Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation)

Resident Evil 2
Also known as: Biohazard 2 (JP) Developer: Capcom Publishers: Capcom (US/JP), Virgin Interactive (EU) Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: January 29, 1998 Released in US: January 21, 1998 Released in EU: May 8, 1998 This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused sounds. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article

Resident Evil 2 marks Leon and Claire's first appearances. It's also the game that made Resident Evil a household name, prompting Capcom to mercilessly port the game to numerous platforms, such as Windows and Nintendo 64, as well as a Game Boy Advance tech demo that never got off the ground. It would even receive a remake in 2019.

Resident Evil 2 is also known to have had a first draft that Capcom scrapped called Resident Evil 1.5.

To do: Compare thoroughly from the November 5, 1996 build. Check the GameCube version to see if there are any differences between that and the original PlayStation version. Compare shots from the video used at E3 1997, which shows footage from the August 27, 1997 build; most notably the Cardboard Boxes that are on the 2nd floor Mezzanine. The footage also includes the uncensored scene with the head falling to the ground before the licker drops in front of Leon. It should be noted that the E3 footage also includes footage from the first version of the game, i.e. Resident Evil 1.5. Check out the Resident Evil 2 Sales Video - VHS / November 16, 1997, which features footage from the October 31, 1997 Prototype. There are a couple of unused angles, such as the alternate path the RPD, a different angle in the final battle with Birkin, and the stuffed bear from Chief Irons' Lab that was removed in the final game. Also, figure out what song was used during the video, as it doesn't seem to be available on the Resident Evil 2 OST; not even the 1.5 OST. Check Capcom Friendly Club CFC Style - Volume 03 and document the Resident Evil 1.5 footage.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Unused Backgrounds Unused backgrounds present in the rooms' data.

Supplies Regional Differences Item placement varies quite a lot between the Japanese and international versions.

Backgrounds Differences Some details were changed in the European and Dual Shock versions due to their likeness with a popular brand of soda. The Dual Shock version also has one new background.

Unused Content

Dialogue

To do: Extract all that dialogue from the XA folders directly and upload them to here.

Within the XA voice directory of the Japanese trial edition lies unused dialogue, including two individual samples of a screaming Leon and Claire, an outtake of Leon's voice actor, and dialogue for Leon and Marvin, the black police officer who dies early in the "A" scenario game.

Other unheard dialogue can also be found in the Beta 2 prototype, including short lines from Ada and Leon.

Items

Resident Evil 2 has a lot of unused items that were leftover during its development cycle, notably from a prototype version commonly known as Resident Evil 1.5.

Unknown Handgun

This green, unknown handgun exists in the final game, but doesn't seem to have any function and can't be used. It is likely used as a placeholder graphic for unfinished inventory avatars. The gun itself seems to be based on the SIGPRO S228, as the name of the weapon exists in an item list that is in the Japanese version of the Resident Evil 2 Demo. This placeholder image is also in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, which also has a usable weapon similar to this one: the SIGPRO SP2009.

Flamethrower Fuel

For an unknown reason, Flamethrower Fuel is unobtainable. It can be restored through hacking.

Spark Shot Ammo

Like the Flamethrower Fuel, the Spark Shot ammo went unused and unobtainable. It can also be restored via hacking.

Chemicals

Chemical FR-W09	Chemical AC-W24
It converts grenade rounds into flame rounds.	It converts grenade rounds into acid rounds.

Both items, ID 24 and 25, were meant for Claire Redfield's scenario. Although unused, they are both functional and can be used with the help of cheat codes. Up to 6 Grenade Rounds can be converted into Flame Rounds by combining them with one Chemical FR-W09, or into Acid Rounds using Chemical AC-W24.

An early state of this mechanic exists in the demo versions of the game, but on top of that in those versions it is also possible to combine both chemicals together, which results in Recovery Chemical, an item not present in the final.

A similar mechanic will later be used in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, in which it is possible to combine various types of Gunpowder with Grenade Rounds to convert them into Acid, Flame and Freeze Rounds. Note that Chemical FR-W09 is also in the data of that game, unused.

Calico M950 Pistol

This Calico M950 is usable in the original version of the game and in some of the re-releases by using external cheat codes. The above footage is from the original Japanese PlayStation release.
The weapon is usable by giving the Colt S.A.A. to Leon, hinting that it was likely an extra weapon for Leon since Claire obtains the Colt S.A.A. in the locker with her extra costume.
The weapon is unfinished: the firing animation is the same as Leon's Hand Gun, it makes the same sound as the Colt S.A.A. and it does not damage enemies. A fan made mod for the PC version can make it usable in a finished state.

It would have used 9mm Hand Gun ammunition with a 50 or 100 rounds capacity.

The weapon is also in the demo, which is where these two inventory images were taken from as they did not survive for the final version, and the 10/31/97 prototype version in which it is also usable though similarly unfinished, the only differences being that it makes no sound and that it has infinite ammunition, further hinting at the weapon being intended as a bonus weapon. The ID number of the item in those versions correspond to that of the Colt S.A.A. in the final, presumably the Colt S.A.A. replaced the Calico M950, as there is no evidence of the Colt S.A.A. existing in the prototype versions either.

H&K MC51 Machine Gun

These two images exist in the final game but are unused. While hacking the weapon back into the game using external cheat codes is possible, it crashes the game when equipping it as the model for the weapon no longer exists. The weapon would have used two inventory slots. Mods for the PC version allow it to be usable.

The weapon can be seen in the Resident Evil 1.5 prototype version, and still exists in some form in the final version as it is used by Umbrella's Security Service in the cutscene in which they retrieve the virus from William Birkin. It was likely replaced by the game's actual S. Machine Gun: the MAC11, which would explain why that weapon can be retrieved from the corpse of one of the Umbrella Security Service members in the Laboratory B4 Culture Room.

Regional Differences

Title Screen

Japan	USA

Controls

Japan	USA

• The Key Config menu looks completely different. The international versions has a section at the bottom telling how to aim up and down.
• Auto-aim is on by default in the Japanese version with no obvious option to disable it. It can be disabled using a cheat code: while in-game go to the options screen by pressing SELECT, then enter the "Key Config" menu. There, hold R1 and press the Square button three times. The activation of the cheat code will be confirmed by a sound and the "KEY CONFIG" text turning red. The cheat can be disabled by entering the code again. In the international versions auto-aim is off by default and needs to be activated by selecting control Type C, which is otherwise identical to control Type A.
• The Japanese version offers a control scheme that is very similar to the first Resident Evil. Just like in the first game START opens and closes the status screen while it is Circle in the international versions, which would become the standard for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
• By default, In the Japanese version Square is OK/ATTACK and Cross is CANCEL/DASH. In the international versions Cross is OK/ATTACK while CANCEL and RUN are two separate buttons rather than the same one: Square and Triangle.
• The international versions has a pause feature by pressing START, it does not exist in the Japanese version.
• In the Japanese version Triangle is a quick map button, which does not exist in the international versions.

Difficulty

Compared to the international versions, the Japanese version has some differences which generally makes it easier:

• A few rooms have less enemies. Some examples taken from Leon A: there is one less zombie in the first room of the game, as well as in the penultimate street before entering the police station. On the mezzanine of the main hall there is one less zombie on the east side. In the first corridor basement of the police station, there are two Cerberus in the Japanese version but three in the international versions. When enemies respawn, in that same corridor there is a single Licker in the Japanese version but two in the international versions. There is also one less zombie in the last room of the B5 Laboratory.
• Some enemies are placed in slightly different spots that make them easier to dodge, most notably in the streets at the start of the game.
• Zombies have less HP in the Japanese version.

Damage System

The max HP is the same in both versions: 200. The base damage dealt by enemies is also the same in both versions. However, the Japanese version has a leniancy system: if the character's HP value is 50% or less of the max, damage dealt by enemies is reduced by 33%. In other words: if the character's status reads Caution or Danger, a zombie's bite deals 20 damage rather than 30. This mechanic is not present in the international versions in which a zombie's bite always deals 30 damage.

Supplies

• Each Ink Ribbon pick-up contains 3 ribbons rather than 2 in the international versions. However there is one more Ink Ribbon pick-up in the international versions, located in the last room of the B5 Laboratory.
• There is actually more ammo and health supplies in the international versions. For example in Leon A there is 390 Handgun Bullets and 98 Shotgun Shells to pick-up in the international versions, versus 345 Handgun Bullets and 98 Shotgun Shells in the Japanese version (+ 15 H.Gun Bullets and 7 Shotgun Shells in either version when counting the ammo on the cable car platform that may or may not appear). In that same scenario there is also 3 more Green Herbs and 1 more F. Aid Spray in the international versions. The international versions is more generous with supplies at the start of the game.
• However, a lot of supplies are hidden in the international versions: some of them are invisible in the game world, the player needs to press the OK/ATTACK button on the right spot to pick them up. In the Japanese version, the vast majority of supplies are visible, only a couple are not. Sometimes the supplies are placed in a different spot of the room also.

Death Scenes

Japanese	International

In the Japanese version, the death scene animations are censored by fading the screen to black, leaving only the sound effects and "YOU DIED" text.
Note that in both the Japanese Trial Edition and the Japanese October 31, 1997 prototype the death scenes are intact, similar to the released international versions, which proves that they were indeed censored for the final Japanese version but not for the international versions.

Misc. Differences

• The ranking order in the Japanese version is S, A, B, C, and D, where the highest being an S. In the international versions, the ranking order is A, B, C, D, and E, with A being the equivalent to the Japanese S ranking. However, the mention of the S rank was still left in the international manuals which led to some confusion.
• The European versions removed the references to the made-up soda brand in the backgrounds, making them the first versions to do that before the Dual Shock releases.
• The French, German, Italian and Spanish versions are all missing the text that is supposed to show up before gameplay starts, which corresponds to "They were parted by an unescapable destiny. This is just the beginning of their worst nightmare.". Instead, there is just a really long black screen. The text is present in the European English version.

Revisional Differences

Dual Shock Version

Seven months after the release of the original versions, Capcom released a revised version of Resident Evil 2 that added support for the force feedback and analog controls of the then newly-released Dual Shock controller (a similar revision of the first game was also released around the same period). This version also featured other content not found in the original version. Unlike the other Dual Shock version, the music was (thankfully) untouched.

Title Screen

Original	Dual Shock Version

The title screen was changed accordingly.

Key Config

Biohazard 2	Biohazard 2: Dual Shock Version

The Japanese version changed its Key Config screen to match that of the original international versions of the game. This is another clue hinting that, despite coming out one week before, the North American version was actually made after the Japanese version. The Key Config screen would have been updated for the North American version, and that update later used in the Japanese Dual Shock version.

Furthermore, it is now possible to turn on/off auto-aiming by simply pressing Start while on that screen, rather than having to use a cheat code to turn it off like in the original Japanese version. The only exception of this is when playing the Arrange Mode using the U.S.A. Version difficulty, in which case auto-aiming is turned off and can not be enabled, despite it being possible in both the original and Dual Shock North American versions.
The international versions kept the same system it has in the original release: only control Type C has auto-aiming on.

Arrange Game

This second game mode is new to the Dual Shock version.

• In the Japanese version: Original Game corresponds to the original non Dual Shock Japanese release, with its difficulty and item placement intact, while Arrange Game corresponds to the international versions, with some differences: as stated above auto-aiming can not be enabled when playing with the U.S.A. Version difficulty, and the "Easy" difficulty was replaced by Rookie difficulty, so on top of starting the game with 120 H.Gun Bullets like in the original international Easy difficulty, the player starts with the S.Machine Gun in the inventory, as well as the Gatling and Rocket Launcher in the item box, all with unlimited ammo.
• The international versions does not offer both the Japanese and international game modes. Instead, Original Game corresponds to the original international versions, with both its Normal and Easy difficulty intact, while Arrange Game only offers the Rookie difficulty which also corresponds to the international versions but starting with the S.Machine Gun in the inventory, as well as the Gatling and Rocket Launcher in the item box, all with unlimited ammo.

4th Survivor & To-fu Survivor

The "4th Survivor" and "To-fu Survivor" minigames now have a time display on top of the screen (similarly to the countdown display used during certain portions of the main game or to the Battle Game of the Saturn version of Resident Evil), as well as a result screen for each with new artwork. The player is graded based on how fast they clear the minigame. Note that save-files for these two modes are cross compatible with the non Dual Shock version of the game.

Misc.

• Debut of the Extreme Battle minigame, which is unlocked after completing either Claire or Leon's A scenario on the Normal difficulty level of the Original game mode. This minigame has three difficulty levels, which are unlocked sequentially, the third one being more difficult than the main game. It has four playable characters: Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield are available by default, while Ada Wong and Chris Redfield are unlocked after beating the first and second difficulty levels respectively. Chris has a brand new model exclusive to this game and uses the same handgun as in the Director's Cut version of the first game, with the possibility of performing critical hits and headshots with it included. Addtionally, he experiences far less recoil when firing the Custom Shotgun compared to Leon.
• A cheat code was added which gives the player unlimited ammunition in any game mode. To activate it, go to the options screen (either via the title menu or by pressing Select during gameplay) and enter "Key Config". At the Key Config screen, hold R1 and press Square 20 times. This will change the color of the Manual/Auto mark above the controller diagram from white to red. While in effect, the ammunition count of each weapon will be changed to an infinity symbol. To turn off this cheat, simply repeat the process and enter the code again (the Manual/Auto mark will be turned white again and the ammunition count will be changed back to their actual values).