The Resident Evil series is one that sort of passed me by in that I never knew much about it and, as a result, had very little interest in looking into it. Numerous attempts were made to get into the fourth game after being assured it was the best one countless times, but each attempt ended in failure. The game itself was obviously going to be great, but for whatever reason it just wasn’t grabbing me. That, and the dated control scheme was apparently too much for my feeble little brain to come to grips with. Everything changed in 2020, however, when the remake for Resident Evil 3 launched and I found myself drawn to this world once again. I’d seen full walkthroughs of both the 1 and 2 remakes, and 7 on YouTube, so my interest was already piqued, but this was a chance to finally have some first-hand experience with the Umbrella Corporation.
I went in totally blind. Resident Evil 3 Remake has a special place in my heart solely for the fact that it was technically my first actual experience with a Resident Evil game. There have been criticisms aimed at it for its length and unfaithfulness to the original, criticisms I didn’t have enough knowledge of to really have an opinion on. All I knew was that I was having a damned good time. Fast forward just over a year and Resident Evil: Village released, which I was quick to purchase and voraciously consume over the course of a day and a half. I was beginning to understand why this series was so popular, though I personally preferred the angle of the zombie apocalypse and the virus leaking from Umbrella’s labs in Raccoon City from the earlier games over the storyline with the mould and the Megamycete in 7 and 8. But it feels like the series might be headed in an interesting direction, and I’ll be very happy if Capcom end up doing what I’ve been hoping for ever since I finished Village.
A Return To Form
Having consumed much of what the Resident Evil series has to offer over the last couple of years, it’s safe to say it’s on track to becoming one of my favourite IPs of all time, and I have every intention of picking up the inevitable ninth instalment whenever it releases. It was as early as my completion of Resident Evil 3 Remake, however, when I already knew who my favourite character was, that being none other than Jill Valentine herself. Most people go for the calm, cool, collected Leon Kennedy, with others preferring the militaristic, brutish but sensitive Chris Redfield. Naturally, I’m biased given my experience with Jill tangling with the Nemesis being my first actual hands-on taste of what Resident Evil had to offer. Regarding this new age of Resident Evil that initially appeared to be focusing more on the mysterious black mould and, by extension, the godlike Megamycete creature living beneath the village of Resident Evil 8 that said mould presumably spawned from, Capcom did something surprising by the time the most recent game wrapped up. Village’s conclusion sees Ethan Winters perish after fighting off the relentless Mother Miranda, saving his baby daughter in the process. What follows is a discussion between Chris and Mia, where everybody’s favourite boulder-punching asshole insists that they have to travel to the European headquarters of the BSAA to put an end the horror of the last several years once and for all.
Having done quite a bit of research into the series since becoming invested in it, my understanding of the situation is this; the BSAA(Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) are an organisation originally founded with the assistance of Chris and Jill after the events of the first game to combat further attempts by Umbrella, and possibly others, to profit from the creation and distribution of dangerous biological weapons. They appear to crop up every now and then to deal with particular situations, such as the incident with the Baker family in Resident Evil 7. In Village, though, Chris is no longer working with the BSAA and is vocal about his poor opinion of them, as they have presumably become corrupt and untrustworthy.
It seems like they might have become the series’ stand-in for the now virtually non-existent Umbrella Corporation. For further context, one of Chris’s subordinates examines a dead BSAA soldier at the end of Village and claims that he is a ‘mutant’, a soldier upgraded biologically that could technically be classified as a bioweapon. The implication here is that the BSAA no longer exist to counter biological terrorism, and have instead become involved in it. This is what spurs Chris to insist they head to the BSAA headquarters and destroy them for good.
Having capped off the Megamycete and mould storyline, arguably prematurely, Resident Evil appears to be heading back to its roots and tackling a plot more akin to the older games. With the BSAA taking Umbrella’s place as the bioterrorist antagonists and Chris’s Hound Wolf Squad taking the fight to them, Resident Evil 9 promises to be an old school story that could rival the best entries in the series. I should mention at this point that Village has a mid-credits scene that shows a presumably teenage Rose visiting her father’s grave before being chauffeured away by one of Chris’s people, which throws a bit of a spanner in the works for a direct follow-up to Village, but let’s assume said flash forward will not be the main focus of 9. Should the next game focus on Hound Wolf Squad with Mia in tow taking the fight to the BSAA and a more traditionally Resident Evil-style plot coming to the forefront, wouldn’t it be exciting for Jill Valentine to return and join Chris’s side for one last fight?
My Bloody Valentine
Jill’s reappearances in the series since the third game have been spotty at best, at least when compared to Chris, who shows up in almost every instalment bar a few. The last time she was seen was in Resident Evil 5 as Wesker’s mind-controlled puppet, an ordeal that has clearly taken its toll on her after Chris manages to subdue and free her. In the end, she returns with Chris to the United States to be rehabilitated, but that is chronologically the last time she has been seen. Considering her involvement with the BSAA alongside Chris, as well as the pair’s constant camaraderie and close-knit friendship, a reunion is inevitable at this point. Jill deserves some closure for all that she has been through, and the BSAA are going to get what’s coming to them if Chris has his way. I’m hoping against hope that when the next game rolls around it will pick up almost immediately where Village left off, with Jill making her long-awaited return alongside Chris once more as they make their move to take down the BSAA.
As Village concludes, we are told that “the father’s story is now done”, implying Mia may come to the forefront as something of a replacement for Jill Valentine in the latter’s absence. I have no issue with Mia getting more time in the limelight. She’s an interesting if underutilised character, and her section in Resident Evil 7 was a nice subversion of expectations where the protagonist’s wife, who most people assumed would take on the damsel in distress role for the game, was actually more than capable of kicking ass all by herself. I would relish the chance to see her join Hound Wolf Squad for the series’ next instalment. What would be a damn shame, though, is if she takes Jill’s place as Chris’s partner, and my favourite character in the entire franchise falls into obscurity. Jill deserves to return to the series proper so that she and Chris can finish things together, just as they started them together all those years ago in the Spencer Mansion.
I Need A Hero(ine)
Jill Valentine is nothing short of a total fucking badass and I will stand by that statement until the day I die. I never had the chance to play the original Resident Evil 3, but I’ve come to understand that the remake stripped back some of the character’s vulnerabilities in favour of a more capable and kickass action hero. It’s a change that works well in the modern day and would transfer seamlessly over to a modern Resident Evil. The fifth game came out all the way back in 2009, after all. That’s a period of thirteen years that the series has gone without Jill making a reappearance, not including the remake of 3. Whatever way Resident Evil 9 goes, I’m sure it will be great, but Jill’s presence will only make it better, and a reunion between her and Chris after everything that has transpired since their last meeting would be a joy to behold, for fanservice’s sake if nothing else. Let’s hope Capcom does right by Resident Evil’s unsung hero by giving her another chance to kick ass with her boulder-punching comrade in arms.
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