The Classic Characters Of ‘Resident Evil 2’ Are Getting New Designs For The Remake, Including Ada Wong

Every year at E3, video game companies display trailers and demos for new games, remakes, and even consoles. This year’s E3 was a wild one, with Bethesda showing off Fallout 76, and announcing their new title Starfield. However, Capcom arguably made the biggest splash.

The audience was teased with a short yet crisp trailer for a Resident Evil 2 remaster, which will be released in January of next year. It’s seems certain that the creators are aiming to create something that not only appeals to long-term fans of the franchise, but newcomers interested in the series as well.

Resident Evil has been around since 1996, quickly becoming one of the major contributors to horror games and the zombie genre in general. With over 12 games and a successful — albeit cheesy — movie series, it’s become something of a titan.

The franchise has had its ups and downs, but their 2017 game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was met with overwhelming acclaim — rating between 83% and 86% on review aggregator Metacritic — depending on the port. If this remake does well, this could mark another upward trend in popularity.

For those unaware, Resident Evil 2 follows protagonists Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop, and Claire Redfield, a college student looking for her brother. The game features their trials while trying to escape the previously quiet Raccoon City — which has now been overrun by ravenous zombies.

While story elements such as Raccoon City, the sinister Umbrella Corporation, and the T-Virus are all the same, the characters themselves are getting some well-deserved remodeling. Claire is going from shorts and shapewear to a chic biker getup, and Leon is going to be more “youthful” in this edition of the game. According to PC Gamer, even the zombies are being modeled after members of the development team.

Claire isn’t the only character getting a more practical outfit, however. Recent stills revealed that Ada Wong is getting a new outfit, though some fans have noticed that it remains somewhat familiar. Where she previously wore a short, sleeveless red dress — the redesign features a trench coat and kitten heels. This outfit is a fresh take on a piece of concept art from the original game, and many fans are pleased with her new look.

The new look serves more than a mere cosmetic purpose, however. Game director Kazunori Kadoi said that the improved graphics made it necessary to redesign certain characters in the interest of player immersion.

“It goes back to the same thing of, what would look natural to be wandering around in a photo-realistic environment in?” Kadoi told Eurogamer in an interview. “I think wandering around in that dress just getting on with your job as a spy probably doesn’t look as realistic and believable as we want in this new game.”

“Exactly what we’ve done with her design is something we’re tight-lipped on, but it’s safe to say we won’t betray your expectations.”