When Capcom sat down to write RE4make and Separate Ways, they had to have a moment of reckoning when it came to Ada's character:
Do they continue to write out her romance with Leon, or
Do they commit to her role as an ambiguous third party agent keeping her fingers in all of the pies?
They chose the latter. They chose the latter because it was more important, narratively. And they couldn't have both, because having both doesn't make any fucking sense and never has made any fucking sense.
Ada is a selfish character, at her core. To have her constantly be soft for Leon undermines that selfishness and makes her other actions not make any sense; if she cared that much about him, why would she continuously serve the bad guys that make his life a living hell? And the reverse is also true. Why would she care so much about Leon if all he does is get in her way and act as a distraction for her?
So anyone who complains that RE4make's Separate Ways didn't show Ada caring enough about Leon -- that was the point. They solidified her identity as a character by doing that.
The writers of the Remake series made a conscious decision to make Leon and Ada's interactions/relationship in RE2make serve an actual function/purpose for their characters instead of "uwu they're in love."
For Leon -- Ada taught him that the people opposed to him aren't always bad guys. She taught him the true lesson of "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." He learned to trust that little voice in the back of his head that tells him "something's not right here." She also taught him that there's a way to do the right thing without following the rules -- and, sometimes, by breaking them entirely.
For Ada -- Leon taught her that being independent doesn't mean self-isolating -- because just looking out for herself and no one else actually resulted in her just keeping her head down and not asking questions, which screwed her over big time in the end. Leon didn't teach her love or compassion or empathy; he showed her that she was actually being just as naive as he was, just on the other side of the fight.
Basically, they both taught each other: QUESTION EVERYTHING. Because that was the one thing that neither of them did in RE2make until it was way, way too late.
And so, in RE4make/Separate Ways, Ada spends far less time and emotional energy worrying about Leon because she's actually taking the lesson he taught her to heart and she's questioning the people and circumstances around her in order to protect herself. That was the point of her early voiceover about how Raccoon City changed her perspective and made her start asking where her efforts were going and why she was doing what she was sent to do.
She doesn't ask questions for moral reasons. She asks them for selfish ones. Because Ada is an inherently selfish character.
On the boat, Leon asks Ada: "Are you just trying to use me again?" and Separate Ways answers and repeats over and over and over again: YES. The only reason she helps Leon in the village and at Mendez's house is so that he can continue being useful for her. Because Leon didn't teach her to care about people; Leon only taught her how to better take care of herself -- the same way she did for him.
This is a really damning exchange of words:
So, yes -- Ada is using Leon in RE4make. Yes, she only helps him because it benefits her. No, she genuinely doesn't care whether he lives or dies. Yes, she meant it when she told Leon to leave Ashley for dead, and yes, her sole reason for doing it was to get Ashley out of the way because Ada found Leon's new demeanor hot and she wanted to fuck him. No, she had no intention of taking Ashley with them on the chopper at the end -- because yes, her invitation to Leon was a bookend to her earlier offer for Leon to leave Ashley and go fuck her (Ada) instead.
And that's why Leon tells her to go fuck herself and shakes his head in utter disbelief when she asks if he's coming with her.
Because Ada is a selfish character.
I don't say this to hate on the character or even express dislike for her. This doesn't make her a bad character -- in fact, the opposite is true. It makes her consistent, which makes her a better written character overall from what/who she was in OG.
It also doesn't make her evil or a bad guy. Ada Wong is the most Chaotic Neutral character in the entire RE series -- even moreso than Billy Coen or Jake Muller ever were. She's in it for herself, and that particular approach is neither inherently morally good nor evil.
But Aeon is dead canonically in the Remake-verse. It was sacrificed in the name of bringing consistency and logic to both characters.
And that was the true point of the boat scene.
Neither of them have changed who they are at their most fundamental level. Leon is still the selfless hero, and Ada is still the selfish spy. Their relationship in RE2make served as a strengthening of those core traits -- not an erosion of them. Leon can better protect and save Ashley because of the lessons that Ada taught him, and Ada can successfully outmaneuver Wesker because of the lessons that Leon taught her.
But that doesn't change who she is. It doesn't change who either of them are. In fact, it only served to create a more authentic version of them both. Leon is more zealous in his heroism, and Ada is more committed to her own self-preservation and naked about her selfish intentions.
The only people in RE4make who changed who they were were Luis and Krauser. Luis for the better, and Krauser for the worse. And they both paid for it with their lives.
seeing this way too late, but this is exactly how I feel like especially the '' why does it matter to me'' really shows she does not ''care'' the way people think she does. Even in the original japanese wording of RE6 is different.
Also, to go with this, the Japanese version of RE6 has an entire different tone to this. The line where in english Helena states Leon has feelings for her in an emotionally charged way, the rough english translation from the actual japanese wording ( which is neutral, detached and cool) would be '' are you interested in her ''.
The connection between Leon and Ada is written very differently in the Japanese canon compared to the softened Western localization and that difference changes the entire tone, especially for the files in RE6 stating that '' Ada makes no qualms to use/enlist Leon when it suit her needs.''
The Japanese character files are much colder and more direct.Terms like 利用する (riyō suru, which is present in the japanese version ) literally mean to use someone as a tool, not “enlist help,” and 巧みに (takumi ni) implies a calculated, tactical approach, ''skillfully'' could also be used ( aka using someone skillfully= manipulation) not emotional closeness. In Japanese, the wording is intentionally cool and detached.
The Western translations soften this significantly. Example , Harsh phrases become milder ones, and emotionally neutral descriptions are turned into something that sounds more dramatic or ambiguous. That’s why Western players sometimes read romance into scenes that, in the original Japanese wording, are clearly describing professional distance and opportunistic cooperation.
In Japan, their dynamic is often summed up with 腐れ縁 (kusare-en).This is not romantic fate, it’s a negative, tangled connection that persists by misfortune.If anything, Japan frames their connection as a recurring professional entanglement, not something Leon is emotionally invested in, and not something he would “return to” post RE9.
Edit: I went to re-watch the japanese Ada campaign and during the '' stare off'' in between Ada and Leon, she says this
なんて顔してるの? ( What kind of face are you making ?). 私がサナギから 生まれるはずないでしょ? ( I can't be born from a chrysalis/cocoon, right?/I couldn't possibly be born from a chrysalis, could I?'') that line is specifically about changing into something/someone else, since the cocoon is the stage where the caterpillar then turns into a butterfly, completely changing and transforming. でも…面白いから そのままでいて ( It's interesting to watch
So this just means that even in her dialogue of RE6 where people were talking about the fact they're in love. Ada literally says she will not change for anyone and it was a mistake for Leon to think so and if we add the thing about the character files of RE6 where the devs specify she used him as a tool, yeah.
The '' I can't be born from a chrysalis, right? '' is the equivalent of '' did you really think I would change? '' since japanese is both direct but use metaphors too.
In the character files of RE6, they also say that we don't know Ada's age, or '' real identity'' which means that it's not even her real name, and you can't really get into something real without the basics, right ?
EDIT: Someone was thankful enough to give me the Japanese version of the '' Leon and Ada file '' ( the one where the devs state in english that '' Ada has no qualms using Leon to suit her needs.'') And I realised there is a specific sentence at the end of paragraph 4 that isn't the same at all as in the english version. Where in the english file says '' They're not enemies but it's hard to tell how they feel towards each other.Complicated is the word that aptly summarizes their relationship'' in japanese it is: ''.互いを敵視するでもなく、かといって明確な友情も愛情も見られない。両者の関係は、他人から見れば奇妙なものに映るであろう.''
'They don't see each other as enemies, nor is there any clear friendship or affection between them either . To an outsider, their relationship would probably appear strange.' ( 4th paragraph) it doesn'T say that it's hard to tell how they feel towards each other, they say there's no '' clear friendship or love/affection' in between them. Which is a hell of a lot less ambiguous than the english localization.
In Japanese, they describe this like opportunistic cooperation instead of feelings.
In the English localization they say ''Unfortunately, they had to make their way out of the city separately, but they could not forget what they felt for each other''
But in the japanese version they say ''両者はバラバラに街から脱出したが、そ の印象は互いの脳裏に深く刻まれたのである。'' the correct translation would be : 'Although they both escaped the city separately, the impression they left on each other was deeply etched in their minds.' it does not talk about '' feelings'' like the english version does, but about impressions of who they are as a person.
The English versions of subtitles, texts is the one that suggest the feelings involved. The japanese is detached and neutral. Like you can meet a stranger who leaves an impression on you. But in english, it talks about how they '' felt'' towards each other.
Which makes me wonder, I wonder why they use such different translations. Was it because the translators weren't as good from japanese to english, or was it deliberately done as such ( as in , are the 'aeon shippers' mostly in the western spheres and thus would rely on the english version of the game ?) this gave me a lot of '' food for thought'' which I will continue to ponder on.
