Resident Evil: 10 Reasons It's The Best Horror Franchise Of All Time
The S.T.A.R.S. of the survival horror genre, and for good reason.
Originally envisaged as a remake of 1989's Sweet Home, the first Resident Evil was released in 1996, and quickly became the best-selling PlayStation game at the time. Conceived in an era where horror games were the same as regular titles (endless hordes of monsters to kill) but with more scary trappings, Resident Evil was one of the first to actively try and scare players.
The game put you in the role of some badass police officers, but left you feeling weak with the inclusion of tank controls, limited inventory spaces, and finite supplies.
Despite not being the first game to try some of these things, Resident Evil has become synonymous with the survival horror genre over the years since. A whole generation has grown not knowing a world without Resident Evil in it.
There have been many pretenders to the throne over the years - some of them worthy (Outlast, Silent Hill), others entirely forgettable (Cold Fear) - but Resident Evil has endured them all, as well as its own worst entries to remain at the top of the heap.
Resident Evil is king of the survival horror genre, and here's why.
10. Embraces Silliness Of Schlock Horror
If you've never played the original Resident Evil, and I'm not counting the remake here, then you need to click on this video and watch what the first experience of the series was back in 1996.
Resident Evil was never one to take itself too seriously. Written in a non-native language, nothing in the original game landed the way it was meant to. That's why original meme generator Barry Burton is still known for wonderful turns of phrase like "You were almost a Jill sandwich" and "Here's a lockpick. It might be handy if you, the Master of Unlocking, take it with you."
Capcom has actually embraced these things, using them as easter eggs in other games, such as a shop in 2006's Dead Rising called Jill's Sandwiches.
It's this sense of humour that leads to things like Mr X in REmake 2 occasionally checking his head in a sad manner after you've shot off his hat, or, as shown in the image above, Ashley calling Leon a pervert if he ever looks up her skirt when catching her as she jumps down a ledge.