Resident Evil 2 (1998) RE2 Leon vs. RE4 Leon

[VP-70]

Well i have to say....Leon in RE2 is very very green. He's a good guy and he really does care about survivors....Theres nothing to suggest he doesn't care about survivors in RE4..i mean there is only Louis...But the Leon from RE2 is def a rookie..but still you can see the unpolished dimaond that he is in survival terms.

If you were little back when playing RE2 then his lack of knowledge about what was going on fitted well with your own lack of knowledge.

If like me you have grown up to know all the games inside out... The Leon in RE4 is a natural bubblegum chewing ****y '' been there done that '' son of a gun.

I personally prefer them both on all levels. it's 50/50 for me.

 

[cgat22]

Well, for RE2, the protagonist must be Leon (hehe, because it's original).
As for RE4, he could be any new face, they used Leon just to please Leon's fans IMO. The story is not as impressive either.

I agree with you here. The story for RE4 or RE5 wasn't impressive.. the game was just awesome because it was a shooter game. I feel that a lot of the people that played RE4 as their first RE game are bigger fans of the later versions, rather than what were the survival horror games which were RE0 - RE Code Veronica. I do love all of the games but the earlier games were what survival horror games were all about. RE4 and RE5 are just fun to run around and shoot and blow things up. :lol:

 

[Jlackleon]

I've changed my mind... though I still like the RE4 Leon, I've come to like him in RE2 even more (hairstyle-wise, characterwise, etc.). I love his hairstyle in both games and think it's nice with a male character that doesn't have short hair.

 

[ChrisRedfieldFanboy]

I prefer Leon in the good 'ole days of RE2. I liked the character as he was; the rookie in unfamiliar territory. He was ****y, reckless, but he got the job done. That and he had more range to his expression and not simply varying degrees of calm. I'm sorry, but even though he went through the events of 2 and was a seasoned agent, he would still likely panic at least once during the Spain ordeal. Oh and don't get me started on Degeneration... I loved that movie, but Leon's character drove me nuts. I blame the directors of RE4 and RED, since it's no fault of the VO.

 

[Springhosen]

Resident Evil 4 Leon is nothing more than a Bruce McGivern knock off; Resident Evil 2 Leon all the way.

 

[KennedyKiller]

Alot of people say that Leon was too skilled or James Bondish in RE4...Dude, if I went through what he went through Id start taking Ninjitsu government agent classes too and be ready for the next outbreak. Not to mention, Leon is really not that perfect in RE4 as people say he is, unlike in RED he was flawed, had emotions and actually got hurt and needed people's help just like in 2.

I've seen a couple members here use the arguement that Leon's personality changed over-night from RE 2to RE 4. I do not consider the time-lapse between 2 and 4 to be an over-night thing. I mean, six or seven years passed between that period- he went through an incredibly tramatic experience in RE 2, and then some hard-ass training to make it as a government agent- directly under the president. I don't expect him to be the same naive rookie cop he was in 2, and I'm not sure why people do. I think the development his character made is entirely valid.

You two, are absolutely right. I don't know so much about what Leon went through before RE4, but 013's comment got me thinking. It's not at all strange if his personality changed into what I call an emotionless robot.
I happen to know a little about this. I have not had a job nowhere near as "exciting" as Leon's, but I've had a pretty stressful job where people almost were expected to change, and many ended up unfit for paid employment. I've heard and seen enough about that to be able to familiarize myself with it.

So yes, Leon could definitely change very very much during all those years. I would say it was unrealistic if he did not.

But for gameplay I wish he wasn't that cold. But as I learn more about his past, I can easier forgive it.

Exactly...It's realisitc to change so much...but youre wrong in that hes cold...Leon is a very real character in that hes like a lot of people...he dosnt exactly show the emotion of care easily...unless around Ada...but thats what his Smart@$$ comments are for...to show he does care...and when Whatshisname in the helicopter died in RE4 he lost it emotionally for a second...hes not a "Robot" just under pressure cuse farmers are trying to KILL HIM!!! And if you play Darkside Chronicles then you know he is a lot like he is in both 2 and 4...

 

[KennedyKiller]

It seems nobody is reading any of my former arguments. I said, earlier, that letting the story take place so far into the future was stupid, and it should have taken place WHILE Leon was still young. It's a stupid, yet all too common mistake for story writers. As the story went on, they changed his character all too drastically. You can't take someone's character and suddenly change it. That ruins the whole plot. It should have taken place a few months after RE2. If you're going to make such a change, you have to build up to it.

Capcom, however, doesn't care about the story, anymore. It's no longer a survival horror; it's a mindless action shooter. It is the death of the RE series as we know it, and a disgrace to all original resident evil fans. I mean, come on. Leon, that same rookie cop, becoming a federal agent? Him having a HUGE arsenal of weapons and martial art techniques? A foreigner trying to rule the world by kidnapping the president’s daughter? It's the worst and most plain and boring story line I've yet to see, and quite frankly, I don't think getting RE5 is even worth it after seeing the garbage. It's less horror and realism. What's next? Will they make Super Sayan Goku the main character of RE6? I wouldn't be surprised, but frankly, it would make for a better story.

Anyway, my point is, RE4 was a mistake, as well as doing away with Raccoon City. They should have saved that for the end. If anything, it should have ended with RE3 so the series could at least keep its pride as a survival horror sensation. That's why there were epilogue files. EPILOGUE. Yes, the after story. After as in, when it's finished. The series is dead, and Capcom did a good job at making it forgotten to the world. The only thing RE4 is good for is playing hunk on mercs mode. That's my final input on this.

HELLO!!!! The point is for it to take place so far in the futrue...RE isnt just about survival horror...it also is about keeping you guessing...the farther ahead it is the more mystery there is inbetween...duh...thats why forums like this exsist...because Capcom LOVES to keep us guessing then surprise us...and as for your "bad story" comments...why the frik did it win the award for BEST STORY on its realease...duh it was game of the year, best story, and game with best graphics...also some other awards i belive but i don't quite remember...point is youre talking about something you clearly no nothing about unless youre saying its YOUR OPINION that the story was bad and not a fact that all RE fans belive...

 

[Dru]

Looks like I am in the minority who is not a fan of Leon in either RE2 or RE4. In RE2, he was just a hot-headed and naive rookie cop with an infatuation for Ada. Personally, I did not find him likable and thought his character lacked substance. In RE4, I consider him more of a caricature than an actual character. While he was a bad-ass, he was cheesy and over-the-top in the way he was presented. For the vast majority of the game, he grated on my nerves.

 

[Shefa]

For me RE4 Leon is more mature than RE2 Leon...
RE4 Leon has his mind focused on his job and does not get infatuate by women easily but in RE2 he fall for Ada..in short in RE4 we find a more responsible Leon...
I also find some sense of humor in him in RE4 which I guess he lacked in RE2.
But I love Leon whether in RE2 or RE4 he always comes up smelling like roses from all sorts of traps...My Hero!!!

 

[Spike991]

I agree with you here. The story for RE4 or RE5 wasn't impressive.. the game was just awesome because it was a shooter game. I feel that a lot of the people that played RE4 as their first RE game are bigger fans of the later versions, rather than what were the survival horror games which were RE0 - RE Code Veronica. I do love all of the games but the earlier games were what survival horror games were all about. RE4 and RE5 are just fun to run around and shoot and blow things up. :lol:

I seriously doubt Leon had any sort of fanboy following by RE4, it wasn't until after that game.

RE4's story was fine. RE5's story was pretty good, on the whole, having Sheva there had it's obvious annoying moments, and the way they ruined Wesker's character wasn't very good, but the overall story was great, the mystery with Jill's character, masked and all.

RE4/RE5 were fun for the story, music, pretty much the same stuff as any other RE game.

In fact, when I first started playing RE, the camera angles through me off a bit(once you get used to them though, it's no problem), it was the story, characters, atmosphere, etc. that made them worth playing through.

If you dislike anything about RE4/RE5, gameplay wise, the characters and story, music, should pick up the slack.

 

[KennedyKiller]

I seriously doubt Leon had any sort of fanboy following by RE4, it wasn't until after that game.

RE4's story was fine. RE5's story was pretty good, on the whole, having Sheva there had it's obvious annoying moments, and the way they ruined Wesker's character wasn't very good, but the overall story was great, the mystery with Jill's character, masked and all.

RE4/RE5 were fun for the story, music, pretty much the same stuff as any other RE game.

In fact, when I first started playing RE, the camera angles through me off a bit(once you get used to them though, it's no problem), it was the story, characters, atmosphere, etc. that made them worth playing through.

If you dislike anything about RE4/RE5, gameplay wise, the characters and story, music, should pick up the slack.

I dont see whats not to like about ANY of them though...my favorites are 1 and 4...and theyre NOTHING alike aside from the same series...its okay to change a series and make it evolve...i know youll agree with me on this...but you didnt really answer the question lol...

 

[weskerfan]

I like Leon in both re2 and 4.
But im not so sure i like him as much in Degeneration though.. i like his seriousness and the fact that he knows what hes doing.
but in that movie he showed no emotion at alllll.
i still like him though

 

[JaguarsSoul]

Resident Evil 4 Leon is nothing more than a Bruce McGivern knock off; Resident Evil 2 Leon all the way.

I can't believe my eyes.
Wait a second, do you mean that, without RE4 and the rest, you like Leon (even if it's a little bit) :O?

Hmmm. Mag who doesn't hate Leon (RE2). Is 2012 near or something xD?

 

[Springhosen]

I can't believe my eyes.
Wait a second, do you mean that, without RE4 and the rest, you like Leon (even if it's a little bit) :O?

Hmmm. Mag who doesn't hate Leon (RE2). Is 2012 near or something xD?

:lol: I didn't say that I liked Resident Evil 2 Leon or anything - I still believe him to be horribly irrelevant, even in that game - but I can tolerate him. Now a poor knock off of one of my favorite Resident Evil characters, I can not even abide to look at and only attempt to so that I can play as HUNK in the Resident Evil 4 mercenaries mode.

 

[Carriers of Dust]

Leon was a ginger in RE 2. LOL.

 

[JaguarsSoul]

:lol: I didn't say that I liked Resident Evil 2 Leon or anything - I still believe him to be horribly irrelevant, even in that game - but I can tolerate him. Now a poor knock off of one of my favorite Resident Evil characters, I can not even abide to look at and only attempt to so that I can play as HUNK in the Resident Evil 4 mercenaries mode.

Lol, even saying that you can tolerate him sounds too un-Mag-like xD
No, seriously, you made me believe in 2012 xD

 

[Spike991]

I dont see whats not to like about ANY of them though...my favorites are 1 and 4...and theyre NOTHING alike aside from the same series...its okay to change a series and make it evolve...i know youll agree with me on this...but you didnt really answer the question lol...

Everything after RE4, i.e. UC, RE5, etc(though Darkside was really well done), has been really annoying, lazily made. It didn't seem like the same effort was put into UC, or at times, RE5.

Every RE game is great though. Anyway, my point being that there are things to like, and things to dislike, they are however still great at the end of the day, some just have more things that I dislike about them.

And yes, to answer the question, Leon from RE4 was probably cooler. I liked the character development, the voice actor, Paul Mercier, did an excellent job too.

I didn't like him being known as Leon "S." Kennedy, as Leon Kennedy is just fine, but the S part was annoying. We get it Leon, your middle name is Scott.

But yeah, just to echoe, RE4 Leon, my choice.

 

[ChrisRedfieldFanboy]

Who throws in their middle initial to an introduction, anyway? Could you imagine if Bond did it every time he introduced himself? (Assuming of course he had a middle name). "My name is Bond. James L. Bond."

Oh well. Likely just another case of Japanese to English differences in sensibilities. We might not think much of it from a western point of view, but it probably has some meaning to other cultures; like some kind of formality.

 

[KennedyKiller]

Everything after RE4, i.e. UC, RE5, etc(though Darkside was really well done), has been really annoying, lazily made. It didn't seem like the same effort was put into UC, or at times, RE5.

Every RE game is great though. Anyway, my point being that there are things to like, and things to dislike, they are however still great at the end of the day, some just have more things that I dislike about them.

And yes, to answer the question, Leon from RE4 was probably cooler. I liked the character development, the voice actor, Paul Mercier, did an excellent job too.

I didn't like him being known as Leon "S." Kennedy, as Leon Kennedy is just fine, but the S part was annoying. We get it Leon, your middle name is Scott.

But yeah, just to echoe, RE4 Leon, my choice.

When you read this don't take it the wrong way, becuase im on your side...but when i said whats not to like i was strictly talking as a character(s)...on this particualr thread i wasnt talking about the story or how the game was made, though i do agree, but i just meant whats not to like about both characters..

 

[hogwartskid7]

4. The reason he seems like a "robot", is cuz of all he' gone through. That's the reason he really wasn't affected by all of the freakshow stuff that happened in 4.