RESEARCH ON BIOHAZARD 2 final edition (バイオハザード２研究読本)
Released: 1/9/1998
Softcover: 210
Publisher: Micro Design Publishing Inc.
ISBN-10: 4944000774
ISBN-13: 9784944000777

ZOMBIE (p.012-013)
UMBRELLA, A MERCHANT OF DEATH
Umbrella's an international pharmaceutical company with a laboratory in the outskirts of Raccoon City. However, behind the "umbrella" protecting people from various diseases was the face of a merchant of death selling biological weapons. Umbrella researchers, willing to work within God's domain to bring about new life, have developed a variety of mutants. Among them is a virus developed for the purpose of promoting the metabolic capacity of living organisms, with the ability to cause the Zombie phenomenon in infected people as a side-effect. That is the T-Virus. That violence was once demonstrated locally at an Umbrella research facility in the outskirts, proving its tremendous effects with the disaster in Raccoon City which was rendered a ghost town.

INSPECTION OF ZOMBIFICATION DUE TO THE T-VIRUS
The T-Virus outbreak in Raccoon City has had various consequences. Perhaps the worst of these was T-Virus infection escalating the aggression of citizens (so-called Zombies). Compared to the Zombie incident that occurred in the mansion in isolated mountains, it's speculated the T-Virus would've spread over almost the entire city and many human lives were embroiled in the biohazard. However, Zombies of old people and children don't appear. The reason should be obvious. Other than the fixed character Marvin, black Zombies don't appear either, but it could be the conservative Raccoon City has few black people, like the out-of-the-way places often depicted in S. King's novels.

Returning to the story of the biohazard that struck Raccoon City along with anecdotes from the worker diaries found in the previous game's mansion, as well as the report of journalist Ben Bertolucci who appears in Leon's edition, zombification by the T-Virus seems to pass through the following steps.

First, when infected with the T-Virus one can feel tired, like the initial symptoms of various other diseases. The carrier seems to think they have caught a cold. However, at this stage the T-Virus has begun eroding cell tissue. The next subjective symptom, itching of the skin, is associated with the promotion of metabolism by the T-Virus, and appears to be a sensation associated with the old epidermis shedding. By the time the whole body's skin is exposed, the T-Virus erodes into the brain and intelligence decreases. A good example would be the diary of a mansion worker similar to the last part of "Flowers for Algernon." This may be the result of invasion of the human neocortex, a brain organ responsible for emotions and intelligence. If the brain's invaded further, entire cerebral components will cease to function and reasoning will be lost, unnecessarily promoting metabolism and solely aggravating appetite, making the Zombies attack nearby prey and people. You could probably say it's all shown in the shocking ending segment of the worker's diary in the previous game, "Itchy, tasty..." At this stage, subcutaneous fat begins to rot and becomes the source of Zombie-specific odors. In addition, movement's slowed and all functions cease (for example, pain sensation) other than the autonomic nervous system that controls the movement of internal organs. The above's the time-frame of zombification for T-Virus carriers. That these are merely mid-term symptoms is described in the section on the Licker.

LICKER (p.015-017)
Metamorphosis into Weird Creatures
The baptism of the T-Virus would've been showered on every living thing in Raccoon City. Infected people stop being able to think for the time being. They wander around in search of the flesh and blood of the living, driven by their bloated appetites.
However, this stage is merely a mid-term symptom of T-Virus infection. The T-Virus, which was created to produce bioweapons, can't help but transform carriers into different forms, even if it was spread irregularly. The huge brain that had been part of our identity as Homo sapiens is now exposed, defenseless and bare. With its vision degraded, the Licker relies on its hearing to analyze information, and is sensitive to the sound of human footsteps and gunshots. It has shed the sadness and pity of a Zombie along with its rotting skin and acquired new muscle tissue, sharp claws, and a whip-like tongue. One must wonder what we'll think when we face this being that could be called the end point of a biohazard.

The Licker's characterized by its long tongue, huge claws, and exposed brain. It has been transformed into a mutant far removed from the original.
The Zombies that were in the deepest part of "1". Their symptoms have progressed, perhaps because they were infected earlier. (From "BIO HAZARD")

A MYSTERIOUS MONSTER, THE LICKER
A mysterious creature suddenly appears at the police station in Raccoon City, which is in a state of emergency due to a Zombie outbreak and on the brink of war. The creature, named "Licker" by a police officer for its impressively long tongue, is so agile it has slaughtered several armed police officers who were desperately trying to defend themselves, with its huge sharp claws. In place of losing its eyesight, the creature's hearing has been sharpened, and when it hears human footsteps, it stabs them with its spear-shaped tongue and even twists their jugulars with its abnormally developed muscles. Now that the Licker's roosting in the police station, the hero, who was supposed to have escaped the Zombie attack in the city, isn't allowed to rest in peace.

LICKER'S ATTACK PATTERNS
The Licker, like the American comic book Spider-Man, stalks ceilings and walls, waiting for its victims to walk by. When it hears the sound of footsteps or gunfire, it rolls onto its back and goes into an attack position, tensing its entire body. When they hear a sound again, they start attacking in the direction they heard it, but if you don't do anything, its tension loosens. From the looks of it, it seems to have lost its sense of smell. They attack by stabbing with their long tongues, clawing with their feet, and jumping across the ground with their claws. Each attack does a lot of damage, but the attack cycles tend to be prolonged, which is probably a result of its blindness. In the deepest section of Umbrella's lab, an enhanced form of the Licker appears, with sickle-shaped hands and a discolored body surface.

LICKER FORMATION
In conclusion, the Licker's the final form of a T-Virus infected person, having undergone the Zombie process and transformed into a completely different form from a human. It's apparent all of its skin from the time it became a Zombie has peeled off as a result of an effect of the T-Virus, and new muscle tissue has been visibly formed. The skull, which is supposed to protect the brain, has been eroded by the virus during the transformation process, leaving the brain exposed. Now that visual information, the most important part of the brain's ability to analyze, is no longer available, could it be it's no longer useful for the Licker?

Compared to the Zombie state, which undergoes drastic changes, the Licker's condition is somewhat more stable, and its sense of pain seems to have recovered somewhat, but its internal brain functions appear to have been devastated by distorted transformation induced by the T-Virus. However, it seems not all Zombies are capable of transforming into a Licker. From here on we can only speculate, but the Zombie period, when appetites are ramped up, is the time when metabolism is at its highest, and body tissues are being rebuilt in accordance with the action of the T-Virus that produces bioweapons. It's thought only those who are able to obtain a large amount of energy to metabolize will be able to survive and become a Licker. In that event, the Licker was created after a gruesome competition for survival.

LICKER'S GENEALOGY
With its highly unique design, it's difficult to find a model for the Licker from novels and movies. However, there are monsters that appear in the previous "BIO HAZARD" game that hint at the Licker, both stylistically and in terms of setting. The first and most important is the "Chimera" monster that appears in Umbrella's research facility at the end of the game. It's an enemy which hangs from the ceiling and jumps down to attack the player, and when shot, it releases a large amount of maggots. As its name implies, the Chimera's a cross between a fly and a human (perhaps inspired by the movie "The Fly" with a fly-man), but as you can see from the pictures, its form and motions are quite similar to those of the Licker. Its right hand is shaped like a sickle for example, and it could be said the genetic roots of the enhanced Licker may be found in this area. Although it looks somewhat like a modified human, it might be interesting to look at it from the line of Chimera->The Fly.

In addition, in the American cult horror film "Fiend Without A Face" ('58), there are bare brains with spinal cords trailing behind them like tails. In Japan, there's also a yokai called Akaname (recall it sticking to a ceiling in Shigeru Mizuki's painting) which licks bath dirt at night with its long tongue, but there's likely no connection between the two.
The other monster that can be considered a hint is one directly related to the Licker, a Zombie that's been infected with a virus and on the verge of becoming a Licker. In both the previous game and this one, the Zombies that appear in the back of the lab with their skin all peeled off, the so-called "Sneaky Zombies," may fall into this category.

TYRANT (p.020-021)
The tempestuous dominator descends to earth!
It all started in an old mansion in the Arklay Mountains. There, the pharmaceutical company Umbrella secretly developed bioweapons. A bioweapon called "Tyrant" went out of control. It was destroyed by the Raccoon Police Department's special mission unit. However, few are aware the incident wasn't a contingency, but in fact a trap set up upon the police's special mission unit.

The Tyrant was originally created by remodeling a tough prisoner at the genetic level using the T-Virus, but its physique was so huge it was difficult to handle. "T" is a bioweapon that has been improved and miniaturized by making use of the combat data collected in this incident. Although it ostensibly wears a coat for the purpose of information disruption by disguising it as a human, this option's actually a constraint, and once removed, it'll gain tremendous strength. T is dropped by a helicopter at the police station. The target in sight to this murder machine's attacks is you.

BIRTH OF THE TYRANT
The letter "T" is the initial letter of the word "tyrant." Its etymology's close to the dinosaur "Tyrannosaurus." Given such a name, T's a bioweapon, a further modified and miniaturized Tyrant which was the final boss enemy of the previous game. The Tyrant was originally administered the T-Virus afer performing remodeling surgery on a strong male prisoner with a high metabolic capacity, but according to Umbrella-made documentation, it also says the new T-Type bioweapon "T-103" has an improved recovery ability and is capable of acting on given commands. With its target appearing to be obtaining the G-Virus, it's a creepy presence repeatedly standing in the protagonists' way as they advance to the deep recesses of Umbrella's lab.

TYRANT WITHIN THE GAME
During the beginning of the 2nd scenario, an FMV scene is played where a mysterious man in a coat's dropped by a helicopter. This man's actually a Tyrant camouflaged as a human. From a distance he resembles the title character from the Phantom of the Opera. However, the Tyrant's the complete opposite of other creatures created from the T-Virus such as Zombies and Lickers, who see the player only as prey to feed on in their presence, while the Tyrant will chase the player to the point of breaking a wall. Moreover, it has an incredible recovery ability originating from the T-Virus that allows it to resurrect itself several times until it finally reaches the end of its life-support function, in which it removes its defensive power limiter coat and challenges the player to a final showdown.

Publicity material of the new T-Type weapon. Was the live combat data recorded during the Mansion Incident put to its best use?
Tyrant inside its pod about to awaken (from BIO HAZARD)
Tyrant in a coat. He resembles a bald man wearing a military-like moss green coat. However, he's actually the T-103, a B.O.W. developed by Umbrella.

ANALYSIS OF THE T-VIRUS
Artwork caption No. 2: Tyrant after the transformation - After the removal of its limiter. Its claws can slice through floors and it's durable enough to withstand scattered fire.

Humans who become monsters due to the T-Virus usually become Lickers after the Zombie period. But although the Tyrant's created with the same T-Virus, it's completely different from Zombies and Lickers. The reason for this is said to be Umbrella taking advantage of their scientific capabilities and abundant funding. A T-Virus carrier appears to be a Tyrant when the T-Virus is administered to a healthy human, who's placed in a pod and treated appropriately. The pod harboring the Tyrant may contain a solution that promotes the proper growth of T-Virus infected cells.

The first encounter with the Tyrant. In the overseas version, its name's "Mr. X".
The Tyrant endlessly pursues the player. Sometimes it'll be create a hole in a wall.
After appearing on a monitor, the Tyrant confronts the player.
The Tyrant pursues the hero while covered in flames. This image overlaps with the film The Terminator.

G-VIRUS (p.024-025)
Embodiment of Strength
G. The seventh letter of the alphabet. The Creator warned man against committing seven deadly sins. Was developing it a "guilt" (crime) for humans?

Only able to be seen with an electron microscope, these microscopic particles have the tremendous power to cause mutation from the root of an infected organism at the gene level.

The melancholy of G-Virus developer William Birkin was that he couldn't see the perfect result with his own eyes. That being the case, rather. His cells attacked by the G-Virus finished transforming the magnificent scientist into a mutant form which has lost his personality. G's transformation over several stages appears to be a process in which the researcher, who was attempting to create the most powerful creature, has been released from the shackles of reason and pursues power itself. No one knows where the torrent of power will go.

INTRUDING UPON GOD'S DOMAIN
The dreadful artificial virus unto which an infected creature undergoes a complete change at the genetic level. The codename's "G." It tampers with a creature's DNA and promotes further evolution, and it's reported to also have the power to revive the dead. It's power beyond common knowledge. The Umbrella Corporation which developed it waited expectantly for this virus' completion. However, approaching the Creator's domain may have been too heavy a burden for a human. When G-Virus developer William Birkin refused to deliver it, and when a special team within Umbrella came to seize the virus, he appeared to act rashly and took the G-Virus into his own body. William, who became a G-Organism, isn't a person anymore. Although he has powerful physical strength, extraordinary healing ability and vitality that could be considered immortal, William's sense of self's completely lost. It seems the invasion of the G-Virus in his cells progresses gradually from a portion of his arm, and his form changes every moment.

G ADULT ORGANISM
An incomplete replicated organism of G. It discharges embryos from its mouth.

<- A mutant born through a G creature implanting a human with an embryo. It's a pseudo-duplicate organism of G, without neither intelligence nor reproductive ability.
<- G's appearance changes dramatically. The flesh on the face at the time of its human form moves to the left breast, while an eye opens up on the right arm.
<- G's fifth form raised energy efficiency to the max, already becoming a mere lump of flesh.

G'S TRANSFORMATION PATTERNS
G shows five forms (not including G Young Organism in the G pattern) but its appearance changes between individual forms to become more powerful. First we'll look at the 1st form. It seems this eyeball incidentally also has eyesight and functions to enlarge the field of vision as an organ of the G-Organism. When only the left-hand side's seen, G's only visibly like a Zombie state, but what stands out are the right arm in which the effects of the G-Virus have already appeared, along with the eyeball which appeared on the right shoulder.

Now, although G still maintains a human likeness so far, when it shifts to the 2nd form, the skin and scalp of the face completely move to the left breast due to the sudden rapid growth of its physique (cf. photograph). The right arm completely becomes a monster-like part with huge claws sticking out. In addition, you can notice a second left arm's starting to form under the face. Moreover, an upsurge of the skin's visible in the left upper portion where it appears G-Cells aren't multiplying so much, but this seems to be a fourth eyeball. The 3rd form's a perfect form you could call the point of a humanoid G-Organism reaching its apex. Both original arms totally stretch like wings, while the second arm seen in the second form has finished developing. The scraps of clothing which were proof it was once human have fallen off, and in the end, most traces of the skin on the face have almost vanished. Isn't this probably even a form which suited William's genetic design? Since G metamorphoses into a 4th form due to constant damage caused to its 3rd form, perhaps it's a reaction to strained recovery from damage, or rapid evolution, then gradually reverts to a beast deviating from the human course. When it turns into the 5th form, it's almost a sea slug shape. The arms also morph into tentacles while the limbs of undigested Zombies and Lickers are visible on the surface of its body. It could be called the miserable end result of power going out of control.

INSPECTING THE G-VIRUS
Thus far G has undergone transformations behind the scenes, but it has the power to create different types of cells unexpectedly by promoting the intense division of somatic cells--- a phenomenal effect of the G-Virus. To begin with, blueprints exist within our unique species that developed on a scale said to be over many hundred million years of life. Therefore, special individuals are less likely to be produced in the natural state. However, examples of heredity programs being distorted can often be seen in the past, especially when they occur due to powerful external factors such as endocrine disruptor chemicals or biological and chemical weapons (so-called BC weapons). If you take such examples into account, the G-Virus transcends existing concepts in terms of causing new parts to form ​p​o​s​t-​n​a​t​a​l​l​y, but it's not an unbelievable story.

IVY (p.030-031)
BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION
Plants contain chlorophyll, produce nutrients via photosynthesis, and lack the ability to move. However, carnivorous plants are often considered monster motifs due to their aggressiveness in catching insects and other small animals to digest them and form part of their nutrients.
From the start, carnivorous plants are plants that have no classification in the subject of botany because they function by supplementing deficient nitrogen and phosphorus, which are lacking in the soil of their habitats, by feeding on insects. There are various forms of insect traps in nature, but they're mainly divided between three types: pitall, trap and sticky types.

IN-GAME SETTINGS
The giant plant "Plant 42" appeared as a mid-boss in the previous game's "dormitory." While this plant was huge enough to take root in an entire building, "Ivy" is a self-moving plant created through breeding based on the research results at the Umbrella Arklay Laboratory. Many appear in the final stage at the Umbrella lab. It's slow-moving and weak to fire, but its long reach makes it difficult to slip by, making it a troublesome foe. The name Ivy, issued because it freely controls two ivies to catch its prey, is a lovely name that could initially be given to a woman, but could it be pronounced differently as 'evil'?
In addition, "Poison Ivy" is a monster that fully exploits the adaptability of plant life. In the lab's first half, "P-e Gas" (perhaps a modified version of the herbicide "V-JOLT" that was made when beating the previous "Plant 42") is sprayed to weaken the monsters that appear in the lab. It appears converted only when replaying. In this Ivy subspecies, the parts corresponding to the head and tips of the hands turn red, and the absorbed poison gas is spat as green poison. There's no doubt it's tough.

LEON S. KENNEDY (p.040-041)
A rookie policeman with a strong sense of justice who still retains his boyish appearance. His sharp eyes and long bangs show his innate naiveté. He has a rather enthusiast gun, a VP-70 manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It's unlikely this gun's officially adopted by the Raccoon Police Department, and it's believed to be his personal property.
He had good grades at the police academy, and although he's unskilled with large guns such as shotguns, he's generally proficient with firearms and rarely misses his aim. Even in the midst of the catastrophe that struck Raccoon City, he was able to use his marksmanship skills to his advantage.

On the other hand, he's not very good with women. In spite of his position as a police officer, Claire Redfield, a female motorcyclist, and Ada Wong, an enigmatic Chinese woman, whom he gets to know in the course of the incident, never seem to listen to his instructions and do their own thing. In the end he fails to protect even a young girl as she runs away in fear, and he's still young and full of vigor so still a bit green, which may prevent him from winning the hearts of women. The fact he rides a jeep and carries a survival knife makes him seem more like a boy scout than a cop.
He's also quite a romantic and falls seriously in love with Ada while they're together. It could be said him falling in love with her under extreme circumstances was due to his youthfulness. He declares he'll protect her with his own hands, even though he was separated from the girl Claire to search for survivors. He's so devoted to Ada he can't even question her words and actions, which aren't typical of ordinary people, and when he's shot at by a suspicious person, he takes a stand to defend her. He's unable to protect Ada in the end and their love affair comes to an abrupt end with her death, but he appears to have accepted her death in his own way, while also seeming to have some kind of commitment.
The look on his face as he vows to cleanse Umbrella after his escape from Raccoon City, isn't only heated, but also powerful in a way he hadn't been before last night. He's now one of the people who've touched the depths of Hell and come back.
According to Mr. Baba, the lead character designer, Leon's based on the image of River Phoenix. The character's current youthful appearance was chosen in order to make the player feel more comfortable with an unreliable protagonist. Also, since Chris in the previous game was rather cheerful and open-minded, he was originally planned to be made a little more calm and quiet. However, the voice actors' enthusiastic performance made it seem less so. "They spoke with a lot of tension when we recorded the voices, so I thought it'd be good to have him in this mood" said director Kamiya.
Leon's appearance varies slightly from scene to scene, but his fine lines are consistent. On the left's a CG model made after the game was completed to more faithfully reproduce the artist's vision of Leon. His inner fearlessness has come to the fore.
There are two types of Leon's hidden costumes. One's the left one, which looks like a rocker from the 60s. The skull on the back's pretty cool. The other's the gymnast style on the right. It's easy to move around in, but it's quite defenseless. It's a bit narcissistic. By the way, the way he shoots his gun changes when he changes his clothes, and in both cases he shoots diagonally with one hand. It's said clothes make the man... but his personality's also changed quite a bit.

LEON'S ITEM
LIGHTER
In the previous game, Chris was a smoker and actually looked good with a cigarette. In the opening live-action scene, the actor who played Chris enthusiastically lit a cigarette with a Zippo. Leon, however, doesn't have any smoking scenes, and he himself isn't a guy who looks good with a cigarette. If you examine this in the game, you'll see it has the Raccoon Police Department's emblem engraved on it. It must've been given to him upon his appointment. If he doesn't smoke, he's still a serious guy as he came to work with this in hand.

S.T.A.R.S. & SWAT
Unlike the S.T.A.R.S. members in the previous game, Leon's simply a rookie cop. S.T.A.R.S. is an abbreviation for "Special Tactics And Rescue Service", a special ops unit created to deal with crimes and incidents difficult for ordinary police to handle. Since it's an internal police organization, it doesn't simply shoot criminals to death like other special forces affiliated with the military. These settings are probably based on the real SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics). However, Leon's performance in this game's as good as those of Special Weapons and Tactics, so should be greatly admired.
Incidentally, it has recently been revealed that Japan also has a special police unit. It's called the "Special Assault Team". In April 1998, seven prefectural police departments, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Osaka Prefectural Police Department, officially established it as the "SAT". It has about 200 members. Due to the dangerous nature of their missions, the selection of members is said to be conducted after careful consideration for kinship and other factors.

CLAIRE REDFIELD (p.042-043)
A college student who rides into Raccoon City alone on her beloved motorcycle, fearing for her older brother Chris, who disappeared two months ago. Although she gets caught up in a major incident, she overcomes her predicament with her innate bravery and skilled gun-play, and finally succeeds in escaping with a little girl named Sherry.

The back print of her vest, "Made in Heaven", matches her brother's. In the game, she makes Sherry wear this vest as a "good luck charm," which shows she herself has been wearing it as some kind of emotional support on a daily basis. She's been living with Chris since she was a child, which may have made other men seem soft to her. Her personality's tough and strong-willed and she doesn't rely on any man, but rather does things as she sees fit. She's more than capable of handling a gun, which is probably due to the fact her brother, an expert within S.T.A.R.S, taught her how. In the U.S., where the concept of self-defense is widespread, gun education's very popular in some areas, but even so, it'd be rare for a girl to be taught directly by someone from special ops.

However, it's doubtful she was a tomboy who kicked boys' butts from a young age. Perhaps it was because she started off weak that she admired her strong brother, and made her own efforts to get as close to him as possible. With that in mind, the survival knife she wears on her left shoulder, following Chris' example, looks awkward.
Her fashion sense isn't very sophisticated, probably because she's not interested in men and doesn't need to look like a girl. She likely never expected her rugged rider boots would come in handy for kicking Zombies in the head.
After she meets Sherry, she begins showing her maternal strength and tries her best to protect her, even when she doesn't know what'll happen to her own life. She's no longer just a girl who yearns for her brother's strength, as she moves forward with a little hand in her grasp despite her many wounds.
Claire's weapons are generally more game-like than Leon's more realistic weapons. The weapons she uses, such as the Bow Gun and Spark Shot, are chosen for their appearance. Incidentally, it was Ms. Hayashi, who was in charge of motion, who recommended the Bow Gun. She said, "I thought it was cool when Juliette Lewis used one in From Dusk Till Dawn." She initially had an idea for attaching bombs to the arrow-tips, like in Rambo, blowing up enemies after they land. That's exciting. That's what you'd expect from an American motorcycle rider.
Claire has something of a baby-face. However, her American-made figure's that of a tough Amazoness-like build with sanpaku eyes, a Roman nose, pointed cheekbones, and thick lips. It appears CAPCOM made some changes to her figure as soon as possible, but this story makes one think about the culture gap.
Her hidden costumes. The costumes are a wild mix of both Indian and cowboy imagery. These radical styles look great and she can now use the Colt S.A.A., a masterpiece revolver, and her shooting style changes to one where she holds the revolver in her waistband while quickly raising the firing pin with her other palm.

CLAIRE'S ITEM
LOCKPICK
A set of safety pins and a wire. There must be some trick to it, as she can easily open a simple lock with this. She probably has a knack for tinkering with machines since she maintains motorcycles on a daily basis, but why would she need such a thing...? Maybe she borrows roadside bikes for a while and carries it with her for those occasions? The most famous way to steal a motorcycle's to connect cords, but it's impossible to control since the handlebars remain locked. So the quickest way's to pry open the lock... Or is that not possible?

ABOUT CLAIRE'S BIKES
Claire owns two motorcycles. In addition to the white bike she rode to Raccoon City, she also has a black bike with flames painted on the tank. Both of them are Harley Davidson-type bikes, but except for the engine, the rest of the bikes are custom made with one-off parts she made herself. Customization's the act of taking an industrial motorcycle and making it your own. It starts with putting stickers on the bike, changing the cowl, seat, tank, etc., replacing bolts with high quality ones, and giving it a custom paint job to differentiate it from others in terms of appearance. When you get to the end of the process, you have to replace all the parts except for the engine, or "complete customization". These complete customs aren't uncommon in the Harley world. Especially in the U.S., there are many manufacturers that produce original frames for Harleys. Nonetheless, these two bikes, which were made entirely by hand without using frames from such companies, are truly worthy of being called "Claire's Customs". These bikes are probably just as she'd envisioned them. Perhaps she was able to recover one of the bikes that was abandoned in this incident.

THE OTHER CHARACTERS (p.044-047)
The outbreak of the T-Virus germ weapon. It was a flick of the Grim Reaper's scythe that struck an ordinary suburban town. In a matter of a day and a night, Raccoon City was transformed into an extremely sour hell. But the city wasn't even allowed to die out. It was now filled with the breath of countless people. The faint heat of those who were no longer human. Seeking the flesh of their former brethren, the deformed ones continued to stir.
In the densely swirling air, however, there are other breaths. They may be violent and disturbed, or they may even be trying to kill themselves, but they're certainly breathing. Their sweat-soaked profiles, fortunate to have escaped Death's blade, are now illuminated by fiery hands and emerge in the darkness. An unceasing interplay of despair and hope. The lives that flicker in the midst of it all.
Those who are trying to survive, those who are trying to fulfill their missions, and those who are trying to cleanse this city. With their own agendas in mind, they put new magazines in their guns.

ADA WONG
A female spy sent to the Umbrella research facility to retrieve the G-Virus. She's deeply involved in the incident and previously approached John, one of the T-Virus developers, and acted as his lover to carry out espionage. She's believed to be affiliated with Umbrella Headquarters, but it's unclear whether this is true or not.
However, what's certain is she's a capable spy. Her body language and special marksmanship skill (see note) are clearly professional. She seems to be mentally well-trained, her face unchanging even in the midst of this extraordinary situation.
However, she's constantly shrouded by a dark shadow. It's often said a woman's inner self's "both tough and weak at heart," and in accordance with this, her "heart" probably must've been tough enough. At the same time, however, it was very fine and you could say it was like a piece of taut wire. The kind of wire that'd burst apart at the slightest incision.
The rookie cop Leon whom she meets in the incident seems to have made an incision in her. Being exposed to the purity and honesty of the man Leon must've upset her far more than when she saw the Licker, G, and other deformed monsters.

(Note)...... Ada's unique stance, with the barrel lying flat, is an eye-catching feature of her shooting style. The advantage of this stance is it allows her to spread out the number of bullets by increasing the rate of fire. Normally however it would result in a drastic decrease in her hit rate. As you can see in her actual firing scenes, in which she seems to use her left hand with her thumb hooked around the hammer. This suppresses the so-called "kick" of the gun's recoil.

The character of Ada had already appeared in the so-called experimental title "BIO1.5", and was created from a strong push by one of the production staff who said "We should include an Asian female character", he then created Ada's model and drew her texture himself. In particular, pay attention to the degree of fetishizing around her bust area. She has a nice body and is very popular among the creators. The soft lines of her body, which give the impression of a mature woman, are a testament to the designer's skill.

ANNETTE BIRKIN
William's wife who's also an Umbrella researcher and loves her husband, she doesn't wish to lose her beloved husband's research and runs around the lab in search of the missing G-Virus, turning her gun on the main characters. Her fate in the end may have been a happy thing as the wife of a scientist.

WILLIAM BIRKIN
The Umbrella researcher who developed the G-Virus. Although he's a genius scholar, by tinkering with the underlying genes of life in his hands, he may have felt transcendence, omnipotence or something or other. On the other hand, in an e-mail to the police chief he was secretly conspiring with, he also displays a mundane aspect in desiring the position of an Umbrella executive.

SHERRY BIRKIN
A girl whose parents are the genius scientist William and female researcher Annette. After she escaped inside the police station, she's protected by Claire. At times she displays an active role like an adult by helping the heroes with strength of will, but on the other hand if left alone she'll crouch weakly on the spot. It seems her parents' occupation has led her to grow up without enough love, now that she has finally met someone like Claire who's attached to her, it's perhaps harder for her to imagine she'll be left alone.

HUNK
One of the Umbrella special agents. During the G-Virus recovery mission, he was attacked by the G-Virus but survived and continued his mission. His appearance is unknown due to the gas mask he wears for fear of airborne transmission of the virus, but he's a middle-aged man and his appearance suggests he's had a long career. Incidentally, communicating via the radio at the beginning seems to be a clever use of rejected lines from the movie when the lab was attacked.

TO-FU
Apparently he's one of the Umbrella special agents. The entity's a test character that was used to check the priority of the backgrounds while making the game. The indentations are there to make it easier to see which way it's facing. The reason why "Tofu-sugata" appears on the save screen's because it was originally called "Tofu-hen", but it was garbled due to a font bug. It was so interesting it was left as it is.

AN ILLUSIVE PHANTOM "BIO", THE 1.5 VERSION (p.191)
Every fan knows "2" was released on a very different date than originally planned.
During that time, there was a version that was 80% complete but disappeared.
Commonly known as "1.5", what kind of game was it?

FIRST SCREENS REVEALED AT TOKYO GAME SHOW IN SUMMER '96
It was at the Tokyo Game Show held at Tokyo Big Sight in the summer of 1996 that the first screens of "2" were shown to the public. However, at that time, it was only short footage of a few dozen seconds, exhibited in a promotional video aired at the CAPCOM booth. Moreover the characters were only outlines and the backgrounds were black shadows, so it was far from finished, and we could only barely make out the atmosphere. However, we could already identify multiple zombies swarming, and we could see "2" was aiming to be a game where we could enjoy battle of one against many. This was a scene which showed the basic concept of "2", which was to produce "fear in numbers." As for the protagonists, it was decided there'd be one male and one female protagonist, as in the previous game, and according to publicity materials at the time, "The male protagonist will be Leon S. Kennedy, a rookie cop in the Raccoon Police Department (he was a little younger and darker than Leon in the game), and the woman's Elza Walker, a motorcycle racer." If you've played "2", you're probably thinking, "Who's Elza?" She was a female college student wearing bright red leather clothes who visited Raccoon City in search of a certain person, and got caught up in the incident.

SEVERAL ELEMENTS DISAPPEARED OR CHANGED
In the completed "2," of course, there's no Elza (analysis of the CD-ROM shows the character select screen data from that time's still there). There were many other elements that disappeared or were changed. For example, Marvin, the black cop who appears at the beginning of the game. Originally, he was supposed to be Leon's superior who played an active role in various ways and eventually escaped. Also, the Zombies were originally planned to be quite numerous, and some of the rooms were filled with them.
There were many more changes to the locations. Let's take a look at some of them from the original setting documents.
• Chief's Office...... A room with a glass window on one wall and blinds down. It's on the top floor, and you used to be able to see the whole city from the window, but now it's blocked by a building under construction.
• Armory...... The place where weapons are stored in the police department. It's adjacent to the underground parking lot.
• Firing Range...... is the place where the officers train to shoot. There are shooting booths on one side of the open space (this room itself does not appear in the actual game).
• Office A...... The office that serves as the window to the police station itself. It's a large, vertical room with two rows of tables facing each other (probably the prototype of the room where the protagonist first receives the key card in "2").
• Office B...... Has an interrogation room in the back, where the staff of the Juvenile Division, Narcotics Division, Homicide Division, etc. work. The chief of police also often conducts his business here.

REMADE WHILE 80% COMPLETE
If you look at the "1.5" version, you can see the completed form of "2" is already visibly hidden there. However, the development of "2" progressing in this way was suddenly reworked just before its release. What happened to it?  According to Shinji Mikami, creator of the "BIO" series, it was because the game's quality was too low.
"I left the work of 1.5 to the young staff, but there were many problems. The ingredients were good to a certain extent, so it was just a matter of cooking. Even if it wasn't good, I thought it would probably be fixed in three months. However, when I opened the lid, I found the dish's level of saltiness to be lacking. So we decided to remake it from scratch."
Mr. Mikami has bitter memories of 1.5. However, the staff persevered and eventually completed "2" as an entertaining game with fun elements like "HUNK" and "TOFU."
"The difference between 1.5 and "2" is huge, and if we'd released "3" as it was, it would've fallen to the point I don't know if it would've even sold 500,000 copies." (Mr. Mikami) His unwarranted fears were successfully dispelled.
Written by TAKASHI MIZUNO

INTERVIEW 2 (p.147-149)
YOSHIKI OKAMOTO
Director and General Manager of the Development Division at CAPCOM Co. Ltd. Born on June 10th 1961. He's in overall charge of CAPCOM's arcade and consumer game development.
The story of Okamoto's criticism of "BIO HAZARD" just before it was released is so famous it's even been featured in a shōnen manga magazine. Where will his philosophy on game production and "BIOHAZARD" lead the series?

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT (hereafter, ED): I heard you gave a lot of final advice for "1".

YOSHIKI OKAMOTO (hereafter, OKAMOTO): It wasn't really advice I must say, more like I just flipped the table over. It was heavy, so I made them help me, saying like "You hold that side" (laughs).

ED: Is that so (laughs)?

OKAMOTO: Up until then I'd only worked on arcade games, so I hadn't paid any attention to consumer games. Then the situation in the company changed in a few ways and I was told BIO HAZARD was about to be released, so I was shown it. When I saw it, I didn't like it at all. It was a promising game, which made me not like it even more. I thought, "You've brought it this far, now you're gonna stop?" So because it might be a big home run, while saying "I don't like this, I don't like that, do it like this", I also asked the sales team "can we delay the release date somehow?"

ED: What sort of adjustments did you make specifically? Like the auto-correct when aiming a gun.

OKAMOTO: That's right. The system initially divided the 360 degrees around you into 270, so you'd rotate the gun for as long as you held the button down, but this meant even if you thought you were facing a Zombie, you weren't, and if you were firing rapidly at a moving Zombie, your bullets would miss. Also if you pick up one ink ribbon you can save three times, but you could only save once before. So when I was playing, I started to feel uneasy and ended up looking for ink ribbons more than anything else. Even considered changing the title to "Game Where You Look For Ink Ribbons" (laughs).

ED: So one ink ribbon makes a big difference, does it?

OKAMOTO: It's like a 100 yen continue. Continue and add three more lives. Pick up another ink ribbon, you get three more lives. I thought it'd be good if it could be done that way. There were other proposals that were adopted and others that were rejected.

OKAMOTO: The main thing was the control system. I wanted to make the RC control system work like "Rockman DASH". Although we couldn't handle the part where you back away while shooting at Zombies. We had no choice but to use those controls. I thought it'd probably be rejected 8 or 9 times out of 10, but we released it anyway.

ED: So that turned out to be a needless worry.

OKAMOTO: It really felt like we just happened to get away with it. The other parts were good, so those controls were accepted. I thought there was only a 10% chance they'd have been accepted.

ED: That's pretty harsh.

OKAMOTO: There were a lot of things I wanted kept to a minimum. If I hadn't changed its direction myself, I think casual players probably wouldn't have been able to keep up. With SEGA's "Virtual-On", if you suddenly jump up then come down, you'll land facing the enemy. I think that jump's there for that purpose. You need to be able to use it like that.

ED: That's certainly true.

OKAMOTO: "BIO" didn't have that, so that's what I meant when I said it was a "shitty game". I called it a shitty game due to the poor balancing. For instance, when you go to a zoo and make an elephant out of clay while looking at the real thing, you make the parts realistically then stick them together, and you think "Oh, the head's a bit small. The parts are good though". That's how BIO HAZARD was made.

ED: But the term "shitty game" was pretty harsh, no?

OKAMOTO: When I say "shitty game", I mean the parts are well-made so if the whole thing works well, it'll be a good game. The members who worked with me on the arcades could easily understand that nuance, but it seems the consumer side didn't use that kind of expression. So the younger generation were mad. But I wouldn't say that if I didn't think there was any hope for it.

ED: So it seems like Mikami-san was the one who stepped in and communicated well?

OKAMOTO: He was working really hard. It's a shame. That's why Mikami seems like a millionaire, but he's not at all.

ED: How's that?

OKAMOTO: He goes out drinking to fill the gap.

ED: So he treats them.

OKAMOTO: That's why the team gets along well. They're cheerful.

ED: Fortunately the controls were well-received by users, so you're keeping them the same for "2".

OKAMOTO: Whether they're well-received or not, we won't change the controls. Because when you particularly play a series game, you don't read the manual, do you?

ED: That's right.

OKAMOTO: We don't want it to be a series where reading the manual is a must. The selling point of a sequel is being able to just jump straight into it with the same feel you got from the first game.

ED: I see.

OKAMOTO: They came to ask me again this time too. "Should we change the controls?" I told them they didn't have to touch them.

ED: Was that when you were making "2"?

OKAMOTO: They thought we'd get a lot of complaints about "2" too. I was confident, but I think they seemed worried "Okamoto will say something again." That wasn't the case though. In that sense, the "Director's Cut" was released, but I think it could've received a little higher praise.

ED: In what areas?

OKAMOTO: That'd be how it incorporated elements we wanted to include even before the release of "1", as well as parts we thought would've been good if we included them after release. Even if you only play "2", you won't understand it unless you play Director's Cut as well.

ED: You mean you won't get it unless you play Director's Cut, rather than "1"?

OKAMOTO: That's with Director's Cut being the first in the BIO series. So I want people who haven't played it to try the DualShock compatible version of Director's Cut. This time the controller vibrates and we've also tried changing the music.

ED: There was also a "1.5" between 1 and 2.

OKAMOTO: It looked really cool just looking at the screen. With the technology we had at the time of "1", we were able to display three Zombies on-screen, but we were able to grasp the hardware's peculiarities to the point we could "go up to seven." So I think we achieved the same kind of evolution where "Alien" became "Alien 2".

ED: At the time of "1.5"?

OKAMOTO: At the time of "1.5". It was evolving in a different direction to what users were expecting though. That wasn't good enough, so I got the main members of the team together with FLAGSHIP's Noboru Sugimura-san and had them meet and talk for days on end. Sugimura-san's a scenario writer, so he has a way with words. Mikami's also a master, but he was persuaded. If I was in his position I would've felt pressured and said "yes". Since we're boss and subordinate. But with Mikami and Sugimura-san, they can have a lively exchange of ideas with each other on equal footing. So Mikami came to me and said he wanted to change it like so-and-so, and it'd delay the development period by this long.

ED: From the company's point of view, it's not a very pleasing discussion to hear the development period will be delayed.

OKAMOTO: When you look at it long term, it's crucial to see how much CAPCOM deserves recognition as a business. If we successfully launch a title like BIO HAZARD by chance, but then messed up on "2", we can't be trusted as a company. If you let your ace pitcher take the mound two days after his last and he ends up injuring his shoulder, you'll still let him pitch as your ace whether it's four or five days after his last, and he'll definitely get a win. That's the sort of usage I want to see.

ED: The director's changed from Mikami-san to Kamiya-san this time. How do you feel about that?

OKAMOTO: The director changing is no issue, the scenario's what's important. It's vital to absolutely stick to uniform scenarios. That's why I didn't want them to truly make the change from Alien to Alien 2. If you go all the way with "2", there's nothing left to do with "3". I didn't want it to go in that direction.

ED: So what kind of direction would you like it to go in?

OKAMOTO: I feel it should be more like "007". The enemies in 007 are like some sort of super rich guy holding a cat or something, and even if an island gets blown up, it's like one finger gets blown off. Someone just so happens to get a lead on someone like that, some big-time enemy, seriously working on some conspiracy, and it causes some commotion. I want to tell the stories of "1" and "2" as if they're pieces of a much bigger narrative.

ED: Was that something in mind since "1"?

OKAMOTO: No (laughs). When we had "1" and "1.5" was starting to take shape, I imagine they probably thought, "If they liked 1, then let's make 2, which is the story that comes after that, and if they like that, let's make 3, the story that comes after that", y'know? That's not right. The entire world's created at the point of "1". And we're going to proceed with 1 as this part of the story, 2 as this part of the story, and so on.

ED: It's like the story of Gundam.

OKAMOTO: Right, that's it. First you create the world then never leave it. That's why it's OK even if the director changes.

ED: So it won't just be "3", but continue on from there.

OKAMOTO: That's right. We won't let the world get mixed up though. So for example, if we manage to get to "5" I don't know which'll be the best, but if one of them sells three million copies in Japan, those who played that one will want to try out and buy the others too. So I want to see the gap filled between the other ones and three million copies. I want to make this into a series that way. It's not about money, it's about a big scale, so I want to show the full scale.

ED: Thank you very much.

(Interviewer: Ayumi Saito, CAPCOM Co., Ltd.)

INTERVIEW 3 (p.150-151)
KEIJI INAFUNE
General Manager of Planning Room 2, Development Division, CAPCOM Co., Ltd. Producer of CAPCOM's popular "Rockman" series. He's been involved with BIOHAZARD since the second title.
From producing the Rockman series to producing "BIOHAZARD 2", what exactly is the struggle of establishing a new series? What sort of conflicts did he have over the content of what could be called extreme expressions?

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT (hereafter, ED): What were your basic principles when producing the major title BIOHAZARD 2 that couldn't afford to fail?

KEIJI INAFUNE (hereafter, INAFUNE): In my mind, I was wondering if BIO would really sell if we just made a good game, so I thought about the challenge of promoting the game by it being a follow-up to a good game, and other aspects. I had a real sense BIO was supported by people who weren't really interested in games, as I'd heard about people buying a PS just to play BIO, or women who bought a PS and got hooked on BIO. Even with those people buying it, it was still only 1.1 million copies. To add to that 1.1 million, I felt we need to appeal to even more casual users. So I thought it'd be good if we could get the name BIO HAZARD known to people who don't usually play games, by putting information in places other than game magazines. We also visited Tokyo Marui to propose the Desert Eagle, thinking it'd appeal to new audiences for both of us.

ED: The commercial was also very distinctive.

INAFUNE: Rather than just making a commercial, this time I thought we could appeal to different audiences using the commercial. Especially since BIO HAZARD's a cinematic game. We used the director of the "Zombie" films, George A. Romero, to give the commercial a BIO feel, and we chose Brad Renfro to appeal to women. It cost a lot of money (laughs).

ED: The Director's Cut was also very popular.

INAFUNE: There were some people who were worried about the format being like a rehash of an old title, but it sold 500,000 copies.

ED: 500,000 copies is a big number considering ports of popular titles often don't sell. Who came up with the idea for the Director's Cut in the first place?

INAFUNE: I think Mikami and Okamoto decided that. I think it was a project that took into account the promotional aspects of "2" and the needs of users who wanted to try "1". If you start a series halfway through, you want to watch the whole thing, don't you? BIO HAZARD was a game made in a cinematic style in every respect, so we were also conscious of non-game aspects in terms of promotion. We made many first-time attempts, for both CAPCOM and the game industry, so there were various obstacles and some things we were quite confused about.

ED: What kind of obstacles did you face?

INAFUNE: For example, while the game was being developed, we approached various people but most of the responses we got were negative. People said things like "It's just a game after all" or "We don't do games". I think things have changed now, though, since "2" sold so well and was such a hot topic. So we weren't able to do enough to make BIO known to the general public. Ever since 2's release though, things have become easier, so I'm thinking of keeping that in mind for "3".

ED: If you've sold two million copies this time, will you be aiming even higher with "3"?

INAFUNE: In BIO's case it's a genre people scared of scary things can't play though, so there's a handicap there. It's not like Square's "Final Fantasy" where anyone can play. Right now though, "Final Fantasy VII" is the best-selling PS game, so I'd like to aim for that (laughs).

ED: It's amazing you've sold that many despite the handicap.

INAFUNE: I think it's amazing, but we still want to be the best (laughs).

ED: It's scary, but I think that's also what leads to the high sales figures.

INAFUNE: Normally at CAPCOM we aim to make games people say are "fun", but in the case of BIO HAZARD we aimed to make a game people would say was "scary". In that sense, I think we succeeded.

ED: I heard you were also the producer of the Rockman series, but the way you promote your games is completely different, isn't it? I think there are some difficult aspects, such as the grotesque depictions, right?

INAFUNE: That's true. We take the approach of having people understand the game before they play it. We also voluntarily impose restrictions on the depictions.

ED: There's a warning on the package that says "Contains grotesque imagery", but I think BIO's the only game that displays such a warning on the screen before the game starts.

INAFUNE: When you think of a game as a singular work of art, such a display doesn't look very nice. It's something that doesn't sit well with the development side either. The regulations only require a sticker be attached to the package, but CAPCOM wanted to show we were thinking about this issue properly, so we made a point of doing it voluntarily, and the developers were satisfied with the result. I feel it's necessary to include in any game that contains such depictions, not just in BIO. CAPCOM particularly wants to do what we can with BIO, but I hope future restrictions on depiction won't just be restricting.

ED: I often hear from various manufacturers and creators "there are strict regulations on expression in games." What do you think?

INAFUNE: Sony understood BIO wasn't a game that was trying to scare people by showing gratuitous splatter-esque or grotesque scenes, but that it was "content depicted with a sense of necessity". Even so, there were cases where we had to remove elements the creators were particular about.

ED: I'm sure the creators might've resisted, but it must've been hard for the people who said "let's put a stop to it."

INAFUNE: For me, I know it'd be scarier if they were included, so it was even tougher. And I know it'd make the game more interesting. However that's not all that makes BIOHAZARD games so fun, so we removed them.

ED: From what you're saying, it sounds like you were in a pretty rough position.

INAFUNE: No, I think it was harder for Mikami this time. I think he was under a lot of pressure. We did achieve our target of two million units sold though, so I feel like we did a good job. Although by the time we think we can achieve two million units, the target will have been raised to three million (laughs).

ED: So the "3" means three million? The target number of copies sold goes up by a million each time, right?

INAFUNE: We're thinking of doubling the target number of copies sold, 100, 200, 400, and so on (laughs). As I said before though, there are some handicaps. There are people who don't like these sorts of visuals. But I'd like to aim for four million copies sold (laughs).

ED: Thank you very much.

(Interviewer: Ayumi Saito, CAPCOM Co., Ltd.)

INTERVIEW 4 (p.152-153)
SHINJI MIKAMI
Producer, Development Headquarters, CAPCOM Co., Ltd. The driving force behind the creation of BIO HAZARD. He was the director of "1". Currently planning a new game.
Despite being the driving force behind the success of BIO HAZARD, Mr. Mikami took a step back to become producer for the sequel. How'd he feel leaving the series he nurtured?

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT (hereafter, ED): You're the producer this time, right?

SHINJI MIKAMI (hereafter, MIKAMI): This time I only decided on the general direction at the beginning then left most of the rest to the director, Kamiya. Kamiya's more particular with things like keeping the story flowing smoothly along a single straightforward path, or depicting the characters' expressions, rather than having things like branching paths, so I think that came across well.

ED: The quality's improved between "1" to "2", but at the same time, I think the logic of fear has also changed?

MIKAMI: What I was particular about in "1" was wanting to create a sense of fear that flowed through the story. I think the scariest thing's when you're actually facing the enemy. It's preferable to be able to let the fear build up in your head, wondering “is it coming now or coming later?” The way emphasis was placed on flashiness in the scenes was a change in "2."

ED: So that's the difference between Kamiya-san's way of thinking and Mikami-san's way of thinking.

MIKAMI: That's right. For example, there's a scene where Tyrant's dropped from a helicopter. There are six containers with Tyrants in them, but if you asked me, I'd have said, "Why six? One's enough." I wouldn't do it that way myself. That's where Kamiya's style comes in. If it were me, I'd probably only show one capsule. And I wouldn't have it drop in a capsule. If it were me, a guy would suddenly turn up and you'd say, "Who the hell are you?", then suddenly without saying anything he'd start firing a gun or grab you. As a player, I'd panic saying, "What the hell's happening?" It's a terror of realism and absurdity. So if I were to do it, it might be a bit plain. I insisted on adding scene while playing where Tyrant bursts through the wall, but the details of the scene before and after weren't quite as I'd imagined. If I put too much of myself into it though, the "subjective taste" of the game's creators would be lost. Subjectivity comes into play one way or another after all. I think that's what determines the degree of interest.

ED: Wasn't it lonely to stand back and watch from the sidelines?

MIKAMI: It was really lonely. Personally I think a producer's main job is to make money while the real work of creating something is done on-site. If I myself was working on-site as a director and a producer told me to do this or that, I'd say, "Leave it to me, I'll make it fun, so don't waste your breath and just keep working that abacus." So even when I became a producer myself, I didn't want to give too many orders on-site.

ED: To what extent were you actually involved in the game's production?

MIKAMI: There was a version now called "1.5" and to tell you the truth, I often gave my input on-site at the time (laughs). And of course, there were times Kamiya and I disagreed. At times like that, the question of whose opinion to listen to would come up, so I said I'd just back off. Even though I stepped back, I still worried, so I asked if I could check on its progress once a month by burning a ROM. In the end though we still had disagreements, so I decided to truly leave it up to them. The ingredients were quite good, so I imagined if we put them in a pot, the rest would be up to how we cooked it, and even if it tasted bad when we opened the lid to taste, it'd probably taste good in about three months. When I opened the lid and tasted it though, it was so bad I turned pale. I realized it wasn't a matter of how much salt, but it was fundamentally bad. So I had them remake it from scratch. After that though I didn't get deeply involved, just watched from the sidelines.

ED: You initially said 150,000 copies would be enough, but with "2" the series has grown to two million copies. Do you have any feelings about that?

MIKAMI: When I look back, I feel like BIO's gone a long way. Maybe it's like when your daughter's taken by another man and goes to be his wife. You're still bound by blood, make no mistake, but the parents are no longer in any position to say anything.

ED: So I guess that makes you happy.

MIKAMI: Yeah, I'm happy. But because I'm happy, I also wonder if it's enough. That's why I want to get back in the field and make games from scratch again.

ED: Do you not think about making BIO3?

MIKAMI: It's not impossible, but if I were to do it, I think I'd end it with "3". If I'd done "2", I might've ended it there. As a game, I think it'd be most beautiful to end it there. Also, horror's a stimulant. Like a drug, there comes a point where it gradually stops working. Once you've seen a lot of horror movies, you start to get a feel for the patterns and when a scare will come, you're like, 'Oh, this is 50-50', and start analyzing it. That kind of function starts to kick in even though the girl next to you is jumping. I was into horror movies when I was a student, but I got bored of them. The orthodox patterns in horror movies had all been used up, then things like "Battalion" came out, a comical movie that incorporated comedy. Even that didn't work, so they took it even further and finally came up with something like "Braindead", where blood splatters everywhere and you just have to laugh. Once they got to that point, it was all over.

ED: That's true, it's not really horror when it gets to that point.

MIKAMI: Yeah, people get used to it. However, if you do it over a span of four or five years, a new generation will come along and be scared again. You can't just keep churning them out because it's a fad. Also, creators are basically in the service industry.

ED: So they're not like artists.

MIKAMI: That's right. It's like being a masseur, asking does this feel good? Or how it would feel better. Like a comedian or a masseur, you have to get a reaction from the audience. So when one joke doesn't work, it's important to be able to say, "Well how about this one?" To do that, you have to put aside the value of marketability and focus fully on the work itself. If you don't do that, you won't be able to create anything interesting. The reason I didn't interfere too much with "2" was because I didn't want to nip new growth in the bud. Kamiya also understood in his head that "fear" was BIO's main premise, so his influences are apparent in many areas. I don't like games that lack the creator's touch.

ED: Thank you very much.

(Interviewer: Ayumi Saito, CAPCOM Co., Ltd.)

UMBRELLA CORP. SPECIAL FORCES (p.210)
The Umbrella Corporation Special Forces that HUNK's a member of. Although private businesses and organizations are said to maintain corporate spies for intelligence gathering, it's unusual for the Umbrella Corporation to have a combat unit that doesn't even mind murder for a mission. Now, supposing groups similar to the military unit HUNK and others belong to within the corporation do truly exist in the world, they'd be each nation's special forces units that suppress terrorist organizations. The most famous special forces in the world's the British SAS (British Special Air Service).

The SAS has a long history opposing terrorist activities of anti-establishment types and its superiority is inimitable over other special forces. The secret's in very intense training. CQB (Close Quarters Battle) in particular's severe enough to be called "Kill House." CQB in the SAS is adopted for training in other special forces, and friendly nations receive offers. It seems the special forces HUNK belongs to were also subject to the SAS' influence (or are from the SAS?)

There's a close resemblance between the all-black combat uniforms and gas masks which HUNK and others have equipped in this drama, and the equipment for close quarters battle of the SAS mobilized in the Iranian embassy crisis of London in '80. The gas masks that completely cover the face are for entry when using tear gas bombs, and the all-black combat uniforms are known as objects for intimidating terrorists, made from flame-proof Nomex. In firearms, the machine gun used at the time of seizing the G-Virus appears to be the Heckler & Koch 9mm MP5 series machine gun, used by the SAS and special forces of many nations. In addition, the art of indoor combat which HUNK showed great mobility in through anti-Zombie combat, is also important for anti-terrorism battles in limited small places such as passenger planes or interior rooms.

Moreover, although it's a digression, the codename HUNK means "a cool tough guy" and also "Eastern European immigrant worker." From a single name emanates the scent of a mercenary who has come through the battlefield.