BIOHAZARD 1.5

Footage of Resident Evil 1.5 1qAlyZXJm8Y Resident Evil 2 began development in 1996 shortly after the original game and was originally scheduled for a March 1997 release.

However, as the game was approaching its release date, the developers were dissatisfied with the resulting product. Rather than releasing a game they were unhappy with, the developers took the risk of developing the game again from scratch.

Characters and role



 * Leon S. Kennedy - Leon's role, much like the final game, was as a rookie police officer defending the RPD Whilst on the roof, the infected enter. At some point he was to escape into the sewers with Linda and Marvin.
 * Elza Walker - Elza's role was as a college student returning to Raccoon City after a holiday. At some point, she joins up with Sherry and Robert where they plan their escape. She was later scrapped and replaced with Claire Redfield.
 * Robert Kendo - Elza supporting character, known as "John" in 1.5. According to an interview with Hideki Kamiya, he is the same John that wrote the file in Resident Evil 1 for his lover, Ada. He supported the main character from the shadows to make amends for his involvement in the evil plans of Umbrella while his body was being attacked by the T-Virus. Depending on Player's decisions, he can either die or survive.
 * Sherry Birkin - Elza supporting character. She is being hunted by William.
 * Annette Birkin - Mother of Sherry and wife of William, she is infected with the G-Virus.
 * Marvin Branagh - Leon's supporting character. His support role was later scrapped and was made to be zombified.
 * Ada Wong - Leon supporting character, originally known as "Linda" in 1.5. her role in 1.5. is unknown, but is is possible is was to be the same in the final game. Her name and appearance was also changed.
 * Brian Irons- Chief of the Raccoon City Police Department. Unlike in the final version of RE 2, Irons was originally a protagonist in 1.5 and was to help the Player, rather than a sadistic villain.
 * Roy ("DJ") - Another R.P.D officer, role and scenario unknown.

Enemies
Crows and the Cerberi share the same role as their Resident Evil 2 counterparts, with the dogs attacking the player in outside areas. Web Spinners were supposed to hide in ventilation tunnels before attacking nearby enemies. William Birkin was to be far more monstrous, able to kill other infected creatures. As evidenced by the little known footage available of the game, in 1.5 William would mention Sherry's name.

In the prototype, the zombies were significantly more gruesome, continuing to crawl towards the player with their body below the waist severed (it's possible for this to occur in Resident Evil 2, however enemies can only be blasted in half with the Shotgun and it's harder to pull off). In addition, the Zombies could climb on ledges, which isn't featured in the final version. The various types of zombies were far more varied, including fat zombies, and multiple female zombies. These unused types later appeared again in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Chimeras in the prototype appeared to be based on spiders, as opposed to flies like in the first game; they were removed altogether from the game. The "Zombie Monkey"s were to break through the floor and attack the player by surprise. They had the ability to grab the ceiling of the area that they were at, and move around with their arms while hanging from the ceiling. Their concept art was replicated and became the Eliminator encountered in Resident Evil Zero.

Scenery
The Raccoon City Police Department was originally conceived with a more modern look, though was smaller than the finished version. The building had several internal shutters which the player could use to slow down the zombies; this was replaced with the east-wing and west-wing window shutters which can optionally be activated in the finished version.

Based on available evidence, the sewers and research facility changed very little.

Released version
This scrapped version of the game was later dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 by Capcom. This prototype version of the game starred Leon S. Kennedy from the finished game and Elza Walker, a prototype of Claire Redfield. Like Claire, Elza was a motorcyclist and college student, with the only difference being her appearance and the fact that Elza had no ties to any established character from the previous game.

Other supporting characters from the released game also appeared in Resident Evil 1.5. For example, Marvin Branagh, a minor character who gets killed off early in Resident Evil 2 played a major role in the prototype, helping Leon and Ada escape. It is worth noting that Ada's original name, Linda, and her occupation were ultimately recycled in Resident Evil Outbreak File #2. Also, a scenario was planned where Annette Birkin was supposed to be infected with the same G-cells her husband had been.

The settings of the game were also significantly changed, with the police station in the original prototype having a more contemporary design. The station included shutters, which the player would use to defend the station. A "shooting range" also made an appearance, though as enemy AI could venture into the range, its purpose is not known. Though as some material showed the targets moving, it may have been intended to be an unlockable minigame or perhaps a puzzle.

Leon was given an entirely new voice actor in the released version; his damage grunts were recycled to be used by Chris Redfield in the Dual Shock Ver.'s Extreme Battle mode. Ironically, his damage grunts in 1.5 were originally Chris' as place holders from the first Resident Evil.