When you think of villains throughout the Resident Evil series, Albert Wesker is probably the one who first comes to mind. However, what you might not know is that before the finale his character received in Resident Evil 5, he starred in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles on the Wii. Box art usually has the protagonists on the front, but The Umbrella Chronicles has Wesker alone on the cover because it is his game.
The Umbrella Chronicles was only physically released on the Wii and had a short, blink and you’ll miss it, digital-only drop on the PlayStation 3, so a lot of people never played it. This is unfortunate as it’s a great rail shooter, but it also offers plenty of important story moments key to the RE universe. Umbrella Chronicles retells the events of Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil, and Resident Evil 3, in addition to a fourth scenario (Umbrella’s End), which is brand new.
Umbrella’s End takes place in 2003 and sees Chris and Jill team up once again to fight through Umbrella’s last hideout in Russia. Wesker enters the hideout as well to finally settle the score with Sergei, who has been a thorn in his side for years. This scenario features some of Resident Evil’s best environments - the subway car section with Wesker is a notable highlight, feeling reminiscent of Silent Hill 3.
In the end, Chris and Jill take on Umbrella’s latest ultimate bio-weapon T-A.L.O.S., while Wesker deals with Sergei. What’s important here is that after Wesker kills Sergei, he takes the entirety of the Umbrella Archives. This is what ultimately leads to Umbrella’s demise as Wesker shares it with the US government, and with this definitive proof, Umbrella is finally held accountable. Umbrella’s own double agent led to its very destruction.
The finale to Umbrella Chronicles is incredibly important to the overall Resident Evil mythos. When Resident Evil 4 first released in 2005, it felt pretty abrupt that the opening cutscene stated Umbrella was destroyed without much fanfare. Umbrella Chronicles tells us what led to that. Not only was this story fascinating (and important) for players to know, it also worked as a great lead-in to Resident Evil 5.
Since Wesker was essentially the lead character and even the narrator of the game, it built him up as this ultimate villain. With RE5’s pre-release material already revealing Wesker as the central antagonist, it felt like a long time in the making. Even the game itself offered a vast history of Resident Evil section that appears on the loading screens. While this was all enticing when RE5 was prepping to release, what about now when a RE5 remake is likely on the way?
That's something that many see coming down the road given the success of Resident Evil 4 Remake. RE5 could use a remake,too, as there are definitely things to improve. But a lot of modern players have only experienced the remakes and the newest RE titles, meaning they'll be missing a lot of details. If Capcom goes straight into an RE5 remake, it won’t have the same finality fit did for players who experienced Umbrella Chronicles or Code: Veronica. That’s why Umbrella’s End should be turned into its own game.
Modern players should be aware of the critical importance of its storyline. If you’ve only played the remakes, you know Wesker’s involvement in the first Resident Evil, a bit of his involvement in Resident Evil 2, and you see him at the end of Resident Evil 4. You need to know the events of Umbrella’s End before heading into RE5 to get the full impact out of what he represents.
Another cool aspect of a potential Umbrella’s End game would be the return of certain monsters. Since the Russian base has a lot of leftover bio-organic weapons, fan-favorite enemies come back. This includes the Chimeras, the spider-like creatures found near the end of the original Resident Evil. Neptunes, the deadly sharks of the RE universe, would also see a return. By far, the best addition would be the Crimson Heads. These were the scariest things in the Resident Evil remake, and it’s a shame they’re only in that game and Operation Raccoon City. All of these inclusions would be highly welcome.
There’s one view that it makes sense for the recent Resident Evil remakes not to focus that much on canon events that happened outside the mainline titles. To a certain extent, I agree. Games like Resident Evil Zero don’t have much importance regarding the lead characters or long-lasting effects in the plot. But that’s not the case with Umbrella’s End. Its events are crucial to the overall narrative and important to all the major characters involved. Umbrella’s End shouldn’t be ignored, but instead retold to a new audience, especially if an RE5 remake is in the works.