Here's Our List of 10 Best Resident Evil Games
When you think of zombies, you think Resident Evil. Or maybe The Walking Dead. Or Night of the Living Dead... or... eh, for simplicity's sake, you're all thinking of Resident Evil. Boom.
With about 25 entries in the series floating around, where should someone start? What's the best way to tackle the series? Just to help you with that, here's a list of the Top 10 Resident Evil Games.
1) Resident Evil 1 and Resident Evil REmake
The first game in the series set the foundation for the rest of the series. In the original, players can either choose to play as STARS member Jill "Sandwich" Valentine or Chris Redfield. Compared to the rest of the series, it can come off as a bit crude, but that is part of the charm.
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the original game is the voice acting and odd translation choices. I'm sure there is at least one person out there that has "The Master of Unlocking" tattooed on them somewhere.
The REmake that launched on the Gamecube, and now as an HD remaster for PC improved in nearly all areas of the original. It also greatly expanded the story and creep factor. It also made it brutally difficult, and if that wasn't enough, they even created an Invisible Enemy mode just so a few of us could torture ourselves further.
The REmake is probably the most difficult in the series, the last great entry that was genuinely scary, and made you hate zombie dogs the most.
2) Resident Evil 2
Many will argue that this is the best in the series, and I would agree with them. When stacked up against the original, the second entry in the series is a huge step up. The environments are more varied, the story built with more twist and turns, way more weapons and enemy varieties, and now you can select from two different characters for two actually separate story lines.
You get a choice between rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy or new-in-town Claire Redfield. There is an "A" and a "B" story for each, so this gives you the chance to experience four different scenarios all together. Not only that, they each have some weapons unique to their scenario and different events as well as side characters.
Capcom went all out for this entry, and this is even more apparent when you take into consideration that they got more than half-way through what is now called "Resident Evil 1.5" in development. They scrapped that, saved some assets, and gave us what we now know as Resident Evil 2. They care about their craft.
3) Resident Evil 4
Players ones again jump into the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy. This time around, they're dropped in on a remote island tasked with finding the President's daughter. Leon is now a bit older, more grizzled, and a member of the CIA. Many see this as a turning point for the series, and it is, as it dropped the fixed-camera, 3rd person view for an over-the-shoulder view.
The familiar tank controls are in place, but now players have more control over aiming, and there's also a bit more movement involved compared to other Resident Evil entries.
Resident Evil 4 is one of my all time favorites as it marries action to ambiance. The game still retains much of the horror aspect of previous titles, ammo is scarce, as are healing items. Leon is practically alone on an island of people that want him dead. The odds always feel against you, and that creates a sense of tension that Capcom has had trouble trying to recapture. Many would say that this is the Magnum Opus of the series.
4) Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
This entry takes place in-between Resident Evil 1 and the end Resident Evil 2. Players fill the role of Jill Valentine who hopes to escape the city. This entry builds on the game play of Resident Evil 2 a bit, and introduces a dodge mechanic that is difficult to master but very handy.
Like Resident Evil 2, it also introduces an enemy, Nemesis, that follows players throughout the game. That creates a sense of dread every time the player enters a new area low on ammo and low on health. Do you try and run by Nemesis? Knock him out to get away? There are times that Nemesis stands between Jill and the way out, and this can make it one of the most difficult Resident Evil entries in the series as a result.
The different varieties of environments as well as weapon variation makes this a densely packed game.
5) Resident Evil: Revelations
This entry was originally released on the Nintendo 3ds and was ported to PC and consoles later on. The main storyline has you playing as Jill Valentine, now a member of a task force whose job is to take on bio-terrorism and biological weapons, who must navigate a ship to save Chris Redfield and other members. The game was an attempt to bring Resident Evil back to its survival horror roots.
Environments are once again cramped, your AI partner's gun apparently shoots harmless puffs of air, and ammo and other items are scarce. It still retains the over-the-shoulder camera, but this is seen as a plus by many.
Zombies have gone by the wayside, and this time players battle against mutated humans and sea creatures that can turn to liquid and move through pipes and vents. Good times are had by all.
6) Resident Evil: Revelations 2
This is the newest Resident Evil game in the series currently, and it was released episodically on its release. Players switch between Claire Redfield and Moira Burton for one scenario, and Barry Burton and Natalia Korda for another. I would have loved to put this much higher on the list as my love for Barry Burton is eternal, and finally getting to play as him is a dream. The game is much darker and moodier than the previous few entries in the series, and this is great.
The game play, however, goes between gut-wrenching terror as nightmarish creatures descend upon you in the dark and make you hate life, and between the much hated box-pushing puzzles that all Resident Evil fans have come to know and hate. This battle between greatness and mediocrity sets the tone for the whole game. Still a good entry, but nowhere near being one of the greats.
7) Resident Evil Survivor
Getting to the bottom of the barrel is an interesting place. Who among the worst deserves the title? Fans will argue in and out which Resident Evil deserves this illustrious title. Many will say that Survivor deserves to be closer to the bottom, but, I disagree. It harks back to the old days of bad voice acting and weird plot twists, but this time in the first person. Having roughly two death animations for every enemy adds even more to this cheesiness.
It also has some of the worst music in the series. It's the B-movie of the Resident Evil series-- so bad its good.
8) Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
There was a lot of hype for this game prior to its release. Fans now get to see what its like playing as a member of the evil Umbrella Corporation! Unfortunately, the game barely resembled its source material, and zombies and Umbrella are about the only things that make this seem part of the franchise at all. Despite that, if you can look past all that, it's not a bad multiplayer game to get into with friends.
Multiplayer makes a lot of not-so-great games seem fun as you get to share your pain with your friends or internet strangers.
9) Resident Evil 5
This is where things took a nosedive. With Resident Evil 4 in the rearview mirror, and Capcom sailing on good times, they finally hit on a formula that kept old fans happy and brought in a new crowd. They upped the ante on this one. They included a partner mechanic as you can now play as Chris Redfield or Sheva Alomar. There's tons of weapons now, and just about every enemy you defeat explodes with healing items and ammo.
Action became the main focus of the series after this. There are grotesque enemies, but that sense of dread hiding around every corner was replaced with about 100 green herbs and 30 boxes of shotgun shells. And Albert Wesker becoming a tornado.
10) Resident Evil 6
Yes. This is the worst. Gameplay wise? The game is actually fun. It adds so much more locomotion to the game's characters compared to previous entries. You get to kick and punch zombies because why not. The problem? Resident Evil 6 doesn't know what it wants to be. It tries so hard to appeal to as many people as possible that the game loses itself.
The different scenarios you can play deserve their own rankings. So, let's do that:
Ada #1
Leon and Helena #2
Sherry and Jake #3
Chris and Piers #500000000000
The Ada scenario has no partner, so, no cheating death and no backup. Players have to be much more cautious as they progress, and it harks back to the thrill of the older entries. Leon and Helena's campaign is darker and moodier than the others, and it's actually pretty great on its own. Sherry and Jake's campaign is one, long, awful Quick Time Event, and that's absolutely hate-able. Chris and Piers? There's flying zombie man/moths with guns. There's crawling man/scorpions with guns. What. The. Hell. Capcom.
So what do you guys think? What's your favorite Resident Evil Game? Do you believe there's hope for Chris in the future? Tell us what you think in the comments!
