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Chris Redfield

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Chris Redfield
Resident Evil character
File:ChrisRedfield.jpg
Chris Redfield in Resident Evil 5.
First gameResident Evil
Created byShinji Mikami

Chris Redfield (クリス・レッドフィールド, Kurisu Reddofīrudo) is a fictional character in the Resident Evil video game series.[1] He is one of the two main protagonists in the first Resident Evil game,[2] the other being Jill Valentine. Redfield returned as a playable character in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, where he must search for, and ultimately rescue, his younger sister, Claire. Redfield returned again as a main character in Resident Evil 5, where he works alongside partner Sheva Alomar[3] to search for his old partner and friend, Jill Valentine.

Concept and creation

Physical characterization

Hideki Kamiya described Chris as a "blunt, tough-guy type", admitting that while he was a fan of this archetype.[4] For Resident Evil 5, when asked, "Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and Albert Wesker are stars of previous adventures. How do you go about remodeling a character already known to players and fans?" Production director Yasuhiro Anpo replied, "I tried my best to preserve their image and imagined how they would have changed over the passage of time. Chris trained and got stronger, while Wesker got more wrinkles." Modeler Yosuke Yamagata added, "All the characters are very important for this series, and popular with fans. So we took care not to change their image from past games. It's a simple method, but we made a new design that retained their signature color — green for Chris, blue for Jill — to carry over the same look from the past. The facial structures are mainly based on the visuals of the GameCube version, and we added various details to these in order to develop a realistic structure."[5]

Name

Ben Reeves of Game Informer explores the meaning of Chris Redfield's name, writing that "Christopher is a late Greek name meaning 'bearing Christ.' The name was used by early Christians as a metaphor expressing how they carried Christ in their hearts. Redfield, on the other hand, is a bit redundant. It derives from two words, the Olde English ryd meaning 'a cleared area suitable for agriculture,' and field, another old word meaning 'area cleared for agriculture.' Chris Redfield's full name could be literally taken to mean to carry across fields of fields - symbolic perhaps for all the backtracking he did in the early entries in the Resident Evil series."[6]

Portrayal

Chris was voiced by Michael Filipowich in Code: Veronica, Joe Whyte in the 2002 remake of Resident Evil and Roger Craig Smith in Resident Evil 5 and The Darkside Chronicles.[7] In the Resident Evil 5 viral advertising campaign he was played by Will Lupardus. In Code: Veronica and Resident Evil 5 he was motion captured by Reuben Langdon.[8][9] He will be portrayed by Wentworth Miller in the film Resident Evil: Afterlife.[10]

Appearances

Chris Redfield first appeared in the original Resident Evil as one of two playable protagonists. In the game, he is a member of STARS' Alpha team, sent to investigate the disappearance of Bravo team. The squad discovers the remains of Bravo team's helicopter, but soon encounter a pack of undead dogs. Chris, accompanied by Albert Wesker, Barry Burton and Jill Valentine,[11] seek refuge in the nearby mansion, which is filled with deadly traps and horrific monsters. Chris' scenario is more challenging than Jill's, as he has a smaller carrying capacity, and lacks certain items, such as the lockpick and grenade launcher, but can take a lot more damage from enemies than Jill can.[12] The original Japanese release of the game features a clip of the live-action character portraying him smoking a cigarette, which was removed in the overseas version of the game, but restored in the PC CD-ROM port.[13] Chris is available in the Extreme Battle mode in Resident Evil 2.

Chris returns in Resident Evil Code: Veronica as the protagonist of the second portion of the game, where he attempts to rescue his younger sister, Claire, from a secret Umbrella Corporation facility in Antarctica. While there, he confronts Alexia Ashford, the creator of the T-Veronica virus, and Wesker.

He embarks on a mission to destroy the Umbrella Corporation after the game, resulting in an attack on an Umbrella facility located in the Caucasus region, alongside Jill Valentine, in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.[14]

Redfield is the main protagonist in Resident Evil 5.[15] He is now an agent and founding member of the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA).

Chris makes an appearance in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, where he is a playable character in "Game of Oblivion" scenario's final chapter (a re-imagining of Resident Evil Code: Veronica).[16]

Chris is currently set to appear in the upcoming fighting game Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds as a playable character. The trailer shows him fighting The Incredible Hulk.[17]

Redfield will return in the latest installment of the main series, Resident Evil: Revelations, alongside Jill Valentine.[18]

In other media

Chris is set to appear in Resident Evil: Afterlife.[10] According to Joystiq, "He'll be played by Wentworth Miller "[19]

During the release of the Japanese Sega Saturn version of the original game, Capcom published a promotional sourcebook titled The True Story Behind Biohazard as a pre-order giveaway. The book contains an original short story titled Biohazard: The Beginning by Hiroyuku Ariga. The story depicts the events prior to the first game and fleshes out his character, describing the deaths of his parents in a car accident and his service in the United States Air Force.

Reception

Tyler Cameron ranked Chris Redfield second on a list of the "Top 7 Ridiculously Large Biceps in Gaming" arguing that early "on in the series, Chris Redfield looked like any other scrawny punk in an officer’s uniform. The word “normal” even comes to mind. Whatever Chris did between then and the events of Resident Evil 5 eludes me, but I’m guessing it involved lots of curls, Power Bars and steroids. Perhaps Leon Kennedy’s David Bowie look in RE 4 turned him off, and decided to go for the roid-raging approach. I found his arms to be more distracting than the controls at times because they take up such a big part of the screen."[20] By contrast, Natalie Romano ranked Chris Redfield fourth on a list of "The Top Five Gaming Gods of 2009," with the rationale that for "years, Jill Valentine has been the luckiest woman in Raccoon City’s STARS Division and that’s because her partner was none other than the hunky Chris Redfield. In the fifth installment of the Resident Evil series, Chris has gone from the cute jock-wannabe to a hot quarterback. With a killer body and dreamy good-looks, he’s one gorgeous hunk we wouldn’t mind joining in the hot zombie-infested African village."[21]

References

  1. ^ Damien Waples, "Chris Redfield," Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Prima Official Game Guide (Roseville: Prima Games, 2007), 17.
  2. ^ Jeremy Parish, "CHRIS REDFIELD," Electronic Gaming Monthly 224 (January 2008), 101.
  3. ^ Berardini, César, Resident Evil 5 Delayed? (July 18, 2007), Team Xbox, Retrieved on July 18, 2007.
  4. ^ Kamiya, Hideki (2009-04-01). "Greetings". PlatinumGames, Inc. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
  5. ^ As quoted in "Character Concepts," Resident Evil 5: The Complete Official Guide, Collector's Edition (Prima Games, 2009), 195.
  6. ^ Ben Reeves, "HELLO my name is: Exploring the Meaning of Your Favorite Character's Name," GameInformer 203 (March 2010): 25.
  7. ^ [1][dead link]
  8. ^ "Blog".
  9. ^ [2][dead link]
  10. ^ a b Resident Evil's Prison Break
  11. ^ The surviving members of Alpha team depend on the player's scenario.
  12. ^ Casamassina, Matt. Resident Evil (April 28, 2002), IGN. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.
  13. ^ Woolcott, Adam, Resident Evil PSOne, Gaming Target. Retrieved on January 19, 2008.
  14. ^ Damien Waples, "Chris Redfield Profile," Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles Prima Official Game Guide (Roseville: Prima Games, 2007), 129.
  15. ^ Yoshi Sato, 1UP.com, Chris Redfield Returns in Resident Evil 5 news from 1UP.com (July 18, 2007), Ziff-Davis, Retrieved on June 27, 2007.
  16. ^ "IGN Video: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Nintendo Wii Trailer". Wii.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  17. ^ Brian Crecente (2010-04-20). "Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 Will Be a "Living Comic" With A Deep Story". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-04-20.}
  18. ^ "Nintendo 3DS hands-on report". guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. June 16, 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ Justin McElroy, "Wentworth Miller to play Chris Redfield in 'Resident Evil: Afterlife'," Joystiq (Sep 30th 2009).
  20. ^ Tyler Cameron, "Top 7: Ridiculously Large Biceps in Gaming," Detroit Gaming Lifestyle Examiner (Apr 4).
  21. ^ Natalie Romano "The Top Five Gaming Gods of 2009," GameZone (2009).