Resident Evil, known in Japan as バイオハザード (Biohazard), is a series of survival horror video games developed and published by Capcom and created by Shinji Mikami. The series is credited with establishing the survival horror genre in the gaming industry. The series has been heavily influenced by George A. Romero's Dead movies, as well as the Alone in the Dark series of PC survival horror games.
The games have sold over 30 million copies as of February 2006. As of 2010, the success of the series has led to the creation of comic books, novelizations, four Hollywood action films, guides, collectibles, publications, and a variety of action figures.
There are seven games in the mainstream series (excluding remakes) and numerous spin-off titles.
Games in the Series
Main Games
- Resident Evil - (1996)
- Resident Evil 2 - (1998)
- Resident Evil 3: Nemesis - (1999)
- Resident Evil CODE: Veronica - (2000)
- Resident Evil Zero - (2002)
- Resident Evil 4 - (2005)
- Resident Evil 5 - (2009)
- Resident Evil 6 - (2012)
- Resident Evil: Revelations - (2012)
- Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - (2015)
- Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - (2017)
Spin-offs
- Resident Evil Survivor - (2000)
- Resident Evil Survivor 2 - CODE: Veronica - (2001)
- Resident Evil Gaiden - (2001)
- Resident Evil Dead Aim - (2003)
- Resident Evil Outbreak - (2003)
- Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2 - (2004)
- Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles - (2007)
- Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles - (2009)
- Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D - (2011)
- Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City - (2012)
- Minna to Biohazard Clan Master - (Japan only - 2012)
- Biohazard Pachislot - (Japan only) - A game for an arcade machine that is a combination of a pinball and slot machine.
- Biohazard: Team Survivor
- Umbrella Corps. - (TBA)
Collections/Remakes
- Resident Evil HD Remaster - (2015)
- Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster - (2016)
- Resident Evil Origins Collection - (2016)
Mobile Phone Games
- Resident Evil Confidential Report File 1 & 2 - (2006) - Two turned-based games revolving around a rookie cop and an FBI agent responding to a distress call from an old school dormitory.
- Resident Evil: The Missions - (2006) - Unlike its fellow mobile phone game, Confidential Report, it is designed to be a series of short challenges which can be completed in a matter of minutes, and does not attempt to provide any new storyline. In the game, players primarily control Jill Valentine, although other characters can be unlocked through continued play.
- Biohazard: The Stories - (Japan only) - The sequel to The Missions, this is a port of the mini-game "The Mercenaries".
- Biohazard: The Episodes - (Japan only) - The second sequel to the The Missions, this is based loosely on Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
- Biohazard: The Operations - (Japan only) - Another sequel to the The Missions, this is based loosely on the remake of Resident Evil.
- Resident Evil: Genesis - (2008)
- Resident Evil: Degeneration - (2008)
- Resident Evil Uprising - sequel to Genesis, covering the events of Resident Evil 2.
- Resident Evil Outbreak: Survive - for the GREE Mobile Platform.
Films
Computer-Generated
- Biohazard 4D-Executer - (2000) (Japan only)
- Resident Evil: Degeneration - (2008)
- Resident Evil: Damnation - (2012) - sequel to Degeneration.
Live-Action
It should be noted that the live-action films by Paul W. S. Anderson are only loosely based on the games, and the story and the character development is completely different from the video game franchise.
- Resident Evil - (2002)
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse - (2004)
- Resident Evil: Extinction - (2007)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife - (2010)
- Resident Evil: Retribution - (2012)
History
The original Resident Evil made its debut in 1996 for the Sony PlayStation. It was both a critical and commercial success, leading to the production of two immediate sequels, Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in 1999, both also for the PlayStation. A port of Resident Evil was released for the Sega Saturn and a port of Resident Evil 2 was released for the Nintendo 64. In addition, ports of all three were released for Windows. The fourth game in the series, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, was developed for the Sega Dreamcast and released in 2000 (followed by ports of 2 and 3). Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube versions were later produced in the form of an updated version entitled Code: Veronica X. It was also released for the Dreamcast, although only in Japan.
Despite earlier announcements that the next game in the series would be released for the PlayStation 2 (which resulted in the creation of an unrelated game titled Devil May Cry), series' creator and producer Shinji Mikami decided to make the series exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. The next three games in the series: a remake of the original Resident Evil, the prequel Resident Evil 0 (originally planned as a Nintendo 64 game) and Resident Evil 4, were exclusive to the GameCube. In addition, the console received ports of the previous Resident Evil sequels as they originally appeared on the PlayStation and Dreamcast. The remake and Resident Evil 0 were both released in 2002. Despite this exclusivity agreement between Capcom and Nintendo, Capcom released several spin-offs for the PS2 that were not part of the main series. Eventually, Capcom released the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4 in 2005 with additional supplemental features. A Windows port was released in May 2007, while the same year a Wii version with the PS2 port's extra features and motion sensitive controls was also released.
Box Art
Merchandise
External Links
Official
- Resident Evil website
- Biohazard Japanese website
- Biohazard Pachislot
- Wikipedia article of the franchise