The Great Resident Evil 2 Coverup
- Thread starter MikeWehner
- Start date
It's been a while, but I've played and replayed RE2 more times than anyone ever should, and at this point I refuse to acknowledge Leon A/Claire B as the correct scenario. There are way too many plot holes and all of the useless rooms toward the end that are utilized fully in - what many in the RE communities call - the "correct" scenario: Claire A/Leon B.
Sadly, this does mean that Leon never bumps into Robert Kendo or Officer Marvin Branagh, but that also means that Sherry doesn't shout "LEON!" at the end of the game despite the fact that the two haven't met at all during the Leon A/Claire B scenario.
Sadly, this does mean that Leon never bumps into Robert Kendo or Officer Marvin Branagh, but that also means that Sherry doesn't shout "LEON!" at the end of the game despite the fact that the two haven't met at all during the Leon A/Claire B scenario.
Just pretend somebody clever was working for Capcom at this time, OK, posters? I know it's far-fetched, considering most of us have also played RE1, but just... play along. I hate when some party pooper comes in and comes up with some judgement that nobody is that clever. I'll throw you a bone and say that yes, this is the same game that saved Leon by randomly having a pipe fall on the person who is aiming a gun at him.
Watching the scene, I can verify that it's not clear who lets go... for one thing, it kind of looks like Leon has her by the wrist. She wouldn't have to let go; he would. When he thinks, "what made her do that?" he's actually examining the body of Annette, not the gun. He does verify that the gun is empty.
Also, hey; keep in mind that Capcom didn't randomly retcon Ada back into the story. At the last battle, a woman with Ada's silhouette throws Leon a rocket launcher. This is more than enough to finally destroy the monster he was trapped with, saving him. Again, making us question whether or not Ada is completely or just mostly immoral.
Watching the scene, I can verify that it's not clear who lets go... for one thing, it kind of looks like Leon has her by the wrist. She wouldn't have to let go; he would. When he thinks, "what made her do that?" he's actually examining the body of Annette, not the gun. He does verify that the gun is empty.
Also, hey; keep in mind that Capcom didn't randomly retcon Ada back into the story. At the last battle, a woman with Ada's silhouette throws Leon a rocket launcher. This is more than enough to finally destroy the monster he was trapped with, saving him. Again, making us question whether or not Ada is completely or just mostly immoral.
I think I could stomach this kind of interpretation much better if the author acknowledged more clearly that he simply could be completely fucking wrong and would refrain from sentences like" (capcom has) chosen to abandon Leon's decision" and that "Leon's most emotional decision in Resident Evil 2 is being denied its rightful place among the series' history".
It´s the same reason I utterly despise the Indoctrination theory and its most fervent supporters.
You construct a theory that is very much dependent on a very specific interpretation of some very specific events connected in a very specific way (Leon´s dash to grab Ada is a "reflex", him letting go is a "decision". Ada lowering her arm is due to a gun being pointed at her, her gun being empty is.... well... ignored) and then just pretend that it has merit..
Yes, it COULD be true, but in this case, it takes massive amounts of information bias and self-deception to even consider the idea that it is LIKELY to be true.
It´s an interesting (albeit rather weakly supported and somewhat random) take on a classical scene.
It´s also almost certainly bullshit.
It´s the same reason I utterly despise the Indoctrination theory and its most fervent supporters.
You construct a theory that is very much dependent on a very specific interpretation of some very specific events connected in a very specific way (Leon´s dash to grab Ada is a "reflex", him letting go is a "decision". Ada lowering her arm is due to a gun being pointed at her, her gun being empty is.... well... ignored) and then just pretend that it has merit..
Yes, it COULD be true, but in this case, it takes massive amounts of information bias and self-deception to even consider the idea that it is LIKELY to be true.
It´s an interesting (albeit rather weakly supported and somewhat random) take on a classical scene.
It´s also almost certainly bullshit.
The Resident Evil canon has been fucked for a while now. They're constantly adding and removing things through some means or another, be it a CGI movie or a light-gun rail-shooter that out right alters the personalities of some of the characters.
Here's the REAL Resident Evil conspiracy theory: who gave Chris the steroids? I think it was Barry. There's gotta be a reason we haven't seen anything of him since the first game. I just know he sold Chris the junk.
Captcha: That's right
Damn right!
Here's the REAL Resident Evil conspiracy theory: who gave Chris the steroids? I think it was Barry. There's gotta be a reason we haven't seen anything of him since the first game. I just know he sold Chris the junk.
Captcha: That's right
Damn right!
While that's certainly an interesting interpretation I don't think that's the case. But then the longer this series went the more games and spin offs they made, the more Capcom has turned an already convoluted story into a complete mess.
Personally I'm very against making retcons to a story or series unless it's to remove something that was just plain horrendous, ie forgetting Metroid: Other M ever existed. It just strikes me as what I like to call "George Lucas Syndrome" when creators feel the need to mess with stuff that was fine the first time. If some past continuity is messing up the new story you're writing now that just change the new one to better fit then going back and saying "Oh nevermind, that didn't really happen/happen that way".
Personally I'm very against making retcons to a story or series unless it's to remove something that was just plain horrendous, ie forgetting Metroid: Other M ever existed. It just strikes me as what I like to call "George Lucas Syndrome" when creators feel the need to mess with stuff that was fine the first time. If some past continuity is messing up the new story you're writing now that just change the new one to better fit then going back and saying "Oh nevermind, that didn't really happen/happen that way".
Oh Chris, you're so obscenely beefcake. Makes you wonder what would happen if he FARUKON PAUNCH'd something. It shudders the mind to even contemplate it.Sheo_Dagana said:
OT, Ada always struck me as as an untrustworthy femme fatale with Chronic Backstabbing Syndrome. All through-out the game I was wondering when I'd finally be able to ventilate her brain. Imagine my disappointment when it turned out you don't get that chance.
Ada's fate at at RE2's end was more ambigious than anything. It's a classic Disney Death, lost by falling down a pit and never seen again. We don't really know what happened after Leon let go. Which is probably how we're supposed to reconcile her appearance in RE4. She just found a way to avoid dying. Heck, she could even have told Leon to let her go, specifically so he would give her a chance to escape while thinking she's dead. In terms of the manipulative, backstabby person we know, it's fully possible she already knew, based on what she could see below her, just how to survive, and leverage the situation to break Leon off her trail.
After all, if Leon thought she was alive, he might go looking. To protect herself and her employers, she told him she wasn't worth saving and to let her go.
It's the best scenerio I can think of. It's a shame Capcom didn't think of it.
After all, if Leon thought she was alive, he might go looking. To protect herself and her employers, she told him she wasn't worth saving and to let her go.
It's the best scenerio I can think of. It's a shame Capcom didn't think of it.
The Resident Evil canon isn't so nearly complex I'm afraid. Whilst CAPCOM has stated that Claire A/Leon B is the canon order of events, it seems they forgot about that when they made Wesker's Report which clearly shows Ada falling...
I'd put out general agreement with above comments and reasons that the author is reading too much into it. In that scene Ada clearly lets go of Leon's hand. And even if Leon had her by the wrist he's not about to pull her up with one hand unassisted, and to those of you who argue that he has a second hand please never try to pull someone up from a bridge because all you'll do is wind up falling yourself. Not to mention that even if you doubt the silhouette in Claire's scenario Ada's survival of RE2 was confirmed in the RE3 epiloques.
Wow, I amazed that, after all this time, it turns out that I was right and Claire A/Leon B was actually the way most people think it went down. I just played it that way because my game was bugged and I couldn't complete it if I did Claire B (as I recall there was a puzzle that glithed out on me with her in the B scenario, but doing it the other way worked fine).
Also, slightly off topic, why did nobody ever try this method of story telling ever again? It worked really well and offered a huge incentive to play through the game again, yet I can't recall another game that did what RE2 did.
Also, slightly off topic, why did nobody ever try this method of story telling ever again? It worked really well and offered a huge incentive to play through the game again, yet I can't recall another game that did what RE2 did.
And this is why capcom bums me out on a habitual basis... I miss the days when developers didn't paint over the plot of the original games and pretend it wasn't a combination of sequelitis and greed... /end rant
This theory makes too much sense to be true, Capcom hasn't been this intelligent in a long time.
This theory makes too much sense to be true, Capcom hasn't been this intelligent in a long time.
Wow, you are such a geek for writing this article! I mean that in a good way of course, loving a certain subject this much is great, your opinion was very insightful and I absolutely love your perception of these events. Even if this isn't what was originally intended, I want this theory to be canon.MikeWehner said:
Thank you.toomuchnothing said:
This was my main problem with his theory, he treated the A and B stories as completely different cannon when they were the same story but from a different perspective. I believe story B is slightly behind story A, so in ending B when you get the gun from Ada the whole 'death scene' has already happened; meaning it is clear she survived somehow.
It's already been said, but you can check Ada's gun in the aftermath to find that it was empty. Additionally, the good ending to the A side shows Ada not falling to her death, but falling unconscious in Leon's arms after a kiss. This is retconned in the Umbrella Chronicles.
Don't get me wrong - it was a great read. But it's a perspective that is too contradictory to exist.
Don't get me wrong - it was a great read. But it's a perspective that is too contradictory to exist.
An interesting article. In all my playthroughs of 'Resident Evil 2', I've never looked at it from that perspective, not because I failed to understand Leon's motives but because back when I played the game Leon was a "hero" of mine. A character that knew right from wrong, a morally upright, righteous, officer of the law. I never would have imagined Leon as someone that would have purposely let go of Ada.
Regardless of how the events actually took place, Leon is still someone I'd trust my life with, he's still a character that represents "good" and "righteousness", to me, that is. A "modern" Paladin, or something along those lines.
Regardless of how the events actually took place, Leon is still someone I'd trust my life with, he's still a character that represents "good" and "righteousness", to me, that is. A "modern" Paladin, or something along those lines.
Articles like this are the reason I browse The Escapist.
Not only was this article engaging and thought provoking, it also made me look at a very prized video game of my past in a completely different way.
Awesome read.
I think I might fire up RE:2 again.
Not only was this article engaging and thought provoking, it also made me look at a very prized video game of my past in a completely different way.
Awesome read.
I think I might fire up RE:2 again.
Nope, gotta call BS on this one. Ada dropped the gun because she couldn't shoot Leon, how would she have seen Annette pointing a gun at her when Annette was behind her. Plus Ada's gun didn't have any rounds in it, she was bluffing.
And I'm pretty sure Capcom made the Claire A Leon B scenario canon because they needed to explain how Ada survived and how Wesker got the G-virus.
And I'm pretty sure Capcom made the Claire A Leon B scenario canon because they needed to explain how Ada survived and how Wesker got the G-virus.
It's a nice fan fiction piece that would be interesting but as others have said, the part about the gun being empty throws this idea out the window. I liked it though.
