As the hype surrounding theResident Evilseries continues building while fans wait for more information onResident Evil Village’s DLC, some have been going back and replaying older games in the franchise. As the games have jumped around quite a bit, there’s no singular protagonist of theseries, however, plenty of fans consider Leon S. Kennedy to be one of the franchise’s driving characters.
Alongside Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, Leon Kennedy is a fan-favorite protagonist, but he hasn’t been seen in a mainlineREtitle in quite a while. Many thought that he would be joining Chris at some point duringRE8, but the game came and went without even a mention of the rookie cop-turned-FBI agent. As theResident Evilcommunity waits for more information on the next game, Leon fans may want to replay the mainline series and see where he could potentially end up during the events ofResident Evil 7and8.
RELATED:New Resident Evil Games Can’t Keep Ignoring Leon
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil2was Leon’s debut in the franchise. He was a newbie Raccoon City police officer having the most stressful first day on the job. Having to explore the zombie-infested RCPD in search of answers about the outbreak, Leon proved to be a likable protagonist. In theRE2remake, Leon proved once again that bravery and a 90s haircut are all that is needed to overcome the Umbrella Corporation’s evil schemes.
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
While not playable inResident Evil 3: Nemesis, Leon makes an appearance during the epilogue. He’s approached by a member of the US government about joining their ranks. Although the game doesn’t reveal his answer, he’s a full-fledged FBI agent by the timeResident Evil 4rolls around.
Resident Evil: CODE Veronica
LikeRE3,CODE Veronicadoesn’t feature Leon as a playable protagonist, but he still makes an appearance. Claire, while continuing her search for Chris in Europe, contacts him after she’s been captured by Umbrella. He contacts Chris regarding Claire’s situation, but isn’t seen in the game afterward.
Resident Evil 4
Up to this point, Leon had been in a handful ofREtitles and was one of the main playable protagonists inRE2, but he didn’t have a game of his own.Resident Evil 4changed that and cemented him as one ofthe bestResident Evilprotagonists. Fans of Leon should stick withRE4,as he’s the main focus of the entire game. On a mission to rescue the President’s daughter, Leon spends plenty of time quipping in classicResident Evilfashion.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
Although it isn’t technically a mainline entry in theResident Evilseries,The Darkside Chroniclesstill included Leon in a never-before-seen situation. The on-rails lightgun shooter remade several scenes fromResident Evil 2andCODE Veronica,and it served as a prequel toRE4. It follows the adventures of Jack Krauser and Leon as the pair hunt down people connected with the Umbrella Corporation.
Resident Evil 6
Leon’s most recent appearance was inResident Evil 6. While the game was poorly received for its more action-oriented gameplay, there’s a lot of Leon Kennedy content for fans of the character. This was his last appearance outside of theResident Evil 2 Remake,and plenty of fans wonder about what he’s been up to in the years since.
Leon is notably absent from a handful of titles. He wasn’t in the first game, and Leon isn’t inResident Evil 5,7, or8,which feel more significant as he’d become established as a fan-favorite. As mentioned, plenty of fans anticipated he would make an appearance during the plot ofResident Evil Village.However, he was omitted from the game entirely. His recent appearance inResident Evil 2 Remakeandthe rumoredResident Evil 4 Remakehas fans thinking that Capcom is trying to remind old fans of the character while introducing new fans to him, that way when he returns to the next newResident Evilgame it’ll be a huge moment. So far, there isn’t any word on when he’ll be back.
