Summary
- PS1 introduced key Resident Evil titles, including core games like Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3.
- PS2 featured games like Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Survivor 2, enhancing the franchise's presence.
- PS4 doubled the franchise's output with titles like Resident Evil 7, Village, and remakes of RE2, RE3, and RE4.
Resident Evil debuted to the world in 1996 on the PS1, and later to other systems. What started as a dream by Capcom has become a long-standing nightmare in the horror community with the ninth mainline title set to debut in 2026, and fans couldn’t be more excited.
There were four major Resident Evil games on the PS1, but does that mean it’s one of the most important consoles in the franchise’s history? When counting up consoles, only original titles or significant ports or remakes will be counted. Otherwise, the most recent consoles, like the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, would be at the top since they both have backwards compatibility. That said, it’s time to start counting.
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4 PlayStation1: 4 Games
Welcome To The Midwest
- Brand
- Sony
- Original Release Date
- September 9, 1995
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $299, £299
- Weight
- 3.2 lbs
- Resident Evil
- Resident Evil 2
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
- Resident Evil Survivor
The PS1 was where things started, and it is indeed one of the consoles with the most original releases. Resident Evil, RE2, RE3: Nemesis, and RE Survivor are the four core games, with the final one being somewhat of an outlier. Resident Evil takes place in the Spencer Mansion, wherein a group of police survivors all huddle together to find the place infested with zombies. This is where Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine originated as playable characters, along with important support characters like Rebecca Chambers, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker.
Despite Chris and Jill’s best efforts, the zombie outbreak spread into their nearby town, Raccoon City, which is where RE2 and RE3: Nemesis take place. Chris’s sister, Claire, and rookie cop Leon S. Kennedy, are the two playable characters of RE2. Nemesis takes place within the same timeline, although Jill never interacts with Claire or Leon. The big terror in that is the titular Nemesis, who stalks Jill.
Resident Evil Survivor was a spinoff that not many fans remember fondly. It featured a new cast of characters, including a protagonist who had amnesia, and the gameplay was an on-rails light gun experience. Of those four titles, many fans typically choose Resident Evil as the top of the pile.
3 PlayStation2: 4 Games
The Spinoff Console
- Brand
- PlayStation
- Original Release Date
- October 26, 2000
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $299
- Dimensions
- 3.1" x 11.9"
- Resident Evil: Dead Aim
- Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica
- Resident Evil Outbreak
- Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2
Sony had an incredible success rate with the PS1, with the PS2 being even bigger. However, it didn’t have as great a library of exclusive first Resident Evil games. The PS2’s big ones include Resident Evil: Dead Aim, Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica, Resident Evil Outbreak, and Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2.
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Dead Aim takes place on a boat infected with zombies, thanks to Umbrella. Players could move freely around the boat using a light gun to shoot zombies, which was a nice hybrid instead of being stuck in first-person mode like Resident Evil Survivor. Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica was an on-rails, but also a better game than its predecessor. It had better mechanics and retold the events of the Dreamcast’s Resident Evil - Code: Veronica, which largely starred Chris and Claire Redfield opposite each other.
Outbreak could be played single-player, but it was more of a cooperative multiplayer experience wherein players could choose from random Raccoon City residents. Together, they had to escape the city by fighting zombies and solving puzzles, which continued into Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2. Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil - Code: Veronica X get special mentions as they both appeared on the PS2 but not initially.
2 PlayStation3: 4 Games
Co-Op Hit Big
- Brand
- Sony
- Original Release Date
- November 17, 2006
- Original MSRP (USD)
- 20 GB: $499.99; 60 GB: $599.99; Slim: $299; Super Slim: $270
- Weight
- Launch: 11 LBS; Slim: 7.1 LBS; Super Slim: 4.6 LBS
- Resident Evil 5
- Resident Evil 6
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
- Resident Evil: Revelations 2
The PS3, despite many not liking it as much as the PS2 or even PS1, had a better lineup of Resident Evil games, including RE5, RE6, Operation Raccoon City, and Revelations 2. RE5 is the standout, which paired Chris Redfield with a new partner, Sheva Alomar, and featured co-op for the first time in a mainline game. RE6 also had co-op with too many playable characters to name, as there were three full campaigns along with side missions with even more characters.
Revelations 2 succeeded the 3DS original and had episodic drops which featured split co-op campaigns between Claire Redfield with Moira Burton and Barry Burton with Natalia Korda. Since RE4, the series has taken a more action approach to horror, and this dialed things back a bit to focus more on the dripping aura of doom. Finally, Operation Raccoon City was also a co-op game and more of a what-if scenario featuring Umbrella agents destroying evidence of the company’s crimes during the events of the second game. It didn’t gather much of a following.
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Several games got HD remasters for the first time, including RE0, Resident Evil's remake, Code: Veronica X, Revelations, and RE4. The Xbox 360 is basically tied with the PS3 as it received all of these original and HD titles simultaneously, except for two exclusive HD upgrades from the Wii: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.
1 PlayStation 4: 9 Games
An Astounding Number Of Titles
- Brand
- Sony
- Original Release Date
- November 15, 2013
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $399.99, €399.99, £349.99
- Operating System
- Orbis OS
- Resident Evil 2 (2019)
- Resident Evil 3 (2020)
- Resident Evil 4 (2023)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Resident Evil Village
- Resident Evil: Revelations 2
- Umbrella Corps
- Resident Evil Re:Verse
- Resident Evil: Resistance
Last, but certainly not least, the PS4 had the most games, doubling the franchise’s output, which largely includes the Xbox One as well. The first big title worth mentioning is Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which went hard on horror, featuring a new protagonist, Ethan Winters, and was in first-person. Not only that, but the entire campaign could be played in VR. Resident Evil Village was the eighth mainline game, and continued Ethan’s story.
While Biohazard and Village were great, fans were perhaps more excited for the full remakes of RE2, RE3, and RE4. There were three multiplayer games too, including Resident Evil Re:Verse, Resident Evil: Resistance, and Umbrella Corps, all of which didn’t gather much of a fan base. And to note, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 released simultaneously with the PS3 versions.
While these weren’t new, the PS4 also got versions of the HD remasters of RE0, Resident Evil, Code: Veronica X, Revelations, and RE4 like the PS3. New to this generation were improved versions of RE5 and RE6, and then that’s it. While some of the bigger games, like RE’s remake, were enjoyed on the PS5 instead, the PS4 still had a massive library of hits.
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