The remake’s official Japanese Twitter account tweeted out the character’s backstory for the new Resident Evil 2 remake. It is rather dull.
It reads, “New officer Leon S. Kennedy was assigned to Raccoon City. Before going on duty, Kennedy was at home on standby, waiting for his orders. After no one contacted him and feeling something was off, Kennedy headed to the station. Days later, after arriving in Raccoon City, his life changed.”
This is very different from the backstory mentioned in the game’s official guide, which involved him breaking up with his girlfriend, drinking and then oversleeping, which is why he was late for his first day.
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While not stated in the game, many players like the depth it gives Leon as a character.
Hideki Kamiya also reportedly mentioned this boozy prologue to Famitsu in an interview when the first RE2 game out.
Fans really like this backstory, so it’s a shame that the remake isn’t fleshing this out.
DISCUSSION
Honestly, the, “relationship ended, dude/dudette didn’t handle it well, got shitfaced, was responsible enough to at least do so at a hotel/motel, woke up hungover as fuck and late for first day of work at new job” background is much, much more relatable than some dude sitting around his house waiting on orders and deciding, “Y’know what? Something’s weird. I’m going in!”
It’s the difference between a “real” person and a knight in shining armor; one fits the general tone and narrative design of the Resident Evil games, and the other one feels like a company trying to distance itself from “bad behavior” in its fictional characters.
Real people have real problems. Even our heroes have issues; they just hide them from the public until their biography comes out in their later years/after they die.
Disappointing move, Capcom.