spider Hybrid monster. Some beta versions of Resident Evil 2 contained 1.5 backgrounds and assets hidden within their code, and became red herrings when fans later tried to rebuild the lost game.[7]

Unofficial release

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While never distributed by Capcom in an official capacity, leaked development builds of the game were rumored to have been in circulation as early as the late 1990s, prompting numerous hoaxes and claims that fans possessed a copy in order to flaunt it as a status symbol.[7] In 2001, a playable copy of the game appeared on eBay, but it is unclear whether it was purchased, and it never reached the public.[7] A partially-complete demo version, dubbed the "40 percent build", or "raw build", was obtained by a video game collector nicknamed "The Curator", and purchased by a group of fans in 2011 for USD $8,000. Rather than releasing it directly to the public, they formed Team IGAS (I Got A Shotgun) in order to mod improvements into the game, while searching for more advanced builds that may have existed. The withholding of the game, in addition to purported harassment and sabotage towards other rival modders, angered part of the community. Screenshots of the game began to leak in 2012, and a playable but "broken" version of the IGAS build was leaked in February 2013.[9] Eventually, a different fan, author Richard Mandel, discovered an alternate build for sale on eBay, purchased it and released it unmodified in June 2013.[1]

Legacy

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Capcom included a nod to 1.5 in the deluxe edition of the remake of Resident Evil 2, adding a costume for Claire that was based on the original concept art for Elza Walker, the character she later replaced.[10]

Progress by fans on recreating the game continues, with various patches being released.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Burns, Benjamin (2019-03-08). "The 15-year hunt for Resident Evil 1.5". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Faulkner, Jason (2018-12-12). "Resident Evil 1.5: Everything You Need to Know About The Game Resident Evil 2 Could Have Been". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  3. ^ Fahs, Travis (March 11, 2009). "IGN Presents the History of Resident Evil". IGN. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Resident Evil Archives. BradyGames Publishing. November 8, 2005. pp. 218–220. ISBN 978-0-7440-0655-1.
  5. ^ Capcom Design Works (in Japanese). Enterbrain, Inc. August 1, 2001. pp. 22–30. ISBN 978-4-7577-0412-1.
  6. ^ Capcom Design Works (in Japanese). Enterbrain, Inc. August 1, 2001. pp. 22–30. ISBN 978-4-7577-0412-1.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Hurley, Leon (2018-09-18). "How the never released Resident Evil 1.5 survived 22 years to appear in Resident Evil 2 Remake". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  8. ^ Hurley, Leon (2015-03-13). "Raising the Dead – How Fans Are Trying to Save Resident Evil 1.5". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2023-10-17. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  9. ^ Plunkett, Luke (2013-02-18). "There's A Playable, If Broken Build Of An Unreleased Resident Evil Game Out There". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2023-08-25. Retrieved 2023-08-25.
  10. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (2018-10-09). "The Resident Evil 2 remake deluxe edition has a cool nod to the scrapped Resident Evil 1.5". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
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