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BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2 ULTIMANIA
(バイオハザード リベレーションズ2 アルティマニア) |
Released: 26/03/2015
Softcover: 560 Publisher: DigiCube ISBN-10: 4757546009 ISBN-13: 9784757546004 |
PROLOGUE (p.004-005)
The island is Sein—referred to as a forgotten island.
A small, isolated island floating in the middle of a freezing ocean. Far from any populated land, there are no other islands in the vicinity.
In the past, the island was rich in underground resources and able to prosper despite its remote location. Many people settled on the island, digging beneath the ground and relishing prosperous lives befitting their labor.
However, those resources were limited. The mines inherited from their ancestors were being depleted and by the second half of the twentieth century, produced nothing. Due to the harsh climate, the barren land was unable to yield adequate crops, and there were no decent fishing grounds in the surrounding waters. The island dried up quickly and many of the islanders decided to abandon their homeland.
As if awaiting this opportunity, the "Savior" appeared.
She came to the island with a saintly smile and an inexhaustible supply of wealth, praising the dying island as the ideal location she was looking for. She made a promise. She would bring renewed prosperity to this island with its ideal geological and climatic conditions for researching new drugs, buying up the land, building facilities, and creating lasting employment for any islanders who lent a hand.
There were those who were skeptical, however they were immediately overjoyed by the exorbitant compensation. They had thought it was the end, that their island would sink into the inky depths of night, but now they were in for a treat. They thanked the Savior and left everything to her.
That's when the island was consumed.
Living solely dependent on the Savior for their finances soon robbed them of their ability to think. Not wanting to go back to their days of poverty, the islanders began suppressing the smallest of doubts, and as a result, they began to believe that no matter what, they couldn't allow themselves to doubt the Savior.
No, rather, they simply ceased to think.
A prison-like detention facility was built and no one who went to work there ever returned. Even though the island was so small! The saint's minions would violently and forcibly take new workers away. Yet they couldn't escape. Cameras hidden throughout the island kept a constant watch on them, with rampant snitching among the islanders. In their dulled minds, they believed if they displeased the Savior, things would get even worse. On the rare occasion a curious traveler came from outside the island, they would voluntarily abduct and lock them up. The islanders were now slaves to be dominated and exploited, all the while thinking they were on the same side as the Savior.
Nations already deemed the isolated island worthless. A troublesome enclave that produced nothing, had no role to play in expanding territorial waters, and cost money and effort to manage. The Savior purchased the island for an unbelievable sum of money during the turmoil of regime change and had it wiped off the national map. Her kingdom of "Sein", where no one could interfere or visit, was now complete.
However, the Savior's goal wasn't to rule such a tiny kingdom, but to conceal much more horrifying intentions.
Sein was a cage. A great big birdcage for capturing and imprisoning wretched fowls of the outside world and screening those who could overcome their fears with courage, or those blessed enough to know no fear.
When you release birds into a cage you must also first ensure it's empty. The "Overseer" no longer required anymore mindless followers.
Though they'd feared the night, Sein would perish; consumed by horrors not of the night.
Here lies new revelations about the biological disaster--
The island is Sein—referred to as a forgotten island.
A small, isolated island floating in the middle of a freezing ocean. Far from any populated land, there are no other islands in the vicinity.
In the past, the island was rich in underground resources and able to prosper despite its remote location. Many people settled on the island, digging beneath the ground and relishing prosperous lives befitting their labor.
However, those resources were limited. The mines inherited from their ancestors were being depleted and by the second half of the twentieth century, produced nothing. Due to the harsh climate, the barren land was unable to yield adequate crops, and there were no decent fishing grounds in the surrounding waters. The island dried up quickly and many of the islanders decided to abandon their homeland.
As if awaiting this opportunity, the "Savior" appeared.
She came to the island with a saintly smile and an inexhaustible supply of wealth, praising the dying island as the ideal location she was looking for. She made a promise. She would bring renewed prosperity to this island with its ideal geological and climatic conditions for researching new drugs, buying up the land, building facilities, and creating lasting employment for any islanders who lent a hand.
There were those who were skeptical, however they were immediately overjoyed by the exorbitant compensation. They had thought it was the end, that their island would sink into the inky depths of night, but now they were in for a treat. They thanked the Savior and left everything to her.
That's when the island was consumed.
Living solely dependent on the Savior for their finances soon robbed them of their ability to think. Not wanting to go back to their days of poverty, the islanders began suppressing the smallest of doubts, and as a result, they began to believe that no matter what, they couldn't allow themselves to doubt the Savior.
No, rather, they simply ceased to think.
A prison-like detention facility was built and no one who went to work there ever returned. Even though the island was so small! The saint's minions would violently and forcibly take new workers away. Yet they couldn't escape. Cameras hidden throughout the island kept a constant watch on them, with rampant snitching among the islanders. In their dulled minds, they believed if they displeased the Savior, things would get even worse. On the rare occasion a curious traveler came from outside the island, they would voluntarily abduct and lock them up. The islanders were now slaves to be dominated and exploited, all the while thinking they were on the same side as the Savior.
Nations already deemed the isolated island worthless. A troublesome enclave that produced nothing, had no role to play in expanding territorial waters, and cost money and effort to manage. The Savior purchased the island for an unbelievable sum of money during the turmoil of regime change and had it wiped off the national map. Her kingdom of "Sein", where no one could interfere or visit, was now complete.
However, the Savior's goal wasn't to rule such a tiny kingdom, but to conceal much more horrifying intentions.
Sein was a cage. A great big birdcage for capturing and imprisoning wretched fowls of the outside world and screening those who could overcome their fears with courage, or those blessed enough to know no fear.
When you release birds into a cage you must also first ensure it's empty. The "Overseer" no longer required anymore mindless followers.
Though they'd feared the night, Sein would perish; consumed by horrors not of the night.
Here lies new revelations about the biological disaster--
WELCOME TO BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2 ULTIMANIA!! (p.006)
The Ultimania series, first published in 1999 with "FINAL FANTASY VIII ULTIMANIA", was originally a series of strategy books produced by Studio BentStuff and released by DigiCube for the purpose of handling Square brand games.
In 2003, Square and Enix merged to form Square Enix, and the Ultimania series transferred to that publisher.
Since then, Ultimania has continued to feature large books with strong shades of old Square titles such as "Final Fantasy" and "Kingdom Hearts", and I'm sure there are many game fans who think of those titles when they hear the name Ultimania.
And yet, here we are.
Who could've imagined a collaboration between "BIOHAZARD" and "ULTIMANIA" that would transcend the boundaries of the game industry?
We were even able to get Ultimania into the hands of players just a week after the game released, quite unusual for a new title.
It was an incredibly tight schedule, but our staff, all of whom love the BIOHAZARD series, had the pleasure of creating Ultimania for BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2.
For fans of the BIOHAZARD series who've never read Ultimania before--
Or if you're a fan of the Ultimania series who hasn't played the BIOHAZARD series in-depth before--
I hope you'll find this book useful and enjoy playing BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2.
Last but not least.
I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people at CAPCOM and the BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2 development team for this wonderful opportunity.
Studio BentStuff
Akira Yamashita
The Ultimania series, first published in 1999 with "FINAL FANTASY VIII ULTIMANIA", was originally a series of strategy books produced by Studio BentStuff and released by DigiCube for the purpose of handling Square brand games.
In 2003, Square and Enix merged to form Square Enix, and the Ultimania series transferred to that publisher.
Since then, Ultimania has continued to feature large books with strong shades of old Square titles such as "Final Fantasy" and "Kingdom Hearts", and I'm sure there are many game fans who think of those titles when they hear the name Ultimania.
And yet, here we are.
Who could've imagined a collaboration between "BIOHAZARD" and "ULTIMANIA" that would transcend the boundaries of the game industry?
We were even able to get Ultimania into the hands of players just a week after the game released, quite unusual for a new title.
It was an incredibly tight schedule, but our staff, all of whom love the BIOHAZARD series, had the pleasure of creating Ultimania for BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2.
For fans of the BIOHAZARD series who've never read Ultimania before--
Or if you're a fan of the Ultimania series who hasn't played the BIOHAZARD series in-depth before--
I hope you'll find this book useful and enjoy playing BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2.
Last but not least.
I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the people at CAPCOM and the BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2 development team for this wonderful opportunity.
Studio BentStuff
Akira Yamashita
CHARACTER
Claire Redfield (p.008-009)
AGE: 32
HEIGHT: 169cm
WEIGHT: 52.4kg
NATIONALITY: American
A STEELY FEMALE WARRIOR WHO HAS SURVIVED AND MATURED IN BIO-DISASTERS
Among the members of "TerraSave", a non-governmental organization that combats bioterrorism to render aid to victims of medical-related disasters, Claire's one of its most experienced employees, having gone through many life-or-death predicaments. As a teenager she faced the first large-scale biological disaster ever recorded, an experience that gave her the willpower to never give up no matter how desperate the situation, along with the extraordinary courage to deal with anything calmly. She was abducted for no apparent reason by an unidentified special ops unit that raided the venue of a party hosted by TerraSave, bringing her along with her friends to a mysterious detention facility filled with madness. She's a mentally and physically tough warrior skilled with firearms and knives, also harboring a burning rage against "evil" that has no regard for human dignity.
▲ The members of TerraSave are overwhelmed by a spec ops unit that suddenly appear in the middle of a party. Before Claire can resist, she's injected with an anesthetic and loses consciousness.
▼ Perhaps due to her older brother's influence, Claire's been a biker girl who rides large motorcycles since she was in college. She's also adept at handling dangerous objects like knives.
▲ Claire wakes up in a bizarre prison cell. On her left wrist is a strange bracelet emitting a green light that can't be removed easily.
◄ Claire overwhelms the military-experienced Gabe in a struggle. Her brother Chris, who's currently active in an anti-bioterror unit, has trained her since she was a girl.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From Raccoon City
The biohazard that struck the American midwestern Raccoon City in 1998 was caused by an outbreak of the t-Virus covertly developed by the giant pharmaceutical company, Umbrella, and the entire city was burned to the ground in a missile strike by the government out of fear of the infection spreading. As a college student at the time, Claire came to the city and was embroiled in the incident while searching for her brother Chris, a member of the city police's special mission unit S.T.A.R.S. She was one of the few to survive and escape. She also faced and survived biological calamities at an Umbrella research facility on Rockfort Island in the same year, as well as the Harvardville Airport Bioterror Incident in 2005.
Moira Burton (p.010-011)
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 165cm
WEIGHT: 50.7kg
NATIONALITY: American
A ROOKIE WITH THE WORST LUCK, SNATCHED TO HER DEATH ON HER FIRST DAY
A newcomer TerraSave employee who's an old friend of Claire. She was attacked by a spec ops unit at a party on her first day at work, forcibly taken to a detention facility along with Claire and the other staff. As a young woman, she's prone to expressing her emotions and swears constantly, which could be taken as a sign of weakness in situations where she can't keep up with understanding. However, she's tough at her core and never breaks down even when placed in environments of extreme survival where humans-turned-creatures attack her. She's attached to Claire, who has been in contact with the Burton family since she was a child, with her admiration for the older and more independent Claire motivating her to join TerraSave. Meanwhile she's still in a rebellious phase of her life and repeatedly rebels against her father Barry in childish ways.
▲ She can't pick up a gun even in life-threatening situations. Her aversion to firearms is so strong she even raises her voice in protest when Claire grabs a gun from a dead body.
▼ When she's with Claire, she's very careful to hide her true weaknesses, even though she complains about them. When she's alone, the screaming of Moira's heart leaks out.
▲ Moira may look tough, but she has a kind heart. She can't leave a vulnerable person alone, and has the empathy to instantly unravel the heart of a young child.
◄ Her catchphrase "This is the worst!" could be a sign of her strong emotional connection with her father, imitating him despite her repulsion.
SECRET FILE: Deep Trauma Towards Firearms
Her father Barry was a police officer and a gun enthusiast, so he kept a lot of firearms at home. Of course, being a gun pro, Barry was always very careful with his firearms, but on that day, a fortuitous coincidence took a turn for the worst. When he looked away for a moment, the young Moira and her sister Polly walked into his gun storage area, and a gun went off in Moira's hands, injuring Polly.
Barry Burton (p.012-013)
AGE: 51
HEIGHT: 186cm
WEIGHT: 89.3kg
NATIONALITY: American
AN ANTI-BIOTERROR UNIT ADVISOR FIGHTING FOR HIS BELOVED DAUGHTER'S SURVIVAL
After a career in SWAT he joined S.T.A.R.S., a special mission unit of the Raccoon Police Department, and is currently an advisor to the anti-bioterror unit BSAA. After being informed that his eldest daughter Moira, who decided to join TerraSave in spite of his objections, had been abducted along with the organization's leaders, in order to rescue her he used every means at his disposal to find out the location of the detention facility where she was being held--- a dangerous and isolated island not marked on the map. He sails a boat alone in search of Moira, making his landing where a mysterious virus has turned the infected into creatures. He doesn't know how to interact with his daughter at her age, with people around him thinking they don't get along because of their emotional misunderstanding, but he has a deep affection for his family and does his best to search the island even though his body's weaker than it was in his prime.
▲ Barry's also a gun enthusiast and during his time at S.T.A.R.S. he made a large custom pistol called the Samurai Edge with the help of Robert Kendo, owner of a gun store in Raccoon City.
▼ Barry's persuaded by Natalia, a girl he met just after landing, to allow her to accompany him in his search for Moira. Barry's handling of girls is nothing short of clumsy.
▲ He involuntarily mumbles "This is the worst!" which he uses like he were breathing. He must've said it in front of his beloved family as well.
◄ His love for his family's not only his driving force, but also his greatest weakness. His family were once used to threaten him and he almost succumbed to Umbrella's scheme.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From The Mansion Incident
Barry's one of the survivors of the "Mansion Incident", as it's commonly referred to, which was a series of bizarre murders that occurred in 1998 on the outskirts of Raccoon City, along with the biohazard incident S.T.A.R.S. was caught up in when they set out to investigate. Chris Redfield (Claire's brother) and Jill Valentine, both founding members of the BSAA, are also among the survivors. This incident triggered the downfall of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella as well as the birth of heroes, and could be seen as the beginning of the era of bioterror that would follow. Barry left town with his family soon after his return and escaped Raccoon City's destruction two months later.
Natalia Korda (p.014-015)
AGE: 10
HEIGHT: 137cm
WEIGHT: 32kg
NATIONALITY: Hungarian
AN ORPHAN OF BIOTERROR VICTIMS RAISED IN A TERRASAVE FACILITY
An innocent girl Barry met right after he landed on the isolated island. On the dangerous island teeming with insane test subjects and ferocious mutated creatures, she survived by herself, traveling a long distance to the shoreline with no special gear or weapons. She was orphaned after losing her parents in a massive bioterror attack seven years ago and has been raised and protected in a TerraSave facility ever since. Due to these harsh childhood experiences she has an introverted personality lacking emotional ups and downs, never clearly displaying her feelings, but above all she shows a strength of will that breaks Barry, refusing to give up on accompanying him on his search of the island because she's afraid of being alone. She has an uncanny perceptual ability, capable of sensing the presence of enemies that can't be seen with the "naked eye."
▲ As a child she uses her small size to enter places adults can't and unlock doors from the inside. She's not only the object of Barry's protection, but also a reliable partner.
▼ She also works with Claire and Moira for a while. She soon disappears however and her whereabouts are unknown until she meets Barry.
▲ Her super-senses allow her to detect beings lurking in the shadows without relying on her eyes. It was this ability that allowed her to reach Barry's landing site.
◄ Natalia says she was at a TerraSave facility. Her abduction to this island is proof they were targeting not just those at the party, but the entire organization.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From Terragrigia
When Natalia was three-years-old, she faced the "Terragrigia Panic," a large-scale bioterror attack in which B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapons) and a virus were intentionally used to strike a city. The advanced maritime city of Terragrigia was constructed on an artificial island in the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by ocean on all sides, its geographical location making many of its residents incapable of escaping and exposing them to the terrorist attack, resulting in a tremendous number of casualties. Natalia's parents also lost their lives here, and it was a miracle that she was rescued when she was still very young, but as a result, Natalia exhibits a peculiar psychological state of paralyzed fear.
Evgeny Rebic (p.016)
AGE: 66
HEIGHT: 170cm
WEIGHT: 50kg
NATIONALITY: Unknown
THE STUBBORN LONESOME RESISTANCE TO THE REIGN OF THE ISLAND'S "SAVIOR"
An old man, armed and hiding in the sewers. He was born on this once prosperous mining island and worked as a miner all his life, never leaving his hometown. When the island's resources were depleted, he became suspicious of a group of outsiders who invested huge amounts of capital to construct a research facility. He began warning others about them, only to be treated as a troublemaker by the economically dominated islanders. He has since been living a self-sufficient life like a hermit.
◄ He had a daughter who left him in opposition to her father's stubbornness. Moira, with her rebellious and cocky attitude, may have looked like a reflection of her, and she lends him her strength despite his brusque attitude.
▲ He detests the outsiders who ruined his beloved hometown and treats Claire etc. coldly when they tell him about the incident.
Neil Fisher (p.017)
AGE: 39
HEIGHT: 180cm
WEIGHT: 70kg
NATIONALITY: American
TERRASAVE'S SHARPEST MAN IN CHARGE OF THE GROUP'S INFO
A member of TerraSave's executive staff, he's a capable man with outstanding leadership skills. As well as keeping a close eye on bioterror-related developments around the world, he keeps track of TerraSave members' personal data to ensure the organization runs smoothly. He's calm and collected under any circumstances, even after being abducted to the island he shows no signs of being perturbed at all, breaking through danger alone to support his friends.
◄ He's undaunted by the swarms of creatures and courageous enough to use himself as a decoy to attract them with no hesitation.
▲ He's an extremely pragmatic thinker, never neglecting to gather internal and external intel in order to protect the organization. Claire says he's like a detective, but he's well-trusted by the members, including Claire.
Gabriel Chavez (p.018)
AGE: 35
HEIGHT: 179cm
WEIGHT: 85kg
NATIONALITY: American
A SMART PASSIONATE MAN WHO'S BEEN THROUGH THE RINGER
An ex-military member of TerraSave, he's a mechanic in charge of maintenance for vehicles and equipment. His wild appearance often leads people to think he's a physical person who acts before he thinks, but he's actually a voracious reader with the wisdom to immediately recognize that the words of the "Overseer", who masterminded their abduction, are quotes from the novelist Franz Kafka.
◄ Two years ago, he was dispatched to the Kijuju Autonomous Zone in Africa where a bioterror incident occurred.
Gina Foley
AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 172cm
WEIGHT: Unknown
NATIONALITY: British
A younger generation member of the staff who still remembers the horrific events of the Terragrigia Panic. She's a prominent figure in TerraSave as a talented woman gifted with both intellect and beauty. Though she was abducted at the same time as Claire and the others, as soon as she woke up in the detention facility, she was unfortunately attacked by test subjects-turned-creatures and died a horrible death.
▲ When Claire and the others are released from prison, she's suffering from deep untreatable wounds and it's already too late for her.
Pedro Fernandez (p.019)
AGE: 27
HEIGHT: 172cm
WEIGHT: 66kg
NATIONALITY: Mexican
A CHEERFUL AND TIMID YOUNG MAN GOOD AT HIS JOB
A young staff member who has been an avid participant in TerraSave protests against the government since his days as a student. He's an excellent staff member with athlete-level physical abilities and expertise in mechanical engineering, but he's naturally timid and prone to panic, making him unsuited for work at a bioterror site.
▲ He's also shrewd enough to recover a bracelet-shaped sensor from the arm of a comrade who lost his life.
Edward Thompson
AGE: Unknown
HEIGHT: Unknown
WEIGHT: Unknown
NATIONALITY: Unknown
A member of TerraSave who was fatally wounded and died while escaping from a group of creatures along with Neil, Gabe, etc. The bracelet on his left arm was forcibly removed by Pedro, who then took it apart and analyzed it to determine the source of its radio waves.
▲ Barry and Natalia discover Edward's decaying corpse, so badly damaged they can't identify him without checking his ID card.
Alex (p.020)
AGE: 51
HEIGHT: 177cm
WEIGHT: 54kg
NATIONALITY: Unknown
A WITCH REIGNING OVER A MAD ISLAND OVERSEEING TERROR
An enigmatic woman revered as a "Savior" by the islanders. She arrived on the island at the end of the 1970s while it was in dire straits due to the exhaustion of its only industry, mining, then spent a vast sum of money to construct a huge facility she claimed to be a laboratory for new drugs, and started to employ the islanders. They had no choice but to rely on Alex, and by the time she revealed her true nature and initiated her horrific human experiments, they'd been abandoned by the state and couldn't escape the island. By the time the members of TerraSave were brought in, most of the islanders had been disposed of or turned into creatures.
◄ She calls herself "The Overseer" and uses surveillance cameras and bracelet sensors all over the island to monitor Claire and her friends.
► An admirer of Kafka, she named a tavern after his birthplace and actually built and operated the execution machine in his novel.
Claire Redfield (p.008-009)
AGE: 32
HEIGHT: 169cm
WEIGHT: 52.4kg
NATIONALITY: American
A STEELY FEMALE WARRIOR WHO HAS SURVIVED AND MATURED IN BIO-DISASTERS
Among the members of "TerraSave", a non-governmental organization that combats bioterrorism to render aid to victims of medical-related disasters, Claire's one of its most experienced employees, having gone through many life-or-death predicaments. As a teenager she faced the first large-scale biological disaster ever recorded, an experience that gave her the willpower to never give up no matter how desperate the situation, along with the extraordinary courage to deal with anything calmly. She was abducted for no apparent reason by an unidentified special ops unit that raided the venue of a party hosted by TerraSave, bringing her along with her friends to a mysterious detention facility filled with madness. She's a mentally and physically tough warrior skilled with firearms and knives, also harboring a burning rage against "evil" that has no regard for human dignity.
▲ The members of TerraSave are overwhelmed by a spec ops unit that suddenly appear in the middle of a party. Before Claire can resist, she's injected with an anesthetic and loses consciousness.
▼ Perhaps due to her older brother's influence, Claire's been a biker girl who rides large motorcycles since she was in college. She's also adept at handling dangerous objects like knives.
▲ Claire wakes up in a bizarre prison cell. On her left wrist is a strange bracelet emitting a green light that can't be removed easily.
◄ Claire overwhelms the military-experienced Gabe in a struggle. Her brother Chris, who's currently active in an anti-bioterror unit, has trained her since she was a girl.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From Raccoon City
The biohazard that struck the American midwestern Raccoon City in 1998 was caused by an outbreak of the t-Virus covertly developed by the giant pharmaceutical company, Umbrella, and the entire city was burned to the ground in a missile strike by the government out of fear of the infection spreading. As a college student at the time, Claire came to the city and was embroiled in the incident while searching for her brother Chris, a member of the city police's special mission unit S.T.A.R.S. She was one of the few to survive and escape. She also faced and survived biological calamities at an Umbrella research facility on Rockfort Island in the same year, as well as the Harvardville Airport Bioterror Incident in 2005.
Moira Burton (p.010-011)
AGE: 20
HEIGHT: 165cm
WEIGHT: 50.7kg
NATIONALITY: American
A ROOKIE WITH THE WORST LUCK, SNATCHED TO HER DEATH ON HER FIRST DAY
A newcomer TerraSave employee who's an old friend of Claire. She was attacked by a spec ops unit at a party on her first day at work, forcibly taken to a detention facility along with Claire and the other staff. As a young woman, she's prone to expressing her emotions and swears constantly, which could be taken as a sign of weakness in situations where she can't keep up with understanding. However, she's tough at her core and never breaks down even when placed in environments of extreme survival where humans-turned-creatures attack her. She's attached to Claire, who has been in contact with the Burton family since she was a child, with her admiration for the older and more independent Claire motivating her to join TerraSave. Meanwhile she's still in a rebellious phase of her life and repeatedly rebels against her father Barry in childish ways.
▲ She can't pick up a gun even in life-threatening situations. Her aversion to firearms is so strong she even raises her voice in protest when Claire grabs a gun from a dead body.
▼ When she's with Claire, she's very careful to hide her true weaknesses, even though she complains about them. When she's alone, the screaming of Moira's heart leaks out.
▲ Moira may look tough, but she has a kind heart. She can't leave a vulnerable person alone, and has the empathy to instantly unravel the heart of a young child.
◄ Her catchphrase "This is the worst!" could be a sign of her strong emotional connection with her father, imitating him despite her repulsion.
SECRET FILE: Deep Trauma Towards Firearms
Her father Barry was a police officer and a gun enthusiast, so he kept a lot of firearms at home. Of course, being a gun pro, Barry was always very careful with his firearms, but on that day, a fortuitous coincidence took a turn for the worst. When he looked away for a moment, the young Moira and her sister Polly walked into his gun storage area, and a gun went off in Moira's hands, injuring Polly.
Barry Burton (p.012-013)
AGE: 51
HEIGHT: 186cm
WEIGHT: 89.3kg
NATIONALITY: American
AN ANTI-BIOTERROR UNIT ADVISOR FIGHTING FOR HIS BELOVED DAUGHTER'S SURVIVAL
After a career in SWAT he joined S.T.A.R.S., a special mission unit of the Raccoon Police Department, and is currently an advisor to the anti-bioterror unit BSAA. After being informed that his eldest daughter Moira, who decided to join TerraSave in spite of his objections, had been abducted along with the organization's leaders, in order to rescue her he used every means at his disposal to find out the location of the detention facility where she was being held--- a dangerous and isolated island not marked on the map. He sails a boat alone in search of Moira, making his landing where a mysterious virus has turned the infected into creatures. He doesn't know how to interact with his daughter at her age, with people around him thinking they don't get along because of their emotional misunderstanding, but he has a deep affection for his family and does his best to search the island even though his body's weaker than it was in his prime.
▲ Barry's also a gun enthusiast and during his time at S.T.A.R.S. he made a large custom pistol called the Samurai Edge with the help of Robert Kendo, owner of a gun store in Raccoon City.
▼ Barry's persuaded by Natalia, a girl he met just after landing, to allow her to accompany him in his search for Moira. Barry's handling of girls is nothing short of clumsy.
▲ He involuntarily mumbles "This is the worst!" which he uses like he were breathing. He must've said it in front of his beloved family as well.
◄ His love for his family's not only his driving force, but also his greatest weakness. His family were once used to threaten him and he almost succumbed to Umbrella's scheme.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From The Mansion Incident
Barry's one of the survivors of the "Mansion Incident", as it's commonly referred to, which was a series of bizarre murders that occurred in 1998 on the outskirts of Raccoon City, along with the biohazard incident S.T.A.R.S. was caught up in when they set out to investigate. Chris Redfield (Claire's brother) and Jill Valentine, both founding members of the BSAA, are also among the survivors. This incident triggered the downfall of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella as well as the birth of heroes, and could be seen as the beginning of the era of bioterror that would follow. Barry left town with his family soon after his return and escaped Raccoon City's destruction two months later.
Natalia Korda (p.014-015)
AGE: 10
HEIGHT: 137cm
WEIGHT: 32kg
NATIONALITY: Hungarian
AN ORPHAN OF BIOTERROR VICTIMS RAISED IN A TERRASAVE FACILITY
An innocent girl Barry met right after he landed on the isolated island. On the dangerous island teeming with insane test subjects and ferocious mutated creatures, she survived by herself, traveling a long distance to the shoreline with no special gear or weapons. She was orphaned after losing her parents in a massive bioterror attack seven years ago and has been raised and protected in a TerraSave facility ever since. Due to these harsh childhood experiences she has an introverted personality lacking emotional ups and downs, never clearly displaying her feelings, but above all she shows a strength of will that breaks Barry, refusing to give up on accompanying him on his search of the island because she's afraid of being alone. She has an uncanny perceptual ability, capable of sensing the presence of enemies that can't be seen with the "naked eye."
▲ As a child she uses her small size to enter places adults can't and unlock doors from the inside. She's not only the object of Barry's protection, but also a reliable partner.
▼ She also works with Claire and Moira for a while. She soon disappears however and her whereabouts are unknown until she meets Barry.
▲ Her super-senses allow her to detect beings lurking in the shadows without relying on her eyes. It was this ability that allowed her to reach Barry's landing site.
◄ Natalia says she was at a TerraSave facility. Her abduction to this island is proof they were targeting not just those at the party, but the entire organization.
SECRET FILE: A Survivor From Terragrigia
When Natalia was three-years-old, she faced the "Terragrigia Panic," a large-scale bioterror attack in which B.O.W. (Bio Organic Weapons) and a virus were intentionally used to strike a city. The advanced maritime city of Terragrigia was constructed on an artificial island in the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by ocean on all sides, its geographical location making many of its residents incapable of escaping and exposing them to the terrorist attack, resulting in a tremendous number of casualties. Natalia's parents also lost their lives here, and it was a miracle that she was rescued when she was still very young, but as a result, Natalia exhibits a peculiar psychological state of paralyzed fear.
Evgeny Rebic (p.016)
AGE: 66
HEIGHT: 170cm
WEIGHT: 50kg
NATIONALITY: Unknown
THE STUBBORN LONESOME RESISTANCE TO THE REIGN OF THE ISLAND'S "SAVIOR"
An old man, armed and hiding in the sewers. He was born on this once prosperous mining island and worked as a miner all his life, never leaving his hometown. When the island's resources were depleted, he became suspicious of a group of outsiders who invested huge amounts of capital to construct a research facility. He began warning others about them, only to be treated as a troublemaker by the economically dominated islanders. He has since been living a self-sufficient life like a hermit.
◄ He had a daughter who left him in opposition to her father's stubbornness. Moira, with her rebellious and cocky attitude, may have looked like a reflection of her, and she lends him her strength despite his brusque attitude.
▲ He detests the outsiders who ruined his beloved hometown and treats Claire etc. coldly when they tell him about the incident.
Neil Fisher (p.017)
AGE: 39
HEIGHT: 180cm
WEIGHT: 70kg
NATIONALITY: American
TERRASAVE'S SHARPEST MAN IN CHARGE OF THE GROUP'S INFO
A member of TerraSave's executive staff, he's a capable man with outstanding leadership skills. As well as keeping a close eye on bioterror-related developments around the world, he keeps track of TerraSave members' personal data to ensure the organization runs smoothly. He's calm and collected under any circumstances, even after being abducted to the island he shows no signs of being perturbed at all, breaking through danger alone to support his friends.
◄ He's undaunted by the swarms of creatures and courageous enough to use himself as a decoy to attract them with no hesitation.
▲ He's an extremely pragmatic thinker, never neglecting to gather internal and external intel in order to protect the organization. Claire says he's like a detective, but he's well-trusted by the members, including Claire.
Gabriel Chavez (p.018)
AGE: 35
HEIGHT: 179cm
WEIGHT: 85kg
NATIONALITY: American
A SMART PASSIONATE MAN WHO'S BEEN THROUGH THE RINGER
An ex-military member of TerraSave, he's a mechanic in charge of maintenance for vehicles and equipment. His wild appearance often leads people to think he's a physical person who acts before he thinks, but he's actually a voracious reader with the wisdom to immediately recognize that the words of the "Overseer", who masterminded their abduction, are quotes from the novelist Franz Kafka.
◄ Two years ago, he was dispatched to the Kijuju Autonomous Zone in Africa where a bioterror incident occurred.
Gina Foley
AGE: 29
HEIGHT: 172cm
WEIGHT: Unknown
NATIONALITY: British
A younger generation member of the staff who still remembers the horrific events of the Terragrigia Panic. She's a prominent figure in TerraSave as a talented woman gifted with both intellect and beauty. Though she was abducted at the same time as Claire and the others, as soon as she woke up in the detention facility, she was unfortunately attacked by test subjects-turned-creatures and died a horrible death.
▲ When Claire and the others are released from prison, she's suffering from deep untreatable wounds and it's already too late for her.
Pedro Fernandez (p.019)
AGE: 27
HEIGHT: 172cm
WEIGHT: 66kg
NATIONALITY: Mexican
A CHEERFUL AND TIMID YOUNG MAN GOOD AT HIS JOB
A young staff member who has been an avid participant in TerraSave protests against the government since his days as a student. He's an excellent staff member with athlete-level physical abilities and expertise in mechanical engineering, but he's naturally timid and prone to panic, making him unsuited for work at a bioterror site.
▲ He's also shrewd enough to recover a bracelet-shaped sensor from the arm of a comrade who lost his life.
Edward Thompson
AGE: Unknown
HEIGHT: Unknown
WEIGHT: Unknown
NATIONALITY: Unknown
A member of TerraSave who was fatally wounded and died while escaping from a group of creatures along with Neil, Gabe, etc. The bracelet on his left arm was forcibly removed by Pedro, who then took it apart and analyzed it to determine the source of its radio waves.
▲ Barry and Natalia discover Edward's decaying corpse, so badly damaged they can't identify him without checking his ID card.
Alex (p.020)
AGE: 51
HEIGHT: 177cm
WEIGHT: 54kg
NATIONALITY: Unknown
A WITCH REIGNING OVER A MAD ISLAND OVERSEEING TERROR
An enigmatic woman revered as a "Savior" by the islanders. She arrived on the island at the end of the 1970s while it was in dire straits due to the exhaustion of its only industry, mining, then spent a vast sum of money to construct a huge facility she claimed to be a laboratory for new drugs, and started to employ the islanders. They had no choice but to rely on Alex, and by the time she revealed her true nature and initiated her horrific human experiments, they'd been abandoned by the state and couldn't escape the island. By the time the members of TerraSave were brought in, most of the islanders had been disposed of or turned into creatures.
◄ She calls herself "The Overseer" and uses surveillance cameras and bracelet sensors all over the island to monitor Claire and her friends.
► An admirer of Kafka, she named a tavern after his birthplace and actually built and operated the execution machine in his novel.
BIOHAZARD REVELATIONS 2 GLOSSARY (p.021-023)
TERRASAVE
AN NGO STANDING UP TO BIOTERROR
TerraSave's an NGO (non-governmental organization) formed out of growing awareness of the need for private organizations not driven by profit in order to protect and assist victims of bioterrorism and serious medical-related cover-ups by governments and corporations, which have come to light in the wake of Raccoon's destruction in 1998. It has no armed forces and its main purpose is to provide humanitarian assistance, such as delivering supplies and dispatching medical teams to an area after a bio-disaster has been contained, but their activities are wide-ranging such as keeping a close eye on unsafe drug development and the construction of illegal research facilities, as well as holding large-scale protests against government and corporate corruption.
BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance)
AN ANTI-BIOTERROR UNIT UNDER THE UN'S DIRECT COMMAND
A special combat unit organized by specially trained personnel to combat bioterrorism, which has started being carried out with highly sophisticated tactics. At the time of its establishment, it was merely a private unit sponsored by a corporate alliance of major pharmaceutical companies from various countries as a means of deflecting criticism, but due to the scandal of the FBC, the leading organization in anti-bioterror ops until then, it was reorganized as a public organization under the jurisdiction of the United Nations. Due to the enormous cost of its activities however, the UN cannot cover its operating costs and the corporate alliance still contributes funds.
FBC (Federal Bioterrorism Commission)
AN ANTI-TERROR COMMISSION MIRED IN A MAJOR POWER'S INFLUENCE
Like the BSAA, the Federal Bioterrorism Commission was formed in response to the need for a militarized unit capable of responding to bioterror, but as it was under the direct command of the United States Government, it had a powerful influence on the international community since its inception. However, the FBC was dismantled following the uncovering of a conspiracy where they provided a terrorist group with a new virus in order to spark a large-scale bioterror attack, then strengthening its authority by suppressing the attack. Most of its personnel were absorbed into the BSAA.
TERRAGRIGIA PANIC
A CATASTROPHE THAT TERRIFIED THE WORLD
While Raccoon City's destruction was an accident caused by a virus outbreak, the Terragrigia Panic was a bioterrorist attack in 2004 in which biological weapons were used as a means of striking a city. Terragrigia, a maritime city built in the Mediterranean Sea, was sprayed with the t-Abyss Virus by the extremist group Veltro, contaminating the whole city in the blink of an eye. FBC Commissioner Morgan defied his opposition and decided to irradiate Terragrigia with super-heated radiation by utilizing the Solar Integrated System "Regia SOLIS." Almost no civilians survived and Terragrigia was left in unrecoverable ruins.
OSWELL E. SPENCER
A SHADOWY TITAN WHO CRAVED THE ETERNAL THRONE OF A GOD
A wealthy aristocrat who had everything as the leader of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. As a believer in the idea of chosen ones, he dreamed of creating a superhuman race using the t-Virus, which turned Raccoon City into a city of the dead, with himself reigning as an absolute supreme being at the apex of a chosen and evolved population. Just as he was about to put the virus to practical use however, his many criminal activities came to light and he went into hiding after Umbrella was dismantled to avoid being brought to justice.
UMBRELLA
AN UMBRELLA FOR CONCEALING TREACHERY
It all started in the 1960s when Spencer and his allies discovered the Progenitor Virus that was capable of radically rewriting the genes of living organisms. As a front for commercializing the unstable virus, they founded the pharmaceutical company Umbrella while lavishly investing capital to expand the company into a giant corporation and repeatedly experimenting on people at the cost of human rights. After a long period of time, development of the virus bore fruit and Spencer's ambition appeared close to being realized, but small hitches led to Raccoon City's destruction which exposed Umbrella's evil to the light of day.
WESKER PROJECT
AN ATTEMPT AT CREATING A NEW HUMAN RACE
The Wesker Project was an experiment project in which Spencer selected young boys and girls gathered from all over the world as test subjects, based on the idea of forcibly evolving the human race. These gifted individuals were assigned the surname "Wesker" and subjected to advanced education and training to strengthen their bodies, but they were also administered a prototype virus to screen them. In the end, only two Weskers survived. One of them, Albert Wesker, was trained as an Umbrella executive candidate and later became the successor to Spencer's ambition.
UROBOROS VIRUS
A DARK "PHILOSOPHER'S STONE" FOR CULLING HUMANITY AND GRANTING IMMORTALITY
The ultimate variant virus developed based on the Progenitor Virus with the most intense effects on those infected with it. If the genes of a human injected with it are compatible, their body will be endowed with superhuman abilities and attain a permanent state of what may be called immortality. However, only Albert Wesker was able to achieve this, while all test subjects lost their sense of self with their bodies devoured by the virus cysts that proliferate out of control.
TERRASAVE
AN NGO STANDING UP TO BIOTERROR
TerraSave's an NGO (non-governmental organization) formed out of growing awareness of the need for private organizations not driven by profit in order to protect and assist victims of bioterrorism and serious medical-related cover-ups by governments and corporations, which have come to light in the wake of Raccoon's destruction in 1998. It has no armed forces and its main purpose is to provide humanitarian assistance, such as delivering supplies and dispatching medical teams to an area after a bio-disaster has been contained, but their activities are wide-ranging such as keeping a close eye on unsafe drug development and the construction of illegal research facilities, as well as holding large-scale protests against government and corporate corruption.
BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance)
AN ANTI-BIOTERROR UNIT UNDER THE UN'S DIRECT COMMAND
A special combat unit organized by specially trained personnel to combat bioterrorism, which has started being carried out with highly sophisticated tactics. At the time of its establishment, it was merely a private unit sponsored by a corporate alliance of major pharmaceutical companies from various countries as a means of deflecting criticism, but due to the scandal of the FBC, the leading organization in anti-bioterror ops until then, it was reorganized as a public organization under the jurisdiction of the United Nations. Due to the enormous cost of its activities however, the UN cannot cover its operating costs and the corporate alliance still contributes funds.
FBC (Federal Bioterrorism Commission)
AN ANTI-TERROR COMMISSION MIRED IN A MAJOR POWER'S INFLUENCE
Like the BSAA, the Federal Bioterrorism Commission was formed in response to the need for a militarized unit capable of responding to bioterror, but as it was under the direct command of the United States Government, it had a powerful influence on the international community since its inception. However, the FBC was dismantled following the uncovering of a conspiracy where they provided a terrorist group with a new virus in order to spark a large-scale bioterror attack, then strengthening its authority by suppressing the attack. Most of its personnel were absorbed into the BSAA.
TERRAGRIGIA PANIC
A CATASTROPHE THAT TERRIFIED THE WORLD
While Raccoon City's destruction was an accident caused by a virus outbreak, the Terragrigia Panic was a bioterrorist attack in 2004 in which biological weapons were used as a means of striking a city. Terragrigia, a maritime city built in the Mediterranean Sea, was sprayed with the t-Abyss Virus by the extremist group Veltro, contaminating the whole city in the blink of an eye. FBC Commissioner Morgan defied his opposition and decided to irradiate Terragrigia with super-heated radiation by utilizing the Solar Integrated System "Regia SOLIS." Almost no civilians survived and Terragrigia was left in unrecoverable ruins.
OSWELL E. SPENCER
A SHADOWY TITAN WHO CRAVED THE ETERNAL THRONE OF A GOD
A wealthy aristocrat who had everything as the leader of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. As a believer in the idea of chosen ones, he dreamed of creating a superhuman race using the t-Virus, which turned Raccoon City into a city of the dead, with himself reigning as an absolute supreme being at the apex of a chosen and evolved population. Just as he was about to put the virus to practical use however, his many criminal activities came to light and he went into hiding after Umbrella was dismantled to avoid being brought to justice.
UMBRELLA
AN UMBRELLA FOR CONCEALING TREACHERY
It all started in the 1960s when Spencer and his allies discovered the Progenitor Virus that was capable of radically rewriting the genes of living organisms. As a front for commercializing the unstable virus, they founded the pharmaceutical company Umbrella while lavishly investing capital to expand the company into a giant corporation and repeatedly experimenting on people at the cost of human rights. After a long period of time, development of the virus bore fruit and Spencer's ambition appeared close to being realized, but small hitches led to Raccoon City's destruction which exposed Umbrella's evil to the light of day.
WESKER PROJECT
AN ATTEMPT AT CREATING A NEW HUMAN RACE
The Wesker Project was an experiment project in which Spencer selected young boys and girls gathered from all over the world as test subjects, based on the idea of forcibly evolving the human race. These gifted individuals were assigned the surname "Wesker" and subjected to advanced education and training to strengthen their bodies, but they were also administered a prototype virus to screen them. In the end, only two Weskers survived. One of them, Albert Wesker, was trained as an Umbrella executive candidate and later became the successor to Spencer's ambition.
UROBOROS VIRUS
A DARK "PHILOSOPHER'S STONE" FOR CULLING HUMANITY AND GRANTING IMMORTALITY
The ultimate variant virus developed based on the Progenitor Virus with the most intense effects on those infected with it. If the genes of a human injected with it are compatible, their body will be endowed with superhuman abilities and attain a permanent state of what may be called immortality. However, only Albert Wesker was able to achieve this, while all test subjects lost their sense of self with their bodies devoured by the virus cysts that proliferate out of control.
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 1 (p.024)
Yudai Yamaguchi - Cutscene Director
FILM: Battlefield Stadium, Cromartie High The Movie, Tamami: The Baby's Curse, Yakuza Weapon
GAME: Lollipop Chainsaw, Killer Is Dead
Q: How'd you become involved in this project?
A: I was introduced to this project by Shirogumi, a company I've worked with before on video games. I didn't expect to be involved in the BIO series so quickly... I'm very impressed.
Q: How'd you go about the direction process?
A: First of all, we shot the same content as the cutscenes (event scenes rendered in real-time graphics) in live-action then completed them. Based on those, we continued converting them into CG movies using motion capture for a year. Since the live-action visuals were completed first, I think we were able to use the limited time to improve the quality without hesitation.
Q: Was there anything you were particularly picky about?
A: I play a lot of games and I don't like it when amazing action is only in cutscene form, or when there's a disconnect between performance during cutscenes and during gameplay. For that reason, I had a lot of discussions with the director, Yasuhiro-san, and took care to make sure the divide wasn't disconcerting. I even had to ask him to change the staging and stage lighting design to make it work, but I can say this was only possible thanks to the development team's support.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: With new characters appearing such as Moira and Natalia, we've created a story where you can feel the bonds between parent and child, a new innovation for the series so far, and I think the episodic delivery element will also make the game feel fresh. I think these challenges were made possible by the fact this is "Revelations" and not a numbered title.
Q: If there's another game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: I'd like to show the actors' fine expressions with more precision. I also felt there were limits to the extent of live-action camerawork, so if the situation allows, I'd like to shoot with virtual cameras.
Tsuyoshi Irie - Cutscenes
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, Onimusha 3, Lost Planet
Q: How many staff members did you have and how long did it take you to make the movies?
A: It took seven staff members about eight months to produce both pre-rendered (movies) and real-time (cutscenes).
Q: Wasn't it difficult to support voices in multiple languages?
A: It was a lot of work, but I think it paid off since the localization director and other talented foreign staff took part in this game from the initial idea level of production.
Q: What did you pay particular attention to?
A: This is going to sound strange, but I tried to structure the demos in ways that wouldn't interfere with the game. We tried to reduce the number of cutscenes and shorten the length of demos as much as possible so that players who purchased the game would have less time with their hands off the controller.
Q: What's your favorite scene?
A: The scene where Natalia awakens at the end. At the storyboarding stage, I thought it was a never-before-scene expression in BIO. In a good way, at that point I felt the game had a new atmosphere.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: The opening. Like the recruitment video in the movie "Starship Troopers," TerraSave's corporate video has a tongue-in-cheek tone to it, and I think it'll give people an impression that this isn't like the BIO series in the past.
Q: What sort of challenge would you like to take on in the next game?
A: I'd like to make a game where the gameplay and cutscenes are intertwined to keep the player excited.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
The idea for the Natalia side EX Episode came from a doppelganger remark by the localization director when I was struggling with ideas.
Yudai Yamaguchi - Cutscene Director
FILM: Battlefield Stadium, Cromartie High The Movie, Tamami: The Baby's Curse, Yakuza Weapon
GAME: Lollipop Chainsaw, Killer Is Dead
Q: How'd you become involved in this project?
A: I was introduced to this project by Shirogumi, a company I've worked with before on video games. I didn't expect to be involved in the BIO series so quickly... I'm very impressed.
Q: How'd you go about the direction process?
A: First of all, we shot the same content as the cutscenes (event scenes rendered in real-time graphics) in live-action then completed them. Based on those, we continued converting them into CG movies using motion capture for a year. Since the live-action visuals were completed first, I think we were able to use the limited time to improve the quality without hesitation.
Q: Was there anything you were particularly picky about?
A: I play a lot of games and I don't like it when amazing action is only in cutscene form, or when there's a disconnect between performance during cutscenes and during gameplay. For that reason, I had a lot of discussions with the director, Yasuhiro-san, and took care to make sure the divide wasn't disconcerting. I even had to ask him to change the staging and stage lighting design to make it work, but I can say this was only possible thanks to the development team's support.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: With new characters appearing such as Moira and Natalia, we've created a story where you can feel the bonds between parent and child, a new innovation for the series so far, and I think the episodic delivery element will also make the game feel fresh. I think these challenges were made possible by the fact this is "Revelations" and not a numbered title.
Q: If there's another game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: I'd like to show the actors' fine expressions with more precision. I also felt there were limits to the extent of live-action camerawork, so if the situation allows, I'd like to shoot with virtual cameras.
Tsuyoshi Irie - Cutscenes
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, Onimusha 3, Lost Planet
Q: How many staff members did you have and how long did it take you to make the movies?
A: It took seven staff members about eight months to produce both pre-rendered (movies) and real-time (cutscenes).
Q: Wasn't it difficult to support voices in multiple languages?
A: It was a lot of work, but I think it paid off since the localization director and other talented foreign staff took part in this game from the initial idea level of production.
Q: What did you pay particular attention to?
A: This is going to sound strange, but I tried to structure the demos in ways that wouldn't interfere with the game. We tried to reduce the number of cutscenes and shorten the length of demos as much as possible so that players who purchased the game would have less time with their hands off the controller.
Q: What's your favorite scene?
A: The scene where Natalia awakens at the end. At the storyboarding stage, I thought it was a never-before-scene expression in BIO. In a good way, at that point I felt the game had a new atmosphere.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: The opening. Like the recruitment video in the movie "Starship Troopers," TerraSave's corporate video has a tongue-in-cheek tone to it, and I think it'll give people an impression that this isn't like the BIO series in the past.
Q: What sort of challenge would you like to take on in the next game?
A: I'd like to make a game where the gameplay and cutscenes are intertwined to keep the player excited.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
The idea for the Natalia side EX Episode came from a doppelganger remark by the localization director when I was struggling with ideas.
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 2 (p.074)
Kazunori Kadoi - Game Designer
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 1, 5, 6, CODE:Veronica, Outbreak, Rockman DASH, Treasure Island 2
Q: How'd you decide on the content for the Moira and Natalia episodes?
A: The Moira episode was decided early on to be a battle game about Moira's period of survival. The Natalia episode was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision, because if we had a Moira episode, then there had to be a Natalia episode. We're not allowed to show children shooting guns, so after much debate and discussion we settled on the current form with the theme of hide-and-seek.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: Combat with the Revenant and other unique enemies. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make the battles tense and interesting.
Q: What was the most important part of the game for you?
A: I wanted to create a game that fit the image of BIO as a survival horror game. In addition, I tried to give the player a wide range of options in terms of what to do when encountering enemies and what items to use.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: The connection between Claire and Barry. What Claire and the others do will change how Barry's story develops, so if you play through a second time, you'll be surprised by what you find.
Q: Please tell us about any rejected ideas.
A: Gina, who appears early in the story, was supposed to live until the mid-game and become a creature, but due to development time constraints, she was rejected and became the first character to be killed. The prototype of Gina's creature form was completed to the point it could move around within the stage, but we put it in storage.
Q: Do you have any unforgettable memories from the development process?
A: Before Natalia took her current form, the game was so surreal you could play it with Natalia shooting laser beams out of her fingers to kill enemies.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
At the beginning of development, the main character was an 18-year-old Natalia. There were twists and turns from there and the only remaining settings are the island stage and some characters' names and appearances.
Kota Suzuki - Sound Director, Composer
PAST GAMES: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, REVELATIONS, THE MERCENARIES 3D, Devil May Cry 4, Won!Tertainment Music Channel
Q: Please tell us the concept behind these songs.
A: To have different musicality between Claire's side and Barry's side. Clare's side is mainly synthesizer-based, in the direction of coloring the worldview with music similar to the past. For the Barry side, I decided to use mainly acoustic instruments in minor composition to create gaps in the music, using more sound effects to add color to the worldview.
Q: Wasn't it difficult to create a variety of sounds?
A: One of this project's concepts was to create original instrumental sounds unique to this game. We collaborated with Nima Fakhrara, a composer who specializes in creating custom sounds, in order to create sounds that are one-of-a-kind. One instrument Nima made for me is called the "ICE QUEEN", which is made by welding a large steel plate into a tube and pressing dry ice against it. It's an amazing idea.
Q: What kind of orders did the director give you?
A: He wanted me to pursue horror.
Q: Did you have previous titles in the series in mind?
A: We arranged songs that were impressive in the last game. If there's even a sequel in the future, I'd be pleased if these songs are constantly arranged.
Q: Are there any new technologies you've introduced this time?
A: We introduced a "Listening Mode" in the AUDIO OPTIONS which allows players to select the appropriate dynamic range for their audio playback environment. Whether you're playing on loud speakers or a low volume TV, we hope you'll enjoy sound that's appropriate for you.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
There's a jukebox in the bar in the fishing village, and there was a time when we were experimenting with a medley of existing songs to see what kind of music we could play. What was it playing... that's a secret. (laughs)
Kazunori Kadoi - Game Designer
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 1, 5, 6, CODE:Veronica, Outbreak, Rockman DASH, Treasure Island 2
Q: How'd you decide on the content for the Moira and Natalia episodes?
A: The Moira episode was decided early on to be a battle game about Moira's period of survival. The Natalia episode was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision, because if we had a Moira episode, then there had to be a Natalia episode. We're not allowed to show children shooting guns, so after much debate and discussion we settled on the current form with the theme of hide-and-seek.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: Combat with the Revenant and other unique enemies. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make the battles tense and interesting.
Q: What was the most important part of the game for you?
A: I wanted to create a game that fit the image of BIO as a survival horror game. In addition, I tried to give the player a wide range of options in terms of what to do when encountering enemies and what items to use.
Q: What do you most want people to see in this game?
A: The connection between Claire and Barry. What Claire and the others do will change how Barry's story develops, so if you play through a second time, you'll be surprised by what you find.
Q: Please tell us about any rejected ideas.
A: Gina, who appears early in the story, was supposed to live until the mid-game and become a creature, but due to development time constraints, she was rejected and became the first character to be killed. The prototype of Gina's creature form was completed to the point it could move around within the stage, but we put it in storage.
Q: Do you have any unforgettable memories from the development process?
A: Before Natalia took her current form, the game was so surreal you could play it with Natalia shooting laser beams out of her fingers to kill enemies.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
At the beginning of development, the main character was an 18-year-old Natalia. There were twists and turns from there and the only remaining settings are the island stage and some characters' names and appearances.
Kota Suzuki - Sound Director, Composer
PAST GAMES: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, REVELATIONS, THE MERCENARIES 3D, Devil May Cry 4, Won!Tertainment Music Channel
Q: Please tell us the concept behind these songs.
A: To have different musicality between Claire's side and Barry's side. Clare's side is mainly synthesizer-based, in the direction of coloring the worldview with music similar to the past. For the Barry side, I decided to use mainly acoustic instruments in minor composition to create gaps in the music, using more sound effects to add color to the worldview.
Q: Wasn't it difficult to create a variety of sounds?
A: One of this project's concepts was to create original instrumental sounds unique to this game. We collaborated with Nima Fakhrara, a composer who specializes in creating custom sounds, in order to create sounds that are one-of-a-kind. One instrument Nima made for me is called the "ICE QUEEN", which is made by welding a large steel plate into a tube and pressing dry ice against it. It's an amazing idea.
Q: What kind of orders did the director give you?
A: He wanted me to pursue horror.
Q: Did you have previous titles in the series in mind?
A: We arranged songs that were impressive in the last game. If there's even a sequel in the future, I'd be pleased if these songs are constantly arranged.
Q: Are there any new technologies you've introduced this time?
A: We introduced a "Listening Mode" in the AUDIO OPTIONS which allows players to select the appropriate dynamic range for their audio playback environment. Whether you're playing on loud speakers or a low volume TV, we hope you'll enjoy sound that's appropriate for you.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
There's a jukebox in the bar in the fishing village, and there was a time when we were experimenting with a medley of existing songs to see what kind of music we could play. What was it playing... that's a secret. (laughs)
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 3 (p.254)
Dai Sato - Scenario Supervisor
PAST WORK: GHOST IN THE SHELL STAND ALONE COMPLEX, Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN, Space☆Dandy
Q: How'd you go about your scenario supervision work?
A: When the overall structure was almost complete, I created the detailed settings and wrote the script alongside Yamashita-san from CAPCOM, who's in charge of the scenario. When the game's development started to solidify, we worked together again to revise the whole thing.
Q: What was the concept behind the scenario for this game?
A: I wanted to express each character's inner world, such as Claire and Barry. I was especially particular about the scene where Moira and Barry's feelings intertwine.
Q: Why'd you choose Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" as a motif for your story?
A: Because I felt not only Kafka's works, but also his life were linked to Alex. Incidentally, in scenes where Alex quotes Kafka's work, I incorporated her feelings for Albert Wesker.
Q: Who's your favorite character?
A: Moira. As a new protagonist, I wanted to make her a character everyone would love. I like the scene where Moira leaves a message for Barry.
Q: Do you think the final scene of the Good Ending will lead to future titles?
A: It's not up to me to decide, but I hope it does.
Q: Did you have any ideas that were rejected?
A: Unfortunately we had to cut a scene that depicted the positive relationship between TerraSave employee Neil and his subordinate, Claire, when she was a newcomer.
Q: What challenges would you like to face in your next game?
A: I'd like to have Rebecca, Jill and Claire together in a game, along with the Burton sisters.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Moira was more punk and bad-tempered than in the actual game, she became more cute as scenario production progressed. I think Moira in her original form could've been a good tsundere character.
Hiroshi Yamashita - Scenario
PAST WORK: biohazard 4 Wii Edition, 6, Lost Planet, Shadow of Rome, Shooting Star Rockman 3, BIOHAZARD ~marhawa desire~ (comic)
Q: Is there anything you devised in creating the scenario for episodic distribution?
A: As long as the game's played in installments, players need to have a feeling of "I can't wait to see what happens next!" That's why we put a lot of thought and effort into how to make the end of each episode as exciting as possible.
Q: What's the concept behind this game's scenario?
A: I wanted to express each character's inner world based on the two pillars of "overcoming fear" and "metamorphosis".
Q: Are there any aspects of the game you were conscious of from the previous numbered titles?
A: There are a few things here and there. Please play through the game and see for yourself.
Q: Please tell us your favorite character.
A: The lovable Natalia. I'm curious to see what'll happen to her.
Q: Which scene's your favorite?
A: If I had to pick one, it would be the opening of EX Episode Natalia. I think it's the scene where this game's "madness" is condensed.
Q: Is there any part where you incorporated special intent?
A: Barry's anguish, and the way he's saved by Natalia is one of the story's most important elements.
Q: What was the most difficult part of the game for you?
A: "That" scene where the ending branches. A lot of the staff racked our brains until we came up with the idea we have today.
Q: Will the final scene of the Good Ending lead to future titles?
A: It's possible...
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Due to various reasons, Lottie's a boy only in the Japanese version. In other countries' versions, she's a girl. Since it's a stuffed plushie, there's no clear distinction in gender.
Dai Sato - Scenario Supervisor
PAST WORK: GHOST IN THE SHELL STAND ALONE COMPLEX, Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN, Space☆Dandy
Q: How'd you go about your scenario supervision work?
A: When the overall structure was almost complete, I created the detailed settings and wrote the script alongside Yamashita-san from CAPCOM, who's in charge of the scenario. When the game's development started to solidify, we worked together again to revise the whole thing.
Q: What was the concept behind the scenario for this game?
A: I wanted to express each character's inner world, such as Claire and Barry. I was especially particular about the scene where Moira and Barry's feelings intertwine.
Q: Why'd you choose Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" as a motif for your story?
A: Because I felt not only Kafka's works, but also his life were linked to Alex. Incidentally, in scenes where Alex quotes Kafka's work, I incorporated her feelings for Albert Wesker.
Q: Who's your favorite character?
A: Moira. As a new protagonist, I wanted to make her a character everyone would love. I like the scene where Moira leaves a message for Barry.
Q: Do you think the final scene of the Good Ending will lead to future titles?
A: It's not up to me to decide, but I hope it does.
Q: Did you have any ideas that were rejected?
A: Unfortunately we had to cut a scene that depicted the positive relationship between TerraSave employee Neil and his subordinate, Claire, when she was a newcomer.
Q: What challenges would you like to face in your next game?
A: I'd like to have Rebecca, Jill and Claire together in a game, along with the Burton sisters.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Moira was more punk and bad-tempered than in the actual game, she became more cute as scenario production progressed. I think Moira in her original form could've been a good tsundere character.
Hiroshi Yamashita - Scenario
PAST WORK: biohazard 4 Wii Edition, 6, Lost Planet, Shadow of Rome, Shooting Star Rockman 3, BIOHAZARD ~marhawa desire~ (comic)
Q: Is there anything you devised in creating the scenario for episodic distribution?
A: As long as the game's played in installments, players need to have a feeling of "I can't wait to see what happens next!" That's why we put a lot of thought and effort into how to make the end of each episode as exciting as possible.
Q: What's the concept behind this game's scenario?
A: I wanted to express each character's inner world based on the two pillars of "overcoming fear" and "metamorphosis".
Q: Are there any aspects of the game you were conscious of from the previous numbered titles?
A: There are a few things here and there. Please play through the game and see for yourself.
Q: Please tell us your favorite character.
A: The lovable Natalia. I'm curious to see what'll happen to her.
Q: Which scene's your favorite?
A: If I had to pick one, it would be the opening of EX Episode Natalia. I think it's the scene where this game's "madness" is condensed.
Q: Is there any part where you incorporated special intent?
A: Barry's anguish, and the way he's saved by Natalia is one of the story's most important elements.
Q: What was the most difficult part of the game for you?
A: "That" scene where the ending branches. A lot of the staff racked our brains until we came up with the idea we have today.
Q: Will the final scene of the Good Ending lead to future titles?
A: It's possible...
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Due to various reasons, Lottie's a boy only in the Japanese version. In other countries' versions, she's a girl. Since it's a stuffed plushie, there's no clear distinction in gender.
CREATURE
Afflicted (p.258)
A group of deformed maniacs that roam every corner of the island. The truth is they're test subjects tortured by the "Overseer" after being administered a virus, many mutants created through trial and error in the experimental stages. Despite being far more durable than normal people due to their virus-induced cellular activation, the brain functions that control their thinking have been almost completely destroyed, so as human beings, they're as good as dead. Once they recognize a survivor they attack with the ferocity of a starving beast.
Cyst (p.261)
A pustule-like mass on the floors or ground of the facilities. They seem to be a kind of mutated slime mold that developed abnormally in the unsanitary environments where the virus leaked, possessing a characteristic of rapidly expanding the colony and bursting in response to external stimuli. This is believed to be a way of scattering the slime mold in order for it to attach to other organisms as a means of expanding its zone of proliferation, but the fungus is highly toxic, making it a dangerous substance that could be called a mine-type bioweapon that's automatically laid.
Sploder (p.262)
A mutant of the same species of slime mold that has proliferated after infesting the Afflicted. Although its movements are sluggish due to the fungus-derived gas within, it's still aggressive toward survivors and will relentlessly approach them in an attempt to attach itself. During this action, the mucus in its body is stimulated and the pressure of the gas increases, causing its body to expand like a balloon which then explodes and self-destructs in a certain amount of time. In the process, it releases poisonous bodily fluids and flesh fragments, making them extremely dangerous mutants.
Rotten (p.263)
The virus causes metabolic abnormalities in the Afflicted and they're eventually replaced with cells different from those of normal people. They acquire tough muscle strength as a result, but at the same time, they're transformed into walking corpses that're no longer very metabolically active. The body decays since no new skin is formed, but they retain most muscle tissue so even with visibly exposed bones, there's no decline in athletic performance. This long-term walking corpse is referred to as Rotten.
Ironhead (p.264)
The most powerful among the Afflicted, the Ironhead was created from men with particularly tough bodies. The island has an old ore quarry and it's believed the men who labored there were used in virus administration experiments. There are traces all over their bodies where they were cut up and forcibly reattached with metal tools, suggesting they were subjected to severe torture as test subjects prior to the onset of symptoms. What's noteworthy is their monstrous strength, wielding huge two-handed weapons no normal person could easily lift.
Vulcan Blubber (p.266)
People infected with the virus lack higher-level cognitive abilities, probably a result of their neocortex dying off. This Afflicted however still has the intelligence to carry out a complex attack by igniting a cannon to shoot flaming shells. Its endurance is also outstanding, and taking its abnormally enlarged physique into consideration, the original subject was likely biologically altered with various drugs in addition to the virus.
Revenant (p.268)
Bizarrely-shaped figures wandering the island with odd puppet-like movements. These are Frankenstein's Monster-like organisms created by piecing together parts of multiple corpses, fundamentally different from those Afflicted whose personalities were destroyed rendering them berserk. A brain isn't what controls its movements, but rather the Uroboros Virus itself after proliferating inside the human body as a nursery, and it cannot be stopped until the "core" of these proliferating cysts is destroyed.
Durga (p.272)
Named after the multi-armed goddess who looks nothing like its hideous form, Durga's a mighty creature created by fusing multiple Revenants into one. The corpse parts that hang down as arms also serve as shields to protect its weak point, the core. Its extraordinarily long tentacles are made up of fully developed Uroboros Virus cysts and used not only as monstrous weapons to crush its targets, but also as a means of transport to give its massive body high mobility.
Giant Whip Spider (p.275)
The Giant Whip Spider's a member of the spider family mainly found in the tropics, named after its long and unbalanced front legs. Though normally harmless, the spiders roaming this island have grown several dozen times their original size due to the effects of a virus, their extremely violent nature making them predators that attack humans. Due to the island's cold climate, they're unlikely to be indigenous and are thought to have been brought in from outside the island for experimentation, mutating and breeding in the process.
Orthrus (p.276)
This is the appearance of a large dog exposed to the virus. There've been several documented cases of dogs being infected in bio-disasters, but in each event, their agility isn't impaired and their durability improves to the point they're equal to fierce beasts. The appearance of the Orthrus has also changed so much it's impossible to tell what the original breed was. The head's also covered with a sack and a bear trap embedded in the throat serves as its teeth.
Glasp (p.277)
A monstrous creature created by the virus that has spread throughout the island. It's probably a winged insect that mutated, evolved and reproduced, continuing to change through multiple generations in short cycles. The special gas produced inside its body contains a chemical component that causes abnormalities in a creature's optic nerves and also allows it to mimic its scenery by diffracting ambient light. They're slow-moving but their legs are intensely strong, any creature caught by them will be helplessly strangled to death.
Scagdead (p.280)
A species of "Ooze", creatures created from being infected by a virus called t-Abyss derived from a deep-sea organism. It's a rare mutant that develops in those who possess a particularly strong resistance to the virus, forming a new head as if it were taking over the original human body. Its entire body's covered in a thick layer of fat, making it bulletproof, and its chainsaw-shaped right arm and the teeth on its monstrous head are highly lethal.
Napad (p.282)
A complete mutation species of the B.O.W. J'avo created by administering the "C-Virus", a new virus strain documented in 2012. Its huge swollen body's covered in a tough outer shell, making it hard to damage effectively unless this biological armor is removed. It has inherited the hyperthermia caused by activation of the virus which is characteristic to the J'avo lineage, constantly spewing steam from its body to release excess heat.
Rasklapanje (p.284)
A complete mutation species derived from the C-Virus, but an irregularly occurring and extremely vicious creature. Its mollusk-like body is hidden inside a humanoid outer skin, capable of morphing at will to pass through narrow ducts. The creature's body can be torn in half then fused back together again etc., giving it an abnormal immortality. It attacks humans relentlessly in order to parasitize and use them as a nursery for proliferation.
Executioner Majini (p.287)
Majini, which means "jinns/evil spirits" in Swahili, are people who've been implanted with an improved version of the Plaga parasite found in Europe, which has hijacked their central nervous system and made them maniacal. The Executioner Majini are individuals with tremendously well-built human bodies. In the bioterror incident at the Kijuju Autonomous Zone in West Africa, they were given the role of executing those who refused to receive the Plaga, ruling the city with overwhelming fear and violence.
Mutant Pedro (p.288)
Pedro, a member of TerraSave, fell into a panicked state when he couldn't bear the stress of a pervasive fear of death, activating the t-Phobos Virus he'd been injected with and causing him to become Afflicted. Perhaps because he showed some resistance to the onset of symptoms, he mutated into a tougher individual than the normal Afflicted, attacking while wielding the drill he'd been carrying as a weapon. Pedro's cowardice is completely gone, the virus revealing only ferocity.
Monster Neil (p.291)
Neil underwent a metamorphosis after being infected with the Uroboros Virus. Unlike those infected with the t-Phobos Virus, he retains his intellect but is driven by a powerful impulse to kill, having lost nearly all sense of reason. The Uroboros Virus has extremely strict requirements for compatibility and there has only been a single confirmed case that didn't go out of control, but Neil appears to have genes as close to those of a compatible person as possible, and although he's deformed, he's able to suppress the proliferation of virus cysts and maintain a humanoid appearance.
Monster Alex (p.294)
Alex attempted to take her own life for her reincarnation ceremony, but in the final moments, haunted by a fear she believed she already conquered, she was then saved from death by the power of the t-Phobos Virus she'd previously injected herself with. As she clings to life, disfigured and deteriorating, her hatred for Natalia grows, and she finally chooses to also inject herself with the Uroboros Virus and become a monster. Though she suppresses going out of control, Uroboros cysts begin popping out of her entire body once she takes a certain amount of damage.
Afflicted (p.258)
A group of deformed maniacs that roam every corner of the island. The truth is they're test subjects tortured by the "Overseer" after being administered a virus, many mutants created through trial and error in the experimental stages. Despite being far more durable than normal people due to their virus-induced cellular activation, the brain functions that control their thinking have been almost completely destroyed, so as human beings, they're as good as dead. Once they recognize a survivor they attack with the ferocity of a starving beast.
Cyst (p.261)
A pustule-like mass on the floors or ground of the facilities. They seem to be a kind of mutated slime mold that developed abnormally in the unsanitary environments where the virus leaked, possessing a characteristic of rapidly expanding the colony and bursting in response to external stimuli. This is believed to be a way of scattering the slime mold in order for it to attach to other organisms as a means of expanding its zone of proliferation, but the fungus is highly toxic, making it a dangerous substance that could be called a mine-type bioweapon that's automatically laid.
Sploder (p.262)
A mutant of the same species of slime mold that has proliferated after infesting the Afflicted. Although its movements are sluggish due to the fungus-derived gas within, it's still aggressive toward survivors and will relentlessly approach them in an attempt to attach itself. During this action, the mucus in its body is stimulated and the pressure of the gas increases, causing its body to expand like a balloon which then explodes and self-destructs in a certain amount of time. In the process, it releases poisonous bodily fluids and flesh fragments, making them extremely dangerous mutants.
Rotten (p.263)
The virus causes metabolic abnormalities in the Afflicted and they're eventually replaced with cells different from those of normal people. They acquire tough muscle strength as a result, but at the same time, they're transformed into walking corpses that're no longer very metabolically active. The body decays since no new skin is formed, but they retain most muscle tissue so even with visibly exposed bones, there's no decline in athletic performance. This long-term walking corpse is referred to as Rotten.
Ironhead (p.264)
The most powerful among the Afflicted, the Ironhead was created from men with particularly tough bodies. The island has an old ore quarry and it's believed the men who labored there were used in virus administration experiments. There are traces all over their bodies where they were cut up and forcibly reattached with metal tools, suggesting they were subjected to severe torture as test subjects prior to the onset of symptoms. What's noteworthy is their monstrous strength, wielding huge two-handed weapons no normal person could easily lift.
Vulcan Blubber (p.266)
People infected with the virus lack higher-level cognitive abilities, probably a result of their neocortex dying off. This Afflicted however still has the intelligence to carry out a complex attack by igniting a cannon to shoot flaming shells. Its endurance is also outstanding, and taking its abnormally enlarged physique into consideration, the original subject was likely biologically altered with various drugs in addition to the virus.
Revenant (p.268)
Bizarrely-shaped figures wandering the island with odd puppet-like movements. These are Frankenstein's Monster-like organisms created by piecing together parts of multiple corpses, fundamentally different from those Afflicted whose personalities were destroyed rendering them berserk. A brain isn't what controls its movements, but rather the Uroboros Virus itself after proliferating inside the human body as a nursery, and it cannot be stopped until the "core" of these proliferating cysts is destroyed.
Durga (p.272)
Named after the multi-armed goddess who looks nothing like its hideous form, Durga's a mighty creature created by fusing multiple Revenants into one. The corpse parts that hang down as arms also serve as shields to protect its weak point, the core. Its extraordinarily long tentacles are made up of fully developed Uroboros Virus cysts and used not only as monstrous weapons to crush its targets, but also as a means of transport to give its massive body high mobility.
Giant Whip Spider (p.275)
The Giant Whip Spider's a member of the spider family mainly found in the tropics, named after its long and unbalanced front legs. Though normally harmless, the spiders roaming this island have grown several dozen times their original size due to the effects of a virus, their extremely violent nature making them predators that attack humans. Due to the island's cold climate, they're unlikely to be indigenous and are thought to have been brought in from outside the island for experimentation, mutating and breeding in the process.
Orthrus (p.276)
This is the appearance of a large dog exposed to the virus. There've been several documented cases of dogs being infected in bio-disasters, but in each event, their agility isn't impaired and their durability improves to the point they're equal to fierce beasts. The appearance of the Orthrus has also changed so much it's impossible to tell what the original breed was. The head's also covered with a sack and a bear trap embedded in the throat serves as its teeth.
Glasp (p.277)
A monstrous creature created by the virus that has spread throughout the island. It's probably a winged insect that mutated, evolved and reproduced, continuing to change through multiple generations in short cycles. The special gas produced inside its body contains a chemical component that causes abnormalities in a creature's optic nerves and also allows it to mimic its scenery by diffracting ambient light. They're slow-moving but their legs are intensely strong, any creature caught by them will be helplessly strangled to death.
Scagdead (p.280)
A species of "Ooze", creatures created from being infected by a virus called t-Abyss derived from a deep-sea organism. It's a rare mutant that develops in those who possess a particularly strong resistance to the virus, forming a new head as if it were taking over the original human body. Its entire body's covered in a thick layer of fat, making it bulletproof, and its chainsaw-shaped right arm and the teeth on its monstrous head are highly lethal.
Napad (p.282)
A complete mutation species of the B.O.W. J'avo created by administering the "C-Virus", a new virus strain documented in 2012. Its huge swollen body's covered in a tough outer shell, making it hard to damage effectively unless this biological armor is removed. It has inherited the hyperthermia caused by activation of the virus which is characteristic to the J'avo lineage, constantly spewing steam from its body to release excess heat.
Rasklapanje (p.284)
A complete mutation species derived from the C-Virus, but an irregularly occurring and extremely vicious creature. Its mollusk-like body is hidden inside a humanoid outer skin, capable of morphing at will to pass through narrow ducts. The creature's body can be torn in half then fused back together again etc., giving it an abnormal immortality. It attacks humans relentlessly in order to parasitize and use them as a nursery for proliferation.
Executioner Majini (p.287)
Majini, which means "jinns/evil spirits" in Swahili, are people who've been implanted with an improved version of the Plaga parasite found in Europe, which has hijacked their central nervous system and made them maniacal. The Executioner Majini are individuals with tremendously well-built human bodies. In the bioterror incident at the Kijuju Autonomous Zone in West Africa, they were given the role of executing those who refused to receive the Plaga, ruling the city with overwhelming fear and violence.
Mutant Pedro (p.288)
Pedro, a member of TerraSave, fell into a panicked state when he couldn't bear the stress of a pervasive fear of death, activating the t-Phobos Virus he'd been injected with and causing him to become Afflicted. Perhaps because he showed some resistance to the onset of symptoms, he mutated into a tougher individual than the normal Afflicted, attacking while wielding the drill he'd been carrying as a weapon. Pedro's cowardice is completely gone, the virus revealing only ferocity.
Monster Neil (p.291)
Neil underwent a metamorphosis after being infected with the Uroboros Virus. Unlike those infected with the t-Phobos Virus, he retains his intellect but is driven by a powerful impulse to kill, having lost nearly all sense of reason. The Uroboros Virus has extremely strict requirements for compatibility and there has only been a single confirmed case that didn't go out of control, but Neil appears to have genes as close to those of a compatible person as possible, and although he's deformed, he's able to suppress the proliferation of virus cysts and maintain a humanoid appearance.
Monster Alex (p.294)
Alex attempted to take her own life for her reincarnation ceremony, but in the final moments, haunted by a fear she believed she already conquered, she was then saved from death by the power of the t-Phobos Virus she'd previously injected herself with. As she clings to life, disfigured and deteriorating, her hatred for Natalia grows, and she finally chooses to also inject herself with the Uroboros Virus and become a monster. Though she suppresses going out of control, Uroboros cysts begin popping out of her entire body once she takes a certain amount of damage.
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 4 (p.308)
Satoshi Takamatsu - Art Director
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, REVELATIONS, Onimusha 1, 2, Dead Rising, Shadow of Rome, X-MEN, WAR-ZARD
Q: How'd you plan to change it from the previous game?
A: The concept of the last game, which started out as a 3DS version, was to express the depth of a space and the fear that lies there, with the stereoscopic view in mind. This game on the other hand emphasizes humanity and drama in an attempt to depict the depths of the human heart and the fears that lie there. In addition, the last game was designed for handheld devices and was easy to grasp even on a small screen, but this time we tried to create a natural and raw design that allows the player to easily get into the game world. Also, we somewhat refrained from what was referred to as the "Butt Game" in the last title.
Q: Which part of the game did you pay the most attention to?
A: The "scary" part of the game expresses Alex's inner "mental terror". Her warped obsession with life has given rise to a distorted ideology that encroaches upon the entire island. Naturally, the creatures you encounter on the island are scary, but I hope the human mind that created them is even scarier.
Q: What'd you keep in mind for this work?
A: I tried not to make the characters into idols. In order to express realistic fear and survival, I tried to portray not only a character's appearance but also what's inside them. I instructed the staff to model not only the parts that glitter like dolls, but also the unpleasant aspects of human beings.
Q: Are there any elements you put special intent into?
A: I added the imagery of a former Soviet-era detention center and some old medical equipment as hidden flavor for the worldview. I hoped the retro atmosphere and cold steel would amplify the sense of despair for the player.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
I've known the director Yasuhiro-san since "Onimusha 1". The panda warrior in that game was a collab between us two, and this time we had a lot of material to work with. In fact, the hidden KATANA weapon is the sword of Onimusha 1's main character, Akechi Samanosuke.
Yosuke Yamagata - Art
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, DEMENTO
Q: Were there any aspects of the game you were aware of from previous numbered titles?
A: Claire and Barry are very popular characters, so I took great care in drawing them. While maintaining their past imagery, I tried to make their growth over the years visible in their appearance.
Q: What was the concept behind the designs of Moira and Natalia, who make their first appearance in this game?
A: Moira's still childish and a bit rebellious towards Barry, so I tried giving her the air of a punk. Her personality's rough and tough, but her physique and looks are delicate and weak in contrast to Claire. Natalia on the other hand is a bit of a mysterious girl who looks like she belongs in an occult or psycho-horror story. However, I portrayed her as a weak and innocent person that Barry, who's with her all the time, wants to protect.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: The designs of Moira and Natalia were particularly difficult. It always takes me a long time to decide on female characters.
Q: What was the most important part of the design?
A: For Natalia's hair, I actually braided a ribbon and put it on a model, then photographed it and incorporated it into the game. I like it because it's cute with good details.
Q: Do you have any unforgettable memories from the development process?
A: Natalia was initially barefoot, but the staff around me said her feet would hurt if she kept them that way, so we put shoes on her. Also, she was supposed to be in pajamas the whole time, but some people said that would be too cold, so we put a padded cardigan on her during the story. I feel like Natalia was well loved.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Barry initially wore a knitted hat, but we decided it wouldn't look like Barry if we couldn't see the M-shaped hairline on his forehead, so we made his hair later.
Satoshi Takamatsu - Art Director
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, REVELATIONS, Onimusha 1, 2, Dead Rising, Shadow of Rome, X-MEN, WAR-ZARD
Q: How'd you plan to change it from the previous game?
A: The concept of the last game, which started out as a 3DS version, was to express the depth of a space and the fear that lies there, with the stereoscopic view in mind. This game on the other hand emphasizes humanity and drama in an attempt to depict the depths of the human heart and the fears that lie there. In addition, the last game was designed for handheld devices and was easy to grasp even on a small screen, but this time we tried to create a natural and raw design that allows the player to easily get into the game world. Also, we somewhat refrained from what was referred to as the "Butt Game" in the last title.
Q: Which part of the game did you pay the most attention to?
A: The "scary" part of the game expresses Alex's inner "mental terror". Her warped obsession with life has given rise to a distorted ideology that encroaches upon the entire island. Naturally, the creatures you encounter on the island are scary, but I hope the human mind that created them is even scarier.
Q: What'd you keep in mind for this work?
A: I tried not to make the characters into idols. In order to express realistic fear and survival, I tried to portray not only a character's appearance but also what's inside them. I instructed the staff to model not only the parts that glitter like dolls, but also the unpleasant aspects of human beings.
Q: Are there any elements you put special intent into?
A: I added the imagery of a former Soviet-era detention center and some old medical equipment as hidden flavor for the worldview. I hoped the retro atmosphere and cold steel would amplify the sense of despair for the player.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
I've known the director Yasuhiro-san since "Onimusha 1". The panda warrior in that game was a collab between us two, and this time we had a lot of material to work with. In fact, the hidden KATANA weapon is the sword of Onimusha 1's main character, Akechi Samanosuke.
Yosuke Yamagata - Art
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, 6, DEMENTO
Q: Were there any aspects of the game you were aware of from previous numbered titles?
A: Claire and Barry are very popular characters, so I took great care in drawing them. While maintaining their past imagery, I tried to make their growth over the years visible in their appearance.
Q: What was the concept behind the designs of Moira and Natalia, who make their first appearance in this game?
A: Moira's still childish and a bit rebellious towards Barry, so I tried giving her the air of a punk. Her personality's rough and tough, but her physique and looks are delicate and weak in contrast to Claire. Natalia on the other hand is a bit of a mysterious girl who looks like she belongs in an occult or psycho-horror story. However, I portrayed her as a weak and innocent person that Barry, who's with her all the time, wants to protect.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: The designs of Moira and Natalia were particularly difficult. It always takes me a long time to decide on female characters.
Q: What was the most important part of the design?
A: For Natalia's hair, I actually braided a ribbon and put it on a model, then photographed it and incorporated it into the game. I like it because it's cute with good details.
Q: Do you have any unforgettable memories from the development process?
A: Natalia was initially barefoot, but the staff around me said her feet would hurt if she kept them that way, so we put shoes on her. Also, she was supposed to be in pajamas the whole time, but some people said that would be too cold, so we put a padded cardigan on her during the story. I feel like Natalia was well loved.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
Barry initially wore a knitted hat, but we decided it wouldn't look like Barry if we couldn't see the M-shaped hairline on his forehead, so we made his hair later.
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 5 (p.460)
Hidehiro Goda - RAID MODE Planner
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, REVELATIONS, Dead Rising, Shadow of Rome
Q: How'd you plan to change the game from the previous Raid Mode?
A: We started by identifying what we thought were problems with the last game, such as a lack of value in the fourth and subsequent parts or difficulty obtaining no-damage bonuses, then we looked for solutions. We tried making the game not too complicated, with extended fun.
Q: What direction did you take when adjusting the difficulty level?
A: Our concept was to make it easy, challenging, and not unreasonable. If it's possible for anyone to clear a stage, but that requires a certain amount of prep, then it's a success.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: Dealing with episodic distribution. The episodes are large enough on their own, so we had to be careful not to create distortions when we integrated the whole thing.
Q: How'd you decide on the 15 characters to play as?
A: I tried including as many characters as possible. I like simple characters so I put in Gabe and Pedro without question. My only regret is that I couldn't include Stuart and Natalia for various reasons.
Q: What was the most important part of the game for you?
A: I made sure each mission could be finished within 10 minutes. In the last game, there were missions that took more than an hour to complete, and the mental burden of failure and continuous play was too much.
Q: If there's a follow-up game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: I'd like to increase the number of people who can play cooperatively.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
The reason we made Raid was because the enemies and stages in the last game weren't as good.
Hidehiro Goda - RAID MODE Planner
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 5, REVELATIONS, Dead Rising, Shadow of Rome
Q: How'd you plan to change the game from the previous Raid Mode?
A: We started by identifying what we thought were problems with the last game, such as a lack of value in the fourth and subsequent parts or difficulty obtaining no-damage bonuses, then we looked for solutions. We tried making the game not too complicated, with extended fun.
Q: What direction did you take when adjusting the difficulty level?
A: Our concept was to make it easy, challenging, and not unreasonable. If it's possible for anyone to clear a stage, but that requires a certain amount of prep, then it's a success.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: Dealing with episodic distribution. The episodes are large enough on their own, so we had to be careful not to create distortions when we integrated the whole thing.
Q: How'd you decide on the 15 characters to play as?
A: I tried including as many characters as possible. I like simple characters so I put in Gabe and Pedro without question. My only regret is that I couldn't include Stuart and Natalia for various reasons.
Q: What was the most important part of the game for you?
A: I made sure each mission could be finished within 10 minutes. In the last game, there were missions that took more than an hour to complete, and the mental burden of failure and continuous play was too much.
Q: If there's a follow-up game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: I'd like to increase the number of people who can play cooperatively.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
The reason we made Raid was because the enemies and stages in the last game weren't as good.
KEY DEVELOPMENT STAFF Q&A 6 (p.498)
Yasuhiro Ampo - Director
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 1, 2, 5, Onimusha 1, 3, Shadow of Rome, E.X.TROOPERS
Q: What'd you want to change from the previous game?
A: First of all, the producer first proposed this game's biggest challenges, which were episodic distribution and cooperative play, so we came up with the concept of "two protagonists, two timelines, two partners". In the last game, some people thought there were too many characters to play with, so I thought four would be perfect. We also maintained the balance between horror and action that was so popular in the last game, while revising the controls and action to fit the new hardware and setting the game on a closed, isolated island.
Q: How'd you adjust the difficulty level?
A: The BIO series has been around for a long time and has a wide range of fans, from those good at action to those who aren't so good at it, so we were very careful about adjusting the difficulty level. For this title, we tried making adjustments that would satisfy as many people as possible. The guideline for adjustment is that CASUAL is for those who aren't good at action but want to enjoy the story, and SURVIVAL is for those who are good at action and want to enjoy the horror atmosphere with a higher sense of tension. SURVIVAL has more of a survival horror feel to it, so I hope you'll try it out by upgrading your weapons and skills.
Q: Wasn't it difficult to release multiple versions of the game at the same time?
A: It was a real challenge to make the game compatible with five different sets of hardware in a short time. When we launched the game, we were developing it for the PS3 and Xbox 360 based on the PC version, but the transition to the PS4 and Xbox One overseas was faster than we expected, so we had to add two more hardware versions in the middle. Due to this, we had to work on our next-gen engine at the same time and Raid Mode was more voluminous than expected, so we had to drastically revise the schedule... Even so, we were short on both time and manpower, so we had to borrow people from various departments to make the final push and somehow managed to complete the project. I think it was the first time in quite a while that I realized both physical and mental strength are essential in game production.
Q: How'd you come to choose Claire and Barry as the main characters?
A: Claire and Barry are very popular among fans of the series, especially Barry, and it's been a long time since we've put them out there. Personally, I was involved in the development of BIO1 so I have a special place in my heart for him. It was a lot of fun preparing Claire and Barry's dialogue.
Q: Why'd you decide on multiple endings?
A: Since there are two new characters in the game, Moira and Natalia, I wanted to give them a spotlight. So I decided that Moira's actions, as the key person who connects the past and present, would be the key to the story's ending. The fact that actions taken in the past can bring about changes in the present is one of the best parts of a time-based story. I wanted to do many other things, but if we branched out the whole scenario, it would've been very difficult to develop for episodic distribution, so we decided to concentrate on the most memorable scenes with a focus on the final episode.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: In preparation for delivering each episode, we had long discussions with the scenario team concerning how to create a "draw" at the end of each episode that would make people want to play the next episode. Due to cooperative play, all four could be players at any time, so it was hard to have any freedom in the story such as dying or being attacked.
Q: What'd you pay particular attention to in the game's creation?
A: I focused on aspects typical of the BIO series, such as the horror atmosphere, the balance of tension and exhilaration in the action, and the sense of anticipation that comes from the scenario and characters. This is something we have to think about every time we make a new game, as the things fans want from the BIO series are becoming more and more diverse.
Q: If you were to make the next game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: In the case of BIO, I'd like to make a multiplayer-based survival horror game like "Outbreak" with shifting stages and many missions, so that players can enjoy different situations each time they play. For other genres, I'd like to make an exhilarating action game in CAPCOM's style.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
This is the second game in this BIO spin-off series and the word "Revelations" has the meaning of "revealing truths never mentioned in the official history", as well as "rediscovering the series' charm" as a homage.
Yasuhiro Ampo - Director
PAST WORK: BIOHAZARD 1, 2, 5, Onimusha 1, 3, Shadow of Rome, E.X.TROOPERS
Q: What'd you want to change from the previous game?
A: First of all, the producer first proposed this game's biggest challenges, which were episodic distribution and cooperative play, so we came up with the concept of "two protagonists, two timelines, two partners". In the last game, some people thought there were too many characters to play with, so I thought four would be perfect. We also maintained the balance between horror and action that was so popular in the last game, while revising the controls and action to fit the new hardware and setting the game on a closed, isolated island.
Q: How'd you adjust the difficulty level?
A: The BIO series has been around for a long time and has a wide range of fans, from those good at action to those who aren't so good at it, so we were very careful about adjusting the difficulty level. For this title, we tried making adjustments that would satisfy as many people as possible. The guideline for adjustment is that CASUAL is for those who aren't good at action but want to enjoy the story, and SURVIVAL is for those who are good at action and want to enjoy the horror atmosphere with a higher sense of tension. SURVIVAL has more of a survival horror feel to it, so I hope you'll try it out by upgrading your weapons and skills.
Q: Wasn't it difficult to release multiple versions of the game at the same time?
A: It was a real challenge to make the game compatible with five different sets of hardware in a short time. When we launched the game, we were developing it for the PS3 and Xbox 360 based on the PC version, but the transition to the PS4 and Xbox One overseas was faster than we expected, so we had to add two more hardware versions in the middle. Due to this, we had to work on our next-gen engine at the same time and Raid Mode was more voluminous than expected, so we had to drastically revise the schedule... Even so, we were short on both time and manpower, so we had to borrow people from various departments to make the final push and somehow managed to complete the project. I think it was the first time in quite a while that I realized both physical and mental strength are essential in game production.
Q: How'd you come to choose Claire and Barry as the main characters?
A: Claire and Barry are very popular among fans of the series, especially Barry, and it's been a long time since we've put them out there. Personally, I was involved in the development of BIO1 so I have a special place in my heart for him. It was a lot of fun preparing Claire and Barry's dialogue.
Q: Why'd you decide on multiple endings?
A: Since there are two new characters in the game, Moira and Natalia, I wanted to give them a spotlight. So I decided that Moira's actions, as the key person who connects the past and present, would be the key to the story's ending. The fact that actions taken in the past can bring about changes in the present is one of the best parts of a time-based story. I wanted to do many other things, but if we branched out the whole scenario, it would've been very difficult to develop for episodic distribution, so we decided to concentrate on the most memorable scenes with a focus on the final episode.
Q: What was the most difficult part for you?
A: In preparation for delivering each episode, we had long discussions with the scenario team concerning how to create a "draw" at the end of each episode that would make people want to play the next episode. Due to cooperative play, all four could be players at any time, so it was hard to have any freedom in the story such as dying or being attacked.
Q: What'd you pay particular attention to in the game's creation?
A: I focused on aspects typical of the BIO series, such as the horror atmosphere, the balance of tension and exhilaration in the action, and the sense of anticipation that comes from the scenario and characters. This is something we have to think about every time we make a new game, as the things fans want from the BIO series are becoming more and more diverse.
Q: If you were to make the next game, what challenges would you like to face?
A: In the case of BIO, I'd like to make a multiplayer-based survival horror game like "Outbreak" with shifting stages and many missions, so that players can enjoy different situations each time they play. For other genres, I'd like to make an exhilarating action game in CAPCOM's style.
SECRETS OF THIS GAME ONLY THEY KNOW
This is the second game in this BIO spin-off series and the word "Revelations" has the meaning of "revealing truths never mentioned in the official history", as well as "rediscovering the series' charm" as a homage.