Resident Evil 4 [GC/PS2 - Beta]

Resident evil 4 is probably the console game with the most tormented development cycle of all time. Originally scheduled for Playstation 2 in 2001, the Capcom game had to wait four years and as many betas to take the final form. The first version, as it is well known, became Devil May Cry because the build was deemed too action-oriented to be part of the series. Nevertheless, the trappings of the Resident Evil saga were plentiful, from the fixed camera to the haunting environments.

Gamers were shocked by the announcement that Resident Evil 4 would be exclusively on the Gamecube. The first Gamecube beta was presented at TGS 2002, showing Leon in a strange metallic structure (later confirmed to be an Airship) fighting a bizarre fog creature. The few words spoken in the trailer were about the Cradle of the Progenitor Virus, and apparently the story centered on the assault of our heroes to Umbrella Europe. Moreover, Leon was probably infected and wielded odd supernatural powers.

The following year (2003) Resident Evil 4 was shown again. This version had different features and a new emphasis on the supernatural that seemed to bring the game closer to Silent Hill. In this new trailer, Leon (who still had some strange power) was inside a mansion infested with some strange presence, notably a strong creature with a hook. An extended video of this beta is featured on Biohazard 4 Secret DVD, where we can also see the Killers Armors still present in the final game on Ashley’s stage.

Although this last beta seemed to be the most promising and polished version yet, Capcom decided to start over again. The third beta, which according to the programmers featured zombies, was not even presented to the public. Finally, the Resident Evil 4 we are most familiar with was shown at E3 2004. The Resident Evil 4 Unseen Saga didn’t end there, though. After about a year of the Gamecube release, Resident Evil 4 was ported to the Playstation 2 with a few new locations.

Moreover, the trial version of the Gamecube version was hacked, revealing the names of many rooms of the various betas and really cool items like the Optical Camo and the Infrared Goggles. It seems that the programmers were still making changes to the game until the very end of development. Knowing Capcom, maybe even the setting of the last chapter of Umbrella Chronicles is lifted from the scrapped zombie version of Resident Evil 4.

Thanks to Robert Seddon for the contribution and to Jay for the english corrections!

In Formeragent’s Youtube channel we can see an interesting video with beta comparisons.

In November 2009, Tyrant of resident-evil-beta.de discovered a pre-release version of Resident Evil 4. These are the main differences from the final game:

• You can use the silencer on the hand gun and on the tmp
• The merchant menu is very different
• You can contact Hunningham, but there is no pic of her
• You can play  only the first three levels
• The screen “end of level xx” is different
• Some voices from the enemies are different
• Saddler’s voice is different
• All documents are missing
• If you pick up an item,the sound is different
• the debug menu is fully unlocked

A pic of a woman found extracting the files inside the beta.  Probably just a placeholder.

Unused item

Also, Enrico Marini of the THIA forum found the beta polygonal model of Ashley and an interesting placeholder, Jill dressed with the Ada dress, in the retail version of Resident Evil 4 :

Clicca qui per la versione in Italiano ▼

Images:

 

Videos:

1. Resident Evil: Code Veronica [Beta]
2. Resident Evil Outbreak [PS2 - Beta]
3. Resident Evil 0 [GC - Beta]
4. Resident Evil 2 Trial [PSX - Beta]
5. Resident Evil 3 [PSX - Beta]