Line #29 Headscratchers/ResidentEvil2


1	[[foldercontrol]]
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3	[[folder: Hey, the fax machine works in a zombie apocalypse... wait, what?]]
4	* Okay, so there's a military quarantine around Raccoon City, the whole place is filled with zombies, and the whole place is gone to hell... but the fax in the S.T.A.R.S. office still works? Wouldn't be so bad, except if you examine the radio equipment ''in the same room'', the character notes that it's useless to get a signal.
5	** Fax operates over a hard phone line. Radio operates over... radio. One ''can'' work while the other is out.
6	** It does add a FridgeLogic moment when you realise that ''the phone lines work.'' Even if only the fax could get through, a message from the RPD sent back to the FBI's number should get some attention.
7	** Considering the military has surrounded Raccoon City and Umbrella is being shut down shortly after the incident in the city, there's a good chance messages ''did'' get out.
8	** Of course, this just raises the question of why the FBI would bother sending a fax to an office in a building in a city they ''know'' is overrun with the Living Dead. Especially since the fax comes in when you attempt to leave the room on September 29th, several days after Raccoon City is overrun.
9	** There's also another thing that should be taken to account: even though the station was overrun with zombies and creatures, there were still some humans in there. Unless you count Marvin Branagh and Brian Irons as zombies (yes, Marvin was bitten and slowly turning, but he was, in fact, still human when he is found). The fact is that although the station was overrun, there could be the possibility that the military suspected that there might be some more human survivors.
10	** Never underestimate a bureaucracy. It could've taken weeks for information to be gathered and cleared to be sent to the RPD. Then, once it's cleared, the paper is put on some clerk's or intern's desk to be sent off, and he goes to fax it, just putting in the number and feeding the paper in without really paying attention to what he was sending and where because it's only one of a dozen such faxes he has to send out that day.
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12	[[/folder]]
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14	[[folder: Leon's magical uniform delivery!]]
15	* So at the beginning of the game did the Raccoon Police Department mail Leon his uniform and sidearm? In most organizations you actually get fitted for that ''on'' your first day not before. On that note why was he issued with ''two'' police radios when A) he by no means needs two radios and B) he hasn't even turned up for work yet - why would they give him one in the first place?
16	** To be fair, the RPD is shown to be very unconventional (and in other regards, straight out incompetent) in regards to their policies and practices. The S.T.A.R.S unit in particular (no real dress code or standard issue firearms, members hired with no real experience in policing, etc)
17	** It would seem as if there was a drive to make STARS a far more official organisation before it was disbanded though. The standardised Samurai Edge and Chris's green uniform from RE: Veronica seem to be a decent effort. Plus the SWAT team that replaced STARS all seem to wear the same blue uniform and use the same guns - maybe old Brian Irons was aware of the Federal investigations against him and was trying to make the RPD at least ''look'' professional. Although why he didn't start with removing the garish art adorning his station is anyone's guess.
18	** I don't know that it's clear that there wasn't ''already'' a SWAT team in the RPD, with STARS being more specialised and SWAT just responding to your "garden variety" hostage, bombing and terrorist situations, as opposed to the SWAT team replacing STARS. Yes, the official wiki suggests the latter, but it isn't sourced from the games, and just having the two Alpha and Bravo teams seems a little too understaffed for emergencies which may happen in a city the size of Raccoon.
19	** Leon's RPD markings all seem to be on his armoured vest. Underneath he's just wearing a police blue jumpsuit. Its possible he just owned the suit and sidearm and the RPD mailed him a vest. As I understand it, some smaller police departments allow officers to carry their choice of weapons once it is approved, and he may have been on his way to do just that. As for the radios, I don't recall him using one before he jacks the police cruiser and that would presumably have radios in it.
20	** Adding to the confusion is that Kevin Ryman from ''Outbreak'' wears a uniform almost identical to Leon's, except with an oxford rather than a mandarin collar.
21	** It's possible that Leon has already made the trip to Raccoon City once before and was given his uniform and weapon there. Or his weapon at least could be his own; many smaller police departments defer cost by allowing officers to buy their own firearms. Notably, in the S.D. Perry novels, he doesn't have his sidearm, he has the custom Desert Eagle that was a gift for graduating the police academy.
22	** '''The Remake has cleared this up'''. Leon arrives at the city in civilian clothing and doesn't don his uniform until later.
23	** That explanation works for that game, whereas the other suggestions are valid for the original.
24	[[/folder]]
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26	[[folder: S.T.A.R.S. office still there?]]
27	* The S.T.A.R.S. office is still stocked and everyone's gear is still there even though, by that point, every single member has quit, died, or faked their own death.
28	** Not only that, but VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis takes place chronologically before this game and Jilly V. visited the office to get some equipment of her own. How in god's name there is ''anything'' left for Claire and Leon to scavenge is seriously pushing suspension of disbelief.
29	** That's not quite true. Brad is still in S.T.A.R.S. and as per ''Outbreak'', the RPD is recruiting for the team (Kevin Ryman flunked the entrance exam three times). The presence of a magical respawning weapon in the S.T.A.R.S. weapon locker is weird, but the office would've still been in use for the recruitment process.
30	** It's a weapons locker, it's probably full of weapons - and it would be just stupid for a single person to take a locker-full of guns with him. The rest is just gameplay and story segregation.
31	** There is also the mention that Irons had been "rearranging" where weapons and ammo caches were stored. Yeah, Jill comes and takes the magnum or the grenade launcher, but when exactly did this rearranging occur? All of RE3 takes place over several days, and by the time this game starts, Irons has gone batshit psycho and is intending for everyone to die, which is why he was rearranging locations of important stuff and sowing confusion. So it could have happened at any time.
32	** This is why I like the scenarios that mean Jill and Leon find grenade launchers and Claire finds a crossbow in the office. Jill comes in, sees two grenade launchers, only takes one and dismisses the crossbow as useless. Leon turns up, takes the remaining grenade launcher and (if it's still there) also dismisses the crossbow. Claire turns up, takes the crossbow, and (if still there) dismisses the grenade launcher as being impractical. Poor Claire doesn't realise that Raccoon City is saturated in explosive ammunition. It requires a bit of imagination to retroactively place all those items in there, but it works for me.
33	*** That doesn't work due to the fact that it's Claire who finds the grenade launcher; Leon finds either the shotgun or the Desert Eagle in the locker. So just to amend your idea slightly it makes a lot more sense if Jill comes along and chooses to take the Smith and Wesson revolver over the Desert Eagle because she prefers it (it might even have been her gun in the first place given how Chris and Barry seem like the sort of blokes who would own a DE) leaving Claire to arrive after Leon and pick up the crossbow. It also makes far more sense you could fit two handguns alongside a crossbow as opposed to two grenade launchers.
34	*** You are correct. Let's see, Scenario A/B is Shotgun/G. Launcher, Scenario B/A is Crossbow/DE. Yeah, let's go with yours. Although this way means Jill finds a grenade launcher apparently being stored in an electrical substation, which is bizarre even for RE.
35	*** But, the first game does show that Barry is fond of a S&W 44 revolver, but that also doesn't preclude him from liking other handguns.
36	*** Given the situation the city is in at that point, it's not weird for there to be weapons and ammunition lying around on the streets, for example, being spread around by survivors. It's not like storing heavy weaponry in a power station was standard practice for the city beforehand.
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39	[[folder: Way to go Claire! You saved Sherry from the virus... which may now burst through her chest!]]
40	* In the [=ClaireA/LeonB=] scenario, [[spoiler:Sherry is implanted with embryos by her mutated father]]. It's established by a document Claire finds that if the embryos are not genetically compatible with the host, they'll [[ChestBurster chew their way out]] and grow into a G-Imago. If they ''are'' compatible, however, they slowly transform the host's cells, turning the host into a true G-Virus monster like William. So [[spoiler:the vaccine Claire gives to Sherry will stop her from becoming an eyeball-covered monstrosity... but since it will stop the cellular infection, won't it just ''cause the embryos to chestburst?'']]
41	** The Devil vaccine causes the virus to go dormant in the host's system. Chestbursting only happens if you're incompatible with the G Monster who infected you; it won't just spawn a G baby.
42	** Shouldn't this fall into more of the FridgeHorror realm?
43	** VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 shows [[spoiler: the G-Virus is still in her system, and gives her advanced healing powers.]]
44	** Wait, that would mean the G-Virus ''actually works'' for it's intended purpose. Miracles will never cease.
45	** Erm, the only reason the G-Virus hasn't blown Sherry up or mutated her at all is because it was there WITH the Devil Vaccine. No Devil in there and Sherry is growing claws and eyeballs.
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49	[[folder: How come Leon never warns Claire about Tyrant/Mr.X (or vice versa in Leon A/Claire B)? For that matter neither really report their encounters with Birkin either.]]
50	* WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay point this out: Leon never mentions his encounters with Mr. X to Claire. Though she never encounters the big guy (in the canon scenario), you would think that since they both have a radio, Leon would contact her and say "Claire watch out for a huge monster in a green coat" or something like that. The encounters with William Birkin (constantly changing) multiple forms are a bit more understandable due to Leon figuring it out in the files lying around the precinct and in Umbrella's Labs. Claire was outright told by Annette, but still, you think they would try to at least warn each other about their respective monsters or encounters with them.
51	** You're not wrong, but this is gameplay and story segregation. Mr. X is exclusive to the B scenario; but to get either B scenario in the first place you have to play through the Mr. X-less A scenario. It would make sense in the story department, but in the gameplay proper, you'll never encounter Mr. X in the first scenario, so there would be no point in telling the player about him. If they had thought of doing that back during development, it'd be admonished today to do that as it would seem like a build up to nothing. However, as of typing this, they could've used it to foreshadow what the player would experience in the B scenario, though I'd imagine that'd kill the shock factor of Mr. X showing up. Birkin is much harder to justify. Though I'd imagine that again as Leon never meets him game proper, why tell the player in the Claire scenario if there's never going to be a meeting or a payoff?
52	*** Considering that there's at least one specific encounter with Mr. X depending on whether you're playing as Leon or Claire for Scenario B, they still could've had Mr. X appear in Scenario A for the first character's specific encounter, and have the rest happen as they do for the other character in Scenario B.
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56	[[folder: Just because it's the zombie apocalypse doesn't mean we can't throw the new guy a party!]]
57	* So here's a question: ''Resident Evil 3'' established that things had been pear-shaped in Raccoon for a few weeks before Leon rolled into town. So when did they find the time to put together a party for Leon in the middle of a zombie outbreak? And since the party cups and "Welcome Leon" banner are still there in the remake, I'm not gonna accept "they hadn't written the third game yet!" as an answer.
58	** "Pear shaped" doesn't mean the whole place is a shitshow -- it just means things were on the way down. As for the remake, the explanation there is that Leon was ''supposed'' to start work a while before the game starts, but got a call telling him not to come quite then, at which point things went south, and the cops never bothered to take it down.
59	** It hasn't been a few weeks, 7 days at most since the outbreak really started. While things were slowly starting to break down as soon as early September (with reports of attacks and Raccoon Hospital experiencing cases of the T-Virus), the outbreak proper didn't start until September 22nd, when Umbrella operatives assassinated Birkin and took the G-Virus. The game starts on September 29, a week in. Its likely through all of the chaos and disorder, the party decorations were put up some time prior to the 22nd, and just never taken down in the interim.
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62	[[folder: Cell block's location is baffling]]
63	* So ignoring that Irons is a BadBoss and the police station was converted from an art museum, who's the idiot that decided that the cell block should be connected to the parking garage instead of the main building? That's pretty much just asking for a criminal's accomplices to storm in there and make a quick getaway. Or hell, they don't even need to do ''that'' much, just steal a key from the guards and make your way into the sewer opening! If there wasn't a zombie apocalypse, Raccoon City would have more escaped convicts than Gotham!
64	** On the contrary, next to the parking garage is the most logical place to put a jail, since it's a quick trip from the arresting officer's car to the jail cells (I've visited at least one police station where a garage is visible from the entrance to a jail section). And as for storming the jail, the hypothetical raiders would have to get past several likely locked security gates and at minimum several armed security personnel, not to mention other cops are only a few minutes, if not seconds away. And depending on their resources, they may not know about the sewer entrance in the kennel to use it as an escape route. Most criminals aren't supervillains or TheChessmaster, you know.
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67	[[folder: Sherry's immunity is well known]]
68	* How did the government know about Sherry's immunity? Who would tell them?
69	** Ada. It's fairly likely that she could have heard that Sherry was infected and cured, as she was in the facility where both happened. She was already a spy for Umbrella, a company that the government was starting to distrust after this game. It's not unbelievable that she would have talked to the government in exchange for staying out of jail.
70	** It's also stated in later games that Claire ditched Leon and Sherry to find Chris. The government found and detained Leon and Sherry since they're survivors of a T-Virus outbreak and were concerned that they were carrying one of the viruses or had seen things they weren't supposed to. Naturally, they'd test them both and would have discovered the immunity inside Sherry.
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73	[[folder: Sherry already knows Leon's name]]
74	* In [=LeonA/ClaireB=], how did Sherry know who Leon was on the train?
75	** Claire has talked to Leon over the radio in front of Sherry, where she likely first heard his name, and right before he walks into the train compartment that Claire and Sherry are in Claire shouts "Leon! Hurry up!" to him - likely in the same compartment that Sherry is in and Leon walks into.
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78	[[folder: Wait, which virus get spread?]]
79	* If the samples Birkin was carrying that the rats got to were G-Virus samples why was everyone suffering the effects of T-Virus infections instead of turning into giant unstoppable monsters like Birkin?
80	** The virus can change how it mutates people/animals and may not always be the same result for everyone. It's also likely that the virus Birkin injected himself with may have been a stronger strain or some other kind of prototype he was working on. Another theory is the injection is giving you the virus in its purest and rawest form whereas getting the virus through other means like a bite may not have the same potency.
81	** [[OccamsRazor Those weren't G-Virus samples the rats consumed at all, but T-Virus samples that just happened to be in the case]]. Note the colour of the spilled liquids (G was purple, T was green).
82	** This still raises the question of why there are no mutant rats running around. We see other sewer animals growing in size like cockroaches and the alligator, so what's the deal? Was Capcom afraid that having sewer rats grow in size due to a green chemical would get them sued by [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles Mirage Studios]]?
83	** T-Virus may be targeted to infect certain species which Umbrella saw as viable for bioweapons, and on other species, it either has no effect (besides creating carriers), unknown symptoms (but not zombification/mutation, if we don't see those) or it kills them outright.
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86	[[folder: You're gonna starve in that cell...]]
87	* Ben Bertolucci's brilliant plan is... to lock himself up in a cell whilst the rest of the city is consumed by the ZombieApocalypse? Okay, technically it keeps him away from the zombies, but what about dying of thirst or starvation?
88	** Well first off, Ben IS something of a coward, so he's probably not thinking that far ahead. But his plan is basically to sit it out for a short while till the military comes to clean up the whole mess. It's a short sighted, panicky plan yes. BUT Ben does have the key to his cell, so he can leave any time rather than being so stupid he locked himself up to die (''irony''). Granted, I can't help but think that if the game was rendered today, we'd see a case of bottled water and foodstuffs stashed in the corner of the cell.
89	*** Good news! [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake The game was rendered today!]] Bad news: Ben was thrown in the cell against his will this time, meaning he still didn't get a chance to bring supplies.
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92	[[folder: The logic behind deploying Mr. X]]
93	* Why on Earth did Umbrella drop a T- 00 (Mr. X) upon Leon (or Claire) [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill to pursue and kill them from the very beginning?]] Capcom tried to retcon this by saying it was an attempt to cover up the disaster. But the Tyrant's orders were already clear: Retrieve the G-Virus at all costs. Anything or anyone else, was irrelevant in the otherwise doomed city. Leon and Claire could not have possibly known Umbrella's involvement in the disaster to start with, indeed they were a little bit more preoccupied in ''surviving the whole nightmare''. As far as they were concerned, any few survivors discovered were effectively boned, about to be killed by the masses of zombies. The Tyrant should have ignored them, until they began to interfere with its mission later on.
94	** Well, we can assume Leon/Claire took a few shots at him, and you'd be ''amazed'' how far up somebody climbs your priority list when they're shooting a gun at you.
95	** Plus, in the Claire B scenario, there's at least one instance where it sees Claire and Sherry together. It knows the G-Sample is in the necklace, so when it sees the necklace's owner traveling with someone, it assumes Claire is an accomplice, and thus a threat to it's mission.
96	** Its mission parameters were probably along the lines of, "Retrieve the G sample and destroy anyone who gets in your way." Instead of giving it a complicated order that it would have to interpret, they just gave it a simple command. Mr. X does not appear to have a whole lot in the way of brainpower.
97	** The Remake's equivalent of 'Claire A' at least addresses this in that Claire actually ''has'' Sherry's locket with the sample inside, meaning it makes a beeline for her the second it appears.
98	** Except the locket doesn’t have the G-virus inside anymore. It’s more a fancy key for the devil vaccine. Heck, Leon doesn’t even need it to obtain the G-virus once he reach the lab.
99	** The Remake changed the Tyrant's goal. Instead of looking for the locket/sample, he's there to eliminate any and all witnesses.
100	[[/folder]]
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102	[[folder: A claw to the head just knocks you out?]]
103	* What did Birkin's claw do to Ada in the Train Cabin to just render her unconscious, no serious wounding or scarring?

Context Headscratchers / ResidentEvil2