The Unused Backgrounds of Resident Evil 2

Originally I was going to skip over most of these because some of them are so subtle that it may as well not matter but I decided for documentation purposes I will be showing ALL backgrounds. Some of them are really interesting…and some are not. But regardless, we are going to go through all of them.
Because some of the image changes are so subtle I will be fading between them on and off to make it easier for you to see the differences. So let’s get into it, here are the unused and changed backgrounds from Resident Evil 2.
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[@blacksunshine7485]

Just hearing the Resi 2 Police Station theme in the background of this video reminds me how they really nailed the soundtrack. Just hearing it now creeps me out. Such an important part of the game.

[@steveowisdom2486]

Right!! Such an important part of my childhood as well I’d say

[@6pennywise9]

me too, its a glourious masterpiece of soundtrack of all Resident Evil, but for me the underground lab soundtrack freaks me out more than to another place on the game, i guess this was because zombies make a lot of damage, are more lickers and plants

[@eddiehoplight2003]

Your right, audio is important to any horror game

[@mrx2586]

Most of the music in this game is incredible ( although there are some duds such as marvins background music and the end scene music ). For some reason the RCPD main hall theme is often used as an example of the great music from this game but it is far from the best in this game.

[@residentdanix123]

Yes it is, you can even play the original soundtrak in the RE2 Remake and it fits perfectly

[@MortonGoldthwait]

The loud mysterious thud is most definitely Birkin. It was probably added to keep his presence in the back of the players mind. That's also the reason the bloody hole is there in the path to the turntable.

[@QLC88]

Right but i think he was being sarcastic about it

[@officertom6751]

I can only imagine the rumbling in the tunnel to the tram was caused by mutated William Birkin. Because Leon and Ada are later attacked by Willian Birkin's claws through the ceiling of the tram. And the large holes can only be caused by some monsters that were in those places. I also remember from Resident Evil Zero that there was a large hole in the bulkhead after defeating the Tyrant Prototype as Rebecca and returning to that place.

[@SSJvegito501]

Yeah I thought that was pretty obvious/easy to figure out.

[@geedee1264]

It's a bit ambiguous because that was more like a grave digger shake than something Birkin would do, I wasn't sure either

[@JamieB34c]

I always assumed it was William

[@metaldiscipline3955]

I agree, I always thought the loud thud and dust raining down, was William landing from above, stalking Leon and Ada.

[@atommiranda8997]

I thought the same thing

[@TheRedComa]

I LOVE the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original RE games. There is such a huge jump in the level of detail from the first game to the second; the artists really upped their game. As much as I love the first game with all my heart, sometimes it's disheartening to see that some areas look a little strange, just because it isn't lit well, or the texturing is poorly done (mansion wallpaper is the biggest offender I've seen) I've often wanted to see a fan-made "de-make" that mimics the original 1996 version, but with cleaned up and re-rendered backgrounds with proper lighting and texturing.

[@navylaks2]

Imagine what pre rendered backgrounds could look like today 😁😁👍👍

[@YourCreepyUncle.]

Ffs mate, we already have that. It's commonly referred to as REmake and it remains the best RE game to this very day. Well, along with RE4.

[@sugoi9680]

@@YourCreepyUncle. I think he meant not from 2002

[@kri249]

@@navylaks2 that's something I'd definitely love to see. Especially now we have discs hat can hold the memory.

[@SurvivalSpheres]

Fully agree. Although, in a way, those empty rooms in RE1 gave a certain detached look and feel. Like they looked normal and not just right at the same time. A bit like nowadays pop-culture liminal spaces work, you know?

[@monkeybone1080]

Preservation is important, so I'm glad you decided to not skip anything, as it's all interesting!

[@MorgueOfficialMusic]

Agreed. More is more.

[@absolutions6108]

Love seeing the alt shot of the main hall in the RPD. Kind of bizarre seeing something brand new from a game we've all been playing since we were kids. I've also looked into that thud in the sewers and could never find anything about it. :/

[@Hichamca1992]

"An alternate close up of the stairs where Leon meets Ada" looks like where Jill met Dario Rosso in the beginning of RE3.

[@lordvlygar2963]

I love videos like these. The thud is Birkin following your character to the tram. The RE2 demo packaged with Director's Cut has a good portion of the RPD in it. The deeper into the building you go, it turns into the gray blocks. I'm guessing in the earlier builds, the Licker reveal was still there, which has a different angle from outside the window as it drops infront of the player. I am really, really looking forward to seeing the differences in the earlier versions of the game.

[@MistrBlistr]

Thank you for not putting ads all over your video. Much appreciated!

[@Gojiro7]

this may sound silly compared to everything shared, but the most facinating to me was seeing what WIP backgrounds look before their pre rendered backgrounds, thats a part of 90's and early 2000's game development I just never say any behind the scenes of and it was cool to see it :D

[@ste887]

ah yes the mystery of 'THE HOLE!!' i remember seeing some really odd backgrounds running my RE2 demo disk i got with re directors cut through my gameshark, was some interesting stuff if you could debug teleport around the hard ends of the demo and get to places you shouldnt be able to (2f west side, basement parts of the sewer) though could never find the right addresses to find stuff from the lab, dont think that was on the disk at all.

[@carmex02user2002]

The thud was probably Birkin catching up to Claire/Leon. Because you shortly encounter his arm trying to stab you through the ceiling of the car moving to the other side towards the flare gun.

[@IncognitaEX]

3:10 This shot of the helicopter in fire is present in the final game. 😉 I remember the beta version was full with slightly different backgrounds. Most of them you can only notice if you put the images side to side. You also can find unused background textures in the discs for the standard releases with extracting tools.

[@wormskull2454]

@2:55 That shot from the 2nd floor mezzanine is gorgeous! The symmetry is very Argento & reminiscent of the shots in the housing complex from the beginning of Suspiria. Then again the Licker dropping through the skylight in the art room has always made me think of Suspiria too haha.

[@kingpoo1987]

It's possible the Big Thud is a reference to the Grave Digger Worm from Resident Evil 3. Awesome Video sir. Thank you for all your hard work on showing us the Awesomeness of the Original Resident Evil Games all these years later.

[@solid_fire9388]

love these classic unused stuff from RE :)

[@JoesGuy]

That bloody wall hole actually can be seen in the PS1 version, but weirdly it's only during one of Claire's scenarios.

[@ScoutJoe]

there's still a lot to discover on this game wow

[@ChristopherToro]

RE2 is such an incredible game, love every detail I can get out of this game.

[@tyke2829]

“There was a hole here, it’s gone now” maybe that message referred to the bloody hole in re 2 that was removed! 21 year old mystery finally solved by me:)

[@hakuyue]

6:30 minutes that healed my entire month. I couldn’t imagine that I would be able to know even more from my favorite game. I really appreciate this, Kai. Thank you 💕

[@robertsixx775]

Really interesting video! I can't wait for the next one, you're the reason ive gotten into the RE games recently I'd love to see a video on unused/cut content for Resident Evil 2 remake!

[@loganlibby7468]

Sometimes I get like a Mandela effect, for some reason when I was like 5 I remember watching and seeing most of these when I was watching my brother play through. Now I’ll jump back and forth and play the final product, and the demo that came with the directors cut to see the differences. To me it’s so cool how evolved Resident Evil 2 had become. From the mystery of 1.5, to the mixture of 1.5 and creative ideas in the 1997 demo’s. It’s even cool how much 1.5 and the demo atmospheres were thrown into the REmake.

[@matthewvorwald7169]

That was really cool seeing the differences in the backgrounds. Even if you could barley see some of them, they were still pretty interesting. Can't wait for the next video. This is getting interesting.

[@seanwheat597]

I find all of the different versions of re2 interesting. Imagine if one of them had been made instead and hoebitbeouod affect the rest of the series. It's interesting to me. Also, I always thought the rumbling was William Birkin moving through the ceiling. Nice video, man.

[@seanwheat597]

How it would have been. Sorry.

[@HellAintHalfFull]

The loud and mysterious thud is Birkin tracking your character to the tram.

[@inkfusedgamer]

I really enjoy your videos, and these background differences may not be the most gripping of subjects, but as an RE2 fanatic, I still love it. Thank you

[@_thelinq_]

There are two different itens in trial version that never came in the final version, the "bolt rod" and one simply called "watch", a pulse clock found on some boxes in RPD. I never knew what they are for, since the demo ends before you use then. Amazing vídeo, even the simple changes tells a history and makes us ask "why?". Love it!

[@gamesbloke]

Appreciate you showing all. Much respect on the preservation! All the best and thanks for the great content.

[@DrakeWind]

HI Kai, I love the content. I thought the loud thud was Mr.X following Leon/Clair down into the sewers. I wanted to say thanks as well because of your videos I picked up RE2 & RE3 Remake and have had a blast. Keep up the great work.

[@michelaraujo9567]

There are so many secrets about RE2 , thankfully they re-used that scenario of the shooting range from RE 1.5 for RE2 remake for example.

[@stanimirgeorgiev.87]

Thank you for these materials. I always enjoy seeing new things about my beloved Resident Evil. ❤

[@rolandmendozain]

Very good video and editing kai

[@mrx2586]

I believe that the "loud mysterious thud" is william Birkin smashing on the ceiling from above. Because shortly after this you enter a the cable car where his claw comes through the ceiling multiple times.

[@baileybadass2235]

As always Kai, GREAT VIDEO!!!! thank you

[@hobes6845]

Now thats the good stuff I subscribe for. Nice one Kai

[@gamingwithchance7896]

very interesting seeing the unused backgrounds , awesome keep up the good work ink ribbon

[@marcioassuncao68]

I live this kind of video. Keep on the good work!!

[@M.sami12]

Thanks bro. Can't get enough of classic RE games and pre rendered back grounds are my favorite.

[@geroldgrimel4811]

3:55 I believe that the thus may have been Birkin, but for many years I believed that it was due to structural instability, as you pass over the walkway.

[@nikkikyu7291]

It’s a shame they removed that hole. Maybe they could have used it for a boss battle.

[@NewMateo]

Heres a freebie video idea - how did Capcom make and design pre rendered backgrounds? Also since they were initially modelled in a cad software it does make you wonder if these files still exist somewhere.

[@InkRibbon]

You have no idea how often I dream of seeing this come to fruition. Unfortunately they are either lost to time or locked away. Even possibly so old they can't be opened :(

[@daveweaver3886]

I also fantasize about fans either modding or creating from scratch their own FMVs for RE 1.5 and/or RE2.

[@Razorgeist]

Glad you decided to do these as its interesting to see how these locales could have been different and see them from other angles. The RE2 remake was fine but its wonderful to see the thought that went into these prerendered backgrounds.

[@tzero440]

Kai the rumbling underground was later shown in RE3 to be the grave digger, the holes were present underground because it was supposed to be a boss in the small labrynth to the turn table but theg scrapped it.

[@SurvivalSpheres]

Thank you for sharing these keen observations. Very, very interesting to see.

[@SurvivalSpheres]

This gives me food for upcoming backgrounds for new songs, which is good, because sooner or later I'll run out of them. Just used the one at 4:38 (and linked back to you), so thanks again!

[@SurvivalSpheres]

PS: I just used another one :)

[@GraceofGod247]

Legend just made myself a member love the videos 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 here's to all the new content for next year 2023 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@dexter1981]

@4:01 the "flare gun thing" is still on the early version, but it looks like its behind the railing, folded into itself and pointing up also, i just noticed that, in the final version that gun has its own tiny gate on the railing that is open

[@aharonmanes5675]

I had a theory about the unknown thud you hear in the room,the idea was birkin jumped down and made the thud of him landing.

[@BLZRDD]

In a year or so, you’re gonna have covered literally everything possible on Resident Evil until they release more new stuff :) keep it up! You could make a video on all the cutscenes in RE3 based on your choices and all the outcomes! Make a video on your thoughts and review on the last few movies and the anime movies that are canon to the game! Maybe make some reviews on the older games you don’t see often, like the lost GameBoy game, the DS version of 1, Gun Survivor entries, ORC and Umbrella Corps. Just a few ideas for things I haven’t seen on your channel. Tons of other characters you could cover to do 25/50 things on. Maybe after you get all the main and secondary characters, you could do a new variant with 10 things instead of the 25/50 ones for the super less known characters or ones that’s only mentioned or barely hear about that appear in one and only one game. Just some ideas, Kai! “Keep on rockin’ in the free world & do dodo-lu-do…. ____!”

[@22gjreyes]

What a way to end the year. More power to you.

[@diegochavez1286]

I love you, Kai. This video is amazing

[@mortadamustafaobead403]

I hope capcom include you as a character in future resident evil😅 I love all your videos and the enthusiast you have for resident evil franchise. and I love when you went to resident evil restaurant in your birthday and you don't believe it when I went back to confirm my info about the video I saw another video of you talking about the second and bad visit to the restaurant it was too loud and messy but you did well, talking to these bad people. I love you so much my friend see you in the next video

[@inkeddecker9964]

There was a hole here once, it's gone now

[@antonmilajo]

Nice backgrounds, bro!

[@XanderNiles]

The OG Resident Evil games (1,2 and 3) are just amazing. The camera angles were so unique at the time and the backgrounds were so uncanny.

[@danyoung8392]

There are enough floating around, that Kai might find worth getting hold of, the late 90s 'Perfect Guides' by Versus Books. They usually (not sure always) had a big poster of the game in the back, and used period image editing to create greatly superior maps of game areas. Again, can't say always, but usually there was also often some deep dive added content, like the Metal Gear Solid guide comparing many of the games items and plot-mentioned tech to what was actually in development at the time, re military tactics and devices. In the case of the Resident Evil 2 guide, that section talked about how to use both the Biohazard and RE2 trial discs to see early development areas.

[@ca18drifta1]

cant wait for the next re2 video you spoke about

[@Natedawg38]

I could stare at resi backgrounds all day trying to figure out what happened

[@lethalbox909]

Concerning the thud that happens at 3:58. I always theorized that based on what scenario you were playing. The thud is either William falling from the scaffolding into a lower level of the sewers. Or the shockwave resulting from the explosion of the giant croc. Also, other players have noted that William’s trailmarks can be spotted along the path to the Marshalling Yard. Which is consistent with the thud representing him following you.

[@rockys201]

It's always cool to see new RE2 stuff, so I'm very much looking forward to the next vid. Thumbs up!

[@STARS_Redfield]

4:10 - Probably a hole created by Birkin after the tramway attack 4:33 - this shot gives better visibility over the Birkin Boss Fight. Maybe too much ? Wich could explain why it's unused.

[@Whalewraith]

The thing I love about ps1era Resi is that it's now decades after release, & after 90% of games released at the time are gone forever we're still finding out nuggets of information about these games. Also that so many of us actually care about the minutiae.

[@classicleon]

Fantastic. Can't wait to see your next video. I also with some who can remaster RE2 some day in the future based on RE0 or RE1 Remake, and do not use any asset from RE2 Remake.

[@lebonk8081]

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

[@stark5679]

Would be awesome if they released a physical collection of the original Re1, RE 2 and RE 3 uncut and possibly with the missing content. Also it's funny still to this day those games are not available in the ps store for ps4 and ps5.

[@DrumEagle]

There was a hole here. It's gone now.

[@MorgueOfficialMusic]

Some of these seem vaguely familiar... Maybe I played the PS1 demo and then they changed some backgrounds after? Weird. And nostalgic!

[@ElricSowrd]

I'm aware about the backgrounds Exclusive to the Demo. 2:44- Or your Character is downed on the ground.

[@Trid3nt861]

The "Thud" in the tunnel passage to the trolley is in fact William Birkin as he stalks the player.

[@adamsanchez1805]

That sound is Chris prepunching boulders to get Leon to continue the Redfield

[@misaelnavarrete8031]

Can't wait for more 🙂

[@RobertaRSantos]

This game is just a piece of art ! I feel delighted to see every little detail of the scenarios and how scaring they are !

[@EBAGTheGreat]

I think the room where the loud thud happens may be William Birkin making that loud thud. I wonder if its answered in any Resident Evil book involving the Resident Evil 2 storyline

[@reimaginethesounds6694]

4:15 There was a hole there. But it's gone now.

[@Arthur_Morgan1]

Hey I get it!! (I just started Silent Hill)

[@maxcool123456789]

Yum. This is pretty cool. This woulds been something that should been in magazine of games. Looking forward to the next one

[@paulaburrows8660]

When you love something as much as this, the little things make all the difference

[@Quick-Silver206]

Yay! I love this sort of stuff!

[@toughbutsweet1]

This was fascinating. I wonder of the bloody hole in the wall was where Birkin went through like the hole in the tram roof?

[@averykevin47]

@3:53 chances are it probably was either William Birkin or Mr. X

[@battleboo4u]

love these videos, see you next year buddy?

[@jamesrideout123]

This channel is awesome.

[@awesomguy97]

1:43 how bizarre

[@ultemad15red]

The thud is definitely birkin , thud…go to the cable car…boom! There he is! Attacking you…its not the first time he can attack from the roof 3:57

[@Shadowrun20XX]

isnt that thud Mr X moving around? I had the tool that deciphered the game data for the rooms at one point. its so cool to see all the rooms that weren't used. there is that one of the lobby with the stairs leading to a door that reminds me of the bsaa stairs in revelations.

[@jonathanplooij3666]

thanks for the video

[@OmniRecapsYT]

I can't wait to get this point in my re journey so I can experiment I've recently started Ive played 0 1 and I'm on the 3 remake currently but even with the remakes I'll still play the og games as well!

[@RombieNZ]

I remember back in 1998 and 1999 at first the only way to see these was to use a gameshark or action replay and just try different BG hex codes. Then someone eventually figured out how to rip the image files out of the game (and many other PS1 titles) and we found even more. And then of course someone found the mother lode with the 1.5 backgrounds on the JPN disc within days. Hard to believe that was around 22-23 years ago now.

[@sir0rin]

There's quiet a bit more in there you missed (unless covered by another video). While these look like they were from what is referred to as "beta 2" (a pre-release that leaked long, long ago), the trial version does have some post 1.5 era work-in-progress backgrounds. Including an alternative main hall that was closer to the original concept art where some elements ended up being used in the remake (ROOM7XX on trial version). Also, kind of random and not Resident Evil (but same style), Parasite Eve 2 does have some unused backgrounds and alternative renders including top down and block out renders in the final game.

[@Mankey619]

It’s really interesting that how much they’ve changed in the final version of RE2,cause they’re a lot of different backgrounds they’ve shown in the trail version of the game and how much they removed it.

[@AJadedLizard]

Gotta assume you're going to be looking at some of the Re1.9 (or whatever we're calling the pre-Re2 build) changes. A lot of it's covered in the Versus Books Guide for Re2 (one of my favorite pieces of Resident Evil memorabilia); I was going to collab with Oddheader a few years ago but never could work out a way to send him scans of the codes (and I wasn't particularly enthused to be sending my copy of the book itself out). I don't want to spoil your video but there's a *lot* of cool and interesting things that never made it into the final version of the game, not to mention the fact we get a look at the nearly-finished RPD building, which isn't quite the same as what we got in Re2, Re3, or the REmakes. I wish we'd have gotten a true Director's Cut of Re2 adding some of the cut content back, and I'm not even talking about the weapons; just having more game and more things to do would be enough of a treat for me.

[@Elab2369]

Love ya Kai

[@skyuru]

The lab in the original was more way better than the rebooth one, this old and rusty touch give more scary atmosphere.

[@DarkCobra88]

Nothing to this day will beat the classic RE2. Don't get me wrong, RE2's remake was great and did it justice but I still think the classic has so much more horror and "fear" in playing it, though maybe that's just my love for classic graphics where you could get away with lots and insert anything whilst just blaming the "pixels".

[@andree1991]

You should do a video on the topic of the original 3d assets and how they became the prerendered backgrounds they are today. Like if there's anything like it at all. How they were made, what software, the collision lines and stuff like that. I am dying to know!!!

[@jmz641]

Ok "BOOMER" 3:26 on the right locker

[@Moderator_user]

3:56 I would have to presume that it’s the Grave digger being around from resident evil 3

[@LucaLukaszPascua]

The quake at the underground area might be the giant worm Jill fought going around.

[@efrainamezcua7594]

Thank you for preserving this.

[@user-qe7bt9dz1l]

I noticed the hole in the wall was used in the RE2 Seamless HD project based off of the GameCube version. Since it was a fan enhancement, I guess they wanted to throw that in there for some reason.. Cool to see though!

[@iraqiplayr9862]

3:52 Most likely it was William Berkin who caused this