Canon of BIOHAZARD

[Guest]

Basically, this is a system to make scenarios of the series fit into seven distinct canons, the last of which is actually in use right now.

http://primeblue.pr.funpic.de/biohazard/canon.html

Watch out not to get a headache while reading it. Now, excuse me, please. I am having a headache...or a tumor.

[OKeijiDragon]

How does BIOHAZARD 4D-EXECUTER fit into ANY canon?

*Also, even though there's a note somewhere at the bottom of that page that mentioned 1.5, I'm a little surprised at the lack of RE1.5 at a separate canon for it's own (I know it's just an early version of RE2, OK?). I would think...

BIOHAZARD 0
BIOHAZARD 1
BIOHAZARD 1.5/2
BIOHAZARD 3

That's it.*

[Stu]

How does BIOHAZARD 4D-EXECUTER fit into ANY canon?

Or, how DOESN'T it fit?

[randomwab]

News Bot incoming!

Seriously though, the series canon is so broken. Viewing everything in a rough timeline is much easier, like saying "roughly between these dates this event happened". I'm pretty sure that half the staff over at Project Umbrella have snapped and been checked into a mental institute trying to assemble one final timeline.

[Carnivol]

I think something of an interactive version of a timeline thingy like this should be made. A simple checkbox list for "elements", full of pop-up warnings going "NEGATIVE!" whenever you try to mix two elements that are contradicting to one another (with "on the fly" color codes to warn you before you click, even!). Or maybe have it compile a list of potentially and blatantly contradicting points as you add elements to the "make your own canon".


And, oh!
Though, I don't remember what the exact details was now; but while doing the whole "Darkside Chronicles C:V scenario does not contradict Code: Veronica"-thing, I seem to recall stumbling upon some minor details in Wesker's Report II that didn't float too well. Maybe I'm just remembering things wrong, though, but if you wanna check, probably just check all dates (Since it was the dates I was checking between everything anyway.)

Another point, maybe I'm a bit hazy on the subject, but I don't quite see how Leon going to the U.S. Government puts him in a position incapable of becoming part of what's being referred to in English as an anti-Umbrella movement.


Still nice to see a branching list tossed together that shows where things starts falling apart if you try to build houses out of them, though.

[TheBatMan]

Very nicely put together. This article unfortunately epitomises the impossibility of confirming the structured order of things. You could get ten people armed with exactly the same materials to write ten timelines and every single one will be significantly different to a degree.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how strongly you feel about the canon and how strict your personal views are on it. I mean, some people won't even have heard of the drama albums or the manga for example and no matter how hard you try to disprove it, some people will always champion Gaiden as canon. Some people love the BSAA desktop for the sheer amount of background info it gives, others will always dismiss it as a simple marketing tool.

Like Prime said, you can give yourself a headache going through it all, but no matter how hard you try and certain people do try very, very hard, they will never be 100% correct because Capcom themselves don't know what is 100% correct, as shown by this article.

[Rombie]

As soon as I saw they'd listed Gun Survivor 2: Code Veronica into the Canon mix I dismissed it. The whole thing is a dream sequence dreamed within the events of Code Veronica, and instigates the idea that Claire is somehow and somewhat psychic as things she dreams about mostly become true :p

[News Bot]

http://www.projectumbrella.net/editorials/BIOHAZARD-Canon

Threw this together relatively quick. No real structure, just a list with notes. Updated revisions will be much more expanded and elaborate.

The series canon is not that complicated. There is the main series and the alternative universe/stand-alone stories. Main series = canon, alternative universe/stand-alone = non-canon. Prime Blue's layout was overly complicated and missed the point, in my opinion.

[alexdz]

Cool stuff there, News Bot. It's good to know what informations you can rely on.

Also, how you always points out how the first Wesker's Report was written during a drunk haze nevers ceases to make me laugh.

[Ununoctium]

How does BIOHAZARD 4D-EXECUTER fit into ANY canon?

How doesn't it? Though really it's more like a stand-alone story that was never again picked up or expanded upon (at least not yet)...

[News Bot]

B4D is a gaiden according to Inafune (the only other entry in the series to actually be one, aside from BHG itself). Unlike BHG though, it doesn't contradict anything in the series, so you can take it as canon individually if you wish.

[Vito]

Always amazing work News Bot.

[Guest]

In my initial list, of course I forgot about Boggy's magical alternative series universe, in which we can neatly stash away all stories we know nothing about or simply deem "non-canon", no matter if they are glaringly contradicting each other or not. And there awaits the ultimate resolution of all loose ends: the contradictions between the drama albums and Wesker's Report cause a black hole that swallows the entirety of unfinished character arcs and plot inconsistencies. THE END

[News Bot]

In my initial list, of course I forgot about Boggy's magical alternative series universe, in which we can neatly stash away all stories we know nothing about or simply deem "non-canon", no matter if they are glaringly contradicting each other or not. And there awaits the ultimate resolution of all loose ends: the contradictions between the drama albums and Wesker's Report cause a black hole that swallows the entirety of unfinished character arcs and plot inconsistencies. THE END

Here we have an assumption that no research was done in compiling this list.

Saying we "know nothing" about the stories is pretty ignorant when we... do. We've already fully translated the Sherry drama album and you have done a detailed analysis of the Ada one. Wesker's Report uses very precise plot details from the Ada one in particular (Sherry's pendant, Ada on the connecting bridge, etc). Wesker's Report itself was also revised in 2003, something I don't believe you've ever picked up on.

4D-EXECUTER is generally a story with no immediate connection to any other story in the series. Putting it in the same alternative universe as the drama albums is more for convenience than anything else since it can be taken as canon as a personal choice with no issues.

If we discover that any of the alternative universe stories have a separate timeline of their own (such as BIO HAZARD The Beginning) we will reflect that in the editorial. With the information we currently have, they all appear to take place in the same timeline. You being snarky and sarcastic over something we've openly stated as unfinished and continually updated based on new info is just sigh worthy.

[News Bot]

I updated Project Umbrella's formal canon guideline document. We've got a lot of direct assistance from CAPCOM these days and the actual list is currently concrete. I also started sections regarding gaidens and localization and how they impact (or rather, don't impact) the canon. This is still just a very basic document and a lot more work is still going into it.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/208353580/Biohazard-Canon

Prime Blue's "seven canon" theory is pretty off the mark, factoring in every single product, official or licensed, as its own canon. This is flat-out not how it works within CAPCOM.