The original story, while still known as a Resident Evil game, was based on unravelling the mystery surrounding the body of the protagonist named 'Tony', an invincible man with skills and an intellect exceeding that of normal people, with his superhuman abilities explained with biotechnology. However, during development, the combat system strayed too far from the survival horror concept, and series producer Shinji Mikami convinced Hideki Kamiya and the rest of the development team to make the project into an entirely new game.
Game director Hideki Kamiya's goal for this new Resident Evil game was to be on fast, stylish combat. Devil May Cry started life as the first version of Resident Evil 4.
