I really like the updates to Leon's design in the RE2 remake. It's similar to the original,
but also more realistic with darker colours and the pads replaced with a tactical vest.
It looks more like actual SWAT gear, rather than the weird caricature that's designed
to make Leon stand out against the rest of the cops. Even the detail of him getting it
at the station instead of wearing it there makes it feel so much more natural in this
version. But they do something else with it that I think is a really nice, possibly unintentional,
touch. Oh, yeah, spoilers from here on out.
After Leon gets shot and Ada patches him up, instead of a big dumb bandage that goes over
the outside of his outfit, Ada applies the bandages underneath his outfit and doesn't
put the undershirt back on him. This leaves Leon with short sleeves for the rest of the
game. The significance of this is that, the short sleeves, coupled with the darker blue,
makes Leon resemble his RE4 counterpart quite a bit. This could be seen as a representation
of Leon transforming from his naive RE2 self to his wiser, not so easily-trusting self
from later in the timeline, by the end of game. He certainly feels like he's grown by
the time he confronts Ada about her true motives. Again, it may not be intentional, but I still
think it's a cool little bit of symbolism, regardless.
I also like how his street clothes at the start have white trainers. I have to wonder
if it's a nod to how his in-game model in the original looked like he was wearing trainers
instead of boots.
As for Claire, while I think the outfit is more generic than either of the two previous
takes on RE2 Claire, I did find something I kinda liked with the new one too. For most
of my first playthrough as Claire, there was something the outfit reminded me of, but I
couldn't place it. Was it RE6 Ada? The red top was right, but not the black pants or
the high-heeled boots. BSAA Jill? The pants were definitely blue, but the top wasn't.
No, as it turned out, it was Claire's second outfit from Revelations 2, where she has a
red shirt and blue pants. Red top and blue pants is now firmly Claire's clothing style
of choice, so it's nice for the outfit, while lacking in personality, to at least feel consistent
with the modern version of the character.
But am I the only one who finds Claire's loose ponytail and her tank top and pants combo
weirdly reminiscent of modern Lara Croft? Am I crazy? Oh, wait, four new shows in one
year. Yeah, yeah, I'm crazy. ...Carry on.
The classic costume, on the other hand, looks off and you may not be able to place why.
It's the lack of sleeves and gloves; not because those components are vital for the outfit,
but because they provide some vital colour balance with the added black, that is not
present in the new version. I think I get why they did it this way; the new outfit has
a tank top and no gloves too, so it prevents certain problems with the model (like clipping
issues) and makes it easier to create, but it ends up like Superman without the briefs
- too much blue and not enough red, or in this case, too much pink and not enough black.
I'm not too big on Ada's new look, though. After all, if you're a spy and you look the
part, you're doing it wrong. Her use of the cocktail dress underneath is appreciated,
simply for not decking her out with gloves and belts in a way that suggests she specifically
dressed this way to deal with the zombies, like with the previous iterations of this
costume, or the modern version of Jill's RE3 costume. Sherry looks adorable now, and actually
doesn't look like she attends a Japanese middle school this time.
And Mr. X's new hat makes him look like a woke vegan hipster sees themselves, which
makes you hate him about as much as the pursuit mechanics do. And his final form reminds me
a lot of Ustanak from RE6, and feels like it was an attempt at finally fulfilling the
potential of a fight with the RE1 tyrant.
And a few more quick thoughts on the aesthetic: The sewer now looks like a sewer instead of
a Zelda dungeon, the RPD reception desk being in front of the goddess statue instead of
behind make a lot more sense, as do the staircases at either side replacing the ladder, and the
lickers strike the right balance between the weedy buggers of old and the roid rage RE5
versions, with that sickly yellow-ish muscle for added effect.
Overall, I have to say, the visuals of this game are fucking astounding; not just for
fidelity, but from an aesthetic standpoint as well. Mr. X can still get fucked.