#rcs

Raccoon City Syndrome

I’ll be honest, when people first said Leon was infected, I thought it meant he would either die or turn by the end of the game. As everyone was freaking out over the first footage of his gameplay and how brutal it was, plus noticing that he’s infected, I thought the infection was slowly turning him more brutal.

Even as the game progressed, I thought “we are stocking up on ammo to fight the BBEG (be it Gideon or Temu Wesker / Zesker, whatever you wanna call him and pls don’t stop calling him that because lmao), but what if we are stocking up to fight Zombie!Leon”? I legitimately thought a full-on Pokemon Gold moment would happen, where the BBEG is yourself from your previous games and you have to take Leon down as Grace. He would then drop his entire inventory and you could pick it up to fight the other guys. Well, maybe he would drop another hip pouch or two to make up for the lack of Grace’s. One thing that made the whole thing even more believable in my mind was the director’s commentary, when he chose to especially emphasize that the new zombies retain some awareness and their previous habits, such as the cleaning lady, singer, lights guy, chef… Imagine fighting a semi-conscious zombified Leon as Grace, or later on, any of our old “veterans” like Claire, Chris, Jill, in the same condition. Anyway, I am super happy that did not come to pass. I did get concerned for a moment that Grace would full-on turn villain after she left with Temu Wesker, but also glad that didn’t happen.

On a similar note, people keep commenting on Leon’s hunched posture, which many attributed to his age or the slammy kablammy he suffers from every B.O.W. he has fought, but I did see someone point out something to think about that you might miss or not even register while playing the game. Sherry is shown in a cutscene taking some very strong painkillers, while Leon is out running around and slaying things at an even later stage of the infection. By the very end of the game, it has gotten so bad that some 3rd person animations show his aim being slightly more shaky than previously, so our guy is putting on a brave face when in reality, he must be in unimaginable pain. And still roundhouse-kicking HUNK and lickers, might I add. So, I believe this contributed to his hunched pose, especially since it improves after he’s healed.

Plot holes– Yeah the Braille puzzle box and “I didn’t hit any of her vitals” made my eye twitch. I can’t defend those. But hey, at least we got a cute EmilyTM out of it, am I right?

Trailer Bait and Switch – Remember when the cutscene of Grace and Leon meeting came out and everyone was commenting on the AURA FARMING and Leon looking like an absolute menace into the darkness, ready to destroy Gideon? Yeah I laughed so loudly when I realized the “single bullet in Requiem” thing wasn’t just a glitch in Sean’s playthrough. It’s a default thing. I know Leon still gave the gun to Grace as a defence, but it’s just funny to me how this powerful beast of a gun had one bullet and in the game mechanics she has to craft more. I wonder if they covered ammo crafting in the FBI intro to field training, lol. I also laughed when Gideon turned out to be RightThereTM and immediately made Leon pass out. I mean, we still got a badass showdown between them in the finale, but I was imagining everyone who commented on Leon’s agenda to whoop some Gideon arse with so much vigor, only to watch the man be choked out and pass out a minute later. And Grace didn’t hear a single thing through that security shutter, huh.

RPD – ASDFGJFLJOGJEGJAHFLUAFHAU I have no words. Perfect. I still cannot get that haunting music out of my head. “Hey, Lieutenant Branagh. Kennedy, reporting for duty.” - the only line in the game that actually made me actively tear up. Others were very close, but this one takes the cake.

This section also made me think about Kevin. In a separate document, Kevin has been named as one of the six Raccoon City Survivors, now deceased. He was supposed to be Leon’s partner all those years ago. What’s funny to me is imagining what that dynamic would have been like. His Wiki page says he failed the S.T.A.R.S. admission exam twice and it is implied that he had a tendency to not follow orders. I wonder how he would get along with rookie Leon S. "I have to talk to the chief first" Kennedy (no shade, dear Leon, that would 100% be me as a rookie cop). Would they have regularly gotten into trouble? Would they have fought over the correct course of action? Would Kevin’s influence have morphed our beloved Leon into some other version of himself?

Overall, Requiem is a 10/10 from me, even with all the plot holes and issues. It is visually stunning. It is jam-packed with nostalgia, which I cannot even imagine how strong it is for those who played the og in the 90s. It plays like a movie while keeping all of the usual Resident Evil shenanigans. And it portrays an enjoyable juxtaposition between a well-developed, beloved main character, and a lovable new one to perhaps take up the mantle in upcoming adventures. Overall, loved it, great story.