Soapbox features allow our writers and individual contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve mulled over. Today, Ollie looks back at the pantheon of bad guys that reside in all of the Resident Evils and writes a tribute to his perhaps favorite character in the video game world…
I have a little confession to make. Back in 2005 when I played Evil 4 for the first time on my trusty GameCube, I absolutely loved it, but me and Ramón Salazar didn’t get off to the best start. After playing through the game’s village prologue, which features the deadly Ganados, Dr. Salvador, the venerable El Gigante, and the fearsome village chief, Bitores Méndez, my first encounter with Salazar left a Bit of a bitter taste in the mouth.
There was certainly a feeling from the start that Resident Evil 4 was a completely different monster from what came before, and I don’t mean because it focuses more on action than horror. Despite the series’ obvious B-movie origins, RE4 has demonstrated a striking willingness to not take itself too seriously. Now, I’m not saying every RE game before the fourth entry considers itself ‘serious’Citizen Kane‘ belongs to the genre of survival horror, but with Leon’s sarcastic quips (“where’s everyone going, bingo?”), his remarkable wrestling moves and friendships His budding with a stray dog, it’s clear that Resident Evil 4 is something completely different from the doom and gloom of Raccoon City.
This is why, when I went to the castle grounds and met the resident custodian there, Ramón Salazar, I was quite surprised by both his appearance and his attitude. I clearly remember sitting in my chair, staring at my 19-inch CRT monitor with the same look ‘Chloe gave a loving glance’. Seriously, who To be this guy?
This is the thing though. I’ve played through Resident Evil 4 more times than I can remember (I lost count after the fifteenth time playing) and I’m completely Love Salazar now. Love him. He’s one of my favorite characters of all time, not just in Resident Evil 4, not just in the entire franchise but in all of the games. He’s both adorable and scary; a villain who seems benign almost as funny compared to the likes of Nemesis and Wesker, but also one who instills fear in my heart with his bizarre, childishly fickle-robed bodyguards and his fear.
Furthermore, with each subsequent playthrough, I really felt sorry for the fact that Salazar wasn’t the main antagonist of the game. Don’t get me wrong, I like Osmund Saddler as much as the next Ganado, but he really is a “fancy pants villain with a despicable plan”. Aside from Salazar’s delightful charm and masculine presence, he frankly bore me.
Salazar’s last (REALLY CLEAR SPOILER WARNING!) the death at the hands of Leon Kennedy gives me a deep sense of loss every time I finish the game now. Yes, he is evil. Yes, he wants to help Saddler conquer the entire world with the Las Plagas parasite, but damn, he’s just adorable! Maybe there’s a part of me, deep down, that thinks I can change him. Can you imagine Salazar joining Leon, Chris, Jill and co. in the fight against bio-organic terrorism? I think he will do a solid job.
The Evil 4 remake is coming—though sadly not for Switch owners, though a ‘Cloud Edition’ seems likely at some point due to the fact that all those All other versions are treated the same — and I simply can’t wait to go back to that world again. Salazar’s summary (very short) appeared in one of the pre-release trailers with me… no worry, like that, but a little worried. His appearance has definitely changed quite a bit, and to me, he doesn’t look like a scary kid with old man features anymore. He looks like an old man.
It’s weird, but I trust Capcom to do justice to the character. In addition to letting him live, of course.
What do you think of Ramón Salazar from Resident Evil 4? Would you rank him among your favorite characters in the series? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
