Resident Evil 5: 2008 or 2009?

[Carnivol]

Hope it's not directed towards me that 17th of March 2008 is the date. That's Smiley's observation. (I'm putting RE5 between Q3 08 <-> Q1 09, depending on how you see certain things)

I'm not referring to the 17th of March 2009 date in any part of my post (that date could be anything. When someone else fished her out of the system, last log entry, when the facility went to hell, the possibilities are endless... it could also just be "Here's my ass -> Let me put my hand into it -> Ta~da! Here's my left hand! I has a date!)


Anyway, if we're rolling with the Q1 09 possibility - so that RE5 takes place in March 2009. Then that means Village Youth's Diary was written 11 months prior to the events of the game. Which really makes BSAA quite possibly the worst, least effective and slowest acting (bio)terrorism counterforce in the fictive existence of the universe


Given the content of Village Youth's Diary, you would think that RE5 would take place within a reasonable time frame after its final entry. And the content of it really describes the same type of stuff that is seen in Adam's Blog and the BSAA desktop (both of which were just synchronized with real-world dates for the sake of their publishing dates, as they were both marketing ARGs.)


As for what content to consider canon and what to not consider canon, I suggest reading up on a subject referred to as "The Holocron" to get insight in a proven system that's been around for a while and works perfectly fine, even when applied to other content than what it was intended for.

[TheBatMan]

Yes the Village Youth's Diary is the only anomaly to this theory. Personally I believe RE5 was originally intended to take place more or less exactly 10 years after Raccoon, around September October 08, but following the delays in development, this was changed at the last minute to incorporate a more 'real time stance' to match the game's release. But that's just my theory, I don't have anything to support this.

But March 2008 is just an impossible date if we go by the facts in the game itself.

[Carnivol]

Anyone able to grab a shot of the 17-03-2008 date, by the way? (Too lazy to go photoshooting in Kijuju right now) Since I've not seen it yet, what I currently suspect it to be is either A: "Let's slap a random date on this - *slams keyboard*" or B: "Jill left the building/last log entry - 17-03-2008." Unless there's something I'm forgetting, possibility B may stack up with mid-2008-ish RE5, assuming Jill was "deducted" around the time right before Kijuju turned to shit. (Which additionally could mean Jill->Birdwoman happens sometime in the second half of March 2008, then you have Village Youth's Diary along with the various Uroboros and Repear docs possibly overlapping -> followed by the events of RE5 shortly after. Unless there's some other random stuff I'm forgetting right now )

Of course, if you're to believe everything that's just randomly written on various screens and plaques in games... then Final Fantasy VII's Jenova was made in Hong Kong sometime during the mid-90s for Squer Company Limited.

Also, heh, I just looked at the Experimental Facility scene (pre-U-8) (about half-way into that video) when Chris does a search for Jill. Just noticed a little detail, freeze frame on the name lists... spotted at least one funny name there (Frank East, a minor Frank West joke?)

[ValentineLover]

^^I suposse that it is Jill's Awakening date. I think that she has been playing Irving Bodyguard for a long time

[Shadow Stalker]

Well first of all you have official sources such as the Bio5 Kaitaishinsho that states it takes place in 2009
You also have the BSAA desktop which was written by the development team that has situation reports dating the incident as March 2009. {If this isn't canon then why is Wesker's Report 2 treated as such?}

Also if you want to be nitpickity, Bio 5 takes place in early March 2009 so technically that is closer to 10 years after Raccoon City than the 17.03.2008 is.

The answer here also lies in the files.

Let's start at the beginning;

2006 - Wesker visits Spencer - kills him. He now wants to assume Spencer's original plan of becoming a God and using the Progenitor Virus to create a new race of human beings. This is the genesis of the Uroboros plan. However - Wesker doesn't have the Progenitor Virus. Spencer said the location is a secret known only to a few and it can be surmised that if this was the case the location would not be stored in Umbrella's archives that Wesker had already stolen. However, he eventually uncovers its location {Spencer's notebook most likely}

Once Wesker discovers the location is Africa - this is what prompts him to get Excella to take over Tricell Africa. This has to be early 2007 as Miguel's Journal 1 is dated February 19th. This entry talks about how they have just discovered Umbrella Africa and that they have finally got hold of the Progenitor Virus.

Now for arguments sake - let's say RE5 does take place in March 2008 as you say {according to the date on that monitor}

Return to Miguel's Journal 1. His May 8th entry {which if we are going by this theory} would be dated May 8th 2007

"Our current aim is to develop a virus that surpasses the potential of both the G-Virus and T-Veronica"

This implies the virus is still far from complete and this is backed up by the rest of this entry.

However, another file Regarding Mutant Organism at the facility is dated May 6th, TWO DAYS BEFORE Miguel's entry {if it was written in the same year which it would have to be if RE5 took place in March 2008} specifically mentions the Uroboros virus and implies that at least a prototype must be ready.

"A fire broke out during the test for loading the Uroboros Virus onto the missiles."

This obviously doesn't make sense if they were written in the same year.

However, if RE5 took place in 2009 it would make perfect sense as Miguel's Journal would be dated 8th May 2007 where he is talking about the planning stages of the virus and then the Mutant Organism file dated 6th May 2008 where they at least had a prototype version of Uroboros ready to go.

Plus if Umbrella Africa was only just uncovered in Feb 07, that means they have just 11 months to expand the facility, creating that huge atrium et all and develop the Uroboros Virus as well as all the other new BOW? Two years is more realistic.

Its 2009.

Oh okay then TheBatMan, thanks for clearing that up. I guess RE5 really is set in 2009 after all.

EDIT: The reason why I believe you TheBatMan is because your the one who wrote the Resident Evil Mythology timeline for Biohaze.

I guess this thread can be locked.

[Smiley]

Of course, if you're to believe everything that's just randomly written on various screens and plaques in games... then Final Fantasy VII's Jenova was made in Hong Kong sometime during the mid-90s for Squer Company Limited.

You mean it's not!?

But Carnivol does bring a point. Either Wesker and Tricell can push forward in a nearly unreasonable pace of time....or...........BSAA are a slow-acting bio-terrorist group. *shrugs*

Something like Wesker's Report 2 also might not get slack because....well.....how many people find an inconsistency with it and the game? If there were some, I wouldn't blame a gamer to side with either one although RE1 is a game that has no canon playthrough.

I applaud people likes Bats who take the effort to make a timeline of the series. However, it goes without saying that you're dealing with yet another gamer's analysis of how the events work based on a series that is chalked with a messy string of "canon events". This 08/09 dispute is simply another one on the list for the time being.

[Dracarys]

2008. Use the age of the characters during RE5 and when they were born. Mathematically impossible to be 2009.

[aris13]

2008. Use the age of the characters during RE5 and when they were born. Mathematically impossible to be 2009.

Well the manual clearly says 2009.

[Dracarys]

Well the manual clearly says 2009.

An error, much like the TALOS claim directly before it.

[Stu]

Because you say so?

[Dracarys]

Because you say so?

Mathematically impossible to be 2009.

Wesker was born in 1960, he is 48 in RE5. So it is it either 2008, or it is 2009 and he just hasn't had his birthday yet. It is 2008 because:

Jill was born in 1974 and she is 33 in RE5. So there is no way it can be 2009, even if not her birthday yet she would still have to be 34.


Is math...

[Stu]

Yeeeah.

And you don't think (taking into account all the facts to the contrary) that it might just be an oversight on the developer's part, no?

I'm more inclined to believe the game's manual, TheBatMan, and Project Umbrella over your "math" (you live in the UK by the way, it's called maths).

[Alexia_Ashford]

Well considering the manual and Adam's Kijuju blog (written by an official source, Capcom) which was set in 2009, I'm inclined to believe it was 2009 because it's come from two official sources as opposed to "math".

[Stu]

I put absolutely no belief in that blog in the slightest. That to me, was just some bored marketing exec in the US thinking he could do his part to help boost the game's appeal. It revealed literally NOTHING about the game.

[aris13]

It revealed literally NOTHING about the game.

The only thing it revealed was the name of minor RE 5 character.