The lore of the Resident Evil universe is incredibly deep, to the point where a single item can carry some pretty huge story implications over the series' 25-year run. Such items serve to represent a greater theme or a relationship that several characters share, thus playing a pretty significant role in understanding the games' plots. One of the Resident Evil series' biggest strengths, its sense of exploration, naturally rewards players with environmental storytelling that can help clue lore hunters into the Resident Evil series's story.
The Beretta 92F Custom, nicknamed the "Samurai Edge," is one such item that has a long and important history. The pistol has appeared in several Resident Evil games, with it's earliest appearance being in the third installment. To be more specific, Jill Valentine's version of the handgun was the first to appear, as the Samurai Edge is actually the name of several custom pistols that were distributed among members of S.T.A.R.S.
S.T.A.R.S is an in-universe division of the Racoon Police Department, with the acronym standing for Special Tactics and Rescue Service. Some of the most notable names in the Resident Evil series were members of the original S.T.A.R.S lineup, including Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield and series antagonist Albert Wesker. S.T.A.R.S had far more members than just those three, and it's implied that each member of the team received their own personalized Samurai Edge.
Chances are that whenever a member of S.T.A.R.S is playable in a Resident Evil game, they'll be able to use their version of the Samurai Edge. In total, a version of the gun has appeared in twelve different Resident Evil games, with some like the Resident Evil 2 remake having multiple different variants available. One of those appearances was technically the original Resident Evil, though the Samurai Edge wasn't considered part of the series' lore until the third game. The gun's most recent appearance was with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
Resident Evil 2 (2019) is actually a fairly important game for the Samurai Edge. Players can find four different versions of the handgun, including the base model. Albert Wesker's, Chris Redfield's, and Jill Valentine's models of the Samurai Edge are all usable, with each version having modifications to fit the user's preferences. The care taken in designing each variant and their modifications would please any gun nut, as the weapons draw on real-world attachments to create a personalized pistol for each S.T.A.R.S member.
How each member treats their version of the Samurai Edge is also important, as it often serves as a symbol of their relationship with both S.T.A.R.S as an organization and their former teammates. For example, Albert Wesker continues to carry his version of the Samurai Edge after his betrayal, but only up until he has an opportunity to shoot Chris Redfield with it as a sign of Wesker throwing away his allegiance to S.T.A.R.S. Every other S.T.A.R.S version of the Samurai Edge was eventually either lost or destroyed, with only Rebecca Redfield's standard version of the gun being unaccounted for.
Much like the original ideals behind S.T.A.R.S, the Samurai Edge isn't exactly gone for good. Leon Kenedy used the design as a base for his custom-built handgun known as the Silver Ghost. Barry Burton, another former S.T.A.R.S member, uses a custom-made "Version II" of his original Samurai Edge. Albert Wesker created what could be described as a twisted version of his original Samurai Edge. Red Umbrella mass-produced this version in order to arm some of their test subjects, which could be seen as a metaphor for Wesker twisting many of the ideals and morals of S.T.A.R.S.
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