As Resident Evil: Requiem sees the return of iconic protagonist Leon Kennedy, is his last outing worth a look ahead of the new game’s release?
Resident Evil: Requiem will not only take us back to Raccoon City for the first time since it got razed to the ground in the late 90s, but it will also see the return of a protagonist who has come to define this series, even though he was far from the first.
Leon Kennedy will be back for the first time since Resident Evil 6. Seems like a good time to head back to the previous games he’s fronted and see his journey, but should Resident Evil 6 be included in that replay? Well, if it were any other protagonist, I’d say probably not, but this is Leon Kennedy, and his journey through decades of mad science and monsters is worthwhile.
You see, not every Resident Evil protagonist is created equal. Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield were two of the first four protagonists in the survival horror series, but it’s been far too long since they got a shot at leading a game. Outside of remakes and films, Jill and Claire last appeared as playable characters in the Revelations spinoff series.
On the flip side, Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy, the other sides of those coins, feel like they’ve been ever-present. Chris stands out in particular, as he’s been playable in eight mainline games to date (yes, I count Code: Veronica). In theory, he’s the centerpiece of survival horror. Yet his constant redesigns have made him feel more like a sometimes beefy template than a singular character. He’s got the boulder-punching meme, he’s got the Wesker rivalry, and he’s an OG protagonist, but Chris Redfield is, frankly, boring.
Leon Kennedy sits somewhere between the extremes, though. Until now, he’d only been the protagonist in three games, but he’s become the poster boy for Resident Evil.
From Rookie Cop to Grizzled Leon
That has a lot to do with how his journey has been represented since his debut 28 years ago in Resident Evil 2. More than any other character in Resident Evil history, he’s grown, matured, and almost always been the marker for where Resident Evil shifts its style. For better and for worse.
The 2012 release of Resident Evil 6 is definitely in the latter camp. The warning shot of action over horror fired by Leon’s adventures in the fantastic Resident Evil 4 had become a near-relentless barrage of bullets by the time we got to Resident Evil 6, and the result was a bloated, confused mess that felt extremely distant from what Resident Evil had been just a decade earlier.
Leon’s role in the game was shared by six other playable characters across four scenarios, all part of one interwoven story. It’s safe to say his campaign is the most interesting.
And it comes back to Leon’s personal history. He entered the world of Resident Evil as a rookie cop starting work on the worst day imaginable, and in that escape from Raccoon City was a coming-of-age story of sorts, as his naivety and desire to do right were tested by the viral outbreak and his burgeoning relationship with spy Ada Wong.
In Resident Evil 4, years have passed, and surviving the Raccoon City incident has put Leon in a relatively good place. He’s now a special agent and has been tasked with rescuing the daughter of the US President from a Spanish cult. After dealing with monsters, easy stuff, but as we know, Leon ends up in a Die Hard 2 situation where he’s in over his head against a monstrous force, and just to up the deja vu in sunnier climes, Ada’s here too!
The Leon of Resident Evil 4 is clearly changed by the events of Resident Evil 2; the fumbling, earnest rookie is now a bit cynical, quippy, and in possession of a mean roundhouse kick. But we still see the caring rookie in moments.
He’s far less of an accidental hero, and his status as a special agent is part of that. Riding off into the sunset having saved Ashley, the president’s daughter, and vanquished the cult, he’s earned a break.
Resident Evil 6 is an Important Part of Leon’s Journey
By Resident Evil 6, it feels like we’re getting some closure for Leon in his campaign. A bit of peace knowing the events in Raccoon City will soon be public for the first time.
But yet again, he finds himself in an outbreak situation. Once more in over his head and reunited with Ada in a typically awkward fashion.
It’s a repetition of the bit, and Leon’s relationship with fellow agent Helena Harper provides another spin on the kind he had with Claire and Ashley (albeit less interesting). But again, we get to see how the years between have affected Leon, and there’s even a first in-game encounter with Chris Redfield, which is still a delightfully giddy bit of fan service in my eyes.
Resident Evil 6 continued the strange consistency of Leon’s journey. Always helping/working with a female character, always a fresh version of the same nightmare, and always Ada Wong showing up to make life difficult. It’s not as nuanced a jump in time and character development as it was in Resident Evil 4.
So, with Resident Evil: Requiem carrying on with at least some of this tradition, replaying Resident Evil 6 should be just as important as the other Leon outings. Yes, it’s an often unbearably overstuffed action shooter wearing a Resident Evil mask, but Leon’s sections? They’re as dependable as the floppy-haired hero himself.
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