Everything You Need to Know About Leon S. Kennedy in 'Resident Evil 4' Remake
Published March 17 2023, 4:47 p.m. ET
Starring as the main protagonist in Capcom's upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake, Leon Scott Kennedy is one of the poster boys for the video game studio and the survival horror IP.
Longtime fans of the franchise are familiar with Leon alongside his counterparts like Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. But for the uninitiated newcomers to the series, here's a rundown on who is Leon S. Kennedy in the Resident Evil 4 remake and a dive into his background.
Who is Leon S. Kennedy in the 'Resident Evil 4' remake?
In the Resident Evil 4 remake, Leon S. Kennedy is an agent reporting directly to the president of the United States.
Leon is an experienced operative at the start of the game with multiple missions under his belt and becomes tasked with tracking down the president's kidnapped daughter.
Following her footsteps leads Leon to a remote European village where the residents are violent and grueling horrors linger around the small civilization. What was first just a rescue mission shifts into a ghastly survival scenario where Leon must make hard decisions while grappling with situations from his past.
This isn't Leon's first rodeo: He was one of the main characters in 'Resident Evil 2.'
Whether you played the original game or the remade Resident Evil 2, Leon debuted as one of two playable main characters. At the time, Leon was simply a rookie police officer going into his first day on the job at Raccoon City.
Unfortunately, Leon was thrown head-first into a zombie outbreak at the hands of a malicious pharmaceutical company called Umbrella Corporation while starting duty.
Alongside the other playable character, Claire Redfield, Leon fights through familiar landscapes and survives everything the biohazard outbreak throws at him.
Much of what happened at Raccoon City is a haunting reminder and looming responsibility as he stepped into his role as an agent for the U.S. president. Leon would naturally go on from being the terrified rookie fighting for survival to the veteran operative paving his way through the Resident Evil 4 remake.
'Resident Evil 4' remake ramps up the action and makes Leon an even deadlier one-person army.
Very jokingly, some players view Leon in the Resident Evil 4 remake as Raiden from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. His movements were superhuman already in the original game, but in the remake, Leon now parries chainsaws and still does full multi-hit roundhouse kicks.
Leon jumping out windows and taking on crazy hits gamifies the experience rather than focusing on some of the groundedness in Resident Evil 2. To keep a leash of Leon's wild action sequences, Capcom aims to blend the action moments throughout the story with horror segments, which should nail home the original feel with new bits.
The Resident Evil 4 remake will release on March 24 for PS4, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
