Resident Evil 1.5
Gameplay screenshot ofResident Evil 1.5, showing protagonist Elza Walker and a more modernRaccoon Police Station.
Developer	Capcom
Director	Hideki Kamiya
Producer	Shinji Mikami
Series	Resident Evil
Platform	PlayStation
Genre	Survival horror
Mode	Single-player

Resident Evil 1.5 is the unofficial name given to a canceled prototype of the 1998survival horror gameResident Evil 2. It was developed byCapcom for thePlayStation, directed byHideki Kamiya and produced byShinji Mikami.

Resident Evil 2 entered development a month after the completion ofResident Evil in early 1996. It featured the biker Elza Walker, rather thanClaire Redfield, as theplayable character alongside the police officerLeon S. Kennedy. It reached 60–80% completion before development was restarted.

With rumors of leakedbuilds circulating since the 1990s,Resident Evil 1.5 became the focus of fans andvideo game preservationists to obtain and release a copy to the public. Purchased by a small group of fans in 2011 from avideo game collector and kept private, a half-finished version was leaked online in 2013. While it is theorized that Capcom possesses a more complete version of the game, it has never been shared in any capacity. Despite its unofficial status,1.5's existence has been publicly referenced by Capcom, who included Elza'smotorcycle suit as an unlockable costume for Claire inResident Evil 2's remake.^[1]

Resident Evil 1.5 was similar to the finalResident Evil 2, but had some differences in itsmechanics. It featured fewer puzzles, and a more standardkeycard system to unlock areas. Vials of medicine replaced the first game's healing herbs, and players were able to equip two tiers of upgraded armor, an RPDbulletproof vest and high-techUmbrella Corporation body armor, represented visually on their character model. Rather than a character limping when injured, their clothing would gradually become more damaged.^[2]

The story ofResident Evil 1.5 was split into two scenarios that both took place during a zombie outbreak inRaccoon City, similar toResident Evil 2. In1.5, the story lines had separate player characters and never overlapped. While the actions of one character affected the environment of the other, they did not directly encounter each other. They would have their ownNPCs who helped them escape, who, despite being featured in the final game, were significantly different in1.5.^[2]

• Leon S. Kennedy – A police officer and protagonist who was already on the roof of theRaccoon Police Station, attempting to defend it from undead. He was conceived as a veteran in1.5 and carried over into the final game as arookie entering town.^[2][3]
• Elza Walker – A blonde motorcyclist, college student and protagonist who fled for safety at the police station, crashing her bike into its front entrance. Elza was replaced byClaire Redfield in the final game. Despite having similar traits as Claire, she was not related to any existing characters.^[2]
• Marvin Branagh – A police officer who was Leon's sidekick in1.5, surviving through most, if not all, of the game. He dies from a zombie infection partway throughResident Evil 2.^[2]
• Linda – An Asian Umbrella Corporation researcher found by Leon, who was tasked with retrieving theG-Virus. She was carried over inResident Evil 2 as a spy andmercenary namedAda Wong with her objective retained.^[2][4][5]
• John – A fellow civilian found in an RPD prison cell and Elza's sidekick, whose role was later divided betweenRobert Kendo, owner of the gun store, andBen Bertolucci, a reporter, in the finished game.^[2]
• Sherry Birkin – A lone little girl found by Elza, who was also featured inResident Evil 2 with a similar role.^[2]
• Roy – Leon's superior officer who helps Elza and John escape. He later became zombified. Roy was removed from the finished game.^[2][4][5]

Characters who appeared in both routes included:

• Brian Irons – A police chief who was initially a helpful and professional supporting character rather than insane and villainous.^[2]
• Annette Birkin – An Umbrella Corporation researcher, William's wife and mother of their daughter Sherry. Concept art depicted her as a mutant infected with the G-Virus, though it is unknown if this was to occur in game and whether the idea was repurposed for or inspired by William.^{[2][citation needed]}
• William Birkin – An Umbrella Corporation researcher and antagonist who was without most of his transformations.^[2]

While the story of1.5 generally resembled its final incarnation, some aspects were different. As the developers had assumed the first game would not be a massive success, the sequel was intended to be the conclusion of the series and put all unanswered questions to rest. Umbrella Corporation, rather than escaping any serious responsibility for the events ofResident Evil, is instead closed down entirely based on the testimony of the surviving members ofSTARS. TheT-Virus is spread throughout Raccoon City by escaped creatures from Umbrella's underground labs. After fighting through the police station, which looked more modern, as the idea to depict it as a former museum had not yet materialized, both characters then travel into the sewers in search of Umbrella's secret lab, ending up being forced to fight William Birkin. Because much of the story text, as well as the game'sfull motion videos, are missing from leaked builds, it is difficult to piece together specific details.^[2]

Resident Evil 2 was originally scheduled for a May 1997 release date, withShinji Mikami as producer andHideki Kamiya as director. Features that were being experimented with included a large amount ofzombies on screen, made possible via lowerpolygon counts, and the ability of monsters to mutate over time. Both the game'spre-rendered backgrounds, and the outfits of the main characters, could be altered based on story events and what items the characters equipped. However, as the1.5 version approached release and was 60–80% completed, the development team began to feel unsatisfied with the game, with Mikami stating in a later 1998 interview that "no one element was specifically boring, just everything as a whole", adding in a different interview that the game "was no fun". The Raccoon Police Station, initially heavily inspired by the 1976 filmAssault on Precinct 13, was seen as visually uninteresting compared toSpencer Mansion, and was redesigned based on photographic references that the team was "told off" for taking. Additionally, the low polygon counts caused the zombies to not be scary enough, despite their large number. The team did not enjoy the lack of a link to the previous game, bringing inNoboru Sugimura, then a professional script writer, as a consultant. He advised them to restart development to remedy the issues.^[6]

The game's first delay, announced in February 1997, pushed the release date back to August as the game was reworked into what eventually becameResident Evil 2.^[6] The delay allowed developers to improve the game's core code, which was later described bydata miners as having "poorly optimized" aspects.^[7] In the meantime, various builds of1.5 were used to promote the game at demos andtrade shows. While the last public appearance of1.5 is widely considered to be at the April 1997Tokyo Game Show,Hyper PlayStation Remix, a Japanesegaming magazine, seemingly had access to content from the1.5 version as late as December 1997. Adding to the confusion amongst fans, as well as the legendary status of the game, a promotional video from the 1997E3 used footage spliced together from both1.5 and an initial build of2, causing fans to believe a third version existed.Resident Evil: Director's Cut was released to fill the gap caused by the delay. The Japanese release ofDirector's Cut Dual Shock Ver. included a bonus disc containing clips of cut content, such as a burning laboratory, fights with zombie apes and a Human-Spider hybrid. One of the early demo versions ofResident Evil 2 contained leftover1.5 backgrounds and assets on the disc, which became essential for subsequent attempts at rebuilding and understanding the lost game.^[6]

While never released by Capcom in an official capacity, online rumors of development builds of the game being in circulation were common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and the game has numerous times been subjected to hoaxes and unproven claims of people possessing copies.^[6] A partially-complete demo version, often dubbed the "40% build", was obtained by a private collector in 2007. This same build would in 2012 serve as the foundation of a restorationmod developed by Team IGAS (I've Got A Shotgun). A playable version of IGAS' work was released in February 2013.^[8] This build has popularly been referred to as the "Magic Zombie Door" (MZD) build, and has served as the foundation for subsequent mods and restoration patches by other teams. An improperly dumped version of the original "40% build" was released in June 2013, subsequently followed by the release of a properly dumped one, without a watermark, from Team IGAS' original copy of the disc.^[1]

Capcom included a nod to1.5 in thedeluxe edition of the remake ofResident Evil 2, adding a costume for Claire that was based on the original concept art for Elza Walker, the character she later replaced.^[9] Progress by fans on recreating the game continues, with variouspatches being released.^[6]

• Cancelled PlayStation (console) games
• Horror video games
• Resident Evil games
• Survival horror video games
• Sequel video games
• Video games about police officers
• Video games about viral outbreaks
• Video games developed in Japan
• Video games directed by Hideki Kamiya
• Video games featuring female protagonists
• Video games set in the United States
• Single-player video games

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