Claire Redfield

Claire Redfield
Claire Redfield in the animated film Resident Evil: Degeneration
Series	Resident Evil
First game	Resident Evil 2 (1998)
Created by	Noboru Sugimura
Designed by	Isao Ohishi
Voiced by (English)	Alyson Court
Voiced by (Japanese)	Yūko Kaida Hiroe Oka (Extinction)
Motion capture	Lori Rom (Degeneration)
Portrayed by	Ali Larter (Extinction, Afterlife) Adrienne Frantz (RE2 commercial)

Claire Redfield (クレア・レッドフィールド, Kurea Reddofīrudo^?) is a player character appearing in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video games.^[1]

Claire is the younger sister of Chris Redfield, the protagonist of the first Resident Evil game. She is the female protagonist of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code: Veronica, also appearing in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (a re-telling of the events of RE2 and Code: Veronica), the CG-animated film Resident Evil: Degeneration, and the live-action films Resident Evil: Extinction and Resident Evil: Afterlife'.

Character design

Claire Redfield was originally known as 'Elza Walker', the female lead in the original version of Resident Evil 2 (in 1997, after a year of work, this version of the game was scrapped by the development team and is now widely referred to as Resident Evil 1.5). In the released version of the game, Elza Walker, a college student and motorcycle racer,^[2][3][4] was changed into Chris Redfield's sister, Claire.^[5] Her appearance and background remained mostly unchanged, but she now had an explanation for her skills with firearms and other weapons and her reason for coming to Raccoon City was to search for Chris, as opposed to trying to recruit fans at Raccoon City university to form a racing team back in her hometown. Comparatively, Claire shares the same age and blood type as Elza, in contrast, her hair was made auburn as opposed to blonde.^[6] She was also given physical features which more closely resemble her brother, her signature jacket, and a sheath for a standard-issue STARS knife from Chris.^[7] The changes that occurred were done to connect Resident Evil 2 to the original game.

The character of Claire did not exist in the early drafts of the film Resident Evil: Extinction, as Jill Valentine was supposed to re-appear from her debut in Apocalypse. Later producers Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt decided to have a separate game character appear alongside the previous film's lead Alice, saying, "We thought, rather than bring Jill back, put her with another game heroine."^[8]

Portrayal

Claire is voiced by Alyson Court in the games and in the film Degeneration (her Japanese voice actress in the Japanese version is Yūko Kaida), for which she was motion-captured by Lori Rom.^[9] In the live-action films, Claire is portrayed by Ali Larter (dubbed by Hiroe Oka in the Japanese version), while in the Resident Evil 2 commercial she was played by Adrienne Frantz.

Appearances

In video games

Claire first appears in Resident Evil 2 (1998), which revolves around her search for her missing brother Chris, an officer in the local police special force called STARS. Claire arrives in Raccoon City to find the town being overrun by zombies and soon meets up with a rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy, but along the way she is separated from him. The rest of the game focuses on Claire's attempt to escape from the city alive. She maintains radio contact with Leon and teams up with a young girl named Sherry, while fighting against the various creatures infesting the Raccoon Police Department, including a mutated William Birkin. Claire eventually escapes from the city through the Umbrella Corporation's underground research complex along with Leon and Sherry, after the three of them manage to destroy Birkin. As revealed in the epilogue of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Claire left to continue her search for Chris, while Leon and Sherry were rescued by the U.S. military.

Resident Evil Code: Veronica (2000) is set three months after the events of Resident Evil 2. Claire, still searching for her brother, is the player character for the bulk of the game. After an unsuccessful infiltration of Umbrella's medical branch in Paris, Claire finds herself imprisoned on Umbrella-owned Rockfort Island.^[10] She escapes and teams up with fellow prisoner Steve Burnside following another viral outbreak caused by a rival corporation of Umbrella's. During the escape, she manages to discover the whereabouts of her brother and sends a message to Leon, telling him to get help from Chris. The pair escape from the island, only to find themselves in another of Umbrella's secret labs, this time in Antarctica, before they are taken captive by Alexia Ashford. The second half of the game follows Chris trying to save his captured sister from Umbrella. He finds his way into the Antarctic lab and rescues Claire before the final battle with Alexia. The siblings escape from the facility via the transport airplane Chris used to get there. During the game's ending they vow to put an end to the Umbrella Corporation.

Claire is also playable in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009), which retells the events of Resident Evil 2 and Code: Veronica, and in an uncanonical game Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (2011).^[11]

In addition, she is also an unlockable bonus character in the unrelated Capcom title Trick'N Snowboarder (1999). Whilst not appearing in the game, one of C. Viper's costumes in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011) borrows heavily from her iconic look.^[12]

In other media

Claire plays a major role in the CG-animated film Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) alongside Leon S. Kennedy. The film is set seven years after the events of Resident Evil 2.^[13] In the film, Claire is now a member of TerraSave, a non-governmental organization which handles search and rescue at chemical and biological attacks. She is rescued from a bio-terrorist incident at the Harvardville Airport by Leon, and together with him and a police officer Angela Miller they survive an a zombie outbreak at the WilPharma Corporation's research complex, in the end exposing and arresting the WilPharma's researcher Frederic Downing.

In Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Claire is the leader of a convoy of survivors who, at the end of the film, go to Alaska in search of a safe haven.^[14] The live-action film's Claire has no connection to the video game character and her look has been completely redesigned.^[15]

In Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Claire, is ambushed by the Umbrella Corporation and manipulated by a device that controls her and impairs her memory, before she is rescued by Alice and reunited with her brother Chris. Together the three manage to defeat and kill Albert Wesker with the help of convoy survivor K-Mart, who had been a close friend of Alice and Claire's, and find themselves preparing to fend off an attack by Umbrella led by a device-controlled Jill Valentine. According to the interview with Ali Larter, this time she was dressed in the outfit that Claire wears in "the videogame".^[16]

Claire appears in S.D. Perry's 1999 novels Resident Evil: City of the Dead (a novelization of Resident Evil 2), Resident Evil: Underworld (an original story) and Resident Evil Code Veronica (a novelization of the game of the same title and the last book in the series), as well as in the comic book series Resident Evil by Capcom (1998) and Resident Evil: Code Veronica by WildStorm (2002).^[17]

In promotion and merchandise

Claire appeared in George A. Romero's Japanese TV commercial for Resident Evil 2,^[18] as well as in a viral marketing video to promote Resident Evil 5 (despite not appearing in the actual game).^[19]

Several action figures of Claire were released by various manufacturers, including one by Toy Biz in 1998,^[20] two by Moby Dick Toys in 2001,^[21][22] and two by Palisades Toys in 2001.^[23][24] A Claire block-style figure was also released in the Kubrick's Resident Evil line.

Reception

The character of Claire Redfield was well received by fans and critics. In 2007, Tom's Games listed her among the 50 greatest female characters in video game history, with a comment: "A rugged beauty, Claire's got a daredevil attitude and is a quick learner when it comes to firearms."^[25] In 2008, she was featured in GameDaily's list of top 50 "hottest game babes on trial", ranked 42nd,^[26] as well as in UGO Networks' top 50 "videogame hotties", with a comment: "Any woman that can take down a horde of zombies is A+ by our standards. But if she can do all that while exposing her midriff, she gets a heaping pile of brownie points."^[27] Featuring her in the 2009 list of top nine "greatest video game heroines", San Francisco Chronicle cited Claire as an example of a positive female game character that "Brandi Chastain would be proud of", adding that she "gets the nod for saving her brother early in the series."^[28] Also in 2009, IGN included her among the character they would like to see returning for Resident Evil 6, calling Claire to be "leagues above that walking bag of useless called Sheva".^[29]

References

1. ^ Jeremy Parish, "CLAIRE REDFIELD," Electronic Gaming Monthly 224 (January 2008), 101.
2. ^ (in Japanese) Research on Biohazard 2 final edition. Micro Design Publishing Inc.. 1 September 1998. ISBN 9784944000777. 
3. ^ "Resident Evil 2: The Horror Continues". GamePro (IDG Communications, Inc. – via WebCite) (101): 36–37. February 1997. http://www.webcitation.org/5rvrrnrHa. 
4. ^ (in Japanese) Capcom Design Works. Enterbrain, Inc.. 1 August 2001. pp. 22–30. ISBN 4-7577-0412-7. 
5. ^ Fahs, Travis (2009-03-11). "IGN Presents the History of Resident Evil - page 2, Misfire". IGN. http://uk.retro.ign.com/articles/960/960835p2.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
6. ^ "Resident Evil 1.5 - Elza Walker character bio". bioflames.com. http://bioflames.com/characters.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-08. 
7. ^ Collura, Scott (2007-09-21). "Resident Evil Movies Character Rundown - IGN takes a look at some of the most popular characters in the film franchise.". IGN. http://uk.stars.ign.com/articles/822/822250p1.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
8. ^ "Resident Evil: Extinction - Interview w/Star Ali Larter". bloody-disgusting.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20070913130457/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/feature/398. Retrieved 2007-09-16. 
9. ^ Ellingwood, Holly (2009-04-21). "Resident Evil Degeneration - Reviews". activeanime.com. http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/4864/57/. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
10. ^ Mac Donald, Ryan (2000-02-10). "Resident Evil Code: Veronica Review - To call it a must-own game is a definite understatement.". GameSpot. http://uk.gamespot.com/dreamcast/adventure/residentevilcodeveronica/review.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
11. ^ Leavi, Adam (2010-12-09). "FPS Resident Evil? New Info and Screens.". http://www.3dsbuzz.com/fps-resident-evil-new-info-and-screens/. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
12. ^ Ryan > Blog > UMvC3 Costume Inspiration Blog - WESKER and C. VIPER
13. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (2008-12-19). "Cast of Characters: Resident Evil: Degeneration - Milla may be missing, but we go in-depth with the new RE movie anyway.". IGN. http://uk.stars.ign.com/articles/940/940183p1.html. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
14. ^ Babes of Resident Evil - Stars Feature at IGN
15. ^ Ali Larter as Claire Redfield - UGO.com
16. ^ Ali Larter on Claire Redfield in Resident Evil: Afterlife - ShockTillYouDrop.com
17. ^ Claire Redfield (comic book character)
18. ^ George Romero's Resident Evil | Article
19. ^ Resident Evil 5 Video Game, Viral Campaign Episode 3: Claire
20. ^ Claire Redfield / Zombie Cop - Action Figure Gallery
21. ^ Claire (Jacket) - Action Figure Gallery
22. ^ Claire (Pink) - Action Figure Gallery
23. ^ Claire Redfield - Action Figure Gallery
24. ^ Claire Redfield (Wounded) - Action Figure Gallery
25. ^ The 50 Greatest Female Characters in Video Game History, Tom's Games, 2007-02-20 (archive version)
26. ^ Buffa, Chris (2008-03-21). "Top 50 Hottest Game Babes on Trial". GameDaily. http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-hottest-game-babes?page=10&cp=4. Retrieved 2010-02-02. ^{[dead link]}
27. ^ "Top 50 Videogame Hotties - These girls are some of the hottest digital vixens we've ever seen.". UGO Networks. 2008-11-25. http://www.ugo.com/games/video-game-hotties-claire-redfield. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
28. ^ Hartlaub, Peter (2009-02-17). "Top 9 greatest video game heroines". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/16/DDMA15T5M9.DTL. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
29. ^ Players Wanted: Resident Evil 6 - Stars Feature at IGN

External links

• IGN: Claire Redfield
• Claire Redfield - The Resident Evil Wiki
• Claire Redfield - Capcom Database Wiki
• Claire Redfield at the Internet Movie Database