I don't think I can name any franchise with quality that varies as wildly as RE's has over the years
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Maximilian Dood's Resident Evil Tier List
- Thread starter Kalentan
- Start date
How many major series have reinvented itself as many times as RE has?
It's not a bad list. I actually sat down the other day and thought of my ranking of the series myself. I have a few controversial opinions, and I can explain my decisions in depth if desired, but the baseline for me at the moment goes:
01. Resident Evil 4
02. Resident Evil REmake
03. Resident Evil 7
04. Resident Evil 2 REmake
05. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
06. Resident Evil Revelations 2
07. Resident Evil 2
08. Resident Evil 5
09. Resident Evil: Dead Aim
10. Resident Evil 6
11. Resident Evil Zero
12. Resident Evil Revelations
13. Resident Evil 1
14. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
15. Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
16. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
17. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
18. Resident Evil Survivor
19. Umbrella Corps
20. Resident Evil Gaiden
Have not played: Resident Evil Outbreak File 1, Resident Evil Outbreak File 2, Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2
I guess in a tier list, how I'd put that would be:
S- RE4, RE1 REmake
A- RE7, RE2 REmake
B- RE3, Rev 2, RE2, RE5
C- Dead Aim, RE6, RE0, Rev 1, RE1
D- Darkside Chronicles, CVX, Umbrella Chronicles
E- Operation Raccoon City, Survivor, Umbrella Corps
F- Gaiden
(though my grading is actually maybe a bit harsher, most of these RE games I would move up in position if I was making like, a "complete horror tier list" kinda' thing, this is mainly going by RE series standards.)
I have a few unpopular opinions, and some I want to like more but too many problems hold them back (coughcoughCodeVeronicacough). However, honestly I've enjoyed most RE games, even Umbrella Corps I got some fun out of it (though I never want another RE game like it ever again). But if some friends wanted to play Umbrella Corps with me (for some reason), I'd have fun playing it. Hell, all of the RE games 19 and above I can pick up and have fun playing. Gaiden though I actually hate playing. like it starts off okay but then gets worse and worse as it goes on.
01. Resident Evil 4
02. Resident Evil REmake
03. Resident Evil 7
04. Resident Evil 2 REmake
05. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
06. Resident Evil Revelations 2
07. Resident Evil 2
08. Resident Evil 5
09. Resident Evil: Dead Aim
10. Resident Evil 6
11. Resident Evil Zero
12. Resident Evil Revelations
13. Resident Evil 1
14. Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
15. Resident Evil: Code Veronica X
16. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
17. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
18. Resident Evil Survivor
19. Umbrella Corps
20. Resident Evil Gaiden
Have not played: Resident Evil Outbreak File 1, Resident Evil Outbreak File 2, Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2
I guess in a tier list, how I'd put that would be:
S- RE4, RE1 REmake
A- RE7, RE2 REmake
B- RE3, Rev 2, RE2, RE5
C- Dead Aim, RE6, RE0, Rev 1, RE1
D- Darkside Chronicles, CVX, Umbrella Chronicles
E- Operation Raccoon City, Survivor, Umbrella Corps
F- Gaiden
(though my grading is actually maybe a bit harsher, most of these RE games I would move up in position if I was making like, a "complete horror tier list" kinda' thing, this is mainly going by RE series standards.)
I have a few unpopular opinions, and some I want to like more but too many problems hold them back (coughcoughCodeVeronicacough). However, honestly I've enjoyed most RE games, even Umbrella Corps I got some fun out of it (though I never want another RE game like it ever again). But if some friends wanted to play Umbrella Corps with me (for some reason), I'd have fun playing it. Hell, all of the RE games 19 and above I can pick up and have fun playing. Gaiden though I actually hate playing. like it starts off okay but then gets worse and worse as it goes on.
People forget that Steve Burnside is the worst character in Resident Evil series:
His romance with Claire is so bad
His romance with Claire is so bad
OP
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I like that you also put Zero and CVX under 6 lol.
Good list yourself!
I agree with him on alot of stuff but feel a bit different on some of the other titles.
My own tier-list:
My own tier-list:
RE2, REmake, REmake 2 are my absolute favorite games in the series. Love 'em to death.
RE, RE3 are great games but each have some minor issues. Original RE I might drop to A rank but I had a really fun time replaying it a couple of years ago.
RE4 is a fantastic game but after recently replaying it I did find it a little too long not to mention the PS4 port has some super jank ass control schemes and its been a very long time since I've played the GC original so I don't have clear memory of how well the game actually controlled.
RE7 I waver on, I adored that game when it came out and it renewed my long lost love for Resident Evil but there were some things that bothered me about it-- mainly that the Molded were sort of lame.
Mercenaries 3D is a really fun game but I would never have paid full price for it. (Got it $7 on clearance years ago; perfect prince point!)
I've never played RE5 co-op but found the single player to be okay and I couldn't be bothered to play through the rest of RE6 after finishing Leon's campaign. Rev1 is good but way too long and Rev2 is fun but sort of wonky from what I remember.
0 is a slog to get through and CV has aged horribly but I still have some nostalgic attachment to it. Dead Aim was a janky game, the Outbreak games aren't all that fun and the Chronicles titles are kinda boring for light-gun shooters.
The last three are garbage.
RE, RE3 are great games but each have some minor issues. Original RE I might drop to A rank but I had a really fun time replaying it a couple of years ago.
RE4 is a fantastic game but after recently replaying it I did find it a little too long not to mention the PS4 port has some super jank ass control schemes and its been a very long time since I've played the GC original so I don't have clear memory of how well the game actually controlled.
RE7 I waver on, I adored that game when it came out and it renewed my long lost love for Resident Evil but there were some things that bothered me about it-- mainly that the Molded were sort of lame.
Mercenaries 3D is a really fun game but I would never have paid full price for it. (Got it $7 on clearance years ago; perfect prince point!)
I've never played RE5 co-op but found the single player to be okay and I couldn't be bothered to play through the rest of RE6 after finishing Leon's campaign. Rev1 is good but way too long and Rev2 is fun but sort of wonky from what I remember.
0 is a slog to get through and CV has aged horribly but I still have some nostalgic attachment to it. Dead Aim was a janky game, the Outbreak games aren't all that fun and the Chronicles titles are kinda boring for light-gun shooters.
The last three are garbage.
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Yeah, I like his list in general. Biggest issue for me is that Rev 2 needs to be jumped up a bit. I also prefer the RE2s to RE1 Remake, but I understand the point of view.
Here's some hot and lukewarm takes:
1. RE Zero is better than people give it credit for. It's still one of the worst mainline titles, but it's not at the bottom.
2. CV is probably the worst mainline title. I loathe RE6 for a variety of reasons but even then I'd probably put it above CV (and I've replayed both in the last few years).
3. I always like to split RE5 Solo and RE5 Co-Op when I do my list, as they are very different experiences. RE5 Co-Op is great, I recommend it if you can manage. (Probably going to do an RE5 Solo run later this year, just so I can better judge it)
4. With better enemy design, Rev 1 could have been great. Wasted so many bullets because I didn't realize the ooze were in a death animation.
5. I have a bit of a soft spot for Gaiden, even if it's bad it does some interesting things. Reminds me a bit of Sweet Home. I'd love to see Capcom take another shot at an RE "RPG," not that they'd likely want to.
As a side note I've played and beaten every game in the series except Gun Survivor 2, since it never came out in the US. Well, I haven't played RE2 Game.com either, but that doesn't count. Probably the only series that has run this long where I've actually beaten everything.
Here's some hot and lukewarm takes:
1. RE Zero is better than people give it credit for. It's still one of the worst mainline titles, but it's not at the bottom.
2. CV is probably the worst mainline title. I loathe RE6 for a variety of reasons but even then I'd probably put it above CV (and I've replayed both in the last few years).
3. I always like to split RE5 Solo and RE5 Co-Op when I do my list, as they are very different experiences. RE5 Co-Op is great, I recommend it if you can manage. (Probably going to do an RE5 Solo run later this year, just so I can better judge it)
4. With better enemy design, Rev 1 could have been great. Wasted so many bullets because I didn't realize the ooze were in a death animation.
5. I have a bit of a soft spot for Gaiden, even if it's bad it does some interesting things. Reminds me a bit of Sweet Home. I'd love to see Capcom take another shot at an RE "RPG," not that they'd likely want to.
As a side note I've played and beaten every game in the series except Gun Survivor 2, since it never came out in the US. Well, I haven't played RE2 Game.com either, but that doesn't count. Probably the only series that has run this long where I've actually beaten everything.
Zero I actually like more than most people, it doesn't look like it on my ranking list, but I do enjoy it. Billy and Rebecca are good characters, the game's art direction is gorgeous, the music is good, I actually think Zero has the best puzzles in the series. It's held back by the enemy selection, it feels like it's lacking elements to make the atmosphere/tension better, some parts are kinda' dragged out and dull, certain moments are even a bit frustrating, the story outside of Billy and Rebecca's characters is kinda' dull and nonsensical with maybe the worst villain in the series, and there's just not a lot of small things with the pacing and execution that drag it down. Also the bosses in RE0 mostly suck, especially the bat and the centipede. BUT, exploring Zero's locations, solving puzzles and the like I enjoy doing.
Code Veronica X has a lot of problems, a LOT of problems. If it didn't have these problems it'd be MUCH higher, I really do hope they remake it. I WANT to like it more than I do, I actually love the setting, music, characters (even fucking Steve is amusing to me), etc. But I have so many problems with Code Veronica and it's actually the one of only two RE games (the other I'll get to) which actively make me frustrated and kinda' hate it while playing it. But Code Veronica does things that I also love about it. It ranks so low for me because, to lay it how plainly:
-Who fucking thought having regenerating enemies in certain areas was a good idea?
-Who thought having so many poison enemies in a RE game was a good idea?
-WHO THOUGHT PUTTING INFINITELY SPAWNING POISON MOTHS OUTSIDE OF THE ONLY SAVE ROOM IN AN AREA WAS A GOOD IDEA!?!?
-Having enemies that can literally hit you off the screen from long distances like Bandersnatches IS NOT FUN.
-Code Veronica has more back-tracking than any RE game I've ever seen, and it's often not even fun back-tracking.
-Code Veronica has more "inventory filling" puzzles than RE0 does! And RE0 gives you two inventories!
-Speaking of inventory fun, don't you just love on your first playthrough the game doesn't telegraph AT ALL you're about to switch characters and all the items that character was holding you just NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO? This can even break the game and make it unwinnable, though thankfully I never went through that.
-Code Veronica despite having no difficulty options I think is one of the hardest RE games, and not fun difficulty, it just has random spikes at moments. I play all the RE games on their default hardest available difficulty, and none of other RE games have I died at as much as Code Veronica the first time blind.
-The boss battles in Code Veronica are trash.
-There's disappointing build-ups, like the fucking pool salamander that's built up to like a Xenomorph or something, only to be some lazy Salamander who does nothing.
I could go on and say so much more, but I WANT to like Code Veronica, but so much about it's actual game design just makes me not enjoy it. I hope it gets a remake, it desperately is in need of one if you asked me.
On Resident Evil 6, it has a lot of problems, like a lot of problems, a LOT of problems. BUT...
There's a lot of dumb fun you can have in RE6 if you let yourself. The game is kinda' a train wreck, but it's such an uneven experience and it's kinda' fun to go through with a co-op partner through all of RE6's crazy and wacky shenanigans. Some of the level design is actually atrocious, but others times it can be surprisingly well done.
I don't think I've ever played another game that flip-flops so much between good and bad ideas and execution, and that's kinda' wild and fun to go through with a friend. There are actually moments of RE6's campaign I love, and other moments I actually hate. But I always have fun playing it with people, especially those who have no idea what they're in for. Mercenaries in RE6 is a lot of fun, and I think I may be one of the only people on the planet who's played a decent amount of those DLC multiplayer modes with friends (full parties even, convinced friends to play it with me, have had a lot of dumb fun in those too). I will say this, I played the game first on 360 pre-update, and have ever since then post-update on PC, and the PC version post-update does add so much to the game experience, like it running 60fps with adjustable FoV and some of the fixes they apply did make me enjoy it a lot more.
Also, Leon's campaign is the worst one though I enjoy parts of it (and I love Leon's Chapter 4), Leon's actual story is also terrible, like it's baaad. Jake's campaign has some of the lowest moments in the game, but I kinda' love Jake's Chapter 3 and Chapter 5. I also expected to hate Jake before release, but I don't. Chris' campaign is the most solid all around and also has the best story of them all. Ada's campaign has it's moments, but also falls off a cliff with her Chapter 5 being like the worst of the worst in all of RE6. Also nearly every scene in RE6 involving helicopters SUCKS.
That's where I sit on with RE6.
I would move Code: Veronica up as it's one of the best RE games but everything else is pretty solid.
Revelations 1 is bottom-tier. Even he admits not liking it either but gave it a pass for reasons he didn't really explain well. Surprised he placed it well above so many others for spurious reasons. I'd play 0 and CV easilly before revisiting that junk. No question.
Almost everything on the B-tier I would actually disagree with and rearrange, many stuffed much farther down. I'm mostly fine with A and above choices, but would swap RE4 and REmake. I prefer REmake a bit more. In many ways RE4 always felt imbalanced and kind of shat the bed near the end. Deserves to be high, but REmake wins it for me.
Almost everything on the B-tier I would actually disagree with and rearrange, many stuffed much farther down. I'm mostly fine with A and above choices, but would swap RE4 and REmake. I prefer REmake a bit more. In many ways RE4 always felt imbalanced and kind of shat the bed near the end. Deserves to be high, but REmake wins it for me.
YES, that part was so fucking frustrating that it gave me an irrational hatred of moths when I was younger.
Yup. Everyone talks about RE4 needing a remake but CV needs a top-to-bottom re-imagining for everything.
nah, REmake 2 has a few areas that are just not fun to explore.
REmake is like a timeless work of art. (though I could see them remaking REmake once more for next-gen.)
I'm surprised so many people are ranking 7 so highly. It has an incredibly strong first 1/3 but it falls off pretty hard after that. The goop monsters really overstay their welcome and don't offer anywhere near the variety you usually encounter throughout an RE game.
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Revelations 2 should really be higher. Other than the low budget (mostly on animations) it's one of the best games in the series.
Ah right. I haven't played 7 in VR which could give it a big boost I'd imagine.
Revelations 1 I think is the most average RE game. It has good music, I actually like Rev 1's boss battles and the build-ups to the battles (though the final boss is the worst of the bunch). There's nothing really super bad about Rev 1, and it has a few stand-out elements, but I think what drags it down so much is so often it just feels mediocre to average, exploring the ship past the opening doesn't feel too exciting. I think the game kinda' just is servicable in its exploration, with enemies and combat, with the survival element, with atmosphere.
It's hard for me to put into words, I enjoy Rev 1 well enough, just it feels like the most mediocre Resident Evil game, with maybe the boss battles being the exception.
I'm assuming you didn't play it in VR (though I didn't my first playthrough either). I think RE7 has elements that speak a lot more to me personally, I love the setting, I love the Bakers, I even am okay with the Molded. I liked the Ship, though the mines were a bust for me. However, my opinion of RE7 is also helped by the DLC. I loved End of Zoe, Daughters, Bedroom, and really liked Not a Hero, 21, Basement. The DLC/Gold Edition does help make the game feel more complete, and does push it over the edge for me. But I just find playing through RE7 to be an enjoyable experience.
I am just now being reminded why I only ever finished that game once, and then later restarted just to kill the scorpion with the knife. Friend started playing it for the first time, and I ended up deciding to start my own playthrough, and the inventory management sucks so hard. So what if you can drop items anywhere? It actually makes it worse than having magical chests of holding that can hold everything and appear in somewhat convenient places. RE0 has so much backtracking simply because you never have enough room for things and you have to keep going back to get dropped items. Simply trying to use one of the two characters as a pack mule doesn't alleviate the situation either.
Yeah. It still looks really good, but thanks to it originally being designed around N64 limitations, it just didn't turn out the best as a game.
Anyway, I still think REmake and the original RE2 are the best, followed by RE4 and then REmake 2. You could toss CV, RE0, RE1 and RE3 in any order after and it wouldn't make much of a difference to me, followed by everything else at a distance.
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The PS1 RE games don't even rise to RE5's level honestly. Impressive games for their time, great art and sound but they're not scary nor engaging to play and I really have no idea how people get invested in the stories or lore. I guess I just can't get scared by these games unless I feel pressure to play well, and there's just not enough to combat in the old games to make it feel like anything more than a mechanical "insert x bullets, remove 1 enemy" process with a predetermined outcome.
XS - REmake 1
S - RE5(co-op)
A - REmake 2, RE4, Revelations 2, RE1
B - Revelations 1(Jill stuff is mostly A tier, other chapters let it down), RE3
C - RECV, Mercs3D(lacked characters and costumes), RE0, RE6(Chris A, Ada B, Leon C, Jake F), Outbreak, RE7(F story, characters, enemies. F camera. B other gameplay.) Umbrella Chronicles
D - ORC, Dead Aim
F - Gaiden, Darkside Chronicles
F-- - Umbrella Corps
S - RE5(co-op)
A - REmake 2, RE4, Revelations 2, RE1
B - Revelations 1(Jill stuff is mostly A tier, other chapters let it down), RE3
C - RECV, Mercs3D(lacked characters and costumes), RE0, RE6(Chris A, Ada B, Leon C, Jake F), Outbreak, RE7(F story, characters, enemies. F camera. B other gameplay.) Umbrella Chronicles
D - ORC, Dead Aim
F - Gaiden, Darkside Chronicles
F-- - Umbrella Corps
For a really, really long time I couldn't decide if I liked RE4 or REmake 1 better. I really love both of them, and think they still hold up and are the best games in the series, which is a much held popular belief. Both have incredible design, and execution.
I ultimately decided I like RE4 more than REmake, but it's only by a sliver. It's a bit hard to directly compare since both are very different games, but ultimately what helped me make that choice was thinking about my least favorite moments in both games. I dislike REmake 1's cavern section more than I dislike a certain stretch of the Island that's just a bit iffy, neither are absolutely terrible but I feel the weakest part of their respective games. And I think REmake 1's weakest part is weaker than RE4's weaker part, personally speaking.
Which is ultimately what sided me to put RE4 as my favorite. Though I wouldn't chastise anyone who put REmake 1 over RE4.
I think RE1 Remake is the best Survival Horror game ever, while RE4 is the best 3rd Person shooter ever, i treat them both as different kind of games, the only issue they share the same name as a mainline RE game.
I can't compare RE4 with RE1-3.
I find Dead Aim to be underrated and I enjoy playing it more than Code Veronica. While CV is more traditional, the backtracking and puzzles just make it a slog to play through.
Even though DA was designed with the light gun in mind, it still very much plays like a classic title. I like Bruce and Fong Ling, and Morpheus is memorable bad guy. I remember absolutely panicking when you first encounter his tyrant form. Game is also short, so it's worth a playthrough.
Even though DA was designed with the light gun in mind, it still very much plays like a classic title. I like Bruce and Fong Ling, and Morpheus is memorable bad guy. I remember absolutely panicking when you first encounter his tyrant form. Game is also short, so it's worth a playthrough.
RE3, REV2 should be much higher, REmake 2 a bit lower amd CVX should be way way lower. That piece of shit is so damn bad. I hope they remake CVX.
Revelations 1 has some of the best stuff in the series though, however it has extremely low or average stuff in it as well.
Soundtrack is probably the best in the franchise as well
Atmosphere
Action
Boss Theme
Main Theme
Man I really liked Darkside Chronicles. UC was good too but as a series fan I thought they were so much fun (coop too). The amount of content/collectibles/fan service were staggering for a light gun game. It's progressions/content delivery were unique and I can't think of another game that did it so well.
I'm with you. I think Dead Aim is the most slept on game in the franchise. It starts off a bit rough, I wasn't feeling the game the first 30-40 minutes in, and I'd say the first and last 30 minutes are the weakest part of the game. But there's so much good in the middle section, and it manages to have a surprisingly effective atmosphere and feel like an interesting hybrid of what came before it (RE1-3/Code veronica) and what would come after it (RE4). It's somewhere between trying to be exploration horror and action dumb Resident Evil, and it sounds like it should fall apart, but it works due to so many unique and creative scenarios, enemies and touches to the game. The action is serviceable but better than the older games (it takes a bit getting used to the game going into first-person as you aim), but the atmosphere is very thick at points, exploring is fun, the monsters are maybe the most unique in the series (some are very, very weird though), and they do a good job at pacing and keeping the experience interesting.
On my personal ranking list it comes into 9th spot, but I think so many people have either not played it or are under the impression, "Of course it's bad!", when really it's more enjoyable than I think many believe it is. I'd go as far to say that Dead Aim's boat setting and game is a lot better than Revelations 1's boat setting and game.
I agree with the list almost 100% except for RE7.
Don't get me wrong I love the game, the presentation and atmosphere is S tier but the enemy variety and enemy combat design is just terrible.
Even RE6 has better, more reactive enemies that reacts to different shots placement and even mutate the body parts being shot to increase the challenge.
In comparison, the molded in RE7 are literally just moving targets.
Variation isn't really the biggest issue here, appearance aside the zombies in RE2 Remake are pretty much all the same, but the amount of depth and tactics they offer is way more impressive than all of the RE7 molded types combined.
Don't get me wrong I love the game, the presentation and atmosphere is S tier but the enemy variety and enemy combat design is just terrible.
Even RE6 has better, more reactive enemies that reacts to different shots placement and even mutate the body parts being shot to increase the challenge.
In comparison, the molded in RE7 are literally just moving targets.
Variation isn't really the biggest issue here, appearance aside the zombies in RE2 Remake are pretty much all the same, but the amount of depth and tactics they offer is way more impressive than all of the RE7 molded types combined.
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he overrates re7 way too much. i just can't rate a game this high when it gets completly mediocre as soon as you leave the mansion. the ship and mines parts feel exactky like the mindless parts of revelations 1 when you're not playing jill, and that's like 60% of the game.
agree with RE4 being the best and RE2 and REmake coming right after
agree with RE4 being the best and RE2 and REmake coming right after
I'll give RE7 credit for one thing despite how low I rate it,
That Mia flashback was excellent "character development" and definitely better than Revelations' side stuff.
You go from feeling weak and scared to suddenly a badass operative knifing and spraying at enemies.
At the very least it was excellent contrast.
i agree it was a nice contrast, but gameplay wise it became just completly mindless shooting in a pretty boring environment that dragged on way too long.
what made it worse that i didn't give a crap about ethan, mia or zoe.
wtf, RE7 is such a shallow game with afwul game design choices and especially terrible bosses... and I played it in VR.
No way it's over RE5 in single player.
No way it's over RE5 in single player.