The Resident Evil series has been growing strong for over two decades now. It’s not slowing down anytime soon either as Capcom has already announced a big set of announcements for an upcoming stream. This is most likely tied to Resident Evil VIII.
In celebration of whatever they announce, this might be a good a time as any to remember the most beloved characters from these games. From heroes to villains, there are a lot. Some are more memorable than others for one reason or another so let’s rank them out to see who is the best of the best. The results may be surprising.
Updated May 5th, 2021 by Tristan Jurkovich: Resident Evil is a series filled with characters. It’s been around for over twenty years so that fact may be obvious. Some have persisted throughout many adventures while some were one-and-done situations whether they just went off and did something else or died.
So, in celebration of Resident Evil Village, or Resident Evil VIII, launching, now is as good a time as ever to look at some more characters in the series that are considered by many Resident Evil fans to be the cream of the crop. Will Lady Dimitrescu or anyone else in Resident Evil Village eventually make this list? Only time will tell.
15 Sheva Alomar
Sheva only got one game to shine aka Resident Evil 5. After that she was forgotten in the franchise, but for fans, she will always be remembered as the first main co-op partner. The AI left something to be desired in solo play but actually playing with a friend made her better. It’s a shame she hasn’t returned like so many others in the series, but there is always hope for any number of sequels and or spinoffs.
14 Nikolai Zinoviev
Nikolai is one of those stereotypical Russian bad guys. He had the accent and the almost too obvious villainous name to boot. That said, these traits made him worth remembering even though his betrayal could be seen from a mile away. His presence has also not been seen in the series since Resident Evil 3, the remake that is, making most believe he is dead. However, it’s possible he’s still alive.
13 Barry Burton
Barry will always be remembered by fans for some of his more than clunky line deliveries in the first Resident Evil. For years he wasn’t more than an afterthought in the series’ lore up until he returned in Resident Evil Revelations 2. At that point he became playable for the first time and even had a daughter that was playable. He may not be the action hero that Leon and Chris are, but Barry is still one tough hombre.
12 Claire Redfield
There are technically two Claires in the Resident Evil series. The first of which ran all the way up until Revelations 2 as a playable star, while the other is the rebooted character in the remake of Resident Evil 2. Nonetheless, Claire Redfield is an undeniably great character of the Resident Evil series, though of the two, most stick with the OG Claire.
11 Jack Baker
Of the Baker family, Jack is the one most remember. He is the patriarch and the one that chases players throughout the beginning portion of Resident Evil 7, setting up the nightmare within. Two of the most iconic moments that make this villain so vile and ingrained in the heads of players are when he rams through a wall like the Kool-Aid man as well as give that cop a lobotomy with a shovel. Mr. Baker looks human, but is pure terror incarnate.
10 Jake Muller
Resident Evil 6 is not well remembered by fans. That said, one of the few positives of the experience was Jake’s campaign. Jake himself, along with the grown up Sherry Birkin, were the two best and newest members to this ever-growing cast. Yes, Sherry was in Resident Evil 2 but in a completely different context. The point is Jake’s charisma and smooth moves helped this game be a little more interesting.
9 Ramon Salazar
The Resident Evil series is known for its cheese and when it comes to villains, they are like an extra cheese on cheese topping. One of the most ridiculous is Ramon Salazar from Resident Evil 4 who looks like he escaped from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He’s a small impish little man that plays it over the top like a Saturday morning cartoon villain. It might even be too ridiculous for the franchise, but that overacting also helps fans remember him.
8 HUNK
HUNK doesn’t say much. No one really knows who, or what he is. That said, his mystery is part of the reason why fans love him so much.
He’s a soldier who knows what’s up. He is like the perfect avatar for players getting into the Resident Evil franchise as he is just a pure badass without anything like a story holding him back.
7 Ada Wong
Ada Wong is a bit of a mystery too. The aforementioned Resident Evil 6 dives into her character more. Is it resolved or were the gates thrown open even more? That’s kind of how her character always plays out in these games. Will she return? It’s hard to say but one cannot doubt fans would be upset if they never got to see and or play as this deadly femme fatale again.
6 The Merchant
This may seem like it could easily go toward the bottom of the list since he isn’t really a character. That said, even though he only appeared in Resident Evil 4, he became a quick icon for the series. The Merchant’s mysterious nature falls in line with why HUNK made it on here too. Why this character is higher though is because his lines are so quotable and have been memed to heck and back.
5 Albert Wesker
Ramon is a fun villain, but Wesker is like the arch enemy of most of the Resident Evil franchise. He certainly is to at least Chris. He starts off as just a seemingly normal betrayer to the STARS members under the control of Umbrella but then he eventually turns into Mr. Smith from The Matrix. He certainly has his cheesy moments too, but his coolness far outweighs any of that.
4 Chris Redfield
Speaking of Chris, he would not be who he is today without Wesker. They are like the Yin and Yang of Resident Evil. Sure, others like Jill are mixed in there as well but these two have a bromance rivalry going on, ending in one of the most insane final battles in video game history.
As ridiculous as it was to see Christ punch a boulder inside a literal volcano, that cemented him as a top-tier character.
3 Nemesis
Wesker has the coolness of a villain and the cheese to balance himself out, making sure he never falls on either side of the equation. Because there is that balance, he is never really terrifying. The scariest villain of this series then has to be Nemesis. This is even more true if one takes into account how he is portrayed in the remake to Resident Evil 3. He is pure terror incarnate.
2 Leon S. Kennedy
Leon is a part of the two best regarded games in the franchise by fans. For the more classic style game, Resident Evil 2 is where it’s at. For the better overall experience, Resident Evil 4 is the winner. Part of that has to be because Leon is a good character, right? Players get to see him handle himself on his first day along with how he deals with rescuing the President’s daughter. Let’s just forget about his involvement with Resident Evil 6.
1 Jill Valentine
Inching out just above Leon is Jill. Like Chris, she was there from the beginning. What makes her so great is the fact she was one of very few strong women in gaming at the time. She got to prove herself even more in Resident Evil 3, again, because she had to take on the series’ greatest villain. After that she sort of got sidelined. It’s not her fault though and hopefully she will return to show off her skills as the master of unlocking once again.
