Resident Evil fans vote for their favorite character, pick Leon
No justice for Barry.
A recent poll in Japanese gaming rag Famitsu ahead of the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake asked fans of the survival horror series to select their favorite character, as well as the most detestable (via @bioranger_PT on Twitter). Albert Wesker unsurprisingly took the prize for most detestable, with Nicholai Ginovaef from RE3 in second place, and the Licker in third. Funnily enough, Wesker also rated in the favorite characters poll, where he placed sixth.
Number one with a Red9 bullet was Leon Kennedy. He does rock a pretty sweet jacket, but I've never really vibed with the guy myself. I assume he made it on the strength of peoples' love for two of the games he starred in, RE4 and RE2, which topped the section of Famitsu's poll for the best Resident Evil game. (RE4 came in at number one, with RE2 Remake at number two, and original flavor RE2 at number three.)
Leon's co-star in RE2, Jill Valentine rated second place and the boulder-punching Chris Redfield came in third. The biggest surprise is that Piers Nivans from RE6 appeared at all. He's above Hunk, while Barry Burton didn't even get a mention. Tragic. Here's how the full top 10 broke down.
- 1 Leon Kennedy
- 2 Jill Valentine
- 3 Chris Redfield
- 4 Ada Wong
- 5 Claire Redfield
- 6 Albert Wesker
- 7 Ethan Winters
- 8 Rebecca Chambers
- 9 Piers Nivans
- 10 Hunk
Where Famitsu's readers were on point was with their selection of the scariest scene in Resident Evil, choosing the baby monster sequence from Resident Evil Village. They're right, it's terrifying. The first zombie encounter from the original Resident Evil came behind that, with being attacked by Mia in RE7 in third place.
If you're wondering why the dog jumping through the hallway window from the first game didn't rate, that's because it topped a separate question asking for the most surprising scene. The Tyrant encounter from RE2 Remake came in second place there, with Village's big reveal in third. Other polls asked what the most appealing thing players looked for in Resident Evil was (story won out over fear and character charm), and which game was the scariest (RE7).
Leon's continued popularity is assured, with the Resident Evil 4 remake selling three million copies in two days, something the original took a whole year to manage. It's been a critical success too, with our review by Rich Stanton praising its exhilarating combat: "This has always been a game about crowd control: Keeping things off your back, whittling down a seemingly unbeatable mob to its last member, gritting your teeth and blasting through a sea of bodies and tentacles. The remake throws everything at you and then, while you're gasping on the ground, the kitchen sink sails through the air right at your head."
It's probably time to update our list ranking the Resident Evil games from worst to best then.