Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a rail-shooter game released as a spinoff on the Wii. The game features three stories: Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, and an original scenario called "Operation Javier." "Operation Javier" takes place before Resident Evil 4, and since the latter is receiving a remake, it could be time to give this rail-shooter the chance to be developed as its own game, over-the-shoulder camera and all.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.]"Operation Javier" could be considered as a slight prequel to RE4, showing Leon and Kra working as a team on a mission to South America. The t-Veronica virus from Resident Evil: Code Veronica, which needs a remake all its own, makes a reappearance in South America, where Leon comes across an outbreak as he searches for Javier, a man who has connections to Umbrella. In the process, Leon gets help from Manuela, Javier's daughter, who has been infected by the virus as a form of treatment for her terminal illness and is the reason that girls in the area are disappearing.
Unhappy that others are being killed in order to sustain her life through organ transplants, Manuela works with Leon against her father. "Operation Javier" tells a story about how far a man will go to save his family and what he's willing to sacrifice to them, but it also shows that not every use of the viruses in Resident Evil is done for grandiose purposes since t-Veronica is what sustains Manuela's life. Aside from giving background information about Kra and Leon's history, "Operation Javier" tells a rather somber and personal story about a family's desperation.
"Operation Javier" Is Wasted As A Rail-Shooter Scenario
Resident Evil 4's remake could make mistakes if it makes too many changes to the original game, but it seems promising given what has been shown so far. However, Resident Evil 4 has been available on multiple platforms already, while "Operation Javier" hasn't been able to so much as have its own game. Some backdrops in the scenario already have an eerie feeling to them combined with the unsettling story, and remaking it into a full game with an over-the-shoulder camera to allow more investigation and exploration could turn "Operation Javier" into a spinoff journey with the elements of the classic Resident Evil franchise.
Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles seems to be largely overlooked as a spinoff, but being a rail-shooter (with two out of three scenarios retelling other Resident Evil games) likely worked against it. It might not become one of the scariest Resident Evil games, but "Operation Javier" could go a long way toward telling an underappreciated part of RE's story if was expanded upon and allowed for the exploration of a third- or first-person camera view. With Capcom's string of remakes, it might be time for "Operation Javier" to be remade and available for a wider range of players instead of being hidden as part of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.
