Heartwarming / Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Even with all the trauma and chaos Leon goes through, there's a few moments where even a Plagas can be softened, much like in Resident Evil 4.

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Storyline

"We will beat this. Together."

• When Leon recounts the traumatic Raccoon City Outbreak, the first memory that comes to his mind is him joyfully walking hand in hand with Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin after safely escaping the city, showing that not all the memories of that day were bad.
• Leon again has the option to save the dog caught in a bear trap in Chapter 3, resulting in the dog helping Leon out against the first el Gigante boss fight later on in the quarry in Chapter 4. After the fight, Leon can walk up to the dog sitting on some of the collapsed rocks.
  Leon: Thanks, bud.
• Reading Chief Mendez's journals is part Tear Jerker and part this, by revealing what a Good Shepherd he used to be before becoming infected with Las Plagas. Not only did he help introduce several improvements to the overall quality of life in the village, but he'd even make a point of inviting his neighbors over for dinner each week to hear their concerns and help out with their problems. It's just all the more reason to loathe Saddler for bringing their peaceful community to utter ruin with his utopian schemes.
• Luis willingness to help out Leon in his mission to save Ashley. His arrangement with Ada is that he would receive protection and be extracted should he deliver the Plagas Amber to her. However, as part of his characterization of being The Atoner for being a B.O.W. researcher under Umbrella and Los Illuminados, he willingly stays around to help Leon get the Plagas suppressant, despite having the amber at hand that would ensure his safety. Luis then sticks with Leon in the mines to ensure that Ashley receives a dose and that both Leon and Ashley are cured from their Plagas infection.
• Leon is unimpressed with being considered the Sancho Panza to Luis' Don Quixote... However, after witnessing his ally being murdered by Krauser, Leon calls him Don Quixote and lets him know in his final moments that he was a "fine knight". He even lets Luis have One Last Smoke, lighting up a cigarette for him when he is too hurt to do so. A far cry from Leon's initial disgust towards him when he learned he worked for Umbrella.
  • Luis, for his part, goes out regretting the "shitty life" he led, but believing people can change. Leon agrees with him and he and Ashley both dedicate their success in removing the Plagas from their bodies to Luis.
    "For Luis."

• Leon constantly reassuring Ashley that he'll get her back home, as well as being worried about her health whenever she coughs. Occasionally, he'll even praise her when she helps out during sections where they have to split up. The remake goes far into portraying Ashley as an equal to Leon in her own way; while she lacks his combat prowess and cool demeanor in the face of all the monsters they encounter, she is no less determined to assist in any way she can, and grows to become a determined survivor in the same way he is rather than the more straightforward "hero and damsel" relationship their original counterparts had.
  • He turns down Ashley's suggestion to become part of her security detail just like he declined her offer of "overtime" in the original, but Leon manages to let her down very gently and uplift her at the same time with his refusal. Whereas the 2005 Leon was bluntly ending the romantic fantasies of a naive schoolgirl, the 2023 version's refusal showed that Ashley has earned his respect as a comrade in arms:
    "You don't need me; You proved you can handle yourself... Even if you could use a lesson in knife safety."
  • Similarly, after she not only hauled his unconscious body into the chair and removed the Plaga, but also found some documents in the room, Leon jokes "Keep this up and I'll be out of a job!"
• A severely wounded Leon manages to carry Ashley to Luis' lab, despite the Plagas trying to assert itself inside their bodies. Leon manages to remove the parasite within her, but passes out from the pain. When he comes to, he sees that a now-healed Ashley ran the machine again while he was unconscious and managed to cure him. In every sense of the word, Leon and Ashley saved each other's lives.
  • The treatment process shows how much the two have grown to care for each other. Ashley offers to have Leon's Plaga removed first but he insists that her safety comes first, and while she undergoes the removal process Leon clutches her hand to help her stay strong throughout the ordeal. Once the process is finished and Leon realizes Ashley is going to be okay, Leon gives a relieved smile before finally collapsing from his infection. Once he wakes up post-treatment, Ashley greets him with a well-deserved hug.
  • Leon's refusal to go first takes on a slightly sadder tone, but is no less sweet when you take into account his opening monologue about how he survived Raccoon, but many others "weren't so lucky". Even as he's hauling Ashley's unconscious body to the lab to remove the plaga, he repeats the last part of his opening lines: "This time can be different...It HAS to...". Even suffering from his PTSD and survivor's guilt, Leon refuses to allow the past to repeat itself, willingly choosing to save Ashley first instead of the original game where he went first to test the machine before putting her through it.
    • Leon's choice to put Ashley through the treatment first also shows that he's willing to trust Luis that his machine works properly. After they're both cured, they give a posthumous thanks to him for saving their lives.
• In Luis' lab, you can find an old, crumpled photo of him from the Umbrella Days, smiling and posing with the rest of the "Umbrella Lab Six Dream Team", complete with one goofball in the photo holding an actual open umbrella colored the signature red-and-white. Considering how horrible Umbrella and its employees have been portrayed in the series, it is such a oddly humanizing moment.
• After defeating Krauser, he calmly urges Leon to finish him off, and quietly waits for the killing blow. Leon obliges, stabbing his former mentor in the heart. With his dying breath, Krauser proudly comments he trained his pupil well, addressing him by name instead of "rookie", in that he recognizes Leon as an equal. Despite the horrible things he'd done, Leon agrees as a final respect to the fallen major.
  Krauser: I trained you well, Leon.
  Leon: That you did, Major. That you did.
• After finding out Wesker's true motives for the Plagas sample, Ada stops Wesker's genocidal plan by forcing her helicopter pilot to change course. As much as Ada seems like a sociopath, she still has her morals and isn't willing to let billions die just for money. An improvement over the original where Ada simply works for another organization unrelated to Wesker and was just showing her real colors at the end.

Gameplay

• The Merchant now has lines commenting on Leon's performance at the shooting range, and he's got loads of compliments to pay for doing really well.
  • The remake also gives you the chance to bring in Ashley or Luis in the shooting range:
    • Ashley: She will throw her support in as well while running through the courses, even going so far as to compare watching Leon to being in carnivals again and at least providing a brief respite from the downright horrifying circumstances the rest of the campaign pulls on both of them.
    • Luis: He will give positive commentary on Leon's shooting skills.
• Ashley's fist-pump whenever the player successfully snipes an enemy or medallion from afar makes a return, which is now also accompanied by her verbally complimenting Leon's achievements on occasion.
• Completing all of the Merchant's requests has him sincerely thank you, as well as swapping out his 20-year-old nickname of "Stranger" for a new nickname you've earned.
  "On behalf of my compatriots and myself, thank you, Friend."
• Leon and Ashley will frequently check in with each other if either one takes damage.
  • In a way, Ashley's very distressed "Leon, you're HURT....!!" if Leon's taken critical damage from a battle is a far cry from the silence from the original. Ashley may be depending on Leon to get her home, but she definitely cares very much for his welfare and doesn't want him in any more danger than he has to be.
• As revealed in the combat knife's description, it is the same knife that Marvin gave to him, meaning he held onto the knife for at least six years in memory of Marvin, the officer who helped him even when he was mortally wounded on Leon's first and last day with the Raccoon Police Department.
• As in the original game, Ashley will occasionally need to stand on Leon's shoulders to reach something that he can't. However, her reactions to being asked to do this actually evolve as the game progresses, going from reluctant and timid to more confident and willing. During the final instance of this, Leon apologizes for needing her help again, to which she responds by reminding him that they're a team.

Separate Ways

• Despite Ada's cold, professional nature interacting with Leon in the main campaign, such as telling him he "owes her one" after providing details on where Luis' Plagas removal machine is, it's made clear that Ada privately wishes him all the best, going out of her way to help out Leon even when not prompted.
• Ada's and the merchant's interaction with one another comes across as this in Chapter 2. It comes across in-game as an acknowledgement to each other as wandering professionals in dangerous locations.
• Luis big desire to help out Leon and Ashley comes full head even while he is with Ada. Ada initially doesn't take it well, wanting Luis to get her the amber so they can both leave. However, Luis reveals that his desire to save Leon and Ashley also comes with saving Ada, who herself is infected with Las Plagas this time around.
  • Towards the end of chapter 4, Luis gives Ada a dose of the Plagas suppressant, but unfortunately Pesanta - U-III Verdugo - shows up and starts affecting Ada's mind. Despite their professional distance towards each other (her extracting him out in exchange for the Amber), Luis tries to escape with her, not wanting to leave her behind, but she pushes him away, telling him he had another promise to keep (that of giving the suppressants to Leon and Ashley). He reluctantly leaves, and she prepares to deal with Pesanta.
  • And even without Ada's protection, Luis heads off on his own towards Leon's location in the castle undergrounds to give him the medicine. He would be fatally wounded by Krauser and in his final call to Ada, he implores Ada to carry on his will of saving Leon and Ashley. Ada does not directly respond to Luis' last request, but her actions later on the island to help and save Leon would show she respects his will.
• In the last chapter as Leon fights against Saddler, Ada runs across Ashley watching with worry as Leon fights against Saddler's humongous second mutation. Seeing Ada, Ashley begs her to help Leon fight the monster, which Ada acknowledges by delivering the red rocket launcher to him.

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