10 Iconic Video Games You Had NO IDEA Were Originally Sequels
1. Devil May Cry
Originally: Resident Evil 4
The Resident Evil franchise had taken the PS1 generation by storm with its modern visuals, iconic puzzle-horror gameplay, and its role in making “survival horror” a cutting-edge commercial genre. But with new tech (the PS2) on the horizon, Capcom knew they needed to push the formula forward or risk it going stale.
Led by Resident Evil 2 director Hideki Kamiya, early prototypes for the fourth entry featured familiar elements: a gothic setting, fixed cameras, location-based puzzles, and grotesque enemies. However, the main character, monikered “Tony”, was a far cry from the tank-like protagonists of the series. He had supernatural abilities, could backflip across rooms, and dual-wield pistols in a dazzling display of agility - gameplay that looked truly evolutionary for the time.
Producer Shinji Mikami urged the team to drop the Resident Evil branding, though, feeling the tone was too vibrant and action-focused for the series, and instead rework it into its own standalone game. Amusingly, aside from (thankfully) changing the protagonist’s name to Dante and cutting his family ties to the Umbrella Corporation, not much else was altered.
Mikami would go on to direct the eventual Resident Evil 4 - itself revolutionary - but Devil May Cry became a franchise just as iconic and memorable in its own right, with Capcom accidentally landing two landmark games out of the same creative spark.