As any fan of Capcom’s famed Resident Evil series will know, the developer has no shortage of creative artists on its payroll.
Only an imaginative mind, after all, could conjure up the likes of Lickers, Hunters and Tyrants, all of which are just as synonymous with the franchise as iconic S.T.A.R.S. heroes Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. No matter how well-formed an abstract idea may initially seem, however, not always is it the case that a creation successfully makes the jump from paper to screen. With seven (probably soon to be eight) mainline entries and countless spinoffs under its belt, it’s to be expected that not everything has always turned out the way Capcom hoped.
Whether cut content of this nature befell such a fate due to time and monetary constraints or for completely different reasons altogether, we’ll never know, but it certainly couldn’t be for want of originality. After all, these creeps would fit right in with Umbrella’s existing entourage of horribly mutated creatures.
Check out some of the monsters that ultimately never came to be via the gallery below:
Chances are, many of these early works were just that – prototype versions that were completely redesigned, rather than scrapped. In the case of what can only be best described as a Licker Zombie, Capcom likely decided to repurpose the most distinguishing features – a freakishly long and durable tongue and exposed brain – into the final version seen today in Resident Evil 2 and its acclaimed remake. Pure speculation, of course, but regardless of the origin story behind each and every monstrosity, rare portfolios such as these provide a fascinating insight into game design. And who knows, Capcom may one day decide to revisit these precursors for future titles.
As for the more immediate future, April 3rd marks the release of Resident Evil 3‘s long-awaited remake. See here for the latest trailer.
