the cutting room mirror

Trial Edition (Japan)

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This is a sub-page of Proto:Resident Evil 4 (GameCube).

Biohazard 4 Trial Edition is the first demo of the game available to players. It was included with the purchase of Biohazard DOUBLE FEATURE or as a bonus when purchasing the Capcom Double Disc Extra edition from Famitsu. Despite its release in September 2004, well before the US demo, it belongs to a much newer version of the game.

Retail Build#

Prototype

Final

Audio#

  • Gun sounds have all been updated.
  • Included grunt when Leon jumps out of windows.
  • Sound has been added when examining the skulls under the stairs in the first house.
  • After defeating the first Ganado at the beginning, the entrance door will open. However, when attempting to leave, the door will shut, and one of the Ganado will utter this unused line. As it is known that the placeholder voices of the Ganados are mostly gibberish, the exact meaning of their dialogue remains unknown. Nevertheless, it appears as though the Ganado is possibly mocking Leon for trying to escape. This line can be heard in both trial versions, though the last word "Oniki" is barely audible and difficult to understand.
  • Despite the game being three months older in the USA trial version, the Ganados still retain their voice lines from that version. Interestingly, in the game files of the Japanese version, all sound cues of the E3 Zealots can be found, even though the castle part is not accessible in either of the trial versions.

Visual#

  • The Japanese font used in this version differs from the one used in the final release.
  • An updated inventory system has been implemented, resembling the final version's design.

Japan Trial

Japan Final

USA Trial
  • No stats for the handgun.

Japan Trial

Japan Final

USA Trial
  • Controller prompts now feature a different appearance than in the final version.
  • Map functions by being zoomed out first compared to the final. No icon legend.

Japan Trial

Japan Final

USA Trial
  • Players now have the option to choose whether to pick up an item or not, and the on-screen display has been slightly modified. When an item is picked up, a simple click noise can be heard, and all items have been appropriately textured and polished.

Japan Trial

Japan Final

USA Trial
  • The female Ganado character has been introduced in this version. In the American version, Don Manuel served as a placeholder for the female Ganado. The female Ganado also has several unused voice lines, and some of them are present in the final version.
  • Item placements have been revised and now mirror those found in the final release.
  • The female Ganado, previously seen hanging on a wall in a cabin before entering the village, has been removed, likely due to censorship considerations.
  • The bonfire in the village, which in the final game features a cop's body impaled to a stake, is absent in this version, again likely for censorship reasons.
  • One of the cabins in the village contains a picture frame of Dr. Salvador without his brown sack over his head. Interacting with it shows some flavor text that, intriguingly, implies that every encounter with him is in fact the same Dr. Salvador resurrected.

Japan Trial

Final

Japanese

English (translated)

 
地元でうわさのチェーンソー男だ.

何度殺してもよみがえるらしい

実は村一番の金持ちという話だが
 
Here's the local gossip about the chainsaw man.

It seems that no matter how many times you kill him, he will come back to life.

In fact, it is said that he is the richest man in the village.

Gameplay#

  • In the American demo, Leon used to take a step while knifing, but this animation was removed starting with the Japanese demo.
  • In this version, combining herbs behaves very differently. Green and red combined herbs can't be used unless a Yellow one is also added. Green and yellow combined herbs also can't be used unless a red one is added. Oddly, a red herb can be added to a green+green mixture to turn it into a green+red mixture, effectively wasting a green herb.
  • Initially, in the American trial, Leon would descend stairs step by step, but in this version, he jumps down with higher speed compared to final.
  • All enemy animations in this version are identical to those in the final release.
  • Completing the demo unlocks hard difficulty and a beta trailer.
  • No treasures are present in this build. Their spawns have been replaced with ammo and, in the case of both Dr. Salvadors, 10,000 pesetas. If the player manages to finish with 30,000 or more pesetas in Normal difficulty, they unlock the TMP for use in subsequent playthroughs of that difficulty. The TMP is not available in Hard mode.
  • Both the TMP (Submachine Gun) and their ammunition have slight differences in appearance. The ammo comes in different colors. When firing with the TMP, the laser sight disappears, and recoil becomes noticeable. Additionally, the running sound with the TMP equipped is out of sync.

A gameplay video showcasing the prototype TMP can be viewed [https://youtu.be/rC3cXctC53E| here], and a regular gameplay video with thorough investigation can be found [https://youtu.be/0AucEpVxAd8| here].