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"Everybody got some shit. Everybody gets shit. I wanted it to be my time!"
—Red to Nick

Ronald "Red" Jackson is a character who is later revealed as the hidden tertiary antagonist in Dead Rising 3.

He is a survivor in Los Perdidos and Annie's ex-boyfriend. Red leads and protects a band of infected survivors through the city. Like other Illegals, he too is infected and refuses to comply with the government's microchip requirement.

Nick Ramos works alongside Annie and Red throughout much of the main story.

Dead Rising 3[]

Red is first introduced in Chapter 3. As Nick gains access to the Los Perdidos Communication Tower in search of Annie, he finds Red, who immediately shoots at him. Annie shows up and diffuses the situation, although Red and Annie remains suspicious of Nick after discovering his connection to Gary Finkel. Regretting his initial motives, Nick decides to assist Red and Annie. Red explains that the government is killing survivors instead of saving them, urging Nick to earn the group's trust by sabotaging government equipment around the city.

After successfully destroying all of the government property, Red instructs Nick to retrieve video evidence from the Los Perdidos Police Department. The trio meets at The Burgess-Dawson Hotel once the footage is recovered.

When Annie and the other Illegals are kidnapped by the Special Ops during Chapter 4, he helps Nick devise a plan to sneak into the military compound to rescue the group. While Nick sneaks into the compound to free the captives, Red arranges for a van to come and pick them up. He offers cover from the rooftops while everybody gets to safety. After Annie and the others have safely driven off and the Special Forces have been defeated, Red discloses the location of the plane's fuel. He also shows Nick the wanted poster that has been put out on him and Diego Martinez before telling him that they will meet at the karaoke bar in Sunset Hills when the plane is fueled and ready to go.

Red later turns on the group in Chapter 7 and serves as the boss for that chapter. He lures Nick, Annie, and Isabela Keyes into a shipping yard and traps Isabela and Annie in a shipping container. He claims that Nick is the closest he will ever get to five million dollars, and proceeds to attack Nick with a crane. After Nick blows up the crane, he rescues Annie and Isabela from the container, and a battle with Red ensues. After defeating Red, Annie drops a storage container on to him, crushing him.

Battle Style[]

Red's Crane Fight[]

  • During the fight with the crane, Red's crane performs jabs, grabs, and throws containers and explosive barrels. Spec Ops reinforcements are called in to attack the player, and most are wielding rocket launchers, which can be useful against the crane.
  • Nick must damage the crane while fending off Spec Ops soldiers. The best approach is to target the crane's indicated weak points using firearms. Assault rifles are prominent in the area and are dropped by Spec Ops soldiers.
  • Explosives will damage the crane from any position. A grenade launcher can be found near the starting point of the battle, and RPGs can be found in the area and can be retrieved from Spec Ops soldiers.
  • Red can throw crates of explosive barrels at Nick. It will take him a moment to pick them up with the crane, so use this time to find a safe place where the barrels will likely miss Nick.
  • Red can deploy the crane's magnet to crush Nick, dealing a large amount of damage. To avoid this, the player should wait for the magnet to raise slightly and perform a dodge roll.
  • The shipping containers and large crates yield valuable items when destroyed; however, the shipping containers are quite durable. The best strategy is to get Red to hit the containers, using Nick as bait.
  • Red can inadvertently hit Spec Ops soldiers while targeting Nick, dealing massive damage to them and potentially killing them.

Red's Personal Fight[]

  • When Red engages Nick directly, he primarily uses his bare hands, despite having a knife.
  • If the player is far away from Red, he will charge. The best ways to avoid this charge is to dodge or hit Red. If Red completes the charge successfully, Nick will drop his weapon and Red will punch him.
    • During Red's charge attack, throwing an item to him will stagger him and will leave him vulnerable to a grab attack. This is the only way to perform a grab attack on Red.
  • At random points in the fight, if the player is close to Red, he will perform a powerful melee attack can knock the player down or attempt to grab the player. The only way out of this grab is to complete the action that appears on the screen. If it is not completed in time, Red will stab the player a few times, dealing significant damage. Successfully completing the action pushes Red away, making him vulnerable for a short period of time.
  • Red has two and a half layers of health bars, but they deplete quickly. The challenge in his battle lies in the high damage dealt by each of Red's attacks.
  • Red will only focus on Nick during the fight and nothing else, so it is best that the player brings a lot of food to the battle. Playing together in co-op mode with Dick will also make the fight considerably easier, as Red will only focus his attacks on one player, leaving himself vulnerable to attacks from the other player. Red will also sometimes switch targets, which can help one player recover if attacked and cornered after a successful charge or grab by Red.

Trivia[]

  • Red's death mirrors that of the Wicked Witch of the East from The Wizard of Oz; both are crushed by large, heavy objects, leaving only their feet visible with distinctive red shoes.
  • His death is also similar to Stacey Forsythe's in Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, as they were both killed by their own machines.
  • During their battle, Nick and Red may occasionally argue over Annie, with Nick saying things like "Annie is way too good for you, you bastard!" and Red responding with remarks such as "I knew you were eyeing my girl!"
  • Ironically, he would not have been able to redeem the bounty on Nick's head because of his status as an Illegal.
  • His voice actor, Arif S. Kinchen, is known for voicing Pierce Washington from the Saints Row series; he even resembles Pierce, as both wear the same type of hat.
  • The only ending where Red survives is Ending D, if the player chooses to go directly to the plane instead of the karaoke bar. This is not considered canon, however.
  • A recurring theme among the game's psychopaths is their association with the Seven Deadly Sins. Notably, Red represents what some consider the eighth sin: Despair. As a self-proclaimed "realist", Red had twice given up on the family, being quick to abandon his fellow Illegals when the plane was ready and he explained that he betrayed them because he wanted to have a reward for his work instead of constant misfortune within the Illegals. This belief is also strengthened by one of his phrases during the battle where he says that his life is worthless in comparison to Nick's.
    • Early hints of Red's inevitable betrayal are scattered throughout the game. When Spec Ops first invaded one of the last safe hideouts the Illegals were stationed, he was nowhere to be found. As Nick was heading to the garage where the car with fuel for the plane could be found, a king zombie was somehow corralled there waiting for him.
  • Despite standing upright when he was crushed to death, his shoes are sticking out from the under the container as if he fell on his back.
  • Red's character may have drawn inspiration from Che Guevara, given that they were both leaders who initially fought against tyranny, but later turned out to be just as oppressive as the tyrants they opposed.

Gallery[]

v · e · d
Major Characters
Nick Ramos - Dick Baker - Rhonda Kreske - Annie - Red - Diego Martinez - Gary Finkel - Isabela Keyes - John Hemlock - Marian Mallon - Chuck Greene
Posse Members
Adam Daley - Alejandra Garcia - Anna Hong - Carrie LeCroix - Christine Emerie - Doug Trent - Dwayne Pike - Eric Martinez - Jesse Miller - Jorge Ruiz - Jose Morales - Julia Slyde - Kandy - Kelsey Louise - Kenny Dermot - Lauren Staples - Lena Polichev - Marcus Wolfe - Ravi Uppal - Regina Thompson - Simon Merkin - Troy Glover - Warren Anderssen Jr. - Winnie Lee
Other Survivors
Alec - Alex - Allison - Big D - Bob - Brandon - Brian - Cara - Crystal - Dana - Derek - Devon - Elka - Eva - Greta - Ian - Jack - Jasmine - Jason - Jason - Jeremy - Joey - Jodie - Jordan - Kaliyan - Katarina - Keith - Kellen - Kent DeMare - Kevin - Kris - Kristin - Kyla - Lara - Liam - Linda - Madeline - Maia - Margaret - Matt - Mel - Meryl Jefferson - Mike - Mila - Nikki - Nora - Phil - Ryan - Sam - Scott - Sheldon - Stevie - Steven - Tanya - Tara - Taylor - Tracey - Trevor - Vernon - Vicki - Zach
Psychopaths
Adam Kane - Albert Contiello - Darlene Fleischermacher - Diego Martinez - Dylan Fuentes - John Hemlock - Harry "Zhi" Wong - Hunter Thibodeaux - Jherii Gallo - Kenny Dermot - Red - Sgt. Hilde Schmittendorf - Spec Ops - Theodore Lagerfeld Jr.
Victims
Angel Quijano - Cindy - Clyde - Dan - Lucas - Duncan - Emily - Hank - Mabel Louise - Mel - Nicole White - Peter Rae - Amanda Rae - Pilots - Sonya Paddock
Other
Bertha Kreske - Bogdan - Jamie Flynt
Scrapped Characters
Bernard Kinsley - Esther
Operation Broken Eagle Characters
Adam Kane - Brady - Chang - Collins - Dickson - The Dutch - Han - Hancock - Haverman - Jefferson - Rodriguez - Smith - Sunshine - Tucson - Wakowski
Fallen Angel Characters
Angel Quijano - Doug Trent - Winnie Lee
Chaos Rising Characters
Cannons - Razorface - Snake - Spider - Torque
The Last Agent Characters
Brad Park - Cora - Nelson
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