CHE: Do you remember any other locations that got cut?

KI: I remember that most of the courtyard was cut. That was a shame.

CHE: Can you describe a specific event that got cut?

KI: I do not remember their individual stories. Enrico was alive, and had a role of giving players information (about Wesker). I remember there was a dialogue scene with Rebecca. The event was cut by about half from what I initially planned.

CHE: An early beta scenario involved Bravo team at the start, searching through Arklay Forest. What were they there for?

KI: I think they were looking for zombies.

CHE: An early draft of the plot centered on a group of civilians whose plane crashed deep in the forest. Who made the decision to change the cast to Special Forces?

KI: If my memory is correct, the Special Forces were decided by Mikami-san. However he was trying to put in Terminator-like cyborgs, so I altered it. I thought it wouldn't be horror if the hero was too strong. Mikami-san said "strong and cool ones go over with a bang with players for main characters." For me I thought that wasn't true. Actually in movies there are cases of establishing fear even in strong heroes.

CHE: There were originally four playable characters?

KI: The hero could be chosen from four people. Gelzer was a giant cyborg, Ed had outstanding physical abilities and was a cheerful man. Even if the two were clearly attacked by zombies, they appeared okay and that might soften the fear.

CHE: Two characters were scrapped, a cyborg named Gelzer and Dewey. How did these characters come about?

KI: It was me who wrote Gelzer and Dewey. I didn't remove Dewey but I recall removing Gelzer. While I wrote them I thought that they lacked a horror image, and were far too strong compared to the zombies, thus lacking in reality. I initially wanted to make Barry black, but Kamiya was strongly opposed, so I made him white.

CHE: So you scrapped them in favour of a more realistic setting?

KI: Yes, I made the decision to scrap them. He (the cyborg) looked as tough as Robocop, but the theme of the game was terror and the science-fiction elements had gotten too strong.

CHE: Is it true that Mikami created Gelzer as the character to hold up the ceiling in the suspended ceiling room?

KI: He put more emphasis on traps. I wrote Claymore mines to the specification of trying to place landmines.

CHE: Biohazard music composer Akari Kaida mentioned that the rooms ceiling was originally spiked!

KI: That's what I recall, if I'm not mistaken.

CHE: How did you plan on using Claymores?

KI: At the time within the staff, only I knew about the Claymore mines. I remember I passed around papers to the staff that explained the Claymores. I thought it'd be refreshing to beat a zombie with a Claymore and wanted to put it in by all means, but had to give up in relation to the schedule.

CHE: Like Barry, Gelzer was also meant to be a traitor. Whose idea was it to introduce a character who betrays the cast?

KI: I remember, it may have been Mikami's idea to let one member betray the protagonist. He was very focused on that particular scenario. I knew that Wesker was going to become a traitor; however to save memory and time for other cut scenes, many ideas for the foreshadowing scenes were cut from production. So we tried to not add any more story elements in the game.

CHE: Are there any features in the game that were cut?

KI: There was a lot, but the most disappointing thing is that you could prevent zombies from entering rooms by creating barricades.

UMBRELLA

CHE: Can you explain how you created Umbrella?

KI: I came up with the name and design. I was told to make the enemy a huge multinational company immediately as soon as I joined. This was because a feeling of scale wasn't reflected in a story about a cult. With some of the novels I'd read in those days, there was a story of a pharmaceutical company president, and I think I had it in mind. I considered whether to make the enemy a national organization or a giant company, then whether it was a military company or a pharmaceutical company (biotech company), and I thought of a setting where the Umbrella Corporation had infiltrated the state.

I created the logo with the meaning of 'Protecting the world from viruses with an umbrella', and also at the same time with a behind-closed-doors meaning 'Ruling the world with viruses under an umbrella'. I drew it on paper and had a designer make an ink copy, directly instructing the logo design to the designer, and it was finished on the spot in minutes. Concerning the colors, I had neither Japan nor Nazis in mind. It was just a simple, bright and flashy image. Like the umbrella Tom and Jerry spread out on a beach. It exudes reality rather than a scary logo, and I thought it looked rather creepy.

I like Caesar's words, "All bad precedents begin as justifiable measures." I think Umbrella is a company which started as advocating an ideal to protect people with an umbrella. However, the means occasionally forgot that purpose and went out of control.

CHE: What is the difference between Umbrella Corporation and Umbrella Pharmaceuticals?

KI: The former was a conglomerate, the latter was intended to be a company within it. The former spans a variety of industries including military industry, medical industry, bio industry, etc. However, it's certain that the latter is the largest company among the former.

CHE: Old advertising ads that appeared overseas seem to suggest that Umbrella was part of the US Government?

KI: No. It is not my intention. However, I thought that the Umbrella Company is penetrating inside of the Government.

CHE: Umbrella ordered Wesker to destroy the lab in a manner that appeared accidental. The explosion and subsequent forest fire seems like a logical cover-up!

KI: That's right. Fire is the most common, but effective, method of destroying evidence.

RACCOON CITY

CHE: What is the connection between Umbrella and Raccoon City?

KI: In North America there are towns with raccoons living on roofs and in sheds in real cities. As such, I envisioned Raccoon City as a city where forest and human living areas were close. It has a rich abundance of surrounding nature with plentiful species. I think that was also Umbrella's intention. It was a silly name that fit the horror setting.

CHE: Did the bizarre murder cases reach the media outside Raccoon City?

KI: Even if it was reported, it wouldn't have been seriously received at that point. Also in those days there was no Internet... oops, rather, it wasn't popular!

ARKLAY

CHE: How did the Raccoon Police close off the road to the Arklay Mountains?

KI: They put 'CLOSED' signs and placed a police presence.

CHE: Who were the people frequently lost in the mountains?

KI: They were hikers, hunters, and youths searching for monsters.

CHE: Who was the female hiker who became the first victim of Cerberus?

KI: She would've been adventurous. I think she climbed the mountain alone, as a missing person's report wasn't issued. Therefore, unfortunately, she would be attacked by those 'dogs'. But fortunately she seemed to avoid infection. Otherwise Raccoon City would've become a disaster earlier.

CHE: What happened to the other people reported missing?

KI: I think I envisioned that they were bitten by zombies or Cerberus.

CHE: Was the murder of a family of ten in the opening an isolated case?

KI: I believe that it was an isolated case, it would've been considerably in the suburbs.

PLOT

CHE: Is there a reason why you set the game in 1998?

I remember this vividly because I spent time pondering about it back then. Everybody was into creating modern futuristic products in 1996. I wanted to make Biohazard with a realistic story with the possibility of such events happening or happened in real life. However in 2000 and later, I remember we were exploring more futuristic environments, although in reality it was just a few years ahead, and I wanted to avoid using the year 1999 in the timeline due to an apocalyptic boom back then, and it made the plot look cheesy. Therefore, I used the most realistic and futuristic year, which was 1998.

CHE: What sort of countermeasures did the lab's staff take at the start of the outbreak?

KI: Some researchers knew what was causing people to turn into zombies, but could initially treat it. The rest of the staff who were only partially informed about the nature of the research flew into a panic.

CHE: The outbreak occurred in the early morning hours of May 11th. Coincidentally, your birthday is also the 11th of May!

KI: Ah... Perhaps I did choose to set it on my birthday, how embarrassing!

CHE: Was there anything intended for the capsules in the laboratory?

KI: Yes, I assume they were supposed to feed the Hunter fetuses.

CHE: What inspired the self-destruct sequence?

KI: I was inspired by the Alien movies and Return of the Living Dead. It was a sufficient amount of explosives to destroy the residence and facility, but it wasn't nuclear.

CHE: How was the aquarium destroyed in the basement of the dormitory?

KI: I don't really remember, but I think it was blown up.

CHE: Was the insane staff member who blew himself up a researcher or guard?

KI: He was a researcher.

CHE: What is the story behind the researcher who was gunned down by security guards?

KI: Every day, he was losing his humanity so he tried to seek help from the outside world.

CHE: Did the researchers know much about the mansion's traps?

KI: I believe they mostly weren't aware.

CHE: What is the backstory behind the slideshow in the media room?

KI: I don't remember details, but the last picture was taken by a researcher of importance to Umbrella. Others seem like a simple catalogue to present the results to the head office.

FILES

CHE: Which of the game's files did you write?

KI: I wrote 'The Keeper's Diary', 'Researcher's Will', 'E-Mail To The Security Chief', 'Plant 42 Memo', 'FAX', and 'Scrapbook'.

CHE: Did you write the scrapped 'Trevor's Notes'?

KI: I believe Saga-san wrote those parts rather than I. He supported me because I had other work.

CHE: Did you conceive Umbrella's founder Lord Oswell E. Spencer who appeared in Trevor's Notes?

KI: I have a feeling that I wrote him.

CHE: Judging from the mansion, it seems he was quite an art collector!

KI: I'm not rich, but the hobbies of the mansion's owner is similar to my own. I love Middle Age European and African art very much.

CHE: Who did Umbrella send the 'Fax' to? And what was its purpose?

KI: Not everyone in the Umbrella Corporation were bad people and did not know all the information. He sent a report as a businessman for the company.

CHE: In Umbrella's e-mail to Wesker, they order him to recover B.O.W. embryos. Do you recall what room they were meant to be housed in?

KI: A larger design was planned for the laboratory. Either way, there's no doubt that the embryo storage site was the lab.

CHE: What does the term "X-DAY" refer to?

KI: I recall that it was the day to completely eradicate evidence.

CHE: What does the special security force in the 'Laboratory Security System Materials' file refer to?

KI: I don't know whether it reached me exactly. However I think they were probably small-group combat specialists organized having envisioned such situations. Thinking on their appearance, I imagined spec ops like the SAS.

CHE: In early versions of Biohazard, John's full name was 'John Clemens'. This was cut from the retail game. Was John Clemens inspired by the doctor in the film Alien 3, who has the same name?

KI: I was a fan of the movie although I am not sure it was on purpose, perhaps a coincidence.

CHE: Was he meant to be the last survivor, as the date of the file would suggest?

KI: Yes, I think so.

CHE: Can you give any details on the woman Alma in the in-game file 'Researchers Will'?

KI: Alma was the name of a villain character in a game I made earlier. I like the name Alma.

CHE: Can you tell us who compiled the news clippings in the "Scrapbook"?

IK: I believe it was left by a researcher.

CHE: Is the man in sunglasses mentioned in the files meant to be Wesker? If so what was he doing during the outbreak?

KI: Yes, it's Wesker. He initially would've been dealing with handling the situation after the fact.

CHE: Did you draw the artwork that appears on the Organic Chemistry file?

KI: It was so long ago that I drew them, but there is no doubt that my rough sketches were used in the game.

CHARACTERS

CHE: Did you name any of the S.T.A.R.S. members?

KI: For Barry, I wanted a name that was easy to remember so I made it alliterate. As Kamiya strongly insisted on Chris, he thought it was better than 'Beam', and it was approved. Redfield I remember attaching it. For Albert Wesker, it is cool and not so personal. I thought of the name, and attached it. I took Joseph from a manga; it is a reference to 'Joseph Joestar' from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Frost, hmm, I do not remember. I remember Kamiya attached the name Jill. 'Valentine' was from a baseball coach in Japan at the time. I took it from Robert John Bobby Valentine. For Rebecca Chambers, I think that I took the name from the movie of the same name.

CHE: Were there more events planned for the other S.T.A.R.S. officers?

KI: Yes. The story of the other S.T.A.R.S. members was cut considerably.

CHE: Do you remember what they were?

KI: Several of the B team were alive, talking, showing them turn as zombies, and planning to use them more for uncovering the situation.

CHE: What sort of activities were S.T.A.R.S. involved in prior to the mansion incident?

KI: In addition to the activities of a SWAT team, they also worked on rescue missions.

CHE: Was Raccoon City the only branch of S.T.A.R.S?

KI: Do you mean their jurisdiction? I think that it was Raccoon City and its surroundings. Raccoon City seems much bigger than the small city I imagined, at least when I look at the later work.

CHE: Each S.T.A.R.S. member had a position such as RS (Rear Security), BUM (Backup Man), LDR (Leader) and so forth. Are these influenced by an actual police organization?

KI: Yes, I decided the organization and equipment with reference to SWAT and SEALS etc.

CHE: Did S.T.A.R.S. assist in the Raccoon Police's rescue efforts in the mountains?

KI: No, as S.T.A.R.S.' numbers were limited I think they were trying to gather intel first.

CHE: So Chris' original name was going to be Beam Markyurio!

KI: It was Kamiya that re-named him 'Chris', it was me who attached 'Redfield'. Kamiya first tried to name Chris 'Beam', but since it was a strange name, I opposed and changed it. The name Beam is a very strange name for the Japanese people. It reminded me of a beam gun used by a robot in a Japanese animation. Strange names, settings, appearances are not suitable for horror games. Amazing things in horror are external factors, and fear is hindered if the hero is concerned. It was a mistake from that point of view.

CHE: Can you describe Chris and Barry's relationship?

KI: I think I had the films 'Lethal Weapon' and 'Dirty Harry' in mind. Barry was someone who would sometimes guide and sometimes pacify Chris, who tended to be reckless.

CHE: Jill Valentine was originally called Jill Morrison. Are you the one who named her?

KI: I like the musical band 'The Doors' (lead singer Jim Morrison), so it seems possible that it was me. Clearly, I do not remember who added 'Jill Morrison'. Ultimately, it was me that made it to 'Valentine'. I remember this.

CHE: Some early artwork notes that she is also half-Japanese!

KI: That's right. I think that Jill was half Japanese.

CHE: Before Jill's scenario was made, she was an AI-controlled character. Is there a reason why this feature got cut?

KI: Jill separated from Chris a lot at the beginning, as I remember it. In those days, I think there was a concern about the amount of man-hours it would take.

CHE: Was Barry ever meant to be a playable character like Rebecca?

KI: I don’t think that it was at the stage when Barry was created.

CHE: In the opening scene in Jill's game, Barry says, "Chris is our old partner, you know". What is their history together prior to joining S.T.A.R.S.?

KI: I think they were supposed to be partners during a period as police officers before the formation of S.T.A.R.S.

CHE: How did Wesker blackmail Barry into helping him? What exactly did he say to Barry to make him betray his teammates?

KI: I think that this may be received as it is. He probably told Barry that the subordinate of Wesker was surveying his family. Barry’s family was threatened and used by Wesker. But he did not want to endanger his teammate’s lives. It is certain that I was the one who made this scene. (Jill's game where she overhears Barry and Wesker talking in the dormitory)

CHE: How long had he been blackmailing Barry for?

KI: I think that it was before the events of Biohazard.

CHE: What led to the creation of the character Rebecca Chambers?

KI: Rebecca is too young, this was for the Japanese people. And I set it because I wanted a character with a weak persona that I would want to protect.

CHE: What is the full story of Wesker including his ultimate goal and duties in the mansion as researcher and chief security officer?

KI: I imagined that he was in a special forces setting. Unmarried with no siblings, but was born into an ordinary American middle-class family. However, he was already too formed and believed the world to be worthless. He was a genius with scant feelings. He enjoyed ordinary family vacations, even displayed excellent grades in sport, but his heart was always cold and he was acting to blend himself into society. He was a clear-headed but tragic individual lacking human emotions. The only way he could live was to self-affirm his intense elitism.

Wesker was using the giant organization Umbrella and had his own separate ambition to create a second humanity of his own design. For that reason he believed that the Tyrant, which produces the Tyrant Virus, would also be useful as a resource to threaten Umbrella. Umbrella's aim was to sell the Tyrant to every country as a weapon and take advantage of every nation's weakness and substantially control them, but as they advanced that plan, Wesker aimed for another objective... To filter humanity using the Tyrant... he was scheming mass extinction and forced evolution. Ultimately the Tyrant was going to gain the ability to manipulate the virus and design living things. It was a “Creator.”

We must remember that the development of science not only presents our dream visions for humanity, but also accompanies great risks. The future world at the time when the first Biohazard released was over a generation ago, but it it becomes more and more feasible every day. Progressive biotechnology may be the modern fire of Prometheus. Wesker had an external mission to protect the laboratory from outside interference and an internal mission to monitor the researchers. Wesker wanted the power to eventually influence at least a large country and it would've been necessary to demonstrate the Tyrant as trading material. At the time I was investigating the 'Subway Sarin Incident' in detail, and I think I was probably greatly influenced by it. I believe Wesker was conducting research focusing on biological weapon prevention & protection measures, vital research for Umbrella.

CHE: Did the other S.T.A.R.S. members know that Wesker was headhunted by Umbrella?

KI: It was Umbrella Company that pulled him out. Other members did not know. I think that he was recognized as an excellent and cool boss.

CHE: How did Wesker collect combat data on S.T.A.R.S. members?

KI: He monitored each individual with cameras set up in the mansion.

CHE: Is there a reason why he left his orders behind in the trophy room?

KI: Why did Wesker make such a mistake? He is also a human being.

CHE: Did Brad flee in the helicopter because he heard gunshots or because he saw Cerberus?

KI: I think both.

CHE: Was Forest being pecked to death by crows inspired by the Hitchcock movie 'The Birds'?

KI: I love Hitchcock's films so I can't deny being influenced by them. Many of the members were set up to convey the threat of each enemy, as was the case for Forest. Some of the dead members would have survived but we didn't have time to create the events and gave up.

B.O.W.s

CHE: How exactly did Umbrella control B.O.W.'s?

KI: B.O.W.'s are rabid but I thought to give them intelligence because they are logical as weapons. Although the human-based Hunter and Tyrant can understand simple words, unneeded emotions for combat have been removed. But because their educational periods were short, they have the impression of violent infants.

CHE: What separates the zombies in Biohazard from zombies in horror films?

KI: The zombies in Biohazard aren't exactly dead. While they may have lost their sanity, the process itself is gradual and there are all sorts of complications before one becomes a zombie. There were probably those who killed themselves rather than turn. It is also incorrect to say that the zombies in Biohazard have simply no intelligence, the man-made virus controls them from within their very cells by rewriting their genes. They have become a different creature, and their function is to further spread the virus. There are different kinds of dramatic situations and purposes we can use for these kinds of characters.

CHE: Did Wesker release the Hunters that S.T.A.R.S. members encounter?

KI: That's correct, Wesker released them. The Hunters were isolated in the laboratory.

CHE: How did you come up with Greek mythological code names for the enemies?

KI: I chose Greek code names for the enemies because they were names that ordinary people were likely to know. I like mythology, but I thought there would be less realism if I borrowed from more obscure myths.

CHE: Besides the Umbrella logo, did you work on any other artistic designs for Biohazard?

KI: I also sketched the researcher's pictures of Plant 42.

CHE: So rather than abandon the dormitory and try to escape, the researchers decided to study a gigantic plant monster!

KI: I believe they made a sacrifice to study the evolution of Plant 42 that was beyond their imaginations.

CHE: Did Henry Sarton himself fall victim to Plant 42?

KI: Yes, my writing was to suggest this.

CHE: Is there a reason why Plant 42 changed so dramatically from concept art to retail?

KI: I remember that it was due to the fact that the production time was too short, that’s why the room was reduced.

CHE: Can you detail the story of the outbreak accident that leaked the Tyrant Virus?

KI: The accident in the lab wasn't intentional, but what occurred was inevitable. Wesker intended to conduct combat testing of the bio-weapons, at the same time that he disposed of S.T.A.R.S. The virus leaked out of the Tyrant, the carrier of the virus. In the setting that I imagined, the Tyrant was able to command zombies that had been created by the virus. That's why it was 'Tyrant'.

He can directly infect with the T-Virus using his nails, or spray it from his back to infect the air. Even if he doesn't bestow it by his own hands, his subordinates (Zombies) do. He is sent into an enemy country or into the backward support forces of an enemy army by helicopter or submarine. After that, he turns people he comes into contact with into Zombies, amassing an army of the undead. When the commander's objective is achieved, for example, let's say the enemy country surrendered, in that case he would issue the Tyrant an order to gather the Zombies to one place and slaughter each other. On top of that the Tyrant would be recovered after incineration.

The zombies produced by the Tyrant and the fear in people that Zombies manifest were going to create substantial wealth and power for Umbrella. To be exact, the Tyrant had the power to control the virus, which ruled their brain and body, rather than controlling zombies. Tyrant T-002 was the ultimate weapon that creates Zombies. A reason armies dislike war is that there are often more injured troops than dead soldiers.

CHE: Why did Umbrella order Wesker to dispose of the precious Tyrant?

KI: The Tyrant embryo was cloned in advance and transported elsewhere. It was the company's most important secret so they wanted to dispose of what was left.

CHE: According to supplemental material, the Tyrannized man was a prisoner. What kind of person did you imagine him to be?

KI: I think that he was a violent man with a strong sense of pride.

CHE: Why did the Tyrant attack Wesker?

KI: While the Tyrant was restrained, an unplanned will formed. The anger of itself being created led it to attack Wesker.

CHE: Why does the Tyrant differ from the B.O.W.'s named after Greek mythology?

KI: Tyrant was the ultimate weapon that could obliterate enemy troops with zombies in a single stroke. When naming it I imagined my favorite dinosaur, the T-Rex.

VIROLOGY

CHE: Is the Tyrant Virus an RNA virus in your original setting?

KI: That's correct. I based it on the concept of gene transfer using retro-viral vectors. It was supposed to be an ideal virus that could design creatures as one wished.

CHE: How did you decide on a virus as the source of the biohazard?

KI: There's this thing called the 'Theory of Evolution through Viruses' that was introduced by a Japanese medical researcher. In short, it's the idea that viral infection promoted the evolution of living creatures. I read it, thought it interesting and incorporated it into my work. Nowadays it's been discredited though...

SWEET HOME

CHE: Did the 1989 Famicom title 'Sweet Home' influence your work?

KI: Yes. However, when designing the title's game system, I was influenced more by 'Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress', (for example the limited supplies). I think Sweet Home is a good game. By the way, Oda-san is a big fan of Sweet Home and gave it to me free of charge. But concerning the item limit I remember that I pushed for cooperation and I decided the number of bullets in each gun. The NES was booming in Japan at the time and many staff only knew NES games, there were few who knew this MSX game.

CHE: What other inspirations did you take from Alcazar?

KI: I decided to show the remaining bullets of the guns, that was influenced by Alcazar. Also since I'm a gun enthusiast, as you know, I changed the names to real company names or model numbers, not just 'Pistol'. However if we used the maker's name today without permission, we might get sued by the industry, so I'm afraid to use it!