One of the things we’re most excited about in Resident Evil Requiem is the chance to revisit the Raccoon City incident with Leon and Grace, uncovering more about the events that have been told across various instalments in the franchise. It almost feels like a homecoming, with the now-infamous city being a major part of the franchise, both in the games and in the films that it inspired.
But what made Raccoon City such a legendary location in the franchise’s long history? The obvious answer would be that the majority of the franchise’s events have taken place in its dark alleyways, dilapidated buildings, and its streets. But that would be relegating the city to the background when it is, in fact, so much more.
Raccoon City is the very crux on which the Resident Evil franchise was built, and we’re here to argue that it’s almost as important as the iconic characters that were a crucial part of the events that preceded its destruction. It’s a place where so much of the franchise’s story comes together, and is also the point from which so many of its characters have gone their separate ways as they hunted down the T-Virus’s trail across the world. Still not convinced? That’s all right.
Join us as we take a fond look at a place that gave us so many unforgettable moments, and more than a few things to think about as we witnessed its destruction and the desperation of the people trying to save it.
A City Unlike Any Other
Before the Resident Evil franchise could kick off, you might have been forgiven for thinking that Raccoon City was a mid-sized American town like so many others that dotted the continent’s landscape. It was a commercial hub, arguably brought to life by the Umbrella Corporation.
Its citizens may not have actively been involved in the organization’s shady dealings and its research into creating Bio-Organic Weapons, but were certainly the ones who suffered the fallout of that doomed mission. But before they were turned into the zombies that gave us so many hours of anxiety and tension, they were folks going about their normal lives.
But Umbrella’s influence would pervade its very core, the corporation being a quiet presence that created jobs and allowed the people of the city to build a life there. The corporation provided funding, a sense of belonging, and, of course, a sort of quiet control as it operated from the city’s shadows to build a legacy that continues to inform the franchise’s meta-narrative.
Umbrella was the main reason behind Racoon City’s infamy, planting the seed for the emergence of so many terrors that we encountered and fought over the years. Its efforts to build an interconnected network of labs and facilities using the city’s very infrastructure are probably what allowed the T-Virus to spread as fast as it did.
If we were to comment on Umbrella’s influence in Raccoon City, its actions bring a sense of inevitability to the fore. Raccoon City’s fate was inevitable, its unwary reliance on the Umbrella Corporation’s benevolence being the reason it came crumbling down to become a place of chaos, despair, and a hotbed of activity for Resident Evil’s best heroes.
Resident Evil’s many horrors are made all the more egregious thanks to the knowledge that they were all man-made. Raccoon City’s role in bringing those horrors to light cannot be understated, and the city’s desolation in every game that takes us to it makes it more than just a stage for its many actors to play their part. It’s a vehicle for the franchise’s horrors to stand tall among the genre’s finest.
But other places in the franchise have worked just as well to showcase that, Resident Evil Village being a great example. However, there’s more to the iconic city than its role in bringing the franchise’s signature style to life. It’s the fact that the city itself feels alive.
The City That Couldn’t Sleep
Indulge us for a moment. We did say that Raccoon City was more than just a stage for the events of several Resident Evil games. But that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t served as a very good one for the most part. Its streets and alleys have been places where some of the franchise’s most memorable – and horrifying – moments have taken place.
It’s a city that comes with layers, its interconnected streets forming routes to several key locations and, by extension, crucial events in the story that unfolds within them. In our recent list of the scariest locations in the franchise, Racoon City’s orphanage, police department headquarters, secret labs tied to the Umbrella Corporation, and its sewers were pretty high-ranking places that had us shuddering at the memories they had us recalling. And how can we forget the first appearance of the RPD Hall and Kendo Gun Shop? Or, the absolute mayhem during our battle with the Nemesis in the subway and at the clock tower? Or, the creepy Raccoon City Zoo and the Dead Factory?
And while those many locations might have been far easier to access in a time when the T-Virus hadn’t made its presence felt aboard the Ecliptic Express, the Raccoon City incident’s aftermath meant that the city itself was an obstacle to those desperately trying to escape its destruction, and to the many heroes who were trying to avert its almost inevitable destruction.
But with the zombification of its populace and the presence of more sinister threats prowling its confines, Raccoon City’s very atmosphere was charged with the sense of dread and an anticipation of danger around every corner that underlined every Resident Evil game ever made. The rain pattering on its cobblestones was a natural occurrence that contrasted sharply with the evidence of destruction by unnatural horrors, its burned cars, fires, smoke sirens, and boarded windows showcasing a world where everyday life had collapsed into chaos.
Raccoon City was no haunted castle like Dimitrescu’s home in Resident Evil Village. It was a place that was grounded in reality despite its fictionality. It was a city as real as the ones we live in, and as such, was an excellent vehicle for the franchise’s horror to come to life. It was also where so much of the story was presented to us in a way that wasn’t just engaging. It was relatable.
Inspiring The Best and Worst of Resident Evil
The many unforgettable moments that have peppered our time in Raccoon City could be considered a major factor in why it feels that way. That pivotal moment where.
The RCPD’s eventual transformation from a safe haven for survivors to a place from which those very survivors would desperately try to escape is another. And the streets going from a bustling hub of commercial and personal activity to a literal battlefield in which humanity was at a distinct disadvantage is another.
The many enemies prowling its streets are all the more horrifying when you think that they were once ordinary people with hopes and dreams that were now sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed, the need to take them out of the equation clashing with the thought that their lives might have been different if they hadn’t called the city home.
Facing the Stalkers, Lickers, Hunters, and so many more deadly threats within the confines of narrow corridors, alleys, or streets cordoned off by raging fires made the city feel like it was working against its own heroes, almost as if it was forced to. And the manner in which every area brought new horrors to the table demonstrates just how deadly the outbreak really was to its people.
Raccoon City was a showcase of how man-made disasters affect people on a granular level, the desperation of people who had been lucky enough to survive the outbreak being reflected in its many environments and in the few NPCs you got to encounter along the way. Its people banded together, displaying a bravery they clearly didn’t feel in a frenetic bid to make it out in one piece. It was normal folks trying to escape the worst of what humanity had to offer.
And yet, in the midst of all the chaos, Raccoon City is also the place where legends were born. Its destructive path to desolation provided an opportunity for some of our favorite heroes in modern gaming to rise above the flames that engulfed it, their voices beacons of hope amid the screams of its denizens.
Leon’s brave attempts to assist his fellow citizens blended well with Claire’s desperate search for Chris Redfield, a formidable character all on his own. Alyssa’s efforts to uncover the truth behind the outbreak continue to influence the franchise to this day, her daughter now poised to become a hero worth talking about all on her own.
Jill Valentine’s desperate efforts to outrun nemesis and Claire, Leon saving their lives from Mr. X, is another great showcase of how the city could bring the best and worst of humanity to the stage, its crisis a catalyst for their respective agendas to come into conflict against more noble intentions. A sense of desperation was a constant undercurrent, the emotion manifesting itself through varying courses of action among the few people equipped to try and effect change.
Raccoon City might have easily become a sort of receptacle for the franchise’s lore if it weren’t handled well by the teams behind the experiences that called it home. But it’s horror lands because it presents it through the lens of very real emotions, and reasonable, if questionable, decisions by the people who lived through its nightmare. It was the burning coals that were lit up by the spark that the T-Virus brought to its borders.
A Homecoming of Sorts
In a way, Requiem revisiting the Raccoon City incident feels like coming back home for the holidays. Revisiting the events that led to the city’s eventual destruction is sure to shed new light on events that might have us looking back and thinking about just how bad things were, or perhaps even finding them worse, hindsight and all.
But it could also be an opportunity for the franchise to do what it does best in a playground it’s quite familiar with. We sincerely hope that’s the case, and that we get to go back to a place that holds so much significance for most of the franchise’s heavy hitters, and its new protagonist too.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out. Raccoon City, here we come!
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
