NOT a bait thread, but Why I Think This Game is (Partly) Woke

[ElfPrince1937]

Like the title says, NOT a trolling/baiting thread. All I ask--from both the moderators as well as everyone else on Steam--is the chance to make my case.

So, Resident Evil 4 Remake. Woke or not woke? Personally, my answer is, "Yes and no." For starters, I'll paraphrase Billy Crystal here:

"See, there's a difference between mostly woke and all woke. With mostly woke, there's still enough non-woke material to keep the game entertaining..."

And that's where I think this game is: much of it is very much entertaining in terms of combat and exploration. Other parts, however...not so much.

So, which parts do I think are woke?

My argument will be framed through the examination and analysis of two of the big baddies, specifically Jack Krauser and Osmund Saddler, and how their characters have been changed from the original 2005 game.

Let's get into it.

1. Jack Krauser

When Leon first "meets" Krauser in the original Resident Evil 4, we already know the two soldiers have a shared history. At that point in time, it's unclear what that history is, though their backstory is later revealed in the "Operation Javier" scenario of the rail shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, released on the Nintendo Wii.

That's an important point, because after finally defeating Krauser in his Plaga form, after shot at, slashed/stabbed, nearly blown up and nearly kicked off a ledge, Leon has this to say upon examining Krauser's "corpse":

"Krauser...what happened to you? You used to be a good guy...

Clearly, Leon knows something about Krauser that we, the player, do not. He's literally reminiscing on a time when Krauser wasn't just an ally, but a fellow soldier, a brother-in-arms.

For those who, like myself, have played Darkside Chronicles, we see for ourselves the bond that these two guys formed as fellow soldiers in the field. Krauser was initially skeptical about Leon's experience--as well as whether Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) even existed--but gradually comes to accept Leon as a competent partner. By the second-to-last chapter, Krauser outright pledges loyalty to Leon's cause of ridding the world of viruses, acknowledging that, "If your orders come from the President, then I'm on your side." This scenario perfectly sets the stage for Leon's shock and disappointment at what his old comrade has become two years later, during the events of the original Resident Evil 4.

Literally all of that gets erased with the Remake, and I mean ALL of it.

For starters, we see during the intro video that "Major" Krauser was actually Leon's training overseer after Leon was recruited by the U.S. Government, rather than his partner in the field. On top of that, what little we know of the Remake version of Operation Javier strongly implies that it, too, has been completely remade.

Gone is the bonding in the field between two brothers-in-arms.
Gone is Krauser's grudging admiration for Leon's skills.

Instead, we only get an incredibly vague mention of Krauser and his "unit" being left for dead by the United States Government, and now he's out for revenge and power because "if they have it, why can't I?"

So now, not only was Leon never even part of the mission, but neither do he and Krauser have nearly as much personal history as their original counterparts. In contrast to the more sympathetic OG-Krauser--who, we learn in Darkside Chronicles, sought out Wesker in order to have his arm healed after sustaining an injury during Operation Javier--Remake Krauser now comes across as a bitter and petty stand-in for everyone screwed over by the American government.

That's important to keep in mind, because of the next point:

2. Osmund Saddler

In the original Resident Evil 4, Saddler is exactly what he appears to be. Telling Leon in a clearly-European accent, "No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever," the very clearly Pagan cult leader outlines his plan to use Ashley, the First Daughter, to launch a terrorist attack on the United States of America.

And right here, a bit of context might help put all this in perspective.

The game takes place in Spain. All the villagers and cultists clearly speak Spanish.
There is also a note from Salazar very clearly designating Los Illuminados as a pre-Christian Pagan cult, even portraying their "oppression" at the hands of the pro-Christian Spanish Inquisition.

On top of all of that, we have two very revealing lines in the original game that show us exactly how Osmund Saddler feels about the United States of America:

Krauser: "I needed her [Ashley] to prove Saddler's trust in me. Like you [Leon], I'm an American."

Saddler: "Did you really think I'd trust an American?"

Clearly, the Euro-Pagan Saddler is prejudiced against Americans. But that's ok; it's consistent with his character, because, well...Saddler's the villain. Leon, the American agent, is the protagonist. It works.

And this is where another important piece of context becomes helpful:

The original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, just four years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001. Just in case you think it's a coincidence, consider also this exchange between Leon and Salazar:

Leon: "This is no ritual, it's terrorism!"
Salazar: "Isn't that a popular word these days?"

Clearly there's a pro-American theme going on there, and it's not entirely misplaced, given the context of "save the President's daughter from a mind-controlling parasite."

Now, in contrast, let's take a look at Osmund Saddler in the Remake.

Gone completely is his clearly-audible European accent. Like, completely. Instead, Saddler speaks in what is unmistakeably a Southern-American accent better suited to a preacher of the Southern Baptist Convention.

For those of who think I'm making this up, I invite you to either play the game or watch a video of one of Remake-Saddler's appearances, during which you will also note his constant use of the term, "Sacrificial Lamb" in reference to Leon and/or Ashley. This is, again, an unmistakable reference to the Judeo-Christian religion(s).

"But wait Dark, I thought you said Saddler is a Pagan cult leader? And that's he supposed to be European? And that this game takes place in Spain?"

Yes. Yes, I did, which is what makes the Remake especially jarring and, dare I say it, even schizophrenic when you start examining it beneath the surface.

It's still very clearly based in Spain, which is of course in Europe. Los Illuminados is very much still an antagonistic cult. You even have Luis being obsessed with Don Quixote to remind us that the game takes place in Spain.

As stated above, the original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, and undoubtedly incorporated socio-political themes that were prevalent at its time; it's right up there with, say, 24 with Kiefer Sutherland.

Similarly, the Resident Evil 4 Remake definitely seems to be channeling certain socio-political themes that are now becoming more popular as of this writing, specifically an increasing anti-American sentiment.

This, once again, comes across as schizophrenic and jarring in the Remake for a couple of reasons:

1. Time/Setting

This is, quite frankly, something I've noticed with the original Resident Evil 2 versus that game's Remake, as well. For context, note that the original Resident Evil 2 was released in the exact same year that the game's events take place: 1998. Similarly, the original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005 and was set in 2004.

The Remakes of both games, being released in 2019 (RE2) and 2023 (RE4), however, ultimately end up feeling less like staples of those eras (the 1990s-era grittiness is completely absent from the RE2 Remake) and more like someone's secondhand interpretation of what those time periods looked like.

2. Hero vs. Villain Roles

This is where the game really gets schizophrenic. Because if we take what I've noted above, we essentially have:

Leon, an American agent, fighting to save the U.S. President's daughter from a Southern-speaking religious leader who name-drops, "Sacrificial Lamb," a term commonly used throughout Western Christianity, while also reluctantly agreeing with his old army buddy, that "Yeah, what the U.S. Government did to you, Krauser, that was pretty bad."

It honestly gets to the point where it almost feels like Capcom--or, more specifically, the particular development team behind this game--forgot and then later remembered that Krauser and Saddler are meant to be the game's villains, but "well, we have to have an anti-American sentiment in there, so we'll just hope the players never notice the contradicting narratives."

I apologize about the length--kudos to anyone who actually bothered to read this all the way through--but I wanted to stress that this isn't just something I'm making up about the game.

And, sure--like I said at the very beginning, I wouldn't go so far as to say the game is entirely "woke."

But I do think a pretty big part of the narrative has been altered in a way that carries some pretty disturbing implications for future games in the series.

[lieutenantduran]

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

This is literally you, again, downplaying changes to one character (Krauser) while bemoaning those made to another (Ashley), even as you basically accuse me of doing the same.

Who's the hypocrite here, again...?

You are. And it seems I struck the nerve there. You don't get to talk wokism but then agree with someone claiming it's all about "teenage girl's panties". Pick one.

Please read carefully. I could write it off - meaning I could find an explanation if I had to - doesn't mean I'm happy about it or think it's appropriate. Nor do I like that decision of gutting most the dialogues out of the game - this negatively impacted pretty much every character, not just those we mentioned.

Do I find Ashley's misrepresentation more important than Krauser's one? Yup, we all have our preferences.

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

Though if I'm being honest, then yes--I also have a big issue with Ada being desexualized, as the "femme fatale" trope is very much central to her character.

Though the problems with her and Leon's relationship began back in the Resident Evil 2 Remake, well before this game.

In R2R, their romance is reduced to her using Leon and the kiss being a part of that manipulation.

This time it's even worse: their castle exchange that "maybe she'll give Leon the greeting he was hoping for" shows she has no respect for him and is basically treating him like a simp.

If that's Capcom's modern idea of romance and an appropriate female behavior... I mean, they went all the way with desexualizing Ada, removing the appeal not just from her outfit, but from the character as well.

romance is secondary to the residentevil storyline, better to know more about the bosses and their intentions before its time to kill them.

[Harris]

lieutenantduran eredeti hozzászólása:

within the resident evil lore and overarching storyline shes a prop, we won't be seeing her kicking ass and taking names in RE 9 etc.

Do you think her badassery in the final chapters and dropping lines about wanting to save the US from any and all threats came outta nowhere? I don't think so.

Wouldn't be surprised if Ashley resurfaced as a protagonist for a new mainline RE game at some point.

[ElfPrince1937]

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

You don't get to talk wokism but then agree with someone claiming it's all about "teenage girl's panties". Pick one.

Seems like I'm the one who struck a nerve here.

You did read the part where I said I was joking about that comment, right?

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

Do I find Ashley's misrepresentation more important than Krauser's one? Yup, we all have our preferences.

Fair enough. For my part, sure--I'm concerned with the personality changes of many other characters beyond just Krauser and Saddler--I'm not entirely fond of the changes made to Leon and Ada, either.

I'm sure Ashley's undergarments aren't really your biggest pet peeve about this game, though, as that would paint your argument in a rather unfavorable light.

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

Though if I'm being honest, then yes--I also have a big issue with Ada being desexualized, as the "femme fatale" trope is very much central to her character.

Though the problems with her and Leon's relationship began back in the Resident Evil 2 Remake, well before this game.

In R2R, their romance is reduced to her using Leon and the kiss being a part of that manipulation.

Very much so; I would absolutely have gone into this in more detail...if there weren't already a two-hour video doing it better than I could. XD

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

This time it's even worse: their castle exchange that "maybe she'll give Leon the greeting he was hoping for" shows she has no respect for him and is basically treating him like a simp.

If that's Capcom's modern idea of romance and an appropriate female behavior... I mean, they went all the way with desexualizing Ada, removing the appeal not just from her outfit, but from the character as well.

Yeah, my "favorite" part is their conversation in the boat:

Leon: What about you, Ada? Have you changed [since Raccoon City], or are you just using me again?

Ada: What do you think?

Like...honestly, Ada's silent-but-flirtatious smile in the OG was loads better than this.

Especially since, for OG-Ada, the answer was both--she did use Leon, but we definitely knew since the original RE2 that she had changed.

[ElfPrince1937]

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

Do you think her badassery in the final chapters and dropping lines about wanting to save the US from any and all threats came outta nowhere?

Um, yes? There was literally nothing remotely similar to this in her character from the OG.

I'm a little confused here, considering you've been the one going out of your way to talk about how much Ashley was changed.

[Karma]

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

Do you think her badassery in the final chapters and dropping lines about wanting to save the US from any and all threats came outta nowhere?

Um, yes? There was literally nothing remotely similar to this in her character from the OG.

I'm a little confused here, considering you've been the one going out of your way to talk about how much Ashley was changed.

We just want see the panties leave us alone.

[Harris]

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

Um, yes? There was literally nothing remotely similar to this in her character from the OG.

I'm a little confused here, considering you've been the one going out of your way to talk about how much Ashley was changed.

Again - please read carefully.

That was in response to lieutenantduran that Ashley is a prop and won't be making an appearance in RE9 - I suggest those added lines were not a coincidence and might be an attempt to establish Ashley as a new RE protagonist - the IP needs a new one after the end of Village anyway.

Am I happy about those lines? Of course not, they're cringe. My Ashley is consistent in her behavior as a damsel-in-distress from beginning to end.

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

I'm sure Ashley's undergarments aren't really your biggest pet peeve about this game, though, as that would paint your argument in a rather unfavorable light.

No, that would be tedious, unfun and microtransaction-incentivizing combat, purely because combat is what we're doing for the majority of our gametime - especially now that a lot of dialogues were cut and all.

That said, the undergarments are still a significant "pet peeve" and truth is I don't really care how that reflects upon my argument. You don't get to shame or automatically dismiss the comments about lack of upskirt as "incels" or "pedos" - since this was in the original and faithfulness to the source material is pretty important to something that calls itself a remake. Not saying that's something you did.

[ElfPrince1937]

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

That was in response to lieutenantduran that Ashley is a prop and won't be making an appearance in RE9 - I suggest those added lines were not a coincidence and might be an attempt to establish Ashley as a new RE protagonist - the IP needs a new one after the end of Village anyway.

Ah, I see--you were making a future prediction for the series.

To be fair, I also recall people mistaking Sherry Birkin for Ashley when Resident Evil 6 first debuted, so I would be shocked to see them take advantage of that for a RE6 Remake (moronic as that sounds).

Harris eredeti hozzászólása:

You don't get to shame or automatically dismiss the comments about lack of upskirt as "incels" or "pedos"
...
Not saying that's something you did.

Good, because I didn't.

That being, yes--I do get to dismiss something like being able to see up Ashley's skirt.

That's called an opinion.

And mine is that that's hardly the most noteworthy change from the OG to the Remake.

[Vyadhi]

I'm glad you felt so passionate about this that you wrote an essay on something that doesn't matter at all.

[ElfPrince1937]

. eredeti hozzászólása:

At this point, the remakes have created their own timeline.

They have, but

. eredeti hozzászólása:

It makes no sense to compare with the history of the originals, and as the existence of one does not nullify the other they only diverge.

This I would respectfully disagree with.

Because on the one hand, you're correct: the remakes have become their own timeline.

On the other hand, a good comparison would be, say, the original Marvel comics versus the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Sure, they're different timelines/universes.

But one (in this case, the remakes) is still directly inspired by and based on the other (originals).

There's also the question of whether or not Capcom is making a deliberate effort to replace the original timeline with the remakes. Like I said in my OP,

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

I do think a pretty big part of the narrative has been altered in a way that carries some pretty disturbing implications for future games in the series.

[Mögbär]

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

"See, there's a difference between mostly woke and all woke. With mostly woke, there's still enough non-woke material to keep the game entertaining..."

So, in order for a game to be entertaining, it must have "non-woke material"? That's such a silly statement. What even is "non-woke material"?

1. Jack Krauser

I don't know about "non-woke", but Krauser and his backstory have been as non-entertaining in the original game as it gets. The remake didn't change that at all, sadly, but how is it less entertaining now? How do you get less entertaining than not at all?

Literally all of that gets erased with the Remake, and I mean ALL of it.

Not explicitely mentioning something is not the same as erasing it. Most of the backstory wasn't in the original, either, but, as you mentioned, from a different game. Which still exists.

For starters, we see during the intro video that "Major" Krauser was actually Leon's training overseer after Leon was recruited by the U.S. Government, rather than his partner in the field.

It can have been both. Does the game explicitly state this all they know each other from?

On top of that, what little we know of the Remake version of Operation Javier strongly implies that it, too, has been completely remade.

Most of that seems to be your headcanon, though, not anything the game tells us. We still are made to understand that the two worked together, know each other and that Leon considered him a good guy and doesn't understand how he could work for Los Illuminados. It is also easily recognizable the situation between them is of a very personal nature.

Remake Krauser now comes across as a bitter and petty stand-in for everyone screwed over by the American government.

Not "now". He always did.

Whatever actual and imaginary changes to his story and his relationship to Leon there may be ... you kind of completely fail to establish what about them is "woke" or "un-woke" and, more importantly, what about the changes makes the game any less entertaining than the original.

2. Osmund Saddler

He's hardly in the game and it's true that he is significantly less entertaining than the one from the original game. But just because he's boring and mostly absent, not because he's "woke" or was "un-woke" in the original.

Clearly there's a pro-American theme going on there, and it's not entirely misplaced, given the context of "save the President's daughter from a mind-controlling parasite."

It's funny you think all of what you described to get to this conclusion is a pro-American theme when it can and usually is considered quite the opposite. It might be tongue in cheek and humorously exaggerated, but Saddler's criticism of the US is not to be dismissed as meant to be false just because he is the villain of the game.

I'd also like to point out how sad it is to label Leon's rescue mission as "pro-American" just because he and Ashley happen to be US Americans, when he is simply helping a human being in need of help. Nothing indicates he wouldn't do the same for a person of any other nationality. Sure, as an American and as the president's daughter, her rescue becomes his professional duty due to his job, but it's not like it is ever portrayed as an American thing. While his actions are in support of US American interests simply because the antagonists of the story have anti-American goals, Leon makes his opinion of them pretty clear when he calls them out as terrorists and terrorists aren't bad because they attack the US, they are bad because they are terrorists.

Gone completely is his clearly-audible European accent. Like, completely. Instead, Saddler speaks in what is unmistakeably a Southern-American accent better suited to a preacher of the Southern Baptist Convention.

I mean, I didn't know there is a Southern-Baptist-Convention-preacher accent, but his name is Osmund Saddler. Osmund Saddler. None of it is Spanish. His accent in the original wasn't Spanish, either. And I don't see why it even matters in this context as he is still very much depicted as anti-American and non-Christian.

"Sacrificial Lamb" in reference to Leon and/or Ashley. This is, again, an unmistakable reference to the Judeo-Christian religion(s).

You seem to forget that the region the game takes place was Christianized and that was the very reason Saddler's family had been banished and he grew up elsewhere. Religions mix, cultures adapt terms and characteristics from each other. The Las Plagas cult is unmistakenly depicted as opposed to Christian religion and as not part of it. Using a term coined by Christian religion - and which has become a secular phrase anyways - doesn't mean there is an intent to make the cult seem more Christian, it simply means people are using a term or phrase they are familiar with due to their cultural background. It's like calling a book "the bible of this and that", which everybody understands isn't said to link the this and that to Christianity but to express the authority and completeness of the book when it comes to the topic of this and that. Same with calling someone a sacrificial lamb. It is widely understood what that means and, more importantly, is an expression the people taken over by Las Plagas would know and use from their lives before. It's part of their vocabulary much like it is for worldly people.

Look at the Church which pretty much looks like it did in the original. Its style and decor clearly resemble stereotypical European Christian churches. Do you think that design was chosen in the original game to hint at the cult being a stand-in for Judeo-Christian religion? It's simply what people thought a church has to look like and what kind of place of worship they'd build coming from a culture in which a church looks like that.

If anyone feels like their denomination of worship is allured to by the Los Illuminados cult, that's more reason to go and re-examine their beliefs and religious organization than it is an actually anti-Christian sentiment.

dare I say it, even schizophrenic when you start examining it beneath the surface ... This, once again, comes across as schizophrenic ... This is where the game really gets schizophrenic.

It's not "schizophrenic", because first of all, that isn't even what schizophrenia means, and second of all, what you call schizophrenic is the game's established content clashing with your personal interpretation of it. Have you considered that maybe if your interpretation of the game seems to not fit so well that it might simply be wrong instead of the game being at fault?

Similarly, the Resident Evil 4 Remake definitely seems to be channeling certain socio-political themes that are now becoming more popular as of this writing, specifically an increasing anti-American sentiment.

There's nothing increasing about it, the original spelled out those sentiments clearly for all to hear and if anything, the remake has toned that aspect down by more or less hiding Saddler's rather worldly and politically motivated Charlatanry.

It honestly gets to the point where it almost feels like Capcom--or, more specifically, the particular development team behind this game--forgot and then later remembered that Krauser and Saddler are meant to be the game's villains, but "well, we have to have an anti-American sentiment in there, so we'll just hope the players never notice the contradicting narratives."

There is no contradiction. First of all, if there is any criticism of the US in the game, it doesn't make it "anti-American". That's childish black & white thinking. You can criticize something about the US while still liking or even loving it and you can certainly be opposed to terrorist attacks against the US even if you completely disagree with US politics or culture. Second, the game mentioning such criticism does not equal the game propagating such criticism. The reason for it being there is to give the antagonists a motivation for why they act against US American interests. For instance, people have criticized the US for its treatment of Vietnam veterans. It is a well know issue. Whether an individual was treated unfairly or not is secondary, however, to any sentiments when that person's view on it is used as a motivation to become a villain in a story. It doesn't make the story anti-American and it certainly doesn't say anything about whether the villain acutally was treated unfairly or not or whether it justifies the villain's actions.

Same thing with Krauser and Saddler. Whether you agree or disagree with their reasoning is irrelevant. As you so masterfully realize, the game still tasks you with stopping both Krauser and Saddler and prevent their anti-American plans from being realized. As an American action hero, no less. That's not a contradiction to or a confusion of any pro- or anti-American sentiments the game supposedly contains, because the only sentiments it actually contains if you don't suffer from some classical rightwing nut persecution complex and nationalism are: "hey, infecting people with a thought controlling parasite that turns them into monsters against their will is pretty ♥♥♥♥♥♥" and "don't be a terrorist or Leon S. Kennedy will feed you a golden egg you won't forget so soon".

To return to the initial statements ... your essay up there still didn't explain what is woke about the game or what "non-woke" content was removed. It also failed to link any of the actual or perceived changes to the game's ability to entertain. Even if we took your interpretations of them as true, what about that makes the game less entertaining? If anything, didn't it actually entertain you pretty well if it made you think so much about its content?

[Dawido]

People are literally writing next lord of rings on this thread

[Alyx]

Honestly when it comes to Saddler in particular, I do miss the almost James bond villain way he acted in the og but here in the remake I don't find him as a bad portrayal either cuz he is indeed hinted at the idea that him and his area of the cult came out of nowhere, so it is likely he could have been a southern american who just came into spain to get the plagas for a world take over scheme, or as he seems to push alot towards being a complete religious nutcase stereotype, it's also likely he indeed is just that and honestly to me personally, I get a kick out of watching religious nutcase stereotypes breakdown when they see ther entire religion that they have twisted and turned into ther own cult fall apart, ther "god" defeated by "this one lowly human insect" as they often call them.

[imp]

not reading this thread but anyone who describes something as "woke" like it's some insidious boogeyman should probably just log off forever

[the2ndSign]

Darkgamester301 eredeti hozzászólása:

Like the title says, NOT a trolling/baiting thread. All I ask--from both the moderators as well as everyone else on Steam--is the chance to make my case.

So, Resident Evil 4 Remake. Woke or not woke? Personally, my answer is, "Yes and no." For starters, I'll paraphrase Billy Crystal here:

"See, there's a difference between mostly woke and all woke. With mostly woke, there's still enough non-woke material to keep the game entertaining..."

And that's where I think this game is: much of it is very much entertaining in terms of combat and exploration. Other parts, however...not so much.

So, which parts do I think are woke?

My argument will be framed through the examination and analysis of two of the big baddies, specifically Jack Krauser and Osmund Saddler, and how their characters have been changed from the original 2005 game.

Let's get into it.

1. Jack Krauser

When Leon first "meets" Krauser in the original Resident Evil 4, we already know the two soldiers have a shared history. At that point in time, it's unclear what that history is, though their backstory is later revealed in the "Operation Javier" scenario of the rail shooter Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, released on the Nintendo Wii.

That's an important point, because after finally defeating Krauser in his Plaga form, after shot at, slashed/stabbed, nearly blown up and nearly kicked off a ledge, Leon has this to say upon examining Krauser's "corpse":

"Krauser...what happened to you? You used to be a good guy...

Clearly, Leon knows something about Krauser that we, the player, do not. He's literally reminiscing on a time when Krauser wasn't just an ally, but a fellow soldier, a brother-in-arms.

For those who, like myself, have played Darkside Chronicles, we see for ourselves the bond that these two guys formed as fellow soldiers in the field. Krauser was initially skeptical about Leon's experience--as well as whether Bio-Organic Weapons (B.O.W.s) even existed--but gradually comes to accept Leon as a competent partner. By the second-to-last chapter, Krauser outright pledges loyalty to Leon's cause of ridding the world of viruses, acknowledging that, "If your orders come from the President, then I'm on your side." This scenario perfectly sets the stage for Leon's shock and disappointment at what his old comrade has become two years later, during the events of the original Resident Evil 4.

Literally all of that gets erased with the Remake, and I mean ALL of it.

For starters, we see during the intro video that "Major" Krauser was actually Leon's training overseer after Leon was recruited by the U.S. Government, rather than his partner in the field. On top of that, what little we know of the Remake version of Operation Javier strongly implies that it, too, has been completely remade.

Gone is the bonding in the field between two brothers-in-arms.
Gone is Krauser's grudging admiration for Leon's skills.

Instead, we only get an incredibly vague mention of Krauser and his "unit" being left for dead by the United States Government, and now he's out for revenge and power because "if they have it, why can't I?"

So now, not only was Leon never even part of the mission, but neither do he and Krauser have nearly as much personal history as their original counterparts. In contrast to the more sympathetic OG-Krauser--who, we learn in Darkside Chronicles, sought out Wesker in order to have his arm healed after sustaining an injury during Operation Javier--Remake Krauser now comes across as a bitter and petty stand-in for everyone screwed over by the American government.

That's important to keep in mind, because of the next point:

2. Osmund Saddler

In the original Resident Evil 4, Saddler is exactly what he appears to be. Telling Leon in a clearly-European accent, "No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever," the very clearly Pagan cult leader outlines his plan to use Ashley, the First Daughter, to launch a terrorist attack on the United States of America.

And right here, a bit of context might help put all this in perspective.

The game takes place in Spain. All the villagers and cultists clearly speak Spanish.
There is also a note from Salazar very clearly designating Los Illuminados as a pre-Christian Pagan cult, even portraying their "oppression" at the hands of the pro-Christian Spanish Inquisition.

On top of all of that, we have two very revealing lines in the original game that show us exactly how Osmund Saddler feels about the United States of America:

Krauser: "I needed her [Ashley] to prove Saddler's trust in me. Like you [Leon], I'm an American."

Saddler: "Did you really think I'd trust an American?"

Clearly, the Euro-Pagan Saddler is prejudiced against Americans. But that's ok; it's consistent with his character, because, well...Saddler's the villain. Leon, the American agent, is the protagonist. It works.

And this is where another important piece of context becomes helpful:

The original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, just four years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001. Just in case you think it's a coincidence, consider also this exchange between Leon and Salazar:

Leon: "This is no ritual, it's terrorism!"
Salazar: "Isn't that a popular word these days?"

Clearly there's a pro-American theme going on there, and it's not entirely misplaced, given the context of "save the President's daughter from a mind-controlling parasite."

Now, in contrast, let's take a look at Osmund Saddler in the Remake.

Gone completely is his clearly-audible European accent. Like, completely. Instead, Saddler speaks in what is unmistakeably a Southern-American accent better suited to a preacher of the Southern Baptist Convention.

For those of who think I'm making this up, I invite you to either play the game or watch a video of one of Remake-Saddler's appearances, during which you will also note his constant use of the term, "Sacrificial Lamb" in reference to Leon and/or Ashley. This is, again, an unmistakable reference to the Judeo-Christian religion(s).

"But wait Dark, I thought you said Saddler is a Pagan cult leader? And that's he supposed to be European? And that this game takes place in Spain?"

Yes. Yes, I did, which is what makes the Remake especially jarring and, dare I say it, even schizophrenic when you start examining it beneath the surface.

It's still very clearly based in Spain, which is of course in Europe. Los Illuminados is very much still an antagonistic cult. You even have Luis being obsessed with Don Quixote to remind us that the game takes place in Spain.

As stated above, the original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005, and undoubtedly incorporated socio-political themes that were prevalent at its time; it's right up there with, say, 24 with Kiefer Sutherland.

Similarly, the Resident Evil 4 Remake definitely seems to be channeling certain socio-political themes that are now becoming more popular as of this writing, specifically an increasing anti-American sentiment.

This, once again, comes across as schizophrenic and jarring in the Remake for a couple of reasons:

1. Time/Setting

This is, quite frankly, something I've noticed with the original Resident Evil 2 versus that game's Remake, as well. For context, note that the original Resident Evil 2 was released in the exact same year that the game's events take place: 1998. Similarly, the original Resident Evil 4 was released in 2005 and was set in 2004.

The Remakes of both games, being released in 2019 (RE2) and 2023 (RE4), however, ultimately end up feeling less like staples of those eras (the 1990s-era grittiness is completely absent from the RE2 Remake) and more like someone's secondhand interpretation of what those time periods looked like.

2. Hero vs. Villain Roles

This is where the game really gets schizophrenic. Because if we take what I've noted above, we essentially have:

Leon, an American agent, fighting to save the U.S. President's daughter from a Southern-speaking religious leader who name-drops, "Sacrificial Lamb," a term commonly used throughout Western Christianity, while also reluctantly agreeing with his old army buddy, that "Yeah, what the U.S. Government did to you, Krauser, that was pretty bad."

It honestly gets to the point where it almost feels like Capcom--or, more specifically, the particular development team behind this game--forgot and then later remembered that Krauser and Saddler are meant to be the game's villains, but "well, we have to have an anti-American sentiment in there, so we'll just hope the players never notice the contradicting narratives."

I apologize about the length--kudos to anyone who actually bothered to read this all the way through--but I wanted to stress that this isn't just something I'm making up about the game.

And, sure--like I said at the very beginning, I wouldn't go so far as to say the game is entirely "woke."

But I do think a pretty big part of the narrative has been altered in a way that carries some pretty disturbing implications for future games in the series.

lol

[Peelsepuuppi]

TL;DR?