Resident Evil Village is a rather curious installment for a franchise that began with policemen killing zombies in Umbrella’s mansion. Throughout its eight main titles and almost a score of ‘spin-offs’, the Capcom series has moved away from its ‘humble origins’ and now has us facing werewolves and huge vampires. For many, this is no longer Resident Evil, However, Village it has a huge amount of ‘easter eggs’ and references that connect it to the 25-year history of the saga.
We do not mean only the way each of the four major sections of the game is inspired by a horror genre and recalls a specific time in the saga, but to small details that help to unify this universe.
Let’s get to know them:
Returning Characters
To start, Village is a direct sequel to Resident Evil 7 and share its protagonist: Ethan Winters. After escaping the nightmare of the Baker house with the help of Chris Redfield, a veteran of the franchise, Ethan and his wife Mía move to an undisclosed country in Eastern Europe (although everything indicates that it is Romania).
Three years after those events, the happy couple have a daughter named Rosemary. But everything changes when, for a mysterious reason, Chris Redfield returns to kill Mia and kidnap the baby.
Ethan, Mia and Chris are the only characters to return from previous installments (although they had initially planned to include Ada Wong), but there are others who are named through documents and fun references.
Kendo weapons
In Ethan and Mia’s house, which we can explore at the beginning of the adventure, we can find the book “Weapons Expert: Manual for Combat and Survival with Heavy Weapons”, written by Joseph Kendo.
If that last name sounds familiar, it is because Joseph is the brother of Robert Kendo, the owner of the gun shop who dies at the beginning of Resident Evil 2.
Joseph is also mentioned in documents of Resident Evil 3 Nemesis. He is described as the weapons instructor for the STARS team from Raccoon City.
The creator of the mansion of the first Resident Evil
Another book we found at Ethan’s house is “Study about the architecture of European castles and fortresses”Written by George Trevor.
This name must also be familiar to students of the mythology of Resident Evil, as he is the architect who built the Spencer mansion that we go through in the first game. In fact, we are facing his zombie, as he is the ‘Crimson Head’ that we unleash by solving the riddle of the masks in the ‘remake’ of this title.
The revelation that George Trevor was an expert on ancient European architecture helps explain many of the aesthetic choices of the Spencer mansion, as it has areas reminiscent of a medieval castle. We can even argue that he was inspired by Castle Dimitrescu to create it.
Memories of Resident Evil 7
Another curious detail in Ethan’s home is one of the statuettes of Mr. Everywhere, the main collectible of Resident Evil 7. If we check it out, he says we should get rid of it. Why keep something that reminds you of the horrors of Baker House?
Another element that returns from that game is the Dulvey beer brand, as we can see one of the villagers drinking from one of their bottles. Speaking of Dulvey, there is also a diary in which it is “explained to the public” that the events that took place in this part of Louisiana were due to a leak of toxic gas.
The peddler of Resident Evil 4
In one of our talks with the Duke, the salesman and cook that we met throughout the game (remember to visit our guide to ingredients and recipes Resident Evil Village), he can respond with the dialogue “What are you going to buy? – Haha, that’s something an old friend used to say “(“What are you buyin — Haha, that’s just something an old friend used to say”).
This is a clear reference to the iconic phrase of the peddler of Resident Evil 4. That the Duke refers to him as “an old friend” is extremely interesting and would have many implications in the mythology of the saga, since it implies a relationship between the cult of Miranda in Romania and the cult of Saddler in Spain. However, it is most likely just a joke and there is nothing important behind it.
Curiously, this same joke is made by Rodin in Bayonetta.
The rest of this article contains ‘spoilers’ of the plot of Resident Evil Village.
The Umbrella symbol on Resident Evil Village
Throughout his adventure, Ethan comes across a logo that is quite familiar to him. Looking at it, we all thought that the terrifying (and defunct) pharmaceutical company Umbrella was involved in the events of Resident Evil Village, but it’s not like that.
If you want to understand why this symbol appears on artifacts and ancient Romanian village ruins, read on.
The relationship between Umbrella and Madre Miranda
Thanks to the documents and photos that we found in Miranda’s laboratory, we discovered that she met Ozwell Spencer, the founder of Umbrella, in the mid-1950s. He was on an expedition in which they recovered “something important” and she saved his life after an accident. By then, Miranda had already found the secret of immortality through the ‘megamycete’ fungus and its mold, which inspired the scientist to seek the next step in human evolution. Unlike Miranda and her specialization in mold and the Cadou parasite, Spencer focused on viruses.
The two remained in contact through letters over the years and Spencer informed Miranda, whom she always considered her teacher, the discovery in Africa of the flower with the parent virus that gave rise to the T-Virus (which we know in Resident Evil 5).
It also mentions that was inspired by “the symbol they found together in the caves” to create the logo of his company: Umbrella. However, what exactly this symbol means is not specified and they do not give further context. It seems to be related to the megamycete.
Eveline and The Connections
Not only Umbrella had a relationship with Miranda, those responsible for the events of Resident Evil 7 they were also in contact with the villain of Village. She worked with the bioterrorist organization called The Connections, providing them with her knowledge of the mold that originated from the megamycete to create a new biological weapon. The result was Eveline, who for Miranda was a failure.
As payment for their cooperation, The Connections informed Miranda of the existence of Ethan and Mia – “survivors” of the mold infection – and their daughter Rosemary. That set the events of Resident Evil Village.
For her part, Eveline appears to Ethan in a vision to give him a big reveal. This is not the real E-001 bioweapon, but a reflection of it that was left in Ethan’s mind due to his infection with the mold.
La BSAA en Resident Evil Village
This group, made up of several international organizations in their war against bioterrorism, had such well-known figures as Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield on its payroll. They are an important part of the saga since Resident Evil 5 and participated in several of the ‘spin-offs’, but things seem to have changed.
On Resident Evil VillageChris Redfield refers to the BSAA as “a corrupt organization” and we discovered that they have even started using biological weapons in their operations (one of their soldiers is clearly a Tyrant). Because of this, Chris’s squad acts on their own.
This makes us wonder, what happened to other BSAA members like Sheva Alomar and Jill herself? Will we know their destinations in the DLC or a hypothetical Resident Evil 9?
Only time will tell.
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