In spite of being a survival horror game based on action, Resident Evil 4 has several puzzles that its protagonist, Leon Kennedy, has to solve, which are either part of the main plot or that he can simply put together to get items that he can sell and buy weapons in exchange. Several of these puzzles include colored items or precious gems. The Insignia puzzle in the church with the three colored disks that you have to turn so as to open the prison door, the butterfly lamp, which needs a red eye, a green eye and a blue eye so as to be a complete artifact, the elegant mask, which requires a red gem, a purple gem and a green gem to be attached to it so as to gain its full value, are just a few of such examples.

There is one specific color puzzle however that stands out and is different from the others; it is the puzzle involving the statuette of a golden lynx that you have to make complete with finding a red stone, a green stone and a blue stone. Although this puzzle is not necessary to solve for progessing in the game and its use is mainly practical (Leon can get lots of money by selling the resulting complete artifact), it seems to carry some interesting symolism as a whole, and also as far as its individual parts are concerned, as its three stones are not simple ones; they all represent something.

Leon finds the golden lynx statuette near the start of Chapter 5-1. This section takes place in the isolated island that Lord Saddler has made his base, and where Leon goes with Ada's help after defeating the mutated Ramon Salazar in the castle. The precious statuette is hidden in a treasure chest that is sitting on a rock, deep inside a cave that is guarded by three soldiers. To get to it, you have to shoot a barrel causing an explosion that will shatter the rock behind it, revealing the secret area with the lynx.

Leon finds the beautiful statuette

First Leon finds the red stone, which is called 'the red stone of faith' and is located in Chapter 5-1 as well, inside Saddler's headquarters, in a basement room where the kitchen is, hidden in a metal case.

The red stone is in an aluminium case in a dirty basement

The second stone to be found is the green one, called 'the green stone of judgement' and it is inside yet one more aluminium case in the room where Chapter 5-2 ends and Chapter 5-3 begins, just a few areas away from the place where Leon and Krauser meet and have their knife fight.

The green stone is in another aluminium case

The last stone that Leon finds is the blue one, located again in Chapter 5-3, close to the end; specifically it is in a side room in the underground cave that leads to the ruins where the final fight between Leon and Krauser takes place. This stone is not hidden in a case, and it has a special name too, it is 'the blue stone of treason'.

The blue stone is in plain sight, in a cave

From her very first appearance in the Resident Evil series, Ada Wong was almost always wearing red. The only time when she can be seen sporting a different color is in her Assignment Ada mission, where her outfit is grey, but even then there is a red butterfly stitched on one of her top's sleeves. In the main Resident Evil 4 game she is wearing a long red dress, in Resident Evil 2 she has a mini red dress on and in Resident Evil 6 she is wearing a bright red shirt. There is no doubt that red is her associated color and therefore the red stone of faith seems to be connected to her.

Ada in her red dress

Despite the mystery that surrounds her, Ada is a constant value in the Resident Evil world. Although she avoids to open herself up to Leon, she is always there to help him and back him up. Leon may be fond of her but he does not trust her completely; he even doubts her from time to time, and Ada is unable to show him that he is wrong because that would mean exposing her real identity as well as her mission each time. But the truth is that she is a reliable person and faith is a value that describes her very well, although it may not always be so clear.

Jack Krauser, as the mercenary and soldier that he is, is associated with the green color as he is seen wearing camo-based outfits, both in Resident Evil 4 and in The Darkside Chronicles: Operation Javier. In Resident Evil 4, Jack views himself as Leon's nemesis, having returned after his fake death and seeing Saddler's orders as the perfect chance to cross paths with his ex-partner again and take revenge. In his own mind, Jack has always been right, so facing Leon and even killing him looks like a way for him to be vindicated at last.

Jack Krauser is always seen wearing green camo pants

This makes the green stone of judgement his own personal symbol, although he is not really in a position to judge anyone, having a distorted aspect of reality in his mind. However he does see himself as someone who has been misjudged and treated unfairly, therefore his judgement will put everyone (specifically, Leon) in the state where they deserve to be.

The blue color is connected with Leon, as almost all his outfits are in the blue/grey shades, the only exception being his appearance in the Tall Oaks episodes of Resident Evil 6. In Resident Evil 2 he has his blue RPD uniform on, in Resident Evil 4 his outfit is blue/grey and in the China episodes of Resident Evil 6 he is wearing a blue shirt.

Leon with his gray/blue outfit

Leon is undoubtedly a bright, good-hearted and honest man, but Jack Krauser, who obviously aknowledged and appreciated his ex-partner's qualities in the past, has stopped seeing him as such ever since he found out about Leon being in fact a government agent and not a simple soldier like himself in Operation Javier. Jack, who always sought a high rank in his career but kept struggling for it to no avail despite his intelligence and ability, got extremely disappointed when Leon revealed to him that he was literally blackmailed into accepting such a position, because in reality he didn't want it. Although this clearly was not Leon's fault, Krauser blamed him for it, although he never actually told Leon, because he saw it as some sort of treason from his partner's part. Which was a very stupid thought, since Leon didn't know Jack back then and even if he did, he wouldn't have much other choice than accepting the position of the government agent that was offered to him. From that point of view, Leon is a traitor in Krauser's eyes, which associates the blue stone of treason with him.

The golden lynx artifact with its three precious stones

These three individual stones are all attached to the golden lynx statuette, which in turn carries a major symbolism. The lynx has always been considered a powerful spirit animal with second sight, able to see what is happening in other dimensions, as well as things that other creatures are unable to see. It represents qualities such as honesty, patience, caution, reliability and great charm. All these elements seem to describe Leon perfectly; moreover, the 'golden' element matches his blond hair, his name comes from the feline realm and considering his facial features do resemble those of a lynx, we could say that the lynx statuette is associated with Leon's real self.

The lynx could be Leon's spirit animal

This means that Leon has two symbols to represent him: the golden lynx artifact, which is his own symbol, and the blue stone of treason which is the symbol that is associated with him in relation to Jack Krauser and his altered view of Leon. Nonetheless, Leon has a strong connection with him, as he does with Ada; both Jack and Ada are integral parts of Leon's life and memories, no matter how well or bad his relationship with them turned out, which is why the symbolism of the three stones being attached to the lynx becomes even more powerful and emblematic.

The Colours As Magical Elements of Puzzles: The Gallery Puzzle in Resident Evil Remake

Although we encounter colour-related puzzles in numerous games - and several Resident Evil games, for that matter - some of them are majorly prominent in the games where they are included and moreover seem to be closely connected in several ways to the characters that participate in the respective plots.

In Resident Evil Remake, there is a puzzle in the Spencer mansion that involves four vitrail paintings. It is located in the narrow U-shaped gallery at the far side of the villa, a place to which you gain access after getting the Armor Key. It is located opposite the short corridor that leads outside to the inner garden.

This gallery consists of two parallel narrow corridors now inhabited by crows; interestingly enough, if you press the wrong buttons, the otherwise harmless birds will instantly attack you severely.

Chris examines the U-shaped gallery under the surveillance of a crow

As you enter the room, there is one oil painting to your left, depicting three knights, with a message below it.

The cryptic message on the painting is the clue to solving the puzzle

There are three double-faced vitrail paintings  (you can see them from both corridors of the gallery) that show a sage wearing a pendant, a saint wearing a crown and a valiant wearing a bracelet. At the other end of the gallery, there is another vitrail painting, depicting a beautiful woman who is wearing a green crown, a yellow bracelet and a purple pendant.

There is a writing under the painting, defining the woman as 'Lisa, protected by the three spirits'. The puzzle requires you to press the correct buttons under the first three paintings so as to match the colours on the woman's portrait.

More specifically, what you have to do is to press the buttons under the three paintings on the correct side and in the correct order so that they light up the right way.

The valiant wearing a bracelet must light up in orange colour

The sage wearing a pendant must become purple

The saint with the crown has to go green

When all the paintings appear in the correct colour, the wall with Lisa's painting will raise up, revealing a hidden exit to a small yard. You could spot this yard from nearly the start of the game, but it was impossible to enter there before, because its gate was locked. Entering from the gallery's revealed passage, you can now unlock that gate with an old key, thus gaining a most necessary shortcut in the mazey mansion.

Lisa, the one protected by the three spirits, is the woman depicted in the portrait; she is also the hideous creature that strolls around the forest and the lower couryards of the mansion. Lisa once was human, but after some failed experiments carried out on her, she became no less than a monstrosity.

It's impossible to tell Lisa's former fine features below this horrific malformation

The three spirits that protect Lisa are represented by the three men shown in the three portraits on the walls of the gallery. Each one of these men holds a colour of identity and, due to this, seems to be somewhat connected to each one of the main male characters of the game.

Barry Burton, Jill Valentine's companion in her side of the story, is shown wearing a reddish vest that is close to orange. Barry is a family man, he adores his wife and two daughters, and he is also a brave and loyal officer; he is a protector by definition, although at some point he almost betrayed his partners while being blackmailed by Wesker.

Barry with his reddish-orangeish vest

From this aspect, Barry may be connected to the valiant in the orange light, shown in the gallery's painting; and Barry's 'bracelet' could be either his bond with his family which he could never let go, but could also indicate the connection that he has to his parteners whom he would never possibly let down; or it could very well be both.

Chris Redfield, one of the two main playable characters of the game, is wearing a green vest; but not only here - in almost all his appearances in the Resident Evil games, he is shown to be wearing green (it is also the main colour of the BSAA uniforms, so his preference is kind of obligatory; not to mention how much it fits him).

Chris with a vest of his trademark colour - green

This prominent and recurring element could connect Chris to the saint with the crown that lights up in green. His full name being Christopher, Chris, like the saint with the same name, seems to always be holding stuff from one 'world' to another (both literally and metaphorically), protecting precious things and values from imminent dangers. His 'crown' is of course his heroic status and excellent marksmanship.

Albert Wesker, the arch-villain of the game, is wearing a bluesih to dark purple shirt. Wesker may be an evil man, but he is also extremely gifted. Why he decided to use his brains to serve the evil side, is another stroy; the fact that remains is that he is a genious.

Wesker with his blueish - dark purple shirt

Consequently, Wesker might as well  respresent the sage lit in purple; and his 'pendant' is the legacy that he holds, all that rare scientific knowledge that he used the wrong way.

Then we get to the 'protection' part; how are these three men, practically unrelated to Lisa, actually protecting her - and in what way?

Lisa is nothing more than a lost soul now, wandering around the dungeons of the Spencer mansion, harming people because there is little else she can do; and obviously she cannot kill herself because she has lost all the human qualities and has neither will of her own nor conscience. Chris, Wesker and Barry all essentially 'help' her die; in the final confrontation with her in the cave where her mother's grave is located, Chris and Wesker work together to send her to her death.

As Wesker shoots at Lisa, Chris has to push down the cement blocks to unblock the exit

In that same place, in Jill's side of the story (and assuming you choose to play nice and have Jill keep her trust in Barry and give him back his magnum after having grabbed it from him when he attempted to shoot her) Barry helps his partner get rid of Lisa by shooting her with his magnum while Jill pushes away the cement blocks.

After Jill gives Barry back his magnum, he helps her out by shooting at Lisa

In both storylines, Lisa finds her mother's skull in the coffin, which obviously brings to the surface a little part of her human self, subsequently waking up her sentiment, and she kills herself by falling down the chasm.

Lisa falls to her death, with her mother's skull in her hands

Given the tragic state in which she's been for years, her death seems to be the only deliverance. In that sense, the three spirits / the valiant, the knight and the sage / Barry, Chris and Wesker, protect her in a sense, by causing her to find fragments of her human soul and free herself from her misery.