Resident Evil

History

The development of the game, originally titled Biohazard, began in 1993 when Tokuro Fujiwara conceived it as a remake of his earlier 1989 Capcom horror game Sweet Home, when the project was then led by Shinji Mikami. When in late 1994 marketing executives were setting up to bring the game to the United States, it was pointed out that a DOS game had been recently registered under that name, so a contest was held among company personnel to choose a new name; this competition turned up Resident Evil, the name currently known in the west. In Japan the games are still known as Biohazard.

Resident Evil made its debut on the PlayStation in 1996 and was later ported to the Sega Saturn.

The first entry in the series was the first game to ever be dubbed a "survival horror", a term coined for the new genre it initiated, and its critical and commercial success led to the production of two sequels, Resident Evil 2 in 1998 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis in 1999, both for the PlayStation. A port of Resident Evil 2 was released for the Nintendo 64. In addition, ports of all three were released for Microsoft Windows. The fourth game in the series, Resident Evil – Code: Veronica, was developed for the Dreamcast and released in 2000, followed by ports of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. Resident Evil Code: Veronica was later re-released for Dreamcast in Japan in an updated form as Code: Veronica Complete, which included slight changes, many of which revolved around story cutscenes. This updated version was later ported to the PlayStation 2 and GameCube under the title Code: Veronica X.

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 GameCube. The next three games in the series—a remake of the original Resident Evil and the prequel Resident Evil Zero, both released in 2002, as well as Resident Evil 4—were all released initially as GameCube exclusives. Resident Evil 4 was later released for Windows, PlayStation 2 and Wii (as well as downloadable HD versions for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, which were released in tandem with an HD port of Resident Evil: Code Veronica X). In addition, the GameCube received ports of the previous Resident Evil sequels. Despite this exclusivity agreement between Capcom and Nintendo, Capcom released several Resident Evil titles for the PlayStation 2 that were not considered direct sequels.

A trilogy of GunCon-compatible light gun games known as the Gun Survivor series featured first person game play. The first, Resident Evil Survivor, was released in 2000 for the PlayStation and PC, but received mediocre reviews. The subsequent games, Resident Evil: Survivor 2 Code: Veronica and Resident Evil: Dead Aim, fared somewhat better. Dead Aim is the fourth Gun Survivor game in Japan, with Gun Survivor 3 being the Dino Crisis spin-off Dino Stalker. In a similar vein, the Chronicles series features first person game play, albeit on an on-rails path. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles was released in 2007 for the Wii, with a follow up, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles released in 2009 (both were later ported to the Playstation 3 in 2012).

Resident Evil Outbreak is an online game for the PlayStation 2, released in 2003, depicting a series of episodic storylines in Raccoon City set during the same time period as Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. It was the first in the series and the first survival horror title to feature cooperative gameplay and online multiplayer support. It was followed by a sequel, Resident Evil Outbreak File #2. Raccoon City is a metropolis located in the Arklay Mountains of North America that succumbed to the deadly T-virus outbreak and was consequently destroyed via a nuclear missile attack issued by the United States government. The town served a critical junction for the series' progression as one of the main catalysts to Umbrella's downfall as well as the entry point for some of the series' most notable characters.

Resident Evil Gaiden is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color featuring an role-playing-style combat system. There have been several downloadable mobile games based on the Resident Evil series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through T-Mobile. At the Sony press conference during the E3 2009, it was announced that Resident Evil Portable would be released for the PlayStation Portable, described as an all-new title being developed with "the PSP Go in mind" and "totally different for a Resident Evil game". However, as of 2012, no further announcements have been made, and the game is considered to have been cancelled.

In March 2011, Capcom revealed the third-person shooter Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, which was developed by Slant Six Games for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows and released in March 2012. A survival horror game for the Nintendo 3DS, Resident Evil: Revelations, was released in February 2012. In October of the same year, the next numbered entry in the main series, Resident Evil 6, was released to mixed reviews, but enthusiastic pre-order sales.

In 2013, producer Masachika Kawata said the Resident Evil franchise would return to focus on elements of horror and suspense over action, adding, "Survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn't mean we can't focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan's needs." Resident Evil: Revelations 2, an episodic game set between Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, was released in March 2015. A team-based multiplayer game set in the series's universe, Umbrella Corps, was set to be released in 2016.

In late 2015, Capcom confirmed that a remake of Resident Evil 2 was in development. It was later confirmed that the upcoming game would be "built from the ground up" and not a remaster as with the HD releases of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X.

On June 13, 2016, Capcom announced Resident Evil 7: Biohazard during Sony’s E3 press conference with gameplay footage. The title will transition to a first-person player experience, and will focus on survival horror. Producer Masachika Kawata explained the game's chronology in the Resident Evil series by stating, [Resident Evil 7] is the next title in the numbered series, so obviously it's part of the Resident Evil universe, and overall canon, so to speak. It is an extension of the series so far. It's not a reboot. It's the next main game."

Story

The main storyline of the games primarily concern a group of individuals who battle against the Umbrella Corporation as well as characters in relation to them who have developed the T-virus which, among other things, can transform humans into zombies as well as mutate other creatures into horrifying monsters.

The Arklay Mountain and Raccoon City incidents

The plot lines of the main installments up to the third game all concern the T-Virus outbreak in the Arklay Mountains and its spreading to nearby Raccoon City.

1996's Resident Evil for the PlayStation follows protagonists Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, who become trapped in a mansion in the mountains, trying to search for the survivors of the Bravo team of the special police unit S.T.A.R.S. They discover that the mansion conceals the Umbrella Corporation's base where they developed the T-Virus with their end-goal being the creation of a bio-weapon known as the Tyrant (for whom the virus named). Playing as either of the characters, the player must navigate the mansion alternately with the help of Barry Burton or Rebecca Chambers, until they are betrayed by Albert Wesker who was secretly planning to steal the T-Virus. Wesker is attacked and killed by the Tyrant.

Resident Evil Zero, a prequel released originally for the GameCube, details the events leading up to the first game and follows Rebecca Chambers as she is separated from the Bravo team and has to team up with a fugitive Billy Coen.

Resident Evil 2 follows a few months after the events of the first game when rats start infecting the population of Raccoon City with the T-Virus. Playing alternately as Claire Redfield, the sister of Chris from the first game, or Leon Kennedy, a rookie police officer starting on the day of the outbreak. The players must find and escape from the city while at the same time confronting the mad scientist William Birkin.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, set during the events of the second game, follows Jill Valentine's escape from Raccoon City while being pursued by another Umbrella bio-weapon, the Nemesis-T Type. The plots of both games conclude with the sterilization of Raccoon City by a nuclear strike.

Post-Raccoon City

Resident Evil: Code Veronica follows Claire's journey after escaping Raccoon City. She is captured trying to break into Umbrella's Paris facility and transported to one of their research facilities. The facility is attacked by Albert Wesker's forces and becomes also over-run with T-Virus. Claire escapes and starts looking for her brother Chris, while having to deal with Alfred and Alexia Ashford. Unbeknownst to her, Chris finds his way to the island and tracks Claire to the Arctic Umbrella facility. At the game's finale, Chris defeats the genetically-modified Alexia, faces off against Wesker and escapes with Claire.

Resident Evil 4 follows Leon Kennedy's mission to rescue the daughter of the president of the United States, who has been captured by a Spanish Cult led by Osmund Saddler, the Illuminados. Instead of T-Virus infected zombies, Leon faces off against villagers infected with the Las Plagas parasite, which makes them unyieldingly murderous but also maintains their dexterity and mobility, unlike the slow, shambling undead.

Resident Evil 5 concerns Chris Redfield's attempts to stop the selling of illegal bio-weapons in Africa, helped by Sheva Alomar. The plot eventually involves Albert Wesker's plans to destroy humanity with a Las Plagas type parasitic life-form called Uroboros.

Resident Evil 6 follows multiple protagonists, including Leon Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Ada Wong and Jake Muller, who become involved in a terrorist strike using bio-weapons which results in the zombification of the President of the United States. The story involves a new fast-acting zombie virus called the C-Virus which has been weaponised by the NSA to induce fear in the general populace and the individual character's attempts to stop it from spreading.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard puts players into the shoes of an ordinary man named Ethan Winters who wants to locate his missing wife, Mia, and he has to defend himself against a strange family inside their seemingly abandoned house. The game is the first main entry to be entirely shown in a first person view which is new to the primary series (although some of the previous spin off games utilized this viewpoint) and unlike the recent sequels, the game focuses more on what survival horror gaming was like prior to the action style route undertaken after Resident Evil 4 and similar games, by having the player having to evade the enemies more often, but there are still boss battles and puzzles to solve.

Related games and other media

Several other games follow the escapades of singular characters.

The plots of the animated Resident Evil films Resident Evil: Degeneration, Resident Evil: Damnation and Resident Evil: Vendetta are set between the events of the major installments.

Media

The Resident Evil franchise features video games and tie-in merchandise and products, including various films, comic books and novels.

Comics

In 1997, Marvel Comics published a single-issue prologue comic based on the original Resident Evil, released through a promotional giveaway alongside the original PlayStation game.

In 1998, WildStorm began producing a monthly comic book series based on the first two games, titled Resident Evil: The Official Comic Magazine, which lasted five issues. The first four issues were published by Image, while the fifth and final issue was published by Wildstorm themselves. Each issue was a compilation of short stories that were both adaptations of events from the games, as well as related side-stories. Like the Perry novels, the comics also explored events occurring beyond Resident Evil 2 (the latest game during the series' publication) and thus were contradicted by later games. Wildstorm also published a four-issue miniseries titled Resident Evil: Fire & Ice, which depicted the ordeal of Charlie Team, a third STARS team created specifically for the comic. In 2009, Wildstorm reprinted Fire & Ice in a trade paperback collection.

In Hong Kong, there has been officially licensed Biohazard manhua adaptations of Biohazard 3 and Code: Veronica by Lee Chung Hing. The latter was translated into English and published by Wildstorm as a series of four graphic novel collections.

In 2009, Wildstorm began publishing a comic book prequel to Resident Evil 5, simply titled Resident Evil, which centers around two original members of the BSAA named Mina Gere and Holiday Sugarman. Written by Ricardo Sanchez and illustrated by Kevin Sharpe and Jim Clark, the first issue was published on March 11, 2009. On November 11, 2009, the third issue was released and the fourth was released March 24, 2010. The sixth and final book was finally published in February 2011.

Live-action films

Six live-action films have been released under the title of Resident Evil. These films do not follow the games' premise but do feature some game characters, and were all written and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for these films. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live action film series has made over $1 billion worldwide. They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film. The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game."

Animated films

The Resident Evil film series, known in Japan as Biohazard (バイオハザード, Baiohazādo), is a Japanese computer animated biopunk horror film series based on the Resident Evil survival-horror video game franchise.

Capcom has released three animated films which are tied to, and set in, the Resident Evil video game series with a fourth currently in development. Two CGI movies have been produced based on the video game series rather than the film franchise. Starring in these movies are Leon Kennedy, Claire Redfield and Ada Wong, as well as original characters new to the canon:

Merchandise

Over the years, various toy companies have acquired the Resident Evil license with each producing their own unique line of Resident Evil action figures or models. These include, but not limited to, Toy Biz, Palisades Toys, NECA and Hot Toys.

Tokyo Marui also produced replicas of the guns used in the Resident Evil series in the form of gas blow-back airsoft guns. Some models included the STARS Beretta featured in Resident Evil 3, and the Desert Eagle in a limited edition that came with other memorabilia in a wooden case, along with the Gold Lugers from Code: Veronica and the "Samurai Edge" pistol from the Resident Evil remake. Other merchandise includes an energy drink called "T-Virus Antidote".

Resident Evil Archives is a reference guide of the Resident Evil series written by staff members of Capcom. It was translated into English and published by BradyGames. The guide describes and summarizes all of the key events that occur in Resident Evil Zero, Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3, and Code: Veronica. Along with the main plot analysis, it also contains character relationship charts, artwork, item descriptions and file transcripts for all five games. A second Archives book was later released in December 2011 and covers Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, the new scenarios detailed in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, and the 2008 CGI movie, Resident Evil: Degeneration. The second Archives volume was also translated by Capcom and published by BradyGames.

Resident Evil theme restaurant Biohazard Cafe & Grill S.T.A.R.S. opened in Tokyo in 2012. Halloween Horror Nights 2013, held at Universal Orlando, featured a haunted house titled Resident Evil: Escape from Raccoon City, based on Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

Novels

The earliest Resident Evil novel was Hiroyuki Ariga's novella Biohazard: The Beginning published in 1997 as a portion of the book The True Story of Biohazard, which was given away as a pre-order bonus with the Saturn version of Biohazard. The story serves as a prelude to the events of the original Resident Evil, in which Chris investigates the disappearance of his missing friend, Billy Rabbitson.

S. D. Perry has written novelizations of the first five games, as well as two original novels taking place between games. Her seven titles are:

The novels often took liberties with the plot of the games by exploring events occurring outside and beyond the games. This often meant that the novels would later be contradicted by the games and, on a few occasions, themselves. One notable addition from the novels is the original character Trent, who often served as a mysterious behind-the-scenes string-puller who aided the main characters. Perry's novels were translated and released in Japan with new cover arts by Wolfina. Perry's novels, particularly The Umbrella Conspiracy, also alluded to events in Biohazard: The Beginning, such as the disappearance of Billy Rabbitson and Brian Irons' bid to run for Mayor. A reprinting of Perry's novels with new cover artwork began in 2012 to coincide with the release of Resident Evil: Retribution and its respective novelization.

There was also a trilogy of original Biohazard novels in Japan. Hokkai no Yōjū (北海の妖獣, lit. "The Strange Beast of the North Sea") was published in 1998 and was written by Kyū Asakura and the staff of Flagship. Two additional novels were published in 2002, To the Liberty by Suien Kimura and Rose Blank by Tadashi Aizawa. While no official English translation of these novels has been published yet, the last two books were translated into German and published in 2006.

Novelizations of four of the five films; Genesis, Apocalypse, Extinction and Retribution, were written by Keith R. A. DeCandido, while Retribution was written by John Shirley, though Afterlife did not receive a novelization. The Genesis novel was published over two years after that film's release while the Extinction novel was released in late July 2007, two months before the film's release. There was also a Japanese novelization of the first film, unrelated to DeCandido's version, written by Osamu Makino. Makino also wrote two novels based on the game Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles. The books are a two-part direct novelization of the game and have been published in Japanese and German only. The first novel which was titled Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles Side A in Japan and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles 1 in Germany was released on December 22, 2007. The second novel which was titled Biohazard: The Umbrella Chronicles Side B in Japan and Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles 2 in Germany was published in January 2008.

Reception

Using horror elements, puzzle solving, and a lot of action, most of the games in the main Resident Evil series have been released to positive reviews. Some of the games, most notably Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, have been bestowed with multiple Game of the Year honors and often placed on lists of the best video games ever made.

In 2012, Complex ranked Resident Evil at number 22 on the list of the best video game franchises. That same year, G4tv called it "one of the most successful series in gaming history." The series has sold 66 million units as of September 30, 2015.