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[IbizaPocholo]

In celebration of Resident Evil's 30th anniversary, we're looking back on the survival horror games that never escaped Capcom's walls. The stories of a culled sequel, a struggling Game Boy port, the prequel designed for a failed Nintendo 64 peripheral, and the many, many canceled versions of Resident Evil 4.

Resident Evil has often punched above its weight, but ambitious attempts to put the survival horror series on Nintendo's Game Boy and N64DD led to two famously canceled projects. Meanwhile, on the PS1, before Capcom finally created Leon and Claire's nightmare in the RPD, Resident Evil 2 was a very different game. We take a look at Hideki Kamiya's canceled Resident Evil "1.5" prototype.

• (00:00–00:42) The Resident Evil franchise has produced many games and spin-offs over 30 years, but numerous canceled or abandoned projects exist, some becoming legendary among fans.
• (00:42–01:17) Early development of the original game included wild concepts (first-person view, cyborgs) shaped by creators like Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya before evolving into the 1996 classic.
• (01:17–04:11) Resident Evil 1.5 (early version of RE2) featured different characters (Elsa Walker), a modern police station, and gameplay systems, but was canceled for being "boring."
  • A prototype leaked in 2013, making it one of the rare canceled games fans can actually play.
• (04:27–06:56) A near-complete Game Boy Color port of Resident Evilwas canceled despite impressive technical feats (compressing a PS1 game onto a cartridge).
  • A 98% complete build surfaced in 2025, showing it was fully playable.
• (07:39–10:04) Resident Evil Zero began as a Nintendo 64/64DD projectwith co-op and no loading screens but struggled due to hardware limits.
  • It was eventually moved to GameCube, where it was successfully completed.
• (10:25–11:44) Some canceled ideas never materialized at all, like "Ship Bio" (early RE3 concept) starring Hunk on a cruise ship, abandoned due to the transition to newer hardware.
• (11:44–13:28) Early versions of Resident Evil 4went through multiple radical iterations:
  • The "Stylish" version became Devil May Cry, effectively creating a new genre.
• (13:28–17:22)Other RE4 prototypes included:
  • "Castle" version with infection mechanics (cut due to technical limits)
  • "Hallucination" version with psychological horror and shifting environments (too demanding for hardware)
• (17:39–18:53) After multiple failed attempts, Shinji Mikami rebooted the project, creating the final Resident Evil 4 with over-the-shoulder camera, action focus, and parasite enemies, revitalizing the series.
• (18:53–19:47) The video concludes that canceled projects weren't wasted—they shaped the evolution of survival horror, and fan communities have played a key role in preserving and restoring these lost games.

 

[Jesb]

I think they should revisit that black smoke now that tech can handle it.

 

[consoul]

The first 1.5 build in the wild was tracked down in 2007, not 2011. It's not true that 1.5 was sourced from a deceased Capcom employee estate.

 

[Sticks]

I think they should revisit that black smoke now that tech can handle it.

Alan Wake stole it. Requiem reminded me of the RE4 demo tho.

 

[deeptech]

That spooky RE4 version in the castle was such a waste, who knows how many cool things like this we never got. Never knew about Zero first being on N64.
Funny how back then hardware was not able to support the ideas, but today it's almost reverse.

 

[Badlucktroll]

re 1.5 was cool as hell to finally play but i can see why they scrapped it. its pretty boring, dull, and backtracky and not as cinematic and engaging as the re2 that was released

 

[Dane]

The first 1.5 build in the wild was tracked down in 2007, not 2011. It's not true that 1.5 was sourced from a deceased Capcom employee estate.

Didn't Curator get the 1.5 from said deceased employee estate auction? From what I can remember, there was a disk with 1.5 and a PS2 devkit with Red Dead Revolver from Angel Studios + Capcom days around the time it was leaked, it all started late 2012 when an italian facebook group got never seen high quality screenshots from an emulator.

Funny enough, my memory says that I did see a blank disc with Resident Evil 2 written in Japanese years before the leak on the internet, not sure if was a fake copy or if it was indeed the real deal and possible the same disc sold in story above.

 

[NT80]

The original RE4 that got cancelled after multiple trailers had be so intrigued. Amazing graphics, incredible atmosphere and very mysterious. I was really hyped for that game and so disappointed when it got scrapped. I still really liked the RE4 that we got but always wondered what might've been with that mysterious spooky original version.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I remember seeing pictures of Zero in magazines before it got moved to GC. This was at the same time Dinosaur Planet was being shown as well. So many cancelled projects on N64.

 

[Jesb]

Alan Wake stole it. Requiem reminded me of the RE4 demo tho.

Doesn't matter. They can use this as a new evolution of a virus. They can put their own new spin on it. The smoke takes a life of its own and becomes self aware and travels to its next desired host. Once it enters a new body the eyes turn black and they do the whole skin turning black like in requiem.

 

[Rocco Schiavone]

I remember a lot of the Resident Evil 1,5 articles and to me it looked really cool and they had more Zombies on Screen than in Resident Evil 2 and they had even Zombie Gorillas.

Don't know why someone can call it boring.

Especially the Police Station looked more interesting than in Resident Evil 2.

 

[Bitstream]

Alan Wake stole it. Requiem reminded me of the RE4 demo tho.

Agreed, Requiem recaptured some of that hookman atmosphere

 

[Bitstream]

Doesn't matter. They can use this as a new evolution of a virus. They can put their own new spin on it. The smoke takes a life of its own and becomes self aware and travels to its next desired host. Once it enters a new body the eyes turn black and they do the whole skin turning black like in requiem.

Thats basically slitterhead

 

[Esppiral]

I hope someday that resident evil 4 version leaks, it looks amazing

 

[Werewolf Jones]

RE4 spawned DMC and Haunting Ground.

Not interested in unfinished versions tbh.

 

[Moses85]

I was so hyped for these scrapped RE4 Versions!

 

[neocycle]

I want cyborgs.

 

[Jesb]

I hate that we'll never get a pure horror Leon re game again.

 

[SkylineRKR]

I hate that we'll never get a pure horror Leon re game again.

At this point the classic cast is so rugged in killing BOW's that they will always be one man armies in whatever game they pop up in. After RE4 and 5 Leon, Chris and Jill skill sets were kind of defined. It'll be weird if they went back to being rookies unless they reboot the franchise. Which is likely why they introduced Ethan and Grace.

 

[MrCunningham]

Alan Wake stole it. Requiem reminded me of the RE4 demo tho.

I think it works better on a psychological level for a horror story about a writer named Alan Wake. The concept seems rather weak for a Horror franchise about zombies and genetic entanglement like Resident Evil/ Bio Hazard. I look at it, and just think to myself that this change in direction would have been for the worst. Or it would have been better served for a new horror series spin-off from Capcom.

 

[Parazels]

I wish Resident Evil 6 had been a failed concept I wouldn't regret!

 

[MMaRsu]

Black Smoke? What is this Lost?

 

[Perrott]

Resident Evil PSP.

 

[Unknown?]

Resident Evil PSP.

I remember being hyped for that!

 

[Trunx81]

Interesting video. Didn't know many of those facts, especially the DMC part blew my mind. It's like saying "Goof Troop on SNES inspired Resident Evil".

 

[Vick]

It's interesting there's no mention whatsoever of Resident Evil 5.

Spoiler

This version has arguably less in common with the Co-op RE5 we got than 1.5 had with RE2, or some of the other examples IGN has shown.

What was the most difficult decision you had to make on this project?

YASUHIRO ANPO, Production Director: The introduction of co-op play. It was initially developed as a single-player game, so we had to change the design a lot.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[saintjules]

Found one

 

[CamHostage]

Resident Evil PSP.

The world may never know...

I always assumed it was what eventually became the 3ds game RE Revelations, but I don't know if the teaser art supports that and no leak has described it since.

At least it got a logo; Bioshock Vita didn't even get that far.