Resident Evil 0 and 5 Link ?

[Project Omega]

Here's a question worth throwing out there:

What if the city Chris and Sheva are in was the one Billy and his team were looking for back in the summer of 1997?

Billy's Confession Script Transcription :

Billy: "It was around this time last year."

(Cut to an African jungle--soldiers marching through the bushes and trees.)

Billy: "Our unit was ordered to Africa, to intervene in a civil war. Our mission was to raid a hideout of some guerilla forces located deep inside the jungle... But the hideout was far away from our entry point. Some died from the heat, others were killed by the enemy. In the end, only four of us survived.

(Soldiers reach a small village.)

Billy: "Only there was no guerilla hideout."

Rebecca: "What do you mean?"

Billy: "The idiots in charge had us operating on wrong information! But, we couldn't just go home empty handed, oh no... Our leader ordered us to attack an innocent village."

(Cut to the African village--one soldier firing his gun in the air as the other soldiers round up the villagers into a group.)

Commander: "Get rid of them! Kill them all!"

Billy: "Please, sir! Cease fire immediately!"

Commander: "Shut up!"

(The commander knocks Billy to the ground with the butt of his weapon.)

Commander: "Do it!"

(Soldiers kill the villagers.)

Billy: "No! Don't! Stop!"

(End Flashback)

Rebecca: "So did you execute those innocent people?"

Billy: "Forget about it. It doesn't matter anymore. That was then, this is now. Besides, you said you wouldn't judge me."

Rebecca: "I'm not judging you, but it does matter. Look, now my people think you killed those MPs in the van, but I don't think you did... It was those zombie dogs, right? When they attacked the van you were able to escape. I-isn't that right?"

Billy: "You don't get it... I've only got two choices left. Either report to the Marines and serve out my sentence or keep on running for as long as I can. That's all."

Was Billy's unit really sent to Africa to intervene in a civil war? If so, how could 4 people who were low on ammo, food, and water possibly hope to intervene in a civil war? The logic behind their progression isn't there. The element of surprise certainly was no longer on their side since they were being attacked "by the enemy". Why didn't they just radio in and communicate the mission had been compromised and gotten out to re-plan it with valid information?

Perhaps their was an ulterior motive for progressing with the mission (aside from they were under orders of course). Seeking the origins of the Projenitor Virus perhaps?

[BLSR1]

I know RE5 has to be connected to billy's story in some way. I just hope they don't bring billy back.

[TheOrganization]

I thought Billy Coen and his team where in a south American place? I'm probs wrong but i didnt think it was Africa

[Nomad9026]

Interesting theory, I would like it to be in re5. Just wanted to say that there were much more people in Billy's unit that were send to war, 4 were all that were left, besides they were soldiers and had a direct order to eliminate partisans in that vilage, even if there were even less of them left they still were have to continue their mission, if not they would become traitors.

[Guest]

It would be great to see Billy back! well... not as a main character, but just to apear and explain were he was this last years

[Cerberus]

I havn't played very far in Zero, but it doesn't sound quite right. If I got the above text right he and his mates went into an African village to attack a guerilla, but the guerilla wasn't there and instead they killed innocents that didn't attack them at all?
That sounds like a classical action-story cliche, the main person a long time ago have being involved in a similar scenario (usually in Irak, though) where they go into a rural city, thinking it will be full of terrorists/guerilla members. It is usually foggy or nighttime and as soon as they see something moving in the distance they start shooting - only to moments later realize they just shot a mob of civilians.

[Jill's Boob]

I honestly don't think there is a link. Capcom probably chose an arbitrary location when they were developing RE0 and Billy's background.

Takeuchi said their hands were tied when developing RE5, as the progenitor was supposedly from Africa (stated in RECV), and thus they had to use the location for the current setting. Seems like they would have otherwise set the locale elsewhere.

[Itashious_boy]

well with that information in mind its a perfectly good reason why they would place RE5 in africa and not in Europe like RE2 stated that thats where all the STARS members went to investigate something, so im sure that the rest of STARS is in Eruope while chris is in africa because of another order, i think all will be revealed in RE5 just sit and wait for next year march

but thats a good question im sure it does have some kind of link to RE5

[Darkmoon]

That and it's been ten odd years since RE2 and the former S.T.A.R.S members are likely doing something else now.

I'd like to think that foward planning means we'll see at least some of that incident, even if it's an old newspaper clipping. And if it's something bigger and more interesting...awesome.

[BLSR1]

Billy is dead. No more billy.
If he didn't wander into the mansion and die or die in raccoon city, then was eaten by the numerous zombie dogs and monsters in the forest.

[Project Omega]

According to the "Investigation Order" in RE0, the Umbrella Management Training Facility was only 8 miles north of Raccoon City... Since Birkin's Facility is on the outskirts of Raccoon City, it could be that The Mansion and Raccoon City were pretty much equidistant at the end of Resident Evil 0 before Billy and Rebecca split up.

Rebecca of course goes towards to the heavier infested area near the mansion and makes it there just fine. Going away from that should decrease the amount of infected enemies per mile that you get away from the mansion (ground zero for the initial infection).

Not to mention it was Rebecca's first day on the job and she made it to the mansion just okay and managed to survive the night... Billy as a trained Marine should have been more than able to make it back to Raccoon City. There's always a chance he made it to Raccoon City and the went to the nearest non-extraditable country to escape persecution.

To be honest, it doesn't really matter if he's alive or dead. His presence only effects the story of RE0, and the only other time he was mentioned was in the RE2 EX File titled "Rebecca's Report" which mentions :

On July 23rd, an MP vehicle was found inside the Arklay Mountains. Corpses of MP members and an unidentified body were found near the vehicle.

According to the information from military authorities, the unidentified body was identified as former ensign Billy Koen, who was sentenced the death penalty following a
court-martial on July 22nd. While Koen was on transfer via Navy MP escort, they must have experienced some kind of accident.

The corpses were severely mauled, apparently torn apart by unidentified wild animals.

The following day we returned to the location to recover the bodies but they were nowhere to be found.

Military authorities have requested that we turn over Koen's body as proof of his death. But due to the circumstances described above, it will be a difficult task to recover the
corpse.

I am requesting that this case be temporarily closed until further notice.

Raccoon City Police Department
S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team
Rebecca Chambers

That file tells us Rebecca was promoted to the Alpha team and since no one from the Bravo team was alive, she could warp the story about the military police's death anyway she wanted to protect her ass and also to make the military stop looking Billy...

[Jill's Boob]

If there was only 8 miles of distance between the training facility and Racoon City, how did the populace of RC never see the gigantic explosions from the always convenient self-destruct mechanisms?!

[Project Omega]

Cover stories. Forest fires tend to occur frequently in the summer so it may have been spun off as that. All you really see is a large plume of smoke from the resulting fire and if Umbrella wanted to, they could just report to the media that there have been forest fires breaking out and no one would really put much thought into it as long as Umbrella had the flames put out as soon as possible...