Resident Evil 4 Remake originally had a Chapter 0, where players took direct control of Ashley Graham and attempted to escape from her captors prior to Leon’s arrival.
Detailed by modder Thekempy in a YouTube video, parts of the so-called Chapter 0 remain in the final game, albeit in an unfinished state only accessible via the use of mods.
While much of kempy’s video relies on speculation regarding what Ashley’s early-game level would have entailed, the discovery of several unused prompts for enemy spawns and cutscenes allowed him to piece together how it likely would have played out.
In an enclosed area in Resi 4’s starting village area, Ashley would have attempted to evade the Las Plagas-infected locals in a short stealth section, ultimately leading to her capture and imprisonment, where Leon finds her.
Remnants of the sequence can still be seen in pre-release trailers for the Remake.
Why ‘Chapter 0’ was cut
There’s no definitive answer for why the sequence was cut, although kempy speculates that, due to the replayable nature of Resident Evil 4, having a heavily scripted stealth section at the game’s beginning would have clashed with Capcom’s design goals.
Regardless of the reason, it’s always super cool to get behind-the-scenes insight into how games are made and what ends up getting left on the cutting room floor.
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