Resident Evil has accumulated many titles in its franchise over the years. As a long-running series, Resident Evil games has been inconsistent in style, leading to a range of opinions from fans. While some fans thought that Capcom was losing its way in regards to the franchise, recent Resident Evil titles and remakes have pulled the games back into popularity.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Resident Evil franchise's mainline games.]
Resident Evil is a survival-horror game that was first released by Capcom in 1996. The series started with the story of Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City, then branched out to more locations as games continued to be released. For awhile, fans felt like Resident Evil was moving too far from its core elements, but Capcom managed to return the franchise to its survival-horror roots, and it's begun to thrive once more.
Just like how there are the worst Resident Evil monsters, the worst RE games players would be happy to never experience again. On the opposite end, there have been RE games that players would love to be able to forget just for the chance to experience them without knowledge of what happens again. From the worst to the best game in the franchise's mainline series, Capcom hasn't been afraid to take chances with RE. Sometimes those risks paid off, but other times, they didn't.
The Worst Game In The Series Is Resident Evil 6
Capcom took a more action-oriented approach to Resident Evil 6, but the mesh of action and horror elements left the game in a position where it felt like it has an identity crisis. The environment and tone of each campaign being different doesn't help matters either. The story of RE6 also has a much larger scope than previous games, spanning through multiple continents and over a period of six months. RE8 balanced action better than RE6 because it kept the story and setting more contained, gave the story an emotional element, and it didn't make action into the game's focal point. RE6 doesn't have the feeling of a Resident Evil game. Capcom took risks with it, but those risks didn't pay off. The story is muddled by being spread across multiple campaigns, and the classic RE feeling of being isolated isn't there.
Resident Evil 5 Is Rough, But Could Be Redeemed
Following the success of RE4, Resident Evil 5 leaned more into the action-oriented style, but not to the extent of RE6. While not among the best RE titles, RE5 has decent qualities. The scope of the game is much smaller along with the cast of primary characters. Despite the increased action elements, RE5 had more of a balance between sections where players have to go in with guns blazing and sections of exploring as they try to discover what happened with the bioweapon incidents in West Africa. RE5's co-op system alone warrants a remake; it gave the game potential and made it fun to play with friends, regardless of its flaws.
Resident Evil 0 Was An Unnecessary Prequel
Resident Evil 0 has the classic elements of the early RE games and it took place right before the start of the original game. The story follows Rebecca Chambers from Bravo team and ex-convict Billy Coen. They work together to survive being on a train that's overrun with monsters. While the story is neither great nor terrible, the gameplay itself is lacking.
RE0 has the tank controls of the original games and the setting style and design doesn't deviate too far from RE. However, RE0 doesn't include item storage boxes. This means players have to do a lot of backtracking in order to solve puzzles and progress, which is an overall frustrating process that takes away from the experience of the game.
Resident Evil 3 And Its Remake Are Of Middling Quality
Jill Valentine returned as a main character in Resident Evil 3, with the game detailing her escape from Raccoon City. The remake made a lot of improvements and expanded upon the story of RE3, but it overall has some traits that kept it from being beyond average. However, RE3 Remake also removed a lot of content from the original, so while the main story beats were there, the game was made more linear and ended up feeling like it lacks content.
Jill was given a new, more practical outfit, and her personality has more depth than in the original game. Carlos, too, was given more focus and a larger role, but it came at the expense of Barry, who isn't included in RE3 Remake. While RE3 Remake features more action than horror to draw in a wider audience, it suffers from its development being rushed and ended up feeling more like a long DLC than a full game.
The Original Resident Evil Started It All
Released in 1996, the first Resident Evil helped define the survival-horror genre. It would later receive the most faithful remake out of the RE games, with both versions being kept more or less the same rather than Capcom creating a reimagining of as it has with RE2, RE3, and soon RE4. The story of RE introduces the horrors of Umbrella and sets up later games for the franchise. Although it is still a solid game, the original RE wouldn't ultimately be the best in the franchise.
Resident Evil 4 Was A Turning Point For The Franchise
Resident Evil 4 might seem low in this ranking, but the games that beat it worked to improve upon the RE4 elements that fans loved, and they did it in a successful way (unlike RE5). However, RE4 Remake is featuring a reimagined story that Capcom claims will be darker, so it might shoot up in the ranking of RE games with those changes. It also looks like the remake will be addressing some of the issues players had with the original RE4.
Resident Evil 4 manages to introduce action elements while maintaining the horror feeling that came with Leon being isolated in a remote village. The drawbacks for RE4 were the inclusion of quick-time events and escorting Ashley, who could be taken too easily by enemies. Otherwise, its setting is a perfect choice for a survival-horror game.
Resident Evil Village Included The Series' Best Elements
Resident Evil Village continued the story of Ethan and Mia Winters, along with their new baby, Rose. It brought in more action elements than its predecessor, but wasn't lacking in horror, although Village's horror was overshadowed by its tall lady, Alcina Dimitrescu. It combines the feeling of isolation and hunting to rescue somebody from RE4, and the villains are interesting with in-depth backstories. The differences between the lords of the village was shown in their territories, and that keeps the game feeling fresh and mysterious. The mystery of RE8 will be continuing with the release of DLC. However, Ethan's daughter, Rose, will star in RE8's DLC instead of Ethan. Players will be able to get their first look at Rose's abilities and how she might fit into future titles as a unique, yet strong, female protagonist.
Resident Evil 2 And Its Remake Take Second Place
Resident Evil 2 combines two fan-favorite characters: Leon and Claire. Part of their charm comes from the fact that they weren't professionals dealing with the outbreak in Raccoon City, unlike how S.T.A.R.S. were highly trained before they faced the dangers of Spencer Mansion. Near the beginning of the full Resident Evil timeline, Leon and Claire feel more relatable as they navigate Raccoon City and work to survive and save Sherry. RE2 does very well in balancing the traits that make up the survival-horror genre, and that results in a game that has held up over the years The remake also keeps the essence of the game that players fell in love with and made it into a journey that feels both fresh and nostalgic simultaneously.
Resident Evil 7 Is The Best Game & Revitalized The Franchise
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard introduced Ethan Winters as he embarks on a search for his wife, who he believed was dead. The franchise faced an uncertain future after RE6, but RE7 brought it back to its roots and showed that Capcom was aware of the series' faults. RE7 returns to an isolated and dilapidated setting with villains that players can almost feel sorry for since they were, in a way, victims of circumstance. The faceless Ethan was revealed throughout Resident Evil 7 to be a great protagonist because he is a normal man who just wanted to find his wife. He is relatable as a dedicated man who was doing the best he could without the caliber of training that other RE protagonists received, which managed to win over many players.
Resident Evil started over two decades ago, and the franchise shows no signs of ending. Instead, it seems to be going stronger than ever with some characters who might be the next generation of protagonists having been revealed, particularly Rose. But before moving onto the next generation of characters, there are still RE8 plot threads that can be resolved, mainly centering around Chris. Then, Capcom can move onto the next story for Resident Evil.
