I knew it. I instructed you all for months that Leon could be discovered lurking someplace within the rubble of Raccoon Metropolis. This poor bloke cannot catch a break, so I do not know why Resident Evil Requiem could be any totally different. However now that Leon’s involvement within the upcoming Resi sport is confirmed, the devs can lastly converse to his inclusion as an alternative of pretending like they do not know who he’s.
“One factor’s for positive, Leon isn’t simply good-looking, he’s cool personality-wise too,” director Akifumi Nakanishi says in an interview with Automaton. “He’s the kind who doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself to save lots of others, however he’s not conceited about it, and he has a passionate internal self. I hope you’ll additionally stay up for the dry wit and delicate sarcasm that solely an older man can convey.
“He’s a personality who carries loads on his shoulders. We took plenty of care in refining him to be an “ikeoji” (a cool/engaging older man). The reactions to the trailer on that entrance have made us joyful.”
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I could not have put it higher myself. Leon is and all the time has been my favorite Resi character. Name me primary, however Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 are two of my prime video games of all time, so I simply could not think about a world the place we would return to Raccoon Metropolis and never see this icon.
“That is Leon’s first return to Raccoon Metropolis since Resident Evil 2, so seeing how he responds to the ‘place the place all of it started’ now that he’s older is one other main focal point,” Nakanishi says. “The battle this time will most likely push Leon to his limits greater than ever earlier than, and it is a essential a part of the expertise.”
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Okay, that final half scares me a little bit. Leon would not have limits. I do know he is 50 years outdated by this level, however absolutely he can nonetheless simply backflip out of hazard if issues get too spicy. However I nonetheless have a nasty feeling that the devs could possibly be teeing up a everlasting retirement for Leon, though I actually hope that is not the case.
A Resi universe with out Leon Kennedy would simply really feel empty. I do know they need to move on the torch in some unspecified time in the future and that Leon cannot be out right here repeating sassy one-liners till he is 100 years outdated. However on the very least, I hope the devs can a minimum of give him a peaceable previous few years and never kill him outright. Though I haven’t got a lot of a say with regards to this.
“That is the primary new sport with Leon as a essential protagonist since Resident Evil 6, and he’s older and extra skilled now,” Nakanishi continues. “A serious improvement theme for us was: ‘What would Leon be like in 2026?’ Despite the fact that he retains preventing to save lots of folks, bioterror by no means goes away, so what frame of mind has he reached now? What can he do together with his seasoned fight abilities? With these ideas in thoughts, we added new components on prime of a Resident Evil 4-style basis. Grace’s gameplay relies on Resident Evil 2, whereas Leon’s gameplay contains martial arts and melee strikes, based mostly on Resident Evil 4.”
It’s possible you’ll suppose this sounds relatively disjointed, however Nakanishi is adamant that “Requiem has only one, unified story” and that they’ve managed to mesh Leon and Grace’s sections collectively seamlessly. Suppose Resident Evil: Revelations, the sections are “nearly equally cut up”.
“Because the plot advances, you turn between Leon’s sections and Grace’s sections,” Nakanishi says. “There are even some scenes the place they meet. Grace is ‘the largest scaredy-cat in Resident Evil historical past,’ whereas Leon is a seasoned veteran, so seeing how these personalities work together is a part of the enjoyable.”
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Funnily sufficient, this really quells one in every of my largest fears. After taking part in the demo at Gamescom, I used to be nervous that Requiem might really be too intense and scary. The scene of Grace making an attempt to flee the brand new massive unhealthy monster was horrific and left me so scared that I used to be instructed to sit down down and drink some water. However realizing it will not be all like this units my thoughts comfortable.
“If the entire sport have been Grace, it might be extraordinarily scary,” Nakanishi says. “On this sense, Leon’s sections work to launch the stress. You are feeling secure throughout Leon’s chapters, after which scared once more throughout Grace’s. It’s a consciously designed horror construction. Consequently, whereas Requiem is actually scary, I feel gamers can even really feel a form of exhilaration and satisfaction that previous Resident Evil titles didn’t provide.
“It’s nearly like having two video games with utterly several types of stress blended collectively. Early on, we have been apprehensive gamers won’t be capable of sustain, however now we really feel that the distinction offers the sport a novel rhythm, like leaping into a chilly bathtub after sitting in a sizzling sauna. It was essential to mix the sluggish and quick segments effectively, and Grace and Leon turned out to be one of the best mixture for that. Leon additionally has numerous new actions, providing you with a powerful sense of launch in comparison with Grace’s sequences.”
Regardless of the devs not eager to unleash the information of Leon being in Requiem too early, all of this does line up completely with what they have been telling us all alongside. When first requested whether or not Leon could be showing within the upcoming sport, Nakanishi really defined how they could not add Leon into the horror sections as “nobody desires to see Leon scared,” and he was proper.
