Contrary to popular Resident Evil fandom, according to which Leon Kennedy has an incurable crush on Ada Wong since the beginning of time (or rather, since the original Resident Evil 2 when he first met her), I always had the impression that things were never that simple for our fearless hero, as far as love matters were concerned. If you ask me, Leon probably swings both ways, tasting the best of both worlds when it comes to it, but always being selective; and since he is such a smart and good-hearted guy, he likes people and is liked in return thanks to his great looks and big heart, never feeling jealous or competitive, which is why he has made good friends throughout his adventurous life.

I have to make it clear first that I am not part of the fandom, although I like (most) Resident Evil games very much and I enjoy playing them again and again. But the term "fandom" implies a rather hardcore obsession that I don't have, so I prefer to say, when speaking for myself, that I simply love the series and I find several of its characters quite interesting, fascinating even. As I have mentioned a few times in this blog, the video games of our times are like interactive movies; therefore their characters are like heroes from a film or a book. They have depth, background, and are as "real" in their imaginary world as their counterparts from cinema or literature. So character analysis is not only legit in the gaming universe, but also a must, if we want to dig a bit deeper and understand motives, actions or decisions that our digital heroes are called to do or make in the course of their quests.

That said, although I plead guilty of having my own "ships" in several games (I think it's inevitable nowadays that video games have evolved so much and their heroes are so powerful character-wise), I do not blindly stick to them, as I want to be able to fully explore a character's potential. In other words, I do not mind if two characters that I like seeing together as lovers, for example, are simply friends in someone else's shipping realm, or vice versa. I once had a rather entertaining (well, at least for me it was) discussion with another person, who was so fanatic about a certain ship, that they could not bear even hearing a different view. That person obviously was missing the very important point that we were talking about fictional characters, therefore anything could be considered canon in their world. It was impossible to make that person understand that it is not an insult to "pair" video game characters in the combinations that you want, since there are basically no limits to imagination. I would strongly advise people with such stiff brains to read some classic literature or watch good movies to maybe widen their perspective a bit.

So according to fandom, Leon is in love with Ada, or at least is infatuated with her; something that, however, never prevented him from setting his eyes on other girls - and boys, for that matter. He has so far flirted with Angela Miller, his co-protagonist in the movie Degeneration, a little bit with Helena Harper, his partner in Resident Evil 6, even with Ingrid Hunnigan, his overseas guide in Resident Evil 4 - to name a few. Regardless, it is not hard to get those strong metaltango vibes in his scenes with Jack Krauser in both Resident Evil 4 and The Darkside Chronicles (especially in the former, both their fights should be X-rated); not to mention that, so many years later in Resident Evil 6, Leon obviously hadn't undergone any corrective surgery to remove the pretty much visible and very deep scar that Krauser's knife left on his cheek during their duel in Resident Evil 4. There is clearly a rather strong connection between him and Alexander Kozachenko in the movie Damnation, and he has the time to form a suspiciously close bond with Luis Sera in Resident Evil 4, despite their very brief and violently cut acquaintance.

But when it comes to girls, there is a part in Leon's life (and heart, in my humble opinion) that belongs to a very special lady, who is no other than our lovely Claire Redfield. This has nothing to do with shipping Leon and Claire as lovers (I will always ship Leon and Krauser above all other ships), but it is a conclusion based on specific facts. Leon's unrequited crush may have actually been Claire all this time - and vice versa, as Claire seems to be rather smitten as well. It was not that obvious (if at all) in the original Resident Evil 2, because the character design was very simple and the cutscenes focused more on the action and less on the heroes themselves. Moreover, in the original Leon was supposed to have broken up with his girlfriend the night before he arrived at Raccoon City, therefore his character was more or less outlined in a very specific way. His meeting with Claire was very brief and rather typical, cleverly giving room to the possibility of a romance between him and Ada.

In the remake, however, things are quite different. To begin with, we have a jaw-droppingly attractive Leon and a very pretty Claire. When they share the screen for the first time at the gas station, they look like a match made in Heaven (see what I did there?). They are almost the same age (Claire is 19 and Leon is 21), and they are both as sweet as cupcakes. In the brief scenes that follow before they split up, they have an interesting dialogue where, after the necessary introductions, Leon attempts to comfort Claire, seeing how she is worried about the fate of her brother. One could say that this is something anyone would do - show humanity towards a fellow survivor in such a wild situation; but honestly I don't think so; most people tend to save themselves and they do not give a penny for other souls, let alone strangers. But just consider Leon's situation: he finds himself stranded in a store overrun by zombies, and suddenly he stumbles upon another living person who also happens to be a pretty girl. And now consider it from the other point of view: Claire finds herself in the exterior of a gas station, chased by zombies, when she unexpectedly bumps onto another living person who happens to be a handsome boy. You only need a simple knowledge of mathematics to put facts together and reach a conclusion that makes so much sense.

In the fascinating universe of fiction, all fields included, there have been great stories about people who met under extreme circumstances and subsequently formed a close bond because of this. Robinson Crusoe from the eponymous novel is a classic archetype, with how he bonded with the native Friday on the island where he found himself alone; and the Atlanta survivors from The Walking Dead series are another good example as well, from contemporary fiction. Leon and Claire both found themselves in a hostile city, where they were initially the only living souls. It is quite clear that neither of them could have survived those first terrifying moments if they hadn't met each other; let alone be able to safely escape from that living Hell. Leon and Claire's chemistry is so evident and strong in the remake, that it almost eliminates Ada's dynamic as a love interest for Leon. Although Ada appears as a very charming woman, bathed in mystery, she looks way too distant compared to the earthly, hot-blooded Claire. Through the progression of the story, we can see Leon growing an interest towards Ada while being separated from Claire whom he will eventually meet again only at the very end. But just like he bonded with Claire at the beginning because the two of them clung on each other in order to survive, in a similar way coming across a woman like Ada wandering alone in the spooky, zombie-infested town, intrigued Leon because on the one hand it was a rather unexpected encounter, and on the other, Ada came from a world that was obviously unknown to Leon - simply put, he had never seen someone like Ada before. But Leon generally has a tendency to get impressed by people that stand out from the crowd and carry an aura of mystery and danger about them, independently of their gender. Ada may be one such case, but something similar happened also when he met Krauser, Luis and Alexander.

In the remake, there is no ex-girlfriend for Leon; and as far as Ada is concerned, she seems rather wooed with him right from the start and does not manage to hide it very well. In the scene where Leon is about to leave her wounded in the cable car outside the Nest and she kisses him just before he enters the lab, he doesn't look particularly thrilled; it is more like he was taken by surprise, as he obviously wasn't expecting something like that to happen. For what it's worth, he never loses his focus or his morality, and he proves to be much smarter than Ada in the end, as it is revealed during their last scene together that he had sensed she was attracted to him to such a degree as to lose her self-control and risk to mess up her dangerous mission. 

 

Unlike Claire, who is always crystal-clear and honest towards Leon, Ada is constantly lying, hiding things, bluffing and coming up with tricks in order to gain his trust and make him help her. But her tricks and her ways in general are rather old-fashioned; just like her appearance, they seem to come out of an old spy movie. She walks around on her high heels, sporting those huge Jackie O sunglasses in the middle of the night, lurking in the shadows while waiting for Leon to do all the hard work and face all those monsters by himself so as to clear the path for her, showing off her bravery only by threatening to kill Kendo's little daughter in front of her father's eyes. In the meantime Claire fights all sorts of monsters on her own, saves Sherry, manages to fix the broken relationship between her and Annette even if this happens minutes before Annette dies, and cares about Leon in a genuine, unconditional way. Leon is too smart to just ignore all this, since a comparison between the two girls is unavoidable to happen.

 

There is a scene a bit after the beginning, when Leon and Claire meet again at the back of the police station, separated by a wired fence. Their dialogue at that point is very brief but quite warm and touching, while the smiles that light up their faces while looking at each other say a lot more than words. As far as I am concerned, hadn't Leon crossed paths with Ada and hadn't Claire gotten involved in helping and saving little Sherry, things would have evolved a whole lot differently for the two of them.

The most interesting part is that Leon never flirts with Claire - at least not in the way he does with other girls - and in fact Claire is the only female character (except Ashley, who was his responsibility and he saw her strictly as a person he had to protect, and Sherry, whom he knew since she was little and always considered a kind of little sister) that Leon meets that does not get involved in a courtship with him at any point. It may be considered canon that he has a crush on Ada, but if you think about it, the way he flirts with her is the same way he flirts with every other girl. The reason their courtship went a bit further was only practical: Ada had the chance to bump onto Leon way more times than his other partners or companions. Their relationship never got more intimate (at least there is no mention of anything of this kind in the Resident Evil universe), and in the long run their stagnant love game became rather quaint. So Leon doesn't flirt with Claire because, in his eyes, she is different; she doesn't belong to the crowd of pretty girls that he would easily court. It is not a matter of just liking a girl in this case, but one of a budding feeling of real love. Of course life (aka the Capcom guys) had other plans for them, so sadly those sparkles never had the chance to flare up.

According to a saying, children and fools tell the truth; and little Sherry in the end, when the three of them finally escape from the Raccoon City hell, asks Leon and Claire if they are boyfriend and girlfriend. Sherry is a wise girl; both her parents were highly intelligent, therefore she carries their genes of brilliance. She certainly felt the love vibes in the air, although she was too young to understand that such issues are far more complicated in the adult world. Regardless, more interesting evidence that Leon had feelings for Claire can be found back in his epilogue card from the original Resident Evil 3 (Nemesis). In the brief passage that is featured on that card, we get an idea about how he and Sherry parted ways with Claire right after they escaped from Umbrella's secret lab: he must have been rather upset and marginally disappointed while urging her to leave and go find her brother.

You don't have to read between the lines to realize that Leon sounds like a spiteful man in love here. I wouldn't go as far as considering Claire the love of his life (that title will always belong to Jack), but facts show she clearly came very close to becoming one.

Vintage Elements in Video Games: The Banker's Lamp

If you have played enough video games of all genres, you must have noticed in many of them the presence of a special kind of lamp that can be seen standing on desks, tables or benches. It is that characteristic old-style lamp with the green shade, that usually has a metallic body and a chain on the side with which it can be turned on and off, and it is called the banker's lamp.

The banker's lamp is an actual item that was first designed in 1909 by Harrison McFaddin and subsequently produced in large numbers to fill the needs of offices, companies but also civilian homes. As its green light was both bright and soothing, it became particularly popular in financial institutions, such as banks - which is where its name came from eventually. Its initial name, however, was a direct reference to its color and its function. It was called Emeralite - a blend of "emerald" and "light". Most banker's lamps are made with the same green shade that the original ones used to feature, but there are also blue, orange, even white ones.

Like most vintage objects that appear in video games, the banker's lamp is usually just a part of the decoration, adding to the overall atmosphere with its bright green light, if it is lit, or simply its stylish design, if it is turned off. The list of games that feature banker's lamps could go forever, as they can be seen in all kinds or genres. I have compiled just a few notable examples from action games that I have played, and afterdarkmysweet contributed with four samples from adventure games.

In Bioshock: Infinite, we can see several banker's lamps in their "natural" environment: in the Bank of the Prophet:

But we can also spot some others in various places, like in Elizabeth's tower, where the banker's lamp has a more elaborate shade design:

Random ones can be spotted on desks in other places:

In Murdered: Soul Suspect, there are banker's lamps in the back rooms of the church:

In Rise of the Tomb Raider, there is one sitting on Lord Croft's desk in the Manor:

There is one more on his study desk in the Library:

As well as on a side table in the same room, where he used to keep several items, papers and books:

In Resident Evil 6, there is one banker's lamp on the dean's desk in the Campus building:

There is one more in the same room, on a small table next to the entrance:

In the remake of Resident Evil 2, many banker's lamps can be seen in the RPD Library:

There is also a lone one on the desk of Chief Irons' private office:

In Devil May Cry 5, there are several ones in the Red Grave Library:

In Inmates, there is a banker's lamp on a bench in the Prison:

And one more on another bench in the same place:

In True Fear: Forsaken Souls 2, there is one in the doctor's office in the Asylum:

In What Never Was there is one in the grandfather's house:

As contemporary culture digs more and more into the past for inspiration and ideas, it is only natural that the game developing teams do the same. Digital art can recreate literally everything and breathe new life into elements that come from the past, more so since items like the banker's lamps are still perfectly usable today, although it's been over a century since their original creation.

Resident Evil 2 Remake

The recent remake of the Capcom classic Resident Evil 2 is a perfect mix of material coming from its vintage version and all the technical and visual advantages of contemporary gaming development technology. Matching this with a smart and flowing gameplay system and its legendary character cast, the game might be one of the finest Resident Evil titles, while at the same time being already a cult masterpiece although it was released only a few months ago, as it incorporates characteristic elements of classic cinematography and literature.

Environment and atmosphere wise, the remake is magnificent, starting with the lush vintage feast that is the revamped Racoon Police Department. From the original already, the main setting of the game that was the interior of the police station was depicted as a labyrinthine network of rooms and corridors set within a huge building with a complex architecture of past times, that used to be a museum. Now we see the huge, imposing building in all its glory; with vast halls, antique items, exquisite decorations and paintings; with complex puzzles, mysterious locked doors that open with iconic keys, secret rooms, spooky corridors and dusty storage areas. Zombies lurk behind every corner, burst through windows, wake up from their dead state ready to devour any living creature. Hideous monsters hang from the ceiling, crawl on the walls, jump out from the ducts. The sole ally that shows up is already bitten, and becomes a zombie soon after.

The RPD is imposing and ominous

This environment itself sets the mood right from the start, giving off a vague feeling that once inside, the protagonists are lost in time. The notion of a character being trapped in a huge, hostile building was introduced in the Resident Evil world with the first installment of the series (back then it was the Spencer mansion - another classic setting), and is a situation that we can trace, with variationσ, both in folk fairy tales and in thriller movies.

The ever-present in zombie stories gas station appears in the remake right at the beginning; it is where Leon and Claire first meet and are attacked by a horde of zombies. Set in the darkness of the small hours, the scene depicts the gas station as a dark and ominous place, lit only by the headlights of a parked police car which looks like it was abandoned there in a hurry as its doors were left open. There are traces of blood on the ground, but the interior of the building is silent, although the door signs reads "open" on the outside.

The gas station looks sparsely lit and gloomy

That scene, a reminiscent of and tribute to a memorable sequence from The Night Of The Living Dead, offers only a very small taste of what will follow, being a prelude to a progressive zombie nightmare.

A major feature in the remake is the way it integrates the development of its characters in the plot in a most effective and realistic way. This goes for both the good and the evil heroes, as both sides push the plot forward with their actions and decisions. Claire arrives at Raccoon City to find her disappeared brother, but when she comes across Sherry who is obviously in need of help, she doesn't lose time and is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the little girl is safe and sound. Leon shows up as a rookie police officer, determined to stay faithful to his oath to serve and protect the citizens, but he finds himself entangled in a much more complicated case where the immediate threats are anything but human. Regardless, he turns out to be more than capable to deal with all this, proving that both he and Claire are true survivors. Ada, on the other hand, being constantly on the margin between good and evil, finds out that she is not the cold spy that she thought she was, since her unexpected feelings for Leon messed with her judgement, leaving her vulnerable in the most unfortunate turn of her mission. 

Claire has always been one of the most popular characters in the Resident Evil universe, and rightly so. A combination of bravery, smartness and capability, Claire seems to be the fair counterpart of her brother, Chris. Being introduced in the series right after him, she fortifies her place in the saga by being part of the iconic game that was the original Resident Evil 2 and now that her character has returned via its remake with such dynamics, all those elements that made her stand out in the first place are intensified.

Claire is Sherry's guardian angel

Leon has been redesigned with features that combine both his Resident Evil 4 younger version and his Resident Evil 6 more mature self. Several traits of his character and physique have been emphasized or altered to match the literary prototype of the young, innocent hero with the big heart, like Charles Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, Henry Fielding's Tom Jones and Herman Melville's Billy Budd. Just like those characters, Leon is an extraordinarily beautiful, blooming young man who has no malice in his heart and is always ready to offer his help to whomever needs it. Unlike the three of them, however, who were noted for their charming naivety, Leon is highly intelligent and capable of consciously using whatever means to battle injustice.

Leon shares many elements with the brave young heroes of classic literature

Like Billy, Nicholas and Tom, Leon trusts people thanks to his guileless heart, but he also has a strong instinct that holds him from giving too much. Which is why he goes all the trouble to help Ada, but he is never fully convinced of her sincerity. There is one scene close to the end where Ada is threatening to kill him, yet Leon seems pretty confident that she is unable to do it. Ada then lowers her gun, proving him right. This hints (or maybe even shows directly) that Leon was totally aware of Ada's feelings towards him, and he somehow managed to take advantage of it and trap her into giving up. Remember, in Ada's own words, Leon is a genious.

Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam), Tom Jones (Albert Finney), Billy Budd (Terence Stamp)

Leon's backstory has also been changed, completely leaving out the detail about him breaking up with his girlfriend then getting drunk at a motel therefore arriving late in Raccoon City the day of the outbreak, which was the scenario in the original game. In this new version of the story, Leon simply receives a call telling him to get to his post later than the predetermined date, which is why he was not present at the time of the outbreak. This, combined with the fact that, when Ada kisses him in the cable car, he does not look particularly thrilled, not only hints that he never lets his heart mess with his duty, but also implies that the respective Krauser-related fandom may be marginally canon.

Ada is mysterious as always

Although Ada's character goes along the lines of her original version, in the remake she is shaped with much more detail, referencing the femme fatale stereotype from the classic film noir universe. Even so, Ada does not remain the typical femme fatale until the end of the story. She makes her first impressive appearance as a mysterious spy, with her high heels, her trench coat and dark glasses, but after befriending Leon, she gradually exposes herself more and more, both literally and metaphorically, a development that symbolizes her inner urge to open up to him and show more of her true self.
 
Ada seems to allude to several characters of the femme fatale genre, both classic and contemporary. She is wrapped in mystery and ambiguity, like the intimidating yet charming ladies that Lauren Bacal used to portray, but she also finds herself in a quite perplexed situation when she falls in love with the man whom she tries to take advantage of, resulting in her putting her own life at stake, like Asia Argento's Beatrice in B. Monkey.

Lauren Bacal in The Big Sleep and Asia Argento in B Monkey

Sherry's part is pure cult material in the remake, for a variety of reasons. It takes place in a dark, spooky orphanage, the atmosphere of which is loaded with the memory of the children who once lived there and were used in experiments. There are toys, drawings and children's furniture everywhere, yet there seems to be nothing cozy nor welcoming about this place. The rooms are gloomy and dimly lit, creating a chilling atmosphere of terrifying seclusion and nausea.

View of the orphanage's main hall

There are vintage photographs and paintings on the walls, while a gramophone can be heard playing an aria from Valkyrie by Wagner as Sherry gets closer and closer to the Chief's twisted secret: the private lab where he exercises his hobby of embalming all kinds of creatures, including the ill-fated daughter of the city's Mayor. This section features many elements of classic novels and films: the mysterious building that is lost in time, the crazy scientist with the extravagant lab, the beautiful innocent girl who becomes the victim of a psycho, the little child who is trapped by a maniac and attempts to escape; but most prominently, the orphanage with the sick administration, a theme that is present in quite a few novels, the most memorable of them being in Charles Dickens' Nicholas Nickleby.

Vintage illustration depicting the orphanage from Nicholas Nickleby

Unlike Leon's story, which has pretty much the same layout as the original, Claire's story sees a few very important and notable modifications. First of all, the meeting with Chief Irons is transformed into one dramatic, epic scene. In the original, Claire meets Chief Irons for the first time in his secret office while looking for Sherry. In the remake, she bumps onto him in the parking lot, moments after she crosses paths with the little girl. Tension builds up slowly as the Chief emerges from the shadows just before he points a gun at the girls and forces Sherry to tie Claire's hands behind her back. After being attacked twice by Irons, Claire manages to free herself but not before the Chief runs away with Sherry.

Claire and Sherry meet the evil Chief Irons

This scene is very crucial for the story, but it is even more important for Claire: first of all, we realize that the Chief must have sensed that she is a considerable enemy (otherwise why would he want to neutralize her?), which further establishes Claire as a fearless, badass heroine. Secondly, by the end of the scene Claire is back on her feet yelling at the Chief, showing him that she is not afraid and at the same time showing us that she will not rest until she finds Sherry, sealing her role as a protector and an avenger.

While the game itself is not very long - you can even complete it in under two hours, or even less when you get to know it well enough and are willing to take shortcuts - it has a very distinct replay value. You find yourself wanting to play it again so as to get that same immersive feeling which was there during your very first playthrough and which will never go away no matter how many your replays may be. This alone says something about the quality of the remake, both as an impeccable game and a work of art with timeless value.

Art In Video Games: The Treasures of the Raccoon Police Department

One of the most emblematic places in the Resident Evil universe is undoubtedly the Raccoon Police Department, which was the actual protagonist of Resident Evil 2. Not only was it a labyrinthine building with what looked like millions of locked doors, but it also kept some well-hidden secrets. The imposing multi-storey construction used to be a museum, which explains the several works of art that can be spotted in its rooms and corridors. In the recent remake of Resident Evil 2, we have the chance to see the revamped RPD building in all its glory and admire the paintings of classic art, the imposing statues and sculptures and the interesting collection of photographs that once were among the museum's exhibits but now are either used as decoration or are hidden away in storage rooms.

The main hall of the police station is a vast room, guarded by an imposing goddess statue just opposite the front door. The statue holds a big secret, as there is a hidden passage below it, leading to a secret room which, in turn, leads to the machinery room, the underground parking lot, the prison cells, and the private elevator of Chief Irons.

The secret passage is only accessible once Leon or Claire find and place three medallions on its pedestal. Said medallions are locked in three separate statues that are found in different areas of the building.

The lion medallion is locked in an elaborately made golden Lion statue that stands on the upper balcony of the main hall.

Equally artful is the bronze statue which holds the unicorn medallion, which depicts a Unicorn and can be found on a lone balcony just outside the Library.

The silver Maiden statue which has the last medallion stands behind a barred door which needs to be broken down with a detonator. It is the very impressive statue of a young woman. Next to it, we can also see the marble bust of a young man, in the Greco-roman style, which is the bust from the statue of Saint George by Donatello (many thanks to Jorge for pointing it out to me!)

In the same secluded section, there is the same bust and a gargoyle just behind the Maiden statue and one more marble bust outside the bars.

There are two identical marble busts on the two sides of the balcony above the Main Hall.

In the Art Room, we find a big statue of the goddess Athena.

In the same room, there is an equally big statue that depicts a king. This statue is part of a puzzle, as it holds a key item, the red stone.

Several busts, small statues and ancient greek vases can be found scattered around in the Art Room as well.

The bust of Saint George is again here, and we can spot more statuettes if we look more closely.

There is also an ebony male statue, which is missing its head.

Two statuettes can be spotted in the secret office just below the goddess statue.

On one wall of the Main Hall, we can see the "Toilette of Venus" by François Boucher (1751).

In the Waiting Room, there is the "Study Head of a Woman" by Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1780) and the "Portrait Of The Painter" by John La Farge (1859) above the framed badge of Chief Irons.

In the same room, we can also see a painting that depicts dying flowers, which can be spotted on other walls of the station as well.

In the Art Room, there is "Virgin and Child with Four Angels" by Gerard David (c. 1510).

In the secret room below the goddess statue, we can see the "Child Holding a Doll" by John Downman (1780).

In the same room, there is a painting depicting a rocky landscape on the left and the "Titan's Goblet" by Thomas Cole (1833) on the right.

In Wesker's office, there is the same rocky landscape painting as well as the one picturing the dying flowers, another one depicting a vase with flowers that looks like the style that dutch painters of the 17th century would make, and "Woman In A Riding Habit" by Gustave Courbet (1856) on the far left. Wesker must be have been a serious art lover in spite of his evil temperament.

Courbet's painting and the flower vase one can also be seen in the corridor leading to the Dark Room. Nearby, we can spot the "Portrait of A Young Woman" by Lorenzo di Credi (c. 1490).

In the Library there are two huge paintings, one on the wall of the balcony that leads to the clocktower gallery and one on the wall just above the stairs. The first is a depiction of Justice in the form of a woman who holds a sword and points at the scales.

The second one seems to be inspired by certain paintings that show Saint Sebastian being tended by angels. We find this theme in several existing paintings, like this one by Anthony Van Dyck, this one by Pieter Thijs and this one by Gustave Doré. In the version of the RPD Library, we can barely spot Saint Sebastian at the bottom of the painting, as the scene is focused on the angel.

Both these paintings seem to carry a special symbolism connected to the story. Like the angel takes care of Saint Sebastian, equally first Ada tends Leon when he gets hurt, then Leon helps Ada when she is helpless and in the meantime, Claire is Sherry's guardian angel. And both Leon and Claire fight their way through all sorts of obstacles to make sure Justice is served.

There are a few rather ominous pieces of modern art by the stairs that lead to the second floor on the West wing.

Either the museum was planning to host modern art before its closure or Chief Irons was already starting to show off his twisted taste by decorating the walls with creepy paintings.

There are strange artistic symbols vaguely resembling rosettes on the wall of the Interrogation room in the basement of the East wing.

In the secret room, there is a vintage photo of two young Creole men in a rather intimate pose. It is a real-life photo dating back in the 1840s.

In the corridor leading to the Dark Room, as well as in the West wing's storage room, we can see the photo of an elderly woman who looks Creole as well and seems to be of a similar period of time.

In the same corridor, as well as in the Art Room, there is a photo of a girl in a white dress which also looks like it was taken around the same time.

The above photograph looks like a variation of one that we can see in the Baker family house in Resident Evil 7. The fact that all three photographs in the RPD building are or seem to be of Creoles, could be a nod to Resident Evil 7 which takes place in Louisiana, home of a big part of the Creole population.