Capcom has done a wonderful job recreating Leon and Claire in Resident Evil 2 Remake, keeping faithful to the original style without sacrificing any efforts to make their appearance realistic. Now reports indicate there’ll be another remake in store for Leon, this time for Resident Evil 4. It still holds up graphically, at least by modern standards, so having the game remade may not need overhaul or redesign all that much.
Character redesigns have happened a lot throughout the Resident Evil franchise, especially with the most recent remakes. Even in mainline games multiple characters have been redesigned or changed, but remaking Resident Evil 4 may be a special case in that there may not be many changes needed to any of the character’s designs. As much as Resident Evil 4 has become a classic game in the series by now, the game’s character aesthetics are still relatively realistic in detail. Other than maybe a bit of a haircut, remaking Leon from Resident Evil 4 may best be approached with subtle changes.
Resident Evil Redesigns
For the overall franchise, Resident Evil has been kind of hit-or-miss with character redesigns throughout the series. The most glaring example is Chris Redfield, who’s been the most shape-shifting character in the series thus far. From as early as the first Resident Evil game to Resident Evil 7 more recently, Chris’ visual appearance has changed drastically throughout Resident Evil. Initially Chris’ design was pretty basic, sporting a standard physical build for someone who was the member of a special police unit. In Resident Evil 5/6, he was redesigned to become much more bulky with larger muscles, perfect for punching boulders with his bare hands. Then in Resident Evil 7, he slimmed down to a more realistic weight, along with a different facial design as well.
Funny enough, Chris’ sister Claire got some controversy for her redesign in Resident Evil 2 Remake as well. While it wasn’t any particular scandal by any means, there was some initial criticism that Claire’s facial features looked radically different compared to her original design. Same went for Ada Wong, eschewing the usual red dress for a more inconspicuous overcoat (at least, for a little while). Leon and many other characters also received redesigns in Resident Evil 2 Remake, mostly in service of modernizing each character with very little changes. A Resident Evil 4 Remake would likely want to stick to this minimalist approach for its aesthetic as well.
Redesigning Leon and Ashley
Leon’s appearance in Resident Evil 4 was largely faithful to his design in the original Resident Evil 2, albeit without the RPD uniform. The graphical facelift between the original PlayStation and GameCube was a massive improvement in detail, but Leon’s design was still very familiar. Assuming Resident Evil 4 does get remade, changes will likely come to Leon’s design, although this time they may not stray too far from his original design. In fact, taking a more minimalist approach would probably be more beneficial. Making a few adjustments just to keep his design more in line with Resident Evil 2 Remake would make a lot of sense, but going any further than that would be too much.
As for Ashley, well, she’ll probably receive a bit more attention during the design process. In a lot of ways, her design hasn’t really aged well and would likely be changed to represent more modern design. Outside of aesthetics, more importantly Ashley’s in-game AI behavior would likely receive a much needed overhaul. Too often would Ashley be helpless to run or defend herself from danger, to the point of it becoming a meme for Resident Evil fans. A remake could go as far as implementing new commands players could issue to Ashley, or at the very least give Ashley more leeway to escape certain dangerous situations instead of her just standing in fear.
How Faithful Can the Remake Be?
Outside of the main characters, it’s kind of hard to gauge what other kinds of design changes could be made in Resident Evil 4. For as much as the game did to revolutionize third-person action shooters, there’s a whole lot about the game’s themes and aesthetic that’s strange. Resident Evil 4 walks and crosses a fine line between realism and absurdity in many examples. It’s quite the dichotomy to play a game that realistically simulates rural Spanish farmlands, whilst simultaneously including a giant mechatronic statue of Ramon Salazar built to chase Leon out of a medieval castle. Whether Resident Evil 4 Remake wants to retain that level of absurdity, it’s hard to gauge. Then again, Resident Evil 2 Remake kept the giant zombie crocodile, so maybe Capcom will just own its quirks.
Witnessing a Resident Evil 4 Remake will be impressive regardless, but there’s a lot to consider in redesigning the many oddities through its playthrough. Despite how beloved the game is, Resident Evil 4 takes a turn to crazy town in a lot of places throughout its runtime. At least in terms of character designs, there’s not much needed to be changed/updated in Resident Evil 4 for the main characters. Especially with Resident Evil 2 Remake already setting a basis for Leon’s new design, a remake for the fourth game wouldn’t want to deviate too far from that groundwork. That being said, many will be curious to see how faithful a remake is to the original game.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is reported to be in development.
