There are a number of fantastic characters in the Resident Evil 2 remake, from the main characters Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield right up to the soulless Tyrant nicknamed “Mr. X” (if he counts as a character). Other than the monsters, there are three major non-playable side-characters in the game: Leon’s fellow officer Marvin Branagh, sinister head of the RPD Chief Irons, and the mysterious and antagonistic scientist Annette Birkin. In our Resident Evil 2 remake save Marvin guide, we ask the important question: is it possible to save Marvin, Irons, or Annette? Or are they all dooooooooooooomed?
Is it possible to save officer Marvin Branagh in Resident Evil 2 remake?
Other than Claire, Leon, and whatever was left of poor officer Elliot Edward, Marvin Branagh is the first character you meet in the Resident Evil 2 storyline (at least in the Leon and Claire “A” story), where he saves you from a zombie by closing a shutter on it. Unfortunately from the moment you meet Marvin he’s looking a little worse for wear. He’s clearly been attacked by a zombie already when you meet him, although we don’t find out where and when it happened. In Resident Evil Outbreak players found out that he’d been part of a group of several surviving officers who were trying to escape the station but were all attacked, and Marvin was the only survivor. He was bitten though, unfortunately.
Marvin warns Leon/Claire to shoot anyone attacking them on sight, which is good advice, although it does eventually apply to him too. You can return to Marvin several times throughout the game and he steadily declines in health, until he falls unconscious. When you return to him next, Marvin has become a zombie and you’ll be forced to kill him. Can you save Marvin? Unfortunately not, as he received his injuries before you even met him. In the alternate B storyline, in fact, he’s a zombie already. Sorry.
Can you save Chief Irons in Resident Evil 2 remake?
You meet Chief Brian Irons, the head of the RPD, in Claire’s campaign, and first impressions are not good. In fact he kidnaps Sherry, the little girl you’ve been protecting, at gunpoint, smacks Claire around, ties her up, and leaves her at the mercy of the various monsters running around. Later on you’ll discover that he was protecting William Birkin and his G-Virus project, and was being bribed handsomely to do it. He planned to kill the S.T.A.R.S. survivors, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, and was presumably the one who left the supposed letter from Chris in their offices. He even forms part of one of the tensest sections in the game, where you play Sherry and have to hide from the Chief in an orphanage.
Of course his protection of the G-Virus proves his undoing, as a G-Virus mutant bursts out of him Alien-style later in Claire’s campaign, in both the A and B storylines. Unfortunately this is all part of a cutscene, and it is not possible to save Chief Irons from this rather disgusting fate. The bigger question is, why would you want to? Did we mention he murdered eight young women?
Can you save Annette Birkin in Resident Evil 2 remake?
When you meet Annette Birkin for the first time, she’s hardly the most forthcoming person. When you meet her with Leon she outright runs away from you, and during Ada’s section of the game she traps her in an incinerator and tries to kill her. In video footage you discover that William Birkin is her husband, and that he’s been shot by an Umbrella black ops team. As he’s about to die he injects himself with the G-Virus, and turns into a G-mutant in front of Annette. You have to feel a bit of sympathy for her, despite her trying to kill Ada.
In Claire’s campaign, Annette is a bit more responsive when she learns that Claire is trying to find Sherry, who is Annette’s daughter. They eventually split up, and don’t meet up again until the end of the game. Annette is fatally wounded by her mutated husband, who is then the following boss battle. She then dies shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, like with Marvin and Irons, Annette’s death is part of the plot of Resident Evil 2 and so she cannot be saved. So to sum up: none of the side-characters in the game can be saved. Sorry about that…
