Character Roster#
Resident Evil 2 is a single-player game with no “character choice changes stats” system — the playable difference between Leon and Claire lies in exclusive weapon lines and scenario content, not numbers. This page organizes the cast by story function. The characters’ ages, heights, and voice actor lists are not covered by verified official material, so this site doesn’t list them.
The Two Playable Protagonists#
Leon S. Kennedy#
The playable protagonist of Leon’s scenario, which begins with entering the Raccoon City Police Department. His scenario centers on the station itself and NEST; his exclusive weapon line is the Matilda pistol, W-870 shotgun, Lightning Hawk magnum, Chemical Flamethrower, and more, and his endgame opponent is the Super Tyrant. Run essentials in the Leon walkthrough.
His exclusive weapons arrive in sequence as the run advances, with these location milestones (full performance, magazine sizes, and parts in the Weapon Compendium):
| Weapon | Where you get it |
|---|---|
| Matilda pistol | carried from the start |
| W-870 shotgun | weapon locker in the Evidence Room |
| Lightning Hawk magnum | S.T.A.R.S. office armory, requires the USB dongle first |
| Chemical Flamethrower | sewer storage room |
| M19 pistol | guard room at the start of the B scenario |
| Endgame rocket launcher | Leon’s endgame phase |
His endgame duel with the Super Tyrant also carries an achievement/record condition: you must beat it with more than 5 minutes left before detonation — dragging the fight to the edge of the timer forfeits the record even on victory. The fight breakdown is in Boss Guides.
Claire Redfield#
The playable protagonist of Claire’s scenario. Her scenario shares the police station’s main stage with Leon but adds two exclusive segments — the orphanage and escorting Sherry — and her endgame opponent is G5. Her exclusive weapon line is the SLS 60 revolver, GM 79 grenade launcher, MQ 11 SMG, Spark Shot, and more. Run essentials in the Claire walkthrough.
Her exclusive weapon milestones follow, with zero overlap against Leon’s line (full performance and parts in the Weapon Compendium):
| Weapon | Where you get it |
|---|---|
| SLS 60 revolver | carried from the start; can be upgraded to fire reinforced rounds |
| GM 79 grenade launcher | Evidence Room |
| JMB Hp3 laser-sighted pistol | police car trunk in the parking garage |
| MQ 11 SMG | S.T.A.R.S. office |
| Spark Shot | sewer storage room |
| Quickdraw Army revolver | guard room at the start of the B scenario |
| Endgame Minigun | Claire’s endgame phase |
Both protagonists have A and B scenarios — four scenarios in total; B-scenario puzzles and some mechanics differ. The combat mechanics are completely identical (see the Combat System); all differences are in content configuration — what makes the “second playthrough” feel different is not controls but map puzzles and weapon planning.
The official text calls the two runs “1st Run” and “2nd Run” — the A scenario is the first run and the B scenario the second. For the character experience, this means the same station swaps in a different puzzle set in the B scenario: for example, the three medallions the goddess statue needs are solved by three statues with completely different solutions in the B scenario than in the A scenario (solutions in Puzzle Guides).
Key Story Characters#
| Character | Relation to the story |
|---|---|
| Ada Wong | the mysterious woman Leon meets in the police station; her goal involves the G-virus sample; in the “Forgotten Soldier” ending, she takes back the G-virus sample Ghost carries |
| Sherry Birkin | daughter of William and Annette Birkin; the key figure of Claire’s orphanage segment and the core of the escort section |
| Marvin Branagh | a surviving officer in the police station who crosses paths with both protagonists there |
| The police chief | a figure tied to Claire’s orphanage segment |
| Annette Birkin | William Birkin’s wife, whose plot threads weave through the G-virus story |
| William Birkin | developer of the G-virus; after injecting it he mutates into the G forms — fights against G1 through G4 span both scenarios, and G5 is Claire’s final boss |
William Birkin’s G forms are simultaneously the boss spine of the whole game; each form’s tactics and achievement conditions are in Boss Guides, and post-mutation behavior in the Enemy Compendium.
William Birkin: From Researcher to Boss Spine#
William Birkin deserves his own section because he is the game’s only “human-turned-enemy” who spans the entire game:
- Identity: the developer of the G-virus; the research of William and Annette Birkin ties directly to the sample’s whereabouts — which is also why Annette negotiates with the protagonists repeatedly.
- Mutation: after injecting the G-virus he is no longer human; fights against G1 through G4 span both scenarios, and the final form G5 is Claire’s endgame boss.
- Story function: his pursuit is both gameplay pressure (boss fights) and narrative drive (the fight over the G-virus sample), and his daughter Sherry is the pivot of Claire’s emotional line.
In other words, understanding William’s line means understanding both the game’s boss arrangement and the dual-scenario narrative difference — the combat side is fully broken down in Boss Guides, and the story side in Story Analysis.
Additionally, each G-form fight carries its own exclusive achievement/record condition, and completion hunters must deliberately perform these action nodes:
| Fight | Condition |
|---|---|
| G1 | stab its giant eyeball with the knife while being grabbed |
| G2 | drop it once using the crane |
| G3 | interrupt an object it throws |
| G4 | shoot it off the wall |
| G4 form fight | defeat it with no less than 4 minutes remaining |
These conditions map one-to-one onto each boss’s behavior patterns; the tactics are in Boss Guides.
Names and Translation Conventions#
This page writes character names as “English name” per the in-game official text. A reminder: different sources may use different Chinese translations for the same character (HUNK, for example, has transliterations besides “Hanke”), so anchor on the English name when cross-referencing sources — it is far more reliable than comparing Chinese translations. Ages, heights, and voice actor lists have no verified official publication, so this page doesn’t list them; if official material appears, this site will add it.
How Characters Tie Into Achievements and Collectibles#
Character lines aren’t just lore — they hang directly on the completion system:
- Playable characters tie to achievements: completing The 4th Survivor (HUNK) earns the Grim Reaper achievement; clearing the four playable Ghost Survivors’ scenarios earns record entries (the 87-record system is in Endgame Content).
- Story characters tie to records: the true ending corresponds to the “Broken Umbrella” record, and the story beats of the dual-scenario characters (Ada, Sherry, William) are all contained in the four-scenario completion requirement.
- Supporting characters tie to scene collectibles: a large share of the 58 files tell the fates of the police station’s and Raccoon City’s people — Kendo’s gun shop, the mayor’s family, station staff; reading files is reading these people’s endings (collection stats in Collectibles).
So “knowing the characters” here isn’t background work: to chase all achievements and records, clear every playable character’s mode; to read the whole story, collect every file. Suggested execution order for both tracks is in Achievements and Trophies.
Character-to-Scenario Mapping Table#
A quick way to see “who appears in which scenario”:
| Character | Leon A/B | Claire A/B | Extra modes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leon | protagonist | the other scenario’s protagonist | — |
| Claire | the other scenario’s protagonist | protagonist | — |
| Ada Wong | has scenes | — | Forgotten Soldier ending link |
| Sherry | — | orphanage and escort segments | — |
| William Birkin (G forms) | G1–G4 fights | G1–G4, G5 finale | — |
| Super Tyrant | Leon’s endgame boss | — | — |
| HUNK | — | — | The 4th Survivor protagonist |
| Robert Kendo | gun shop scene link | gun shop scene link | No Time to Mourn protagonist |
| Ghost | — | — | Forgotten Soldier protagonist |
| Katherine Warren | — | — | Runaway protagonist |
| Daniel Cortini | — | — | No Way Out protagonist |
The table is an overview of character-to-content mapping; actual scene appearances defer to the real run.
Playable Characters in Extra Modes#
The extra modes turn the camera on characters with limited — or zero — screen time in the main story, which is the design starting point of the four “what-if” scenarios of The Ghost Survivors:
HUNK#
A member of Umbrella’s security force and the playable protagonist of “The 4th Survivor”: fight your way from the sewers back to the station’s front door, with no boss the whole way and extremely scarce supplies. His 20-slot starting loadout is the core reference for the mode — the full list is in Extra Modes.
The mode isn’t selectable from the start; it hangs at the end of the completion chain: you must first finish either protagonist’s main scenario, then complete the other protagonist’s B scenario, before The 4th Survivor unlocks. In other words, HUNK’s stage is the official advanced exam for dual-scenario completists, and clearing it earns the Grim Reaper achievement (the completion system is in Achievements and Trophies).
The Four Ghost Survivors Protagonists#
The Ghost Survivors launched on February 15, 2019 as free content. The mode ships with its own Training difficulty and adds exclusive enemy variants — poison-mist zombies, Pale Heads, gas-canister zombies, and lootable backpack zombies — which appear only in this mode, so the four protagonists face a different enemy mix than the main story.
| Character | Scenario | Scenario premise |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Kendo | No Time to Mourn | the gun shop owner’s “what-if” scenario |
| Katherine Warren | Runaway | the mayor’s daughter’s “what-if” scenario |
| Ghost | Forgotten Soldier | Umbrella security member extracting the G-virus sample from NEST; the sample is taken back by Ada Wong in the ending |
| Daniel Cortini | No Way Out | the sheriff holds the Mizoil gas station against zombie waves (100 in the official goal, 70 in Training) |
The four scenarios’ rules, loadout standards, and supply-machine mechanics are in The Ghost Survivors.
One cross-game detail lands on Kendo: when Resident Evil 3 launched in April 2020, this game added Nemesis sound effects alongside it, and Jill Valentine’s note can be found in his gun shop — the same shop became the handoff point between the two remakes’ stories.
The “Characters” Standing Against the Player#
The enemy roster is equally story-driven: the T-virus turned Raccoon City’s citizens into a zombie horde, and the G-virus turned William Birkin himself into the enemy spanning the whole game. Beyond them are Mr. X, the Tyrant that freely patrols and hunts in the A scenarios; Plant 43, tied to Claire’s herbicide puzzle; and the Ivys of the lab area, among other tough enemies. Each enemy’s behavior and counters are in the Enemy Compendium.
Three Practical Tips About Characters#
- One scenario, one arsenal: Leon’s and Claire’s exclusive weapons are completely different and their ammo types don’t interchange; before planning a run, check the Weapon Compendium to settle your main gun and crafting direction (see Item Collection).
- Supporting characters’ fates are collectibles: extra-mode characters all have matching achievements and records — completing The 4th Survivor earns Grim Reaper, for example — so cross-check the Achievements and Trophies page while farming.
- “What-if” scenarios are the key to the ensemble: the gun shop, the mayor’s family, and Umbrella’s security force, glimpsed briefly in the main story, each get a full story fragment in The Ghost Survivors — don’t skip this free content after finishing the main story.