GAME · 2005
Resident Evil 4
- Developer
- Capcom
- Publisher
- Capcom
- Platforms
- Wii, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo GameCube
- Original title
- Biohazard 4
23 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (23)
- #001
Resident Evil 4 went through a lengthy development in which at least four versions were discarded.
- #002
In 1999, producer Shinji Mikami stated that a Resident Evil sequel was being developed for PlayStation 2.
- #003
The first discarded version of Resident Evil 4 was directed by Hideki Kamiya, with a story by Resident Evil 2 writer Noboru Sugimura built around Kamiya's idea of a "cool" and "stylish" action game.
- #004
An early revision of Resident Evil 4, commonly called the "fog version", was directed by Hiroshi Shibata and was 40 percent complete at the time of its announcement.
- #005
The story of the fog version was again written by Sugimura's scenario creation company Flagship, and the producer of the final version noted that Ashley did not appear in it, though a different, never-revealed girl did; the game was also to include some first-person elements.
- #006
The cancelled "Hook Man" version of Resident Evil 4 had only a basic story concept and dropped the earlier scenario written by Noboru Sugimura of Flagship.
- #007
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis scenario writer Yasuhisa Kawamura said in 2012 that he was responsible for the "Hook Man" version of Resident Evil 4, having wanted to make Biohazard 4 scarier.
- #008
According to Yasuhisa Kawamura, he suggested using a scene from the American film Lost Souls in which the main character finds herself in a derelict building with a killer on the loose, and an arranged version of that idea became the Hook Man.
- #009
Yasuhisa Kawamura said he was very sorry and "even ashamed" that Mikami had to step in and scrap the "Hook Man" version of Resident Evil 4.
- #010
A Japanese pre-order bonus released in January 2005, the Biohazard 4 Secret DVD, included five minutes of gameplay footage of Resident Evil 4. This version was called Maboroshi no Biohazard 4, meaning 'The Phantom Biohazard 4'.
- #011
Speaking for the team, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said the staff was "tired of the same thing", that some got bored and moved on to other projects, and that the older format was "stuck in a cookie cutter mold" and "shackles holding us down".
- #012
Kobayashi designed some of Resident Evil 4's final enemies, including the Regenerators.
- #013
Kobayashi explained that, within the game's lore, the Regenerators originated as malformed byproducts of Los Iluminados' bioorganic weapons research, implanted with multiple Plaga parasites during experimentation.
- #014
Contains a major spoiler — show
The Regenerators were designed to take distinct heavy breaths before appearing, alerting the player to their presence, and they regenerate continuously, requiring the player to find and target the Plaga parasites inside them using an infrared scope.
- #015
In an interview with Famitsu, Mikami said elements such as the Regenerators help preserve Resident Evil 4's survival horror aspect by balancing a scary kind of gameplay with the challenge of overcoming that fear, aiming to give players a sense of achievement.
- #016
English voice actors for Resident Evil 4 recorded their parts across four sessions spanning three to four months.
- #017
Capcom appointed Shinsaku Ohara to serve as script translator and voice over coordinator for Resident Evil 4.
- #018
Carolyn Lawrence, the voice of Ashley Graham in Resident Evil 4, called her character vulnerable because Leon must constantly rescue her, and described Kennedy as having more brawn than brain.
- #019
For Resident Evil 4, the game's designer detailed each cinematic sequence so that characters' facial expressions would match the tone of their voice actors' performances.
- #020
Resident Evil 4 was announced on October 31, 2004, for release on the PlayStation 2 in 2005, with increased profit, changing market conditions and increased consumer satisfaction cited as the key reasons.
- #021
The PlayStation 2 release of Resident Evil 4 added new features, most notably a new sub-game starring Ada Wong.
- #022
Ubisoft announced on February 1, 2006, that it would publish Resident Evil 4 on PC for Windows.
- #023
A Wii version of Resident Evil 4 was announced on April 4, 2007, and launched later in 2007; it carried all PlayStation 2 extras plus additions such as a trailer for Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.
Sources & editorial notes
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Resident Evil 4 — Wikipedia
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