The Resident Evil series is filled with memorable characters. From Chris Redfield to Rose Winters, the developers at Capcom have a knack for introducing characters that soon become fan favorites (or at least fan-tolerated). That said, there aren’t many characters players love more than Jill Valentine. The co-star of the original Resident Evil hasn’t gotten the love from Capcom, but that doesn’t mean fans don’t wish she were more involved in the ongoing saga. After all, there are plenty of reasons to love the “master of lockpicking.”
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Here are three of the biggest reasons Jill Valentine is a fan-favorite character in the Resident Evil series.
3) Extra Inventory Space
Fans have loved Jill Valentine from the beginning of Resident Evil for one simple reason: she has more inventory space than Chris Redfield. The original Resident Evil set the precedent for characters having limited inventory space, making backtracking and proper planning key to the series. So, if a character has two extra inventory slots, people are going to fall over themselves to play as them.
Sure, Chris has more health and access to a flamethrower, but it’s hard to argue that Jill isn’t the “easier” character for players new to the series. Not only does she have the two extra inventory slots, but she also gets a lockpick, a bazooka, and, maybe most importantly, earlier access to a shotgun. Simply put, Jill is the better character to start the series with, and nobody forgets their first.
2) Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
As mentioned above, Capcom doesn’t often bring Jill back. Yes, we got the Resident Evil 3 Remake, but the last time she’s been in a new Resident Evil game is all the way back in Resident Evil 5. She does star in Resident Evil: Revelations (a massively underrated RE game), but she’s been sorely missing from the main storyline.
The good thing about that is that she isn’t oversaturated. Chris Redfield appears in nearly every RE game. Even Leon Kennedy can get a little boring because of how many consoles Capcom ported Resident Evil 4 to over the years. Jill, on the other hand, is never included, which makes fans miss her even more.
If Jill had been showing up in every game, you wouldn’t have nearly as many fans begging Capcom to bring her back. She’d still have plenty of fans, but they wouldn’t be desperate for a sign of life from the developer. By keeping her on the back burner, Capcom has effectively made her more popular, even if that wasn’t the team’s original plan.
1) A Pioneer Protagonist
To be clear, Jill Valentine isn’t the first female protagonist in a video game. Characters like Ms. Pac-Man, Samus Aran, and Lara Croft set the stage for Jill. However, that doesn’t make her any less important.
Jill might not be the first, but she’s certainly one of the best. In Resident Evil, Jill is portrayed as a capable officer who hangs tough with Chris, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker. She’s never shown as weaker than them, continually proving herself in the line of battle.
On top of that, Jilly’s appearance (at least in the first game) isn’t overly sexualized. That was a rarity in those days, and it helps her stand out from characters like Lara Croft. Capcom did get away from that in future releases, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore what the original game did, proving developers didn’t have to put their female leads into a tube top to sell copies.
It’s also worth noting that Chris and Jill do not have a romantic relationship. Instead, the duo is focused on the mission and bonds over their loyalty to each other. Again, this felt like a rarity in the ’90s, making Jill feel more like a real person than many of the women who came before her.
Sadly, the team did away from some of that original design in future games. Instead of wearing military gear befitting her job and mission, RE3 puts her into date gear. They try to get around it by explaining the Nemesis attack was unexpected, but it still felt too much like fan service. Here’s hoping any future Jill appearances stick to the character players know and love.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
