Proto:Resident Evil (PlayStation)/January 15, 1996 (Trial Edition)

Bio Hazard (Japan) (Taikenban)-title.png

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

The January 15, 1996 "Taikenban" version of Bio Hazard, commonly known as Resident Evil: Trial Edition, is a demo version released in Japan for PlayStation. Only the first part of the game is playable, the entire mansion part up to the courtyard, and it is only playable as Chris. Just like for some of the later Resident Evil 2 and 3 demos, there is a time limit, although it is more generous here. This version predates the final by 9 weeks: the state of the game is close to it but there are many differences, even when compared with the January 31, 1996 prototype version which is only two weeks newer.

To do:

Enemy placement that differ.
Backgrounds that differ from any other prototype version and the final.
More graphical differences, door animations and enemies.

Menus

Title Screen

The text at the bottom of the screen is "PRESS ANY KEY", versus "PRESS ANY BUTTON" in the January 31, 1996 prototype and in the final version.

Demos

The two in-game demos play after waiting a short while at the title screen, they differ from the final version and do not do too good of a job at giving tips to the player.

Character Select

The "Easy" and "Hard" text, present below the character cards in the final Japanese version, are not implemented yet.

General Differences

Gameplay

Pressing the Action button while running will make the character walk. It is no longer the case in the January 31, 1996 prototype.
There is no need to press the Action button to climb stairs, this is true for both the kind of stairs that lead to a loading screen and the smaller in room stairs. In the October 4, 1995 prototype it is only true for the latter. In the January 31, 1996 prototype it is no longer true at all.
Just like in the January 31, 1996 prototype, you can not combine ammo together, for example two Beretta clips take two inventory slots of 15 bullets each and can not be combined into a single 30 bullets clip.
Reloading the gun works differently. For example: in the final version, when combining the Beretta with 12 bullets left with a clip of 3 bullets, the Beretta is fully reloaded with 15 bullets and the extra clip disappears. In this version, doing so swaps the two clips: the Beretta has 3 bullets, and the extra clip 12. The gun can only be fully reloaded when its clip is empty. This is changed to the reloading style of the final version in the January 31, 1996 prototype.
Item boxes only have 11 item slots and work similarly as in the January 31, 1996 prototype: they are empty while they hold two Beretta clips in the final version. In the list of items stored in the box, there is no line showcasing the middle point of the list. Upon re-opening an item box, items are automatically sorted so that there is no empty space between two items and so that they are all stored below one another.
The door to the exit corridor in which the player must insert the crests is locked. It is not the case in any other known version, including previous ones.

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

The puzzle in the armor room differs from any other known version and is a bit harder to solve. There are three statues: two grey ones and a rusty one, the rusty one hides the switch on the floor and the position of the first statue differs slightly. In the final version, the statue hiding the switch is gone, and the two other statues are rusty. In the final, the grey statue only appears in the 2F west library.

There is a message written in blood in this 1F east corridor. This message does not appear in any other version: "Something is written" "It hurts to breathe. Someone end this suffering"

It is not possible to save. This message appears when attempting to do so: "You cannot save on this Sample CD"
As with the January 31, 1996 prototype only 3 Crest items are required to unlock the door to the shed. The Wind Crest does not exist yet. In the later GameCube remake the Wind Crest differs from the other 3 crests.

This message appears when attempting to open the door leading to the courtyard: "The Sample CD ends here". The rest of the game does not exist in this version.

When the timer hits 15:00, the demo ends. The screen fades to black and a "To Be Continued..." message appears. If the timer hits 15:00 during a cutscene, it stops, and the screen only fades to black after the cutscene has ended.

Cutscenes

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96
They have escaped into the mansion where they thought was safe. But yet...	They have escaped into the mansion where they thought it was safe. Yet...

The text at the end of the intro differs slightly. There is empty space where the "it" should be, obviously missing. This matches with the January 31, 1996 prototype.

There is an extra cutscene not present in any other version of the game. The east 1F room below the staircase is empty at first, while there is a zombie there in the final version. Once inside the safe room next to it, a cutscene triggers: a zombie can be heard walking down the staircase while Chris looks up. When the player comes back to the previous room, the zombie is there, its placement varying slightly with the equivalent zombie from the final version.

Rebecca plays the piano for a shorter period as Chris interrupts her at the first out of tune note. Rude! It is no longer the case in the January 31, 1996 prototype.

File 3

A third file can be seen in the inventory, although there are no files to pick-up and store in it. This file did not exist in the previous prototypes. The graphical file for it is still present in the January 31, 1996 prototype although unused.

Pick-Up Items Differences

Key Items

The Wood Emblem is located in the statue of the 1F small gallery.

The Lighter is located under the first movable piece of furniture in the Cerberus hallway.

The Sword Key is located on the shelf rather than on the bed, seemingly defying the law of gravity.

A small key in the bedroom with the zombie closet.
In this same room, the 1F Mansion map is in the closet, in the final it is shotgun ammunition. This matches with the January 31, 1996 prototype except than in this version the player can actually pick-up the map, while in the latter attempting to do so freezes the game.

Using the Blue Jewel on the tiger statue will encover the Botany Book rather than a Crest in the final version, rendering this puzzle optional. In the January 31, 1996 prototype this puzzle is also optional and rewards the player with Ink Ribbon. In the GameCube remake it is also optional and rewards the player with shotgun ammunition.
The puzzle with the aquarium in the Mansion 2F east office rewards the player with the Sun Crest. In other words, the roles of this puzzle and of the tiger statue are swapped compared to the final PlayStation version. This puzzle will also reward the player with a Crest item in both the Arrange Mode of the Director's Cut version and in the GameCube remake, although in the latter it is the Wind Crest. The Wind Crest does not yet exist in this version.
The Wolf Medal can be found in a small dining room next to the attic, in the shelf at the back of the room, which makes the use of the Lighter mandatory, unlike in the final version. This is also the case in the GameCube remake as the mid-section of the musical score can be found in the same place.

Supplies

Ink Ribbon can be found in the blue pot of the dining room, this matches with the January 31, 1996 prototype.
A single Beretta clip can be found on the corpse of Kenneth's, this matches with the January 31, 1996 prototype.

A Beretta clip can be found at the back of the 1F east small gallery. It is also present in the January 31, 1996 prototype but its placement differs.
A First Aid Spray can be found in the locked drawer of the dressing room.
There are 8 Green Herbs in the outdoor terrace with the boiler. 6 remain in the January 31, 1996 prototype, 5 in the final version.
Another Green Herb can be found in the small room with the Shotgun, past the ceiling trap.

Solving the puzzle with the paintings in the gallery rewards the player with a First Aid Spray.
Another First Aid Spray can be found in place of the Lighter from the final version in the 2F east bedroom.
Next to that, in the small room with the deer head on the wall, another Green Herb can be found on the floor, while there is nothing in this room in the final version. In the GameCube remake it is a Red Herb instead, although its precise placement in the room differs.
In the attic where Yawn is encountered, a Beretta clip can be found rather than shotgun ammo from the final.

Graphical Differences

Item Boxes

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

The look of the item box differs. There is no item boxes in the previous two prototypes while they have their final version look in the January 31, 1996 prototype.

Doors

A lot of doors look different compared to the final version. While most of them look the same as in the January 31, 1996 prototype, a few differ from any known version.

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Sample Ver. 01/31/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Final Ver. 03/22/96

The door of the armor room. On the texture: the golden parts in the middle of the door were taken out in the Sample Ver. 01/31/96, yet remains to be seen on the backgrounds of both rooms where the door is located, even in the final version. Similarly, vertical bars were added at the top and bottom of the door texture, but are missing on the room backgrounds versions of the door, even in the final. Also, while the door texture is blue in the Trial version, its room backgrounds counterparts are green like in the final.

Square Crank

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

In this version the Square Crank shares the same inventory icon as the unused Hex Crank, meaning that the Square Crank looks hexagonal on the inventory icon. In the final version it has its own inventory icon, although admittedly the difference is subtle.

Backgrounds

Many backgrounds differ from their final version's counterparts. Even when they look similar, shading and detailing can differ, or the camera angle is slightly different, see the Item Boxes section above for a couple of examples. Some backgrounds differ from every other version including the January 31, 1996 prototype.

Unused Content

Jill's 1st Alternate Costume

Trial Ver. 15/01/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Inaccessible in this version, Jill's alternate costume is present in the game's data. The hair and neck differ. In the final version, Jill's model for this costume is actually smaller than her regular model, due to the different neck.

Jill's 2nd Alternate Costume

Despite Jill Valentine not being playable, data for her exists in the game. This costume is an alternate costume for her not present in any other version. The 3D model also differs, as you can see with the hair for instance. Sadly, it is unfinished. It is worth noting that her other alternate costume, the one available in the final version, also exists. In other words this one was meant to be a second alternate costume. In the final version of the game, in the dressing room, there are two different triggering points to change costume, yet only one costume can be worn. There is a developer note on the bottom left, "カラーちょうせい" (Color adjustment).

Chris' 2nd Alternate Costume

Chris was also supposed to have a second alternate costume, but as you can see it wasn't done at this point. Probably it never was, which is why these don't exist in the final version. In place of the costume a crude yet awesome doodle of Mega Man, another of Capcom's video game licenses. Two of the three character texture designers would later work on several Mega Man games after working on Resident Evil.

White Book

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

The inventory model and the inventory icon of a white book that will become the Red Book in the January 31, 1996 prototype and in the final version. The texture on the model differs. This model already existed in the October 4, 1995 prototype.

Inacessible Rooms Data

A lot of rooms are locked and inaccessible. However, data for pretty much the entire mansion exists. Looking through this data reveals the following:

Explosive Rounds for Jill when searching Kenneth's corpse at the start of the game. This matches with the January 31, 1996 prototype.

By modifying the values in CPU RAM addresses $800C77A8 to $800C77B4, or using a GameShark code, one can change the items in the inventory. Note that the RAM addresses differ from the other versions. Using the Helmet key, only the trophy room is accessible, as attempting to open the other two rooms locked by the key freezes the game. The light in the trophy room is glitched: when entering, the room backgrounds have the unlit state, but the models have the lit state, and the contrary after using the light switch. The same three items and the same file as in the final version can be found in the room and using the Red Jewel found in this room on the tiger statue grants access to the Colt Python except that, unlike in the final, it comes with no bullets.

By modifying RAM address $800C7650 during a stairs transition, one can teleport himself into another room. The room can then be explored by giving the proper values to the character position located at $800C4154-$800C4155 and $800C415C-$800C415D. A few more rooms can be explored this way.

The Library room is pretty much identical to its final version: the two zombies are there and their placements match, same for the Scrapbook. There are glitches however: two background objects don't hide 3D models, as this kind of background objects need to be rendered separately and they were not done yet.

Opening the drawer of the small cabinet reveals Dum Dum Rounds, which is actually a First Aid Spray once in the inventory. It is Magnum Rounds in the final version, but a Beretta clip in the January 31, 1996 prototype.

The closet can also be explored. Surprisingly, the Battery is in it, although its precise placement in the room differs from the final version, and it is also glitched as it will turn into Magnum Rounds once in the inventory. This is surprising because the Battery is located in another room in the January 31, 1996 prototype in which case it matches with the Arrange Mode of the Director's Cut version.

These two corridors can also be accessed the same way. However, there is no collision and nothing is functional.
Background data for a few more rooms do exist but the rooms remain inaccessible even with this method.

Files Differences

...But what does it mean?
This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Botany Book

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Pages 2 and 3.

Keeper's Diary

Trial Ver. 15/01/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Page 8.

Researcher's Will

Trial Ver. 15/01/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Page 2.

Orders

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Pages 2 and 3, on page 2 only the spacing differs.

Pass Number

Trial Ver. 15/01/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Page 1, the title differs.

Fax

The only difference is a typo was fixed on page 7: "S.T.R.A.S." was changed to "S.T.A.R.S.".

Scrapbook

The design of several characters was improved.

Researcher's Letter

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Pages 3, 4 and 5. John's last name was actually known in the trial version.

V-Jolt Report

Trial Ver. 01/15/96	Final Ver. 03/22/96

Pages 4 and 5. Not pictured: "UNB" was changed to "UMB" on page 2 as well.

Unknown Files

...But what does it mean?
This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

Although not accessible during gameplay, data for all the files are in the game. Modifying the values of CPU RAM addresses $800C7740 to $800C7744 allows the player to view them from the inventory screen.

The three inventory books called File 1, 2 and 3 are used to store all the files, while in the final there is only File 1 and 2.

There is a total of 11 files which exist in this version but did not make it to final, presumably they correspond to Spencer's Invitation and Trevor's Notes, a plot point which was dropped for the final version and brought back in a more condensed way in the GameCube remake. Some of the background images used for those files made it to final, unused.