Summary
- Capcom's influential games like Street Fighter 2 and Mega Man shaped genres like fighting and action-platformers
- Resident Evil series evolved over time, inspiring titles internally and externally within the industry
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard introduced a new perspective and story, breaking from traditional gameplay, setting a new standard
Capcom has made a lot of influential games over the years as they are one of the biggest developers out of Japan alongside Konami, Bandai Namco, and Square Enix. For example, Street Fighter 2 can be thanked for blossoming the fighting game genre as players know it today. Mega Man melded action games and platformers well, Monster Hunter redefined boss battles, and the list could go on.
7 Resident Evil Games With The Best Gameplay, Ranked
The gameplay of these Resident Evil games is unmatched thanks to their amazing and unique mechanics, as well as satisfying gameplay loops.
Resident Evil is a big trendsetter as well, maybe not so much past the first and fourth titles externally, but internally, one title can inspire another. Let’s go through how the series has evolved over time and rank its contributions to Capcom and video games as a whole.
6 Resident Evil: Revelations
The Episodic Idea Arises
Resident Evil: Revelations
- Released
- January 26, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Resident Evil: Revelations was released first on the 3DS before eventually getting an HD remaster later down the road. There were two sets of campaigns that switched automatically between chapter breaks. The shorter episodes made sense for a handheld game, designed for on-the-go gameplay.
These campaigns included Jill Valentine partnered with Parker Luciani, and Chris Redfield working alongside Jessica Sherawat. This episodic nature of the chapters inspired Capcom to get even more experimental with the sequel, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, which literally released episodic content starting in 2015. While Capcom has not returned to this sub-series or episodic releases yet, it was an experiment worth noting in the franchise’s grand history so far, and it was a proof of concept for other episodic games, including Hitman and Telltale Games' narrative adventures.
5 Resident Evil (2002)
How Remakes Should Be Done
Resident Evil
- Released
- April 30, 2002
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Resident Evil was released in 1996 on a few platforms, most notably the PS1. Six years later, Capcom saw fit to remake the game as a GameCube exclusive in 2002, which seemed a bit too soon for some. It’s often referred to as the Resident Evil Remake, but officially it’s just called Resident Evil and kept the two main playable characters as Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield.
Every Resident Evil Remake, Ranked
Capcom has generally delivered awesome Resident Evil remakes, but some are better than others.
It took a long time, but eventually, Capcom went back to the remake well to redo Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and Resident Evil 4. The GameCube remake served as a model for Capcom to follow, and other developers have been inspired too, from Square Enix and Final Fantasy 7 to EA and Dead Space. Resident Evil Remake is the gold standard for how to preserve a game’s identity while adding new content that doesn’t look out of place.
4 Resident Evil 5
Co-Op At Long Last
Resident Evil 5
- Released
- March 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Resident Evil 5 was the first mainline game to offer co-op in a big way. Chris Redfield was joined by a new character, Sheva Alomar, in their research into Umbrella’s whereabouts in a new country. Players could swap items and equipment to make each encounter a bit more harrowing, especially when hordes of infected tried to encroach upon their positions.
In single-player, Sheva is controlled by AI and is not that great to work with, as she wastes a lot of ammo. Resident Evil Outbreak was an online spinoff that offered co-op gameplay on the PS2, but it wasn’t a story-heavy affair and the mechanics were a bit more obtuse. Going forward, Capcom experimented more with co-op, including with Resident Evil 6 and the aforementioned Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Co-op does indeed work for the horror genre, and Resident Evil 5 was proof of that.
3 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
A New Perspective
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard began a new age for the series, seemingly ditching everything that had worked before. It finally combined both the Western and Japanese titles for the franchise and switched the perspective to first-person from third-person. It wasn’t the game first to do this, as the light gun games, including Resident Evil Survivor, were all shot in first-person, but Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was different since it wasn’t an on-rails experience. It was also a reaction to the success of PT, Hideo Kojima's now-infamous playable announcement for the canceled Silent Hills, and ushered in a new era of first-person survival horror games.
It also introduced a new character to the series and didn’t show any familiar faces until the end. The story focused on Ethan Winters, who was trying to find his missing wife Mia in the deep south. Despite fracturing the community a bit, the game did get a direct sequel starring Ethan with Resident Evil Village, which continued the first-person perspective. Will Resident Evil 9 keep the trend going, or it will switch things back to third-person?
2 Resident Evil 4
Survival Horror Redefined
Resident Evil 4
- Released
- January 11, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Resident Evil 4 was the first big refresh of the franchise, which was starting to feel a little stale by the early 2000s. It didn’t ditch longtime favorite characters, and instead brought back Leon S. Kennedy for his most harrowing journey yet. Tasked with finding the U.S. President’s daughter, Leon heads to a vague Spanish area in Europe to find local villagers who have been infected, not with a zombie virus, but something else that scares Leon to death.
6 Best Resident Evil Trailers, Ranked
These trailers from the Resident Evil franchise were iconic during the time of their release.
Gameplay was more fluid, offering players more ways to fight back, from weapon upgrades to barricading doors. Its third-person, over-the-shoulder camera inspired the likes of other third-person horror games, including Dead Space, and maybe even non-horror shooters like Gears of War. Resident Evil 4, no matter what version players engage with, will be a memorable playthrough.
1 Resident Evil
The Nightmare Begins
Resident Evil
- Released
- March 22, 1996
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Resident Evil 4 is probably the overall best game in the franchise, made even better by the 2023 remake. However, it would not exist without the most influential Resident Evil game of all time, the original. It was not the first survival horror game, as Alone in the Dark predated it along with other titles, including one from Capcom on the NES called Sweet Home.
The unique mixture of puzzle-solving, backtracking, tank controls, and shooting mechanics made Resident Evil unlike anything that came before. It soon became the benchmark for horror games, and so many developers in the 90s tried to chase the look and gameplay mechanics, including Silent Hill, Fear Effect, Countdown Vampires, and too many others to name from the PS1 era. It may be dated in its original form now, but Resident Evil will never be forgotten by fans, Capcom, and the industry as a whole.
8 Most Polarizing Resident Evil Characters
Resident Evil has featured many controversial characters that have sparked endless online debates, but only a handful of them are this polarizing.