|
BIOHAZARD 15TH ANNIVERSARY BOOK THE ELEMENTS is a book released in collaboration with BEAMS T to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary.
|
|
Released: 20/09/2011
Hardcover: 112 pages Publisher: CAPCOM ISBN-10: 4862333095 ISBN-13: 9784862333094 |
A game series that first saw the light of day in 1996 has, after 15 years, continued to be loved by many fans to this day.
The passage of time brings about various changes and transforms needs.
Through countless challenges & trial and error, "BIOHAZARD" has continued to evolve.
Let's look back on the journey it has taken.
The passage of time brings about various changes and transforms needs.
Through countless challenges & trial and error, "BIOHAZARD" has continued to evolve.
Let's look back on the journey it has taken.
THE BIRTH OF THE HORROR GAME MASTERPIECE, "BIOHAZARD" (p.009-011)
BIOHAZARD
Amidst a surge of bizarre incidents, Chris & Jill of S.T.A.R.S. head into the mountains to search for their comrades and are attacked by strange creatures. The mansion they flee into on Wesker's orders is filled with unprecedented terror and mystery, forcing the pair into a desperate struggle for survival.
Amidst a surge of bizarre incidents, Chris & Jill of S.T.A.R.S. head into the mountains to search for their comrades and are attacked by strange creatures. The mansion they flee into on Wesker's orders is filled with unprecedented terror and mystery, forcing the pair into a desperate struggle for survival.
In the early 1990s, as Japan's economy spiraled downward after the bubble burst, the gaming industry was increasingly vibrant. This was driven by the emergence of "next-generation hardware" to replace the conventional 16-bit and 32-bit game consoles: Sony Computer Entertainment's (SCE) PlayStation (PS) and SEGA Enterprises' (now SEGA) SEGA Saturn (SS).
The home console market was rapidly transitioning from 2D graphics to 3D graphics using the new "polygon" technology, and game developers were pouring their efforts into creating software centered around three-dimensional expression. However, when it came to the actual games released, they mostly followed traditional genres like racing and RPGs, failing to fully leverage the hardware's capabilities.
Amidst this, CAPCOM, having entered both the PS and SS camps early on, primarily releasing fighting games, announced a new title. That title was "BIOHAZARD" (hereafter "1"). Its genre was "survival horror," a first for home console games. It began as an experimental project within CAPCOM's consumer development team before expanding into a company-wide initiative.
Its development concept was pure horror action, enhancing player immersion by eliminating all on-screen parameter displays. While horror-themed games existed before, few emphasized horror and action as prominently as BIO, drawing attention from some gaming fans as a promising new title. However, the hurdles for a new title were high, and it reached its release date without much fanfare.
On March 22nd 1996, "1" launched as a PlayStation exclusive. With the tagline "A game that goes beyond movies! The chilling survival horror arrives!", the BIO series took its historic first step. Initial sales were strong for a rookie title, and while it ranked lower in game magazines, it became a regular on the charts. Its appeal gradually spread by word of mouth, and as if waiting for the right moment, it finally achieved million-seller status nearly a year later. The reasons for its massive success can be attributed to its deep gameplay, cinematic presentation reminiscent of movies, and meticulous storytelling that gripped players and wouldn't let go.
Its use of live-action footage in the opening movie, rare for the time, as well as the inclusion of English voice acting with subtitles clearly reflected a film-conscious approach. Furthermore, moments like creatures suddenly smashing through glass to attack, while a classic horror movie technique, delivered such an impact in the game that players couldn't help but scream in surprise.
The story unfolds from the dual perspectives of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of the special forces unit S.T.A.R.S., employing a multi-scenario format where player actions and choices lead to branching paths. Chris' and Jill's campaigns feature significant differences in character combat abilities, available weapons, and partner companions. Chris' knife, in particular, boasts high attack power, leading to hardcore playthroughs among fans where they attempt to clear the game using only the knife.
While rooted in gory horror, the game masterfully blends puzzle-solving logic (represented by key seals and cranks), realistic firearm combat action, and abundant hidden elements like infinite ammo weapons and costume changes. This allows players to experience the catharsis of overcoming fear through their own efforts and the satisfaction of gaming achievement. The balance is remarkably satisfying. The climactic escape sequence from the countdown has become a staple adrenaline-pumping event, firmly carried forward in subsequent series entries.
While it initially appears to be a simple haunted house exploration game, it actually contains a suspenseful narrative where a giant corporation's conspiracy swirls behind the scenes, constantly subverting the player's expectations in the best possible way.
At the time, there were various opinions about the "RC car-like controls" that caused confusion about movement direction whenever the viewpoint shifted, and the fixed camera angles that created complete blind spots. However, it's also true these elements directly contributed to the game's appeal. That very frustration actually heightened the terror during exploration and naturally encouraged player immersion. It stands as a valuable success story born from hardware constraints.
Furthermore, the "door sequence" inserted every time you move between maps also plays a role in heightening the sense of dread. This door sequence was actually an idea implemented late in development since a simple black loading screen during map transitions felt somewhat bland. Playing it reveals that even though it's just a door slowly zooming in and opening, it stirs fear of whatever lurks beyond, effectively sustaining the player's tension.
In this way, BIOHAZARD overturned the conventions of home video games across all fronts while simultaneously forging a new path for entertainment unique to next-generation hardware.
Five months after BIOHAZARD's release, the first Tokyo Game Show was held. The emergence of this international-level festival signaled the gaming industry's burgeoning prosperity, with BIOHAZARD continuing its triumphant march.
It achieved a rare long-selling record in PS history, porting to the SS then PC the following year. That same year, BIOHAZARD DIRECTORS CUT (hereafter "1DC") was released, packed with numerous new elements: episodes not depicted in the original version, and a "Beginner Mode" doubling ammunition in response to PS users' cries of "It's too hard to clear!" This steadily won over fans.
The home console market was rapidly transitioning from 2D graphics to 3D graphics using the new "polygon" technology, and game developers were pouring their efforts into creating software centered around three-dimensional expression. However, when it came to the actual games released, they mostly followed traditional genres like racing and RPGs, failing to fully leverage the hardware's capabilities.
Amidst this, CAPCOM, having entered both the PS and SS camps early on, primarily releasing fighting games, announced a new title. That title was "BIOHAZARD" (hereafter "1"). Its genre was "survival horror," a first for home console games. It began as an experimental project within CAPCOM's consumer development team before expanding into a company-wide initiative.
Its development concept was pure horror action, enhancing player immersion by eliminating all on-screen parameter displays. While horror-themed games existed before, few emphasized horror and action as prominently as BIO, drawing attention from some gaming fans as a promising new title. However, the hurdles for a new title were high, and it reached its release date without much fanfare.
On March 22nd 1996, "1" launched as a PlayStation exclusive. With the tagline "A game that goes beyond movies! The chilling survival horror arrives!", the BIO series took its historic first step. Initial sales were strong for a rookie title, and while it ranked lower in game magazines, it became a regular on the charts. Its appeal gradually spread by word of mouth, and as if waiting for the right moment, it finally achieved million-seller status nearly a year later. The reasons for its massive success can be attributed to its deep gameplay, cinematic presentation reminiscent of movies, and meticulous storytelling that gripped players and wouldn't let go.
Its use of live-action footage in the opening movie, rare for the time, as well as the inclusion of English voice acting with subtitles clearly reflected a film-conscious approach. Furthermore, moments like creatures suddenly smashing through glass to attack, while a classic horror movie technique, delivered such an impact in the game that players couldn't help but scream in surprise.
The story unfolds from the dual perspectives of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, members of the special forces unit S.T.A.R.S., employing a multi-scenario format where player actions and choices lead to branching paths. Chris' and Jill's campaigns feature significant differences in character combat abilities, available weapons, and partner companions. Chris' knife, in particular, boasts high attack power, leading to hardcore playthroughs among fans where they attempt to clear the game using only the knife.
While rooted in gory horror, the game masterfully blends puzzle-solving logic (represented by key seals and cranks), realistic firearm combat action, and abundant hidden elements like infinite ammo weapons and costume changes. This allows players to experience the catharsis of overcoming fear through their own efforts and the satisfaction of gaming achievement. The balance is remarkably satisfying. The climactic escape sequence from the countdown has become a staple adrenaline-pumping event, firmly carried forward in subsequent series entries.
While it initially appears to be a simple haunted house exploration game, it actually contains a suspenseful narrative where a giant corporation's conspiracy swirls behind the scenes, constantly subverting the player's expectations in the best possible way.
At the time, there were various opinions about the "RC car-like controls" that caused confusion about movement direction whenever the viewpoint shifted, and the fixed camera angles that created complete blind spots. However, it's also true these elements directly contributed to the game's appeal. That very frustration actually heightened the terror during exploration and naturally encouraged player immersion. It stands as a valuable success story born from hardware constraints.
Furthermore, the "door sequence" inserted every time you move between maps also plays a role in heightening the sense of dread. This door sequence was actually an idea implemented late in development since a simple black loading screen during map transitions felt somewhat bland. Playing it reveals that even though it's just a door slowly zooming in and opening, it stirs fear of whatever lurks beyond, effectively sustaining the player's tension.
In this way, BIOHAZARD overturned the conventions of home video games across all fronts while simultaneously forging a new path for entertainment unique to next-generation hardware.
Five months after BIOHAZARD's release, the first Tokyo Game Show was held. The emergence of this international-level festival signaled the gaming industry's burgeoning prosperity, with BIOHAZARD continuing its triumphant march.
It achieved a rare long-selling record in PS history, porting to the SS then PC the following year. That same year, BIOHAZARD DIRECTORS CUT (hereafter "1DC") was released, packed with numerous new elements: episodes not depicted in the original version, and a "Beginner Mode" doubling ammunition in response to PS users' cries of "It's too hard to clear!" This steadily won over fans.
AN AMBITIOUS SEQUEL SET IN THE CITY (p.012-014)
BIOHAZARD 2
Two months after the mansion nightmare, Raccoon City had become a city overrun by Zombies due to a virus outbreak. Claire, searching for her brother Chris, and Leon, a rookie police officer on his first day, aim to escape the city alongside the young girl Sherry and the mysterious woman Ada.
Two months after the mansion nightmare, Raccoon City had become a city overrun by Zombies due to a virus outbreak. Claire, searching for her brother Chris, and Leon, a rookie police officer on his first day, aim to escape the city alongside the young girl Sherry and the mysterious woman Ada.
"Honestly, we didn't think it'd sell."
This was a comment made by the main staff responsible for developing BIO at the time. They revealed this in the "Director's Hazard" feature included on the bonus DVD of "BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica Complete Edition" (hereafter referred to as "Veronica Complete Edition"). And no wonder, they'd suddenly released a horror game on a new hardware platform, targeting a completely nebulous audience. Business-wise it must've been a huge gamble. Upon opening the lid though, it turned out to be an unexpected smash hit. It sold over one million copies domestically alone, and the international version, Resident Evil, recorded global sales exceeding three million copies, rapidly bolstering its fame.
In response, CAPCOM decided to produce a sequel, BIOHAZARD 2 (hereafter "2"). The main scenario was entrusted to "FLAGSHIP," a professional scenario writer collective established as a CAPCOM affiliate at the time. The development team retained staff from the previous game, launching the project with an ironclad lineup.
It was far from smooth sailing however, a major accident struck, bringing it to a standstill. Soon a "development delay" was announced. Given it was a sequel to a popular title, everyone was stunned by the shocking reason: despite being about 70% complete, the producer scrapped it due to its low level of polish, forcing a complete restart from scratch.
The version shelved due to this incident's commonly known as BIOHAZARD 1.5 (hereafter "1.5"). While it shared the same two-protagonist setup (one male, one female) as the final version, it differed significantly in that the female protagonist was a motorcycle racer named "Elza Walker." Furthermore, the roles of sub-characters like Marvin, the black police officer who appears near death in the final version, and the female spy Ada Wong, were also different, suggesting major scenario changes. This naturally makes one want to see the actual gameplay of 1.5. Fortunately, "1DC" released in 1997 included a bonus disc with rare footage from "1.5". Fans should definitely check it out. Elza's brave fight against hordes of Zombies and Marvin's energetic actions are must-sees. Even though it was scrapped, the impression conveyed by the screenshots is pure BIO. Particularly intriguing's the appearance of creatures and maps absent from the final version, offering a glimpse into the staff's passion for creating a new BIO experience.
Incidentally, the game engine developed for 1.5 wasn't discarded. Instead, it was utilized in "Onimusha", released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) in 2001.
Following scathing criticism that it was "uninteresting as a game," 2's development was restarted from scratch. The announcement of its delayed release understandably disappointed many fans. Though if development of 1.5 had continued as planned and officially released as 2 as originally intended, would fans have been satisfied with the result? The answer's a resounding "NO." Had 2 been merely a product of compromise, the series would never have achieved its current status. That's how high fans' expectations were for 2 at the time, desperately desiring a game that surpassed its predecessor. Releasing something half-baked simply wasn't an option. It was the agony of creation inherent to making a sequel.
After many twists and turns, development took about two years. Then, roughly one month after the PlayStation surpassed ten million units shipped in Japan, and about two years after the first game's release, on January 29th 1998, 2 finally revealed itself to fans. Since gameplay footage had already been publicly shown at the inaugural Tokyo Game Show in 1996, fans felt they'd been made to wait even longer. But the wait was worth it. While the first game was a dark, orthodox gothic horror, 2 became a highly entertaining, Hollywood-style blockbuster. It was essentially the world depicted in the commercial that became a talking point at the time of release, directed by the legendary zombie film maestro George A. Romero.
The protagonists were now rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, sister of the previous game's protagonist, Chris. The setting scaled up dramatically from the confined space of a mansion to the vast field of Raccoon City. The visuals became more spectacular, with a significant increase in both the number of supporting characters and variety of creatures.
Regarding the story, adopting the "Zapping System" where the player's actions in the main and alternate storylines influence each other ensured a volume far surpassing the previous installment. The story unfolds around the Umbrella conspiracy revealed in the previous game's finale. It captivated eagerly awaiting players by carefully depicting the budding romance between Leon and the spy Ada (featuring the first kiss scene for polygon characters!) and the sibling love of Claire, an ordinary person facing terror to find her brother.
Moreover, the two-CD-ROM set isn't just for show, 2's packed with replay value! It included hidden scenarios like "The 4th Survivor," starring HUNK (who only appeared in a cutscene in the main game), and "The Tofu Survivor," where for some reason tofu speaks Osaka dialect while surviving. It even packed in popular elements from the previous game like infinite ammo weapons and costume changes, leaving nothing out. It offered such extensive content that thoroughly playing through everything demanded a significant time commitment. Consequently, 2 naturally earned high praise from gaming magazines and fans alike. It sold over one million copies in just four days after release, swiftly achieving the remarkable feat of double million sales, far surpassing its predecessor.
Following this, like the first game, it was actively ported to other platforms. Between 1999 and 2000, it was ported not only to PC but also to SEGA's Dreamcast (DC) and Nintendo's Nintendo 64, effectively conquering all major hardware.
Particularly noteworthy's the DC-exclusive title BIOHAZARD 2 Value Plus, released in December 1999. Building upon the PS version BIOHAZARD 2 DualShock Ver. (hereafter "2 DualShock Ver.") released the previous year with support for the new DualShock controller, it incorporated further new elements. Leveraging the DC's high hardware specs, the graphics saw a significant quality boost, and bonus content was also substantially enhanced. While retaining the "Extreme Battle" mode where players retrieve four anti-virus bombs from the police station, it introduced the "NIGHTMARE MODE", an advanced difficulty mode with enemy attack power and durability even higher than the North American version's "U.S.A." mode (equivalent to the difficulty of "2 DualShock Ver.") to create a challenge for advanced players. It also included a "Data Gallery" allowing players to thoroughly view development design illustrations, rough sketches, 3D models, and movies, making it the definitive, ultimate version of 2.
This was a comment made by the main staff responsible for developing BIO at the time. They revealed this in the "Director's Hazard" feature included on the bonus DVD of "BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica Complete Edition" (hereafter referred to as "Veronica Complete Edition"). And no wonder, they'd suddenly released a horror game on a new hardware platform, targeting a completely nebulous audience. Business-wise it must've been a huge gamble. Upon opening the lid though, it turned out to be an unexpected smash hit. It sold over one million copies domestically alone, and the international version, Resident Evil, recorded global sales exceeding three million copies, rapidly bolstering its fame.
In response, CAPCOM decided to produce a sequel, BIOHAZARD 2 (hereafter "2"). The main scenario was entrusted to "FLAGSHIP," a professional scenario writer collective established as a CAPCOM affiliate at the time. The development team retained staff from the previous game, launching the project with an ironclad lineup.
It was far from smooth sailing however, a major accident struck, bringing it to a standstill. Soon a "development delay" was announced. Given it was a sequel to a popular title, everyone was stunned by the shocking reason: despite being about 70% complete, the producer scrapped it due to its low level of polish, forcing a complete restart from scratch.
The version shelved due to this incident's commonly known as BIOHAZARD 1.5 (hereafter "1.5"). While it shared the same two-protagonist setup (one male, one female) as the final version, it differed significantly in that the female protagonist was a motorcycle racer named "Elza Walker." Furthermore, the roles of sub-characters like Marvin, the black police officer who appears near death in the final version, and the female spy Ada Wong, were also different, suggesting major scenario changes. This naturally makes one want to see the actual gameplay of 1.5. Fortunately, "1DC" released in 1997 included a bonus disc with rare footage from "1.5". Fans should definitely check it out. Elza's brave fight against hordes of Zombies and Marvin's energetic actions are must-sees. Even though it was scrapped, the impression conveyed by the screenshots is pure BIO. Particularly intriguing's the appearance of creatures and maps absent from the final version, offering a glimpse into the staff's passion for creating a new BIO experience.
Incidentally, the game engine developed for 1.5 wasn't discarded. Instead, it was utilized in "Onimusha", released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) in 2001.
Following scathing criticism that it was "uninteresting as a game," 2's development was restarted from scratch. The announcement of its delayed release understandably disappointed many fans. Though if development of 1.5 had continued as planned and officially released as 2 as originally intended, would fans have been satisfied with the result? The answer's a resounding "NO." Had 2 been merely a product of compromise, the series would never have achieved its current status. That's how high fans' expectations were for 2 at the time, desperately desiring a game that surpassed its predecessor. Releasing something half-baked simply wasn't an option. It was the agony of creation inherent to making a sequel.
After many twists and turns, development took about two years. Then, roughly one month after the PlayStation surpassed ten million units shipped in Japan, and about two years after the first game's release, on January 29th 1998, 2 finally revealed itself to fans. Since gameplay footage had already been publicly shown at the inaugural Tokyo Game Show in 1996, fans felt they'd been made to wait even longer. But the wait was worth it. While the first game was a dark, orthodox gothic horror, 2 became a highly entertaining, Hollywood-style blockbuster. It was essentially the world depicted in the commercial that became a talking point at the time of release, directed by the legendary zombie film maestro George A. Romero.
The protagonists were now rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy, and Claire Redfield, sister of the previous game's protagonist, Chris. The setting scaled up dramatically from the confined space of a mansion to the vast field of Raccoon City. The visuals became more spectacular, with a significant increase in both the number of supporting characters and variety of creatures.
Regarding the story, adopting the "Zapping System" where the player's actions in the main and alternate storylines influence each other ensured a volume far surpassing the previous installment. The story unfolds around the Umbrella conspiracy revealed in the previous game's finale. It captivated eagerly awaiting players by carefully depicting the budding romance between Leon and the spy Ada (featuring the first kiss scene for polygon characters!) and the sibling love of Claire, an ordinary person facing terror to find her brother.
Moreover, the two-CD-ROM set isn't just for show, 2's packed with replay value! It included hidden scenarios like "The 4th Survivor," starring HUNK (who only appeared in a cutscene in the main game), and "The Tofu Survivor," where for some reason tofu speaks Osaka dialect while surviving. It even packed in popular elements from the previous game like infinite ammo weapons and costume changes, leaving nothing out. It offered such extensive content that thoroughly playing through everything demanded a significant time commitment. Consequently, 2 naturally earned high praise from gaming magazines and fans alike. It sold over one million copies in just four days after release, swiftly achieving the remarkable feat of double million sales, far surpassing its predecessor.
Following this, like the first game, it was actively ported to other platforms. Between 1999 and 2000, it was ported not only to PC but also to SEGA's Dreamcast (DC) and Nintendo's Nintendo 64, effectively conquering all major hardware.
Particularly noteworthy's the DC-exclusive title BIOHAZARD 2 Value Plus, released in December 1999. Building upon the PS version BIOHAZARD 2 DualShock Ver. (hereafter "2 DualShock Ver.") released the previous year with support for the new DualShock controller, it incorporated further new elements. Leveraging the DC's high hardware specs, the graphics saw a significant quality boost, and bonus content was also substantially enhanced. While retaining the "Extreme Battle" mode where players retrieve four anti-virus bombs from the police station, it introduced the "NIGHTMARE MODE", an advanced difficulty mode with enemy attack power and durability even higher than the North American version's "U.S.A." mode (equivalent to the difficulty of "2 DualShock Ver.") to create a challenge for advanced players. It also included a "Data Gallery" allowing players to thoroughly view development design illustrations, rough sketches, 3D models, and movies, making it the definitive, ultimate version of 2.
ANOTHER SURVIVAL DRAMA LABELED "THE FINAL CHAPTER" (p.015-016)
BIOHAZARD 3 LAST ESCAPE
Jill, who remained in Raccoon City to investigate Umbrella alone, encounters Carlos, a member of the U.B.C.S. They aim to survive and escape the city together, but face numerous crises: a relentless Pursuer, battles, and the treachery of U.B.C.S. member Nikolai.
Jill, who remained in Raccoon City to investigate Umbrella alone, encounters Carlos, a member of the U.B.C.S. They aim to survive and escape the city together, but face numerous crises: a relentless Pursuer, battles, and the treachery of U.B.C.S. member Nikolai.
At the end of "2", protagonist Leon tells Claire who survived alongside him: "We're gonna crush Umbrella!" This line was originally intended to leave players with the lingering impact of the battle against Umbrella, the embodiment of ultimate evil. However, following 2's double million-seller success, it inadvertently became a setup for future sequels.
The BIO series, already a driving force for PS hardware sales, made sequels inevitable. Thus, while excitement for 2 was still fresh, development of "BIO1.9" was secretly underway, with it officially being announced as "BIOHAZARD 3 LAST ESCAPE" (hereafter "3"). Its release date, September 22nd 1999, came less than two years after 2's launch. Considering the previous game's significant delay due to development being suddenly postponed, this marked an exceptionally rapid release pace.
The protagonist was S.T.A.R.S. survivor Jill, making her return in a sexy tube top. Carlos Oliveira, a member of Umbrella's special ops unit U.B.C.S., debuted as her partner character. Rather than a direct continuation of 2, the story serves as a side-story following the same events from Jill's perspective. The timeline's set two months after the Mansion Incident in the first game when Jill and the others survived, meaning it takes place immediately before 2. Consequently, Jill retraces parts of the map Leon and Claire explored, offering a nostalgic experience for players familiar with the previous game.
You may wonder if exploring the same Raccoon City again could get tedious, but worry not. True to its subtitle "Last Escape," the primary goal of 3 is to escape the city. This means even with the same setting, the exploration feels fresh and engaging.
Furthermore, throughout the game you constantly directly witness the process of the city's collapse, a process not depicted in the previous game. This setup inevitably heightens the player's sense of crisis. The opening movie depicts the Raccoon Police Department's armed squads and the prized U.B.C.S. unit being effortlessly wiped out. The survivors Jill encounters also fall victim to biological weapons one after another. Moreover, 3 introduces the "Pursuer," the strongest creature yet, relentlessly pursuing the player. This relentless pressure ensures everyone will think, "I need to get out of this dangerous city fast!"
System-wise, new features like "Live Selection” (timed choices during crises), "Quick Turn" (swiftly turning around), and "Emergency Evasion" (dodging enemy attacks with well-timed button presses) support the high-speed escape drama. To avoid the stagnation common in series entries, the development team's passion bore fruit through meticulous refinement. 3 became a true survival horror experience, delivering more heart-pounding map exploration and exhilarating action to overcome crises than any previous installment.
Consequently, it achieved massive success with 3.52 million units shipped worldwide during its initial period, matching the previous game's impact and earning strong fan support. 3 played a significant role within the series: it brought the story to a conclusion with the fall of Raccoon City, evolved the gameplay, and introduced "The Mercenaries" mode for the first time. This mode would later evolve into a standalone game.
It was precisely because of this title that the BIO series maintained its popularity. It returned to fans the following year with an unexpected approach, under the catchphrase "Next Generation BIOHAZARD."
The BIO series, already a driving force for PS hardware sales, made sequels inevitable. Thus, while excitement for 2 was still fresh, development of "BIO1.9" was secretly underway, with it officially being announced as "BIOHAZARD 3 LAST ESCAPE" (hereafter "3"). Its release date, September 22nd 1999, came less than two years after 2's launch. Considering the previous game's significant delay due to development being suddenly postponed, this marked an exceptionally rapid release pace.
The protagonist was S.T.A.R.S. survivor Jill, making her return in a sexy tube top. Carlos Oliveira, a member of Umbrella's special ops unit U.B.C.S., debuted as her partner character. Rather than a direct continuation of 2, the story serves as a side-story following the same events from Jill's perspective. The timeline's set two months after the Mansion Incident in the first game when Jill and the others survived, meaning it takes place immediately before 2. Consequently, Jill retraces parts of the map Leon and Claire explored, offering a nostalgic experience for players familiar with the previous game.
You may wonder if exploring the same Raccoon City again could get tedious, but worry not. True to its subtitle "Last Escape," the primary goal of 3 is to escape the city. This means even with the same setting, the exploration feels fresh and engaging.
Furthermore, throughout the game you constantly directly witness the process of the city's collapse, a process not depicted in the previous game. This setup inevitably heightens the player's sense of crisis. The opening movie depicts the Raccoon Police Department's armed squads and the prized U.B.C.S. unit being effortlessly wiped out. The survivors Jill encounters also fall victim to biological weapons one after another. Moreover, 3 introduces the "Pursuer," the strongest creature yet, relentlessly pursuing the player. This relentless pressure ensures everyone will think, "I need to get out of this dangerous city fast!"
System-wise, new features like "Live Selection” (timed choices during crises), "Quick Turn" (swiftly turning around), and "Emergency Evasion" (dodging enemy attacks with well-timed button presses) support the high-speed escape drama. To avoid the stagnation common in series entries, the development team's passion bore fruit through meticulous refinement. 3 became a true survival horror experience, delivering more heart-pounding map exploration and exhilarating action to overcome crises than any previous installment.
Consequently, it achieved massive success with 3.52 million units shipped worldwide during its initial period, matching the previous game's impact and earning strong fan support. 3 played a significant role within the series: it brought the story to a conclusion with the fall of Raccoon City, evolved the gameplay, and introduced "The Mercenaries" mode for the first time. This mode would later evolve into a standalone game.
It was precisely because of this title that the BIO series maintained its popularity. It returned to fans the following year with an unexpected approach, under the catchphrase "Next Generation BIOHAZARD."
A TALE OF CONTRASTING LOVE: THE BEAUTIFUL SIBLINGS & THE MAD SIBLINGS (p.017-018)
BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica
After failing to infiltrate Umbrella's Paris facility, Claire was transferred to Rockfort Island prison, only to be freed immediately upon arrival. In Antarctica, where the transport plane she shared with fellow prisoner Steve made an emergency landing, a tragic fate awaited them.
After failing to infiltrate Umbrella's Paris facility, Claire was transferred to Rockfort Island prison, only to be freed immediately upon arrival. In Antarctica, where the transport plane she shared with fellow prisoner Steve made an emergency landing, a tragic fate awaited them.
In early 2000, after the global Y2K crisis passed without incident, CAPCOM released a new entry in the BIO series, previously primarily on PlayStation, for SEGA's Dreamcast. The title "BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica" (hereafter "Veronica"). Coincidentally, this occurred just one month before Sony Computer Entertainment released the PlayStation 2, the PS's successor.
While CAPCOM wasn't abandoning the PS, the fact the latest installment in the series used the DC as its platform was a sensational event for fans. What would the story be like? What about the graphics? How would the controls feel? Amidst a mix of high expectations and anxiety among fans, the game launched. Even with a new hardware platform though, BIO remained true to itself. Veronica once again showcased the series' signature overwhelming level of polish, leaving players utterly stunned.
Graphics, already proven by the previous year's BIOHAZARD 2 Value Plus, saw a significant leap in quality thanks to the DC's superior hardware specs. What had been fixed-angle cutscenes pieced together from map sections due to PS performance limitations became fluid, character-tracking movement in Veronica, enabled by fully polygonized maps and exquisite camera work.
Regarding controls, while the larger, round controller differed significantly in form from the PS version, stress-free operation was pursued through appropriate action assignments matching the button layout. Players migrating from the PS experienced some initial awkwardness, but it became manageable with practice.
While Veronica's evolution as an action game is remarkable, its truly outstanding scenario deserves even greater attention. The story focuses on Claire's journey after searching for her brother Chris in "2". It movingly depicts her reunion with Chris, intertwined with the sorrow surrounding the new character Steve Burnside. Simultaneously, it touches on the founding secrets of Umbrella and the development of the new virus. Furthermore, it brings back the arch-enemy Albert Wesker, believed dead at the end of the first game, highlighting his longstanding feud with Chris.
Throughout the entire story, the profound bond between Chris and Claire's vividly conveyed. This is starkly contrasted by the twisted love of Alfred and Alexia Ashford, siblings who appear as enemies in the game. The beautiful siblings who'd sacrifice their own lives to save their family, versus the mad siblings who'd sacrifice their family's lives to fulfill their own ambitions. The reason Veronica's called a psychological horror lies precisely in the existence of these Ashford siblings, brimming with madness.
The main game unfolds in two parts: the first half's Claire's story, set on Rockfort Island where Umbrella's prison is located, and the second half's Chris' story. Perhaps because the Normal difficulty's set relatively high from the start, Easy Mode and even Very Easy Mode are available from the outset, making it a game even beginners can clear.
While it sold a modest 730,000 copies worldwide, Veronica's a must-have for fans, given its direct story connections to 1&2.
While CAPCOM wasn't abandoning the PS, the fact the latest installment in the series used the DC as its platform was a sensational event for fans. What would the story be like? What about the graphics? How would the controls feel? Amidst a mix of high expectations and anxiety among fans, the game launched. Even with a new hardware platform though, BIO remained true to itself. Veronica once again showcased the series' signature overwhelming level of polish, leaving players utterly stunned.
Graphics, already proven by the previous year's BIOHAZARD 2 Value Plus, saw a significant leap in quality thanks to the DC's superior hardware specs. What had been fixed-angle cutscenes pieced together from map sections due to PS performance limitations became fluid, character-tracking movement in Veronica, enabled by fully polygonized maps and exquisite camera work.
Regarding controls, while the larger, round controller differed significantly in form from the PS version, stress-free operation was pursued through appropriate action assignments matching the button layout. Players migrating from the PS experienced some initial awkwardness, but it became manageable with practice.
While Veronica's evolution as an action game is remarkable, its truly outstanding scenario deserves even greater attention. The story focuses on Claire's journey after searching for her brother Chris in "2". It movingly depicts her reunion with Chris, intertwined with the sorrow surrounding the new character Steve Burnside. Simultaneously, it touches on the founding secrets of Umbrella and the development of the new virus. Furthermore, it brings back the arch-enemy Albert Wesker, believed dead at the end of the first game, highlighting his longstanding feud with Chris.
Throughout the entire story, the profound bond between Chris and Claire's vividly conveyed. This is starkly contrasted by the twisted love of Alfred and Alexia Ashford, siblings who appear as enemies in the game. The beautiful siblings who'd sacrifice their own lives to save their family, versus the mad siblings who'd sacrifice their family's lives to fulfill their own ambitions. The reason Veronica's called a psychological horror lies precisely in the existence of these Ashford siblings, brimming with madness.
The main game unfolds in two parts: the first half's Claire's story, set on Rockfort Island where Umbrella's prison is located, and the second half's Chris' story. Perhaps because the Normal difficulty's set relatively high from the start, Easy Mode and even Very Easy Mode are available from the outset, making it a game even beginners can clear.
While it sold a modest 730,000 copies worldwide, Veronica's a must-have for fans, given its direct story connections to 1&2.
THE WORLD'S FIRST 3D FREE-ROAMING SYSTEM VIA THE GUNCON (p.019)
BIOHAZARD GUN SURVIVOR
A young man lying near a crashed helicopter wakes up unable to recall even his own name. A city overrun by Zombies, a boy and girl who flee upon seeing him, someone's diary... bit by bit, he traces his memories and draws closer to the truth.
A young man lying near a crashed helicopter wakes up unable to recall even his own name. A city overrun by Zombies, a boy and girl who flee upon seeing him, someone's diary... bit by bit, he traces his memories and draws closer to the truth.
Just before Veronica launched on the Dreamcast, a new title that broke from the traditional BIO series was released on the PlayStation. That was "BIOHAZARD GUN SURVIVOR" (hereafter "GUN SURVIVOR"), compatible with the PS peripheral, the gun-shaped controller "Guncon". This title, which became the final series entry for the PS, appeared during the transitional period when the gun shooting game movement was permeating from arcades to home consoles. Its genre, inspired by survival horror, was branded "Survival Gun Shooting".
Unlike traditional gun shooters where players fought enemies while forced to move along set paths, GUN SURVIVOR pioneered the world's first three-dimensional free movement system using the Guncon. This allowed players to enjoy the signature BIO series elements of map exploration and puzzle-solving.
FLAGSHIP continued handling scenarios after "2". The story primarily focused on Another Story after Raccoon City's collapse in "3", featuring a stage-clear structure with branching routes. The protagonist's a new character named Ark Thompson, a private investigator. As his connection as Leon's friend suggests, he's linked to 2. Furthermore, the setting of the fight, an isolated European island where a biohazard outbreak occurred, shares common ground with CODE:Veronica. Additionally, this game's events are properly referenced in the later-released biohazard 0 (hereafter "0") as the "Second Raccoon City."
The gameplay style, where the player directly controls the character's movement and engages creatures in combat from a first-person perspective, is quintessential first-person shooter (FPS). To enhance the virtual sense of being surrounded by enemies, 3D surround sound's employed, delivering an immersive play experience.
The variety of creatures ranges from familiar ones like Zombies and Tyrants to original designs like the U.T. Unit and Hypnos-T. The staple mechanic of bosses changing forms during combat is faithfully carried over from the numbered titles. The weapons available remain as niche as ever, with the game even featuring the Imperial Japanese Army's standard-issue pistol, a rare inclusion in the series.
Unlike traditional gun shooters where players fought enemies while forced to move along set paths, GUN SURVIVOR pioneered the world's first three-dimensional free movement system using the Guncon. This allowed players to enjoy the signature BIO series elements of map exploration and puzzle-solving.
FLAGSHIP continued handling scenarios after "2". The story primarily focused on Another Story after Raccoon City's collapse in "3", featuring a stage-clear structure with branching routes. The protagonist's a new character named Ark Thompson, a private investigator. As his connection as Leon's friend suggests, he's linked to 2. Furthermore, the setting of the fight, an isolated European island where a biohazard outbreak occurred, shares common ground with CODE:Veronica. Additionally, this game's events are properly referenced in the later-released biohazard 0 (hereafter "0") as the "Second Raccoon City."
The gameplay style, where the player directly controls the character's movement and engages creatures in combat from a first-person perspective, is quintessential first-person shooter (FPS). To enhance the virtual sense of being surrounded by enemies, 3D surround sound's employed, delivering an immersive play experience.
The variety of creatures ranges from familiar ones like Zombies and Tyrants to original designs like the U.T. Unit and Hypnos-T. The staple mechanic of bosses changing forms during combat is faithfully carried over from the numbered titles. The weapons available remain as niche as ever, with the game even featuring the Imperial Japanese Army's standard-issue pistol, a rare inclusion in the series.
THE COMMEMORATIVE YEAR OF THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY (p.020)
GUN SURVIVOR 2 BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica
Captured by Umbrella, Claire's imprisoned on Rockfort Island, but escapes when the guards disappear. What she sees outside is a vast horde of Zombies. Teaming up with fellow prisoner Steve, her fight to escape the island begins.
Captured by Umbrella, Claire's imprisoned on Rockfort Island, but escapes when the guards disappear. What she sees outside is a vast horde of Zombies. Teaming up with fellow prisoner Steve, her fight to escape the island begins.
The year 2001, marking the dawn of the 21st century, was inevitably overshadowed by the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US. For the BIO series, however, it was a significant year celebrating its 5th anniversary.
On March 22nd, Veronica's revamped version, Veronica Complete Edition, was released for the PS2. By significantly enhancing events involving Wesker, it made Chris' confrontation more thrilling, delighting longtime fans.
On the same day, CAPCOM released a limited edition "BIOHAZARD 5th Anniversary Special Package Nightmare Returns." This package included the new Veronica Complete Edition software, three titles originally released on PlayStation, commemorative accessories like a special ballpoint pen and dog tags, as well as the DVD video "Wesker's Report" (originally a pre-order bonus for Veronica), all packed into a serial-numbered aluminum attaché case. This release became a major talking point among fans.
The release of Veronica Complete Edition paved the way for BIO series titles to launch on PS2. That November saw the PS2 version of GUN SURVIVOR 2 BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica (hereafter GUN SURVIVOR 2), the first BIO arcade title developed jointly by CAPCOM and Namco (now Bandai Namco Games). This was the first gun-shooting game to support the PS2-exclusive Guncon 2 pistol controller, featuring PS2-exclusive game modes and new elements.
GUN SURVIVOR 2's true appeal lies in freely exploring Veronica's setting, Rockfort Island, as either Claire or Steve. As a game purely focused on escaping the island, it has no connection to the main story like GUN SURVIVOR did. Its originality shines through in details like the appearance of the Pursuer from "3" when the time limit's exceeded. Set in a world that feels like Veronica's graphics adapted for a first-person perspective, it delighted fans by allowing them to fully enjoy Claire and Steve's co-op play, two-player simultaneous play in the arcade version, or one character controlled by AI in the PS2 version.
On March 22nd, Veronica's revamped version, Veronica Complete Edition, was released for the PS2. By significantly enhancing events involving Wesker, it made Chris' confrontation more thrilling, delighting longtime fans.
On the same day, CAPCOM released a limited edition "BIOHAZARD 5th Anniversary Special Package Nightmare Returns." This package included the new Veronica Complete Edition software, three titles originally released on PlayStation, commemorative accessories like a special ballpoint pen and dog tags, as well as the DVD video "Wesker's Report" (originally a pre-order bonus for Veronica), all packed into a serial-numbered aluminum attaché case. This release became a major talking point among fans.
The release of Veronica Complete Edition paved the way for BIO series titles to launch on PS2. That November saw the PS2 version of GUN SURVIVOR 2 BIOHAZARD CODE:Veronica (hereafter GUN SURVIVOR 2), the first BIO arcade title developed jointly by CAPCOM and Namco (now Bandai Namco Games). This was the first gun-shooting game to support the PS2-exclusive Guncon 2 pistol controller, featuring PS2-exclusive game modes and new elements.
GUN SURVIVOR 2's true appeal lies in freely exploring Veronica's setting, Rockfort Island, as either Claire or Steve. As a game purely focused on escaping the island, it has no connection to the main story like GUN SURVIVOR did. Its originality shines through in details like the appearance of the Pursuer from "3" when the time limit's exceeded. Set in a world that feels like Veronica's graphics adapted for a first-person perspective, it delighted fans by allowing them to fully enjoy Claire and Steve's co-op play, two-player simultaneous play in the arcade version, or one character controlled by AI in the PS2 version.
BEYOND IMMERSION: TRUE TERROR (p.020-022)
On September 13th 2001, at a "BIOHAZARD Strategy Presentation" held at a hotel in Akasaka, Tokyo, CAPCOM announced a shocking major project to the press that would determine the future of the BIOHAZARD series.
It was an exclusive supply agreement for the BIOHAZARD series on Nintendo's new hardware, the Nintendo GameCube (hereafter GC), set for release the very next day. The primary reason for the Nintendo exclusivity was a deep resonance with the company's unwavering commitment to creating games that are fun to watch and play, prioritizing this above specializing solely in visuals or sound.
By consolidating the platform to the GC, all development efforts could be focused entirely on the series. The then-overall producer of the BIOHAZARD series defined this as "over-quality," further describing the visual realism the GC would bring as "raw sensation" and "raw terror."
On September 13th 2001, at a "BIOHAZARD Strategy Presentation" held at a hotel in Akasaka, Tokyo, CAPCOM announced a shocking major project to the press that would determine the future of the BIOHAZARD series.
It was an exclusive supply agreement for the BIOHAZARD series on Nintendo's new hardware, the Nintendo GameCube (hereafter GC), set for release the very next day. The primary reason for the Nintendo exclusivity was a deep resonance with the company's unwavering commitment to creating games that are fun to watch and play, prioritizing this above specializing solely in visuals or sound.
By consolidating the platform to the GC, all development efforts could be focused entirely on the series. The then-overall producer of the BIOHAZARD series defined this as "over-quality," further describing the visual realism the GC would bring as "raw sensation" and "raw terror."
biohazard
While battling Zombies and exploring the mansion, Chris & Jill discovered a lab underground, eventually uncovering Umbrella's horrific research and Wesker's other face. Just as they seemed to have escaped their predicament, the formidable Tyrant stood in their way.
While battling Zombies and exploring the mansion, Chris & Jill discovered a lab underground, eventually uncovering Umbrella's horrific research and Wesker's other face. Just as they seemed to have escaped their predicament, the formidable Tyrant stood in their way.
The lineup announced at the presentation included six titles: ports of existing series entries already released on PS and DC, the full remake of the first game, "biohazard" (hereafter "Remake 1"), the prequel "biohazard 0", and the completely new "biohazard 4" (hereafter "4").
With this project's launch, the BIOHAZARD series title logo changed from its previous all-caps English to "biohazard". Regarding Remake 1, it was revealed development was already underway for a 2002 release, marking six years since its PS debut. Stills and background videos were also shown to the press. The realistic footage, radiating a palpable "raw" sensation that transcended mere "realism," sent ripples through the venue.
What exactly does it mean to surpass realism? True to the announcement, on March 22nd the following year, Remake 1 appeared before fans with astonishing graphics that vividly demonstrated its development concept.
Subtle background effects rarely seen before like forest foliage gently swaying in the wind, shadows reflecting on wet ground, and flickering candlelight illuminating the darkness, draw players into the game world while delivering a raw, visceral experience.
Creatures are rendered with an unparalleled level of detail far surpassing the original version's polygon-based appearance. Realism's pursued relentlessly, from texture to motion. Arthropods like spiders and centipedes, crafted with such meticulous detail even the creators themselves find them repulsive, stand out as exceptionally unsettling.
"The terror of walking there." ----This was the tagline used in advertising for Remake 1. It's by no means an exaggeration, players will unquestionably experience genuine terror through the game. While fundamentally a remake of the original BIOHAZARD, Remake 1 rebuilt nearly 70% of its mechanics and significantly altered the playthrough routes, making it essentially a completely new title.
Though set in the same mansion, the building now features a complex three-story structure. The addition of a new outdoor map with a courtyard leading to the dormitory offers a fresh experience even for those who played the original. Puzzles in particular often appear familiar at first glance but reveal entirely different mechanisms when attempted, rendering prior knowledge largely useless.
Speaking of additions, the appearance of new creatures offers a surprise moment especially for those familiar with the original. Take the Crimson Head Zombies, for instance. If you get cocky and start mowing down the slow-moving Zombies, over time, the ones you thought you defeated will suddenly rise, transform into Crimson Heads, and attack at breakneck speed, so you can't let your guard down. What's more, these transformed Zombies are often placed in key puzzle-solving locations you revisit multiple times. So the more Zombies you kill, the more you're actually making things harder for yourself.
Lisa Trevor, who appears at crucial moments with her eerie moans, is another new creature fans will find intriguing. Her true identity's the beloved daughter of the mansion's architect George Trevor, and she holds crucial knowledge about the origins on virus development which has been shrouded in mystery until now. This Lisa storyline isn't new, it's based on the backstory told in Wesker's Report, the bonus DVD included with Veronica. Therefore, watching the DVD allows for a deeper enjoyment of the game and reveals the full scope of the virus development, previously depicted only in fragments.
Thus, while Remake 1 has been thoroughly revamped from its mechanics to its creatures, the crucial action and story elements have also been meticulously reworked, avoiding a mere rehash.
First, regarding the action: a new system called "Emergency Evasion" has been implemented. While "3" also featured a player evasion system, Remake 1 provides defensive items like dagger knives, flash grenades, and stun guns. Equipping these allows players to counterattack and deal significant damage when attacked by enemies. This adjustment addresses the higher difficulty level of Remake 1, serving as a form of "relief" for newcomers who started the series on the GameCube.
The story gained heightened drama through extensive use of cutscenes. The opening movie, which was live-action in the original version, was replaced with a pre-rendered movie directed by film director Masako Sato. This transition now plunges players into the mansion lobby with powerful visuals. The so-called "polygon puppet shows" inserted between events in the PS version have all been replaced with movies, carefully depicting the teamwork with partner characters like Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton. For the climactic scene where Chris and Jill confront Wesker, additional cuts hinting Wesker's staging his own death have been added, leaving just the right amount of mystery for future series entries.
Of course, the traditional bonus modes are also substantial, covering hidden modes that will impress hardcore players, such as the "Real Survival Mode" with specifications identical to the PS version prototype, and the ultra-difficult "Invisible Enemy Mode" where the creatures' forms are completely invisible.
Thanks to its uncompromising craftsmanship, Remake 1 swept the 2002 gaming industry as a killer title for the GameCube, making a smooth start on the new platform.
With this project's launch, the BIOHAZARD series title logo changed from its previous all-caps English to "biohazard". Regarding Remake 1, it was revealed development was already underway for a 2002 release, marking six years since its PS debut. Stills and background videos were also shown to the press. The realistic footage, radiating a palpable "raw" sensation that transcended mere "realism," sent ripples through the venue.
What exactly does it mean to surpass realism? True to the announcement, on March 22nd the following year, Remake 1 appeared before fans with astonishing graphics that vividly demonstrated its development concept.
Subtle background effects rarely seen before like forest foliage gently swaying in the wind, shadows reflecting on wet ground, and flickering candlelight illuminating the darkness, draw players into the game world while delivering a raw, visceral experience.
Creatures are rendered with an unparalleled level of detail far surpassing the original version's polygon-based appearance. Realism's pursued relentlessly, from texture to motion. Arthropods like spiders and centipedes, crafted with such meticulous detail even the creators themselves find them repulsive, stand out as exceptionally unsettling.
"The terror of walking there." ----This was the tagline used in advertising for Remake 1. It's by no means an exaggeration, players will unquestionably experience genuine terror through the game. While fundamentally a remake of the original BIOHAZARD, Remake 1 rebuilt nearly 70% of its mechanics and significantly altered the playthrough routes, making it essentially a completely new title.
Though set in the same mansion, the building now features a complex three-story structure. The addition of a new outdoor map with a courtyard leading to the dormitory offers a fresh experience even for those who played the original. Puzzles in particular often appear familiar at first glance but reveal entirely different mechanisms when attempted, rendering prior knowledge largely useless.
Speaking of additions, the appearance of new creatures offers a surprise moment especially for those familiar with the original. Take the Crimson Head Zombies, for instance. If you get cocky and start mowing down the slow-moving Zombies, over time, the ones you thought you defeated will suddenly rise, transform into Crimson Heads, and attack at breakneck speed, so you can't let your guard down. What's more, these transformed Zombies are often placed in key puzzle-solving locations you revisit multiple times. So the more Zombies you kill, the more you're actually making things harder for yourself.
Lisa Trevor, who appears at crucial moments with her eerie moans, is another new creature fans will find intriguing. Her true identity's the beloved daughter of the mansion's architect George Trevor, and she holds crucial knowledge about the origins on virus development which has been shrouded in mystery until now. This Lisa storyline isn't new, it's based on the backstory told in Wesker's Report, the bonus DVD included with Veronica. Therefore, watching the DVD allows for a deeper enjoyment of the game and reveals the full scope of the virus development, previously depicted only in fragments.
Thus, while Remake 1 has been thoroughly revamped from its mechanics to its creatures, the crucial action and story elements have also been meticulously reworked, avoiding a mere rehash.
First, regarding the action: a new system called "Emergency Evasion" has been implemented. While "3" also featured a player evasion system, Remake 1 provides defensive items like dagger knives, flash grenades, and stun guns. Equipping these allows players to counterattack and deal significant damage when attacked by enemies. This adjustment addresses the higher difficulty level of Remake 1, serving as a form of "relief" for newcomers who started the series on the GameCube.
The story gained heightened drama through extensive use of cutscenes. The opening movie, which was live-action in the original version, was replaced with a pre-rendered movie directed by film director Masako Sato. This transition now plunges players into the mansion lobby with powerful visuals. The so-called "polygon puppet shows" inserted between events in the PS version have all been replaced with movies, carefully depicting the teamwork with partner characters like Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton. For the climactic scene where Chris and Jill confront Wesker, additional cuts hinting Wesker's staging his own death have been added, leaving just the right amount of mystery for future series entries.
Of course, the traditional bonus modes are also substantial, covering hidden modes that will impress hardcore players, such as the "Real Survival Mode" with specifications identical to the PS version prototype, and the ultra-difficult "Invisible Enemy Mode" where the creatures' forms are completely invisible.
Thanks to its uncompromising craftsmanship, Remake 1 swept the 2002 gaming industry as a killer title for the GameCube, making a smooth start on the new platform.
NEW INITIATIVES BOOST RECOGNITION (p.023)
BIOHAZARD GAIDEN
A B.O.W. developed by Umbrella, capable of mimicking humans, has escaped onto a luxury cruise ship. Leon, a member of an underground organization, infiltrates the ship under orders to eliminate the B.O.W. When contact's lost however, Barry, also belonging to the same organization, heads out to rescue him.
A B.O.W. developed by Umbrella, capable of mimicking humans, has escaped onto a luxury cruise ship. Leon, a member of an underground organization, infiltrates the ship under orders to eliminate the B.O.W. When contact's lost however, Barry, also belonging to the same organization, heads out to rescue him.
In 2002, just one week after the GameCube remake of the first game launched, the BIO series also debuted on Nintendo's handheld hardware, the Game Boy Color. The title was BIOHAZARD GAIDEN (hereafter Gaiden). Developed by the UK's M4 Ltd., it unfolded as an unrelated side-story, true to its name.
Characters Barry from "1" and Leon from "2" appear as members of an anti-Umbrella underground organization. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship, it offers the series' signature closed-space mystery-solving exploration. Due to hardware limitations however, it adopted a 2D top-down view and changed to a button-timing combat system, resulting in a playstyle completely different from previous series entries.
The appearance of spin-off titles on handheld hardware's proof the BIO series has gained widespread recognition, meaning it has targeted a broader audience. In fact, BIO's success overseas led to it finally being made into a Hollywood movie, which was released in Japan in August the same year. The original story of the film, directed by Paul Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, gained popularity in various countries and was subsequently made into a series. This was CAPCOM's second film adaptation of one of its own works since Street Fighter in 1994, demonstrating the high quality of CAPCOM's works and their recognition in the global market.
Characters Barry from "1" and Leon from "2" appear as members of an anti-Umbrella underground organization. Set aboard a luxury cruise ship, it offers the series' signature closed-space mystery-solving exploration. Due to hardware limitations however, it adopted a 2D top-down view and changed to a button-timing combat system, resulting in a playstyle completely different from previous series entries.
The appearance of spin-off titles on handheld hardware's proof the BIO series has gained widespread recognition, meaning it has targeted a broader audience. In fact, BIO's success overseas led to it finally being made into a Hollywood movie, which was released in Japan in August the same year. The original story of the film, directed by Paul Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, gained popularity in various countries and was subsequently made into a series. This was CAPCOM's second film adaptation of one of its own works since Street Fighter in 1994, demonstrating the high quality of CAPCOM's works and their recognition in the global market.
THE STORY OF THE BEGINNING, WOVEN BY THE BOND BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE (p.023-024)
biohazard 0
The helicopter carrying Rebecca and S.T.A.R.S. made an emergency landing in the forest, and while investigating the area, she encountered Billy, a deserter, inside a stopped train. The two escaped from the train filled with Zombies and Leeches and end up at the Umbrella Executive Training School.
The helicopter carrying Rebecca and S.T.A.R.S. made an emergency landing in the forest, and while investigating the area, she encountered Billy, a deserter, inside a stopped train. The two escaped from the train filled with Zombies and Leeches and end up at the Umbrella Executive Training School.
"We won't make you wait a year after Remake 1 for 0." True to that promise, it launched on November 21st 2002, roughly eight months after "Remake 1".
What "0" depicts is the tragedy that befell the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, shrouded in mystery in "1", and the events leading up to survivor Rebecca's arrival at the mansion. In other words, players can actually play through this game to learn how the team was separated and how the rookie member Rebecca survived.
The key figure here's the new character Billy Coen. As a prisoner sentenced to death for murder, he has a rather villainous setting for a protagonist, but his presence is refreshing and he entertains players with a very mysterious story development.
0's biggest feature's the "Partner Zapping System," which puts the joint exploration of Billy and Rebecca at the forefront. Unlike previous games which had separate scenarios for each character players would play through alternately, this game changes the style to one where players advance their exploration by switching between characters in real-time with button inputs. As a result, it's no exaggeration to say 0's one of the top games in the series in terms of its puzzle-like mystery solving, making it a cerebral game that can't be cleared by brute force alone.
One reason its puzzles are outstanding is the requirement to play by understanding each character's unique abilities. Rebecca can't move heavy objects for example but Billy can move them easily. Therefore if you encounter a situation while controlling Rebecca where you need to move a heavy platform to reach a high place, you must switch to controlling Billy to overcome the obstacle.
The second reason's the removal of the series' traditional item boxes. Previously items had to be stored in item boxes, but in this game, items can be placed directly on the map. This necessitates techniques like memorizing the map and mentally mapping out routes.
In 0, complex puzzles stemming from these system changes are scattered throughout the entire game. Solving even a single puzzle often requires multiple steps, meaning the difficulty can be either easy or severe depending on your playstyle.
The scenario serves as a crucial bridge between the previously unexplored events of the Remake 1 and "2", covering the origins of the virus development, the cause of the biohazard outbreak, and the schemes of Wesker and William Birkin. This makes the immense sense of accomplishment and satisfaction awaiting those who struggle to clear it truly unparalleled. Naturally, numerous series staples like hidden modes and costume changes are also included, ensuring dedicated players will find plenty to satisfy them.
Particularly, the infinite rocket launcher and submachine gun granted only to those who clear the main story with an S rank are incredibly satisfying secret weapons. They instantly dispel any frustration built up during your first playthrough, transforming even the toughest boss battles into laughably easy victories.
What "0" depicts is the tragedy that befell the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, shrouded in mystery in "1", and the events leading up to survivor Rebecca's arrival at the mansion. In other words, players can actually play through this game to learn how the team was separated and how the rookie member Rebecca survived.
The key figure here's the new character Billy Coen. As a prisoner sentenced to death for murder, he has a rather villainous setting for a protagonist, but his presence is refreshing and he entertains players with a very mysterious story development.
0's biggest feature's the "Partner Zapping System," which puts the joint exploration of Billy and Rebecca at the forefront. Unlike previous games which had separate scenarios for each character players would play through alternately, this game changes the style to one where players advance their exploration by switching between characters in real-time with button inputs. As a result, it's no exaggeration to say 0's one of the top games in the series in terms of its puzzle-like mystery solving, making it a cerebral game that can't be cleared by brute force alone.
One reason its puzzles are outstanding is the requirement to play by understanding each character's unique abilities. Rebecca can't move heavy objects for example but Billy can move them easily. Therefore if you encounter a situation while controlling Rebecca where you need to move a heavy platform to reach a high place, you must switch to controlling Billy to overcome the obstacle.
The second reason's the removal of the series' traditional item boxes. Previously items had to be stored in item boxes, but in this game, items can be placed directly on the map. This necessitates techniques like memorizing the map and mentally mapping out routes.
In 0, complex puzzles stemming from these system changes are scattered throughout the entire game. Solving even a single puzzle often requires multiple steps, meaning the difficulty can be either easy or severe depending on your playstyle.
The scenario serves as a crucial bridge between the previously unexplored events of the Remake 1 and "2", covering the origins of the virus development, the cause of the biohazard outbreak, and the schemes of Wesker and William Birkin. This makes the immense sense of accomplishment and satisfaction awaiting those who struggle to clear it truly unparalleled. Naturally, numerous series staples like hidden modes and costume changes are also included, ensuring dedicated players will find plenty to satisfy them.
Particularly, the infinite rocket launcher and submachine gun granted only to those who clear the main story with an S rank are incredibly satisfying secret weapons. They instantly dispel any frustration built up during your first playthrough, transforming even the toughest boss battles into laughably easy victories.
ORIGINAL SCENARIOS: DISTINCTIVE SPIN-OFFS (p.024-025)
GUN SURVIVOR 4 BIOHAZARD HEROES NEVER DIE
After the virus is stolen from an Umbrella research facility, a luxury cruise ship owned by Umbrella carrying VIPs from various countries is hijacked at sea. U.S. operative Bruce begins operations to resolve the situation, but a conspiracy's already swirling.
After the virus is stolen from an Umbrella research facility, a luxury cruise ship owned by Umbrella carrying VIPs from various countries is hijacked at sea. U.S. operative Bruce begins operations to resolve the situation, but a conspiracy's already swirling.
In 2003, as Nintendo's Famicom celebrated its 20th anniversary, the company's GameCube saw a steady stream of BIO series ports released from the start of the year through August: "2", "3", and Veronica Complete Edition. GC players could follow BIO's story chronologically by playing these sequentially, alongside the previously released "Remake 1" and "0". While numbered titles expanded the series on the GC, spin-off titles with distinct gameplay from the main series began appearing on the PS2.
First came "GUN SURVIVOR 4 BIOHAZARD HEROES NEVER DIE" (hereafter GUN SURVIVOR 4), released a month after 3's GameCube version. While this was the third BIO-themed entry in the GUN SURVIVOR series, it was numbered "4" since "GUN SURVIVOR 3" had been based on Dino Crisis, a survival horror game akin to a BIO sibling title.
Set after Raccoon City's collapse aboard the luxury cruise ship "Spencer Rain" sailing the seas, the game features two playable characters: Bruce McGivern, a U.S. military operative from the Anti-Umbrella Pursuit & Investigation Team, and Fong Ling, a female operative from the Chinese Ministry of State Security. It employed an innovative system where exploration typically happened in third-person view, switching to first-person shooting only upon facing creatures.
Against enemy attacks, simple button inputs enabled emergency dodges similar to those in 3. Weapons ranged from familiar handguns to an Umbrella-developed charged particle rifle. Ammo for handguns wasn't infinite, requiring players to constantly monitor their remaining rounds while fighting, creating the signature tension of BIO's gunplay.
GUN SURVIVOR 4 offers greater story depth and content than previous entries in the GUN SURVIVOR series. Combined with realistic creature animations and graphics, it has earned high praise from fans despite being a spin-off.
First came "GUN SURVIVOR 4 BIOHAZARD HEROES NEVER DIE" (hereafter GUN SURVIVOR 4), released a month after 3's GameCube version. While this was the third BIO-themed entry in the GUN SURVIVOR series, it was numbered "4" since "GUN SURVIVOR 3" had been based on Dino Crisis, a survival horror game akin to a BIO sibling title.
Set after Raccoon City's collapse aboard the luxury cruise ship "Spencer Rain" sailing the seas, the game features two playable characters: Bruce McGivern, a U.S. military operative from the Anti-Umbrella Pursuit & Investigation Team, and Fong Ling, a female operative from the Chinese Ministry of State Security. It employed an innovative system where exploration typically happened in third-person view, switching to first-person shooting only upon facing creatures.
Against enemy attacks, simple button inputs enabled emergency dodges similar to those in 3. Weapons ranged from familiar handguns to an Umbrella-developed charged particle rifle. Ammo for handguns wasn't infinite, requiring players to constantly monitor their remaining rounds while fighting, creating the signature tension of BIO's gunplay.
GUN SURVIVOR 4 offers greater story depth and content than previous entries in the GUN SURVIVOR series. Combined with realistic creature animations and graphics, it has earned high praise from fans despite being a spin-off.
A NEW STYLE OF HORROR MADE POSSIBLE BY ONLINE PLAY (p.025)
BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK
When the citizens of Raccoon City became aware of the Zombies, it simultaneously marked the beginning of their survival. A plumber, doctor, waitress, security guard-- ordinary citizens utilize their skills and cooperate to escape from this hellish city.
When the citizens of Raccoon City became aware of the Zombies, it simultaneously marked the beginning of their survival. A plumber, doctor, waitress, security guard-- ordinary citizens utilize their skills and cooperate to escape from this hellish city.
BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK FILE 2
In the chilling town of Raccoon City, various citizens meet: police officer Kevin, newspaper reporter Alyssa, college student Yoko, and others. Strange beasts attack at the zoo, and even the police station's overrun by Zombies attacking them without mercy. Yet they pool their strength and push forward, together.
In the chilling town of Raccoon City, various citizens meet: police officer Kevin, newspaper reporter Alyssa, college student Yoko, and others. Strange beasts attack at the zoo, and even the police station's overrun by Zombies attacking them without mercy. Yet they pool their strength and push forward, together.
Another spin-off that mustn't be forgotten is BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK (hereafter OUTBREAK), the first title in the series to support online play.
This title appeared on the PS2 in late 2003, coinciding with the rapid spread of broadband internet access driven by the expansion of infrastructure like ADSL and fiber optics, along with the falling cost of services.
The true thrill of online play lies in cooperative gameplay: up to four players exploring Raccoon City in real-time, sharing the same timeline as 2&3, and aiming to escape the city. While previous series entries offered a sense of teamwork through partner characters, the depth differs significantly between computer-controlled and human players. Each player acts with intent, making flexible judgments on the fly. The ever-changing companions you encounter each time you play, and the inevitable camaraderie that forms, are precisely what make online play so compelling.
OUTBREAK's a game that truly elevates this teamwork between companions within the survival horror genre, featuring multiple ingenious touches that feel quintessentially BIO.
One's the differentiation of player characters. OUTBREAK features eight distinct player characters, including a police officer, waitress, and subway employee, each with their own gender. They come equipped with "Personal Items" and "Special Actions" reflecting their professions. For example, the doctor's Personal Item's a "Medical Kit" that allows effective use of herbs, while their Special Action's a "Dodge Tackle" that can take down enemies without using weapons. This character differentiation naturally led to role division among participating players, fostering teamwork where each member used their unique abilities to compensate for others' weaknesses.
Another key innovation was enhancing communication tools for teammates. Since players could exchange items in OUTBREAK, cooperation almost always prevented shortages. Crucial communication tools included buttons for ad-libs and appeals. Using character phrases like "HELP!" or "COME ON!", players could convey their intentions or situation to others, making communication entirely possible even without a chat function.
These elements combined to create a game where the true thrill of online play was fully experienced within the BIO world. While the restriction that infection levels rose during exploration and reaching 100% turned players into Zombies sparked debate, it earned a solid reputation as the first online BIO game. Following OUTBREAK's success, the sequel BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK FILE 2 (hereafter OUTBREAK 2) arrived the following year, depicting Another Story. It featured a completely new scenario, added new actions and creatures, and even incorporated character compatibility elements.
Furthermore, OUTBREAK 2 included a data conversion feature from OUTBREAK. Players with save data from the previous game could transfer their collected items directly into OUTBREAK 2, making it invaluable for offline players aiming to complete hidden elements.
Unfortunately, the "Multi-Matching BB Service" ended on June 30th 2011. As a result, the game's now only playable offline in single-player mode alongside NPCs.
This title appeared on the PS2 in late 2003, coinciding with the rapid spread of broadband internet access driven by the expansion of infrastructure like ADSL and fiber optics, along with the falling cost of services.
The true thrill of online play lies in cooperative gameplay: up to four players exploring Raccoon City in real-time, sharing the same timeline as 2&3, and aiming to escape the city. While previous series entries offered a sense of teamwork through partner characters, the depth differs significantly between computer-controlled and human players. Each player acts with intent, making flexible judgments on the fly. The ever-changing companions you encounter each time you play, and the inevitable camaraderie that forms, are precisely what make online play so compelling.
OUTBREAK's a game that truly elevates this teamwork between companions within the survival horror genre, featuring multiple ingenious touches that feel quintessentially BIO.
One's the differentiation of player characters. OUTBREAK features eight distinct player characters, including a police officer, waitress, and subway employee, each with their own gender. They come equipped with "Personal Items" and "Special Actions" reflecting their professions. For example, the doctor's Personal Item's a "Medical Kit" that allows effective use of herbs, while their Special Action's a "Dodge Tackle" that can take down enemies without using weapons. This character differentiation naturally led to role division among participating players, fostering teamwork where each member used their unique abilities to compensate for others' weaknesses.
Another key innovation was enhancing communication tools for teammates. Since players could exchange items in OUTBREAK, cooperation almost always prevented shortages. Crucial communication tools included buttons for ad-libs and appeals. Using character phrases like "HELP!" or "COME ON!", players could convey their intentions or situation to others, making communication entirely possible even without a chat function.
These elements combined to create a game where the true thrill of online play was fully experienced within the BIO world. While the restriction that infection levels rose during exploration and reaching 100% turned players into Zombies sparked debate, it earned a solid reputation as the first online BIO game. Following OUTBREAK's success, the sequel BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK FILE 2 (hereafter OUTBREAK 2) arrived the following year, depicting Another Story. It featured a completely new scenario, added new actions and creatures, and even incorporated character compatibility elements.
Furthermore, OUTBREAK 2 included a data conversion feature from OUTBREAK. Players with save data from the previous game could transfer their collected items directly into OUTBREAK 2, making it invaluable for offline players aiming to complete hidden elements.
Unfortunately, the "Multi-Matching BB Service" ended on June 30th 2011. As a result, the game's now only playable offline in single-player mode alongside NPCs.
A SHOCKING HIT ABOUT SURVIVING THE EXTREME (p.031-033)
biohazard 4
Leon, an agent directly under the U.S. President, travels to a remote European village to rescue the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley. The village is under the control of the evil religious cult, Los Iluminados, with a grand conspiracy swirling in its wake.
Leon, an agent directly under the U.S. President, travels to a remote European village to rescue the President's kidnapped daughter, Ashley. The village is under the control of the evil religious cult, Los Iluminados, with a grand conspiracy swirling in its wake.
That summer, the iTunes Store launched in Japan. Entertainment delivered via the internet and mobile tools began diversifying, and the gaming industry underwent a major shift into an era where only truly compelling software would sell.
CAPCOM announced "4" would be released on PS2 in addition to the GameCube version. While PS2 users naturally cheered, confusion also spread among fans. At this point, CAPCOM's sole mission as a game developer was to deliver an outstanding product and delight its fans. Nothing else mattered. Should they betray fan expectations, it could spell the end for a series cherished for so many years... Fate now rested entirely on 4's quality, which was in the thick of development at that very moment.
In developing 4, the core development team felt a crisis in maintaining the status quo. After agonizing over the issue, they reached a bold conclusion: total overhaul. Using "Remake 1" as a foundation, they resolved to create a new BIO that faithfully inherited the series' unique atmosphere and worldview, stepping on a thorny path.
4 set its theme as the "struggle to survive under extreme conditions" and underwent a long development period. The goal wasn't to easily show scary visuals, but create horror entertainment where players could truly experience fear and enjoy it thoroughly. The bar was set extremely high but the development team never compromised, repeatedly refining the game to enhance its quality.
The day finally arrived when BIOHAZARD would face judgment. On January 27th, the GameCube version of 4 was unveiled.
The arduous journey's immediately apparent when watching the trailer included on the "Secret DVD" distributed as a first-print bonus for 4. The gap between the initial version and the final version's staggering. So what exactly was this completely overhauled 4?
Here we highlight several notable changes.
The first thing that jumps out is the drastically changed screen layout. In 4 the camera angle shifted from the traditional fixed view to a behind-the-player camera that follows the character from behind. This means you always play with a clear view of the protagonist's front.
Alongside this viewpoint change came the addition of aiming functions, exemplified by the laser pointer on the handgun. During combat, players could now aim like in an FPS for precise shooting. When overwhelmed by enemy groups, tactical techniques became possible such as sniping nearby explosives to trigger detonations and take out surrounding enemies.
Regarding item carrying, the introduction of an attaché case that stored weapons and healing items in block units changed usability. Storage space is limited, frequently forcing players to agonize over what to keep and what to discard to free up blocks. Items aren't just placed on the map but also obtained as loot by defeating enemies. The act of continuously defeating enemies while collecting dropped items feels distinctly like a shooter game.
Another notable new system, reminiscent of a different genre, is the series' first introduction of a money concept. Money acquired during exploration can be used to purchase items from a shady arms dealer or modify weapons. Modifying weapons, in particular, offers benefits like improved reload speed and increased magazine capacity, similar to previous entries, making it a crucial factor for progressing through the game.
Other changes include button actions where you must input buttons displayed on-screen in sequence without mistakes at specific locations, and a typewriter that now allows unlimited saves. Given the series' long history, it's easy to imagine such a large-scale overhaul required considerable courage. Surprisingly, when actually played, the game strongly retains its BIO essence, making it a resounding success.
4 was a bold full model change that charted a new direction for the series and undeniably became a turning point.
This title marks the first installment set after Umbrella's collapse, making its existence a crucial foundation for the series' subsequent development.
Leon, the protagonist from "2", makes a comeback as a dependable U.S. agent, while the setting expands from America to Europe. The story begins with the abduction of the U.S. President's daughter, leading to a battle against a sinister religious cult. This escalates into a fierce struggle over a parasitic organism known as the "Plaga," with the remaining mysteries carried over into the sequel.
Various episodes are depicted in greater detail in the additional mode "the another order," included in the PS2 version released in December 2005, making it well worth experiencing. This mode offers another take on 4, playable from the perspective of Ada Wong, the female spy who fell in love with Leon in 2. It also significantly expands events featuring Wesker, the arch-enemy who could be considered the true protagonist behind the scenes. What's Ada's true purpose? Where will the relationship between Leon and Ada lead? What are Wesker's new ambitions? ...In short, 4's packed with elements sure to keep longtime fans on the edge of their seats.
In this way 4 reset everything from story to systems, becoming the new standard for the BIO series. Its meticulously crafted content was highly praised by many fans and industry professionals immediately upon release. As a result, the GameCube version won the Excellence Award at the CESA GAME AWARDS 2004-2005 held that same year. Furthermore, the following year both the GameCube and PS2 versions achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Grand Prize at the Famitsu Awards 2005.
Moreover, despite nearly four years passing without a sequel after the PS2 version of 4 launched, the series' popularity never waned. This was entirely due to 4 being ported to various platforms and gaining widespread player support. This alone demonstrates how highly polished 4 was as a singular game, a masterpiece anyone could play and lose track of time enjoying.
CAPCOM announced "4" would be released on PS2 in addition to the GameCube version. While PS2 users naturally cheered, confusion also spread among fans. At this point, CAPCOM's sole mission as a game developer was to deliver an outstanding product and delight its fans. Nothing else mattered. Should they betray fan expectations, it could spell the end for a series cherished for so many years... Fate now rested entirely on 4's quality, which was in the thick of development at that very moment.
In developing 4, the core development team felt a crisis in maintaining the status quo. After agonizing over the issue, they reached a bold conclusion: total overhaul. Using "Remake 1" as a foundation, they resolved to create a new BIO that faithfully inherited the series' unique atmosphere and worldview, stepping on a thorny path.
4 set its theme as the "struggle to survive under extreme conditions" and underwent a long development period. The goal wasn't to easily show scary visuals, but create horror entertainment where players could truly experience fear and enjoy it thoroughly. The bar was set extremely high but the development team never compromised, repeatedly refining the game to enhance its quality.
The day finally arrived when BIOHAZARD would face judgment. On January 27th, the GameCube version of 4 was unveiled.
The arduous journey's immediately apparent when watching the trailer included on the "Secret DVD" distributed as a first-print bonus for 4. The gap between the initial version and the final version's staggering. So what exactly was this completely overhauled 4?
Here we highlight several notable changes.
The first thing that jumps out is the drastically changed screen layout. In 4 the camera angle shifted from the traditional fixed view to a behind-the-player camera that follows the character from behind. This means you always play with a clear view of the protagonist's front.
Alongside this viewpoint change came the addition of aiming functions, exemplified by the laser pointer on the handgun. During combat, players could now aim like in an FPS for precise shooting. When overwhelmed by enemy groups, tactical techniques became possible such as sniping nearby explosives to trigger detonations and take out surrounding enemies.
Regarding item carrying, the introduction of an attaché case that stored weapons and healing items in block units changed usability. Storage space is limited, frequently forcing players to agonize over what to keep and what to discard to free up blocks. Items aren't just placed on the map but also obtained as loot by defeating enemies. The act of continuously defeating enemies while collecting dropped items feels distinctly like a shooter game.
Another notable new system, reminiscent of a different genre, is the series' first introduction of a money concept. Money acquired during exploration can be used to purchase items from a shady arms dealer or modify weapons. Modifying weapons, in particular, offers benefits like improved reload speed and increased magazine capacity, similar to previous entries, making it a crucial factor for progressing through the game.
Other changes include button actions where you must input buttons displayed on-screen in sequence without mistakes at specific locations, and a typewriter that now allows unlimited saves. Given the series' long history, it's easy to imagine such a large-scale overhaul required considerable courage. Surprisingly, when actually played, the game strongly retains its BIO essence, making it a resounding success.
4 was a bold full model change that charted a new direction for the series and undeniably became a turning point.
This title marks the first installment set after Umbrella's collapse, making its existence a crucial foundation for the series' subsequent development.
Leon, the protagonist from "2", makes a comeback as a dependable U.S. agent, while the setting expands from America to Europe. The story begins with the abduction of the U.S. President's daughter, leading to a battle against a sinister religious cult. This escalates into a fierce struggle over a parasitic organism known as the "Plaga," with the remaining mysteries carried over into the sequel.
Various episodes are depicted in greater detail in the additional mode "the another order," included in the PS2 version released in December 2005, making it well worth experiencing. This mode offers another take on 4, playable from the perspective of Ada Wong, the female spy who fell in love with Leon in 2. It also significantly expands events featuring Wesker, the arch-enemy who could be considered the true protagonist behind the scenes. What's Ada's true purpose? Where will the relationship between Leon and Ada lead? What are Wesker's new ambitions? ...In short, 4's packed with elements sure to keep longtime fans on the edge of their seats.
In this way 4 reset everything from story to systems, becoming the new standard for the BIO series. Its meticulously crafted content was highly praised by many fans and industry professionals immediately upon release. As a result, the GameCube version won the Excellence Award at the CESA GAME AWARDS 2004-2005 held that same year. Furthermore, the following year both the GameCube and PS2 versions achieved the remarkable feat of winning the Grand Prize at the Famitsu Awards 2005.
Moreover, despite nearly four years passing without a sequel after the PS2 version of 4 launched, the series' popularity never waned. This was entirely due to 4 being ported to various platforms and gaining widespread player support. This alone demonstrates how highly polished 4 was as a singular game, a masterpiece anyone could play and lose track of time enjoying.
THE PROCESS LEADING TO UMBRELLA'S COLLAPSE (p.034-035)
BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES
Chris and Jill, members of a private anti-biohazard unit, infiltrate the Russian branch to destroy Umbrella. "Umbrella's End" depicts the fierce battle in the frigid land. Other entries include "The Ecliptic Express Incident," "The Mansion Incident," and "The Raccoon City Incident."
Chris and Jill, members of a private anti-biohazard unit, infiltrate the Russian branch to destroy Umbrella. "Umbrella's End" depicts the fierce battle in the frigid land. Other entries include "The Ecliptic Express Incident," "The Mansion Incident," and "The Raccoon City Incident."
After 4's release, the gaming industry entered a new hardware competition with the arrival of Microsoft's "Xbox 360" in December 2005, Sony Computer Entertainment's "PlayStation 3" (PS3) in 2006, and Nintendo's "Wii" in the same year.
The Wii adopted a groundbreaking and innovative control method: intuitive operation via the "Wii Remote" using wireless communication. This approach attracted even those previously uninterested in games and supplied a diverse range of game software unconstrained by existing genres.
CAPCOM had announced support for all three consoles, but the BIO series first launched on Wii. Released on May 31st 2007 was the port "biohazard 4 Wii Edition" (hereafter "4 Wii"), based on the PS2 version of "4".
This version featured a shooting system where players moved the pointer with the remote to aim guns, and a Search Knife that automatically scanned nearby enemies and objects for attack simply by swinging the remote. While sharing the same content as the PS2 4, it offered a completely different play experience. "4 Wii" earned high praise from Wii users, partly due to the original game's excellence, demonstrating the series' continued vitality to the world.
Then, in the same year, the long-awaited flagship title for the BIO series on Wii finally appeared.
Its title was BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES (hereafter "UC"). As the first original BIO title for Wii, anticipation among fans skyrocketed when its trailer was included as bonus footage in biohazard 4 Wii Edition. Attention focused on its high level of story depth, characteristic of the BIO series, ensuring it wouldn't be just another gun shooter.
UC launched approximately six months after "4 Wii", on November 15th 2007. After release, it became a massive hit, shipping 1.06 million copies worldwide in just four months and significantly boosting Wii console sales.
Its popularity stemmed not only from its core shooter appeal but also from its supplementary scenarios. These scenarios delved into past events depicted in the series, unraveling the hidden truths behind them. Particularly after Veronica Complete Edition, seeing Chris and Jill join a private anti-biohazard unit to fight Umbrella, along with the episodes spanning from "0" to "Remake 1" depicting Wesker's rebellion against Umbrella, all eventually converging in the Umbrella collapse scenario, was a masterful touch for fans.
Playing UC alone allows you to grasp the full scope of the battle against Umbrella and deepens your understanding of subsequent stories. In other words, you can't truly discuss the BIO series without playing this game!
The Wii adopted a groundbreaking and innovative control method: intuitive operation via the "Wii Remote" using wireless communication. This approach attracted even those previously uninterested in games and supplied a diverse range of game software unconstrained by existing genres.
CAPCOM had announced support for all three consoles, but the BIO series first launched on Wii. Released on May 31st 2007 was the port "biohazard 4 Wii Edition" (hereafter "4 Wii"), based on the PS2 version of "4".
This version featured a shooting system where players moved the pointer with the remote to aim guns, and a Search Knife that automatically scanned nearby enemies and objects for attack simply by swinging the remote. While sharing the same content as the PS2 4, it offered a completely different play experience. "4 Wii" earned high praise from Wii users, partly due to the original game's excellence, demonstrating the series' continued vitality to the world.
Then, in the same year, the long-awaited flagship title for the BIO series on Wii finally appeared.
Its title was BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES (hereafter "UC"). As the first original BIO title for Wii, anticipation among fans skyrocketed when its trailer was included as bonus footage in biohazard 4 Wii Edition. Attention focused on its high level of story depth, characteristic of the BIO series, ensuring it wouldn't be just another gun shooter.
UC launched approximately six months after "4 Wii", on November 15th 2007. After release, it became a massive hit, shipping 1.06 million copies worldwide in just four months and significantly boosting Wii console sales.
Its popularity stemmed not only from its core shooter appeal but also from its supplementary scenarios. These scenarios delved into past events depicted in the series, unraveling the hidden truths behind them. Particularly after Veronica Complete Edition, seeing Chris and Jill join a private anti-biohazard unit to fight Umbrella, along with the episodes spanning from "0" to "Remake 1" depicting Wesker's rebellion against Umbrella, all eventually converging in the Umbrella collapse scenario, was a masterful touch for fans.
Playing UC alone allows you to grasp the full scope of the battle against Umbrella and deepens your understanding of subsequent stories. In other words, you can't truly discuss the BIO series without playing this game!
BONDS FORGED ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT (p.035-038)
BIOHAZARD 5
After Umbrella's collapse, its technology fell into the hands of terrorists worldwide. Chris, a member of the anti-bioterror unit BSAA, lands in Africa to participate in an operation to apprehend a B.O.W. smuggler, where he joins forces with his local "partner," Sheva.
After Umbrella's collapse, its technology fell into the hands of terrorists worldwide. Chris, a member of the anti-bioterror unit BSAA, lands in Africa to participate in an operation to apprehend a B.O.W. smuggler, where he joins forces with his local "partner," Sheva.
From the moment the Xbox 360 and PS3 were announced, one killer title stood out: "BIOHAZARD 5" (hereafter "5").
Looking back to its planning stages, the highly anticipated 5 took approximately four years from the previous game's release to completion, hinting at considerable difficulties encountered along the way.
The merits and demerits of "4". Precisely because it was a masterpiece, it placed an immense burden on the staff tasked with its sequel: they had to surpass the previous work. How could they create a numbered title worthy of succeeding 4? As a year passed with no clear answer, a proposal emerged: adopting the series' first two-player cooperative play, or "Co-op Mode," leveraging the online environment.
Convinced leaving 4's shadow and forging a unique path befitting next-generation consoles was the key to success, the staff immediately began designing the Co-op gameplay. Being a first attempt, various ideas were initially proposed to encourage player cooperation, such as diverse combo operations and formation building. None felt quite right however. Consequently, the producer sought assistance from the development team behind Lost Planet, which had launched on Xbox 360 in 2006 and achieved success with its online mode. After discussions, they arrived at a single conclusion. That conclusion was: "The creators should provide the playground, not the play." In fact, in Lost Planet, players seeking more than the pre-set battle rules could be seen night after night devising their own rules and enjoying online battles. Therefore, for co-op play it was decided to limit the provided features to the bare minimum, such as item transfer and health recovery, leaving the rest of the fun up to the players.
Balance is maintained by eliminating the initial ability gap between Chris and Sheva Alomar at the start. The game's designed to end if either character dies, forcing players to constantly be aware of covering each other. The higher difficulty of the action sequences is also intended to strongly emphasize this is a game only viable through the cooperation of both players. This naturally raises the question: what about players without an online environment? As a solution, the game offers offline co-op play via split-screen, ensuring co-op's fully accessible. Even with the split screen, the 16:9 aspect ratio's maintained, so there's absolutely no concern a narrower field of view would diminish the sense of terror.
Even in single-player, AI characters with human-like movements allow you to enjoy a simulated co-op experience, creating a well-balanced difficulty level for a satisfying playthrough.
5 has two themes, one of which is "bonds." This element's deeply woven not only into the co-op gameplay where two players help each other, but also into the story itself. Moreover, it was skillfully presented right from the advertising phase. The image from early ads showing Chris standing before Jill's grave with a bouquet was so shocking it sparked debate among fans. However, this game depicts the strong bond between Chris and Jill, former S.T.A.R.S. members, throughout the entire story, making it deeply memorable for longtime fans.
After Umbrella's collapse, they storm Oswell E. Spencer's hideout to corner the root of all evil. There they encounter an unexpected situation: a reunion with their arch-nemesis, Wesker. The battle against Wesker in 5 is the biggest highlight, and attention's focused on how the long-running conflict between Chris and Jill, which has continued since "1", will finally be resolved. For those wanting to delve deeper into the story, Chris and Jill's exploits during their BSAA days are explored in greater detail in "BIOHAZARD 5 Alternative Edition" (hereafter "5AE"), released for PS3 the following February, and in the Xbox 360 downloadable content "LOST IN NIGHTMARES".
Now, another central theme of 5 is "light and darkness." A major departure from previous series entries is the shift to an open-space setting: the scorching African wilderness. This change owes much to hardware evolution as the visual expression achieved here would've been impossible without the arrival of next-generation consoles boasting superior graphics capabilities. The vast outdoor maps and indoor maps like buildings and tunnels create a striking contrast of light and shadow. Realistic lighting effects immerse players in an unparalleled sense of presence, sometimes even making them feel the smell and temperature of the environment. And even in brightly lit areas where the sun blazes down, players will relish the desperate struggle for survival while fearing the new enemies that swarm and attack.
Numerous scenes utilizing vehicles are also a defining feature of 5. Chase sequences, particularly those involving groups of enemies pursuing you on bikes or in cars, are unprecedented, delivering fresh thrills and excitement. The fact every creature introduced is new and unpredictable in its movements is a delight for fans who've played through the entire BIO series.
As a familiar post-main-story bonus, the highly requested "The Mercenaries" mode returns. In 5, this mode also supports co-op play, allowing for a different kind of intense score attack experience with human teammates. Online, numerous downloadable content packs were released, including two additional episodes, the new "Versus" mode supporting online battles for up to four players, and extra costume packs. This provided a new form of play that fully utilized online features and was well-received.
5 implemented the series' first online co-op mode, dramatically evolved the visuals, and significantly shifted the story. It recorded the series' highest initial shipment of over four million units worldwide. As initially expected, it accelerated the adoption of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware. Furthermore, at the Japan Game Awards 2009 held during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2009, its tremendous achievements were honored, and it brilliantly won the Excellence Award.
Looking back to its planning stages, the highly anticipated 5 took approximately four years from the previous game's release to completion, hinting at considerable difficulties encountered along the way.
The merits and demerits of "4". Precisely because it was a masterpiece, it placed an immense burden on the staff tasked with its sequel: they had to surpass the previous work. How could they create a numbered title worthy of succeeding 4? As a year passed with no clear answer, a proposal emerged: adopting the series' first two-player cooperative play, or "Co-op Mode," leveraging the online environment.
Convinced leaving 4's shadow and forging a unique path befitting next-generation consoles was the key to success, the staff immediately began designing the Co-op gameplay. Being a first attempt, various ideas were initially proposed to encourage player cooperation, such as diverse combo operations and formation building. None felt quite right however. Consequently, the producer sought assistance from the development team behind Lost Planet, which had launched on Xbox 360 in 2006 and achieved success with its online mode. After discussions, they arrived at a single conclusion. That conclusion was: "The creators should provide the playground, not the play." In fact, in Lost Planet, players seeking more than the pre-set battle rules could be seen night after night devising their own rules and enjoying online battles. Therefore, for co-op play it was decided to limit the provided features to the bare minimum, such as item transfer and health recovery, leaving the rest of the fun up to the players.
Balance is maintained by eliminating the initial ability gap between Chris and Sheva Alomar at the start. The game's designed to end if either character dies, forcing players to constantly be aware of covering each other. The higher difficulty of the action sequences is also intended to strongly emphasize this is a game only viable through the cooperation of both players. This naturally raises the question: what about players without an online environment? As a solution, the game offers offline co-op play via split-screen, ensuring co-op's fully accessible. Even with the split screen, the 16:9 aspect ratio's maintained, so there's absolutely no concern a narrower field of view would diminish the sense of terror.
Even in single-player, AI characters with human-like movements allow you to enjoy a simulated co-op experience, creating a well-balanced difficulty level for a satisfying playthrough.
5 has two themes, one of which is "bonds." This element's deeply woven not only into the co-op gameplay where two players help each other, but also into the story itself. Moreover, it was skillfully presented right from the advertising phase. The image from early ads showing Chris standing before Jill's grave with a bouquet was so shocking it sparked debate among fans. However, this game depicts the strong bond between Chris and Jill, former S.T.A.R.S. members, throughout the entire story, making it deeply memorable for longtime fans.
After Umbrella's collapse, they storm Oswell E. Spencer's hideout to corner the root of all evil. There they encounter an unexpected situation: a reunion with their arch-nemesis, Wesker. The battle against Wesker in 5 is the biggest highlight, and attention's focused on how the long-running conflict between Chris and Jill, which has continued since "1", will finally be resolved. For those wanting to delve deeper into the story, Chris and Jill's exploits during their BSAA days are explored in greater detail in "BIOHAZARD 5 Alternative Edition" (hereafter "5AE"), released for PS3 the following February, and in the Xbox 360 downloadable content "LOST IN NIGHTMARES".
Now, another central theme of 5 is "light and darkness." A major departure from previous series entries is the shift to an open-space setting: the scorching African wilderness. This change owes much to hardware evolution as the visual expression achieved here would've been impossible without the arrival of next-generation consoles boasting superior graphics capabilities. The vast outdoor maps and indoor maps like buildings and tunnels create a striking contrast of light and shadow. Realistic lighting effects immerse players in an unparalleled sense of presence, sometimes even making them feel the smell and temperature of the environment. And even in brightly lit areas where the sun blazes down, players will relish the desperate struggle for survival while fearing the new enemies that swarm and attack.
Numerous scenes utilizing vehicles are also a defining feature of 5. Chase sequences, particularly those involving groups of enemies pursuing you on bikes or in cars, are unprecedented, delivering fresh thrills and excitement. The fact every creature introduced is new and unpredictable in its movements is a delight for fans who've played through the entire BIO series.
As a familiar post-main-story bonus, the highly requested "The Mercenaries" mode returns. In 5, this mode also supports co-op play, allowing for a different kind of intense score attack experience with human teammates. Online, numerous downloadable content packs were released, including two additional episodes, the new "Versus" mode supporting online battles for up to four players, and extra costume packs. This provided a new form of play that fully utilized online features and was well-received.
5 implemented the series' first online co-op mode, dramatically evolved the visuals, and significantly shifted the story. It recorded the series' highest initial shipment of over four million units worldwide. As initially expected, it accelerated the adoption of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 hardware. Furthermore, at the Japan Game Awards 2009 held during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2009, its tremendous achievements were honored, and it brilliantly won the Excellence Award.
CHRONICLES OF LOVE & HATE LURKING IN THE DARKNESS (p.039)
BIOHAZARD THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES
Agent Leon, alongside Krauser of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, pursues a former Umbrella researcher to a village in South America. Finally closing in on drug lord Javier in "Operation Javier." Also includes "Memory of a Lost City" & "Game of Oblivion."
Agent Leon, alongside Krauser of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, pursues a former Umbrella researcher to a village in South America. Finally closing in on drug lord Javier in "Operation Javier." Also includes "Memory of a Lost City" & "Game of Oblivion."
The year after "5" became a global smash hit, the Wii saw the release of "BIOHAZARD THE DARKSIDE CHRONICLES" (hereafter "DC"), a horror gun-shooter following Unlocked. This collection depicts events Leon experienced from "2" to "4" in first-person perspective. It includes three scenarios: Memory of a Lost City based on 2, Game of Oblivion based on "Veronica", and Operation Javier where Leon, now a U.S. agent after 2, executes a top-secret mission in South America.
Operation Javier, a completely original scenario, features Jack Krauser, Leon's sworn adversary from 4, as a partner, showcasing their legendary teamwork. Furthermore, the reason behind Krauser's hatred for Leon's revealed in this scenario's ending.
System-wise, it introduces the money concept already adopted in the main series starting with 4. Paying allows weapon upgrades, giving combat an advantage. Another new feature's the "Shaky Camera," which intensely shakes the screen in sync with character movements. Added as a new camera technique for fixed-route gunplay, it heightens immersion, though it may feel slightly jarring for those unaccustomed to 3D visuals.
The consistent theme throughout DC is familial love. Each scenario delves into the core of its events through the tragedies and bonds of specific families: the Birkin family in Memory of a Lost City, the Redfield siblings in Game of Oblivion, and the Hidalgo family in Operation Javier. Consequently, the episodes in 2 and Veronica emphasize drama, featuring some rearrangements from the original versions. Additional events and new dialogue further highlight familial bonds. Episodes and battles seemingly unrelated to the theme have been boldly trimmed, resulting in a condensed, rich experience focused on the essential elements.
Operation Javier, a completely original scenario, features Jack Krauser, Leon's sworn adversary from 4, as a partner, showcasing their legendary teamwork. Furthermore, the reason behind Krauser's hatred for Leon's revealed in this scenario's ending.
System-wise, it introduces the money concept already adopted in the main series starting with 4. Paying allows weapon upgrades, giving combat an advantage. Another new feature's the "Shaky Camera," which intensely shakes the screen in sync with character movements. Added as a new camera technique for fixed-route gunplay, it heightens immersion, though it may feel slightly jarring for those unaccustomed to 3D visuals.
The consistent theme throughout DC is familial love. Each scenario delves into the core of its events through the tragedies and bonds of specific families: the Birkin family in Memory of a Lost City, the Redfield siblings in Game of Oblivion, and the Hidalgo family in Operation Javier. Consequently, the episodes in 2 and Veronica emphasize drama, featuring some rearrangements from the original versions. Additional events and new dialogue further highlight familial bonds. Episodes and battles seemingly unrelated to the theme have been boldly trimmed, resulting in a condensed, rich experience focused on the essential elements.
ADVANCING TO NEW HARDWARE: CHALLENGING THE NEXT ERA (p.040-041)
BIOHAZARD REVIVAL SELECTION
This set includes two titles: "4", where Leon shines as an agent, and Veronica Complete Edition, depicting Claire and Steve's survival. This remastered edition features HD graphics at 720p resolution, delivering sharper and more beautiful visuals.
This set includes two titles: "4", where Leon shines as an agent, and Veronica Complete Edition, depicting Claire and Steve's survival. This remastered edition features HD graphics at 720p resolution, delivering sharper and more beautiful visuals.
BIOHAZARD THE MERCENARIES 3D
Characters like the physically formidable Chris, the cool Wesker, and the “Grim Reaper” HUNK wield weapons and skills to battle formidable foes such as the Chainsaw Maniac, Garrador, and Duvalia. A survival action game where battles unfold within a time limit.
Characters like the physically formidable Chris, the cool Wesker, and the “Grim Reaper” HUNK wield weapons and skills to battle formidable foes such as the Chainsaw Maniac, Garrador, and Duvalia. A survival action game where battles unfold within a time limit.
After the release of "5AE" in February 2010 and the addition of downloadable content for Xbox 360 around the same time, the BIO series saw little notable movement, yet the gaming industry was on the cusp of a new era for handheld consoles. At the Nintendo Conference 2010 held in September of that same year, Nintendo announced the "Nintendo 3DS" (hereafter 3DS), the successor to the DS. Meanwhile SCE announced the new PSP model "NGP" (official name: PlayStation Vita) at the PlayStation Meeting 2011 held in January 2011. The 3DS launched from Nintendo the month after the NGP announcement, as originally planned, and early 2011 was expected to be dominated by these two major handheld consoles. However...
On March 11th, the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake struck, an unprecedented disaster involving a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region, plunging Japan into its greatest national crisis since the war. Naturally, this directly impacted the Japanese economy, including the gaming industry, putting the production and supply of hardware and software by various manufacturers at risk. The sheer scale of the damage led many to fear the industry might decline permanently. Yet, signs of recovery gradually began to appear, and people's interest started shifting back toward entertainment like games and movies.
CAPCOM's first release for the 3DS after the disaster was the survival action game "BIOHAZARD THE MERCENARIES 3D" (hereafter THE MERCENARIES 3D). This title's a spin-off of the bonus mode that debuted in "3". Its intense gameplay resonated with hardcore players, making it a staple of the main series.
While it focuses entirely on score attacks and has no connection to the main story, it offers the delightful freedom to choose and control any character, from villains like Krauser and Wesker to supporting characters like HUNK and Barry. Using the 3DS's communication features allows for co-op play, similar to "5", making it easy to form dream teams like the fated rivals Chris and Wesker.
THE MERCENARIES 3D gained massive support even beyond BIO fans, thanks to its simple gameplay, top-tier 3DS graphics, and accessible content independent from the main series.
While the BIO series was thriving on handhelds at this point, the console version BIOHAZARD REVIVAL SELECTION had already launched for PS3 and Xbox 360. This remastered package included the popular titles Veronica Complete Edition and "4", retaining their original content while upgrading them to HD resolution (720p). Crucially, it also included "the another order" which depicts Ada's story within 4, making it great news for those about to play 4.
Fifteen years have passed since the BIO series was born. Amidst a declining gaming population year after year, it's astonishing that this series not only maintains its popularity but continues to expand its fanbase. What began as an experimental title is now a major franchise representing Japan, played worldwide, successfully adapted into Hollywood films, and poised to leap into a new stage.
The BIO series is no longer just a game, it's truly the crystallization of the creators' souls and the fans' love. I sincerely hope the BIO series continues its relentless pursuit of challenge, delivering new surprises and excitement
On March 11th, the Tohoku Pacific Offshore Earthquake struck, an unprecedented disaster involving a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region, plunging Japan into its greatest national crisis since the war. Naturally, this directly impacted the Japanese economy, including the gaming industry, putting the production and supply of hardware and software by various manufacturers at risk. The sheer scale of the damage led many to fear the industry might decline permanently. Yet, signs of recovery gradually began to appear, and people's interest started shifting back toward entertainment like games and movies.
CAPCOM's first release for the 3DS after the disaster was the survival action game "BIOHAZARD THE MERCENARIES 3D" (hereafter THE MERCENARIES 3D). This title's a spin-off of the bonus mode that debuted in "3". Its intense gameplay resonated with hardcore players, making it a staple of the main series.
While it focuses entirely on score attacks and has no connection to the main story, it offers the delightful freedom to choose and control any character, from villains like Krauser and Wesker to supporting characters like HUNK and Barry. Using the 3DS's communication features allows for co-op play, similar to "5", making it easy to form dream teams like the fated rivals Chris and Wesker.
THE MERCENARIES 3D gained massive support even beyond BIO fans, thanks to its simple gameplay, top-tier 3DS graphics, and accessible content independent from the main series.
While the BIO series was thriving on handhelds at this point, the console version BIOHAZARD REVIVAL SELECTION had already launched for PS3 and Xbox 360. This remastered package included the popular titles Veronica Complete Edition and "4", retaining their original content while upgrading them to HD resolution (720p). Crucially, it also included "the another order" which depicts Ada's story within 4, making it great news for those about to play 4.
Fifteen years have passed since the BIO series was born. Amidst a declining gaming population year after year, it's astonishing that this series not only maintains its popularity but continues to expand its fanbase. What began as an experimental title is now a major franchise representing Japan, played worldwide, successfully adapted into Hollywood films, and poised to leap into a new stage.
The BIO series is no longer just a game, it's truly the crystallization of the creators' souls and the fans' love. I sincerely hope the BIO series continues its relentless pursuit of challenge, delivering new surprises and excitement
MOBILE GAMES (p.042-043)
BIOHAZARD i Survivor
The game's set in a city called Umbrella City. Lead the S.T.A.R.S. squad, composed of members with various abilities, to defeat Zombies and solve mysterious incidents.
BIOHAZARD ASSAULT THE NIGHTMARE
Players respond to a distress signal from a mansion, but their only weapon is a gun. Fight against formidable Zombies and aim to survive.
BIOHAZARD THE STORIES
Features a "Stories Mode" focused on puzzle-solving and a "Situations Mode" based on clearing missions, both set in the clock tower.
BIOHAZARD the episodes
You can play "Episode Mode" which depicts Jill's escape from Raccoon City, and "Mission Mode" where you clear stages.
BIOHAZARD ZOMBIE SHOOTER
Zombies and creatures appear in one of nine windows. A gun shooting game where you must take aim and shoot before enemies attack you.
BIOHAZARD THE MISSIONS
Set in the Raccoon Police Department, you carry out numerous missions, including battles against the Pursuer. The missions available next change based on your rank evaluation after clearing a mission.
BIOHAZARD confidential report
After an explosion occurs at a research facility, a rookie police officer and female FBI agent work together to solve the case. A turn-based system where the player and enemies take turns making decisions.
BIOHAZARD THE OPERATIONS
Aim to escape from a mansion while clearing approximately 100 "Operations." Hidden Operations appear based on your rank evaluation.
biohazard 4 Mobile edition
Features two modes: "Story Mode" which follows Leon as he fights to rescue the President's daughter, and "Mercenary Mode," a stage-clearing challenge.
BIOHAZARD SURVIVAL DOOR
Choose one of three doors inside a mansion and proceed. Will you fight a powerful enemy or retreat? What fate awaits beyond the door depends on your intuition and luck.
BIOHAZARD MERCENARIES VS.
An online game supporting simultaneous multiplayer for up to four players via Wi-Fi. Enjoy a variety of survival experiences, including co-op play with friends and single-player modes.
biohazard DEGENERATION
Rescue survivors and aim to escape from an airport overrun by Zombies. A shooting game based on the full-CG feature film of the same name.
BIOHAZARD Zombie Buster
A shooting game where you choose either Leon or Claire to fend off Zombies. If the Zombies reach your defense line, it’s game over.
BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK SURVIVE
Become a citizen of Raccoon City and carry out missions while striving to survive. A social game packed with communication features.
BIOHAZARD i Survivor
The game's set in a city called Umbrella City. Lead the S.T.A.R.S. squad, composed of members with various abilities, to defeat Zombies and solve mysterious incidents.
BIOHAZARD ASSAULT THE NIGHTMARE
Players respond to a distress signal from a mansion, but their only weapon is a gun. Fight against formidable Zombies and aim to survive.
BIOHAZARD THE STORIES
Features a "Stories Mode" focused on puzzle-solving and a "Situations Mode" based on clearing missions, both set in the clock tower.
BIOHAZARD the episodes
You can play "Episode Mode" which depicts Jill's escape from Raccoon City, and "Mission Mode" where you clear stages.
BIOHAZARD ZOMBIE SHOOTER
Zombies and creatures appear in one of nine windows. A gun shooting game where you must take aim and shoot before enemies attack you.
BIOHAZARD THE MISSIONS
Set in the Raccoon Police Department, you carry out numerous missions, including battles against the Pursuer. The missions available next change based on your rank evaluation after clearing a mission.
BIOHAZARD confidential report
After an explosion occurs at a research facility, a rookie police officer and female FBI agent work together to solve the case. A turn-based system where the player and enemies take turns making decisions.
BIOHAZARD THE OPERATIONS
Aim to escape from a mansion while clearing approximately 100 "Operations." Hidden Operations appear based on your rank evaluation.
biohazard 4 Mobile edition
Features two modes: "Story Mode" which follows Leon as he fights to rescue the President's daughter, and "Mercenary Mode," a stage-clearing challenge.
BIOHAZARD SURVIVAL DOOR
Choose one of three doors inside a mansion and proceed. Will you fight a powerful enemy or retreat? What fate awaits beyond the door depends on your intuition and luck.
BIOHAZARD MERCENARIES VS.
An online game supporting simultaneous multiplayer for up to four players via Wi-Fi. Enjoy a variety of survival experiences, including co-op play with friends and single-player modes.
biohazard DEGENERATION
Rescue survivors and aim to escape from an airport overrun by Zombies. A shooting game based on the full-CG feature film of the same name.
BIOHAZARD Zombie Buster
A shooting game where you choose either Leon or Claire to fend off Zombies. If the Zombies reach your defense line, it’s game over.
BIOHAZARD OUTBREAK SURVIVE
Become a citizen of Raccoon City and carry out missions while striving to survive. A social game packed with communication features.
FULLY CG-ANIMATED FILMS (p.044-045)
These are theatrical films that bring the world of BIOHAZARD to life entirely through computer graphics. We present two films that offer a must-see story faithful to the series, as well as an unprecedented level of tension and thrills brought to life through intricate and beautiful graphics.
The First Full-CG Movie in the BIOHAZARD Series
biohazard DEGENERATION
Released exclusively in theaters in October 2008
Featuring Leon and Claire as the protagonists, this film tells an original story. It's a feature-length movie that builds on the world of BIOHAZARD while depicting the events following the game "4."
Seven years after the tragedy of the "Umbrella Incident" in Raccoon City. Harvardville, an industrial city of 100,000 people in the American midwest.
WilPharma, a pharmaceutical company that faced accusations from an NGO and subsequent public condemnation after attempting clinical trials following a terrorist attack involving the t-Virus.
At Harvardville Airport, on the eve of a pharmaceutical conference, a large crowd of protesters gathered to confront WilPharma and the senator backing the company. And then, a new incident occurs...
Claire, a member of the NGO who happened to be at the scene, and Leon, a special agent under the President’s direct command who rushed to the scene, are reunited. The two set out to face the incident in their own ways--
The second full-CG feature film in the series, following biohazard DEGENERATION
biohazard DAMNATION
Upon receiving intel that B.O.W.'s had been deployed in combat, Leon infiltrated a battlefield in Eastern Europe--. Leon's the protagonist, just like in the previous film.
Currently in active production as a 3D theatrical film, scheduled for release in 2012.
These are theatrical films that bring the world of BIOHAZARD to life entirely through computer graphics. We present two films that offer a must-see story faithful to the series, as well as an unprecedented level of tension and thrills brought to life through intricate and beautiful graphics.
The First Full-CG Movie in the BIOHAZARD Series
biohazard DEGENERATION
Released exclusively in theaters in October 2008
Featuring Leon and Claire as the protagonists, this film tells an original story. It's a feature-length movie that builds on the world of BIOHAZARD while depicting the events following the game "4."
Seven years after the tragedy of the "Umbrella Incident" in Raccoon City. Harvardville, an industrial city of 100,000 people in the American midwest.
WilPharma, a pharmaceutical company that faced accusations from an NGO and subsequent public condemnation after attempting clinical trials following a terrorist attack involving the t-Virus.
At Harvardville Airport, on the eve of a pharmaceutical conference, a large crowd of protesters gathered to confront WilPharma and the senator backing the company. And then, a new incident occurs...
Claire, a member of the NGO who happened to be at the scene, and Leon, a special agent under the President’s direct command who rushed to the scene, are reunited. The two set out to face the incident in their own ways--
The second full-CG feature film in the series, following biohazard DEGENERATION
biohazard DAMNATION
Upon receiving intel that B.O.W.'s had been deployed in combat, Leon infiltrated a battlefield in Eastern Europe--. Leon's the protagonist, just like in the previous film.
Currently in active production as a 3D theatrical film, scheduled for release in 2012.
PRODUCERS' RECOLLECTIONS (p.056-065)
Jun Takeuchi
Lead Designer for "1" & "2" / Producer for "5" / and others
Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Programmer for 1&2 / Planner for "3" / Assistant Producer for "Veronica" / Producer for "Remake 1," "0," "4," & "biohazard DEGENERATION" / Associate Producer for the live-action films "II," "III," & "IV" / and others
Masachika Kawata
3 Background Designer / Remake 1 Lead Background Designer / 4, "UmChro", 5, "DarkChro", "MERCENARIES 3D", "REVELATIONS", "Operation Raccoon City" Producer / and others
——So, Takeuchi-san, Kobayashi-san, and Kawata-san, you joined the BIO team in that order, correct?
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. Before I joined the 1 team, I was consulted by members on technical matters, so I was aware of the difficult situation. I watched as they started from a state where there was no real structure to BIO1, it was like 2D Zombies appearing against 3D polygon backgrounds.
KOBAYASHI: At the start of development, BIO1 began as a full 3D project, but due to hardware limitations at the time, it ended up becoming pseudo-3D. The backgrounds were single-frame still images, creating a pseudo-3D effect. After I joined the team, I was shown the early versions where everything was actually 3D...
TAKEUCHI: It was technically difficult back then. After that, the team expanded, and I officially joined. We were at the stage of deciding to start by creating a so-called pre-rendered game, where we'd place 2D elements over backgrounds that had been pre-rendered in 3D. I think that was around the end of 1994.
KOBAYASHI: So you joined toward the end of development, and you weren't on the team during the full-3D phase?
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, it wasn't that early on. Things really picked up after I joined (laughs). To be honest, my first impression, my first encounter with BIO, was, "This isn't gonna work as a game" (laughs). And then that's when Koba joined, right?
KOBAYASHI: Yes. I joined the company in April 1995 along with Kawata, and I encountered BIO while touring various teams within the company after joining. My first encounter was during that tour (laughs). Back then, they were called the "Horror Team," and they showed me the room with the statue drawing water.
TAKEUCHI: Mm-hmm.
KOBAYASHI: I joined CAPCOM because I wanted to work in 3D, so when I saw Chris and the Zombies, I was thrilled, "They’re making a 3D game!" That was my first impression. By the end of April, I joined the team as a programmer and was creating enemy characters. I remember a senior colleague telling me, "The grueling work's about to start" (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The team was mostly made up of new hires.
KOBAYASHI: Everything was new, and designers back then had to learn a lot about machines and tools. I remember we had training sessions.
KAWATA: For me, it was kind of a near miss (laughs). At the time, I was doing bug checks for a different title, but the BIO team was doing bug checks right next to us. Takeuchi-san happened to be sitting right next to me.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, I was there.
KAWATA: What we were making was a game that looked like a classic pixel art game, but when I looked over, they were using completely different technology (laughs). I remember being really surprised watching from the sidelines, thinking, "These guys are making something amazing!"
TAKEUCHI: Oh, really?
KAWATA: At first, I was a little interested in the CG I’d studied in college, but since I'd joined CAPCOM, I really wanted to work with pixel art. Back then, pixel art was the stuff of my dreams. But Takeuchi-san was there for my final placement interview, and he said something like, "3D's fun. Why don't you give it a try?" (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The BIO team just desperately needed people!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KOBAYASHI: In other words, it was a recruitment pitch (laughs).
KAWATA: That’s right. My introduction to BIO was through recruitment (laughs). 3D wasn't easy, ya know (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The barrier to entry was incredibly high back then (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: You couldn’t create things the way you wanted to.
TAKEUCHI: Back then, we didn’t even have one machine per person, and that machine would crash once every hour and a half (laughs). If you broke it, you'd get scolded (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: They were far more expensive back then. Kawata-san, your first involvement in developing BIO was on the backgrounds for 3, wasn't it?
KAWATA: For 3, I was just helping out, but after a few twists and turns, I joined the team full-time for Remake 1.
——What was the status of the original BIO team within the company?
TAKEUCHI: We started at the very bottom (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: It was the neglected team (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: It was like, "No top-tier talent allowed" (laughs). It was a team made up of people who each had at least one standout skill. It was like a rag-tag group of misfits who weren’t good at fitting into the organization (laughs).
KAWATA: Just like S.T.A.R.S. (laughs). It was a real hodgepodge of characters (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: It was truly chaotic (laughs). When I joined, the team was full of people in their first or second year at the company. Takeuchi-san was in his fifth year or so, but he was so far ahead of us that we could call him a senior. It’s a lineup that’s unimaginable now.
TAKEUCHI: When I was assigned there and asked, "Why me?" they said it was because the person who'd been keeping everyone in line had left. It was less about keeping us in line and more like keeping us under control (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
KOBAYASHI: He was like a drill sergeant (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: We started with things like, "Everybody! Show up on time in the morning!" and "No reading manga while working!" (laughs).
KAWATA: It’s a funny story now, but...
KOBAYASHI: It really happened (laughs). How many people were there back then?
TAKEUCHI: I think the core team, designers and such, was around 20 to 30 people.
KOBAYASHI: There were quite a few when I joined.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, there were a lot when Koba joined. As a matter of fact, there were even more of them at max. When we were short on staff to create background depth, the company recognized that we were making something good, and our numbers ballooned overnight.
KOBAYASHI: It was a hiring spree. A lot of people joined.
——What was the trigger for the company to recognize your work?
TAKEUCHI: We made a demo version for players. Some fans might remember it, it had a timer on the screen where you had to defeat Yawn within a certain time limit. When people inside the company saw that, they realized, "They're making something amazing here."
KAWATA: Unlike these two, I wasn't part of the team for the first game, but I was blown away by the realistic, cinematic presentation and the fact it was made in 3D. But the team didn't have time to focus on that...
TAKEUCHI: After all, our goal was 300,000 copies (laughs). Fortunately, we hit that mark with the initial shipment.
KOBAYASHI: Then, over the course of about a year, we reached 1 million copies.
TAKEUCHI: It'd be interesting to collect all the issues of "Weekly Famitsu" from that time.
KOBAYASHI: It stayed on the charts for a long time, and I actually kept track of it. I wrote down the ranking every week, 30-something, 20-something, and so on.
TAKEUCHI: That’s so typical of you, Koba (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: We stayed within the top 30 for a while.
KAWATA: It was selling over 10,000 copies every week, wasn’t it?
KOBAYASHI: I kept saying, "We're gonna hit a million," and we finally did it...
TAKEUCHI: People still say there’s never been a title like that since.
KOBAYASHI: Word of mouth spread like wildfire: "There's this scary game out there."
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. Word of mouth was a huge factor. A lot of people, especially adults, were experiencing that sense of fear for the first time while playing a game.
KAWATA: It was also a game for the PS, a new console that had just come out around that time, so I guess people felt it was different from anything they’d seen before.
——Could you tell us about your thoughts on horror?
TAKEUCHI: I loved movies, so I wasn’t at all averse to horror or splatter films. BIO was a game with cinematic presentation, so I got into it right away. That said, Mikami-san, the first game's director, was way beyond just being a horror fan, he was intense! (laughs). He was pursuing a really deep, Dario Argento-style horror vibe, so it was tough to keep up.
KOBAYASHI: I like movies, but I'm not good with horror. Before that, whenever a horror movie came on TV, I'd always change the channel (laughs). But once I had to watch them for work, I started going to the theater to check out the latest horror releases. You get used to things, I guess (laughs). I watched a lot of horror back then and learned a lot. Now I actually like them and go see them in my free time. Even during periods when I’m like, "This has nothing to do with my job anymore..." (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Back then, I was often told, "Watch horror movies!"
KOBAYASHI: Horror movies have all these setups, then at the end, the twist goes *boom!* There are all kinds of ways to interpret them. Unlike Takeuchi-san, I don’t really watch much splatter stuff, though.
TAKEUCHI: Splatter movies are just about something coming out (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: Right, they’re mostly just about showing things. Pure horror's interesting because the scripts are complex, they depict psychological states, and there’s human drama involved.
——1's pretty close to that feeling.
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. When I rewatched George A. Romero’s "Zombie", which I saw as a kid, I made new discoveries like realizing just how deep the themes were.
KAWATA: I watch quite a few horror movies, John Carpenter, Argento, and the like. Splatter and horror really rely on special effects, don’t they? I’ve loved making things since I was a kid, and I used to love watching movies and wondering, "How'd they make that?"
TAKEUCHI: I see.
KAWATA: In Carpenter’s "The Thing", which I saw in middle school, there’s this scene where a head gets ripped off, falls to the ground, and then legs start coming out, that was the best. I gave it a standing ovation (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The Spiderhead, that was amazing, wasn’t it!
KAWATA: Yes. I was amazed, thinking, "They can do this much with the special effects tech of that era!"
TAKEUCHI: Back then, we were told quite often that when dealing with horror in games, we shouldn’t get caught up in just superficial fear. "Understand why Zombies are scary and build on that," they’d say.
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, yeah. That happened.
TAKEUCHI: So, you couldn't just skim through it (laughs). It was important to understand the "mechanics of fear."
KAWATA: I actually suggested once that if we wanted to make something scarier, maybe we should go for psychological horror or ghost-like elements... but I was told, "BIO’s horror isn't like that." With ghosts, the fear's resolved the moment you see them. They also said, "We have to think with visuals first."
KOBAYASHI: Since it’s a game, I think it’s important for the enemies you fight to have a distinct form.
KAWATA: Exactly. Considering both the enemies and the overall sense of fear, I think Zombies were a really great choice.
KOBAYASHI: And the realism, too. The virus story feels like something that could actually happen. If you don’t believe in ghosts, nothing happens, it just becomes fantasy (laughs). After all, enemies with a scientific basis are more convincing. The creatures in BIO are based on that, and there are well-established world settings.
TAKEUCHI: Plus, they’re scary precisely because they’re human. They aren't some unknown entity, they were originally ordinary people just like you and me. On top of that, there’s the fear of blind corners. The tension starts the moment you see a blind corner where the path ahead's hidden, and it reaches its peak when you turn the corner... and something appears. That’s how it's designed. It's, so to speak, BIO's very essence.
KAWATA: I think that approach was thoroughly executed in 1, 2, and 3.
TAKEUCHI: I think that aspect's still alive in 4 as well.
KOBAYASHI: 4 also carries on the fear of people. They’re not Zombies, they're Ganados, but they were originally human, so humans have turned into that.
TAKEUCHI: I think it also includes that sense of fear that arises in everyday life, the fact that even though we’re all human, we can’t understand one another. I felt that even though it doesn’t feature Zombies, it can still evoke that sense of terror; it maintains a consistent thread as a BIO title.
——1 was released in 1996.
TAKEUCHI: At first, it was just a bunch of misfits, well, to put it nicely, it was created by S.T.A.R.S. (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: After the trial-and-error phase of BIO1, BIO2 and 3 became more systematic, and we accumulated a lot of know-how. Well, BIO2 was pretty tough, though (laughs).
KAWATA: For me, I only have memories of how tough they all were (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The Zapping in 2 was a real pain, wasn't it?
KOBAYASHI: We jumped headfirst into a high hurdle ourselves (laughs).
KAWATA: Since it was a sequel to the successful 1, we could've just made a follow-up that stuck to the same formula. But we knew that wouldn't cut it.
TAKEUCHI: Thanks to all that effort, 2 became a huge hit. I'm so grateful to everyone for working so hard. After 2 and 3, Veronica was born.
KOBAYASHI: Our technical skills improved starting with Veronica. We moved from pre-rendered to full 3D, sort of (laughs). It wasn’t the full 3D we have today, though.
TAKEUCHI: I’ve always thought that around the time of Veronica, the team’s style, or rather, the team itself underwent a major shift. I wonder if the approach used to make Veronica was carried over into Remake 1.
KOBAYASHI: Veronica was excellent as a drama, and as a title that built on 1&2, the scenario incorporated the best elements of those games. It was interesting how the protagonist switched to Chris partway through, and Wesker appearing was also a highlight.
TAKEUCHI: With Veronica, while there were some core members from the original staff, most of them hadn’t worked on BIO before, right?
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. They were new members.
TAKEUCHI: New members. Everyone really struggled back then, didn’t they?
KOBAYASHI: Yeah. That period of struggle was a long one (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: It really was a long time.
——Veronica was five years after 1, right? It really makes you feel the weight of those 15 years.
TAKEUCHI: Those 15 years flew by. Neither Koba nor I ever imagined it would grow this much.
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, we didn’t. When we were making BIO1, we couldn’t have imagined it'd last 15 years.
TAKEUCHI: BIO might seem like it’s doing the same thing, but I think it’s actually changed a lot over those 15 years. Looking back over these 15 years, I feel BIO has evolved to match the times. I think the turning point was BIO4. Between BIO3 and Veronica, there was a period when the staff struggled with questions like, "Is it okay for the BIO series to stay as it is?" "Is it okay to just maintain the status quo?" and "What's the right path?"
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. That’s why, after Veronica, we worked hard to make BIO4 different.
TAKEUCHI: We wanted to renew the series while fully understanding what the BIO series truly was. Remake 1's production was for our own sake, but it was also to make 4. We needed to understand it properly.
KOBAYASHI: We made Remake 1 with 4 in mind. Even though we were researching technology every day, jumping straight into 4 would've been too difficult. There were challenges not only with tech but also with the model change. Those two hurdles were incredibly high. Remake 1 served as a review of what we’d done so far, and since we were confident our technical skills were up to par, we took on the challenge.
TAKEUCHI: For me, having Remake 1 made the determination to create 4 even stronger. Including in terms of personnel.
KOBAYASHI: We did gain new members for 4, after all. We had to do Remake 1 to ensure everyone understood BIO's fundamentals.
TAKEUCHI: I think the members' styles started to change around the time of Remake 1.
KOBAYASHI: It's a different generation, after all (laughs). Many members joined after 2000, people who played BIO as students and are now on the development side. It’s easy for the mindset of the creators to get mixed up with the feelings of that era, though...
KAWATA: With Remake 1, there were changes like entrusting the production to a slightly younger generation. I think that style has carried over to 4.
TAKEUCHI: That’s true. It’s not so much about the members as it is that the style has been changing with the times.
KOBAYASHI: Yes.
TAKEUCHI: As Koba said, it’s become "BIO since 2000."
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. Because things have been changing.
TAKEUCHI: The understanding everyone cultivated through Remake 1 carried over into 4. We understood BIO's raison d’être and had a sense of wanting to adapt it to the times.
KOBAYASHI: If we hadn’t made Remake 1, 4 might've been difficult. We built up technical expertise and developed more advanced ways of expression through Remake 1, so it was a huge learning experience.
TAKEUCHI: 4, which was born at this stage, evolved to fit the times, but I realized once again the games before it were also created to fit their respective eras. Technology advances, and above all, we adapt to the fans' needs. All while thinking about what aspects define the essence of BIOHAZARD. I think that’s the secret to why the BIOHAZARD series has lasted 15 years.
KAWATA: Actually, I was worried 4 mightn't even get released (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: That’s because we were working on it for such a long time. We went through repeated trial and error reworking it countless times.
TAKEUCHI: Watching from the sidelines, I thought, "This is crazy." The bar was set so high even work of this quality was getting rejected.
KOBAYASHI: It’s true the bar was high, but there were times when we overthought things just because it was BIO.
TAKEUCHI: What was really needed was to create a new direction, but our minds kept drifting toward new technologies or methods of expression. Everyone's afraid to change direction.
KAWATA: With BIO, the visuals are close to static frames, and everyone has this fear of taking a wrong turn, so we just couldn't bring ourselves to step beyond that.
KOBAYASHI: If it were the original members from the first game, they could probably take bold risks, but the current members hold themselves back, thinking, "If we go too far, it won’t be BIO anymore."
KAWATA: People outside the team also worked hard to boost our motivation. I feel like we were able to pull it off in the end thanks to a great deal of cooperation. The fact we managed to do it is a miracle in itself.
KOBAYASHI: It truly was a miracle.
TAKEUCHI: Besides the changing times, there are also differences based on the producer’s approach and preferences. That’s why, even though it’s a series, each game's always different, I think that’s part of BIO’s appeal.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. The director's almost always different for each game and they all have strong personalities. After 15 years, I feel like BIO's a series that manages to stay cohesive while still letting those individual personalities shine.
TAKEUCHI: Kamiya-kun, the director of BIOHAZARD 2, took an approach where he actively laid out the broad direction. We had a huge fight over whether a belt should be dark brown or black...
KAWATA: These guys were seriously arguing over the color, weren’t they? (laughs)
EVERYONE (roars with laughter)
KAWATA: Sounds like something’s happening way over there...
KOBAYASHI: They were yelling at each other (laughs). Like, "It has to be this way!" (laughs).
KAWATA: I could hear Takeuchi-san’s high-pitched voice (laughs). Speaking of fights, during 4 we also fought over whether to include lasers or not, and why we were doing things a certain way (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, yeah, we were fighting.
KOBAYASHI: That was intense, too (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: In the end, the BIO team just ends up fighting (laughs).
EVERYONE: (roars with laughter)
——Speaking of BIO, the pressure on all of you must've been immense.
TAKEUCHI: For 5's entire staff, it was a battle against pressure for about two years.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. 5 was tough.
TAKEUCHI: The changes in 4 were shocking, having a completely different system, yet when you played it, it felt like BIO. It was like magic. We had to make a sequel to that 4. We were caught between the need to revamp it and the fear of changing BIO itself, and everyone started to lose sight of the path forward.
KAWATA: Things were pretty dicey for a while, weren’t they?
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. The vision for 5 didn’t solidify until about a year and a half before completion. As the final year approached, I made a producer’s decision: I told everyone to change the system, introduce co-op, and forget about 4. It was okay to change things. Everyone rallied around the idea: "Let’s make *our* 5!" That’s when the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
KAWATA: That’s right.
TAKEUCHI: I think 5's a valuable title that managed to break free from 4's chains. I think 5 has a bit of the feel of titles from before 2000. However, even after the direction was set, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being lost. I think that was the pain of creation.
KOBAYASHI: Hmm, the pain of a numbered series...
TAKEUCHI: ...It’s real.
KOBAYASHI: It’s heavy. BIO's incredibly heavy.
TAKEUCHI: The thrill when 5 was born was indescribable. It was a sense of relief, and also, well, toward the fans. When I felt they'd accepted it, joy just exploded all at once-- boom! (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: Game-wise, 4&5 inherit the same systems, but I feel like 5 became a game that captured the trends of the era.
KAWATA: From my perspective, I think 5's closer to Remake 1 or 0. Bringing in new technology will make it feel fresh, too.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, yeah.
KAWATA: For my part, I went all out on the visuals with 5, I was determined we wouldn’t be outdone by anyone else, and for the game system, I focused on leveraging the new elements from 4 while approaching it with a mindset of renewal. The reason Chris got buff was that I wanted fans all over the world to see him even more rugged (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: That’s true, we were definitely conscious of the global market. Right after 5 came out, some overseas creators I met told me, "We watched 1, 2 & 3 and thought they were amazing. We want to make a game that surpasses BIO, so we're working hard."
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, yeah.
TAKEUCHI: Seeing their games made me think, "Now we have to make something that can hold its own against the overseas market." It was really moving to realize this kind of relationship had been formed. Even for people overseas, the BIO series was a real shocker.
——It’s truly a landmark.
KAWATA: Generally speaking, we on the production side didn’t have that kind of awareness at all.
TAKEUCHI: Not at all. You too, Koba?
KOBAYASHI: Of course not.
TAKEUCHI: We’d have conversations like, "Did you see it? Last week’s "G Gundam"" (laughs).
KAWATA: When it was time for "Evangelion" to air, everyone would stop working for a moment and head over to the TV (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Saying things like, "Wow, "Eva" is amazing!” (laughs). We never imagined we’d be receiving such high praise overseas. It makes me a little happy when I realize BIO's a game that's truly respected. As someone who helped create it, I mean.
KOBAYASHI & KAWATA: Yes.
——Why's the game titled "Resident Evil" overseas?
KOBAYASHI: We wanted to go with "BIOHAZARD", but back then, CAPCOM overseas was in charge of deciding the title back then, so it became "Resident Evil." It’s true it started in a mansion, but since the setting expanded after that, it felt a bit off (laughs).
KAWATA: We make two versions of the trailers.
KOBAYASHI: Logos too.
——You were quite proactive with collaborations across various fields for merchandise, weren’t you?
TAKEUCHI: It might be one of the earliest successful examples of a collaboration between a game and apparel. I thought it was interesting how BIO expanded beyond the realm of games and developed in various areas.
KOBAYASHI: In the ’90s, we even made Zero Hallmark bags and watches. The concept for the T-shirts was to make them wearable in everyday life.
TAKEUCHI: Not just the game’s logo or characters, but something BIO fans would recognize. Like T-shirts with "R.P.D." on them.
KAWATA: There are still people, like company execs, who wear those to this day (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Huh!? I wear them sometimes too (laughs).
KAWATA: Maybe it's because the designs never go out of style and the quality's good, or maybe you just take good care of your clothes, Takeuchi (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The style of Chris and Leon's costumes in the game changed, you know.
KOBAYASHI: In the early days, they were police-style.
TAKEUCHI: Starting with BIO5, it shifted to a military style. We changed it with the current military trends in mind. Military... I was in charge of heavy weapons, so I know a lot about that side of things (laughs). Traditionally, ever since the first game, when you fire a gun, the shell casings fly out and you hear the sound of them hitting the ground, a "bang" followed by a "ting." We were really particular about that.
KAWATA: Back then, realistic sound effects were groundbreaking. When you walked on carpet, it actually sounded like a person walking.
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. Those kinds of meticulous details are unique to the BIO series.
TAKEUCHI: Of course, we valued the characters in previous titles too, but I feel like their identity really solidified in 4.
KAWATA: Yeah, I see what you mean.
——So the characters evolved beyond mere symbols.
TAKEUCHI: We were, of course, analyzing Leon’s character back in 2 as well. Eventually, we started paying attention not just to the character’s personality, but also to how players perceived him. Koba, you were producing 4, weren’t you?
KOBAYASHI: Yes.
TAKEUCHI: I felt that Koba's style really shined through back then.
KOBAYASHI: The reason I placed such importance on Leon was partly due to the trends of the time and the team’s opinions, but really, "Devil May Cry" is at the root of it.
——How's that connected?
KOBAYASHI: Devil May Cry’s Dante succeeded with an image strategy that was different from the character-focused approach used up until then. I wanted to emphasize Leon in that same way, so I positioned him like a Hollywood star. In that sense, 4 was also a turning point.
KAWATA: Leon didn't leave a strong impression in 2. But I thought it was a great discovery that we were able to build on that character from there.
KOBAYASHI: Leon played a huge role in 4 being such a massive hit.
TAKEUCHI: And the arms dealer in 4 too (laughs). The arms dealer was groundbreaking!
KAWATA: Since you can actually kill him, we had to treat him with the utmost care (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Looking at the series as a whole, Wesker's always been there in BIO.
KOBAYASHI: Wesker didn't appear that much at first. After BIO1, he was naturally in Veronica and BIO1 Remake, and after BIO0, he made a brief appearance in BIO4.
TAKEUCHI: It actually gave him a strong presence precisely because the appearance was brief (laughs).
KAWATA: In 5, we really fleshed out Wesker’s backstory. The climactic showdown scene was part of the initial concept.
TAKEUCHI: For 5, we discussed having the two men settle things once and for all, then finally...
EVERYONE: Yeah.
——It was also a resolution regarding Umbrella and Spencer. What happened to Wesker after that?
TAKEUCHI: I wonder what became of him (laughs). That showdown also served as a turning point for the BIO series since 1. But Chris has turned into quite the middle-aged guy, too (laughs).
KAWATA: Well, sort of (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Chris has remained clumsy all this time, hasn't he? Still, the men in the BIO series are pretty weak when it comes to women.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
TAKEUCHI: Chris is always right by Jill's side, but he never really tells her anything, does he? (laughs)
KAWATA: It’s like they’re just friends.
TAKEUCHI: Right? (laughs) Leon’s still hung up on Ada, too, he's so innocent. He's the type who’d take her out for drinks but then just go home without saying a word, isn’t he? (laughs) I feel like the staff throughout the series have really cherished that aspect of their characters. It’s enough to make you cry. (laughs)
KOBAYASHI: Chris would never say that (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: That's because the women in the BIO series are so tough.
KOBAYASHI: Rebecca can fight, too.
KAWATA: Ashley as well, even though she’s just a college student (?), she's incredibly feisty (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: As for Claire... (laughs). I wanna meet Chris and Claire's parents (laughs). I want to ask them, "What kind of upbringing did you give them?"
EVERYONE: (roaring laughter)
——I bet there are a lot of people who'd love to see Leon and Chris team up.
TAKEUCHI: That'd be a dream team.
KOBAYASHI: They've never crossed paths, have they? Jill and Leon haven’t teamed up either.
TAKEUCHI: You can form that dream team in Mercenaries 3D.
KOBAYASHI: Barry gets his moment to shine too (laughs).
KAWATA: He’s hugely popular overseas. Especially in the U.S., he’s got massive popularity.
TAKEUCHI: I wonder what Barry’s up to these days. He might've taken over Kendo’s Gun Shop (laughs).
KAWATA: Kendo's a friend of his and Barry used to have him make guns for him, so that’s definitely possible.
TAKEUCHI: The name "Kendo" actually comes from the comedian Kendo Kobayashi. There was a fan of Kendo Kobayashi among the staff working on 2. Surprisingly, not many people know that (laughs).
——Let’s talk about the titles outside the main series.
KOBAYASHI: It started with "GUN SURVIVOR 1", which followed the release of the GunCon controller for the PS. It was fully polygonal. "GUN SURVIVOR 2" was Veronica. That one also came out in the arcades.
TAKEUCHI: The following year was "GAIDEN".
KOBAYASHI: I really liked its scenario. Next was "GUN SURVIVOR 4".
TAKEUCHI: Then came "OUTBREAK".
KOBAYASHI: This was a complete departure, an ensemble drama featuring ordinary citizens, and it was online.
TAKEUCHI: It was a title that garnered a loyal fan base.
KOBAYASHI: Outbreak was played by a younger generation than Remake 1, 0, or 4. That’s when I felt a new generation of players had joined us, people who enjoyed playing online with friends.
TAKEUCHI: Someone once told me, "Outbreak's a racing game."
KOBAYASHI: Time (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. The better you get, the more it becomes a time attack.
KOBAYASHI: What about UmChro and DarkChro, Kawata?
KAWATA: It was fun to rebuild the story. Also, I think the attempt to gather characters into a single game was a good idea. It was a title made possible because the Wii comes standard with a controller.
KOBAYASHI: Looking back, but also incorporating new scenarios.
TAKEUCHI: With just the right amount of story. In shooters, if the story's too long, your hands get tired from holding the controller in position the whole time (laughs). And then we move on to "BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS" (hereafter "Revelations"). It’s got some serious content, doesn’t it? It has that horror vibe.
KAWATA: Yeah. It’s a survival horror game. Also, Operation Raccoon City's a shooter designed to let you enjoy a third-person shooter experience.
TAKEUCHI: 5 had elements of entertainment, or rather, action movies, so it took a slightly different direction from pure horror, so we wanted to bring it back a bit with Revelations.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. There are scenes where you can experience that old-school horror vibe, and there are puzzles too.
KAWATA: System-wise, Revelations is closer to 4, but in terms of content, we’re aiming for the feel of 1, 2 & 3.
TAKEUCHI: It’s dark and scary.
KAWATA: I’m happy to report that development is progressing smoothly (laughs). We really hope you’ll give it a try.
TAKEUCHI: There are far more fans who’ve been playing for the past 15 years than we ever imagined.
KAWATA: That’s right, 15 years. If they've been playing since the beginning, how old would they be now?
KOBAYASHI: If they started with 1 in middle school, they’d be around 30 now.
TAKEUCHI: They may even have kids of their own.
KAWATA: And their kids play BIO too.
TAKEUCHI: A series spanning two generations... Wow, just think about us (laughs).
——What does the future hold for BIO?
KOBAYASHI: Considering our 15-year history, I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, we have to keep it going.
KAWATA: Hardware and technology might have changed by then.
KOBAYASHI: We couldn’t have predicted Veronica when we were making BIO1, so it’ll be hard to predict the future, too.
TAKEUCHI: That’s true. Come to think of it, when I go overseas, people often ask me, "Who's gonna make the next one?" I tell them, "CAPCOM's producers decide by playing poker" (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: That was a joke from last year’s E3 (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: I think getting asked questions like that is something unique to the BIO series. It's not about whether it’s Kawata's or Kobayashi's, we hope you’ll look forward to seeing who's behind the next BIO.
KOBAYASHI: We assemble a team for each project and give it our all.
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. We always want to do our best to create BIO for our fans. That goal never changes. We want everyone around the world to say, "BIO's amazing." We'll keep doing amazing things with every release.
KOBAYASHI: Please continue to support the series.
KAWATA: Thank you for your continued support.
Lead Designer for "1" & "2" / Producer for "5" / and others
Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Programmer for 1&2 / Planner for "3" / Assistant Producer for "Veronica" / Producer for "Remake 1," "0," "4," & "biohazard DEGENERATION" / Associate Producer for the live-action films "II," "III," & "IV" / and others
Masachika Kawata
3 Background Designer / Remake 1 Lead Background Designer / 4, "UmChro", 5, "DarkChro", "MERCENARIES 3D", "REVELATIONS", "Operation Raccoon City" Producer / and others
——So, Takeuchi-san, Kobayashi-san, and Kawata-san, you joined the BIO team in that order, correct?
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. Before I joined the 1 team, I was consulted by members on technical matters, so I was aware of the difficult situation. I watched as they started from a state where there was no real structure to BIO1, it was like 2D Zombies appearing against 3D polygon backgrounds.
KOBAYASHI: At the start of development, BIO1 began as a full 3D project, but due to hardware limitations at the time, it ended up becoming pseudo-3D. The backgrounds were single-frame still images, creating a pseudo-3D effect. After I joined the team, I was shown the early versions where everything was actually 3D...
TAKEUCHI: It was technically difficult back then. After that, the team expanded, and I officially joined. We were at the stage of deciding to start by creating a so-called pre-rendered game, where we'd place 2D elements over backgrounds that had been pre-rendered in 3D. I think that was around the end of 1994.
KOBAYASHI: So you joined toward the end of development, and you weren't on the team during the full-3D phase?
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, it wasn't that early on. Things really picked up after I joined (laughs). To be honest, my first impression, my first encounter with BIO, was, "This isn't gonna work as a game" (laughs). And then that's when Koba joined, right?
KOBAYASHI: Yes. I joined the company in April 1995 along with Kawata, and I encountered BIO while touring various teams within the company after joining. My first encounter was during that tour (laughs). Back then, they were called the "Horror Team," and they showed me the room with the statue drawing water.
TAKEUCHI: Mm-hmm.
KOBAYASHI: I joined CAPCOM because I wanted to work in 3D, so when I saw Chris and the Zombies, I was thrilled, "They’re making a 3D game!" That was my first impression. By the end of April, I joined the team as a programmer and was creating enemy characters. I remember a senior colleague telling me, "The grueling work's about to start" (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The team was mostly made up of new hires.
KOBAYASHI: Everything was new, and designers back then had to learn a lot about machines and tools. I remember we had training sessions.
KAWATA: For me, it was kind of a near miss (laughs). At the time, I was doing bug checks for a different title, but the BIO team was doing bug checks right next to us. Takeuchi-san happened to be sitting right next to me.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, I was there.
KAWATA: What we were making was a game that looked like a classic pixel art game, but when I looked over, they were using completely different technology (laughs). I remember being really surprised watching from the sidelines, thinking, "These guys are making something amazing!"
TAKEUCHI: Oh, really?
KAWATA: At first, I was a little interested in the CG I’d studied in college, but since I'd joined CAPCOM, I really wanted to work with pixel art. Back then, pixel art was the stuff of my dreams. But Takeuchi-san was there for my final placement interview, and he said something like, "3D's fun. Why don't you give it a try?" (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The BIO team just desperately needed people!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KOBAYASHI: In other words, it was a recruitment pitch (laughs).
KAWATA: That’s right. My introduction to BIO was through recruitment (laughs). 3D wasn't easy, ya know (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The barrier to entry was incredibly high back then (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: You couldn’t create things the way you wanted to.
TAKEUCHI: Back then, we didn’t even have one machine per person, and that machine would crash once every hour and a half (laughs). If you broke it, you'd get scolded (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: They were far more expensive back then. Kawata-san, your first involvement in developing BIO was on the backgrounds for 3, wasn't it?
KAWATA: For 3, I was just helping out, but after a few twists and turns, I joined the team full-time for Remake 1.
——What was the status of the original BIO team within the company?
TAKEUCHI: We started at the very bottom (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: It was the neglected team (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: It was like, "No top-tier talent allowed" (laughs). It was a team made up of people who each had at least one standout skill. It was like a rag-tag group of misfits who weren’t good at fitting into the organization (laughs).
KAWATA: Just like S.T.A.R.S. (laughs). It was a real hodgepodge of characters (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: It was truly chaotic (laughs). When I joined, the team was full of people in their first or second year at the company. Takeuchi-san was in his fifth year or so, but he was so far ahead of us that we could call him a senior. It’s a lineup that’s unimaginable now.
TAKEUCHI: When I was assigned there and asked, "Why me?" they said it was because the person who'd been keeping everyone in line had left. It was less about keeping us in line and more like keeping us under control (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
KOBAYASHI: He was like a drill sergeant (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: We started with things like, "Everybody! Show up on time in the morning!" and "No reading manga while working!" (laughs).
KAWATA: It’s a funny story now, but...
KOBAYASHI: It really happened (laughs). How many people were there back then?
TAKEUCHI: I think the core team, designers and such, was around 20 to 30 people.
KOBAYASHI: There were quite a few when I joined.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, there were a lot when Koba joined. As a matter of fact, there were even more of them at max. When we were short on staff to create background depth, the company recognized that we were making something good, and our numbers ballooned overnight.
KOBAYASHI: It was a hiring spree. A lot of people joined.
——What was the trigger for the company to recognize your work?
TAKEUCHI: We made a demo version for players. Some fans might remember it, it had a timer on the screen where you had to defeat Yawn within a certain time limit. When people inside the company saw that, they realized, "They're making something amazing here."
KAWATA: Unlike these two, I wasn't part of the team for the first game, but I was blown away by the realistic, cinematic presentation and the fact it was made in 3D. But the team didn't have time to focus on that...
TAKEUCHI: After all, our goal was 300,000 copies (laughs). Fortunately, we hit that mark with the initial shipment.
KOBAYASHI: Then, over the course of about a year, we reached 1 million copies.
TAKEUCHI: It'd be interesting to collect all the issues of "Weekly Famitsu" from that time.
KOBAYASHI: It stayed on the charts for a long time, and I actually kept track of it. I wrote down the ranking every week, 30-something, 20-something, and so on.
TAKEUCHI: That’s so typical of you, Koba (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: We stayed within the top 30 for a while.
KAWATA: It was selling over 10,000 copies every week, wasn’t it?
KOBAYASHI: I kept saying, "We're gonna hit a million," and we finally did it...
TAKEUCHI: People still say there’s never been a title like that since.
KOBAYASHI: Word of mouth spread like wildfire: "There's this scary game out there."
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. Word of mouth was a huge factor. A lot of people, especially adults, were experiencing that sense of fear for the first time while playing a game.
KAWATA: It was also a game for the PS, a new console that had just come out around that time, so I guess people felt it was different from anything they’d seen before.
——Could you tell us about your thoughts on horror?
TAKEUCHI: I loved movies, so I wasn’t at all averse to horror or splatter films. BIO was a game with cinematic presentation, so I got into it right away. That said, Mikami-san, the first game's director, was way beyond just being a horror fan, he was intense! (laughs). He was pursuing a really deep, Dario Argento-style horror vibe, so it was tough to keep up.
KOBAYASHI: I like movies, but I'm not good with horror. Before that, whenever a horror movie came on TV, I'd always change the channel (laughs). But once I had to watch them for work, I started going to the theater to check out the latest horror releases. You get used to things, I guess (laughs). I watched a lot of horror back then and learned a lot. Now I actually like them and go see them in my free time. Even during periods when I’m like, "This has nothing to do with my job anymore..." (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Back then, I was often told, "Watch horror movies!"
KOBAYASHI: Horror movies have all these setups, then at the end, the twist goes *boom!* There are all kinds of ways to interpret them. Unlike Takeuchi-san, I don’t really watch much splatter stuff, though.
TAKEUCHI: Splatter movies are just about something coming out (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: Right, they’re mostly just about showing things. Pure horror's interesting because the scripts are complex, they depict psychological states, and there’s human drama involved.
——1's pretty close to that feeling.
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. When I rewatched George A. Romero’s "Zombie", which I saw as a kid, I made new discoveries like realizing just how deep the themes were.
KAWATA: I watch quite a few horror movies, John Carpenter, Argento, and the like. Splatter and horror really rely on special effects, don’t they? I’ve loved making things since I was a kid, and I used to love watching movies and wondering, "How'd they make that?"
TAKEUCHI: I see.
KAWATA: In Carpenter’s "The Thing", which I saw in middle school, there’s this scene where a head gets ripped off, falls to the ground, and then legs start coming out, that was the best. I gave it a standing ovation (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The Spiderhead, that was amazing, wasn’t it!
KAWATA: Yes. I was amazed, thinking, "They can do this much with the special effects tech of that era!"
TAKEUCHI: Back then, we were told quite often that when dealing with horror in games, we shouldn’t get caught up in just superficial fear. "Understand why Zombies are scary and build on that," they’d say.
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, yeah. That happened.
TAKEUCHI: So, you couldn't just skim through it (laughs). It was important to understand the "mechanics of fear."
KAWATA: I actually suggested once that if we wanted to make something scarier, maybe we should go for psychological horror or ghost-like elements... but I was told, "BIO’s horror isn't like that." With ghosts, the fear's resolved the moment you see them. They also said, "We have to think with visuals first."
KOBAYASHI: Since it’s a game, I think it’s important for the enemies you fight to have a distinct form.
KAWATA: Exactly. Considering both the enemies and the overall sense of fear, I think Zombies were a really great choice.
KOBAYASHI: And the realism, too. The virus story feels like something that could actually happen. If you don’t believe in ghosts, nothing happens, it just becomes fantasy (laughs). After all, enemies with a scientific basis are more convincing. The creatures in BIO are based on that, and there are well-established world settings.
TAKEUCHI: Plus, they’re scary precisely because they’re human. They aren't some unknown entity, they were originally ordinary people just like you and me. On top of that, there’s the fear of blind corners. The tension starts the moment you see a blind corner where the path ahead's hidden, and it reaches its peak when you turn the corner... and something appears. That’s how it's designed. It's, so to speak, BIO's very essence.
KAWATA: I think that approach was thoroughly executed in 1, 2, and 3.
TAKEUCHI: I think that aspect's still alive in 4 as well.
KOBAYASHI: 4 also carries on the fear of people. They’re not Zombies, they're Ganados, but they were originally human, so humans have turned into that.
TAKEUCHI: I think it also includes that sense of fear that arises in everyday life, the fact that even though we’re all human, we can’t understand one another. I felt that even though it doesn’t feature Zombies, it can still evoke that sense of terror; it maintains a consistent thread as a BIO title.
——1 was released in 1996.
TAKEUCHI: At first, it was just a bunch of misfits, well, to put it nicely, it was created by S.T.A.R.S. (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: After the trial-and-error phase of BIO1, BIO2 and 3 became more systematic, and we accumulated a lot of know-how. Well, BIO2 was pretty tough, though (laughs).
KAWATA: For me, I only have memories of how tough they all were (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The Zapping in 2 was a real pain, wasn't it?
KOBAYASHI: We jumped headfirst into a high hurdle ourselves (laughs).
KAWATA: Since it was a sequel to the successful 1, we could've just made a follow-up that stuck to the same formula. But we knew that wouldn't cut it.
TAKEUCHI: Thanks to all that effort, 2 became a huge hit. I'm so grateful to everyone for working so hard. After 2 and 3, Veronica was born.
KOBAYASHI: Our technical skills improved starting with Veronica. We moved from pre-rendered to full 3D, sort of (laughs). It wasn’t the full 3D we have today, though.
TAKEUCHI: I’ve always thought that around the time of Veronica, the team’s style, or rather, the team itself underwent a major shift. I wonder if the approach used to make Veronica was carried over into Remake 1.
KOBAYASHI: Veronica was excellent as a drama, and as a title that built on 1&2, the scenario incorporated the best elements of those games. It was interesting how the protagonist switched to Chris partway through, and Wesker appearing was also a highlight.
TAKEUCHI: With Veronica, while there were some core members from the original staff, most of them hadn’t worked on BIO before, right?
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. They were new members.
TAKEUCHI: New members. Everyone really struggled back then, didn’t they?
KOBAYASHI: Yeah. That period of struggle was a long one (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: It really was a long time.
——Veronica was five years after 1, right? It really makes you feel the weight of those 15 years.
TAKEUCHI: Those 15 years flew by. Neither Koba nor I ever imagined it would grow this much.
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, we didn’t. When we were making BIO1, we couldn’t have imagined it'd last 15 years.
TAKEUCHI: BIO might seem like it’s doing the same thing, but I think it’s actually changed a lot over those 15 years. Looking back over these 15 years, I feel BIO has evolved to match the times. I think the turning point was BIO4. Between BIO3 and Veronica, there was a period when the staff struggled with questions like, "Is it okay for the BIO series to stay as it is?" "Is it okay to just maintain the status quo?" and "What's the right path?"
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. That’s why, after Veronica, we worked hard to make BIO4 different.
TAKEUCHI: We wanted to renew the series while fully understanding what the BIO series truly was. Remake 1's production was for our own sake, but it was also to make 4. We needed to understand it properly.
KOBAYASHI: We made Remake 1 with 4 in mind. Even though we were researching technology every day, jumping straight into 4 would've been too difficult. There were challenges not only with tech but also with the model change. Those two hurdles were incredibly high. Remake 1 served as a review of what we’d done so far, and since we were confident our technical skills were up to par, we took on the challenge.
TAKEUCHI: For me, having Remake 1 made the determination to create 4 even stronger. Including in terms of personnel.
KOBAYASHI: We did gain new members for 4, after all. We had to do Remake 1 to ensure everyone understood BIO's fundamentals.
TAKEUCHI: I think the members' styles started to change around the time of Remake 1.
KOBAYASHI: It's a different generation, after all (laughs). Many members joined after 2000, people who played BIO as students and are now on the development side. It’s easy for the mindset of the creators to get mixed up with the feelings of that era, though...
KAWATA: With Remake 1, there were changes like entrusting the production to a slightly younger generation. I think that style has carried over to 4.
TAKEUCHI: That’s true. It’s not so much about the members as it is that the style has been changing with the times.
KOBAYASHI: Yes.
TAKEUCHI: As Koba said, it’s become "BIO since 2000."
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. Because things have been changing.
TAKEUCHI: The understanding everyone cultivated through Remake 1 carried over into 4. We understood BIO's raison d’être and had a sense of wanting to adapt it to the times.
KOBAYASHI: If we hadn’t made Remake 1, 4 might've been difficult. We built up technical expertise and developed more advanced ways of expression through Remake 1, so it was a huge learning experience.
TAKEUCHI: 4, which was born at this stage, evolved to fit the times, but I realized once again the games before it were also created to fit their respective eras. Technology advances, and above all, we adapt to the fans' needs. All while thinking about what aspects define the essence of BIOHAZARD. I think that’s the secret to why the BIOHAZARD series has lasted 15 years.
KAWATA: Actually, I was worried 4 mightn't even get released (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: That’s because we were working on it for such a long time. We went through repeated trial and error reworking it countless times.
TAKEUCHI: Watching from the sidelines, I thought, "This is crazy." The bar was set so high even work of this quality was getting rejected.
KOBAYASHI: It’s true the bar was high, but there were times when we overthought things just because it was BIO.
TAKEUCHI: What was really needed was to create a new direction, but our minds kept drifting toward new technologies or methods of expression. Everyone's afraid to change direction.
KAWATA: With BIO, the visuals are close to static frames, and everyone has this fear of taking a wrong turn, so we just couldn't bring ourselves to step beyond that.
KOBAYASHI: If it were the original members from the first game, they could probably take bold risks, but the current members hold themselves back, thinking, "If we go too far, it won’t be BIO anymore."
KAWATA: People outside the team also worked hard to boost our motivation. I feel like we were able to pull it off in the end thanks to a great deal of cooperation. The fact we managed to do it is a miracle in itself.
KOBAYASHI: It truly was a miracle.
TAKEUCHI: Besides the changing times, there are also differences based on the producer’s approach and preferences. That’s why, even though it’s a series, each game's always different, I think that’s part of BIO’s appeal.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. The director's almost always different for each game and they all have strong personalities. After 15 years, I feel like BIO's a series that manages to stay cohesive while still letting those individual personalities shine.
TAKEUCHI: Kamiya-kun, the director of BIOHAZARD 2, took an approach where he actively laid out the broad direction. We had a huge fight over whether a belt should be dark brown or black...
KAWATA: These guys were seriously arguing over the color, weren’t they? (laughs)
EVERYONE (roars with laughter)
KAWATA: Sounds like something’s happening way over there...
KOBAYASHI: They were yelling at each other (laughs). Like, "It has to be this way!" (laughs).
KAWATA: I could hear Takeuchi-san’s high-pitched voice (laughs). Speaking of fights, during 4 we also fought over whether to include lasers or not, and why we were doing things a certain way (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, yeah, we were fighting.
KOBAYASHI: That was intense, too (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: In the end, the BIO team just ends up fighting (laughs).
EVERYONE: (roars with laughter)
——Speaking of BIO, the pressure on all of you must've been immense.
TAKEUCHI: For 5's entire staff, it was a battle against pressure for about two years.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. 5 was tough.
TAKEUCHI: The changes in 4 were shocking, having a completely different system, yet when you played it, it felt like BIO. It was like magic. We had to make a sequel to that 4. We were caught between the need to revamp it and the fear of changing BIO itself, and everyone started to lose sight of the path forward.
KAWATA: Things were pretty dicey for a while, weren’t they?
TAKEUCHI: That’s right. The vision for 5 didn’t solidify until about a year and a half before completion. As the final year approached, I made a producer’s decision: I told everyone to change the system, introduce co-op, and forget about 4. It was okay to change things. Everyone rallied around the idea: "Let’s make *our* 5!" That’s when the weight was lifted off my shoulders.
KAWATA: That’s right.
TAKEUCHI: I think 5's a valuable title that managed to break free from 4's chains. I think 5 has a bit of the feel of titles from before 2000. However, even after the direction was set, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being lost. I think that was the pain of creation.
KOBAYASHI: Hmm, the pain of a numbered series...
TAKEUCHI: ...It’s real.
KOBAYASHI: It’s heavy. BIO's incredibly heavy.
TAKEUCHI: The thrill when 5 was born was indescribable. It was a sense of relief, and also, well, toward the fans. When I felt they'd accepted it, joy just exploded all at once-- boom! (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: Game-wise, 4&5 inherit the same systems, but I feel like 5 became a game that captured the trends of the era.
KAWATA: From my perspective, I think 5's closer to Remake 1 or 0. Bringing in new technology will make it feel fresh, too.
TAKEUCHI: Yeah, yeah.
KAWATA: For my part, I went all out on the visuals with 5, I was determined we wouldn’t be outdone by anyone else, and for the game system, I focused on leveraging the new elements from 4 while approaching it with a mindset of renewal. The reason Chris got buff was that I wanted fans all over the world to see him even more rugged (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: That’s true, we were definitely conscious of the global market. Right after 5 came out, some overseas creators I met told me, "We watched 1, 2 & 3 and thought they were amazing. We want to make a game that surpasses BIO, so we're working hard."
KOBAYASHI: Yeah, yeah.
TAKEUCHI: Seeing their games made me think, "Now we have to make something that can hold its own against the overseas market." It was really moving to realize this kind of relationship had been formed. Even for people overseas, the BIO series was a real shocker.
——It’s truly a landmark.
KAWATA: Generally speaking, we on the production side didn’t have that kind of awareness at all.
TAKEUCHI: Not at all. You too, Koba?
KOBAYASHI: Of course not.
TAKEUCHI: We’d have conversations like, "Did you see it? Last week’s "G Gundam"" (laughs).
KAWATA: When it was time for "Evangelion" to air, everyone would stop working for a moment and head over to the TV (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Saying things like, "Wow, "Eva" is amazing!” (laughs). We never imagined we’d be receiving such high praise overseas. It makes me a little happy when I realize BIO's a game that's truly respected. As someone who helped create it, I mean.
KOBAYASHI & KAWATA: Yes.
——Why's the game titled "Resident Evil" overseas?
KOBAYASHI: We wanted to go with "BIOHAZARD", but back then, CAPCOM overseas was in charge of deciding the title back then, so it became "Resident Evil." It’s true it started in a mansion, but since the setting expanded after that, it felt a bit off (laughs).
KAWATA: We make two versions of the trailers.
KOBAYASHI: Logos too.
——You were quite proactive with collaborations across various fields for merchandise, weren’t you?
TAKEUCHI: It might be one of the earliest successful examples of a collaboration between a game and apparel. I thought it was interesting how BIO expanded beyond the realm of games and developed in various areas.
KOBAYASHI: In the ’90s, we even made Zero Hallmark bags and watches. The concept for the T-shirts was to make them wearable in everyday life.
TAKEUCHI: Not just the game’s logo or characters, but something BIO fans would recognize. Like T-shirts with "R.P.D." on them.
KAWATA: There are still people, like company execs, who wear those to this day (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Huh!? I wear them sometimes too (laughs).
KAWATA: Maybe it's because the designs never go out of style and the quality's good, or maybe you just take good care of your clothes, Takeuchi (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: The style of Chris and Leon's costumes in the game changed, you know.
KOBAYASHI: In the early days, they were police-style.
TAKEUCHI: Starting with BIO5, it shifted to a military style. We changed it with the current military trends in mind. Military... I was in charge of heavy weapons, so I know a lot about that side of things (laughs). Traditionally, ever since the first game, when you fire a gun, the shell casings fly out and you hear the sound of them hitting the ground, a "bang" followed by a "ting." We were really particular about that.
KAWATA: Back then, realistic sound effects were groundbreaking. When you walked on carpet, it actually sounded like a person walking.
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. Those kinds of meticulous details are unique to the BIO series.
TAKEUCHI: Of course, we valued the characters in previous titles too, but I feel like their identity really solidified in 4.
KAWATA: Yeah, I see what you mean.
——So the characters evolved beyond mere symbols.
TAKEUCHI: We were, of course, analyzing Leon’s character back in 2 as well. Eventually, we started paying attention not just to the character’s personality, but also to how players perceived him. Koba, you were producing 4, weren’t you?
KOBAYASHI: Yes.
TAKEUCHI: I felt that Koba's style really shined through back then.
KOBAYASHI: The reason I placed such importance on Leon was partly due to the trends of the time and the team’s opinions, but really, "Devil May Cry" is at the root of it.
——How's that connected?
KOBAYASHI: Devil May Cry’s Dante succeeded with an image strategy that was different from the character-focused approach used up until then. I wanted to emphasize Leon in that same way, so I positioned him like a Hollywood star. In that sense, 4 was also a turning point.
KAWATA: Leon didn't leave a strong impression in 2. But I thought it was a great discovery that we were able to build on that character from there.
KOBAYASHI: Leon played a huge role in 4 being such a massive hit.
TAKEUCHI: And the arms dealer in 4 too (laughs). The arms dealer was groundbreaking!
KAWATA: Since you can actually kill him, we had to treat him with the utmost care (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Looking at the series as a whole, Wesker's always been there in BIO.
KOBAYASHI: Wesker didn't appear that much at first. After BIO1, he was naturally in Veronica and BIO1 Remake, and after BIO0, he made a brief appearance in BIO4.
TAKEUCHI: It actually gave him a strong presence precisely because the appearance was brief (laughs).
KAWATA: In 5, we really fleshed out Wesker’s backstory. The climactic showdown scene was part of the initial concept.
TAKEUCHI: For 5, we discussed having the two men settle things once and for all, then finally...
EVERYONE: Yeah.
——It was also a resolution regarding Umbrella and Spencer. What happened to Wesker after that?
TAKEUCHI: I wonder what became of him (laughs). That showdown also served as a turning point for the BIO series since 1. But Chris has turned into quite the middle-aged guy, too (laughs).
KAWATA: Well, sort of (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Chris has remained clumsy all this time, hasn't he? Still, the men in the BIO series are pretty weak when it comes to women.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
TAKEUCHI: Chris is always right by Jill's side, but he never really tells her anything, does he? (laughs)
KAWATA: It’s like they’re just friends.
TAKEUCHI: Right? (laughs) Leon’s still hung up on Ada, too, he's so innocent. He's the type who’d take her out for drinks but then just go home without saying a word, isn’t he? (laughs) I feel like the staff throughout the series have really cherished that aspect of their characters. It’s enough to make you cry. (laughs)
KOBAYASHI: Chris would never say that (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: That's because the women in the BIO series are so tough.
KOBAYASHI: Rebecca can fight, too.
KAWATA: Ashley as well, even though she’s just a college student (?), she's incredibly feisty (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: As for Claire... (laughs). I wanna meet Chris and Claire's parents (laughs). I want to ask them, "What kind of upbringing did you give them?"
EVERYONE: (roaring laughter)
——I bet there are a lot of people who'd love to see Leon and Chris team up.
TAKEUCHI: That'd be a dream team.
KOBAYASHI: They've never crossed paths, have they? Jill and Leon haven’t teamed up either.
TAKEUCHI: You can form that dream team in Mercenaries 3D.
KOBAYASHI: Barry gets his moment to shine too (laughs).
KAWATA: He’s hugely popular overseas. Especially in the U.S., he’s got massive popularity.
TAKEUCHI: I wonder what Barry’s up to these days. He might've taken over Kendo’s Gun Shop (laughs).
KAWATA: Kendo's a friend of his and Barry used to have him make guns for him, so that’s definitely possible.
TAKEUCHI: The name "Kendo" actually comes from the comedian Kendo Kobayashi. There was a fan of Kendo Kobayashi among the staff working on 2. Surprisingly, not many people know that (laughs).
——Let’s talk about the titles outside the main series.
KOBAYASHI: It started with "GUN SURVIVOR 1", which followed the release of the GunCon controller for the PS. It was fully polygonal. "GUN SURVIVOR 2" was Veronica. That one also came out in the arcades.
TAKEUCHI: The following year was "GAIDEN".
KOBAYASHI: I really liked its scenario. Next was "GUN SURVIVOR 4".
TAKEUCHI: Then came "OUTBREAK".
KOBAYASHI: This was a complete departure, an ensemble drama featuring ordinary citizens, and it was online.
TAKEUCHI: It was a title that garnered a loyal fan base.
KOBAYASHI: Outbreak was played by a younger generation than Remake 1, 0, or 4. That’s when I felt a new generation of players had joined us, people who enjoyed playing online with friends.
TAKEUCHI: Someone once told me, "Outbreak's a racing game."
KOBAYASHI: Time (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. The better you get, the more it becomes a time attack.
KOBAYASHI: What about UmChro and DarkChro, Kawata?
KAWATA: It was fun to rebuild the story. Also, I think the attempt to gather characters into a single game was a good idea. It was a title made possible because the Wii comes standard with a controller.
KOBAYASHI: Looking back, but also incorporating new scenarios.
TAKEUCHI: With just the right amount of story. In shooters, if the story's too long, your hands get tired from holding the controller in position the whole time (laughs). And then we move on to "BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS" (hereafter "Revelations"). It’s got some serious content, doesn’t it? It has that horror vibe.
KAWATA: Yeah. It’s a survival horror game. Also, Operation Raccoon City's a shooter designed to let you enjoy a third-person shooter experience.
TAKEUCHI: 5 had elements of entertainment, or rather, action movies, so it took a slightly different direction from pure horror, so we wanted to bring it back a bit with Revelations.
KOBAYASHI: That’s right. There are scenes where you can experience that old-school horror vibe, and there are puzzles too.
KAWATA: System-wise, Revelations is closer to 4, but in terms of content, we’re aiming for the feel of 1, 2 & 3.
TAKEUCHI: It’s dark and scary.
KAWATA: I’m happy to report that development is progressing smoothly (laughs). We really hope you’ll give it a try.
TAKEUCHI: There are far more fans who’ve been playing for the past 15 years than we ever imagined.
KAWATA: That’s right, 15 years. If they've been playing since the beginning, how old would they be now?
KOBAYASHI: If they started with 1 in middle school, they’d be around 30 now.
TAKEUCHI: They may even have kids of their own.
KAWATA: And their kids play BIO too.
TAKEUCHI: A series spanning two generations... Wow, just think about us (laughs).
——What does the future hold for BIO?
KOBAYASHI: Considering our 15-year history, I think we need to keep doing what we’ve been doing, we have to keep it going.
KAWATA: Hardware and technology might have changed by then.
KOBAYASHI: We couldn’t have predicted Veronica when we were making BIO1, so it’ll be hard to predict the future, too.
TAKEUCHI: That’s true. Come to think of it, when I go overseas, people often ask me, "Who's gonna make the next one?" I tell them, "CAPCOM's producers decide by playing poker" (laughs).
KOBAYASHI: That was a joke from last year’s E3 (laughs).
TAKEUCHI: I think getting asked questions like that is something unique to the BIO series. It's not about whether it’s Kawata's or Kobayashi's, we hope you’ll look forward to seeing who's behind the next BIO.
KOBAYASHI: We assemble a team for each project and give it our all.
TAKEUCHI: Exactly. We always want to do our best to create BIO for our fans. That goal never changes. We want everyone around the world to say, "BIO's amazing." We'll keep doing amazing things with every release.
KOBAYASHI: Please continue to support the series.
KAWATA: Thank you for your continued support.
DIRECTORS' RECOLLECTIONS (p.066-071)
Yasuhiro Anpo
Lead Programmer for BIO1, BIO1 (DC), BIO1 (DC) DualShock Ver., BIO2, and BIO 2 (DualShock Ver.) / Director for BIO5 / and others
Yasuhiro Seto
Director for GUN SURVIVOR 2, UmChro, DarkChro, Operation Raccoon City / and others
——I’d like to ask you about your first encounter with BIO1.
SETO: I’ve played every BIO game and am a huge fan myself, but when it comes to the team, I think Anpo-san should probably start off (laughs).
ANPO: Yes. BIO was my introduction to CAPCOM. The first title I worked on after joining the company was BIO1, and although it was a coincidence, I still think I joined at just the right time (laughs). We were about to start developing BIO1, but there wasn’t a single programmer assigned to the team (laughs). I joined right after starting as the team’s first programmer, but to begin with, there were only newbies. Plus it was our first PS title and there were hardly any people in the company working with 3D and polygons yet, so even the seniors couldn’t teach us. We built it from scratch through trial and error.
——The PS launched in '94. It was also a transitional period between 2D and 3D.
ANPO: That’s right. Since development started around that time, we were really excited, thinking, "We’re going to be able to create visuals completely different from what we used to see as players!" (laughs). "3D models made of polygons! 3D objects moving! Walking!" Just playing with it got us all worked up. I probably wasn’t the only one who felt that way, I remember people outside the team coming by to watch even when the characters were just moving and there wasn’t any combat yet, saying, "This is fun," then leaving (laughs).
——What about you, Seto-san, when the first game was released?
SETO: I was working on a different arcade title at CAPCOM at the time, but when I heard "something amazing came out from CAPCOM," I rushed out and bought the first game! (laughs). I didn’t have a PS, so I used to play it at a friend’s house, a friend who joined CAPCOM at the same time as me. I’d play at night after getting home from work, and my friend would fall asleep while watching me play.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
SETO: It was so much fun, just moving the character around was a blast. It was a game unlike anything that had come before. The cinematic horror and the way the story unfolded were amazing, weren’t they! The part where you open the door, even though it’s just a loading screen, that idea was so fresh and great.
ANPO: Originally it was just a pitch-black loading screen, but since the gap felt empty, Director Mikami at the time suggested, "Let’s put in a demo like this." In the end, that pacing actually worked really well.
SETO: Exactly, exactly-- scary, scary (laughs). It really built up the anticipation of wondering what kind of room would be next.
ANPO: It keeps the tension going but also serves as a little breather before moving on to the next room. In a way, we managed to make good use of it. Though, there were so many different types of doors that I did double-check at one point, asking, "Are we really going to do this many?" (laughs). I’m glad we did it.
SETO: I mentioned earlier that "just moving around's fun," but until I got used to the controls, I just kept spinning in circles (laughs). When other people play it for the first time, they usually just go round and round and round.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: Yeah, that’s right. It’s a unique control scheme.
SETO: My friend found it too hard and couldn’t get the hang of it. Even though he works at CAPCOM (laughs).
ANPO: (roars with laughter)
SETO: In many ways, I have a vivid attachment to the first BIO. From the hit BIO1 back then, through BIO2, 3, and Veronica, which were starting to become major flagship titles, that’s the era I’m particularly fond of.
ANPO: Though, back in the BIO1 days, the company didn’t really expect it to be a hit... (laughs). Since it wasn’t part of a series yet, we were free to do whatever we wanted and really enjoyed making it, but starting with 2, the pressure became immense, and everyone got super tense (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
SETO: The director at the time, Mikami-san, let us observe 1's development. He’d say things like, "This part works like this," or "Wanna see the opening?" (laughs). Everyone on the team looked like they were having a blast.
ANPO: Yeah, even the meetings were lively (roars of laughter).
——Do you like horror, or are you not a fan?
ANPO: Before I got involved with BIO, I wasn’t really into horror and didn’t watch many horror movies, but after joining the team, I was told, "You need to study horror" (laughs). Well, I thought I’d give it a try, so I started digging into zombie movies like Romero’s, and I realized, "This is actually pretty interesting," and I grew to like it. You could say BIO1 was what got me hooked on horror.
SETO: I’ve been a big fan since I was a student. Especially Stephen King. Of course, the BIO world's completely different from King’s, but since I saw it as a horror game, I was incredibly excited about BIO1.
——The relentless terror and the silence in between. It was a game with a high degree of drama, extremely close to a movie.
SETO: While playing, I felt like a movie had become a game, like I was experiencing a horror movie firsthand for the first time. It felt like my ideal vision had come to life.
ANPO: When we were working on 1&2, the director told us, "I want to create something like a haunted house." The feeling of not wanting to move forward because Zombies are coming, yet still wanting to move forward, that’s the essence of a haunted house and it’s something I still value today. Fighting enemies is scary, of course, but the moment right before an enemy appears in front of you is the scariest. I think that heart-pounding sensation's what horror's all about. We implement elements of anxiety, like wondering what’s around the corner, or if something might jump out from the shelf next to you.
SETO: Right. Those are forms of psychological terror.
ANPO: Back then, the graphics were abstract, which might've been part of what made it scary. Technically speaking, we couldn’t display as many colors as we can now.
SETO: That’s true (laughs).
ANPO: The graphics were a bit darker back then. In the dark areas of BIO1&2, it was truly pitch black and you could hardly see anything, so it felt like enemies appeared out of nowhere. Nowadays, you can still make out faint outlines, but I think it was even scarier back then.
SETO: The nature of the horror in the BIO series has changed over time, but I think "familiarity" is a key concept that's been passed down as part of its tradition.
——What do you mean by "familiarity"?
SETO: I suppose it’s a fear that feels close to home. Since it’s the conspiracy of a single corporation, Umbrella, it feels like something you can handle, something you can stand up to. It’s set in a world that feels somewhat plausible, so the target isn’t an utterly hopeless terror. You keep moving forward through a darkness filled with anxiety, it’s scary at first, but eventually you can overcome it, which is why it feels rewarding. I think it’s a horror game that makes good use of that gameplay element where the player takes control and confronts the threat. I don’t think they set out to follow that tradition, but for some reason, I feel like it’s been preserved (laughs).
——That sense of facing a fear you can overcome has been consistent throughout the BIO series, hasn’t it?
SETO: Yes, the player gets stronger and stronger as they take on the challenge. There are times when you’re weak, like in Outbreak, but even then, you face it head-on, succeed in the end, and because all of that becomes your own experience, I think that’s what makes it so much fun. I worked on both UmChro and DarkChro with that key concept very much in mind.
ANPO: A sense of satisfaction comes from facing and defeating enemies. If there’s little satisfaction and you’re just constantly scared, you start wondering, "Why must I suffer so much?" (laughs). It’s all about balance.
SETO: Exactly, we really prioritize balance.
——I imagine there are certain constraints unique to the BIO series that simply can’t be changed.
ANPO: Even though we say BIO, there are various genres, adventure-oriented, action-oriented, shooters, and so on, but I think the one thing that remains constant is the sense of survival. At its core lies the player having to figure out how to stay alive, and the methods for doing so vary and evolve depending on the genre. I think survival, fighting for your life, is the key concept. The thrill of defeating an enemy, moving forward with a sense of relief, then facing new terrors to survive, that never changes. I think that core remains unwavering, even in BIO5.
SETO: And then, there’s the importance of cherishing the characters and creatures. We’ve walked alongside our fans for many years, and the series continues to exist across generations.
ANPO: Yes, that’s right. Earlier, Seto-san mentioned a sense of familiarity, and I feel the BIO universe has become firmly established in the hearts of our fans. The characters and settings like Raccoon City have become familiar to us over the past 15 years. UmChro really capitalized on that, and when I played it, I thought, "This is great!" They skillfully adapted the world into a shooter, lowered the difficulty a bit so even those who aren’t great at action games could play, and still let you fully relive the BIO series’ world. It’s truly made for the fans. Since I worked on the first game, I played it thinking, "Ah, this brings back memories" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
ANPO: It corrected memories that tend to get fuzzy and refined them to suit modern tastes, too.
SETO: I noticed there were all kinds of opinions about which scenes everyone was most attached to from the original titles. Like, "Huh!? That part?" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (roaring with laughter)
ANPO: You were really paying attention to the details, weren’t you? (laughs).
SETO: Exactly (laughs). This is a small thing, but while making it, I felt that while people remember the characters and what happened, they probably don’t pay much attention to the maps.
ANPO: In UmChro, did you use the mansion map exactly as it was?
SETO: We used the mansion almost exactly as it was. However, since we naturally have to prioritize the game, and since there aren’t many situations in a gun shooter where you have to backtrack from here to there, we occasionally modified it, like opening holes in the corridors (laughs). You probably wouldn’t notice, though.
ANPO: Yeah, I didn’t notice (laughs).
——It must be tough managing such a large team as a director.
ANPO: That’s true. It’s a plus that so many opinions come up, but it’s hard to bring them together. Some people even run off on their own (laughs). When opinions fly around, I have to constantly explain the concept and discuss exactly how I want things done. Since it’s impossible to gather everyone when conveying information, I first tell the section leaders, then they pass it on to everyone else.
SETO: That’s right.
ANPO: Since we’re developing in separate sections, individuals can’t grasp the whole picture, and even when they offer opinions, they’re often based on their own section, so there can be misalignments. It’s part of a director’s job to communicate what everyone's doing along with their intentions, and to connect the dots. I was the lead programmer on BIO1, but even then, I couldn’t keep track of everything during development. I’ve experienced that firsthand. Now we have 80 or 100 people-- no, actually, there are even more during peak periods.
——There must be challenges unique to being a BIO director...
ANPO: BIO has a 15-year history, so players have very high expectations regarding its worldview and what makes it BIO. We have to be constantly mindful of that, and even within the team we have different interpretations, like "This doesn’t feel like BIO", which leads to repeated discussions. Sometimes I think deciding "Let’s go with this for this BIO" is the main job of a BIO director. Seto-san, were there differences in what constitutes "BIO-like" with UmChro as well?
SETO: I didn’t struggle with differences in our understanding of BIO. I did put a lot of thought into how much we could expand on what was already known, and how to do so in ways fans would accept. Since we weren’t creating a new world like in 5, that part was easy, but the problem was deciding where and how to expand. Also, we wanted to make sure we didn’t disgrace the original works. Since the story's basically the same as the previous game, I was thinking about how to subvert expectations somewhere (laughs). For example, in DarkChro's "Game of Oblivion," in the original Veronica that serves as the basis, the Tyrant falls from the transport plane along with a container, but we decided to have it fall differently there...
ANPO: I see.
SETO: Of course, when we discuss things, there are bound to be some differences. Sometimes I have to persuade others, and occasionally I have to reconsider my own ideas... Hmm, it’s a tricky balance. I want to maintain flexibility while staying true to the core concept, to express my own vision while adhering to the director’s fundamental style. But I don’t think a director should be afraid to assert their own vision. For example, if eight people vote for one option and two for another, I might choose the minority view. Ultimately, the best outcome's creating something that resonates with the fans, and I think they’ll come to appreciate it over time.
ANPO: Yeah, yeah, that happens.
SETO: That part's really difficult. If the director doesn’t make the call, the team starts to waver. Even if you don’t have a definitive "correct answer" or a perfect solution in your mind, there are times when you have to say, "This is the right choice, "or "This is the answer," don’t you think?
ANPO: By the way, I absolutely loved the "Tofu Mode" in UmChro (laughs). Where'd that idea come from?
SETO: It just sort of came up naturally while talking with various people, like, "Well, if it’s BIO, there’s gotta be tofu," or "It’d be funny if you could shoot tofu" (laughs).
ANPO: Oh, is that so!? (laughs).
SETO: I guess that’s part of the fun of creating as a team.
ANPO: I see. Someone brings it up, and everyone’s like, "That’s funny!"
SETO: "Let’s do it! Let’s do it!!" (laughs).
ANPO: It was so well-crafted, right down to the tofu chipping away (laughs).
SETO: Exactly.
ANPO: I really felt your love for BIO (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
——What do you enjoy most about being a BIO director?
ANPO: There are so many fans out there, and getting all kinds of reactions, good and bad, makes it really rewarding for us to create, and it’s a lot of fun.
SETO: Yeah, that’s exactly right.
ANPO: It makes me want to pour as much effort into it as possible and keep going until the very end. We have fans all over the world. When I went to Australia on vacation and went bungee jumping, I was being hoisted to the top, and the person waiting at the very top was wearing a "Resident Evil" T-shirt!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: I was super nervous climbing up, so I was relieved (laughs). I was like, "Oh! There’s a BIO fan here too!!" and "All the way in Australia!" I was so happy. I felt their love when I said thank you to that person (laughs).
SETO: I feel the same way as Anpo-san, having fans is huge. There are people who support and cherish this world, and that’s exactly why we can keep building the BIO universe to meet their expectations. I think the most fun part is thinking things through while respecting the older titles and coming up with all kinds of creatures.
ANPO: Because we have so many fans, our user base is really broad, isn’t it? If we try to satisfy one group, another might end up dissatisfied, and it’s hard to know which is better. That’s a tricky part.
SETO: Yeah, that’s true. Even among fans, opinions differ.
ANPO: I struggled a lot with BIO5. Of course, I want to value the hardcore players who dive deep into the game, but if I tailor the difficulty specifically to them, newcomers would have a really rough time (laughs).
SETO: That would definitely happen (laughs).
ANPO: It’s about finding that balance. There are many people who watch others play from behind because they’re scared or find it too difficult to play themselves, but they still want to see BIO. Just like Seto-san’s friend mentioned earlier (laughs). Maybe UC and DC are aimed at that kind of casual audience. With 5, we lowered the barrier to entry a bit so people who’d never played BIO before would pick it up, and it’s also playable by two people. On the flip side, we got some feedback from our core audience saying it wasn’t challenging enough, so I really felt it was a tough balancing act.
——I have this image of the early BIO games being hardcore and difficult. But we have to make sure people of all skill levels can enjoy it... it’s a real dilemma.
ANPO: That’s right. When we were making 2 after 1, the team was conscious of that with wanting to broaden the appeal, but we also had to strike a balance so it wouldn’t be too difficult. Outbreak was well-received by the core fans, wasn’t it?
SETO: Outbreak's very popular. It’s one of my favorite games, too (laughs).
ANPO: Right? (laughs).
SETO: Outbreak's a bit of an oddball in the BIO series, it has a unique appeal specific to online games. It was the first BIO game where you could enjoy playing with others. It also marked the beginning of the trend toward online connectivity that led to BIO5 later on. The story goes back a bit to the roots of horror, and it’s not just a game where you shoot everything in sight, so it’s quite an unconventional title.
ANPO: It’s an extreme situation where ordinary citizens have to work together to survive (laughs).
SETO: Yes, that’s right. It was innovative. Like, you couldn’t communicate directly with others.
EVERYONE: Yeah, yeah.
ANPO: It’s a rare game where those limitations were actually embraced as part of the gameplay. Usually, if you make things too restrictive, BIO fans get angry (laughs).
SETO: It was a game where that was actually allowed.
ANPO: The appeal was in the limitations, since that’s all you have, it’s a survival game where you have to figure out how to make do within those constraints. If you have too many options to choose from, you actually end up not knowing what to do. It’s a balance where the restrictions force you to think: "What should I take with me?"
SETO: That’s also a BIO tradition (laughs).
ANPO: Yeah, it’s a tradition. Ever since the first game, we’ve limited the number of items you can carry.
SETO: The typewriter was a matter of life and death, it was like, "I’m definitely going to find that!" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: We were a little nervous on the development side, too. If players didn’t find it, it would’ve been a disaster, so we had to place it somewhere reasonably obvious.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
ANPO: In BIO5, since you play online, you can jump to any chapter. It’s a user-friendly design that wasn’t in previous BIO games, but we’ve heard some complaints from hardcore fans. Things that are standard in modern games get criticized as "too easy" in BIO (laughs). It’s really tough to make decisions that feel true to BIO.
SETO: It seems overseas users also intuitively sense what makes BIO unique. First off, the girls play a major role (laughs). In 4, Ada's spying while wearing a cheongsam (laughs).
ANPO: In most Western games, macho male protagonists tend to be more popular, but in BIO, the female characters are the ones who resonate. That’s pretty rare, isn’t it? (laughs).
SETO: Women aren’t just there to be rescued; ever since the first game, female characters have been the ones taking center stage, that’s just BIO for you (laughs).
ANPO: It’s the classic horror formula, really. It’s always the girls who survive in the end (laughs).
SETO: I wonder if Leon's the character women like best (laughs). Actually, I was staking out a store on the release day of DarkChro. I was wondering what kind of people would buy it, and quite a few girls were buying it. And they were a bit shy about it, too. They’d come running up, grab it quickly, and dash off in a hurry.
EVERYONE: (roaring laughter)
SETO: Several people bought it that way. Since they were girls, I guess they must really like the characters (laughs).
ANPO: The characters have been getting cooler and cooler, haven’t they?
SETO: Yes, that’s right (laughs).
ANPO: Along with the evolution of the hardware. The polygon Chris from the early days... well, looking at him now, he’s a bit... (laughs).
SETO: But back then, he looked cool, didn’t he? Really cool.
——Let’s talk about BIO's future.
SETO: I’m currently working on Operation Raccoon City. It’s a third-person shooter set in the worlds of 2&3, with Raccoon City as the setting. I really want to focus on this location. As a spin-off, it features the events and era of 2&3, but I think the sense of horror is quite different from UmChro or DarkChro. It’s kind of like having a similar theme but a different game. If anything, it’s told from the perspective of evil, so in that sense, it may be the most different BIO title yet. I’m creating it with a strong desire not to betray what the fans hold dear, so I hope you’ll look forward to it.
ANPO: Creating the main series really takes a long time every time. It inevitably takes years, three or four years. During that time, I hope fans can enjoy BIO from a slightly different angle with spin-offs like Operation Raccoon City. As a fan, the wait's tough, isn’t it?
SETO: You'll graduate from school by then (laughs).
ANPO: Exactly (laughs). It'd be great if we could find a way to keep fans engaged over a shorter timeframe. For example, I think it might be good to have different approaches, some aimed at core fans and others at casual players.
SETO: It’s really tough on the development side (laughs), but I want to continue the series by carefully preserving the BIO world while constantly trying new things and creating fun games. I’m willing to spare no effort to make that happen.
Lead Programmer for BIO1, BIO1 (DC), BIO1 (DC) DualShock Ver., BIO2, and BIO 2 (DualShock Ver.) / Director for BIO5 / and others
Yasuhiro Seto
Director for GUN SURVIVOR 2, UmChro, DarkChro, Operation Raccoon City / and others
——I’d like to ask you about your first encounter with BIO1.
SETO: I’ve played every BIO game and am a huge fan myself, but when it comes to the team, I think Anpo-san should probably start off (laughs).
ANPO: Yes. BIO was my introduction to CAPCOM. The first title I worked on after joining the company was BIO1, and although it was a coincidence, I still think I joined at just the right time (laughs). We were about to start developing BIO1, but there wasn’t a single programmer assigned to the team (laughs). I joined right after starting as the team’s first programmer, but to begin with, there were only newbies. Plus it was our first PS title and there were hardly any people in the company working with 3D and polygons yet, so even the seniors couldn’t teach us. We built it from scratch through trial and error.
——The PS launched in '94. It was also a transitional period between 2D and 3D.
ANPO: That’s right. Since development started around that time, we were really excited, thinking, "We’re going to be able to create visuals completely different from what we used to see as players!" (laughs). "3D models made of polygons! 3D objects moving! Walking!" Just playing with it got us all worked up. I probably wasn’t the only one who felt that way, I remember people outside the team coming by to watch even when the characters were just moving and there wasn’t any combat yet, saying, "This is fun," then leaving (laughs).
——What about you, Seto-san, when the first game was released?
SETO: I was working on a different arcade title at CAPCOM at the time, but when I heard "something amazing came out from CAPCOM," I rushed out and bought the first game! (laughs). I didn’t have a PS, so I used to play it at a friend’s house, a friend who joined CAPCOM at the same time as me. I’d play at night after getting home from work, and my friend would fall asleep while watching me play.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
SETO: It was so much fun, just moving the character around was a blast. It was a game unlike anything that had come before. The cinematic horror and the way the story unfolded were amazing, weren’t they! The part where you open the door, even though it’s just a loading screen, that idea was so fresh and great.
ANPO: Originally it was just a pitch-black loading screen, but since the gap felt empty, Director Mikami at the time suggested, "Let’s put in a demo like this." In the end, that pacing actually worked really well.
SETO: Exactly, exactly-- scary, scary (laughs). It really built up the anticipation of wondering what kind of room would be next.
ANPO: It keeps the tension going but also serves as a little breather before moving on to the next room. In a way, we managed to make good use of it. Though, there were so many different types of doors that I did double-check at one point, asking, "Are we really going to do this many?" (laughs). I’m glad we did it.
SETO: I mentioned earlier that "just moving around's fun," but until I got used to the controls, I just kept spinning in circles (laughs). When other people play it for the first time, they usually just go round and round and round.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: Yeah, that’s right. It’s a unique control scheme.
SETO: My friend found it too hard and couldn’t get the hang of it. Even though he works at CAPCOM (laughs).
ANPO: (roars with laughter)
SETO: In many ways, I have a vivid attachment to the first BIO. From the hit BIO1 back then, through BIO2, 3, and Veronica, which were starting to become major flagship titles, that’s the era I’m particularly fond of.
ANPO: Though, back in the BIO1 days, the company didn’t really expect it to be a hit... (laughs). Since it wasn’t part of a series yet, we were free to do whatever we wanted and really enjoyed making it, but starting with 2, the pressure became immense, and everyone got super tense (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
SETO: The director at the time, Mikami-san, let us observe 1's development. He’d say things like, "This part works like this," or "Wanna see the opening?" (laughs). Everyone on the team looked like they were having a blast.
ANPO: Yeah, even the meetings were lively (roars of laughter).
——Do you like horror, or are you not a fan?
ANPO: Before I got involved with BIO, I wasn’t really into horror and didn’t watch many horror movies, but after joining the team, I was told, "You need to study horror" (laughs). Well, I thought I’d give it a try, so I started digging into zombie movies like Romero’s, and I realized, "This is actually pretty interesting," and I grew to like it. You could say BIO1 was what got me hooked on horror.
SETO: I’ve been a big fan since I was a student. Especially Stephen King. Of course, the BIO world's completely different from King’s, but since I saw it as a horror game, I was incredibly excited about BIO1.
——The relentless terror and the silence in between. It was a game with a high degree of drama, extremely close to a movie.
SETO: While playing, I felt like a movie had become a game, like I was experiencing a horror movie firsthand for the first time. It felt like my ideal vision had come to life.
ANPO: When we were working on 1&2, the director told us, "I want to create something like a haunted house." The feeling of not wanting to move forward because Zombies are coming, yet still wanting to move forward, that’s the essence of a haunted house and it’s something I still value today. Fighting enemies is scary, of course, but the moment right before an enemy appears in front of you is the scariest. I think that heart-pounding sensation's what horror's all about. We implement elements of anxiety, like wondering what’s around the corner, or if something might jump out from the shelf next to you.
SETO: Right. Those are forms of psychological terror.
ANPO: Back then, the graphics were abstract, which might've been part of what made it scary. Technically speaking, we couldn’t display as many colors as we can now.
SETO: That’s true (laughs).
ANPO: The graphics were a bit darker back then. In the dark areas of BIO1&2, it was truly pitch black and you could hardly see anything, so it felt like enemies appeared out of nowhere. Nowadays, you can still make out faint outlines, but I think it was even scarier back then.
SETO: The nature of the horror in the BIO series has changed over time, but I think "familiarity" is a key concept that's been passed down as part of its tradition.
——What do you mean by "familiarity"?
SETO: I suppose it’s a fear that feels close to home. Since it’s the conspiracy of a single corporation, Umbrella, it feels like something you can handle, something you can stand up to. It’s set in a world that feels somewhat plausible, so the target isn’t an utterly hopeless terror. You keep moving forward through a darkness filled with anxiety, it’s scary at first, but eventually you can overcome it, which is why it feels rewarding. I think it’s a horror game that makes good use of that gameplay element where the player takes control and confronts the threat. I don’t think they set out to follow that tradition, but for some reason, I feel like it’s been preserved (laughs).
——That sense of facing a fear you can overcome has been consistent throughout the BIO series, hasn’t it?
SETO: Yes, the player gets stronger and stronger as they take on the challenge. There are times when you’re weak, like in Outbreak, but even then, you face it head-on, succeed in the end, and because all of that becomes your own experience, I think that’s what makes it so much fun. I worked on both UmChro and DarkChro with that key concept very much in mind.
ANPO: A sense of satisfaction comes from facing and defeating enemies. If there’s little satisfaction and you’re just constantly scared, you start wondering, "Why must I suffer so much?" (laughs). It’s all about balance.
SETO: Exactly, we really prioritize balance.
——I imagine there are certain constraints unique to the BIO series that simply can’t be changed.
ANPO: Even though we say BIO, there are various genres, adventure-oriented, action-oriented, shooters, and so on, but I think the one thing that remains constant is the sense of survival. At its core lies the player having to figure out how to stay alive, and the methods for doing so vary and evolve depending on the genre. I think survival, fighting for your life, is the key concept. The thrill of defeating an enemy, moving forward with a sense of relief, then facing new terrors to survive, that never changes. I think that core remains unwavering, even in BIO5.
SETO: And then, there’s the importance of cherishing the characters and creatures. We’ve walked alongside our fans for many years, and the series continues to exist across generations.
ANPO: Yes, that’s right. Earlier, Seto-san mentioned a sense of familiarity, and I feel the BIO universe has become firmly established in the hearts of our fans. The characters and settings like Raccoon City have become familiar to us over the past 15 years. UmChro really capitalized on that, and when I played it, I thought, "This is great!" They skillfully adapted the world into a shooter, lowered the difficulty a bit so even those who aren’t great at action games could play, and still let you fully relive the BIO series’ world. It’s truly made for the fans. Since I worked on the first game, I played it thinking, "Ah, this brings back memories" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
ANPO: It corrected memories that tend to get fuzzy and refined them to suit modern tastes, too.
SETO: I noticed there were all kinds of opinions about which scenes everyone was most attached to from the original titles. Like, "Huh!? That part?" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (roaring with laughter)
ANPO: You were really paying attention to the details, weren’t you? (laughs).
SETO: Exactly (laughs). This is a small thing, but while making it, I felt that while people remember the characters and what happened, they probably don’t pay much attention to the maps.
ANPO: In UmChro, did you use the mansion map exactly as it was?
SETO: We used the mansion almost exactly as it was. However, since we naturally have to prioritize the game, and since there aren’t many situations in a gun shooter where you have to backtrack from here to there, we occasionally modified it, like opening holes in the corridors (laughs). You probably wouldn’t notice, though.
ANPO: Yeah, I didn’t notice (laughs).
——It must be tough managing such a large team as a director.
ANPO: That’s true. It’s a plus that so many opinions come up, but it’s hard to bring them together. Some people even run off on their own (laughs). When opinions fly around, I have to constantly explain the concept and discuss exactly how I want things done. Since it’s impossible to gather everyone when conveying information, I first tell the section leaders, then they pass it on to everyone else.
SETO: That’s right.
ANPO: Since we’re developing in separate sections, individuals can’t grasp the whole picture, and even when they offer opinions, they’re often based on their own section, so there can be misalignments. It’s part of a director’s job to communicate what everyone's doing along with their intentions, and to connect the dots. I was the lead programmer on BIO1, but even then, I couldn’t keep track of everything during development. I’ve experienced that firsthand. Now we have 80 or 100 people-- no, actually, there are even more during peak periods.
——There must be challenges unique to being a BIO director...
ANPO: BIO has a 15-year history, so players have very high expectations regarding its worldview and what makes it BIO. We have to be constantly mindful of that, and even within the team we have different interpretations, like "This doesn’t feel like BIO", which leads to repeated discussions. Sometimes I think deciding "Let’s go with this for this BIO" is the main job of a BIO director. Seto-san, were there differences in what constitutes "BIO-like" with UmChro as well?
SETO: I didn’t struggle with differences in our understanding of BIO. I did put a lot of thought into how much we could expand on what was already known, and how to do so in ways fans would accept. Since we weren’t creating a new world like in 5, that part was easy, but the problem was deciding where and how to expand. Also, we wanted to make sure we didn’t disgrace the original works. Since the story's basically the same as the previous game, I was thinking about how to subvert expectations somewhere (laughs). For example, in DarkChro's "Game of Oblivion," in the original Veronica that serves as the basis, the Tyrant falls from the transport plane along with a container, but we decided to have it fall differently there...
ANPO: I see.
SETO: Of course, when we discuss things, there are bound to be some differences. Sometimes I have to persuade others, and occasionally I have to reconsider my own ideas... Hmm, it’s a tricky balance. I want to maintain flexibility while staying true to the core concept, to express my own vision while adhering to the director’s fundamental style. But I don’t think a director should be afraid to assert their own vision. For example, if eight people vote for one option and two for another, I might choose the minority view. Ultimately, the best outcome's creating something that resonates with the fans, and I think they’ll come to appreciate it over time.
ANPO: Yeah, yeah, that happens.
SETO: That part's really difficult. If the director doesn’t make the call, the team starts to waver. Even if you don’t have a definitive "correct answer" or a perfect solution in your mind, there are times when you have to say, "This is the right choice, "or "This is the answer," don’t you think?
ANPO: By the way, I absolutely loved the "Tofu Mode" in UmChro (laughs). Where'd that idea come from?
SETO: It just sort of came up naturally while talking with various people, like, "Well, if it’s BIO, there’s gotta be tofu," or "It’d be funny if you could shoot tofu" (laughs).
ANPO: Oh, is that so!? (laughs).
SETO: I guess that’s part of the fun of creating as a team.
ANPO: I see. Someone brings it up, and everyone’s like, "That’s funny!"
SETO: "Let’s do it! Let’s do it!!" (laughs).
ANPO: It was so well-crafted, right down to the tofu chipping away (laughs).
SETO: Exactly.
ANPO: I really felt your love for BIO (laughs).
EVERYONE: (laughs)
——What do you enjoy most about being a BIO director?
ANPO: There are so many fans out there, and getting all kinds of reactions, good and bad, makes it really rewarding for us to create, and it’s a lot of fun.
SETO: Yeah, that’s exactly right.
ANPO: It makes me want to pour as much effort into it as possible and keep going until the very end. We have fans all over the world. When I went to Australia on vacation and went bungee jumping, I was being hoisted to the top, and the person waiting at the very top was wearing a "Resident Evil" T-shirt!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: I was super nervous climbing up, so I was relieved (laughs). I was like, "Oh! There’s a BIO fan here too!!" and "All the way in Australia!" I was so happy. I felt their love when I said thank you to that person (laughs).
SETO: I feel the same way as Anpo-san, having fans is huge. There are people who support and cherish this world, and that’s exactly why we can keep building the BIO universe to meet their expectations. I think the most fun part is thinking things through while respecting the older titles and coming up with all kinds of creatures.
ANPO: Because we have so many fans, our user base is really broad, isn’t it? If we try to satisfy one group, another might end up dissatisfied, and it’s hard to know which is better. That’s a tricky part.
SETO: Yeah, that’s true. Even among fans, opinions differ.
ANPO: I struggled a lot with BIO5. Of course, I want to value the hardcore players who dive deep into the game, but if I tailor the difficulty specifically to them, newcomers would have a really rough time (laughs).
SETO: That would definitely happen (laughs).
ANPO: It’s about finding that balance. There are many people who watch others play from behind because they’re scared or find it too difficult to play themselves, but they still want to see BIO. Just like Seto-san’s friend mentioned earlier (laughs). Maybe UC and DC are aimed at that kind of casual audience. With 5, we lowered the barrier to entry a bit so people who’d never played BIO before would pick it up, and it’s also playable by two people. On the flip side, we got some feedback from our core audience saying it wasn’t challenging enough, so I really felt it was a tough balancing act.
——I have this image of the early BIO games being hardcore and difficult. But we have to make sure people of all skill levels can enjoy it... it’s a real dilemma.
ANPO: That’s right. When we were making 2 after 1, the team was conscious of that with wanting to broaden the appeal, but we also had to strike a balance so it wouldn’t be too difficult. Outbreak was well-received by the core fans, wasn’t it?
SETO: Outbreak's very popular. It’s one of my favorite games, too (laughs).
ANPO: Right? (laughs).
SETO: Outbreak's a bit of an oddball in the BIO series, it has a unique appeal specific to online games. It was the first BIO game where you could enjoy playing with others. It also marked the beginning of the trend toward online connectivity that led to BIO5 later on. The story goes back a bit to the roots of horror, and it’s not just a game where you shoot everything in sight, so it’s quite an unconventional title.
ANPO: It’s an extreme situation where ordinary citizens have to work together to survive (laughs).
SETO: Yes, that’s right. It was innovative. Like, you couldn’t communicate directly with others.
EVERYONE: Yeah, yeah.
ANPO: It’s a rare game where those limitations were actually embraced as part of the gameplay. Usually, if you make things too restrictive, BIO fans get angry (laughs).
SETO: It was a game where that was actually allowed.
ANPO: The appeal was in the limitations, since that’s all you have, it’s a survival game where you have to figure out how to make do within those constraints. If you have too many options to choose from, you actually end up not knowing what to do. It’s a balance where the restrictions force you to think: "What should I take with me?"
SETO: That’s also a BIO tradition (laughs).
ANPO: Yeah, it’s a tradition. Ever since the first game, we’ve limited the number of items you can carry.
SETO: The typewriter was a matter of life and death, it was like, "I’m definitely going to find that!" (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
ANPO: We were a little nervous on the development side, too. If players didn’t find it, it would’ve been a disaster, so we had to place it somewhere reasonably obvious.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
ANPO: In BIO5, since you play online, you can jump to any chapter. It’s a user-friendly design that wasn’t in previous BIO games, but we’ve heard some complaints from hardcore fans. Things that are standard in modern games get criticized as "too easy" in BIO (laughs). It’s really tough to make decisions that feel true to BIO.
SETO: It seems overseas users also intuitively sense what makes BIO unique. First off, the girls play a major role (laughs). In 4, Ada's spying while wearing a cheongsam (laughs).
ANPO: In most Western games, macho male protagonists tend to be more popular, but in BIO, the female characters are the ones who resonate. That’s pretty rare, isn’t it? (laughs).
SETO: Women aren’t just there to be rescued; ever since the first game, female characters have been the ones taking center stage, that’s just BIO for you (laughs).
ANPO: It’s the classic horror formula, really. It’s always the girls who survive in the end (laughs).
SETO: I wonder if Leon's the character women like best (laughs). Actually, I was staking out a store on the release day of DarkChro. I was wondering what kind of people would buy it, and quite a few girls were buying it. And they were a bit shy about it, too. They’d come running up, grab it quickly, and dash off in a hurry.
EVERYONE: (roaring laughter)
SETO: Several people bought it that way. Since they were girls, I guess they must really like the characters (laughs).
ANPO: The characters have been getting cooler and cooler, haven’t they?
SETO: Yes, that’s right (laughs).
ANPO: Along with the evolution of the hardware. The polygon Chris from the early days... well, looking at him now, he’s a bit... (laughs).
SETO: But back then, he looked cool, didn’t he? Really cool.
——Let’s talk about BIO's future.
SETO: I’m currently working on Operation Raccoon City. It’s a third-person shooter set in the worlds of 2&3, with Raccoon City as the setting. I really want to focus on this location. As a spin-off, it features the events and era of 2&3, but I think the sense of horror is quite different from UmChro or DarkChro. It’s kind of like having a similar theme but a different game. If anything, it’s told from the perspective of evil, so in that sense, it may be the most different BIO title yet. I’m creating it with a strong desire not to betray what the fans hold dear, so I hope you’ll look forward to it.
ANPO: Creating the main series really takes a long time every time. It inevitably takes years, three or four years. During that time, I hope fans can enjoy BIO from a slightly different angle with spin-offs like Operation Raccoon City. As a fan, the wait's tough, isn’t it?
SETO: You'll graduate from school by then (laughs).
ANPO: Exactly (laughs). It'd be great if we could find a way to keep fans engaged over a shorter timeframe. For example, I think it might be good to have different approaches, some aimed at core fans and others at casual players.
SETO: It’s really tough on the development side (laughs), but I want to continue the series by carefully preserving the BIO world while constantly trying new things and creating fun games. I’m willing to spare no effort to make that happen.
PLANNERS' RECOLLECTIONS (p.072-075)
Kazunori Kadoi
1, Veronica, Outbreak, Outbreak File 2, 5 – Enemy and room planning & balance adjustments (level design, battle design) & some player-related specifications / and others
Jiro Taoka
5, 5AE – Mainly planning / and others
——Kadoi-san, you’ve been involved since 1, haven’t you?
KADOI: Yes, I joined the 1 team as a planner, contributing ideas and adjusting levels and balance. To be specific, for example, I thought about making it possible to clear the game using only a knife. Since ammo's limited, if you ran out of bullets, you wouldn't be able to clear the game, so I thought about making it possible to clear it with just a knife. I don’t think the average person would attempt it, it's incredibly difficult (laughs).
——It became famous among fans as the ultimate challenge run, but it was actually your idea, Kadoi-san.
KADOI: Yeah. I never imagined the knife clear would get such widespread attention. Among some hardcore fans, there was even talk like, "Was this an element you planned from the start?" At that time, I was happy to say, "Yeah, I did plan it!" and just gloated to myself...
TAOKA: (laughs)
KADOI: So, I was the first person in the world to pull off a "knife clear."
EVERYONE: Whoa!
——Really!? Didn’t that feat become known within the team?
KADOI: No, I just quietly celebrated to myself, thinking, "Yes!" (laughs). Back then, I didn't think fans would emerge who'd pursue the knife clear to such extremes. It's a game that enjoys tormenting players in a satisfying way, after all (laughs). We deliberately included things you wouldn’t normally see in a game, like item restrictions, running out of ammo, and enemy placement, but to be honest, I was anxious, wondering, "Is this really okay? Is it safe to do this?" The director at the time told me, "This is fine," and I was surprised fans took it exactly as he said they would.
——What was your first experience with the series, Taoka-san?
TAOKA: My first BIO was the first one Kadoi-san made, I used to play it in the club room at university. The club room had a TV and a game console, so I’d play by myself or we’d all get excited watching someone else play.
KADOI: What club were you in?
TAOKA: The magic club, as it happens (laughs). Back then, I never would've imagined I’d end up joining CAPCOM and making BIO. After joining the company and working on other titles, I was wondering where to go next, and it just so happened they were short on BIO project staff. I felt it'd be rewarding and broaden my professional scope, so I joined.
TAOKA: Actually, I’ve recently been replaying BIO1&2 extensively. Back when I was a student, a lot of horror games were starting to come out, and I played through them all, but I really think BIO's well-made and fun.
KADOI: I remember learning a lot about how to scare people when I worked on BIO1. After all, BIO's all about seriously scaring the player.
TAOKA: Especially in BIO2, the scene in the police station library where the floor gives way, that was terrifying...
KADOI: Huh!? Really? That’s my favorite scary scene in the whole series, too.
TAOKA: It really takes you by surprise, doesn’t it? The sound volume's insanely loud, too (laughs).
KADOI: Exactly. There's no enemy in sight, not even a hint of danger, you’re just walking normally through an empty space, when suddenly the floor gives way and you plummet down with a thud. It catches you completely off guard.
TAOKA: It's totally unexpected. A complete ambush (laughs). ...It’s more about the shock than the horror, really (laughs).
TAOKA: Yes. It's fun to create while thinking about all these things, including how to startle the player. Like, "Let's have players do this kind of thing in this room," or "Let's make them feel this way." It really makes me feel like, "I'm making a game," and that’s incredibly fun.
KADOI: Yeah, definitely. With things like card keys or square cranks, whether you call it a BIO-style obsession or a standard trope, sometimes we just throw them in on a whim. There’s a certain BIO-style vibe we aim for, but if we stray from that, people say, "That's not right." Everyone has their own unique sense of what BIO is.
TAOKA: That's right. Since it's a title supported by so many fans, there are people who love the whole series, as well as fans of 1, 2 & 3, and fans of 4&5. Even among the creators, though we're all developers, the titles we’ve worked on differ. Everyone has their own memories of BIO, and each person’s "sense of BIO" is, in a way, correct. However, there are plenty of points where our views don't align... Ultimately, we all share the same goal of creating a great BIO, so we have to skillfully incorporate everyone’s opinions while shaping it into a vision of "this is what the new BIO is."
KADOI: We have a lot of fans overseas, so there's a real sense of fulfillment in working on a global scale... but on the flip side, we can't afford to fail, so the pressure's immense.
KADOI: The series has grown, but fundamentally, the nature of our work hasn't changed much. We create something, have someone play it, fix it if it's confusing, or simplify if it's too difficult, trial and error's still a frequent part of the process.
——Even if the content's the same, doesn’t the passage of 15 years affect your approach and development methods?
KADOI: That's true. In terms of development, we used to draw maps on paper, but now we build everything directly in 3D tools. The act of thinking is basically the same, though. It's just that with older games, there was a barrier of what was technically impossible...
TAOKA: Exactly. Even with elements we didn’t consciously treat as "game symbols" back then, the more realistic the graphics become and the closer they get to reality, the more important the necessity and reasoning behind the mechanics become. Since we can do more now, it feels like we can do just about anything.
KADOI: We've evolved to the point where we can usually recreate specific scenes from a movie or images in our heads. If you set your mind to it, you could create an infinite number of things, but that's precisely why it's so important to know when to draw the line.
TAOKA: It's true, we can do so much more now than we used to. For example, we can spawn as many creatures as needed.
KADOI: That's right. Back in the early days, we had to rack our brains just to make two or three look like a crowd. Now we can easily place ten.
TAOKA: It's not just about making something that looks the part, we have to make it for real. Artists and programmers are now able to depict all sorts of things tailored to the hardware specs. If you're willing to do it, anything's possible. It's tough, though. There's truly no end to it every day (laughs).
KADOI: And it's not just about "It looks like a movie, that's nice"... well, we used to get praised for that back in the day, but now it's not that kind of compliment anymore. It's become a situation where we're expected to "surpass movies."
——So it’s not just about pursuing realism.
TAOKA: BIO isn't the real world, of course, but it's not a fantasy where magic exists either. There are rules unique to BIO. In BIO-Real terms, deciding what’s "OK" and what’s "out", drawing those lines and interpreting them, is another complicated part of it.
KADOI: That's the first time I've heard the term "BIO-Real" (laughs).
TAOKA: Basically, it's about whether something's allowed or not within the BIO world. Wesker moving at high speeds is obviously impossible in the real world. Is it allowed or not? Actually, we already did that in Veronica, so it's "allowed." That's one example of BIO-Real.
KADOI: I see.
TAOKA: Before BIO5, I didn’t really understand how herbs were used (laughs). I wanted to depict how they're used, but no matter how much I researched, I couldn't figure out if they were eaten, applied topically, or inhaled, I just couldn't figure out how they were actually used.
KADOI: (laughs)
TAOKA: Even though I didn't know, for BIO5, I settled on the idea of using them by spraying them. So now the question becomes, "Is using a spray okay or not?" Of course, staff members will have different interpretations, but from a BIO perspective, I think it's becoming "acceptable." When we were making 2, we probably didn't expect Leon to become so cool and perform even more acrobatic moves in 4, and I doubt anyone could've imagined Chris from 1 becoming this muscular.
——Embracing change and carrying it forward.
TAOKA: Yes. Even as it evolves, BIO must continue to preserve its historical continuity. If we were to create a setting that says, "Actually, it used to be like this," that would end up overturning BIO's history up to this point. It’s important for our work to research the past BIO games.
KADOI: As time passes, the people making the games change, too.
TAOKA: With so many titles out there, we absolutely need someone to verify how much consistency's being maintained.
KADOI: While cherishing the history, we also try to lean more toward action games, like in 4.
TAOKA: That's right. I don't think there are many series with this level of continuity and such a wide variety of titles.
——You’re weaving the history of the game while weaving the history of BIO itself.
KADOI: Exactly, that’s exactly it.
TAOKA: In that regard, you know the process of bringing out BIO's essence, and above all, you have a high level of skill in game design, so I was really grateful for your help.
KADOI: Why're you praising me so much? (laughs)
TAOKA: It's just how I honestly feel. (laughs)
1, Veronica, Outbreak, Outbreak File 2, 5 – Enemy and room planning & balance adjustments (level design, battle design) & some player-related specifications / and others
Jiro Taoka
5, 5AE – Mainly planning / and others
——Kadoi-san, you’ve been involved since 1, haven’t you?
KADOI: Yes, I joined the 1 team as a planner, contributing ideas and adjusting levels and balance. To be specific, for example, I thought about making it possible to clear the game using only a knife. Since ammo's limited, if you ran out of bullets, you wouldn't be able to clear the game, so I thought about making it possible to clear it with just a knife. I don’t think the average person would attempt it, it's incredibly difficult (laughs).
——It became famous among fans as the ultimate challenge run, but it was actually your idea, Kadoi-san.
KADOI: Yeah. I never imagined the knife clear would get such widespread attention. Among some hardcore fans, there was even talk like, "Was this an element you planned from the start?" At that time, I was happy to say, "Yeah, I did plan it!" and just gloated to myself...
TAOKA: (laughs)
KADOI: So, I was the first person in the world to pull off a "knife clear."
EVERYONE: Whoa!
——Really!? Didn’t that feat become known within the team?
KADOI: No, I just quietly celebrated to myself, thinking, "Yes!" (laughs). Back then, I didn't think fans would emerge who'd pursue the knife clear to such extremes. It's a game that enjoys tormenting players in a satisfying way, after all (laughs). We deliberately included things you wouldn’t normally see in a game, like item restrictions, running out of ammo, and enemy placement, but to be honest, I was anxious, wondering, "Is this really okay? Is it safe to do this?" The director at the time told me, "This is fine," and I was surprised fans took it exactly as he said they would.
——What was your first experience with the series, Taoka-san?
TAOKA: My first BIO was the first one Kadoi-san made, I used to play it in the club room at university. The club room had a TV and a game console, so I’d play by myself or we’d all get excited watching someone else play.
KADOI: What club were you in?
TAOKA: The magic club, as it happens (laughs). Back then, I never would've imagined I’d end up joining CAPCOM and making BIO. After joining the company and working on other titles, I was wondering where to go next, and it just so happened they were short on BIO project staff. I felt it'd be rewarding and broaden my professional scope, so I joined.
TAOKA: Actually, I’ve recently been replaying BIO1&2 extensively. Back when I was a student, a lot of horror games were starting to come out, and I played through them all, but I really think BIO's well-made and fun.
KADOI: I remember learning a lot about how to scare people when I worked on BIO1. After all, BIO's all about seriously scaring the player.
TAOKA: Especially in BIO2, the scene in the police station library where the floor gives way, that was terrifying...
KADOI: Huh!? Really? That’s my favorite scary scene in the whole series, too.
TAOKA: It really takes you by surprise, doesn’t it? The sound volume's insanely loud, too (laughs).
KADOI: Exactly. There's no enemy in sight, not even a hint of danger, you’re just walking normally through an empty space, when suddenly the floor gives way and you plummet down with a thud. It catches you completely off guard.
TAOKA: It's totally unexpected. A complete ambush (laughs). ...It’s more about the shock than the horror, really (laughs).
TAOKA: Yes. It's fun to create while thinking about all these things, including how to startle the player. Like, "Let's have players do this kind of thing in this room," or "Let's make them feel this way." It really makes me feel like, "I'm making a game," and that’s incredibly fun.
KADOI: Yeah, definitely. With things like card keys or square cranks, whether you call it a BIO-style obsession or a standard trope, sometimes we just throw them in on a whim. There’s a certain BIO-style vibe we aim for, but if we stray from that, people say, "That's not right." Everyone has their own unique sense of what BIO is.
TAOKA: That's right. Since it's a title supported by so many fans, there are people who love the whole series, as well as fans of 1, 2 & 3, and fans of 4&5. Even among the creators, though we're all developers, the titles we’ve worked on differ. Everyone has their own memories of BIO, and each person’s "sense of BIO" is, in a way, correct. However, there are plenty of points where our views don't align... Ultimately, we all share the same goal of creating a great BIO, so we have to skillfully incorporate everyone’s opinions while shaping it into a vision of "this is what the new BIO is."
KADOI: We have a lot of fans overseas, so there's a real sense of fulfillment in working on a global scale... but on the flip side, we can't afford to fail, so the pressure's immense.
KADOI: The series has grown, but fundamentally, the nature of our work hasn't changed much. We create something, have someone play it, fix it if it's confusing, or simplify if it's too difficult, trial and error's still a frequent part of the process.
——Even if the content's the same, doesn’t the passage of 15 years affect your approach and development methods?
KADOI: That's true. In terms of development, we used to draw maps on paper, but now we build everything directly in 3D tools. The act of thinking is basically the same, though. It's just that with older games, there was a barrier of what was technically impossible...
TAOKA: Exactly. Even with elements we didn’t consciously treat as "game symbols" back then, the more realistic the graphics become and the closer they get to reality, the more important the necessity and reasoning behind the mechanics become. Since we can do more now, it feels like we can do just about anything.
KADOI: We've evolved to the point where we can usually recreate specific scenes from a movie or images in our heads. If you set your mind to it, you could create an infinite number of things, but that's precisely why it's so important to know when to draw the line.
TAOKA: It's true, we can do so much more now than we used to. For example, we can spawn as many creatures as needed.
KADOI: That's right. Back in the early days, we had to rack our brains just to make two or three look like a crowd. Now we can easily place ten.
TAOKA: It's not just about making something that looks the part, we have to make it for real. Artists and programmers are now able to depict all sorts of things tailored to the hardware specs. If you're willing to do it, anything's possible. It's tough, though. There's truly no end to it every day (laughs).
KADOI: And it's not just about "It looks like a movie, that's nice"... well, we used to get praised for that back in the day, but now it's not that kind of compliment anymore. It's become a situation where we're expected to "surpass movies."
——So it’s not just about pursuing realism.
TAOKA: BIO isn't the real world, of course, but it's not a fantasy where magic exists either. There are rules unique to BIO. In BIO-Real terms, deciding what’s "OK" and what’s "out", drawing those lines and interpreting them, is another complicated part of it.
KADOI: That's the first time I've heard the term "BIO-Real" (laughs).
TAOKA: Basically, it's about whether something's allowed or not within the BIO world. Wesker moving at high speeds is obviously impossible in the real world. Is it allowed or not? Actually, we already did that in Veronica, so it's "allowed." That's one example of BIO-Real.
KADOI: I see.
TAOKA: Before BIO5, I didn’t really understand how herbs were used (laughs). I wanted to depict how they're used, but no matter how much I researched, I couldn't figure out if they were eaten, applied topically, or inhaled, I just couldn't figure out how they were actually used.
KADOI: (laughs)
TAOKA: Even though I didn't know, for BIO5, I settled on the idea of using them by spraying them. So now the question becomes, "Is using a spray okay or not?" Of course, staff members will have different interpretations, but from a BIO perspective, I think it's becoming "acceptable." When we were making 2, we probably didn't expect Leon to become so cool and perform even more acrobatic moves in 4, and I doubt anyone could've imagined Chris from 1 becoming this muscular.
——Embracing change and carrying it forward.
TAOKA: Yes. Even as it evolves, BIO must continue to preserve its historical continuity. If we were to create a setting that says, "Actually, it used to be like this," that would end up overturning BIO's history up to this point. It’s important for our work to research the past BIO games.
KADOI: As time passes, the people making the games change, too.
TAOKA: With so many titles out there, we absolutely need someone to verify how much consistency's being maintained.
KADOI: While cherishing the history, we also try to lean more toward action games, like in 4.
TAOKA: That's right. I don't think there are many series with this level of continuity and such a wide variety of titles.
——You’re weaving the history of the game while weaving the history of BIO itself.
KADOI: Exactly, that’s exactly it.
TAOKA: In that regard, you know the process of bringing out BIO's essence, and above all, you have a high level of skill in game design, so I was really grateful for your help.
KADOI: Why're you praising me so much? (laughs)
TAOKA: It's just how I honestly feel. (laughs)
DESIGNERS' RECOLLECTIONS (p.076-081)
Yoshizumi Hori
Background Designer
Remake 1, 4, 5, 5AE (backgrounds); Revelations, Mercenaries 3D (backgrounds, art direction); and others
Yoshinori Matsushita
Creature Designer
2, 3, Remake 1, 0, 4, 5 (enemy design, enemy modeling); and others
Yosuke Yamagata
Player Designer
Porting work for 4 & Production of Ashley's bonus outfit / Main character design & player modeling for 5 / and others
Kazumasa Kuroda
Effect Designer
Effects & enemy design for 4 / Effects for 5 / and others
——Please tell us about your first encounter with BIO.
KURODA: 1 was 15 years ago, wasn't it? Hori-san, you got involved pretty early on, didn't you?
HORI: Actually, I didn't know anything about BIO until I joined CAPCOM.
KURODA: Huh!?
MATSUSHITA: You found out after you joined!?
HORI: Exactly. When I joined, Mikami-san, who was my interviewer, asked me, "Are you familiar with BIO?" and I replied, "What's that?" (laughs).
KURODA: "What's that"... (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Which installment of the series was out when you joined?
HORI: I think it was before BIO3 had come out yet... Well, I'm surprised they hired me after I said, "Don't know it. What's that?" (laughs). Anyway, I worked on other titles for a while then joined the team behind the scenes starting with BIO4 and the BIO1 Remake.
——What about Matsushita-san who handles creature design, and Yamagata-san, who handles player design?
MATSUSHITA: This was before I joined the company, but a friend recommended it to me. I was already a horror fan, so I bought 1 along with a PS.
YAMAGATA: When I was at another company, I saw 1 in a magazine. I loved the special forces genre and CAPCOM games, so I thought, "I gotta buy this!" (laughs). I heard you could shoot Zombies, so I had really high expectations.
——What about Kuroda from the Effects team?
KURODA: I'm the newest member here, but back then I was working at a game store.
MATSUSHITA: Is that where you first heard about BIO1?
KURODA: Yes. I'll never forget that time. Since it was a rare horror-themed game from CAPCOM, the buzz was huge and we had a lot of pre-orders, but usually, not everyone who pre-orders actually comes to the store on release day, right? But with BIO1, every single person who pre-ordered came in on release day.
EVERYONE: Wow!
KURODA: That had never happened before at that store.
EVERYONE: Woah!!
KURODA: That piqued my interest, so I decided to play it to see what it was like.
YAMAGATA: I can totally relate to how excited customers were. It was so fun I played it a ton, but it was genuinely scary. It even showed up in my dreams.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
YAMAGATA: Since I could only play late at night after getting home from work, it was scary when it was quiet. So even in the middle of summer, I'd cover myself with a blanket, leave the room lights and the radio on (laughs), and play while trembling with fear. It was a type of game that didn't exist back then, so I was completely absorbed in it.
MATSUSHITA: I love horror, so to make it even scarier, I actually turned the lights off to play (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KURODA: I played at night too, but if I'm going to play, I want to beat it, right? But every night, I'd hesitate. Should I play tonight or not...? Like, “It’s still scary,” or “If I don't really go for it tonight, I'll lose my motivation” (laughs).
YAMAGATA: I totally get that feeling of losing your nerve (laughs).
HORI: Back in the day, we used to turn off the lights to test things during development, didn't we?
MATSUSHITA: Yeah, we’d dim the room to test it.
HORI: We'd even do it at night. It was scary, a real place of terror (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
HORI: We were the ones making it, and we'd say, "This is scary, this is bad," while we were working on it (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Director Mikami told us back then that "being scary" was the most important thing. Since it's a zombie game, it's easy to immediately think of gory imagery, and while a certain level of grossness is necessary to make players want to stay away, we were warned that having eyeballs dangling or guts spilling out more than necessary isn’t the kind of fear BIO's aiming for. We're careful to keep it within the bounds of what’s appropriate as a game element.
——That’s BIO's unique sense of fear, isn’t it?
HORI: We're conscious that if it crosses over into outright revulsion, it wouldn't feel right for the players.
MATSUSHITA: That's right. Finding that balance is...
HORI: We try not to go for extreme gore. Even when designing stages, we avoid making them all bloody and messy (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Though, personally, I do love horror... (laughs).
HORI: I get it. In Matsushita's case, I totally get it (laughs).
KURODA: We do try to avoid visuals that trigger a physical sense of revulsion. When you're working on it, you get desensitized, and things just keep getting more and more over-the-top.
HORI: Exactly. It creates a kind of inflation.
MATSUSHITA: With the creatures, we tried to avoid mixing in anything too mechanical. Fear feels more intense when it's something familiar, so if something too unrealistic appears, it starts to feel different from BIO's horror. With horror movies, once they gain a certain level of popularity, they sometimes veer into sci-fi territory, but by then, it's already heading in a direction that isn't scary anymore...
HORI: That's right. Going into space is a no-go.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
——When it comes to character design, what specific considerations are unique to the BIO series?
YAMAGATA: I joined the team as a character designer starting with BIO5, but I've played every game in the series. Personally, I think the direction shifted with BIO1 Remake. The way the character designs were rendered even more realistically had a huge impact on me, I felt a deep sense of respect and thought it was brilliant. I wondered if this was BIO's true essence, so I tried to approach BIO5 with that same mindset. I wanted to create models that properly convey the characters' personalities while preserving the image cultivated over those 15 long years.
——The character portrayals in BIO have become more deeply developed with each installment, haven't they?
YAMAGATA: The work itself is rather mundane, but game characters have to be flashy, especially the protagonist. In Japan, I think there's some demand for game-like characters, anime-style designs, and manga-style expressions, but if you go all out with those elements, you lose realism. So I strive to create designs that're convincing while striking a balance between them.
MATSUSHITA: In horror movies, the story usually falls apart if the protagonist's too strong. Like there's absolutely nothing to worry about (laughs).
YAMAGATA: It's the same with BIO. You can't have someone who easily beats up Zombies and powerful enemies... but at the same time, you can't make the protagonist too weak either. After all, he's a hero. Since BIO4 leaned more toward action, Leon's combat prowess...
MATSUSHITA: Skyrocketed (laughs).
YAMAGATA: I think 5's shifting toward a more heroic feel as well. Not weak, but there's still realism. Realism's the core after all.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah.
KURODA: Although if you focus too much on realism, your thinking gets too narrow, so in the initial stages, just go all out, even if it feels like you’re overdoing it.
YAMAGATA: Yeah, yeah (laughs).
KURODA: Then we adjust from there. For example, if we focus too much on realistic explosions, they all end up looking really dull (laughs). In those cases, we free up our thinking to an "anything goes" mindset, create freely, then carefully refine it from there. That’s the approach we try to take.
——When working on BIO, what moments make you feel happy or enjoy the process?
KURODA: Since the production period's long, things often change along the way, but when we can directly realize the vision we initially aimed for, it’s purely satisfying. It feels great and makes me happy when it succeeds exactly at the moment we intended.
HORI: Ah, I see. A while back, I adapted an idea proposed by one of the team leaders, and they told me, "This is better, isn't it?" I was like, "Yes!"
KURODA: I've had that too. You get that sense it's actually become even better.
HORI: Exactly.
YAMAGATA: The creative bar's set incredibly high, so when you finally clear it, there's this sense of fulfillment, like, "Yes!"
MATSUSHITA: That's right. I'm fully aware the bar has to be high.
YAMAGATA: That's the tough part, but everyone's working with that mindset.
HORI: Exactly. We've never released a title where we were satisfied with ourselves and compromised by saying, "This is good enough."
MATSUSHITA: Not a single one, right?
YAMAGATA: The pressure's intense, whether it's creating a global title or living up to fans' passionate expectations, but I think it's great there’s always a BIO game out there with high-quality graphics to play. It's a title I love myself.
KURODA: I was also happy when I saw customers at a game store staring intently at the trailer for BIO5 playing on the screen.
HORI: Oh, I know exactly what you mean.
MATSUSHITA: I'm really happy when the designs and models I've created start moving so vividly. During the pre-effects phase, things inevitably end up looking a bit stiff. I work while imagining how they'll actually move around and what the final visuals will look like, but there are still many parts I can't see yet. As the animations gradually come together and effects are added, it feels like life's being breathed into them as living creatures, it's amazing. That's the fun part.
YAMAGATA: That's right. When the motion team adds cool poses and movements, applies various effects, and the lighting and post-effects team finishes the whole scene so it looks beautiful and polished, I realize, "Wow, what I created can look this good." The final result often exceeds my expectations, so the anxiety I felt while creating it disappears and I feel relieved. At the same time, I'm happy to have contributed and just think, "This is great."
KURODA: It's something I couldn't do on my own. It feels amazing when everything comes together to produce a great result.
MATSUSHITA: The enemies really get a lot of help from the effects team (laughs).
KURODA: Seriously?!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
MATSUSHITA: Up until now, the process has mostly been that we'd create something first, and then the effects team would polish it up. But as specs continue to improve, I feel like we're entering an era where we'll be designing with effects in mind from the very beginning.
KURODA: We're actually working with a similar approach right now. For example, in the early stages, the team members responsible for effects, model animation, and motion capture for a single character all gather together. We have detailed discussions about which parts should be created with effects and which parts should be supplemented with motion. It used to be a more assembly-line process, modeling, animation, then effects, but now we're creating everything holistically. Of course, there's someone directing the process, but the team members really clash ideas to solidify our vision.
YAMAGATA: Aligning our visions is pretty tough. But if we don't do it, things end up feeling disjointed. The vision, or rather, the overall concept, ends up leaning too much toward fantasy...
MATSUSHITA: Yeah. It's a title that walks that fine line between realism and fantasy.
HORI: When it comes to stages, I start by talking with the director and the planners. We begin by asking, "What do you want to achieve? How do you want players to experience this?"
YAMAGATA: Is there interaction with other team members as well?
HORI: Effects too of course. We often give them specific requests like, "Do it this way." Or, "Make this part stand out!" I'm always sorry about that, Kuroda-kun (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KURODA: No, no, I get it. Whether it's backgrounds or effects, we each have our own ideas we want to push, so we clash. If we compromise and end up with a limited design, our ideas and expressions don't expand. I think the best results come when we don't draw lines, but keep pushing and pushing until we collide. It's kind of like a battle for memory space (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
HORI: Both the effects and the background animations have gotten heavier. Since Remake 1 has a flipbook-style animation feel, we have to consider things like how many frames to use and how to depict it due to memory constraints.
KURODA: Lately, the backgrounds have become much more detailed, so I can tell Hori-san and the team are having a tough time. The movements have gotten bigger, and since there are more characters, the stages have naturally gotten larger.
——I wonder how far the stages will go...
HORI: We won't go all the way to space, though (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
MATSUSHITA: As Kuroda-kun mentioned, the stages have gotten larger, with the games shifting toward a faster-paced style. The old BIO games had a static, slow tempo, but with the times, we've shifted toward more active gameplay. Naturally, enemy designs have evolved to allow for active movement over a wider range, so we've incorporated elements where physical effects come alive through their movements.
HORI: Since the gameplay's changed, the design's inevitably changed as well.
KURODA: Even just a slight increase in walking or running speed changes the tempo.
HORI: Exactly, exactly.
KURODA: So, there are a lot of aspects influenced by gameplay, like deciding to emphasize characters a bit more, or realizing buildings and effects need to be larger to be noticeable.
HORI: Yeah. We were designing maps for 4, and right-angle turns are really tricky. That’s because the gameplay changed, which in turn changed the controls. So we designed the maps to minimize right angles. The impact of adapting the design to the game is huge.
KURODA: With 4, there was a strong desire to fundamentally revamp the series, so I think we tried out all sorts of things.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah. Everyone was experimenting with different approaches.
KURODA: As a series continues, the style of presentation tends to become fixed, and it gradually loses its appeal. We also wanted to expand our audience beyond just the core fans. Starting with 4, the series shifted a bit more toward entertainment.
MATSUSHITA: We changed the direction, but we still tried to keep it cohesive as a horror game.
HORI: That's right. There’s always that feeling in development that it's pointless to keep doing the same thing. But fans don't necessarily want a 180-degree shift, it's a delicate balance. That's an eternal theme. It's difficult.
KURODA: Yes. If we change things even a little, fans from the very first game will say, "This isn't BIO!" (laughs). Figuring out that balance... it's a struggle. If we just keep things the same, we won't evolve. I think if we don't push forward with the mindset of constantly creating a new horror genre while successfully maintaining BIO's unique tension as a horror game, we'll lose our way, so that's the approach we try to take.
——Breaking down BIO to evolve. I suppose that's BIO's destiny.
HORI: With 4, we really struggled to break down that BIO framework. It took a long time.
YAMAGATA: It takes courage to break things down, I suppose.
MATSUSHITA: That's right. It feels like we rebuilt it over and over again until it finally became BIO4.
YAMAGATA: Games and trends are constantly changing, hardware specs keep improving, so we have to keep evolving. But even as we change, we have to preserve the unique atmosphere and quality standards of the BIO franchise. The bar keeps getting higher, and always thinking about what's next... it's exhausting, though.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah.
HORI: Well then, young Kuroda, you're on your own!
EVERYONE: (bursts into laughter)
KURODA: Since the games are becoming so intricate, there's a limit to how much trial and error we can do, so it'll be difficult to redo things multiple times from now on. Personally, while I'm committed to creating incredibly realistic visuals, I also want to pursue the sensory horror of the genre. I think we need to explore more ways to express this, since things like camera angles and seamless transitions can really heighten the tension and fear.
——It feels like we're getting closer to movies. Actually, the tagline for an ad for 1 was "A game that transcends movies-- a spine-chilling survival horror is here!"
HORI: That's so embarrassing... (laughs).
YAMAGATA: The term "cinematic" has been used a lot since the very first game. BIO1 certainly didn't have that typical "game-like" atmosphere, it gave you the sensation of actually being there, or the kind of fear you feel in a movie, no, I feel like it delivered a fear that surpassed even movies.
HORI: I'm honored to be compared to movies, and since we've added the element of gameplay, making it interactive, I feel that once our visual expression catches up to movies, BIO will be able to surpass them. I always have that feeling.
KURODA: "A game that goes beyond movies" (laughs).
——Where do you think BIO's ultimately headed?
HORI: If we go to space, that'll be the end. The Final.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
KURODA: We'll all do our best to make sure it doesn't go to space!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
Background Designer
Remake 1, 4, 5, 5AE (backgrounds); Revelations, Mercenaries 3D (backgrounds, art direction); and others
Yoshinori Matsushita
Creature Designer
2, 3, Remake 1, 0, 4, 5 (enemy design, enemy modeling); and others
Yosuke Yamagata
Player Designer
Porting work for 4 & Production of Ashley's bonus outfit / Main character design & player modeling for 5 / and others
Kazumasa Kuroda
Effect Designer
Effects & enemy design for 4 / Effects for 5 / and others
——Please tell us about your first encounter with BIO.
KURODA: 1 was 15 years ago, wasn't it? Hori-san, you got involved pretty early on, didn't you?
HORI: Actually, I didn't know anything about BIO until I joined CAPCOM.
KURODA: Huh!?
MATSUSHITA: You found out after you joined!?
HORI: Exactly. When I joined, Mikami-san, who was my interviewer, asked me, "Are you familiar with BIO?" and I replied, "What's that?" (laughs).
KURODA: "What's that"... (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Which installment of the series was out when you joined?
HORI: I think it was before BIO3 had come out yet... Well, I'm surprised they hired me after I said, "Don't know it. What's that?" (laughs). Anyway, I worked on other titles for a while then joined the team behind the scenes starting with BIO4 and the BIO1 Remake.
——What about Matsushita-san who handles creature design, and Yamagata-san, who handles player design?
MATSUSHITA: This was before I joined the company, but a friend recommended it to me. I was already a horror fan, so I bought 1 along with a PS.
YAMAGATA: When I was at another company, I saw 1 in a magazine. I loved the special forces genre and CAPCOM games, so I thought, "I gotta buy this!" (laughs). I heard you could shoot Zombies, so I had really high expectations.
——What about Kuroda from the Effects team?
KURODA: I'm the newest member here, but back then I was working at a game store.
MATSUSHITA: Is that where you first heard about BIO1?
KURODA: Yes. I'll never forget that time. Since it was a rare horror-themed game from CAPCOM, the buzz was huge and we had a lot of pre-orders, but usually, not everyone who pre-orders actually comes to the store on release day, right? But with BIO1, every single person who pre-ordered came in on release day.
EVERYONE: Wow!
KURODA: That had never happened before at that store.
EVERYONE: Woah!!
KURODA: That piqued my interest, so I decided to play it to see what it was like.
YAMAGATA: I can totally relate to how excited customers were. It was so fun I played it a ton, but it was genuinely scary. It even showed up in my dreams.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
YAMAGATA: Since I could only play late at night after getting home from work, it was scary when it was quiet. So even in the middle of summer, I'd cover myself with a blanket, leave the room lights and the radio on (laughs), and play while trembling with fear. It was a type of game that didn't exist back then, so I was completely absorbed in it.
MATSUSHITA: I love horror, so to make it even scarier, I actually turned the lights off to play (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KURODA: I played at night too, but if I'm going to play, I want to beat it, right? But every night, I'd hesitate. Should I play tonight or not...? Like, “It’s still scary,” or “If I don't really go for it tonight, I'll lose my motivation” (laughs).
YAMAGATA: I totally get that feeling of losing your nerve (laughs).
HORI: Back in the day, we used to turn off the lights to test things during development, didn't we?
MATSUSHITA: Yeah, we’d dim the room to test it.
HORI: We'd even do it at night. It was scary, a real place of terror (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
HORI: We were the ones making it, and we'd say, "This is scary, this is bad," while we were working on it (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Director Mikami told us back then that "being scary" was the most important thing. Since it's a zombie game, it's easy to immediately think of gory imagery, and while a certain level of grossness is necessary to make players want to stay away, we were warned that having eyeballs dangling or guts spilling out more than necessary isn’t the kind of fear BIO's aiming for. We're careful to keep it within the bounds of what’s appropriate as a game element.
——That’s BIO's unique sense of fear, isn’t it?
HORI: We're conscious that if it crosses over into outright revulsion, it wouldn't feel right for the players.
MATSUSHITA: That's right. Finding that balance is...
HORI: We try not to go for extreme gore. Even when designing stages, we avoid making them all bloody and messy (laughs).
MATSUSHITA: Though, personally, I do love horror... (laughs).
HORI: I get it. In Matsushita's case, I totally get it (laughs).
KURODA: We do try to avoid visuals that trigger a physical sense of revulsion. When you're working on it, you get desensitized, and things just keep getting more and more over-the-top.
HORI: Exactly. It creates a kind of inflation.
MATSUSHITA: With the creatures, we tried to avoid mixing in anything too mechanical. Fear feels more intense when it's something familiar, so if something too unrealistic appears, it starts to feel different from BIO's horror. With horror movies, once they gain a certain level of popularity, they sometimes veer into sci-fi territory, but by then, it's already heading in a direction that isn't scary anymore...
HORI: That's right. Going into space is a no-go.
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
——When it comes to character design, what specific considerations are unique to the BIO series?
YAMAGATA: I joined the team as a character designer starting with BIO5, but I've played every game in the series. Personally, I think the direction shifted with BIO1 Remake. The way the character designs were rendered even more realistically had a huge impact on me, I felt a deep sense of respect and thought it was brilliant. I wondered if this was BIO's true essence, so I tried to approach BIO5 with that same mindset. I wanted to create models that properly convey the characters' personalities while preserving the image cultivated over those 15 long years.
——The character portrayals in BIO have become more deeply developed with each installment, haven't they?
YAMAGATA: The work itself is rather mundane, but game characters have to be flashy, especially the protagonist. In Japan, I think there's some demand for game-like characters, anime-style designs, and manga-style expressions, but if you go all out with those elements, you lose realism. So I strive to create designs that're convincing while striking a balance between them.
MATSUSHITA: In horror movies, the story usually falls apart if the protagonist's too strong. Like there's absolutely nothing to worry about (laughs).
YAMAGATA: It's the same with BIO. You can't have someone who easily beats up Zombies and powerful enemies... but at the same time, you can't make the protagonist too weak either. After all, he's a hero. Since BIO4 leaned more toward action, Leon's combat prowess...
MATSUSHITA: Skyrocketed (laughs).
YAMAGATA: I think 5's shifting toward a more heroic feel as well. Not weak, but there's still realism. Realism's the core after all.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah.
KURODA: Although if you focus too much on realism, your thinking gets too narrow, so in the initial stages, just go all out, even if it feels like you’re overdoing it.
YAMAGATA: Yeah, yeah (laughs).
KURODA: Then we adjust from there. For example, if we focus too much on realistic explosions, they all end up looking really dull (laughs). In those cases, we free up our thinking to an "anything goes" mindset, create freely, then carefully refine it from there. That’s the approach we try to take.
——When working on BIO, what moments make you feel happy or enjoy the process?
KURODA: Since the production period's long, things often change along the way, but when we can directly realize the vision we initially aimed for, it’s purely satisfying. It feels great and makes me happy when it succeeds exactly at the moment we intended.
HORI: Ah, I see. A while back, I adapted an idea proposed by one of the team leaders, and they told me, "This is better, isn't it?" I was like, "Yes!"
KURODA: I've had that too. You get that sense it's actually become even better.
HORI: Exactly.
YAMAGATA: The creative bar's set incredibly high, so when you finally clear it, there's this sense of fulfillment, like, "Yes!"
MATSUSHITA: That's right. I'm fully aware the bar has to be high.
YAMAGATA: That's the tough part, but everyone's working with that mindset.
HORI: Exactly. We've never released a title where we were satisfied with ourselves and compromised by saying, "This is good enough."
MATSUSHITA: Not a single one, right?
YAMAGATA: The pressure's intense, whether it's creating a global title or living up to fans' passionate expectations, but I think it's great there’s always a BIO game out there with high-quality graphics to play. It's a title I love myself.
KURODA: I was also happy when I saw customers at a game store staring intently at the trailer for BIO5 playing on the screen.
HORI: Oh, I know exactly what you mean.
MATSUSHITA: I'm really happy when the designs and models I've created start moving so vividly. During the pre-effects phase, things inevitably end up looking a bit stiff. I work while imagining how they'll actually move around and what the final visuals will look like, but there are still many parts I can't see yet. As the animations gradually come together and effects are added, it feels like life's being breathed into them as living creatures, it's amazing. That's the fun part.
YAMAGATA: That's right. When the motion team adds cool poses and movements, applies various effects, and the lighting and post-effects team finishes the whole scene so it looks beautiful and polished, I realize, "Wow, what I created can look this good." The final result often exceeds my expectations, so the anxiety I felt while creating it disappears and I feel relieved. At the same time, I'm happy to have contributed and just think, "This is great."
KURODA: It's something I couldn't do on my own. It feels amazing when everything comes together to produce a great result.
MATSUSHITA: The enemies really get a lot of help from the effects team (laughs).
KURODA: Seriously?!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
MATSUSHITA: Up until now, the process has mostly been that we'd create something first, and then the effects team would polish it up. But as specs continue to improve, I feel like we're entering an era where we'll be designing with effects in mind from the very beginning.
KURODA: We're actually working with a similar approach right now. For example, in the early stages, the team members responsible for effects, model animation, and motion capture for a single character all gather together. We have detailed discussions about which parts should be created with effects and which parts should be supplemented with motion. It used to be a more assembly-line process, modeling, animation, then effects, but now we're creating everything holistically. Of course, there's someone directing the process, but the team members really clash ideas to solidify our vision.
YAMAGATA: Aligning our visions is pretty tough. But if we don't do it, things end up feeling disjointed. The vision, or rather, the overall concept, ends up leaning too much toward fantasy...
MATSUSHITA: Yeah. It's a title that walks that fine line between realism and fantasy.
HORI: When it comes to stages, I start by talking with the director and the planners. We begin by asking, "What do you want to achieve? How do you want players to experience this?"
YAMAGATA: Is there interaction with other team members as well?
HORI: Effects too of course. We often give them specific requests like, "Do it this way." Or, "Make this part stand out!" I'm always sorry about that, Kuroda-kun (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
KURODA: No, no, I get it. Whether it's backgrounds or effects, we each have our own ideas we want to push, so we clash. If we compromise and end up with a limited design, our ideas and expressions don't expand. I think the best results come when we don't draw lines, but keep pushing and pushing until we collide. It's kind of like a battle for memory space (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
HORI: Both the effects and the background animations have gotten heavier. Since Remake 1 has a flipbook-style animation feel, we have to consider things like how many frames to use and how to depict it due to memory constraints.
KURODA: Lately, the backgrounds have become much more detailed, so I can tell Hori-san and the team are having a tough time. The movements have gotten bigger, and since there are more characters, the stages have naturally gotten larger.
——I wonder how far the stages will go...
HORI: We won't go all the way to space, though (laughs).
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
MATSUSHITA: As Kuroda-kun mentioned, the stages have gotten larger, with the games shifting toward a faster-paced style. The old BIO games had a static, slow tempo, but with the times, we've shifted toward more active gameplay. Naturally, enemy designs have evolved to allow for active movement over a wider range, so we've incorporated elements where physical effects come alive through their movements.
HORI: Since the gameplay's changed, the design's inevitably changed as well.
KURODA: Even just a slight increase in walking or running speed changes the tempo.
HORI: Exactly, exactly.
KURODA: So, there are a lot of aspects influenced by gameplay, like deciding to emphasize characters a bit more, or realizing buildings and effects need to be larger to be noticeable.
HORI: Yeah. We were designing maps for 4, and right-angle turns are really tricky. That’s because the gameplay changed, which in turn changed the controls. So we designed the maps to minimize right angles. The impact of adapting the design to the game is huge.
KURODA: With 4, there was a strong desire to fundamentally revamp the series, so I think we tried out all sorts of things.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah. Everyone was experimenting with different approaches.
KURODA: As a series continues, the style of presentation tends to become fixed, and it gradually loses its appeal. We also wanted to expand our audience beyond just the core fans. Starting with 4, the series shifted a bit more toward entertainment.
MATSUSHITA: We changed the direction, but we still tried to keep it cohesive as a horror game.
HORI: That's right. There’s always that feeling in development that it's pointless to keep doing the same thing. But fans don't necessarily want a 180-degree shift, it's a delicate balance. That's an eternal theme. It's difficult.
KURODA: Yes. If we change things even a little, fans from the very first game will say, "This isn't BIO!" (laughs). Figuring out that balance... it's a struggle. If we just keep things the same, we won't evolve. I think if we don't push forward with the mindset of constantly creating a new horror genre while successfully maintaining BIO's unique tension as a horror game, we'll lose our way, so that's the approach we try to take.
——Breaking down BIO to evolve. I suppose that's BIO's destiny.
HORI: With 4, we really struggled to break down that BIO framework. It took a long time.
YAMAGATA: It takes courage to break things down, I suppose.
MATSUSHITA: That's right. It feels like we rebuilt it over and over again until it finally became BIO4.
YAMAGATA: Games and trends are constantly changing, hardware specs keep improving, so we have to keep evolving. But even as we change, we have to preserve the unique atmosphere and quality standards of the BIO franchise. The bar keeps getting higher, and always thinking about what's next... it's exhausting, though.
MATSUSHITA: Yeah.
HORI: Well then, young Kuroda, you're on your own!
EVERYONE: (bursts into laughter)
KURODA: Since the games are becoming so intricate, there's a limit to how much trial and error we can do, so it'll be difficult to redo things multiple times from now on. Personally, while I'm committed to creating incredibly realistic visuals, I also want to pursue the sensory horror of the genre. I think we need to explore more ways to express this, since things like camera angles and seamless transitions can really heighten the tension and fear.
——It feels like we're getting closer to movies. Actually, the tagline for an ad for 1 was "A game that transcends movies-- a spine-chilling survival horror is here!"
HORI: That's so embarrassing... (laughs).
YAMAGATA: The term "cinematic" has been used a lot since the very first game. BIO1 certainly didn't have that typical "game-like" atmosphere, it gave you the sensation of actually being there, or the kind of fear you feel in a movie, no, I feel like it delivered a fear that surpassed even movies.
HORI: I'm honored to be compared to movies, and since we've added the element of gameplay, making it interactive, I feel that once our visual expression catches up to movies, BIO will be able to surpass them. I always have that feeling.
KURODA: "A game that goes beyond movies" (laughs).
——Where do you think BIO's ultimately headed?
HORI: If we go to space, that'll be the end. The Final.
EVERYONE: (laughs)
KURODA: We'll all do our best to make sure it doesn't go to space!
EVERYONE: (bursts out laughing)
|
|
CINEMATICS SUPERVISOR'S RECOLLECTIONS (p.082-085)
Yoshiaki Hirabayashi
Modeling & cutscene production for Remake 1 / Cutscene production for 0&4 / Cutscene & scenario production for 5 / and others
——When did you first encounter the BIO series?
HIRABAYASHI: It was around the time BIO2 was released. I was a freshman or sophomore in college, and I bought both a PlayStation and a Sega Saturn. As a kid I wasn't allowed to buy anything besides a Famicom, so once I started earning my own money, I went on a buying spree (laughs). I saw on the news that BIO was becoming a sensation through word of mouth, and I bought it out of curiosity, thinking, "What's that all about?" That was how it started.
——What was it like when you actually played it?
HIRABAYASHI: I totally underestimated it (laughs). I thought, "It can’t be that scary, right?" I turned off the lights in my room to start playing, but after about an hour, I turned them back on (laughs). It was so scary I almost lost the motivation to keep playing. It was scarier than the rumors suggested, so it's a title that really left an impression on me. Also, since it was the first game I bought for the PS, BIO2 was the first high-end game I’d ever played, and I was really surprised by it.
——If you were that scared, what about horror movies...?
HIRABAYASHI: Well, actually, I really love them (laughs). I was always drawn to movies, regardless of whether they were B-movies or C-movies. So, even though the tagline said "Beyond Movies," I thought something this blocky couldn’t possibly be better than a movie. But that wasn’t the case at all.
——Do you prefer serious horror or splatter horror?
HIRABAYASHI: The former. Especially serious, dramatic horror. I’ve always intuitively felt that "people" are the scariest thing when watching movies, but after joining CAPCOM, I really learned what that fear entails. I’m more into the kind of horror where something inside a person gradually changes, or the invisible terror caused by infection, rather than just blood spurting everywhere. At first glance, BIO looks like it’s got an occult vibe, but in the end, it’s resolved logically. There’s a research lab under the mansion, there's a reason the Zombies are created, and they really drive that point home, it's almost like they prove the occult from a scientific standpoint. That's what makes it interesting, and I think that's why it's so engaging.
——It really comes down to human dynamics.
HIRABAYASHI: That’s exactly it. Barry saying things like, "I can’t betray you anymore," feels so incredibly real! (laughs) And then having him say, "Sorry, but I'm pointing this gun at you to protect my family", that feels raw and visceral too. Up until then, most games were clear-cut stories of good versus evil, but BIO mixed everything up, giving it a real sense of reality. Including live-action cutscenes was also innovative. They really took on a challenge, didn't they? Looking back now, I think it was a title with a strong artistic vision.
——Even now, 15 years later, you still prioritize drama, don’t you?
HIRABAYASHI: That's definitely true. "How to portray the 'grains of the human heart'" was a major keyword for me as I crafted the story. I heard feedback from players of 4 who watched the sketches in the end credits depicting the villagers going mad and said, "4's scary", and that made me feel really good. You can imagine the tragic background of why those innocent villagers ended up like that from the sketches, and it ties back to the memory from the beginning: "Yeah, that village really is super scary." I thought it was well thought out, that they were doing it with a calculated approach.
——Is the horror calculated?
HIRABAYASHI: I definitely think it’s "calculated." It’s about using that calculation to connect how people’s emotions move and arrive at the answer. At first glance, BIO often seems to rely on one-off moments, like a crash through a window, that make you go, "Whoa, that’s a shock!" But in the hallway leading up to the dog’s appearance, we deliberately didn’t put any enemies there. Letting you let your guard down, or easing your tension for a moment, and then having the dog burst out at just the right moment, I think that's calculated. And once you’re startled by a dog coming out of a window, you learn from it and start to imagine on your own: "There's a window = a dog might come out = tension." When you think about it, it's not just a matter of cramming in gags meant to scare people, we need to skillfully orchestrate the experience for the audience’s psyche. It’s difficult for us, but that’s what makes it rewarding.
——After all, people build up a tolerance to horror stimuli.
HIRABAYASHI: That's what’s scary. The thing that makes human emotions hardest to control is getting used to them. People get used to fear and surprise particularly quickly, so we're driven by this compulsion to keep creating something new. I once heard a rather extreme theory that Shakespeare’s plays follow a basic format suggesting there are only so many patterns humans find entertaining, and the rest's just a matter of applying different situations to that framework. In a sense, I think as long as we're human, the factors that make us afraid are indeed limited. The rest comes down to timing and how it's staged within the timeline. Creating new stimuli's incredibly difficult.
——The techniques used in cinematics (cutscenes) have also changed.
HIRABAYASHI: I think cinematics should shift more and more toward the gameplay side in the future. Until now, I, too, held the view that "flashy scenes should be done in cutscenes," and the audience wanted that as well. We couldn’t achieve such rich visuals during actual gameplay. But I suspect that from now on, the trend will be, "Let’s show the flashy scenes right in the middle of gameplay." For example, having a building collapse right in front of you while you’re playing, or progressing through a scene where crowds of people are fleeing in panic, those kinds of moments. On the other hand, since cinematics are better suited for conveying facial expressions and emotions, they should handle the dramatic parts. If we can successfully support each other in this way, I think the relationship between gameplay and cinematics will become even more interesting in the future.
——Moving from action to stillness, acting becomes even more crucial in cinematics, doesn’t it?
HIRABAYASHI: That’s right. Until now, whenever a character spoke, we'd pull the camera back. That was actually a way for us to "escape", we avoided close-ups. We’d think, "Since we can’t show footage that’s satisfying enough, let’s pull back." It's also exhausting to create. But with 5, we wanted to tackle that head-on, so we moved the camera in a step closer. Ultimately, I think the biggest challenge for CG going forward is the "face."
——So you’re aiming for deeper expression.
HIRABAYASHI: Yes. We’ve already mastered the body. Every team here, and of course, other companies as well, can do that now. So to take it to the next level, the next challenge will likely be "faces" or "fingers." Everyone, when you watch a movie, where do you look? It’s the facial expressions, right? Whether consciously or unconsciously, we read various emotions and imagine the story. That's why I want to pursue a level of expression that surpasses current facial and finger expressions, one that allows viewers to imagine even the subtlest nuances of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. It's a thorny path, though. It's exhausting (laughs). And then there's the rendering of light. I think the atmosphere's the key point. In the early days of CG, what was most favored was simply "beauty." It was to the point where people felt any "dirty" look, like what you get when you shoot with a camera in the real world, had to be completely eliminated from the CG world. But everyone just got used to CG, didn't they? We try to find new stimulation, and once we get it, we get used to that too. So if we go back to the basics again and seek out yet another new form of stimulation, the place we ultimately return to is the real world. It's exciting to try all kinds of things like French cuisine or ethnic dishes, but in the end, plain white rice is still the best, isn't it? (laughs).
——In 5, I could even feel the sweltering heat, but capturing the atmosphere must be difficult.
HIRABAYASHI: It is difficult. When 5 was in development and the background team returned from their research trip to Africa, they told us, "The air's so clean there that hardly any dust gets kicked up." Since it's so dry, there's no haze either (laughs). If you can’t capture that sense of atmosphere, people can't immerse themselves in the scene. So we racked our brains trying to figure out where to place dust and grit to make it feel like there was actually air there. We identified the right spots and painstakingly drew tiny specks of dust and grit through meticulous work, gradually incorporating them bit by bit.
——It's a continuous series of small, incremental steps.
HIRABAYASHI: That's the tough part about BIO (laughs). Even when we’d normally think, "It's already so polished," everyone else says, "No way, this isn't good enough" (laughs). We want our customers to believe, and to keep believing, the experience they get from BIO's something they can’t get anywhere else, so we have to really push ourselves there.
——And that leads to user satisfaction, right?
HIRABAYASHI: That's true, but... When we focus on exceeding expectations and satisfaction to the point where things escalate, I start to wonder if this is actually enjoyable for the customers. That's when someone, usually a key figure at the time, will say, "Let's take a step back and think about this" and that’s happened several times over the past 15 years. It's like getting a sudden splash of cold water that makes you snap out of it. If we keep leaning forward thinking, "It's BIO," our perspective just gets narrower and narrower. And within that narrow scope, we’d demand, "More quality! More!" But from the customer’s perspective, if you were served one high-end kaiseki dinner after another, even the most luxurious flavors would eventually just feel "delicious" and nothing more. I know I'm using food as an analogy again (laughs). It's not that pursuing perfection's bad, but I did learn the lesson: "Don't think that "BIO-ness" is everything."
——That sounds like a warning not to stay stuck in one place.
HIRABAYASHI: Exactly. If it had been just standard "horror," I think we'd have hit a dead end with the simple mindset of "we just need to scare people more." The path we'd stretched out would have just kept narrowing until it ended. But BIO isn't like that, which is probably why it lasted until its 15th anniversary. Even while trying to narrow down the horror approach, there have been people here and there who expanded it horizontally. Within that expanded scope, we refined it further while stretching it higher and thinner, and then someone else would expand it again. I think this continuous cycle's the very source that has allowed us to keep creating new forms while gradually mitigating "familiarity."
——BIO itself seems like a living creature whose lineage continues unbroken (laughs).
HIRABAYASHI: That’s right. When a franchise goes on this long, there inevitably comes a point where the protagonists start to depend on the audience’s imagination. More and more fans are telling us, "This isn't my Chris," which is great for us, but it also makes us agonize over how to create a Chris that'll satisfy them. Even with a single expression, we hear things like, "No, Chris wouldn't make a face like that." It’s been left up to the fans now. I dunno, maybe it feels like we’re raising a big kid together with the fans, sharing their worries along the way.
——That’s something that'll continue in the future, too.
HIRABAYASHI: Yes. We'd like to keep it going. We'd love to celebrate the 20th anniversary, too. There was a comment on the message board saying, "Next up's the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, huh?" and I thought, "That's spot-on!" (laughs).
Modeling & cutscene production for Remake 1 / Cutscene production for 0&4 / Cutscene & scenario production for 5 / and others
——When did you first encounter the BIO series?
HIRABAYASHI: It was around the time BIO2 was released. I was a freshman or sophomore in college, and I bought both a PlayStation and a Sega Saturn. As a kid I wasn't allowed to buy anything besides a Famicom, so once I started earning my own money, I went on a buying spree (laughs). I saw on the news that BIO was becoming a sensation through word of mouth, and I bought it out of curiosity, thinking, "What's that all about?" That was how it started.
——What was it like when you actually played it?
HIRABAYASHI: I totally underestimated it (laughs). I thought, "It can’t be that scary, right?" I turned off the lights in my room to start playing, but after about an hour, I turned them back on (laughs). It was so scary I almost lost the motivation to keep playing. It was scarier than the rumors suggested, so it's a title that really left an impression on me. Also, since it was the first game I bought for the PS, BIO2 was the first high-end game I’d ever played, and I was really surprised by it.
——If you were that scared, what about horror movies...?
HIRABAYASHI: Well, actually, I really love them (laughs). I was always drawn to movies, regardless of whether they were B-movies or C-movies. So, even though the tagline said "Beyond Movies," I thought something this blocky couldn’t possibly be better than a movie. But that wasn’t the case at all.
——Do you prefer serious horror or splatter horror?
HIRABAYASHI: The former. Especially serious, dramatic horror. I’ve always intuitively felt that "people" are the scariest thing when watching movies, but after joining CAPCOM, I really learned what that fear entails. I’m more into the kind of horror where something inside a person gradually changes, or the invisible terror caused by infection, rather than just blood spurting everywhere. At first glance, BIO looks like it’s got an occult vibe, but in the end, it’s resolved logically. There’s a research lab under the mansion, there's a reason the Zombies are created, and they really drive that point home, it's almost like they prove the occult from a scientific standpoint. That's what makes it interesting, and I think that's why it's so engaging.
——It really comes down to human dynamics.
HIRABAYASHI: That’s exactly it. Barry saying things like, "I can’t betray you anymore," feels so incredibly real! (laughs) And then having him say, "Sorry, but I'm pointing this gun at you to protect my family", that feels raw and visceral too. Up until then, most games were clear-cut stories of good versus evil, but BIO mixed everything up, giving it a real sense of reality. Including live-action cutscenes was also innovative. They really took on a challenge, didn't they? Looking back now, I think it was a title with a strong artistic vision.
——Even now, 15 years later, you still prioritize drama, don’t you?
HIRABAYASHI: That's definitely true. "How to portray the 'grains of the human heart'" was a major keyword for me as I crafted the story. I heard feedback from players of 4 who watched the sketches in the end credits depicting the villagers going mad and said, "4's scary", and that made me feel really good. You can imagine the tragic background of why those innocent villagers ended up like that from the sketches, and it ties back to the memory from the beginning: "Yeah, that village really is super scary." I thought it was well thought out, that they were doing it with a calculated approach.
——Is the horror calculated?
HIRABAYASHI: I definitely think it’s "calculated." It’s about using that calculation to connect how people’s emotions move and arrive at the answer. At first glance, BIO often seems to rely on one-off moments, like a crash through a window, that make you go, "Whoa, that’s a shock!" But in the hallway leading up to the dog’s appearance, we deliberately didn’t put any enemies there. Letting you let your guard down, or easing your tension for a moment, and then having the dog burst out at just the right moment, I think that's calculated. And once you’re startled by a dog coming out of a window, you learn from it and start to imagine on your own: "There's a window = a dog might come out = tension." When you think about it, it's not just a matter of cramming in gags meant to scare people, we need to skillfully orchestrate the experience for the audience’s psyche. It’s difficult for us, but that’s what makes it rewarding.
——After all, people build up a tolerance to horror stimuli.
HIRABAYASHI: That's what’s scary. The thing that makes human emotions hardest to control is getting used to them. People get used to fear and surprise particularly quickly, so we're driven by this compulsion to keep creating something new. I once heard a rather extreme theory that Shakespeare’s plays follow a basic format suggesting there are only so many patterns humans find entertaining, and the rest's just a matter of applying different situations to that framework. In a sense, I think as long as we're human, the factors that make us afraid are indeed limited. The rest comes down to timing and how it's staged within the timeline. Creating new stimuli's incredibly difficult.
——The techniques used in cinematics (cutscenes) have also changed.
HIRABAYASHI: I think cinematics should shift more and more toward the gameplay side in the future. Until now, I, too, held the view that "flashy scenes should be done in cutscenes," and the audience wanted that as well. We couldn’t achieve such rich visuals during actual gameplay. But I suspect that from now on, the trend will be, "Let’s show the flashy scenes right in the middle of gameplay." For example, having a building collapse right in front of you while you’re playing, or progressing through a scene where crowds of people are fleeing in panic, those kinds of moments. On the other hand, since cinematics are better suited for conveying facial expressions and emotions, they should handle the dramatic parts. If we can successfully support each other in this way, I think the relationship between gameplay and cinematics will become even more interesting in the future.
——Moving from action to stillness, acting becomes even more crucial in cinematics, doesn’t it?
HIRABAYASHI: That’s right. Until now, whenever a character spoke, we'd pull the camera back. That was actually a way for us to "escape", we avoided close-ups. We’d think, "Since we can’t show footage that’s satisfying enough, let’s pull back." It's also exhausting to create. But with 5, we wanted to tackle that head-on, so we moved the camera in a step closer. Ultimately, I think the biggest challenge for CG going forward is the "face."
——So you’re aiming for deeper expression.
HIRABAYASHI: Yes. We’ve already mastered the body. Every team here, and of course, other companies as well, can do that now. So to take it to the next level, the next challenge will likely be "faces" or "fingers." Everyone, when you watch a movie, where do you look? It’s the facial expressions, right? Whether consciously or unconsciously, we read various emotions and imagine the story. That's why I want to pursue a level of expression that surpasses current facial and finger expressions, one that allows viewers to imagine even the subtlest nuances of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. It's a thorny path, though. It's exhausting (laughs). And then there's the rendering of light. I think the atmosphere's the key point. In the early days of CG, what was most favored was simply "beauty." It was to the point where people felt any "dirty" look, like what you get when you shoot with a camera in the real world, had to be completely eliminated from the CG world. But everyone just got used to CG, didn't they? We try to find new stimulation, and once we get it, we get used to that too. So if we go back to the basics again and seek out yet another new form of stimulation, the place we ultimately return to is the real world. It's exciting to try all kinds of things like French cuisine or ethnic dishes, but in the end, plain white rice is still the best, isn't it? (laughs).
——In 5, I could even feel the sweltering heat, but capturing the atmosphere must be difficult.
HIRABAYASHI: It is difficult. When 5 was in development and the background team returned from their research trip to Africa, they told us, "The air's so clean there that hardly any dust gets kicked up." Since it's so dry, there's no haze either (laughs). If you can’t capture that sense of atmosphere, people can't immerse themselves in the scene. So we racked our brains trying to figure out where to place dust and grit to make it feel like there was actually air there. We identified the right spots and painstakingly drew tiny specks of dust and grit through meticulous work, gradually incorporating them bit by bit.
——It's a continuous series of small, incremental steps.
HIRABAYASHI: That's the tough part about BIO (laughs). Even when we’d normally think, "It's already so polished," everyone else says, "No way, this isn't good enough" (laughs). We want our customers to believe, and to keep believing, the experience they get from BIO's something they can’t get anywhere else, so we have to really push ourselves there.
——And that leads to user satisfaction, right?
HIRABAYASHI: That's true, but... When we focus on exceeding expectations and satisfaction to the point where things escalate, I start to wonder if this is actually enjoyable for the customers. That's when someone, usually a key figure at the time, will say, "Let's take a step back and think about this" and that’s happened several times over the past 15 years. It's like getting a sudden splash of cold water that makes you snap out of it. If we keep leaning forward thinking, "It's BIO," our perspective just gets narrower and narrower. And within that narrow scope, we’d demand, "More quality! More!" But from the customer’s perspective, if you were served one high-end kaiseki dinner after another, even the most luxurious flavors would eventually just feel "delicious" and nothing more. I know I'm using food as an analogy again (laughs). It's not that pursuing perfection's bad, but I did learn the lesson: "Don't think that "BIO-ness" is everything."
——That sounds like a warning not to stay stuck in one place.
HIRABAYASHI: Exactly. If it had been just standard "horror," I think we'd have hit a dead end with the simple mindset of "we just need to scare people more." The path we'd stretched out would have just kept narrowing until it ended. But BIO isn't like that, which is probably why it lasted until its 15th anniversary. Even while trying to narrow down the horror approach, there have been people here and there who expanded it horizontally. Within that expanded scope, we refined it further while stretching it higher and thinner, and then someone else would expand it again. I think this continuous cycle's the very source that has allowed us to keep creating new forms while gradually mitigating "familiarity."
——BIO itself seems like a living creature whose lineage continues unbroken (laughs).
HIRABAYASHI: That’s right. When a franchise goes on this long, there inevitably comes a point where the protagonists start to depend on the audience’s imagination. More and more fans are telling us, "This isn't my Chris," which is great for us, but it also makes us agonize over how to create a Chris that'll satisfy them. Even with a single expression, we hear things like, "No, Chris wouldn't make a face like that." It’s been left up to the fans now. I dunno, maybe it feels like we’re raising a big kid together with the fans, sharing their worries along the way.
——That’s something that'll continue in the future, too.
HIRABAYASHI: Yes. We'd like to keep it going. We'd love to celebrate the 20th anniversary, too. There was a comment on the message board saying, "Next up's the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, huh?" and I thought, "That's spot-on!" (laughs).
COMPOSER'S RECOLLECTIONS (p.086-087)
Kota Suzuki
Main composer for 5, 5AE, Mercenaries 3D, Revelations / and others
——When was your first encounter with BIOHAZARD?
SUZUKI: It was when I was a freshman in high school, at a friend’s house. He was the kind of friend who bought every single new game that came out (laughs). He showed it to me, saying, "Check out this game, it’s just like a movie," and that was 1.
——What was your first impression?
SUZUKI: The PlayStation had just come out and I remember being moved by the rich visuals, so different from any game I’d played before, thinking, "Wow, this is so realistic." Compared to previous consoles, the graphics had really advanced. From a sound perspective, there were echoing footsteps and the Zombies’ "Ugghh~" sounds. It was scary. The moment the dog smashed through the window with a "CRASH!", my friend and I both jumped and screamed, "Whoa!" (laughs). It really was scary.
——Judging by your expression, horror games…
SUZUKI: Yes. If it's on TV, I watch it through the gaps between my fingers (laughs). I started watching a lot of horror movies as research material, rewinding and analyzing them while paying attention to the music, asking myself, "Why'd that just startle me?" I’ve built up quite a tolerance now (laughs). In horror, there aren’t many songs you can hum along to, but to shake the viewer’s emotions, you need even more "dramatic flair." For example, it’s like you need just a little "pause" before the jump scare. When the situation and emotions are expressed accurately, I think, "Ah, I see." Thanks to working on BIO, which relies on those unique horror techniques, I’ve started paying closer attention to that aspect.
——Any BGM or sound effects that left an impression?
SUZUKI: The music in the save room. That music you hear when you’ve somehow managed to escape and feel an almost abnormal sense of relief… it’s stuck in my head. I think music's a medium that can control emotions, so I felt it was executed very well. I totally fell for the composer’s intent (laughs), and I still remember that sense of relief in the save room. Also, the footsteps and door sounds. The "tap-tap" of walking down the hallway, or the "click" and "slam", those sounds symbolized the scene, and I think they were the most refined direction and expression possible given the technology at the time. And then, of course, the zombies! Actually, I joined the company as a composer, but during a sound effects assignment, I was told, "Create the sound of a zombie eating a person," and I thought, "Ah, that’s CAPCOM for you" (laughs). Nowadays, hardware performance has improved and expressive capabilities have become richer, but the sheer volume of audio information has increased, so it’s actually difficult to achieve the same level of clear, impactful direction as back then. That's why lately, I’ve been paying particular attention to the balance between each sound when creating them.
——What are some musical techniques unique to the BIO series?
SUZUKI: Things like deliberately using dissonance to create a song that feels eerie just by being there, or a track that starts off rhythmless and "floaty," but then a rhythm kicks in partway through only to fade away again. BIO's music is unique. For example, songs you hear in pivotal moments, like the one in the save room I mentioned earlier, or "Alexia's Lullaby" from Veronica, songs that really stick with you, I think they represent our commitment to the core BIO aesthetic while also taking on new challenges. In 5, there's a vocal track that plays at the very end, which is rare for the series, but alongside those "all-out" tracks, we've also carefully crafted the traditional BIO sounds.
——The sound quality has improved dramatically over the past 15 years.
SUZUKI: That's right. Back then, game storage capacity was limited. The sound team worked hard to produce the best possible sound within those constraints, but now we can use recorded audio as-is. I think that's led to more users wanting a richer sound quality, like an orchestra. For 5, we hired a Hollywood orchestra, so I believe we've reached a cinematic level.
——The way we enjoy audio has evolved too, hasn’t it?
SUZUKI: Yes. 5 supports Dolby 5.1ch. We designed it so it works even in stereo, but we’d really love it if players set up a 5.1ch speaker system to play. Even if you don't have that setup, I recommend using surround sound headphones, they really enhance the sense of immersion.
——So, how do you think BIO's sound will evolve in the future?
SUZUKI: I think we'll continue to pursue what only games can do. In movies, the story progresses relentlessly, and the audience has no control over the timeline, but in games, that’s left up to the player. You're free to choose whether to defeat a creature right here or take damage. For example, I hope we'll be able to freely refine the music to match those moments with orchestral-quality sound. Well, that's quite a challenge, isn't it? (laughs).
Main composer for 5, 5AE, Mercenaries 3D, Revelations / and others
——When was your first encounter with BIOHAZARD?
SUZUKI: It was when I was a freshman in high school, at a friend’s house. He was the kind of friend who bought every single new game that came out (laughs). He showed it to me, saying, "Check out this game, it’s just like a movie," and that was 1.
——What was your first impression?
SUZUKI: The PlayStation had just come out and I remember being moved by the rich visuals, so different from any game I’d played before, thinking, "Wow, this is so realistic." Compared to previous consoles, the graphics had really advanced. From a sound perspective, there were echoing footsteps and the Zombies’ "Ugghh~" sounds. It was scary. The moment the dog smashed through the window with a "CRASH!", my friend and I both jumped and screamed, "Whoa!" (laughs). It really was scary.
——Judging by your expression, horror games…
SUZUKI: Yes. If it's on TV, I watch it through the gaps between my fingers (laughs). I started watching a lot of horror movies as research material, rewinding and analyzing them while paying attention to the music, asking myself, "Why'd that just startle me?" I’ve built up quite a tolerance now (laughs). In horror, there aren’t many songs you can hum along to, but to shake the viewer’s emotions, you need even more "dramatic flair." For example, it’s like you need just a little "pause" before the jump scare. When the situation and emotions are expressed accurately, I think, "Ah, I see." Thanks to working on BIO, which relies on those unique horror techniques, I’ve started paying closer attention to that aspect.
——Any BGM or sound effects that left an impression?
SUZUKI: The music in the save room. That music you hear when you’ve somehow managed to escape and feel an almost abnormal sense of relief… it’s stuck in my head. I think music's a medium that can control emotions, so I felt it was executed very well. I totally fell for the composer’s intent (laughs), and I still remember that sense of relief in the save room. Also, the footsteps and door sounds. The "tap-tap" of walking down the hallway, or the "click" and "slam", those sounds symbolized the scene, and I think they were the most refined direction and expression possible given the technology at the time. And then, of course, the zombies! Actually, I joined the company as a composer, but during a sound effects assignment, I was told, "Create the sound of a zombie eating a person," and I thought, "Ah, that’s CAPCOM for you" (laughs). Nowadays, hardware performance has improved and expressive capabilities have become richer, but the sheer volume of audio information has increased, so it’s actually difficult to achieve the same level of clear, impactful direction as back then. That's why lately, I’ve been paying particular attention to the balance between each sound when creating them.
——What are some musical techniques unique to the BIO series?
SUZUKI: Things like deliberately using dissonance to create a song that feels eerie just by being there, or a track that starts off rhythmless and "floaty," but then a rhythm kicks in partway through only to fade away again. BIO's music is unique. For example, songs you hear in pivotal moments, like the one in the save room I mentioned earlier, or "Alexia's Lullaby" from Veronica, songs that really stick with you, I think they represent our commitment to the core BIO aesthetic while also taking on new challenges. In 5, there's a vocal track that plays at the very end, which is rare for the series, but alongside those "all-out" tracks, we've also carefully crafted the traditional BIO sounds.
——The sound quality has improved dramatically over the past 15 years.
SUZUKI: That's right. Back then, game storage capacity was limited. The sound team worked hard to produce the best possible sound within those constraints, but now we can use recorded audio as-is. I think that's led to more users wanting a richer sound quality, like an orchestra. For 5, we hired a Hollywood orchestra, so I believe we've reached a cinematic level.
——The way we enjoy audio has evolved too, hasn’t it?
SUZUKI: Yes. 5 supports Dolby 5.1ch. We designed it so it works even in stereo, but we’d really love it if players set up a 5.1ch speaker system to play. Even if you don't have that setup, I recommend using surround sound headphones, they really enhance the sense of immersion.
——So, how do you think BIO's sound will evolve in the future?
SUZUKI: I think we'll continue to pursue what only games can do. In movies, the story progresses relentlessly, and the audience has no control over the timeline, but in games, that’s left up to the player. You're free to choose whether to defeat a creature right here or take damage. For example, I hope we'll be able to freely refine the music to match those moments with orchestral-quality sound. Well, that's quite a challenge, isn't it? (laughs).
BIOHAZARD STAFF SURVEY (p.098-101)
We asked a total of 103 BIOHAZARD developers!
Question: Which title in the BIOHAZARD series is your favorite?
1st Place: BIOHAZARD
2nd Place: biohazard 4
3rd Place: BIOHAZARD 2
4th Place: BIOHAZARD 5
5th Place: biohazard (Remake)
Question: What was the scariest scene in BIO?
1st Place: The Zombie Dog from the window in 1 & Remake 1
• Even though I know what’s coming, it still scares me.
• I remember dropping my controller once because I was so startled.
• It’s still scary even on subsequent playthroughs.
2nd Place: First Zombie Appearance (Turning Zombie) in 1 & Remake 1
• I was pretty scared at the time.
• After that, it just started chomping away at me...
• That's why I quit my old job and started studying game CG.
3rd Place: First Hunter Appearance in 1 & Remake 1
• The scene where the initial Hunter first appears.
• I almost wet myself!
4th Place: The Pursuer Appearance & Battle in 3
• He walks straight toward you with confidence.
5th Place: The Regenerador Appearance & Battle in 4
• Every time I hear the sound of someone drooling and slurping, I feel like I'm gonna faint.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• When Zombies are closing in and I'm out of ammo!
• When I opened the door to the mansion and Cerberus came, I turned off the PS.
• Being chased by villagers in the first village of 4.
• When I was skipping work to play 3 and the phone rang at home.
• When I woke up my kid, my wife standing behind me with her arms crossed was terrifying.
Question: Please say if there are any sounds you like, such as theme songs, background music, or sound effects.
1st Place: Save Room Music
• It brings comfort to a weary heart.
• I liked how it managed to retain a sense of unease while still offering a moment of respite.
• That feeling of relief was something else.
2nd Place: Title Announcement (voice saying "BIOHAZARD")
• Definitely the voice at the start of the game.
• I love how it's slightly different in each installment.
• "Biiooo, Hazaard."
3rd Place: 1's Ending Theme "I Won't Let It End As A Dream"
• I went to buy the single CD.
• I remember it because it was used in a commercial.
• I really wish the game would just end with a dream, though...
4th Place: The Zombie Growls
• The Zombie voices are scary every time.
5th Place: Door-opening Sound Effects
• I couldn't believe I got butterflies while loading!
• OTHER ANSWERS
• The crunching sounds of Zombies devouring you.
• The Pursuer's voice: "Staaaars!"
• The "clunk-clunk" sound when selecting options on the menu screen, that really captured the BIO vibe for me.
• The arms dealer's voice in 4: "Welcome!"
• The sound of turning the crank. It really hits home!
Question: Which character meets the following criteria?
Who would you like to team up with to fight creatures?
1st Place: Jill Valentine
2nd Place: Chris Redfield
3rd Place: Leon S. Kennedy
4th Place: Barry Burton
5th Place: Albert Wesker
Who would you choose as your boss?
1st Place: Chris Redfield
2nd Place: Barry Burton
3rd Place: Ada Wong
4th Place: Josh Stone
5th Place: Jill Valentine
Who would you marry? (male responses)
1st Place: Jill Valentine
2nd Place: Rebecca Chambers
3rd Place: Ada Wong
3rd Place (Tie): Sheva Alomar
Who would you marry? (female responses)
1st Place: Chris Redfield
2nd Place: Leon S. Kennedy
2nd Place (Tie): Albert Wesker
2nd Place (Tie): Richard Aiken
Question: What kind of creature would you like to have as a pet?
1st Place: Zombie Dog/Cerberus
• I wanna keep it as a guard dog.
• It's surprisingly cute, plus, I can take it for walks.
• I find myself thinking it might actually be cute once it warms up to me.
2nd Place: Licker
• Because it looks like a lizard and is kinda creepy-cute.
• I want to use it to patrol the outside of my house for security purposes.
• It looks smooth and cool to the touch. Perfect for summer.
3rd Place: Raven/Crow
• Because it doesn't seem like they'd get parasitized or killed even if left them alone.
• Because it seems like I could live with them without getting infected by a virus.
• Because they're the most normal creatures around...
4th Place: Neptune
• It's so cute when it's all squirming because it's out of water!
4th Place (Tie): Pursuer
• If you could tame it, it might be the ultimate bodyguard!
4th Place (Tie): Licker B
• It's creepy, so it's perfect for a bodyguard.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• Majini. I want to hire them to clean my house.
• Ndesu. They'd make a good ride.
• Hunter. Since they scared me, I want to tame them.
• Chainsaw Majini. I’ll have them clear the mountains as lumberjacks.
• Actually, I don’t like any of them...
Question: What BIO items would you like to have?
1st Place: Typewriter & Ink Ribbon
2nd Place: First Aid Spray
3rd Place: Hook Shot
4th Place: Herbs
5th Place: Item Box
Question: If a virus could enhance part of your body, which part would you choose, and what special ability would you like to gain?
1st Place: Feet/Legs
• It makes everyday life easier, whether it's climbing stairs or standing on the train.
• I'd like to try landing from the roof of a building or doing some insanely high jumps.
• Even if I miss the last train, I'll be fine.
2nd Place: Eyes
• My eyes get incredibly tired from work!
• Because glasses are a hassle.
• X-ray vision. I'll leave that to your imagination.
3rd Place: Brain
• It'll make it easier to think of ideas! I'm pretty forgetful, after all.
• I've been a bit forgetful lately...
• I feel like I’m about to come up with a good idea.
4th Place: Arms
• I think it'd be really handy if I had about two more of these.
5th Place: Digestive System
• I could eat or drink anything.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• Wings on my back. I'd love to fly around the sky.
• Muscles. I wouldn't have to go to the gym anymore, so I'd have more free time.
• Heart. I want to boost my endurance and become a powerhouse!
• Nose. So I don't get hay fever.
• Hair. I could change my hairstyle however I want.
• If it meant being free from lower back pain...
Question: Do you have any tales related to BIO?
• I received a zombie T-shirt from my team and wandered around the office dressed as a zombie. No one got infected.
• I saw you could try out BIO at a game store in Nipponbashi, Osaka, so even though I wasn't interested, I decided to give it a try out of curiosity. I died immediately because I couldn't get a hang of the controls, but it was so much fun I ended up buying a PS console and the game together a few days later.
• 1 was the first game I ever played on the PS. Ever since then, just hearing the PS startup sound has filled me with dread.
• While on assignment in New York, I kept taking photos of reference materials even as someone threw corn at me from a street stall.
• I started being stingy with ammo (consumables) in games in general.
• Whenever I see a red-and-white two-tone umbrella, I worry for a split second that something sinister might happen.
• I felt a sense of kinship with Mr. Shiro Suzuki.
• I was afraid to close my eyes and wash my hair in the bath. It felt like a hand might reach through the window...
• The first time I played, I gave up after just 15 minutes because I was so scared. I stayed at a friend's house and watched them beat the game the whole time.
• During the development of 5, the "muscle guy in swim trunks" we placed on stages as a placeholder character would often appear in my dreams and chase me. I worked hard to somehow channel that terror into the level design!
• We made Remake 1 ourselves, so we should've known every detail, but I was still scared even while checking for bugs.
• Anyway, every time I got startled, I’d turn the power off.
• My older brother told me, "Save the game," and suddenly handed me the controller. I didn't know how to use the ink ribbon and died instantly. Later, my brother got really mad at me. BIO taught me about the unfairness of the world.
• I went to the BIO haunted house at Expo Land and was strangely moved to see herbs casually placed there. Back then, BIO felt like a game we'd all gather to play with friends at night.
• Back when 1 came out, I was terrified of the night... (Everything looked like a Zombie Dog to me).
• During my freshman year of college, 1 was all the rage in the dorms. Games were banned in the dorms, but the graphics were so realistic for the time it didn't even look like a game, so the scary dorm supervisor let it slide not realizing it was a game.
• I couldn't bring myself to throw things away anymore.
Question: What can you brag about with BIOHAZARD?
• Because I have a similar build to Chris, I'm often asked to wear Chris' uniform for impromptu motion capture sessions or company events. I enjoy playing Chris.
• I own a gun that went for about 100,000 yen at an auction. The price has dropped since then, though.
• The photos I took with the motion actors from 4 are treasures to me.
• Right after I joined the company, I got to feel the model of the Zombie Dog from the original opening sequence. It was inside a cardboard box at the back of a storage locker, though it had melted a little...
• Since I didn't have a memory card, I beat 3 on my first playthrough without saving. It was a night of pure, heart-pounding suspense.
• I got a BIO T-shirt for free, and I can even wear it as pajamas.
• During a playtest for Mercenaries 3D, I was always fighting for last place on the team. ...I'm a pacifist, you know! Damn it!!
• I couldn't beat any game except 5!
• I was terrible at games as a kid, I think I died about 1,000 times in one... Is that something to brag about?
• I've achieved a perfect score in every Mercenaries game.
• I basically got through my CAPCOM job interview just by talking about BIO. I'm proud of how much I love the BIOHAZARD series.
• I got to witness the orchestral recording for 5 in Hollywood.
• My English listening skills improved.
• Above all, it's the fact I got to be involved in the development of the BIO series!
We asked a total of 103 BIOHAZARD developers!
Question: Which title in the BIOHAZARD series is your favorite?
1st Place: BIOHAZARD
2nd Place: biohazard 4
3rd Place: BIOHAZARD 2
4th Place: BIOHAZARD 5
5th Place: biohazard (Remake)
Question: What was the scariest scene in BIO?
1st Place: The Zombie Dog from the window in 1 & Remake 1
• Even though I know what’s coming, it still scares me.
• I remember dropping my controller once because I was so startled.
• It’s still scary even on subsequent playthroughs.
2nd Place: First Zombie Appearance (Turning Zombie) in 1 & Remake 1
• I was pretty scared at the time.
• After that, it just started chomping away at me...
• That's why I quit my old job and started studying game CG.
3rd Place: First Hunter Appearance in 1 & Remake 1
• The scene where the initial Hunter first appears.
• I almost wet myself!
4th Place: The Pursuer Appearance & Battle in 3
• He walks straight toward you with confidence.
5th Place: The Regenerador Appearance & Battle in 4
• Every time I hear the sound of someone drooling and slurping, I feel like I'm gonna faint.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• When Zombies are closing in and I'm out of ammo!
• When I opened the door to the mansion and Cerberus came, I turned off the PS.
• Being chased by villagers in the first village of 4.
• When I was skipping work to play 3 and the phone rang at home.
• When I woke up my kid, my wife standing behind me with her arms crossed was terrifying.
Question: Please say if there are any sounds you like, such as theme songs, background music, or sound effects.
1st Place: Save Room Music
• It brings comfort to a weary heart.
• I liked how it managed to retain a sense of unease while still offering a moment of respite.
• That feeling of relief was something else.
2nd Place: Title Announcement (voice saying "BIOHAZARD")
• Definitely the voice at the start of the game.
• I love how it's slightly different in each installment.
• "Biiooo, Hazaard."
3rd Place: 1's Ending Theme "I Won't Let It End As A Dream"
• I went to buy the single CD.
• I remember it because it was used in a commercial.
• I really wish the game would just end with a dream, though...
4th Place: The Zombie Growls
• The Zombie voices are scary every time.
5th Place: Door-opening Sound Effects
• I couldn't believe I got butterflies while loading!
• OTHER ANSWERS
• The crunching sounds of Zombies devouring you.
• The Pursuer's voice: "Staaaars!"
• The "clunk-clunk" sound when selecting options on the menu screen, that really captured the BIO vibe for me.
• The arms dealer's voice in 4: "Welcome!"
• The sound of turning the crank. It really hits home!
Question: Which character meets the following criteria?
Who would you like to team up with to fight creatures?
1st Place: Jill Valentine
2nd Place: Chris Redfield
3rd Place: Leon S. Kennedy
4th Place: Barry Burton
5th Place: Albert Wesker
Who would you choose as your boss?
1st Place: Chris Redfield
2nd Place: Barry Burton
3rd Place: Ada Wong
4th Place: Josh Stone
5th Place: Jill Valentine
Who would you marry? (male responses)
1st Place: Jill Valentine
2nd Place: Rebecca Chambers
3rd Place: Ada Wong
3rd Place (Tie): Sheva Alomar
Who would you marry? (female responses)
1st Place: Chris Redfield
2nd Place: Leon S. Kennedy
2nd Place (Tie): Albert Wesker
2nd Place (Tie): Richard Aiken
Question: What kind of creature would you like to have as a pet?
1st Place: Zombie Dog/Cerberus
• I wanna keep it as a guard dog.
• It's surprisingly cute, plus, I can take it for walks.
• I find myself thinking it might actually be cute once it warms up to me.
2nd Place: Licker
• Because it looks like a lizard and is kinda creepy-cute.
• I want to use it to patrol the outside of my house for security purposes.
• It looks smooth and cool to the touch. Perfect for summer.
3rd Place: Raven/Crow
• Because it doesn't seem like they'd get parasitized or killed even if left them alone.
• Because it seems like I could live with them without getting infected by a virus.
• Because they're the most normal creatures around...
4th Place: Neptune
• It's so cute when it's all squirming because it's out of water!
4th Place (Tie): Pursuer
• If you could tame it, it might be the ultimate bodyguard!
4th Place (Tie): Licker B
• It's creepy, so it's perfect for a bodyguard.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• Majini. I want to hire them to clean my house.
• Ndesu. They'd make a good ride.
• Hunter. Since they scared me, I want to tame them.
• Chainsaw Majini. I’ll have them clear the mountains as lumberjacks.
• Actually, I don’t like any of them...
Question: What BIO items would you like to have?
1st Place: Typewriter & Ink Ribbon
2nd Place: First Aid Spray
3rd Place: Hook Shot
4th Place: Herbs
5th Place: Item Box
Question: If a virus could enhance part of your body, which part would you choose, and what special ability would you like to gain?
1st Place: Feet/Legs
• It makes everyday life easier, whether it's climbing stairs or standing on the train.
• I'd like to try landing from the roof of a building or doing some insanely high jumps.
• Even if I miss the last train, I'll be fine.
2nd Place: Eyes
• My eyes get incredibly tired from work!
• Because glasses are a hassle.
• X-ray vision. I'll leave that to your imagination.
3rd Place: Brain
• It'll make it easier to think of ideas! I'm pretty forgetful, after all.
• I've been a bit forgetful lately...
• I feel like I’m about to come up with a good idea.
4th Place: Arms
• I think it'd be really handy if I had about two more of these.
5th Place: Digestive System
• I could eat or drink anything.
• OTHER ANSWERS
• Wings on my back. I'd love to fly around the sky.
• Muscles. I wouldn't have to go to the gym anymore, so I'd have more free time.
• Heart. I want to boost my endurance and become a powerhouse!
• Nose. So I don't get hay fever.
• Hair. I could change my hairstyle however I want.
• If it meant being free from lower back pain...
Question: Do you have any tales related to BIO?
• I received a zombie T-shirt from my team and wandered around the office dressed as a zombie. No one got infected.
• I saw you could try out BIO at a game store in Nipponbashi, Osaka, so even though I wasn't interested, I decided to give it a try out of curiosity. I died immediately because I couldn't get a hang of the controls, but it was so much fun I ended up buying a PS console and the game together a few days later.
• 1 was the first game I ever played on the PS. Ever since then, just hearing the PS startup sound has filled me with dread.
• While on assignment in New York, I kept taking photos of reference materials even as someone threw corn at me from a street stall.
• I started being stingy with ammo (consumables) in games in general.
• Whenever I see a red-and-white two-tone umbrella, I worry for a split second that something sinister might happen.
• I felt a sense of kinship with Mr. Shiro Suzuki.
• I was afraid to close my eyes and wash my hair in the bath. It felt like a hand might reach through the window...
• The first time I played, I gave up after just 15 minutes because I was so scared. I stayed at a friend's house and watched them beat the game the whole time.
• During the development of 5, the "muscle guy in swim trunks" we placed on stages as a placeholder character would often appear in my dreams and chase me. I worked hard to somehow channel that terror into the level design!
• We made Remake 1 ourselves, so we should've known every detail, but I was still scared even while checking for bugs.
• Anyway, every time I got startled, I’d turn the power off.
• My older brother told me, "Save the game," and suddenly handed me the controller. I didn't know how to use the ink ribbon and died instantly. Later, my brother got really mad at me. BIO taught me about the unfairness of the world.
• I went to the BIO haunted house at Expo Land and was strangely moved to see herbs casually placed there. Back then, BIO felt like a game we'd all gather to play with friends at night.
• Back when 1 came out, I was terrified of the night... (Everything looked like a Zombie Dog to me).
• During my freshman year of college, 1 was all the rage in the dorms. Games were banned in the dorms, but the graphics were so realistic for the time it didn't even look like a game, so the scary dorm supervisor let it slide not realizing it was a game.
• I couldn't bring myself to throw things away anymore.
Question: What can you brag about with BIOHAZARD?
• Because I have a similar build to Chris, I'm often asked to wear Chris' uniform for impromptu motion capture sessions or company events. I enjoy playing Chris.
• I own a gun that went for about 100,000 yen at an auction. The price has dropped since then, though.
• The photos I took with the motion actors from 4 are treasures to me.
• Right after I joined the company, I got to feel the model of the Zombie Dog from the original opening sequence. It was inside a cardboard box at the back of a storage locker, though it had melted a little...
• Since I didn't have a memory card, I beat 3 on my first playthrough without saving. It was a night of pure, heart-pounding suspense.
• I got a BIO T-shirt for free, and I can even wear it as pajamas.
• During a playtest for Mercenaries 3D, I was always fighting for last place on the team. ...I'm a pacifist, you know! Damn it!!
• I couldn't beat any game except 5!
• I was terrible at games as a kid, I think I died about 1,000 times in one... Is that something to brag about?
• I've achieved a perfect score in every Mercenaries game.
• I basically got through my CAPCOM job interview just by talking about BIO. I'm proud of how much I love the BIOHAZARD series.
• I got to witness the orchestral recording for 5 in Hollywood.
• My English listening skills improved.
• Above all, it's the fact I got to be involved in the development of the BIO series!