10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Resident Evil

4. Sengoku Biohazard Became Onimusha

In 1997, Capcom had originally planned to follow Resident Evil 1 or Biohazard as it's known in Japan, with a game titled 'Sengoku Biohazard'. The concept was essentially the original Resident Evil game, but in an oriental style. Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto described the idea briefly in an interview; 'The battle will take place using a Katana and Shuriken. The house will contain hidden doors behind walls, ceilings that fall down to you, scrolls and ninja magic, and many other ninja techniques'.

Sengoku Biohazard never came to fruition under that name, but Capcom's Onimusha bears an incredible resemblance to the ideas that Okamoto discusses. Those who have played Onimusha will know katanas, ninja magic, scrolls, traps and hidden ceilings all appear in the series and are highly relied upon to reinforce the Asian and oriental themes. It's also worth noting that the finished product is arguably more like Resident Evil than anything Okamoto describes; the fixed camera angle, menu, control scheme, use of supernatural elements, puzzles and narrow environments are all very similar to Resident Evil games that came before it.

Sengoku Biohazard was a ridiculous idea, but ultimately it lead to one of the best franchises to ever launch on the Playstation 2.