9. Raccoon City Gets Nuked - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
Any Resident Evil fan knows that Raccoon City is one of the most defining settings of the series. Even now, as the story has expanded the scope to Spain, Africa, and China, Raccoon City remains at the center. It was the setting for the original trilogy, a base of operations for the Umbrella Corporation, and, until Resident Evil 6, home to the single biggest outbreak of Umbrella's biological weapons. It also was the home of many of the franchise's most memorable areas, including the Spencer Mansion of the first game, the Arklay Mountains, the Raccoon City Police Department, and Umbrella's own underground labs. By the end of Resident Evil 3, the city had been completely lost. Most of the population was either dead or had evacuated, and the city was quarantined from all outside contact. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. government saw fit to wipe the entire infection out via nuclear annihilation. Jill, having just defeated the final form of Nemesis, escapes with Carlos Oliveira, thanks to the timely help of Barry Burton, just in time to witness the complete destruction of Raccoon City. It erupts in a huge radioactive inferno, wiping out everything in the vicinity. This is one of those classic scenes that I think every fan remembers. It's a big moment in the series, and was the catalyst for the events that followed. The moment is so classic that even Paul W.S. Anderson used it as the conclusion to Resident Evil: Apocalypse. A bit cliche, yes, but no less effective.