Since childhood, I've held the belief that if you start something, you must see it through to the end, no matter how difficult the process may be. Perhaps that's why I was particularly annoyed when the Resident Evil series abandoned its long-standing use of Roman numerals.
It all started with Resident Evil 7, where the Roman numeral for 7 was cleverly embedded within the word "Evil." Resident Evil Village continued this design philosophy. Therefore, before the official announcement of Resident Evil 9, I was eagerly anticipating how Capcom would incorporate the Roman numeral IX into the title.
I came up with several theories myself, with my two favorites being "Helix" and "Appendix." In my opinion, both make perfect sense: the former relates to DNA and fits the T-Virus lore; the latter refers to an unsettling human organ while also implying "the conclusion of a story." I personally loved the "Appendix" idea.
Unfortunately, both guesses turned out to be wrong—we didn't even catch a glimpse of the Roman numeral IX. Instead, we got Resident Evil: Requiem.
Eventually, I came to accept the title "Requiem." It fits the game's tone well, as it originally refers to a prayer for the repose of the dead or a ceremony commemorating the deceased. I even saw a promotional image where the letter 'q' in "Requiem" was stylized to look like the number 9, which loosely connects it to the ninth installment. But hold on, there's more to it than that.
In an interview with Japanese media celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Resident Evil series, executive producer Jun Takeuchi revealed that the meaning behind the title "Requiem" goes far beyond the conventional explanations mentioned above:
"Here's a hint for everyone: We chose 'Requiem' as the title not just for its literal meaning. The spelling of 'Requiem' contains not only the previously mentioned 'RE' (response), but also hides a 'Q' (question). In other words, this 'Requiem' is both an 'answer' and a 'question.' I will explain the deeper meaning in detail at a later date."
To be honest, I'm not buying this deconstructed interpretation of "Requiem." It might seem logically sound, but it feels like overanalyzing blue curtains in a GCSE English class. That said, I'm still curious about how the developers will expand on this lore in the future. Maybe we'll uncover the meanings behind the remaining letters in Requiem. Who knows? Perhaps U stands for "You" (the player), I for "Me" (the player), E for "Evil residents," and M for "Me" again (since I get two letters because I'm special).