10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Resident Evil

3. Resident Evil 1.5 And Resident Evil 2's Changes

Resident Evil 2 was put into development one month after the original was completed, but the finished product was almost entirely different. Capcom management weren't happy with the finished version of the game, so they decided to rework the entire game from scratch, the earlier version now being referred to as 'Resident Evil 1.5'.

A huge difference was the absence of Claire Redfield - the game originally featured a different female protagonist known as Elza Walker, a student and motorcycle enthusiast. The story was said to be much more conclusive in this version, but writers feared that this didn't allow for additional installments in the series. The game's engine was also heavily modified, character models originally showed signs of physical damage relating to the player's health, and could be modified with collectible gear and equipment which increased defense. The 3D models were rebuilt with more polygons giving them greater detail, but this also meant the game could handle less figures on screen. There's also talk of a fan release of this original version, as apparently some programmers have found a large majority of the prototype's original files.

The huge delay caused by Resident Evil 2's need for remodeling is the reason why Resident Evil: The Director's Cut shipped with a playable demo, it was Capcom's way of apologizing to fans for having to wait.