After watching the trailer for the Resident Evil 4 remake last week at the Sony State of Play event, fans are waiting with bated breath for the return of Leon S. Kennedy. The 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 introduced Leon as a rookie cop who was unlucky: he got right into the epicenter of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City on his first day at work. With the help of Claire Redfield, Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin, Leon was able to escape the city with the others. The remake of Resident Evil 4, as the name suggests, will be a modern reinterpretation of the 2005 classics.
In the original game, Leon (now a special agent of the US government) is tasked with finding and rescuing the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham. It is reported that Ashley was last seen in a rural village run by a local cult in Spain. The events of Resident Evil 4 follow Leon and Ashley, who together try to escape from a creepy village and its surroundings. The tone of Resident Evil 4 was a dramatic change for the franchise — it became more action-oriented, not just horror. The personalities of the characters have also changed to accommodate this change in tone. A first look at the Resident Evil 4 remake shows that it will most likely follow the same tone of horror as the Resident Evil 2 remake, which raises the question of whether Leon will retain his brash character from the original game.
Who was Leon in Resident Evil 4?
The action of Resident Evil 4 takes place 6 years after the events of Resident Evil 2. Since then, Leon Kennedy has undergone extensive training and is now a special agent who serves with the US government. Years of combat training and training combined with his experience on the battlefield and in Raccoon City turned Leon from a rookie cop into an experienced veteran. Thus, his personality in Resident Evil 4 has changed. Now Leon keeps his cool in almost any situation and always finds a way to avoid the mess he finds himself in. This is true, whether it’s fighting a giant infected fish in a small boat or running away from a boulder thrown by infected ganados.
Leon is also more audacious and retains his penchant for witticisms in Resident Evil 2. He always has something to say to his opponents, be it a threat, a joke or a sarcastic remark. In fact, most of his personality seems to come from Dante from Devil May Cry, who is also a master of wit. With all this training and experience, Leon always seems to understand the situation.
Leon from the remake still looks green
Based on what people saw in the State of Play trailer, Leon in the Resident Evil 4 remake still retains aspects of his Resident Evil 2 remake. One scene shows how clearly scared he is when he opens the door to enter a villager’s house. His steps are measured and slow, and he doesn’t look like he’s in control of the situation. We can say that his movements are akin to the actions of Ashley Graham from the original game, who for most of the game was afraid of what was hiding around the next corner.
Leon also seems to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as evidenced by a few lines he utters in the trailer. “If I could just forget about what happened that night” proves that Leon is still suffering from what he went through in Raccoon City. Although he is determined to succeed in his new mission (as evidenced by the phrase “things may be different this time”), he is still unsure of himself when it comes to a new outburst (he follows his confident statement with desperation). “should be”). His promise to do away with Umbrella Corporation at the end of Resident Evil 2 may have pushed him away to get better, but Leon is still hesitant to go to a new hell elsewhere.
Capcom is not afraid to add strong characters to Resident Evil remakes (as evidenced by Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira from Resident Evil 3), but Leon, whom she decided to show to fans, is not quite sure of himself. This may be just the beginning of the game, when Leon is still thinking about the situation. Once he gets used to it, Leon can turn into a daring secret agent that fans of the original Resident Evil 4 know and love. Only time will tell whether Leon will cope with the task of saving Ashley or not.
The remake of Resident Evil 4 is released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 24, 2023.
