Summary
Capcom has made a ton of games over the years they have existed, creating some of the most notable and iconic titles in the gaming industry. Ranging fromStreet FightertoDevil May Cry,toMonster Hunter, and, of course, their flagship series,Resident Evil.
TheResident Evilseries itself has had numerous titles and iterations created as a part of its legacy, with various mainline games and spin-off entries. While these games are usually developed by Capcom in some form or another, not every game under theResident Evilbranch has been created by them. Some titles have been made by other studios, and range from around the time whenResident Evilwas new and fresh, to the contemporary age ofResident Evilgames.
Resident Evilhas always had some alternative games outside the main titles of the franchise. Whether it’s the first/third person hybrid ofDead Aim,the multiplayer entries ofResistanceorRe: Verse,or the extravagant game modes in the games themselves.
However,Resident Evil Gaidenmight take the cake for the most differentResident Evilgame. Developed by M4 and released for the Game Boy Color, its gameplay, and visuals are characteristic of the platform. Players make their way through the game via a top-down perspective which switches to first-person upon triggering combat. Players must damage enemies through a sliding bar that they must activate when the slider on the bar passes over an enemy. The story involves reoccurring characters,Leon S. Kennedyand Barry Burton, doing the usual of fighting zombies. Another character, Lucia, is in the game, with mysterious powers, similar to Natalia Korda inResident Evil: Revelations 2.
Resident Evilis usually a series associated with third-person camera angles, typically either over-the-shoulder or fixed camera angles. Some mainline games, such asResident Evil 7 BiohazardandResident Evil Village,involve first-person camera angles, but other titles changed things up earlier.
Resident Evil Survivorwas an earlierResident Evilrelease by Tose, in which players play from a first-person perspective as protagonist Ark Thompson. The game blends first-person shooters with light gun shooters, fighting many recurring enemies such as zombies, hunters, and tyrants, to name a few. Given its light gun shooter gameplay, it was compatible with a light gun that would allow players to shoot zombies themselves. The story involves Ark Thompson as the protagonist, as he tries to survive against zombies while unveiling his own identity as a result of amnesia. It presents theusualResident Evil-nessof trying to fend off different bioweapons while trying to escape but in an interesting first-person shooter gameplay this time. While this might not be too unique nowadays, it can still be interesting to see how it was handled back whenSurvivorwas released.
The earlier days ofResident Evilwere a time when various different types of games were made to see if they could be passable for the franchise. Games such asResident Evil Gaidenpushed the boundaries of what was expected of a Resident Evil game, with vastly different gameplay separate from anything seen previously.
Resident Evil: Dead Aimwas a bit more in line with some priorResident Evilgames, resembling the usual mainline titles, for some parts of its gameplay. Played from a third-person perspective mostly,Dead Aimswitched to a first-person view when attacking, with a reticule for players to aim at enemies and fire. The story features some of the normal for aResident Evilgame, namely fighting against viruses that create zombies for the player to deal with, with new characters introduced to the franchise, both protagonist and antagonist.
Despite being chiefly a single-player video game series,Resident Evil hasoften dabbled in multiplayer and cooperative play, either in mainline titles, or spin-off/non-mainline games. The notable main Resident Evil games that featured multiplayer areResident Evil 5andResident Evil 6,whereas a wide variety of side games brought forth multiplayer content. Of these,Resident Evil: Resistancewas a game that conjured gameplay of the multiplayer variety.
Resident Evil: Resistance is a departure from the usualResident Evilgameplay, and instead pits a team of four players against one player who influences enemies and hazards. The survivor team is played from a third-person perspective, while the lone enemy player plays from a camera feed perspective. The game features various characters, some from preexisting Resident Evil games, such asJill Valentineand Annette Birkin, and others that are original.
AsResident Evilhas been around for several decades at this point, it has been featured on many different consoles and platforms. From PlayStation to Dreamcast, the series has graced a multitude of platforms. Adding to the multiple platforms the series can be found on, in 2011Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3Dwas released for the Nintendo 3DS.
The gameplay of fighting enemies is similar toResident Evil 4andResident Evil 5;having to stop and shoot at enemies to defeat them. Players have an inventory on the secondary screen of the 3DS where they can use items such as healing or grenades. There are various characters to play as, all with skills for the play to play around with. These characters are notable personae from theResident Eviluniverse, such as Jill Valentine, Jack Krauser,and Albert Wesker, to name but a few.The Mercenaries 3Dalso featured multiplayer for those who wanted to further experienceResident Evilin a cooperative aspect. The game was an interesting display of aResident Evilgame on a portable device before more powerful technology, such as the Steam Deck, allowed for the AAAResident Eviltitles to be experienced on such a device.
