Off the Shelf Media

Resident Evil Requiem has been out for about a month now, and I can proudly say I’ve survived the Rhodes Hill Care Center, conquered the ashes of the Racoon Police Department (RPD), and released the elusive Elpis. 

If I could describe Requiem in one word, it would be legit. A gaming experience that knows exactly what it is and exactly what it wants to be.

But I must preface, this article won’t be a deep dive reviewing the merit of ‘RE9.’  You can check out this article written by my good pal Houston, who is my fellow Resident Evil fanatic here at Off the Shelf Media. Instead, I wanted to turn my thoughts on RE9 into a larger retrospective of some of the most recent games, and even more specifically, the life and times of the man, the myth, the legend, one Leon S. Kennedy. 

Resident Evil Requiem is a full circle resolution of Leon’s character from the first time we met him on that fateful night in the nightmarish RPD 30 years ago, to now, battered and bruised, prepared for his final mission. 

I wrote an article about Resident Evil 2 (RE2) around this time last year, in which I admitted that it was the first game that got me into survival horror. RE2 at this point is considered one of the best games in the series, and I think one of the most underrated reasons the game has so much heat is the experience as a rookie cop. 

For me specifically, RE2, being my first real survival horror game, put me into the shoes of Leon Kennedy even more so than I think Capcom intended. 

I was in that police station. I felt the tension around every corner. I found the downed police officers and watched the lickers suck them up to the ceiling. Yet, most importantly, I stuck with it long enough to see daylight. And I was never alone. No, I had my good pal Leon helping me experience the true nature of a horror-based video game. 

And before we even talk about Resident Evil 4 (RE4) or RE9, I need to establish the difference between a video game character compared to, let’s say, a movie character, or your favorite character from an anime.

An immersive experience

In video games, you live the life they live. You control them! It doesn’t sound too profound, but I think a lot of these characters and archetypes resonate with the human experience in a unique way when we feel like we are the ones pushing them to the finish line. 

Without digressing too much, I think an issue with Resident Evil 7 (RE7), but more specifically Resident Evil Village (RE8), is the intention of having Ethan Winters feel more like a blank slate to project ourselves onto, rather than his own fleshed-out character with a notable personality. Leon, of course, is that guy. And he always has been. 

So not only do video game characters feel unique for the reason of external control, but specifically, horror video game characters take it one step further because, well, they are the mechanism literally combating fear for the player.

Fear and dread are such unique human emotions and experiences that evoke a real reaction from you on an instinctual level. For example, I loved Ghost of Tsushima, but I never felt scared by the Mongol hordes. Maybe annoyed after dying a few times, but never viscerally horrified. The first time Mr. X started chasing me around the RPD, I had to literally look up a guide on how to get back to the basement with the electronic panel because he had me so backwards mixed up in the sprawling labyrinth. My heart would jump when his footsteps would stop in front of a door. 

RE2 is a classic, and we felt pride in not only our accomplishment, but Leon’s as well. The rookie made it through the worst first day in history. And make no mistake, he’ll have plenty more bad days ahead. The next one in the canon, of course, is the infamous mission of saving the president’s daughter. RE4 might be the most iconic of the entire series, and this time at the helm is Leon Kennedy 100 percent.

Now hold on tight to your pop culture caps, as I’m really testing your knowledge right now, (sarcasm). If Resident Evil 2 is Batman Begins, well, RE4 is most certainly The Dark Knight. The dial is turned past 10. The world we’ve established through Leon’s eyes is expanded and explored, and the saucepan is overflowing with classic quips, quirky little guys, and an adventure that progresses through an infinitely interesting backdrop. Before we get ahead of ourselves, I feel like this is a good time to establish what exactly I mean by “The canon of Leon Kennedy.”

Loading the Canons

The canon of Resident Evil being a little messy is a gross understatement. 

Adding up the video games, movies, novels, TV shows, comics, and even manga, there are more than 100 pieces of Resident Evil fiction out there. Now, for the sake of Leon’s story, this article, and where the franchise is right now in 2026, I’m taking into consideration RE2, RE4 Remake, and RE9. 

Tonally, I find these three entries extremely similar, and see a clear narrative arc from Leon’s first night with Claire to his last mission with Grace. 

This is also an important distinction for the difference in Leon’s personality between the first RE4 and the remake. 

The remake version of Leon feels a lot more gritty and brooding. While Leon still hits his classic lines about Bingo, and still has a bit of that too-cool-for-school attitude, when compared to RE4 OG, the 2006 version feels a lot more campy in comparison.

In a lot of ways, that’s what makes the game stand out. That’s a product of the time. Video games in the early 2000s seemed to take things a tad less seriously than most of the triple-A titles nowadays, chasing the movie-like quality of a Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Last of Us. 

So coming directly off our last mission in Raccoon City, Leon feels like he’s changed. His demeanor is that of a hardened combat veteran, although it has only been a short six years since Raccoon City. In the intro, he makes a quick note of how he was essentially forced to take this job, implying that the path for him is not his own, and it will forever be set in stone.

Although this path against bio terrorism was never his choice, he has never stopped moving forward, and never stopped trying to help people. In RE2, he explains how that is the reason he wanted to become an officer in the first place. One of my favorite moments in the RE4 remake reiterates this, when Leon explains to Ashley that it’s okay to be scared, telling her – 

“but you gotta keep moving forward.” 

“We will beat this. Together.” 

Aim. Fire.

This moment is so raw and showcases one of the main aspects of Leon’s character in these three games.

Not only does this idea of moving forward describe Leon’s entire philosophy, but it also describes my relationship to him as a playable character. Because you know what, I was scared in the RPD too that night. But, after pushing forward and beating it again and again, it became one of my favorite games of all time. Now imagine if I didn’t have the courage Leon had on his first day. If I stopped moving forward and just gave up on the franchise. I would have never experienced some of the most fun games I’ve ever played. 

 And it’s not just in the face of grotesque bio-mutant weapons, it’s in real life too. As this character that I control, that I push through seemingly endless terrifying situations, reminds me that together, we can make it through anything, and that we must push forward. The moment in Requiem that similarly resonates is when Leon tosses the game’s namesake to Grace before the sliding door between them closes.

Again, making sure to put others before himself, and becoming the hero he wanted to be in Raccoon City. It’s within this narrative that we understand how affected Leon is by that initial night. How much he centers himself around the idea of being able to make a difference within circumstances where you are just a pawn. Resident Evil 2 isn’t a game about beating Umbrella; it’s a game just about surviving the night.

In this instance, Grace is now the one who feels powerless. By the end, that changes, sure, but putting us into the shoes of Grace really prioritizes the emphasis on how much of a badass we feel as Leon. How far he’s come since that night. 

I wouldn’t be so quick to accuse the game of copping out for cheap thrills in these sections either. Requiem’s story really focuses on the time and stress that this path has put on Leon over time. I mean, look at that damn guy. 

These sections before the ruins are hard not to speed run because, as Leon, you feel like you need to be here for Grace. To be the person who couldn’t save Marvin. The Hero. So please, get out of the way, Chunk.

As you enter the decrepit RPD, we see quick flashes of RE2. Marvin’s death, Kendo’s sacrifice for his daughter. A moment re-iterated after we eventually make it out of the RPD. Then, as we walk through the epic corridor, closer to the statue of Lady Justice, we see the “welcome Leon” sign, somehow not yet disintegrated after all these years. Those logistics don’t really matter, though, as the moment really hits as Leon reads those two words. Those two words that welcomed him into the life he was destined to lead. 

Later, after exploring the RPD a bit, we encounter Mr.X, whom we must have known was coming. You could interpret his quick inclusion into the game as a bit of a nostalgia bait tactic, but I love how we are able to sweep him under the rug quickly in a duel to the death. In the RE2, fighting Mr.X is one of the most difficult fights in the game, as you must maneuver perfectly to avoid his onslaught of attacks. Here, we are able to thwart the big bad as if he were just another quick obstacle. I mean, Leon has encountered so many locked doors with keys across the map, two literal giant monsters, plus fricken spiders, so it’s impossible for things to lose that sense of insurmountability that I’d say you feel in the beginning of the game as Grace in the care center. That’s a legitimate way we are able to measure Leon’s growth as a character, through gameplay. This is a difficult task to portray in video games. 

The RE remakes (excluding RE3) and the continuation of the story through RE9 do Leon Kennedy justice. At this point, he isn’t just one of the many memorable characters from the franchise. He could very well be the entire franchise. 

And for that, I am thankful for Resident Evil, for Capcom caring, and that Leon Kennedy made it through another night.