Resident Evil 2/Walkthrough

This walkthrough follows both scenarios for Leon and Claire. The walkthrough will be split into five major sections (for Scenario A) and four major sections (for Scenario B), each following every version of Resident Evil 2. Each section will be split into smaller sub-sections of rooms, with each room being numbered consecutively. Both characters will only follow certain rooms (version differences may also apply), which is why they are numbered (for example, Leon can skip ahead to Main Hall (3), while Claire has to go to East Wing Office (1), and later on Leon can skip to East Wing Office (2) and Claire to Main Hall (4)).

If you have the PlayStation or Windows 9x version of Resident Evil 2, you'll have to place the correlating CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive to play as the character (for example, to start Leon's Scenario A, you'll have to insert the Leon disc). If you have the Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, or GameCube version, select the character you would like to play as in the main menu. For those who are playing Resident Evil 2 for the Game.com, you can only play as Leon, so select New Game from the main menu to start right away. When you have decided which character to play as, select the difficulty (easy or normal in the PSX and Game.com versions, easy, normal, or hard in the Windows 9x and Dreamcast versions, or rookie or normal for the Dual Shock and GameCube versions).

Character Differences
Leon and Claire are two completely different characters, and you may want to decide which is better for you. If this is your first time playing through Resident Evil, you'll definitely want to start off as Leon, as he has a better partner and weapon set. All of their differences are listed below:

Leon
 * Receives a Lighter in the beginning of the game, which does not take up main inventory space and can be used to find an important item early.
 * Ada, Leon's partner, can fire a Browning HP and help Leon in the Factory.
 * Receives the M-1100P Shotgun (and Custom Shotgun), Desert Eagle (and Custom Magnum) and Flamethrower.
 * Starts off with a HK VP70, a handgun which has an eighteen round capacity (and can also modified into a Custom Handgun).
 * Will find Small Keys (to unlock drawers), Shotgun Shells and Magnum Rounds.

Claire
 * Receives a Lockpick in the beginning of the game, which does not take up main inventory space and can be used to unlock several drawers.
 * Sherry, Claire's partner, cannot use weapons and isn't any help in the Factory.
 * Receives the Bowgun, M79 Grenade Launcher and Sparkshot.
 * Starts off with a Browning HP, a handgun which has a thirteen round capacity (and cannot be modified).
 * Will find Bowgun Bolts and Grenades (of different types).

General Tips

 * Always reload by going into your inventory screen, selecting the weapon, and combining it with that weapon's ammo (do not use the Auto-Reload feature).
 * Always drop off your Ink Ribbons into the nearest Item Box after saving to save Inventory space.
 * Don't waste ammo on enemies like crows and cockroaches.
 * Don't waste more powerful ammo on weaker enemies (for example, don't waste Magnum Rounds on zombies).
 * Always reload before entering a room.
 * When you find yourself outnumbered, just simply run into the closest room.
 * If you don't have enough inventory space for an important item, backtrack to the nearest saveroom and drop off minor items into the Item Box.
 * Don't try to take on more enemies than you think you can (for example, taking a on a group of three Lickers is not suggested).
 * Once you enter a room, pay attention to any sounds to see what kind of enemy is in the room (for example, a zombie groans, a Cerberus will growl, etc.)

Once you select a character, the preface and FMV will play and the game will immediately start once it is over. Enter the survival horror...