Summary
- Ada Wong saves Leon multiple times, making her a true hero of the series.
- Jack Krauser trained Leon, proving his strength in a difficult boss fight.
- Jill Valentine's resilience against Nemesis showcases her incredible strength.
The Resident Evil franchise reigns as one of the best horror game franchises of all time, reaching iconic status thanks to the qualities of each game, and its line-up of heroes and villains, the former bunch being given ample chance to reprise their roles as main characters in multiple entries, as well as the latter, but to a lesser extent.
Resident Evil: The Characters Who’ve Made The Most Appearances In The Series
There are a lot of characters in The Resident Evil series. Here are some that have appeared more than any others.
In order to face up against the challenges in their games, whether that is stopping evil or trying to see their nefarious goals realized, they not only have to be smart and determined, but also strong in both body and mind. The experiences they go through could break most people, but these Resident Evil characters are strong enough to survive and thrive.
9 Ada Wong
Without Ada's Intervention, Leon Would Likely Be Dead
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 21, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
A double agent who often serves her own agenda before others, one wouldn't really expect Ada to go to bat for anyone else in the series. Yet, time and time again, Ada seems to make it her prerogative to rescue a certain character from peril in both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4.
A cool and collected badass, the events of any game never seem to shake her attitude, and she proves she knows how to look after herself, defying death on multiple occasions. Without Ada's interference in these games, Leon would certainly have died, and who knows how that would have changed the timeline of events? Looking at it from this perspective, Ada might just be the true hero of those games.
8 Jack Krauser
The Seasoned Veteran Who Taught Leon
Resident Evil 4
- Released
- January 11, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Of course, Leon could not become the strong and brave government agent without rigorous training, which is exactly what Krauser provided for him. Though fans don't get to see any montages, they just know from his demeanor that he would have put Leon through his paces and then some, but it did pay off, as Leon is now strong enough to give his former CO a run for his money.
Entering Resident Evil 4 as a boss fight, Krauser is an enemy who won't go down easily at all, having Leon evade traps, bursts of gunfire, and then hand-to-hand combat with both using only knives against one another. Though Leon is, of course, the victor, the fight is not over quickly or easily, as the player needs to defeat him one last time in his mutated form. Even without this form, he was still a mighty challenge for Leon to overcome, proving his strength.
7 Jill Valentine
Has the Bragging Rights of Ending Nemesis
Resident Evil
- Released
- March 22, 1996
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original), Sega Saturn, Nintendo DS, PC
Appearing as a playable character alongside Chris in the first game, Jill is an accomplished S.T.A.R.S. And BSAA agent with years of service under her belt. A survivor of Arklay Mansion and the Raccoon City incident, Jill's strength certainly cannot be understated, and many fans are just wondering when their beloved badass will be returning to the franchise, as she has been MIA for quite some time now.
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Resident Evil 3 is definitely when her strength is the most apparent, as she is the protagonist who must survive Nemesis, and the only way this is possible is by killing him. He seems impervious to all forms of damage, appearing again and again, and Jill must put him down. In both versions of the game, she finally puts him down for good in one final showdown, and all of this happened before Jill became a superhuman thanks to the experiments Wesker ran on her, proving ordinary Jill alone is stronger than most.
6 Leon Kennedy
The Raccoon City Incident Hardened His Resolve
Leon Kennedy is indisputably one of the main characters across the entire series, having appeared in multiple games as the protagonist, or at the very least, one of them. He debuted in Resident Evil 2 as a fresh-faced new recruit in the RPD, ready to do some good and slap handcuffs upon the wrists of ne'er-do-wells, until he sees the entire city up in flames. His heroic actions led to a promotion, thus introducing the more jaded Leon in Resident Evil 4 and 6.
The events Leon went through changed him, cutting away some of his earnest nature, making him a little more mature, jaded, and less idealistic. But he also became stronger, and a more prominent personality emerged. The kind of trauma he endured could have put a damper on someone's development, but all it did was make Leon a stronger person, able to cope with worse horrors, which he arguably does go through in Resident Evil 4. Rather than hanging up his badge, Leon accepted his new government role to continue his fight against the dark underbelly of the world.
5 Albert Wesker
Only the Inside of a Volcano Could Stop Albert Wesker
Resident Evil 5
- Released
- March 5, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Albert Wesker is one of the best villains in the entire series, first beginning his career in the first game as a double agent, merely masquerading as an S.T.A.R.S. Officer with his own agenda. He went on to have other appearances in Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, Resident Evil 4 remake, but most notably, as the primary antagonist of Resident Evil 5.
Wesker is back bigger and badder than before, armed with the lofty ambitions to unleash Uroboros across the entire world, and plenty of cheesy dialogue, which is what led to his popularity among fans. Faster than a bullet, and able to withstand mighty amounts of damage, putting down Wesker is no small feat, and in the end, Chris and Sheva need to resort to using their surroundings to put an end to him, as all the bullets in the world would not stop Wesker. And there are some who still believe Wesker could come back from this death, too. If he did, Wesker could just make it to the top of the pecking order.
4 Mr X
Bullets Were More of a Nuisance to Mr X than Damaging
Resident Evil 2 just wouldn't be the same without Mr X, the stomping trench-coat fedora-wearing giant whose thundering footsteps are never too far, sending chills down the spines of even the bravest players. Sent to kill any survivors of the outbreak in Raccoon City, Claire and Leon have the misfortune of running into him while exploring the police station, and have little other choice other than to turn right back around and run for it.
Until it is time for the boss fight, Mr X is literally unkillable. Bullets can amusingly knock his hat off, and enough can stun him for just a second, but that's all they have before he is back up on his feet, ready to punch them into next week. His strength and resilience are dizzying, making him one of the strongest characters of all time in the series.
3 Jack Baker
The Villain Who Kept Coming Back for More
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
- Released
- January 24, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, First-Person
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Resident Evil 7 was the start of something a little different, as everyman, Ethan Winters, travels to the backwaters of Louisiana in search of his missing wife Mia, and it is here he has the displeasure of meeting the Bakers, a family infected with a mold that transforms their bodies and minds. The patriarch of the family, Jack Baker, is the first one he takes in, but he doesn't seem to ever want to stay down.
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Resident Evil bosses have terrified gamers for years. While some of these villains are incredibly powerful, others are pretty weak.
Surviving fire, a gunshot to the head, and his torso literally exploding, death never wants to reap Jack's soul, and he keeps coming back to the mortal coil to assault Ethan again and again, each boss fight becoming bigger and badder than the last, until he finally kills him for good by injecting him with the serum. No other Baker required such desperate measures to defeat them, which is a testament to Jack being the strongest among them.
2 Nemesis
The Unstoppable Juggernaut Terrorized Jill Through Raccoon City
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
- Released
- November 10, 1999
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, PC, PS1
Capcom perfected the art of stalker enemies, with one of their most terrifying being Nemesis. A being incredible both in terms of stature and strength, this is one foe that won't go down quietly, if at all. Shrugging off bullets, fire, and even rocket launchers while being able to dish out plenty of damage himself with weaponry or his own fists, it would be no surprise if none of the heroes could ever put a stop to him.
Eventually, Jill does win the upper hand, but it takes a hell of a lot to put him down for good, and nearly all of Resident Evil 3 is spent by Jill running away from him because she knows she can't put an end to him right there at that moment. Hardly any other Resident Evil character has shown this much resilience, and it is more by luck than anything that Jill got her hands on the weapon she needed to finally kill him.
1 Chris Redfield
By the Time Resident Evil 5 Came Around, Chris Was Strong Enough to Move Boulders
Chris is the Resident Evil hero with the most appearances throughout the series, appearing in games he wasn't even the main star of, such as Resident Evil 7, and having a short playable segment in Village. His popularity has led to him having the most thriving career of all, so it makes sense that Chris would be one of the strongest characters of all, as his muscles are hardly given a day off with how busy he is in his fight against BOWs.
It is undoubtedly that pinnacle moment in Resident Evil 5 that has been made into memes and a running joke in the series and among fans--the scene in which Chris Redfield pushes a huge boulder out of his way. A feat that should be impossible, Chris levies punch after punch against the huge piece of stone, and instead of breaking every bone in his hand, he pushes the boulder out of his way, opening up the path to him. There are no other Resident Evil characters that can boast of such a flagrant display of physical strength.
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The Resident Evil series is expansive, housing some of the best action and horror games ever made.