Claire Redfield

Lore & Background

Claire Redfield was introduced alongside the police officer Leon S. Kennedy as one of two playable protagonists in Capcom's 1998 survival horror video game Resident Evil 2. Claire was developed from an earlier character named Elza Walker, the original female lead of the game's first prototype, who was a blonde motorcyclist who crashed her bike into Raccoon Police Station, where she fled for safety. In the middle of the game's development, newly-hired storywriter Noboru Sugimura felt the story needed a stronger connection to Resident Evil (1996).

Director Hideki Kamiya and producer Shinji Mikami agreed with Sugimura's criticism, and Sugimura substantially overhauled the story, including reworking Elza into Claire Redfield, the sister of Chris Redfield. Claire's appearance was designed by the artists Isao Ohishi and Ryoji Shimogama. To avoid sexual objectification of women in video games, Mikami refused to eroticize or portray women in Resident Evil as submissive; instead, Claire was characterized as independent.

Mikami said: "I don't know if I've put more emphasis on women characters, but when I do introduce them, it is never as objects ... In [other] games, they will be peripheral characters with ridiculous breast physics. I avoid that sort of obvious eroticism." In the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, Claire was redesigned and modeled after the Canadian model Jordan McEwen.

She was given a new wardrobe, and her original hotpants and cycling shorts were replaced with jeans and a long-sleeved jacket. Claire continued to be redesigned during the series. She was given a tougher appearance in Resident Evil – Code: Veronica (2000) because her experiences in Resident Evil 2 toughened her and increased her confidence to handle situations. This characterization is emphasized in the opening scene, in which she appears in a John Woo-inspired action scene.

For Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (2015), Claire was written as practical and aggressive to contrast with her partner, the young, immature, and easily scared Moira Burton. According to the producer Michiteru Okabe, they had not reduced the two characters to their gender and had instead given them unique personalities, which he said reflected positively on the video-game industry's direction at the time. According to Okabe, the director Morimasa Sato is a big fan of Claire so Okabe felt obliged to bring her back into the game.

Reader's Guide

Claire Redfield is defined by her unwavering compassion and adaptability. Originally a college student with no combat experience, the horrors of Raccoon City forced her to evolve into a capable fighter. Critics have positively responded to Claire's personality and her role as a strong, female lead character. Several journalists considered Claire to be significantly less sexualized than other female game characters. She was exemplified as a female character who is as competent and skilled as her male counterparts. Her role often shifts between protector and survivor, frequently placing herself in harm's way to save strangers like Sherry Birkin or Steve Burnside. Her defining moments include escaping Raccoon City alongside Leon S. Kennedy and later infiltrating an Umbrella facility in Antarctica. These experiences cemented her reputation as a key figure in the fight against bio-weapons.