Resident Evil HD REMASTER (Chris Redfield)

Chris Redfield[a] is a character in Resident Evil (Biohazard in Japan), a survival horror series created by the Japanese company Capcom. He was introduced as one of the two playable characters of the original Resident Evil (1996), alongside his partner Jill Valentine, as a member of the Raccoon Police Department's Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) unit. Chris and Jill fight against the Umbrella Corporation, a pharmaceutical company whose bioterrorism creates zombies and other bio-organic weapons. Later, the pair became founding members of the United Nations' Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA).

Chris is the protagonist in several Resident Evil games, novels, and films, and has also appeared in other game franchises, including Marvel vs. Capcom, Project X Zone, and Dead by Daylight. In later games, such as Resident Evil 7 (2017) and Resident Evil: Village (2021), his features were based on New Zealand model Geordie Dandy. Several actors have portrayed Chris, including Wentworth Miller and Robbie Amell in the Resident Evil live-action films.

Critics have been polarized in their critiques of the character, with a focus on the frequent modifications and inconsistency in his design. Several publications have referred to Chris as one of the sexiest video game characters. Some critics have referred to a scene of his punching a boulder in Resident Evil 5 (2009), which became an internet meme, as one of the most memorable within the Resident Evil series.

Concept and design
Chris was introduced as one of the two playable protagonists, alongside his partner Jill Valentine, in Capcom's 1996 survival horror video game Resident Evil.[20] He was created by director Shinji Mikami and designer Isao Ohishi.[21][22] Designer Hideki Kamiya described Chris as a "blunt, tough-guy type", admitting that he was a fan of this archetype.[23] Of white American descent,[19] Chris served in the United States Air Force[24] and later joined the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.), a special operations unit of the Raccoon Police Department.[25] Although their storylines progress similarly,[26] the gameplay differs for Jill and Chris;[20] Chris cannot carry as many items in his inventory, but he can run quicker and withstand more damage.[26]

Chris continued to be redesigned over the course of the series.[27] In Resident Evil 5 (2009), modeler Yosuke Yamagata said that they "made a new design that retained their signature color—green for Chris, blue for Jill—to carry over the same look from the past". The character's facial features are mainly based on the visuals in the 2002 remake of Resident Evil, with various details added to arrive at a "realistic structure".[28] The game features Chris as a protagonist; designers opted to focus on how the character had aged since the original game.[28] His increased muscle mass was to show that he had trained intensely to fight the series' powerful villain, Albert Wesker, bare-handed.[29] Resident Evil 5's producer Jun Takeuchi said that the series' fans want a video game featuring both Leon S. Kennedy and Chris as the protagonists at the same time, due to their popularity. Takeuchi opined that it would be "pretty dramatic" if the two characters never met before the series ended;[30] the meeting happened in Resident Evil 6 (2012),[31] where Chris has a slightly disheveled look due to his alcoholism and post-traumatic amnesia.[32][33] Character designer Tsutomu Kawade noted that the team was aware of Chris' powerful arms being his most distinctive feature. Their design thus accentuated his arms, with attire in blue-tinted green that continued his concept color.[34]

In Resident Evil 7 (2017), Takeuchi said Chris was being proposed as the main character at the time and had to be developed into a hero since this was the first time we had seen him in a long time. Looking back, Takeuchi realized that developing a Resident Evil game isn't the same as creating a hero character like Chris.[35] Director Kōshi Nakanishi thought that Chris' appearance in Resident Evil 6 would be "not suitable for Resident Evil 7's game engine or aesthetic". Nakanishi reasoned that "[a]lthough it is a fairly realistic impression, even if it mixes with the character of 7, it seems that a sense of incongruity will come out."[36] Producers wanted to give the character a more "photorealistic depiction" with an entirely new design.[37] Nakanishi felt that if Chris looked the same as in previous titles, players would get a sense of "incongruity",[37] although commentators and players held that the changes made the character unrecognizable.[37]