CONTENTS

Today’s article is on the fateful arrival of Leon S. Kennedy in Raccoon City. (Apologies to everyone who was expecting a Chris article, he’s coming, I promise!)

Leon is without a doubt, one of the biggest heroes in the RE series. Accumulating experience and skill through RE2, RE4 and RE6, by which time he’s a renowned, world-class agent.

But it all started in Resident Evil 2, as a rookie cop arriving in Raccoon City.

Side note, I write this as a hopeless and unapologetic Resident Evil 2 fanboy, both original and remake. So please bear with me/celebrate with me down memory lane, and be sure to let us know all your own memories, theories, opinions and more at #REBHFun!

So here I went on that long spiel about Leon, but the first picture is a burger. Why? Like I said, this is an article about memories, and this is a big one for me. I started the game in the middle of the night, I was hungry, and I’m sitting there thinking about how beautiful and delicious that burger looks, when WHAM, the first zombie shows up. The game caught me from that moment.

The next scene is Leon driving towards Raccoon city, completely unaware of burger-related goings-on. I was a little surprised at first to see him in plain-clothes, before remembering that, in the story, it was his first day on the police force.

After pulling into a gas station, Leon finds strange things going on - including a trail of bloody footprints. This is where our adventure begins!

Daniel here, telling Leon to stay back. I still wonder if that was the right call. Did he think he had it under control until Leon distracted him? If Leon hadn’t shown up, would he have been ok? I can’t dwell on it too long though, if I don’t move forward, Leon doesn’t move forward. So it’s here I’ll say a teary farewell to Daniel.

Which leads to the first zombie Leon meets. Was this a customer? A clerk working in the back? Don’t worry, you won’t miss this scene…just don’t be like me and ponder on his role too long while he shambles your way.

And then Claire! I loved this scene! Even with the updated look and feel, this is a heavy nod to how Leon and Claire met in the original game. Despite zombies everywhere, and all hell breaking loose, I smiled to myself remembering the scene from the original.

After escaping the gas station, Leon and Claire get a (very) brief break in the car. If you remove all the context and just look at this scene, it kind of feels like an awkward first date. Ah, youth… (sorry, I’m old).

And there it is, a chance encounter at an unassuming gas station determines the fate of these two young people, Raccoon City and eventually much, much more.

How did you feel during this first scene? What other scenes do you remember most? How hungry were you for a burger afterwards? Please let us know this, or any other memories at #REBHFun!