More than 600 unused voice lines from the PlayStation 5 version of Resident Evil 4 Remake have been uncovered by a community modder, revealing Capcom's original intention to link the game with Resident Evil Village. The discovered audio and accompanying subtitles, amounting to over 30 minutes of content, feature dialogue from main characters Leon, Luis, Ashley, and the Merchant.
One particular line from the Merchant explicitly mentions a character from the later-released title. "Ah, I see you’re no stranger to villages. The Duke? Lad shows promise," the Merchant says. This line directly references The Duke, a character who runs a shop and also appears in Resident Evil Village, the series' eighth main installment. Notably, The Duke himself makes a similar callback to the Resident Evil 4 Merchant in Village, quoting his famous line, "What’re ya buyin'?" This cut dialogue from the Remake would have retroactively solidified a connection between the two characters and added further continuity to the Resident Evil timeline.
The reason for this line's omission from the final game remains speculative, though the article suggests it might have been to avoid confusing players or altering the established tone of the remake. However, the inclusion of such a line could have enhanced the sense of a shared universe.
Beyond voice lines, the same modder, Keff0, also found unused animations indicating that the Merchant could have originally been killable in Resident Evil 4 Remake. Save data suggests his shop would have closed permanently after his death, mirroring mechanics from the original Resident Evil 4. This design choice was seemingly reconsidered by Capcom for the modern rework.
As is common with large-scale game development, many assets are created and then cut before release. Earlier this year, Leon's voice actor mentioned a favorite line from Resident Evil Village that was ultimately removed by Capcom. The discovery of these extensive unused voice lines in Resident Evil 4 Remake highlights the iterative nature of game development and the potential for previously discarded content to shed light on design decisions.