Resident Evil 4 is almost universally adored. If not, its respective band of naysayers are divided as to why they didn’t enjoy it. One school can’t get past the fact that it’s a foray into more action-oriented gameplay, forgoing the survival horror label. The others simply complain that it was a bad game, and that they’d never slap the Resident Evil name on it. While we all know gamers will come up with any reason to talk down about a title they may enjoy otherwise, good game or not, the jury is still out on whether you could classify Resident Evil 4 as a “classic” RE title. However, whether you’re a fan of the game or not, it might be of note that it didn’t always start out the same as the end product.
You may be surprised to learn that there were entire versions of what would ultimately be Resident Evil 4 scrapped in favor of the more action-oriented gameplay. Having officially annnounced the game way back in 2001, Resident Evil 4 spent 4 years in production. During these three years, the game took at least three different forms before the retail game we know and love (or despise) was released to the public.
Tokyo Game Show 2002 saw the very first build of what was to become Resident Evil 4. This venture was affectionately dubbed the “Fog” version, for the obtrusive black fog in Leon’s field of vision. This prompted comparisons to Silent Hill. In fact, a good portion of the gameplay and look of the entire project seemed to draw heavily from the popular survival horror series. Leon was presented in his traditional garb, heading through the infamous Umbrella’s main location while under the influence of the Progenitor Virus. Rather than fighting the zombies expected from the masses, Leon was seen fighting off creatures that wouldn’t look out of place in Ico. Though the footage was short, it seemed as if Resident Evil was already headed in a new direction. The short, but interesting trailer even featured an airship, which was quite out of left field for the series.
However, this version never came to fruition, as we already know. It was swept under the rug and left to rot. That was the last anyone heard of Resident Evil 4, until two years later at E3. It was then that yet another version of the impending RE4 was revealed to the public, affectionately titled the “Hooked Man” attempt. If the previous version seemed as it were inspired more than just a bit by Silent Hill, then the “Hooked Man” version is a loving homage.
In this version, Leon encounters the Hooked Man in a series of scenes, who was intended to take the role of a Nemesis-like antagonist. The footage of the early build painted the Hooked Man in the light of Silent Hill 4-esque ghosts, and added an incredible amount of tension to just the small bit of gameplay that had been released. Sudden, jumpy scares and a keenly-orchestrated score were in place to put the emphasis on “horror” out of “survival horror”.
Traversing the hallways of a seemingly haunted mansion, all the typical Resident Evil conventions were present, such as apparent controls that carried over from the earlier games in the series, as well as the “pausing” of the action when there is on-screen text to read. Though it took a more familiar path than the Fog version, it still contained many elements that would later carry over to the retail version of RE4. These included a laser sight for Leon, the implementation of a flashlight into Leon’s outfit rather than to be used as an item, and an over-the-shoulder view when Leon aims. Though in the video we see a few instances where Leon aims just as in the past RE titles, this was obviously meant to be a bigger part than it ended up.
The Hooked Man build presented what looked to be an interesting turn for the series, introducing more terrifying themes than any of the previous games had to offer, as well as the conventional scares games like Silent Hill or Alone in the Dark tend to bring. Even Shinji Mikami, father of the franchise, warned patrons of E3 to not “pee their pants” during the game’s reveal. Though the game obviously isn’t that terrifying from the available footage, it could have had some real potential, even if it were introduced as a title parallel to the Resident Evil canon.
Ultimately, this version was scrapped as well as the developers felt it was a bit too paranormal for a typical RE game. I surmise that this was the complaint of the layman as well, since it ceased staying true to its roots. Imagine their surprise, then, when the final version of what would be the Resident Evil 4 we know today was unveiled. It was new, different, and strange. Oh no! Nothing like what RE should have been. And yet, its success has been an earmark that perhaps it is time for Resident Evil to branch out into new territory. However, deviating from the norm is Always Bad, as we have learned from overzealous gamers over the years - at least, that seems to be the “in” thing to believe these days.
Taking a look back on these scrapped versions has made me realize one thing: change is good, and the RE series should not be immune to progression. The videos hold great potential, but how happy with RE4 would you have really been had it kept the same archaic control scheme and worked from there? The argument would then arise that it wasn’t “next-gen” enough, or that it was “the same.” You can’t please everyone, but with Resident Evil 5 just around the corner, we should brace ourselves for imminent complaints and accusations that the change is not welcome. Having witnessed the early Resident Evil 4 concepts, what’s your take? Can you appreciate change or would you rather Resident Evil stick to its guns?
Whatever your opinion may be, one thing we can all likely agree on is the fact that RE will likely see another metamorphosis as the years wear on. I’m ready to see whatever is conceived. Are you?
