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Resident Evil Games Ranked (or games for surviving the lockdown)
Right now it seems appropriate to take lessons from our old faithful games. We need to look towards Racoon City for answers. Here are the top 5 Resident Evil games ranked.
5. Resident Evil – 1996
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows, Sega Saturn, Nintendo DS
It may be at the bottom of this list, but none of the rest would exist were it not for this bloody little slice of the 90s. Shinji Mikami’s Biohazard, later renamed to Resident Evil, established the fundamentals of the survival horror genre and laid the foundations for games that followed. This is where we learned of the horrors of Racoon City, and the sins of the Umbrella Corporation.
As high as these accolades may be, this game is also famously cringe worthy for its terrible voice acting. With deadpan, emotionless, mostly awkward and often creepy line delivery, much of the game’s English adaptation was a joke to critics. To make matters worse, the game featured live action video sequences filmed in Japan with largely unknown American actors. It would be remiss of me to suggest this was anything less than the finest of cheese.
Lead programmer Yasuhiro Anpo would later go on to say that due to all the development staff being Japanese, they were unaware of the “poor localization” that apparently “hindered the realism and immersion” for international release. This spurred Capcom to release a re-dub of the game in 2002, and replaced all live action sequences with 3D-rendered visuals, that reconceptualise the game’s emotional core.
4. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis – 1999
Platforms: PlayStation, Windows, Dreamcast, GameCube
There’s something about that big, juicy boerewors-boy with the Colgate-smile that gets me right in the feels. Resident Evil 3 was a high point for the franchise and no RE villain feels quite as iconic as the gnarly, undead terminator, Nemesis-T.
Although an exciting addition for the franchise, Resident Evil 3 did not do much to push the series forward. It was now the third title in a series using the fixed camera perspective in pre rendered environments. The story follows the same characters; Racoon City is still the worst place on earth to be, but at least you are not alone because Nemesis is never too far behind.
Resident Evil 3 has received its well deserved miricle makeover. The remake already has a demo out, and is due for release April 3rd.
3. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – 2017
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Nintendo Switch
In 2017, the Resident Evil franchise rose from the dead with new identity, a new engine, and a fresh story. The first entry in the series using first-person perspective, Resident Evil Biohazard feels immersive, with an atmosphere as pulpable as it is terrifying.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the first full-length game to use Capcom’s in-house RE (reach for the moon) Engine. Development was led by Koshi Nakanishi and was first presented as a virtual reality demo, a year before its E3 2016 announcement.
The game is widely considered to be a return to form for the franchise, it showcased the strengths of the impressive RE Engine and stands as a remarkable tech demo for the PlayStation VR Headset.
2. Resident Evil 2 Remake – 2019
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Windows
In 2019 Capcom released a remake of their 1998 classic, Resident Evil 2. Players control Leon S Kennedy and Claire Redfield as they escape Raccoon City during the zombie apocalypse. The remake, which was announced at E3 2015, was nominated for several Game of the Year awards and sold over five million copies, outselling the original title.
This remake perfectly balances the cautiously-paced survival atmosphere of the 1998 release with modern sensibilities. Continuing in the tradition of Resident Evil 4’s third-person shoulder perspective, with beautifully rendered environments and textures in RE Engine.
Racoon City Police Station is at its spookiest and the undead have never looked this good, especially that seven-foot snack in the trench coat.
Liberal arts student confiscating guns of local farmers
© Nintendo
1. Resident Evil 4 – 2005
Platforms: GameCube, PS2, Windows, Wii, iOS, PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, Android, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Resident Evil 4 is for many, the peak of the franchise and this is why it sits firmly at 1st place. The game underwent a long development process during which four proposed versions were discarded. Hideki Kamiya directed this first version, which leaned towards moving the franchise into a fast-paced, stylised action series where the main character has supernatural abilities. Kamiya wanted to divert from the series tradition of fixed camera angles in favor of a dynamic camera that would allow the player to see their character in action from many angles. This build of the game would go on to become Devil May Cry, published by Capcom in 2001.
Resident Evil 4 did get have its camera perspective changed for the better with an over-the-shoulder third person perspective which brought the player close to the action. The tighter angle creates deeper immersion, a feeling of claustrophobia, and was the perfect tool to drive the franchise forward.
