As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Much like its predecessor Resident Evil 4, there will be several moments that'll have players breaking down in tears.
Overall Game
- Also counting as a Continuity Nod and Heartwarming Moment, the description
for Leon's knife is "A weapon suited for close encounters. It has been Leon's go-to since receiving it during his time at the R.P.D." Marvin had given him the knife on his first - and last - day with the R.P.D. - One of the Merchant's idle lines has him complaining about back pain and then noting, "The years haven't been kind to us, I suppose." Many fans who grew up with the original game and are now adults found this hit close to home.
- Go ahead, try killing Ashley in this game. At first, nothing changes aside from Ashley’s bloodcurdling scream, and Leon slumping down, only this time Nick Apostolides' performance calling out to Ashley as she dies is absolutely heartwrenching, as Leon has to relive failing to save Ada once more way back during his tenure in Raccoon City. You can hear the fear and despair in his voice as she falls lifeless especially since he hasn't fully recovered yet this time…Leon: ASHLEY!
- Ashley herself can easily draw the player's tears this time around. Similar to Leon, she will cry out his name in despair if he dies around her since she knows all hope is lost for her. The worst is her Mission Failed animation that is as nightmarish as it is heartrending. If you fail to save a being-abducted Ashley before the timer runs out, you're forced to watch as she's taken into a doorway that closes. Not before she desperately screams out for Leon and reaching out for him. Even worse is that she's reaching out to the screen, as if the game is doing its best to show you that you failed to save this innocent girl from a dark fate.Ashley: (reaching out to Leon/the player) LEON!
Chapter 1
- The new Opening Narration once again starts with Leon reminiscing about the events in Raccoon City. However, instead on focusing on the fall of Umbrella, he recounts the trauma he suffered after surviving the incident while clips from Resident Evil 2 (Remake) play showing the people he saw die in the game - such as Kendo and Marvin. It really hammers home how much of a gruesome and nightmarish situation the T-Virus outbreak was and how it changed Leon forever. He even put up with the hellish training he received from the American government just to keep himself from thinking about Raccoon City again:
- During the first chapter, Leon can find the body of a dog that died caught in a bear trap. At first, you're lead to believe that our buddy from the original game suffered a Death by Adaptation... only to be subverted when "that dog" makes his actual appearance later. Still, it's hard not to feel bad for the other poor dog.
Chapter 4
- There’s a diary that can be found in the cabin, the one you first found Luis in during Chapter 1, written by an old man who’s raising his grandson after his daughter died in childbirth, in the same house as a picture of an old man and his grandson. In it, he talks about how bright his grandson is, how much he loves stories—in particular Don Quixote—and prays for God to protect the boy after he falls ill. Later on in Chapter 5, in the attic of the manor, you find a Village Records Volume 1 file detailing that the old man’s house was burnt down after he died, while the little boy vanished soon afterward. You also find a second copy of a photo also found in the cabin. On the back, it says the family depicted is the Navarro family. That would be sad enough, but what makes it worse is the realization that, in this game, Luis’ full name is Luis Serra Navarro, and he repeatedly references Don Quixote. That’s right, Luis is from the village, and had to watch his grandfather die of illness.
Chapter 5
- If you return to the Village manor with Ashley, you can get access to the attic which has Village Records Volume 1 and 2. Volume 3 can be found in the manor's bedroom and speaks of the typical life of human sacrifices in a Los Iluminados cult society. However, Volume 1 and 2 are written in a different manner, with Volume 2 recording various snapshots of life in the village, and improvements that clearly raised quality of life. The author? Bitores Mendez. That's right - the fanatical cultist who executed Saddler's will without hesitation used to be a compassionate, kind man who truly cared for his villagers.
- Made all the sadder in that, if you search the attic of Mendez's home, you can find a photo of a kindly-looking old man in a similar beard and robe- almost certainly his father, along with a note from him to his son hoping that "smiles will always find you in photographs." Whether by brainwashing or by choice, the apple sadly ended up very far from the tree.
Chapter 8
- While treated more as a minor inconvenience in the original, the remake puts more gravitas on Leon and Ashley's infection this time around. At one point, Ashley runs away from Leon. In the original, this was chalked up to Ashley's general fear of the situation getting the better of her and is often seen as a major annoyance to players, who have to run Leon through a gauntlet of enemies just to rescue Ashley from an easily-escapable booby trap. In the remake, it's caused by the Plaga momentarily taking over, forcing her to steal Leon's knife and attempt to stab him. When the parasite relinquishes control, Ashley begins to cry, drops the knife, and runs away in shame and guilt. When Leon catches up to her, she flinches away, fearful that she may hurt Leon again.Ashley (in between sobs): I'm so scared. When that happened... I wasn't myself anymore. I was something else.
Chapter 11
- Early in the chapter, you can find a journal by mining foreman that came from the village. He details his duty to the job to provide to his family, only to fall ill due to the Las Plagas spores found during the excavation. His last coherent entry in his journal is worrying about his family and how his illness would prevent him from seeing them again. The next page is of the foreman working enthusiastically in the mines for the sake of Lord Saddler. It is the Plagas variation of the Keeper's diary from the first Resident Evil game showing the effect of the Plagas infection on the mind.
- Leon wasn't keen on Luis following along after finding out that he was an Umbrella scientist, and partly responsible for the Plagas. However, the two become Bash Brothers on the way to rescue Ashley, and Leon is genuinely sad when Luis dies to Krauser's thrown knife from behind. Luis' voice acting doesn't help either, as his last words sound almost like he's begging Leon to absolve him of his guilt for what he's done.Luis: You know, I led a pretty shitty life. But now, eh… what do you think, Leon? People can change, right?
Leon: You were a fine knight, Don Quixote.
Chapter 12
- Sure, Salazar is thoroughly unpleasant, but during his boss battle, he starts screeching pretty devastating verbal abuse at Leon that clearly was originally said to Salazar himself during his childhood. It very much seems like he was treated like a freak, an outcast, and an abomination from birth, probably even by his own father. His fanatical devotion to the Los Iluminados may very well just be a manifestation of him wanting to be accepted somewhere.
- There's also a file found written by Salazar's servant Isidro after the boss battle where Isidro expresses their regret to their former lord in failing to prevent Salazar's fall into darkness. Despite the horror they witness Salazar put his victims through, Isidro resigns themself to My Master, Right or Wrong and vows to continue sticking by Salazar as vowed, a heartbreaking situation for a servant to be in. What makes this text harrowing is that you can find later entries by Isidro in Salazar's throne room and their tone has completely changed to devout loyalty towards Salazar, a sign perhaps of just how the Plaga infection can warp someone's mind completely and remove all lingering semblance of their former self.
Chapter 14
- Krauser makes a big show that his devotion to Los Iluminados is to gain unlimited power. However, an examination of his tent before the boss battle shows that he still holds onto the dogtags of his fallen men from Operation Javier, as well as a report by an American journalist that attempted to blow the whistle on Operation Javier, with the redacted notes implying that it was Krauser himself who attempted to release the story to the press before the journalist was "taken care of", showing that even in his Plagas-infected time with Los Iluminados, he still remembers his fallen men and continues to fight to make sure they're remembered.
- In spite of his more unpleasant and less sympathetic behavior, Krauser gets some pity in his death scene. He calmly bids Leon to finish him off with his own knife, to which he obliges. Despite Leon's anger at him for killing Luis and all the hell he put him through in his training days, he cannot help but to give him some semblance of respect in his final moments. When Leon enters through a gate to advance in his mission, he briefly pauses to take one long, last look at his former instructor's corpse.Krauser: I trained you well... Leon.
Leon: That you did, Major. That you did.- In a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Leon’s mouth actually quivers a bit as he puts away the knife after he finished off Krauser.
Chapter 15
- Seeing Leon's physical, mental, and emotional struggle while trying to get himself and Ashley to Luis' lab. Not only is the infection at its worst and he's being mindraped by Saddler at the same time (while also having to carry an unconscious Ashley), it's clear that he's reliving his trauma leftover from failing to save people in Raccoon City. In the end, despite the pain and mental stress, what matters to him the most is getting the parasite out of Ashley. He holds on just long enough to make sure she's okay before he passes out with a small smile on his face, thankful that at least this time he actually managed to save someone.Leon: This time... it has to be different...
Chapter 16
- Just like the original game, the ending credits initially play over a series of pictures showing life in the village; people fishing, a man playing guitar for a small crowd, just ordinary people just going about their daily lives... and then Saddler happened and it all went to hell. They were victims just like the people in Raccoon City, and they didn't deserve any of it.
Separate Ways
- After Ada rings the church bell to help out Leon in Chapter 2, you have the option of grapping onto the roof of the church for a small piece of treasure. If you wait for a short moment, you can hear Ashley crying from inside her cell. One can only imagine what goes through that poor girl's mind...
- At the beginning of Chapter 3, Ada watches as Leon leaves Mendez's house and goes directly to the gate... implying that instead of saving the dog in canon, he actually leaves it in the bear trap.note
- In Chapter 4, Luis' desire to help out Ada, Leon, and Ashley with their Las Plagas infection hits a stone wall when Los Iluminados burns up his laboratory in the castle. He becomes distraught and thinks all hope is lost, and it wasn't until Ada snaps him out of it to utilize his scientific background to synthesize the medicine again from materials found in the castle.
- To elaborate on the first point, Luis runs into a burning lab, forcing Ada to run in and save him, once he finally gets to where the medicine is supposed to be, he is pulled out by Ada. The poor spainard sounds on the verge of tears, crying that he has things that he needs to set right.
