One of the strongest and most memorable sequences in Resident Evil: Requiem is the one that begins with Leon arriving at the Raccoon Police Department, following the same path as he did when he was still a rookie on what would have been his first day at the service. Nostalgia hits hard as Leon sees the demolished building of the R.P.D. again, after 28 years, commenting that he can't believe it is still standing.
Then as he opens the main gate, he is overwhelmed by memories of that fateful day, reminiscing Marvin, Elliot and his own young and innocent self.
Once inside, it is when and where the trip down memory lane essentially begins. Although the atmosphere is heavy and gloomy, you can't but smile while experiencing a meta-game moment as Leon sees the typewriter that we, as players, used in order to save our game in the remake of Resident Evil 2, in the exact same spot, mentioning that there's no way it still works.
The item box is just nearby, in the exact same place as before, but it is not functional anymore.
The imposing statue of Justice in the center of the room is still standing but part of its head is now missing, as a result of the hit of the missile that ruined the building.
The old monitoring system has been destroyed, but there is a new one now, possibly placed there by the BSAA forces, via which Leon is able to locate where Grace and Zeno are in the building. He sees that they are in the East Office, in the same section where he originally had to go when he first arrived at the R.P.D. as a rookie.
In the same area with the statue and the monitoring system, is also now the festive garland that his colleagues had brought to the station as part of the welcoming party that they had prepared for him. The garland once was on his own desk in the West Office.
On top of the main stairs stands what is left of the lion statue which featured one of the puzzles that needed to be solved so as to open the secret entrance to the underground, under the Justice statue.
The puzzle itself is just how Leon left it 28 years ago - solved. Looking at it, he comments that it was weird. It was, indeed!
The only accessible area so far is the West Office, now dark, ruined and abandoned. Leon spots what would have been his own desk, where originally he had to solve a puzzle as part of the welcoming procedure. His name plaque is still there.
On the side is Marvin's office, something that makes Leon murmur an emotionally loaded comment.
In his logbook, Marvin had left instructions for the other officers about Leon's welcoming party. Another touching detail that brings back more sad memories, since that party never had the chance to take place.
In the small office on the far side, the safe is still there, opened, as Leon left it years ago.
The corridor outside has the passage to the right blocked, so there is no way to visit the Dark Room or the stairwell leading up. On the left, there is the destroyed Operations Room, with the bulletin board listing the events of that fated day curiously intact.
Leaving the Operations Room, Leon wanders towards the licker corridor where there is a leftover zombie officer passing by.
Leon has no other choice than to shoot him, subsequently wishing him to rest easy. Just at the corner of the licker corridor, there is still the corpse of the officer with the missing jaw whom Leon had found in a terrifying state years ago.
When he sees him, Leon makes the same comment as before.
From the licker corridor, Leon arrives at the small waiting room leading back to the main hall, only the shutter is closed and there is no way to exit. However there is a retractable ladder attached to the balcony above, so Leon shoots it and climbs up, where there is still the Unicorn statue, in a relatively good state.
Leon notices the solved puzzle at the base of the statue, commenting that the buttons do not budge because of the rust.
The next place to explore is the S.T.A.R.S. office, in the corridor nearby. On the way, we can spot the door the Linen Room, which is blocked by rubble and does not open.
The S.T.A.R.S. workspace is dark and eery, probably holding the most intense memories, as it is also associated with the S.T.A.R.S. members that we know. Back in the day, Leon did not know any of them in person, but Claire had already spoken to him about her brother, and later in his life, until the latest fateful events brought him back to the police station, he had the chance to meet Chris, Jill and Rebecca in the meantime.
There is Rebecca's medical bag, still hanging near her desk. Back then, it was hiding a First Aid Spray.
Jill's S.T.A.R.S. cap is on her desk, alongside the photo of her beloved doggie in a framed picture.
Chris's leather jacket is also there, still by his desk.
No sign of his electric guitar though! Could it be that he somehow managed to sneak in and grab it before the missile strike? It seems impossible, since he was already missing, but who knows. Or maybe when he returned there later with the BSAA, he managed to retrieve what was left of it.
On Barry's desk, there is a To-Do list, which, among other things, hints at a second puzzle set by him.
In his jacket's pocket, there is a photo that Barry put in there, as part of a playful puzzle he had prepared for his younger colleagues.
The first drawer on Wesker's office can still be opened, and if Leon waits a few seconds, a Library Card will emerge from there, linked to Barry's second puzzle.
Then it's time to explore the Library. Still imposing, still holding so many memories. The Mechanical Jack is still there, where Leon left it 28 years ago, after using it to move the bookshelves and create a path to cover the gap overhead.
Still functional, and thankfully so, as Leon needs it now again to force open the shutter that is blocking the way to the East Office.
Back in the Operations Room, following Barry's photo puzzle, Leon climbs up the crates opposite the notifications board and spots a key attached to the edge of the hanging TV device. It turns out to be JoJo's key.
This leads back to the West Office, where there is the locked locker with JoJo's name on it. Using the key, Leon can open it and find Barry's hidden prizes: the S.T.A.R.S. Emblem Weapon Charm and two tickets for the Raccoon City Zoo. The emblem is perfectly functional, but the tickets sadly have no use anymore. Since the prizes are still there, obviously Chris and Jill never had the chance to play Barry's game at all.
In the corridor outside, the zombie officer Leon previously killed has reanimated and is banging the soda machine, just like another zombie officer did 28 years ago. Again Leon has to put him down.
Around the same area, the Tofu officer makes its playful appearance.
Then Leon returns to the licker corridor and proceeds to the waiting room to force open the shutter with the Mechanical Jack and return to the main hall.
After Leon confronts Zeno, the latter releases the Tyrant, who hasn't changed a bit. Apparently, it is yet one more clone of the original monster.
Not a fond memory, of course, but a memory still. Leon remembers the Tyrant too well, it seems.
As Leon enters the waiting room of the first floor, the Tyrant uses a part of the helicopter that had smashed through the roof 28 years ago, so as to block his path.
When Leon exits out to the balcony, the Tyrant disappears from sight, so our hero can take a stroll around that part of the station for more memorabilia.
In the small hall back near the staircase, the base of the vintage Mr Raccoon figurine is still standing.
In the same area, in the ruins of Chief Irons's office, there are still a few pieces of his stuffed animals collection, specifically the Bear and the Deer.
Outside, there is still access to the Underground Parking Garage, which Leon had opened 28 years ago with Ben's card.
There's zombie soldiers there that Leon has to kill, but the place is more or less unchanged.
At the back, there are the remains of the truck that Ada used to temporarily defeat the Tyrant and save Leon's life. There is also the familiar Cute Bear Charm lying on top of the rubble.
Leon is again overpowered by sad memories as he approaches and then enters Kendo's Gun Shop, opposite the station.
He remembers Kendo and his desperation, and how powerless he himself felt, unable to do something to help.
After Leon leaves Kendo's Shop, the Tyrant returns for a commemorative boss fight.
As a bonus, there are a couple of memorabilia from Jill's adventure in Raccoon City. In the playground nearby, Leon finds the head a of a Charlie doll.
This is a memorabilia piece on its own, but it is also part of a puzzle that spans over many sections of the game. When Leon interacts with it to make it pass through the fallen basketball hoop, he can then return to Kendo's shop and also locate the body of the Charlie doll among the rubble there.
The hint it gives also refers to the same big puzzle, but as an object, the Charlie doll body is a memorabilia piece as well.
