It feels like Capcom’sResident Evilfranchise couldn’t be flying higher right now, especially after the announcement ofResident Evil 9 Requiemand its return to the iconic Raccoon City. After a pair of great titles that brought the series back to life, and a trilogy of remakes that have brought the classics up-to-date for modern audiences, it almost feels like Capcom can do no wrong with the franchise right now, and can seemingly do no wrong in general. It has been known for a while thatRE9was an inevitability, but there are interesting details about the game already.
Resident Evil 8left the story of the series in an interesting spot after its ending. Without getting into spoilers,the story of Ethan Winters is done and dusted, which is a brave and strange decision given thatResident Evilprotagonists tend to linger around. Chris Redfield’s appearance inRE8is an example of this, yet Ethan will only see use inRE7andRE8, which gave Capcom the perfect reason to make another new protagonist to put through zombie-filled hell.Requiemwill put Grace Ashcroft in the limelight, although she might not be alone in Raccoon City.
Resident Evil 9 Could Potentially Have Multiple Characters
It Could Have Multiple Protagonists Like The Classics
While only Grace and a bunch of the infected monsters she will come up against get to shine in the trailer, rumors and leaks imply that therecould be multiple player characters. This would be a turn away from the last twoResident Evilgames, which had Ethan Winters as the sole protagonist, excluding DLC. It would also go away from the last remake,Resident Evil 4, which only allowed players to use Leon S Kennedy and his back-flipping skills, although it would be a return to the classics and their use of multiple protagonists.
The S in Leon S Kennedy stands for Scott and he is an Italian-American.
Resident Evil 1& 2had dual protagonists, one male and one female, something thatRE9could be looking at.RE1had Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine sharing their first outing together in a zombie-filled mansion, whileRE2had Leon and Claire Redfield’s make their debut as a pair.While it is unlikely thatRequiemwill give two characters their debut together, given the wealth of playable characters still knocking about in theResident Evilfranchise, it is likely that Grace will pair up with someone else, or even be in a trio, which would be a change of pace.
Resident Evil 7and8were pretty lonely and harrowing experiences for poor Ethan, and while they were responsible for gettingResident Evilback on its feet, especiallyRE7, going back tohaving more than one protagonist can help the series go back to its multiple perspectivesand give the player different options depending on who is playing. It could also help the game’s divide with its survival horror and action elements, especially if certain leaks are to be believed. According to the usually reliable leaker,AestheticGameron X, Leon will feature alongside Grace inRE9.
RE9: Requiem Could Bring Back Leon
And He Would Be A Grizzled Veteran By Now
Leon making a comeback is intriguing given howRE9would have to use him. According to Aesthetic Gamer,Leon is not only playable, but the main character, which is strange given that only Grace was shown in the reveal trailer. This offers an opportunity to show the oldResident Evilprotagonistsin the modern age and how the years have changed them. Chances are, Leon hasn’t settled down with kids and is still backflipping and karate-kicking well into his forties and seeing him with a gruff edge, or maybe even a beard, would be interesting.
Grace is the daughter of Alyssa Ashcroft and was a reporter for several companies, including the News Comet, Raccoon Press, and The Dulvey Daily.
More importantly, he is a complete contrast to Grace. Grace seems green and the experiences of the game will be harrowing for her. Although she likely knows about prior events of infections in the world, thanks to being an FBI Agent and having a mother who was a reporter during theunderratedResident Evil Outbreakgames, she probably doesn’t have a lot of first-hand experience fighting these zombies. It makes her the perfect playable character for horror sequences,especially ifRE9wants to replicate the tone ofRE7.
On the other hand, Leon has seen it all and done it all, from his first day as a cop inRE2to saving the president’s daughter inRE4. He’s a man that can block a chainsaw with a knife, launch a zombie with a roundhouse kick, and views backflipping as the essential way to get out of a sticky situation.Leon is too busy with one-liners to be afraid in a horror setting, and would be perfect for the action part of aResident Evilgame, possibly taking down monsters that Graces Ashcroft spends her levels running away from.
Resident Evil 9 Needs To Balance Horror And Action
It Can’t Be All Action All The Time
Resident Evilhas its roots in the survival horror genre, and while the earlier titles blended the line between action and horror well, beginning as terrifying experiences that turned into therapeutic shooters, this became forgotten as the series moved on.Resident Evil 4,being one of the best games of its era, and almost purely action-based, helped turn the series, althoughRE7helped bring the franchise back to its roots. In a post-RE7world, Capcom needs to be careful about blending the action and horror parts ofRE9.
Resident Evil 9 Requiemis releasingon August 03, 2025.
Having multiple protagonists is perfect for this. It isn’t reasonable to have a character as seasoned as Leon, or anyone else from the prior cast, to act scared and run from zombies after everything they’ve been through. Chris would sooner throw a boulder at a zombie than run, and Leon still probably has the flexibility to show off his karate moves.A newbie like Grace is perfect for the horror elements, and it would be anything but unreasonable for her to spend almost all ofRE9terrified, since it would be a pretty normal reaction.
If the leaks end up being true, and Leon makes a resounding comeback, pairing him with Grace would bethe right move for Capcom to get everything it can out ofResident Evil 9. It can get the legacy factor and set-piece action sequences with Leon while maintaining the survival-horror re-established byRE7with Grace. The problem will be finding the right balance, and it could get more complicated if there are a myriad of playable characters, but Capcom hasn’t gotten it wrong withResident Evilfor some time and chances are it won’t start now.
