The Resident Evil franchise is over 25 years old. Even more impressive, the games have never rebooted the continuity, keeping the same story going through all the gameplay changes.
Even though the franchise has long since left Raccoon City, the city remains an important part of the canon and has been revisited in recent years with the remakes of the second and third mainline entries. It is still kind of a mysterious place in some ways, and seems to never have a concrete identity. The ten facts below might help explain some of the questions surrounding it. One wonders if players will be exploring the city again in the future.
9 It Expanded As A Result Of Umbrella's Involvement
In the 1960s the Umbrella Corporation started investing in the town. This marked the beginning of its rapid expansion. Shortly after a police department was established and more people started moving in. By the time of the T-Virus outbreak, it had even become a tourist destination.
People may visit afterward, but only as a giant crater in the ground. While expansion is nice, the price ultimately was not worth it.
8 Rats Spread The T-Virus
A virus does not get around all by itself. It needs something to carry and spread it to other hosts. In Raccoon City's case, the T-Virus was able to infect the city with the help of rats. Much like rats were the cause o the Bubonic Plague pandemic of the Middle Ages, so did they cause Raccoon City's demise.
This is directly shown and explained in Resident Evil 2 during a flashback scene showing William Birkin's transmogrification.
7 The Skyline In The Resident Evil 2 Remake Was Modeled After Montreal
Even though Raccoon City is clearly stated to be set in the midwestern United States, the city has several connection to Canada. Mainly, the skyline used in Resident Evil 2's main menu is inspired by Montreal, a Canadian city.
However, Raccoon City is surrounded by mountains and desert, and the latter is particularly something one will not find in Montreal.
6 Destroying Raccoon City Caused The President To Resign
After the T-Virus outbreak, the president of the United States made the impossible decision to blow up the city in order to contain the outbreak. More than 100,000 people were said to have perished in the whole ordeal, though all the Resident Evil protagonists made it out safely.
Even if it was the best decision to make under the circumstances, it ruined the president's reputation and caused him to resign. He still ended up more fortunate than the next presidents. His successor's daughter was kidnapped and the one after him was assassinated in a B.O.W. attack.
5 It Had A Cameo In Robot Chicken
Raccoon City was featured in a sketch on the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. On the program, which is famous for lampooning all aspects of pop culture including video games, Mario and Luigi accidentally end up in Vice City and ultimately bite the dust after inadvertently getting themselves wrapped up in crime.
At the end of the skit, Yoshi takes a different turn and drives into Raccoon City where the dinosaur is devoured by zombies.
4 In Live-Action Films Ontario Is Raccoon City
in 2004's Resident Evil: Apocalypse, the second film in the series, the protagonists are all trying to escape Raccoon City. The majority of the movie was filmed in Ontario. This proved troublesome for the actors, because it was extremely cold while filming at night, but most of the outfits were not designed for the winter.
The upcoming film reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, also filmed in Ontario. This reboot aims to more closely follow the events and characters of the games.
3 The RCPD Was A Former Art Museum
The first chunk of Resident Evil 2 takes place in the Raccoon City Police Station. Oddly enough, the building has a similarly creepy and enigmatic atmosphere to the Spencer Mansion from the debut entry.
While it feels inappropriate for a police station to feel this way, there is an explanation for it. The building where the station was established used to be an art museum. Additionally, Chief Irons' eccentricities could be used to explain the other bits of weirdness within the police station.
2 It Is Featured In Rocket Raccoon's Ending For Marvel Vs. Capcom 3
In Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Rocket Raccoon's ending briefly features the iconic city. The anthropomorphic character mentions needing some relaxation and that Chris told him about his old hometown. Upon arriving, Rocket Raccoon discovers nothing but tons of zombies to take on.
To be fair, most Raccoons would be convinced a place called Raccoon City is the perfect vacation destination. Maybe somewhere there is a Zombie City populated by Raccoons.
1 No One Knows What State Raccoon City Is In
Funnily enough, none of the games ever concretely state which state Raccoon City is located in. One novelization points it out as Pennsylvania, but this is most likely wrong. Pennsylvania is too far away from the midwest to be accurate.
It is not that important to know, but it is funny to think this city has been an integral part of the franchise and no one could point out on a map exactly where it is.