The original Resident Evil 2 has its fair share of cut content. So much so that, if added together, it would result in a wholly alternative experience with a game that fans have loved for decades. The sum of all the material left behind on the cutting room floor is often referred to as Biohazard 1.5, which possesses an enduring legacy of its own.
A plethora of content was either discarded or reworked in some fashion, including whole characters, story elements, locations, items and even unique enemies. Not every idea makes it into a final product, for better or worse. Ultimately, it is up to the player to decide whether those decisions were justified or not, but here are some of the most significant cuts.
10 Elza Walker
Perhaps one of the most famous examples of cut content from the original was the omission of Elza Walker. Snippets of her character were eventually repurposed into an entirely new character, Claire Redfield.
Elza, similar to Claire, was meant to be a college student with a love for motorcycles. When Raccoon City is engulfed by the T-Virus outbreak, she is forced to take shelter from the zombie hordes. The police station becomes her refuge. Unlike Claire's situation, there is no missing brother to search for in Elza's case. Rather, she is simply trying to survive.
9 Additional Sidekicks
Resident Evil 2, much like its predecessor, included a companion that assisted the dual heroes in their journey(s). Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin served as helpful sidekicks to Leon and Claire, respectively. However, there were originally additional characters who were expected to support the protagonists along the way.
Leon was meant to be accompanied by fellow cop Marvin Branagh, who was initially given a more prominent role in the plot. Ada, who had a slightly different backstory as a scientist, would also have supported Leon throughout the game. In Claire's case, characters named John and Roy, along with Sherry, would have lent their aid.
8 An Overabundance Of Zombies
For a city overrun with legions of the undead, there are never more than a handful of zombies on the screen at any one time. This was due, in part, to the limitations of the PS1 hardware. Nevertheless, there was an attempt in the early planning stages of the game to up the ante.
Using less detailed models the developers wanted to increase the number of shambling nightmares that could be encountered in a particular space. More active threats would have meant more overall chaos, complementing the conditions established by the plot nicely. In the end, the decision was made to make the zombies more realistic-looking, which required their numbers to be cut down.
7 More Zombie Behaviors
The zombies themselves, in addition to their supposedly vast numbers, were also supposed to possess other behaviors. Originally, various limbs could be blown off with a well-timed shot from a heavy weapon. They would then have continued hunting the player by hauling themselves across the floor (an unsettling sight seen later in the series with Resident Evil 4's Regenerators).
Additional animations were planned as well. Unlike the final version of Resident Evil 2, zombies in the early stages of development could climb over ledges, thus increasing their maneuverability. The fact that they had additional means of following the player, thereby heightening the tension, made this an unfortunate exclusion.
6 Good Guy Brian Irons
Raccoon City Police Chief Brian Irons is one of the more iconic villains in the Resident Evil franchise. A murderer who hides behind a facade of respectability, his inclusion in the final product served to heighten the sense of creepiness already so prevalent in the police station.
Yet his villainous backstory was not initially intended. Brian Irons was actually an upstanding policeman who tried to defend the precinct building at all cost. He was even supposed to periodically assist series stalwart Leon in the course of his story arc. His character serves as an example of a drastically altered piece of cut content, bearing very little resemblance to the version depicted in the final product.
5 A Modern Police Station
The police station itself went through a noticeable alteration when compared to the finished version. The building was intended to look like an actual, run-of-the-mill police station, one whose interior conformed more with reality and the technology of the time.
Instead of bizarre art exhibits scattered all over the place, the interior locations had a more mundane feel to them. Bathrooms as opposed to torture chambers. It was the somewhat boring nature of this concept that ultimately contributed to its deletion. The art museum idea was put in its place.
4 Certain Progression Items
Items needed to progress in Resident Evil 2 are a bit unusual, to say the least. Circuit plugs made out of chess pieces, precious gems and fantastic stones are just a few examples. When the police station was originally intended to be more realistic, the items needed to traverse the building followed suit.
Presumably, electronic keycards were intended to be a relatively common feature, judging by the looks of the original building. Puzzles based upon existing technology would have also probably had more logical solutions to them if the initial concept had been maintained.
3 Body Armor
Fans of the series are familiar with the many types of items that can be found scattered across a diverse set of locations. Hip pouches are prized discoveries because they bestow on the player a permanent boost to their inventory slots. Their health bar was supposed to be given the same treatment.
Body armor that could be found and equipped was supposed to make Leon and Claire (and Elza) more durable against the vast horde of zombies. As a neat little feature, the armor was supposed to degrade as the player took damage, becoming more ripped and damaged as more hits were taken.
2 New Weapons
It is not uncommon that certain weapons fail to make the cut when a video game is developed. Resident Evil 2 was no exception. The final version offers a nice range of weaponry, some being exclusive to either Leon or Claire. Elza Walker, a character that was cut completely, even had a unique starting weapon.
The Sig Sauer P228, a handgun that failed to make the final cut, was to be Elza's first acquirable pistol. Some weapons, like the shotgun, had slightly different looks to them prior to release. Other rumored items, such as hand grenades, were discarded completely.
1 Creepy Hybrid Enemies
Players with arachnophobia were not going to sleep soundly with either version of Resident Evil 2. Along with the traditional spider, early concepts of the game included a man/spider hybrid. These enemies were able to walk like a human while retaining their furry appearance.
The developers also decided to scrap what could have been another interesting addition to Resident Evil's long cast of fiends. It was an enemy that had the appearance of a massive gorilla who had seemingly escaped captivity from the Umbrella labs. Alas, these angry primates would never see the light of day, though the similar Eliminator would in Resident Evil Zero.