Line #31 YMMV/ResidentEvil


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder: The games]]
4	'''Note:''' This is for series-wide YMMV tropes. Individual games and movies' examples go on their own page.
5	* AmericansHateTingle: Leon S. Kennedy has generally been the more popular of the series' two male protagonists on both sides of the pond, but Chris Redfield's hulking up by Resident Evil 5 and his relationship and working with his partner Piers Nivans in Resident Evil 6, along with the story during his scenario and some Character Development, has boosted Chris' popularity in Japan (in regards to Piers, the seemingly Bara overtones may have something to do with it). Like Rebecca, he's divisive still in the West.
6	* ArcFatigue: The mystery of who Ada Wong is has been dragged on for several games, with no concrete answer being given. [[AllThereInTheManual Supplemental materials]] and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' stated that she was part of an anti-Umbrella organization. Come ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', due to the death of Umbrella, we still are no closer to any answers about the character. This has caused some fans to stop caring about the situation. The fact that her portrayals are inconsistent hasn't really helped. What makes it worse is despite the fact that Ada acts in her own self-interests, Capcom seems quite adamant on portraying her as a sympathetic badass anti-hero, though her actions in the games are in no way heroic, and based upon her choices and her lack of loyalty to anybody, you probably shouldn't be feeling ''any'' sympathy for her. The lack of reveal about her past or her motivations also makes Leon S. Kennedy's feelings for her come off as incredibly superficial, as he knows virtually ''nothing'' about her, including her real name. Better yet, the remakes heavily downplay her seductive FemmeFatale qualities, taking away what little charm and likability she originally had and making it ''that'' much harder to care about her.
7	* AudienceAlienatingEra: While every game in the series has its defenders, the general consensus is that the late '00s and early '10s were a low point when it came to quality.
8	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' in 2009 was controversial not just for various thematic elements within the game itself, but also, more importantly, for what was seen in hindsight as the turning point in a long process of tilting the series away from SurvivalHorror towards ActionHorror. While this process started with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', it became far more apparent here, and many fans believe that it was Capcom's attempt to [[FollowTheLeader copy the success]] of ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare Modern Warfare]]''. That said, ''[=RE5=]'' still has its fans, many of whom are likely to claim that it was with the next main-series game that ''RE'' lost its way.
9	** That game, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'', doubled down on being an ActionizedSequel in such a manner that it invited itself to be judged as a ThirdPersonShooter rather than a horror game, a genre where it was found to be wanting compared to the competition. Even Capcom, in the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' Document File, admitted that, while ''[=RE6=]'' sold well, it left a lot of longtime fans cold. The spinoffs during this time, particularly ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity Operation Raccoon City]]'', merely fed into the perception that the series had lost the plot, with only ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations Revelations]]'' getting a good reception, and that game was a UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS exclusive that was only later ported to consoles. It didn't help that, during this time, indie horror games were experiencing a renaissance, which made the state of ''RE'' even more unfavorable in comparison.
10	** Those indie horror games would wind up being the inspiration for how the series pulled itself back together and ended its Audience-Alienating Era. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' drew heavily from games like ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', ''VideoGame/{{Outlast}}'', and ''[[VideoGame/SilentHills P.T.]]'' in how it brought the series [[RevisitingTheRoots back to basics]] with an emphasis on pure scares. Since then, new ''RE'' games have mostly received good-to-great receptions, and the series is once again viewed as the last word in horror gaming.
11	* BaseBreakingCharacter:
12	** Rebecca Chambers is either a character who deserves another game or completely annoying and thankfully was never seen or mentioned after the first game ([[TheBusCameBack for a very long time, anyway]]).
13	** Fans are very divided on Ada. Capcom doesn't help with their inconsistent portrayals of her.
14	** There are fans who want Steve Burnside back [[spoiler:[[BackFromTheDead from the dead]]]] in a sequel. But a ''lot'' of fans also find his whiplashing moods, brashness, and oftentimes his [[{{Narm}} voice]] rather obnoxious and annoying.
15	** Sheva Alomar generally is very polarizing with most ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' fans. To some, she's a typical bland, one-dimensional, and uninteresting character whose main purpose in the game is to be eye candy and to push the new "partner" system in the game.[[note]]Which, judging by how the A.I. was negatively received, failed in that regard.[[/note]] She is also a victim of [[OvershadowedByControversy the racial controversy]] of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5''. On the other hand, Sheva also has a few supporters who liked her characterization as a loyal soldier who had been pushed into a situation that was way over her head. She is completely locked out of Chris and Wesker's history and provides a fresh perspective against the monsters that Chris is so jaded with fighting. Perhaps due to her reputation with fans, she has yet to make any other appearances in the franchise.
16	* BizarroEpisode: One of the stories in Wildstorm's anthology comic series based on the games had the S.T.A.R.S. team taking on a werewolf. Not a B.O.W. that resembled a werewolf, but an actual supernatural "human that transforms on full moon" one.
17	* BrokenBase:
18	** The series' trademark [[ScrappyMechanic "tank controls"]] have been a divisive issue for gamers for years (case in point: see article and [[http://kotaku.com/key-changes-make-the-newest-version-of-resident-evil-a-1680713415 the comments section here]]). Some defend the controls because they work in conjunction with the series use of pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles. Others couldn't understand why Capcom stubbornly refused to allow for normal 3D controls, until almost 20 years later, when Capcom ''finally'' relented in the HD remake of the original ''Resident Evil''.
19	** There is an ''extreme'' divide between fans of the classic style games (''0''-''3'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code: Veronica]]'') and fans of the action-oriented games (''4''-''6''). Publicly announce that you prefer one and expect angry tirades from fans of the other. There is a subset of fans who will only accept ''[=RE4=]'' out of the above "actionized" titles, seeing everything else that came after as the point where the series went downhill. And don't think you can get off easy by [[TakeAThirdOption claiming that you like the merits of both the "classic" and "modern" games]]; certain fans will put you on blast for this, too. The in-between entries that go with a bit of both (''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', and the two ''Revelations'' games) tend to be more generally accepted by everybody, but some would adamantly reject them too.
20	* CatharsisFactor: Any of the that allow a NewGamePlus option, which retains your weapons and/or give you access to a [[InfinityPlusOneSword ridiculously power powerful one]]. All those zombies, Hunters, Ganados, Majinnis, Jaevos, Lickers, and other freaks of nature who originally gave you a tough time when you were undergunned and caused much grief? Make them quiver in their boots when armed with an infinite rocket launcher/shotgun/magnum/gatling! In 4, the P.R.L. weapon is probably the most powerful weapon in the game as it is like a combination shotgun, magnum, rifle, and flash grenade in one. It's also more practical than the infinite rocket launcher since it isn't cumbersome or cause explosion damage, and it also fires numerous laser that home in on all onscreen targets.
21	* ClicheStorm: The games proper manage to avoid it; the dialogue, on the other hand, can get pretty bad. Especially any game with Leon in it, whose every other line is some kind of cliché. For example, in ''[=RE4=]'', one of the most notable occurrences of this is him being a DeadpanSnarker when the situation calls for it.
22	* CompleteMonster: See Albert Wesker and the rest [[Monster/ResidentEvil here]].
23	* ContinuityLockout: Not ''too'' much of a problem, but some of the games, like ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' and ''[=RE6=]'', do require the player to be familiar with previous entries to understand the CallBack[=s=].
24	* CreatorsPet: Rebecca in S.D. Perry's novels, who is the [[Film/ResidentEvilFilmSeries Alice]] of her books, especially ''Caliban Cove''.
25	* DracoInLeatherPants: Wesker, obviously, but William Birkin gets a bit of it, too. Both men are utterly amoral sociopaths who spent half their lives perfecting bioweaponry by testing it on human subjects, and Wesker goes on to become a megalomaniac bent on elevating himself to godhood over the mutated remnants of humanity. Both characters have a heavy following in the shipper and slash communities, and Wesker in particular gets redeemed an awful lot, usually by his star-crossed love for Chris or an OC. It's not unheard of for the same thing to happen to Jack Krauser.
26	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
27	** HUNK due to his MemeticBadass status.
28	** Nicholai Zinoviev is surprisingly popular with a great deal of the fanbase. Sure he's a huge {{jerkass}}, but he's also a deliciously LargeHam and extremely Russian. [[spoiler:He also has the distinct honor of being the only surviving Umbrella operative besides HUNK.]]
29	** The Merchant. Aside from a number of catchphrases and the gameplay importance of him being a reoccurring Item Shop, we know nothing about him beyond face value.
30	** Josh Stone. Reasons include his accent; his knack to save Chris Redfield and Sheva multiple times, especially from [[spoiler:Jill Valentine]]; the spectacular wrestling moves he performs in the Mercenaries Reunion Mode; and the fact that [[spoiler:he's the only minor character in the whole game that makes it out alive and was there to save Jill after she was released from Wesker's mind control and piloted the helicopter to rescue Sheva and Chris along with her]]. By the way, did you know that he's [[MemeticMutation A LEGEND]]!!!
31	** Piers Nivans. So much so that many fans outright refuse to believe that [[spoiler:he's dead. IGN knew the reaction that would follow to his apparent death, warning before their video for the final Piers and Chris chapter that it could cause "table-flipping."]]
32	** Mr. X, ever since ''Resident Evil 2''[='=]s remake turned him into one of the most memorable monsters you have to face.
33	* EvilIsCool: So cool that WordOfGod states [[http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-13-the-most-popular-resi-evil-characters Wesker is the most popular male character in the series]] because of it.
34	* FandomEnragingMisconception: Given the fact the newer generations of the series strayed far away from the SurvivalHorror genre, it's never a very good idea to tell any of the older fans of the original series that it's always has been about the action, since doing so will savagely get mocked.
35	* FanNickname:
36	** "''The Resident of Evil Creek''," taken from a hilariously out-of-touch judge's opinion on the First Amendment rights of video games.
37	** Some fans have dubbed [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Alfred's]] [[CreepyCrossdresser "Alexia" persona]] as "Alfrexia."
38	* FanPreferredCouple: Although Leon canonically pines after Ada and receives a lot of ShipTease with various other female characters, it's far more popular to pair him up with Chris Redfield, [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight even though]] they never met face-to-face until ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''.
39	* {{Fanon}}:
40	** Creator/GeorgeARomero's unused screenplay for ''Resident Evil'' has Chris as half Native American. This seems to have leaked into the fan community somehow, and a lot of fanfic authors will depict Chris and Claire as such. However, the name Redfield is Scotch-Irish, and Claire going full redhead by ''Code: Veronica'' seems to support the notion that she and Chris are entirely Caucasian. That being said, non-white people can have red hair and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_(racial_identity) white passing is a thing]].
41	** There are a lot of supplementary sources of information on ''RE'''s settings and characters that can be found in translated design documents and obscure interviews, some of which never make it into a game's narrative. This includes Jill being Japanese on her mom's side (this was apparently intended by the original designer, but was quietly abandoned around the time Julia Voth became her face model) and Ada's background (there's a Japanese audio drama that gives a version of her backstory where she's Vietnamese). Whether or not these make it into fanworks usually comes down to individual preference.
42	** Due to the fact that Jill and Sherry are explicitly confirmed to be immune and ageless after being cured of their infection, it's taken as canon by the fanbase that whenever a character survives a virus, they are left enhanced by it. An example being Leon's inexplicable durability being attributed to his Las Plagas infection in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''.
43	* FoeYayShipping:
44	** Chris and Wesker, due to their interactions in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' suggesting they're equally obsessed with each other, prone to tons of SayMyName.
45	** Leon and Krauser in ''[=RE4=]''. Their multiple duels are rather....suggestive, thanks to Krauser being so [[CombatSadomasochist enthusiastic]] about the ex-partners trying to kill each other.
46	* FountainOfMemes:
47	** Barry is this thanks to his aforementioned memorably ridiculous lines.
48	** Wesker. This is due to his EvilIsCool and EvilIsHammy tendencies.
49	** Leon becomes one after the release of ''[=RE4=]'' thanks to his personality in the game.
50	** Lady Dimitrescu took the Internet by storm in 2021 even before her name was revealed and long before ''Village'' came out, due to the potential [[GiantWoman macrophilia fetish]]. That she's only a DiscOneFinalBoss hasn't stopped the phenomenon.
51	* FranchiseOriginalSin: The [[ActionizedSequel shift]] from SurvivalHorror to Action Horror, exemplified in the eyes of most fans by ''[=RE4=]'' and then taken to its heights by ''[=RE5=]'' and ''[=RE6=]''. In fact, despite the vitriol aimed at them, the shift began as early as ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', where ammunition is '''vastly''' more plentiful compared to the original ''VideoGame/{{Resident Evil\|1}}''. This trait continued into both ''[=RE3=]'' (where it was actually possible to craft your own ammunition from gunpowder) and into ''Code: Veronica'' (but only after [[EarlyGameHell the first third of the game]] in that one).
52	* FriendlyFandoms: Fans of ''Resident Evil'' tend to get along well with fans of Capcom's ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' and ''VideoGame/DeadRising'', the former because it was originally conceived as a potential ''Resident Evil 4'', and the latter because of it also being a SurvivalHorror series.
53	* GeniusBonus: The Black Tiger does exist as a form of UsefulNotes/AustralianWildlife -- specifically, a snake. Its pattern is similar, and the spider's design is based on the Sydney funnelweb, which is an Australian spider.
54	* HilariousInHindsight:
55	** In the Saturn version of the original ''Resident Evil'''s Battle Game, the final zombie to face is a zombified [[spoiler:Albert Wesker]], implying that he was infected with the T-Virus. While Battle Game itself is non-canon, [[spoiler:Wesker]] being infected with a virus certainly is, and it actually makes [[spoiler:Wesker]] even more dangerous than before.
56	** The reason behind the Nintendo exclusivity -- Capcom wanting to have all of the core franchise playable on one console -- on two counts. Firstly, for the longest time, many of the subsequent games after ''[=RE4=]'' weren't released on Nintendo consoles; and secondly, despite their desire to have all of the core entries playable on the same console, every game that was supposed to be exclusive would eventually be re-released for other consoles.
57	** The director of the Center for Disease Control in the USA during the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic was named Redfield.
58	** Creator/RogerCraigSmith, who voiced Chris Redfield from 2009 to 2017, also voiced Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog. The [[ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogIDW IDW Sonic comics]] had an arc dealing with a zombie virus outbreak, giving the Sonic franchise one more thing in common with the Resident Evil games.
59	* InferredHolocaust: As the series goes on, the events of most of the games have been accompanied by increasingly severe amounts of ecological damage that the series has yet to address. The Mansion Incident and the Raccoon City outbreak both introduced a hefty dosage of T-Virus into the forests and rivers of the American Midwest, Rockfort Island remains heavily infected, the Spencer Rain went down with a full complement of infected passengers and crew in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the T-Abyss is loose in the Mediterranean Sea, Javier Hidalgo released the T-Veronica Virus into the South American rainforest, the sixth game concludes with a [[spoiler:massive C-Virus spill in a city on the Chinese mainland]], and even the seventh game features [[spoiler:the Louisiana bayou being extensively infested with a mutated strain of fungus]]. It's easy to presume that there are probably people working to minimize the damage, but it's very likely that much of the game world's ecosystem has already been warped beyond repair.
60	** There's also something weird going on in eastern Europe and the former Soviet states, which have degenerated into all-out civil war by the late 2000s. Fans tend to assume that it had something to do with Umbrella's fall.
61	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Fan reaction to the [=GameCube=] ports of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis 3]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica Code: Veronica]]'' fell under this, as they came after the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 REmake]]'' and happened to be straight ports of the initial [=PlayStation=] and Dreamcast releases. Releasing them at full price instead of making them budget titles, without changing anything about them, did not help either.
62	* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
63	** Leon seems to get all of the [[http://tymethia.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/&offset=48#/dv3isy action.]] Of course, his canon lover is Ada, but he also can be found paired with Alfred, Angela, Ashley, Chris, Claire, Hunnigan, Jill, Kevin, Krauser, Luis, Steve, Manuela, Mendez, Mike the Helicopter Guy, Saddler, Salazar, Helena, Sherry, Wesker, [[{{Squick}} a Licker, a Ganados, an Iron Maiden/Regenerator, a Tyrant]], and [[MemeticMolester Mr. X]].
64	** Jill is probably the female counterpart. She's usually paired with Chris or Carlos, but it's not hard to find fans who support her with Wesker, Leon, Claire, Rebecca, various members of the S.T.A.R.S. team, Sheva, Excella, or [[BreadEggsMilkSquick any of the monsters (most notoriously Nemesis)]]. In fact, it used to be difficult to find a femslash pairing in ''RE'' fandom that ''didn't'' involve Jill.
65	** Chris is definitely not a slouch in this department either. Jill, Rebecca, Sheva, Jessica, [[FoeYayShipping Wesker, Carla]], Jake, Leon, Barry, Forest, Piers, Ethan... hell, not even [[BrotherSisterIncest Claire]] is safe.
66	** Wesker's as bad or worse than Leon. He's practically assumed to be asexual in the games, but gets more ass in fandom; virtually every major character has a reasonably popular pairing with Wesker, including [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight characters that he's never met]] such as Leon or even [[{{Squick}} Jake]].
67	* LGBTFanbase: Jill has a massive following of lesbian women, and an even more massive [[ClosetKey following of women that became lesbians]] [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer because of her]].
68	* LoveToHate: Albert Wesker may be evil to the core, but fans can't help love him because he's just [[EvilIsCool so damn cool]], where he would end up ascending to BreakoutVillain status to become the overall BigBad of the franchise.
69	* MagnificentBastard:
70	** [[Characters/ResidentEvilAdaWong Ada Wong]] is a mysterious and morally ambiguous spy who has used her wits, skills, and charisma to always come out on top in the horrifying world of Resident Evil. First appearing in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 2]]'' posing as a civilian in Raccoon City (FBI agent in the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Remake]]'') where she manipulates Rookie cop, Leon Scott Kennedy, into helping her steal the G-Virus sample from the Umbrella Corporation before making her escape from the zombie-infested city. Sent by Albert Wesker to Spain to retrieve a dominant species Las Plagas from the Los Iluminados {{cult}} in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 4]]'', Ada betrays Wesker by giving him a simple subordinate species, while giving the dominant species to her true superiors and help Leon kill the cult's leader, Osmund Saddler. Ada would later be sent to The Easter Slav Republic in ''[[Anime/ResidentEvilDamnation Damnation]]'' disguised as a BSAA representative, where she would help Leon expose President Svetlana Belikova's tyranny while also making a deal to have her arrest warrant expunged. When Ada learns of her doppelgänger's identity in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 6]]'', Carla Radames, and Carla's plan to cause global scale destruction and frame Ada for it, Ada tells Derek Clifford Simmons of Carla's location in China pitting the two against each other, while discreetly helping the heroes to ensure the two’s downfalls, before destroying Carla's lab and taking a job soon after.
71	** [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname HUNK]] is a high-ranking commander of the Umbrella Security Service known by the monikers "Mr. Death" and "Grim Reaper" for always surviving and completing Umbrella's most dangerous missions. First appearing in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 2]]'' (and its ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake Remake]]''), HUNK leads Umbrella's Alpha Team to Raccoon City to retrieve the [[TheVirus G-Virus]] from William Birkin. Despite losing his team to the mutated Birkin, HUNK remains committed to completing his mission and successfully delivers the G-Virus to Umbrella after spending days surviving the zombie-infested city. He [[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles also]] delivers a special container from Antartica to Rockfort Island on Alfred Ashford's request, though he does question Ashford on what's inside it. Although Umbrella collapses in 2003, HUNK's legacy would remain where he becomes a legendary mercenary whose skills are second to none.
72	** See [[YMMV/ResidentEvil4 Bitores Mendez]], [[YMMV/ResidentEvilRevelations Raymond Vester, Jessica Sherawat]], and [[YMMV/ResidentEvilVillage Mother Miranda]] on their respective pages.
73	* MemeticMutation: [[Memes/ResidentEvil Not surprising]], considering the series is almost filled to the brim with {{Narm}}.
74	* MemeticBadass:
75	** According to the Internet, HUNK could take on every zombie in the universe. [[EmpoweredBadassNormal And Wesker.]] And every protagonist. At once. [[OneManArmy And still win.]]
76	** It would be a sin not to mention Albert "Why Haven't I Died Yet [[spoiler:until ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'']]?" Wesker.
77	** Leon and Chris jumped to this level thanks to their respective outings in ''4'' and ''5''. It's hard to link Leon to a singular moment, but Chris was most certainly defined by one scene and one scene alone: [[MemeticMutation the Boulder Punch]].
78	* MemeticMolester: Thanks to the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', Mr. X has achieved this status due to being a SuperPersistentPredator with hints of an actual personality. Probably best represented by the [[FullFrontalAssault Beach Boy mod]], which features an oiled-up Tyrant in a ''thong''. (Leon gets a matching mod, because....reasons.)
79	** A variation of this, combiend with MemeticPsychopath, occured with Chris. The trailer of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'' showed him trying to shoot Ada, which, without context of the game, created an avalanche of jokes potraying Chris as creepily trying to force Leon to have sex with Claire to "continue the Redfield bloodline" and trying to eliminate Ada for being in the way. Trailer of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'', showing, similiarly out of context, Chris breaking into Ethan's house and shooting his wife, lead to jokes that he found a new target.
80	* {{Narm}}: [[Narm/ResidentEvil Has its own page]].
81	* NarmCharm:
82	** One gets suspicious that Capcom has caught on that the voice acting and dialogue from the first game was bad, and are now doing it on purpose. ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' suggests that a couple of the more infamous lines were thrown in just because of how B-Movie horror flick terrible they sounded.
83	** Barry's lines in The Mercenaries: Reunion in ''[=RE5=]'' are his old Narmful lines from the original ''Resident Evil'', as well as having "HERE'S Barry!", to address ''[=RE1=]''!Jill's question of his whereabouts, and a melee attack called Barry Sandwich.
84	** The live action B-movie horror intro to the original ''Resident Evil'' is sorely missed in this day of CGI.
85	* PortmanteauCoupleName: Given the loads and loads of characters, in addition to the loads and loads of shipping, there are some permutations of this in the fandom:
86	** Valenfield: Jill/Chris.
87	** Aeon: Ada/Leon
88	** Cleon: Claire/Leon.
89	** Cleve or Staire: Claire/Steve.
90	** Creva: Chris/Sheva.
91	** Leona: Leon/Helena.
92	** Nivanfield: Piers/Chris.
93	** Vestiani or Paray: Raymond/Parker.
94	** Shake: Sherry/Jake.
95	* RemadeAndImproved:
96	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRemake'' is generally considered an improvement in the original thanks to its better graphics and less stilted (though still cheesy) dialogue. The remake also expands upon the plot and lore, has more areas to explore, made Rebecca Chambers a more likable character, and is overall considered a more streamlined and scary experience. [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil The original]] is beloved as the TropeCodifier of SurvivalHorror, while the remake elevates it.
97	** While the original ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' is considered to be one of the best entries in the series, the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake remake]] is considered to be just as good if not better, with improved graphics courtesy of the RE engine, an over the shoulder aiming system and new designs that made the creatures like the Zombies and Tyrant more intimidating than their counterparts from the original game.
98	* TheScrappy: Ashley is not well liked due to her DamselScrappy status and complete helplessness in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4.'' It's little wonder she has not made any other appearances in the series.
99	* SelfFanservice: The remakes have a number of hysterical mods that change Claire's or Jill's clothes into ridiculous {{Sexy Whatever Outfit}}s. Some of them will even change the bodies of the characters, so Jill is suddenly sporting Lolo Ferrari-style mega boobs and a micro-bikini while running around Raccoon City in the middle of the zombie outbreak.
100	* ShipToShipCombat:
101	** Fans of Leon x Claire and Leon x Ada are not known to get along very well. These two are the most populated ships with Leon. A lot of fans do agree that they see Leon's attraction to Ada as nothing more than superficial (as he basically knows nothing about her even after so many years). Not to mention that because of Ada's inconsistent portrayals, it seems that Ada seems to treat Leon as nothing more than a plaything so they use this basis to support Leon with Claire. On the other hand, fans of Leon x Ada will only have to state the story for their ship since Leon is canonically ''still'' a sucker for Ada.
102	** If you are one of the handful of fans who like Steve Burnside, don't even ''try'' to mention his name in front of Leon x Claire fans. [[TemptingFate Seriously, just don't]].
103	** Chris x Jill vs. Chris x Wesker. Typical fight of fans of straight pairings against fans of slash pairings. And there is also Wesker x Jill.
104	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: With ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', the sounds of zombies. While zombies have now been "standardized" to be howling enraged undeads defined by 2000s and 2010s zombie horror, older fans of the series find the traditional moaning and groaning more chilling and scarier than the typical ''Walking Dead'' zombie howl, as aesthetically and psychologically, this shows how the T-Virus unwillingly transforms people into hurting and hungry cravens who are more sick than dead, and their pathetic state combined with their dangerous transformation helps to further pressure the fight or flight response as the stimuli presented in their presence is utterly tense and divided between the urge to help them or kill them, as they are still humans to some extent.
105	* ValuesDissonance: The use of green herbs as healing items. In Japan and other Eastern countries, this is a staple of traditional medicine. In America, the most common medicine associated with this is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis_by_U.S._jurisdiction illegal in twelve states]] (and all fifty at the time of the first few games' release). Cue tons of weed jokes at the expense of the characters, and sometimes the developers -- especially since later games depict the ground-up herbs as resting on a sheet of paper that looks remarkably like a ''rolling paper''. The Website/{{Newgrounds}} game ''[[VideoGame/{{Pico}} Pico's School]]'' spoofs this by having its "medicinal herb" literally be a marijuana cigarette, complete with a short animation of Pico smoking it and getting high when he uses it.
106	* TheWoobie:
107	** StoicWoobie: Leon. Almost everyone he likes dies or betrays him. No wonder he's so mopey.
108	** Rebecca was the youngest ''[[DoomedByCanon and only]]'' member of Bravo Team to survive the events of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'', thanks to Billy. Only to be thrust straight into the Raccoon City incident mere hours later, where she was nearly killed twice: first by a hunter, then after being shot by [[spoiler:Wesker]].
109	** Sherry Birkin. Her entire life story is basically things going FromBadToWorse for her. The [[TraumaCongaLine sheer horror this girl goes through]] would be enough to drive one insane.
110	** Poor Jill who sees her entire home nuked in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' and in the three years before and during ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' is in an AndIMustScream state, being forced to work for Wesker under mind control and aware of it the entire time.
111	** Steve. He meets Claire at Rockfort Island and starts to develop feelings for her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Steve dies after he finally tells Claire that he loved her.]]
112	** Manuela. The circumstances surrounding the attempts to cure the disease that she and her mother had is tragic.
113	* {{Woolseyism}}: The series' Japanese title ''Biohazard'' was changed to ''Resident Evil'' when first localized overseas because the Western localizers at the time could not copyright "''Biohazard''" as that was already done by an unrelated rock band. The name change is actually somewhat fitting in the initial game, as the game took place inside a residential area (specifically a mansion) with stuff that, until a certain point in the game, was initially believed to be supernaturally evil. The [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard seventh game]] is an interesting product of this translation, as, in both English and Japanese, the game title uses both series titles. Thusly, in Japanese, the game is called ''Biohazard 7: Resident Evil'', and in English, it's called ''Resident Evil 7: Biohazard''.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder: The novels]]
117	* CreatorsPet: S.D. Perry had a downright ''cavernous'' soft spot for Rebecca Chambers, turning her from the clearly out-of-her-depth but reasonably competent young medic from the original game into a hypercompetent super-genius who every sympathetic character constantly takes a timeout to praise for her talent, resourcefulness and intelligence. What's most notable is that all but one of these novelizations were released prior to the 2002 [=REmake=], so the oblivious and inexplicably-cheerful dingbat version of Rebecca from the 1996 original was Perry's only inspiration to draw from.
118	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Rebecca Chambers helming the Perryverse as a badass child prodigy becomes this after Shinji Mikami revealed her inclusion in the first game was against his will because she represented everything he didn't like in female video game characters. Who knows whether Perry's portrayal played a part in changing Rebecca's characterization in the 2002 remake and/or ''Resident Evil Zero''?
119	* HilariousInHindsight:
120	** In ''City of the Dead'':
121	*** Perry justifies Claire's pink motorcycling outfit (the same one she wears in [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 the game]]) as a last resort she knows Chris [[BigBrotherInstinct will scold her for]], as her college roommate had taken her actual motorcycling outfit to go on a joyride with a boyfriend. ''Resident Evil'' fans would later become divided over Capcom making this very outfit an unlockable [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake in the remake]], replaced in the main game with a leather jacket and jeans. Claire's actress Stephanie Panisello[[note]](who's from a motorcycling family)[[/note]] revealed it was a suggestion [[WagTheDirector she made during script collaborations]] because Claire's original outfit was impractical and dangerous.
122	*** In Ada Wong's introduction chapter, as she sneaks out of the police station's clock tower where she'd been hiding since the zombie outbreak, she wishes she could turn back time and dress casually enough to look appropriate for the formal restaurant she ate dinner at and productive for a potential mission. In the game's remake, Ada wears ''[[CombatStilettos stilettos]]''.
123	** In ''The Umbrella Conspiracy'', after Chris realizes he is low on ammo in the Spencer Mansion, he decides against fighting any other zombies he comes across with his knife, finding the idea stupid. In the world of ''Resident Evil''[='s=] gaming community, "knife-only" play-throughs are a well-known, popular challenge.
124	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / ResidentEvil