Discussion about characters' popularity

[Guest]

Jill only follows Chris's lead?
Are you sure about that?

Jill saved Chris's butt so many times and everything Chris did for her was to save her from Wesker's control, and he needed help from another person. If it was really Chris vs Jill, then you could say bye-bye to Chris.

[Alexia_Ashford]

Alexia is the most popular. She has ants and everyfink.

DSC Alexia needs to die, like now. And all of that new stupid T Veronica info. It was interesting to see an updated Alexia model though, even if she was a complete mong. Alexia is dead, I am now the Queen of Blades.

Spencer - PHELPS BADGE 1247..

[Mr. Spencer]

Spencer - PHELPS BADGE 1247..

Put me through to R&I.

[Xander Ashford]

Interesting topic, and I agree with a lot of what was said in the original post.

Out of Chris and Leon, I definitely fall into the Chris fans; I have just never liked Leon, and I really don't understand the appeal. I did play Resident Evil 2 before Resident Evil 4, and I still do not like him. I didn't like him in Resident Evil 2 and I didn't like him in Resident Evil 4. To me, he seems like that character that Capcom wants you to like just because he is handsome, heroic, and has the good one liners.

Chris on the other hand feels more like the everyday guy...Well, pre-Resident Evil 5 Chris. Chris's shinning moments were definitely Resident Evil (Remake) and CODE: Veronica (I'm more biased to the CODE: Veronica appearance). I think if Capcom would have kept Chris realistic in Resident Evil 5, I would probably still like him. I don't hate Resident Evil 5 Chris, but I feel like they just did too much overhaul on the character.

Out of the main female characters, I probably do fall in the bracket of liking Jill the most, and in all truth, it stems from the fact that I typically see her with Chris. In my mind, you don't really have one without the other. I have never liked Claire, and I don't really have a lot of reasoning behind it. I do see her as unrealistic, but she's really not that more unrealistic than other characters like Rebecca.

In all truth, the characters I find the most interesting are those you don't really hear too much about...

Alexia Ashford
By far my most favorite character in the entire series. I love her cruelty and hate for the world. I love the properties of her virus: Controlled mutations, flame attributes, et cetera. I enjoy the backstory and rivalry created between her and Birkin. It sort of portrayed that "I'm jealous of you because you're smarter than me" thing, which was actually very realistic. What other reason would Birkin have to hate her aside from the fact that she was the new Umbrella pet that took his place. The Ashfords in general are extremely interesting for the fact that the family was extremely powerful and elegant, and as time progressed, the family name was tarnished. The attributes of the family are just very believable.

(Note: I hate Alfred Ashford; there is nothing about the character I can tolerate.)

Richard Aiken
Richard is the character that I think should have been in Resident Evil Zero. I think it would have been far more believable to have another S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team member fighting alongside Rebecca instead of some random character Capcom thought we would like...But that is a story for another day. I really enjoyed what was done with Richard in remake. He popped up at random times, you had to assist him by retrieving antidotes, and he ultimately saves you from Plant 42/Neptune. His character gave a bit of a human feel to the series. You actually got to see the effects of a B.O.W. attack that couldn't be remedied by finding a First Aid Spray and some herbs. Richard got bit by a mutant snake, and died. Realistic, and I like that!

The characters in the background are the ones that make the story the most interesting, not the ones that are thrown in your face. I like Wesker, but I mean, who really doesn't like Wesker on some level? He was meant to be attractive to fans, but if you asked me "Who's your favorite character?" the rare privelege would not go to him.

I'm more WAY more fond of Alexia Ashford, Richard Aiken, William Birkin, Excella Gionne...I like the characters that have some depth and are just the stereotypical hero with nice glossy hair.

LOLZ ALEXIA PAWNS ALLL WIT HER FIREZ BLOODSSESZ!!!

[Alexia_Ashford]

Put me through to R&I.

How can I help Detective?

CV Alexia has always been one of my favourite characters, for pretty much the same reasons as Xander really. How she viewed everyone else as inferior and thought they should obey and serve her. The virus, the fact she could transform and turn back as well. I loved the scene where she woke up as well.

I really like RE2 Leon and RE1/RE3 Jill as well. I don't really like any recent iterations of characters. When I played DSC and I saw that Alexia killed Alfred, I thought, what the shit was that? Really annoyed me because they changed her entire character. Alfred was the only person she cared about, she cradled him when he died and then put his body into her cryochamber, more than likely she was going to try to bring him back. Then in DSC, boom, dead.

[Det. Beauregard]

As far as the main characters go, I have always liked Leon and Claire more than Chris and Jill. I honestly can't even say why; I just find them to be more interesting. RE2 was the first RE game I owned, but I knew who Chris, Jill, and Wesker were from watching my friends play through the original. I suppose I can give a brief summary as to why I like or dislike each character...

Chris - He's the solid "main" guy who many male fans of the series probably relate to the most. To be honest, I've always found him to be a bit dull. Sure, he's dedicated to his job, to wiping out bioweapons and such, but he's just boring to me. He's the "straight" guy - no comical lines, no bullshit, just taking care of business. The only time I actually liked Chris a lot was in CVX, but that was more because he was fighting alongside his sister than it was due to his character (I thought the sibling thing was an interesting dynamic).

Jill - I used to like her a lot; she was easily my favorite female character in the series. But when I played Darkside Chronicles and revisited RE2 and CVX, Claire replaced her in that role. Someone above said that Jill pretty much always followed Chris's lead, and for the most part I agree with that. Aside from RE3, the focus was always on Chris first. This isn't Jill's fault, but it made her seem so secondary to the plot. For example, even though all the surviving characters in the original ruined Wesker's plans, for some reason he only hated Chris; I'll never understand why he didn't hate Jill or the others just as much. I know that many female fans of the series see her as a role model and whatnot, but I still feel that Claire is the stronger of the two characters and more worthy of "role model" status to female fans.

Leon - From day one I've always related to this guy more than Chris. I guess I'm in the minority since I'm a longtime fan of the series and 28 years old, but I liked his RE4 iteration. His humor and attitude may have been a bit over-the-top, but he made the game fun and interesting as opposed to a boring Chris adventure. In RE2 he was a bit naive and overwhelmed, but he still made it through that horror and came out on top. The Ada love subplot was cheesy as hell, but I don't think entirely unrealistic. As far as Degeneration Leon, I have no idea why he was so boring; maybe Chris gave him a few personality (or lack thereof) pointers...

Claire - I've always liked her, but lately I've just been far more fond of her than I am of Jill. She's a strong character whose role didn't have to be strong (a college student in town looking for her brother). But it does make sense; growing up with Chris I'm sure she was exposed to all sorts of weapons and self-defense training. I guess I just like her because she was forced into a situation and wasn't a gun-toting special forces member or a cop, but just a regular gal. And she made the most out of the situation, not giving up, protecting Sherry and not running away like a typical scared civilian would probably have done. She's also showed far more emotion throughout the series than Jill has, which gives the character much more life in my eyes.

Wesker - Not much to say here. He's the typical main series baddie that everybody loves to hate or hates to love, etc. He got a lot cheesier in RE5, but it was bound to happen eventually. I personally thought he was the most interesting in Umbrella Chronicles, working behind the scenes in almost everything.

As for the side characters, I agree with Xander; they are usually more interesting than the main ones, and actually seem more fleshed-out. I won't mention them all but I will discuss my feelings on a few of the more notable ones...

Barry - I don't know how anyone could dislike him, although I'm sure most of the love he gets is due to his corny lines. If you took those away I'm not sure how notable of a character he would be...

Rebecca - I liked her more in Remake because her personality made more sense. I just don't buy RE0's plot - how can an 18-year-old medic with no real-world experience fire grenade launchers at giant leech men and come out alive on top of it?! Ridiculous. She's likeable, but she's never really captured my interest in the same way that the other three popular females in the series have.

Ada - I initially despised her when I was younger since I greatly dislike women who screw with guys' heads like she did with Leon's, but her character has to be one of the more well-thought-out characters in the whole series. It sounds ridiculous - sexy mysterious spy chick - but it worked in both RE2 and RE4. There is an air about her that wants the player to learn more about her, about her past - but it is never revealed. Hopefully in the future it will be. I've always thought that it would be cool if Leon had to kill her in a situation where he had no other choice, as I think it would add so much to his character. The guy just wouldn't be able to catch a break!

William Birkin - One of my favorites, and also someone who seems to be very underrated. I absolutely loved the backstory involving him and Wesker in RE0 and various Wesker Reports; it really added a depth to the series and to Umbrella that was really only hinted at up until then. He may have been a stereotypical mad scientist, but how he refused to give up his life's work to Umbrella and was instead forced to become his life's work was such a cool story. I also thought his wife and daughter were very interesting characters, as well.

Alexia Ashford - The child prodigy thing seemed a bit ridiculous, but I eventually grew fond of her character; easily one of the creepiest characters in the series. That scene with her and Alfred pulling the wings off of that poor dragonfly and throwing its defenseless body to the horde of ants with the creepy music box theme playing was chilling. Playing through CVX and reading through the files really gave you a feel for how batshit insane this woman was, and drew me into the story even more. I think it's a shame that she was only in one game because she had the potential to be a better main series villain than Wesker. I thought her DSC version was terribly done, though; she looked awesome, but she sounded like a little girl. The one thing I did like about DSC, though, is that both Chris and Claire got to kill her together; it felt so much more epic. It's the only change in the Chronicles games that I liked better than the original (even though I know it's non-canon).

[CrimsonElder]

Jill was popular when she was only in RE1, I've never understood where this idea she is sexed up is from anyway, I certainly disagree with it, in RE1 she wasn't at all, unless you are some sort of sexual recluse who doesn't go out and see women often then RE3 was less sexed up and more a typical young womens wear, her personality was not changed at all. For some reason Claire gets a free pass for wearing hotpants, three times...

I wouldn't speak for every Jill fan but I personally like her because she is a strong independant female character only is still vunerable, she has emotions that show but doesn't let them control her, is willing to rely on others for help, most female characters that try be strong end up being like Lara Croft who just kicks the crap out of everything and then maybe feels bad for a few moments (if you're lucky) before kicking more ass. Jill by comparison is very down to earth and thus easier to identify with which goes a long way in the like for character. Jill has featured in other non RE games also, as well as the only movie featured character to physically resemble the game character, the exposure all adds up.

Leons currently popularity is proably a large part the appeal to young, stupid, girls and young boys who have yet to realise how awful curtains look. I think the split in his popularity from those who liked him in RE2 is from such the drastic character change, he was the rookie cop caught in a horrific scenario with some emotional story and then he dissapears and returns a highly trained government agent who goes and seeks out bad guys to throw lame one liners at, run up walls with and do flips for.

Chris I long ago discovered has more fans with an older male crowd, I guess he identifies better with that agegroup, the vast majoirty of people on gaming forums are younger so his popularity is probably misconstrued/underated. Are plenty of people who like the Chris/Jill couple idea also.

Claire is a difficult one to work out. Personally I liked her in RE2 but since CV that started to decline, my personal reasons for liking Jill Claire is doing the opposite of. In RE2 she seemed down to earth enough, then in CV she turned into an action girl, unlike Jill she was meant to be a civvy yet starts doing all fancy action sequences and gun maneuvers and I just found none of it believable (accounting for suspension of disbelief), she was a lot stronger than her RE2 self but then breaks down crying at the end when steve dies. Gone from overly strong to overly weak. I think most of her fans are long timers from RE2 and that less were created in CV, but RE2 was so long ago and with the drought of new Claire material over the years her popularity has faded with fans who moved on. Her repeated mother role probably doesn't help, mums are rarely cool.

Wesker appeal is obvious, the 'cool and calm' bad guy in sunglasses appeals to plenty of people, his quotes especially in RE5 are a great source of humour and humour breeds like.

Pointless me saying anything on this because I agree with everything Kyliedog just said. Nailed it!

[Grem]

*about chris* no comical lines, no bullshit

"Heeeee's sleeping with the ultimate failuuure!"

[Mr. Spencer]

Nicholai is the man. I've said this before and I'll say it again.

[kevstah2004]

Nicholai is the man. I've said this before and I'll say it again.

Co-signed, along with Irons
.

[Det. Beauregard]

"Heeeee's sleeping with the ultimate failuuure!"

Fair enough! I always replace the Remake with the original in terms of canon, so I forgot about that. "We sure got to the root of that problem..."

[GuardhouseMusic]

Co-signed, along with Irons
.

*looks at you funny*

Well, whatever gets your rocks off.

[Mr. Spencer]

Co-signed, along with Irons
.

EVERYONE'S GONNA DIE!

[Pikminister]

Rebecca - I liked her more in Remake because her personality made more sense. I just don't buy RE0's plot - how can an 18-year-old medic with no real-world experience fire grenade launchers at giant leech men and come out alive on top of it?! Ridiculous.

Rebecca is ridiculous? Like the others are not highly ridikulas too?

19 year old Uni student Claire Redfield puts to shame all the S.T.A.R.S. members combined with all their formal training. Chris punches giant rocks with his fists. Wesker looks like a fugitive from a pop 80's band (Frankie Goes To Hollywood, comes to mind). Leon wears a hair style that no one HIS AGE should wear. Billy Coens tattoo hails incest "mother love" (I know, its a homage to a Queen's song but still... the tattoo is crazy looking).

Anyway, this happens whenever we try to take these characters seriously. We really cannot do that folks. Seriously.

Lets just enjoy the freak show that Capcom has provided us for so many years.

[Guest]

Chris = Defeated Wesker, Alexia, TALOS, Tyrant, destroyed Umbrella and Tricell.
Jill = Defeated Nemesis, TALOS, Tyrant, OWNED Chris and Sheva, destroyed Umbrella and Tricell.

Leon = Defeated Birkin, Marcus (the same as Birkin) and Saddler.
Claire = Just served as babysitter for Sherry and Rani.



End of the story.