Resident Evil Chronological Timeline (Synopses) & POLL

[GunPanther]

Now, I'm not sure if I should claim this to be the 'official' timeline, but from what I've read and the games I've played, this should be correct.

Please feel free to reply and add any details which I might have missed.


BTW: The Resident Evil motion pictures (starring the lovely Milla Jovovich) DO NOT FIT ANYWHERE IN THIS LIST. Those movie storylines were 'butchered' by Mr. Paul Thomas Anderson, although I thought the movies were still quite good.


Anyway......

The release order for the games listed in the POLL should be correct. I do apologize if I missed a couple of multi-platform game release details, but I should also point out that the game title and release date refers to the FIRST release of the game and NOT the re-releases (if applicable).



Resident Evil Saga
(Chronological order)


Resident Evil 0 - Bravo Team investigates a
disturbance near the Arklay Mountains. The surviving
members of the Bravo Team eventually make their way to
the Marcus Mansion, which shortly disintegrates due to
a self-destruct mechanism. Rebecca Chambers escapes
and makes her way to the Spencer Mansion, which is
approximately 1-3 miles from the Marcus Mansion
(according to Rebecca's vantage point from the
mountain top).

Resident Evil - Alpha Team is sent in to investigate
the disappearance of the Bravo Team. They make their
way to Bravo Team's downed helicopter and discover
that their comrades have been killed. Soon
thereafter, Alpha Team is forced to flee from the
helicopter wreckage location due to being attacked.
They eventually make their way to the Spencer Mansion,
investigate further and at some point, set off a self
destruct mechanism.

Resident Evil 2 - A few months after the Spencer
Mansion incident, the surviving S.T.A.R.S. Team
Members have gone to Europe in an attempt to exploit
and eventually shut down the Umbrella Corporation. A
rookie police officer and a female who is related to
one of the Alpha Team members involved in the Spencer
Incident work their way through the city, eventually
reaching the outskirts of town via a train.

Resident Evil: Outbreak (File 1) - Events in this
game take place before some of the events in RE2,
during some of the events in RE2 & RE3 but is finished
before the conclusion of RE3. Several survivors have
been stricken with a mysterious disease known as the
'T-Virus'. They do their best to escape the city and
find a cure for their condition.

Resident Evil 3 - Events in this game take place
before some of the events in RE2, but also take place
after the events in RE2. A surviving member of the
Alpha Team attempts to make her 'Last Escape' from
Raccoon City, before it's 'blown off the map' by the
US Government due to the viral outbreak. Needless to
say, the female Alpha Team member escapes.

Resident Evil: Survivor / Bio Hazard Gun Survivor -
Taking place someplace in Europe, a man who has
amnesia must uncover exactly what is going on in this
dangerous place he awoke in. Eventually, the player
finds out that he is a friend of Leon Kennedy's (the
rookie officer from RE2).

Resident Evil: Code Veronica /Bio Hazard Gun Survivor
2: Code Veronica - This game also takes place
somewhere in Europe and follows the adventures of
Claire Redfield (originally from RE2) as she attempts
to find her brother Chris (from the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha
Team). She uncovers an old secret regarding the
Umbrella Corporation and eventually escapes with her
brother.

Resident Evil Gaiden - Takes place somewhere in the
Pacific Ocean, aboard a cruise ship. Leon Kennedy and
Barry Burton are sent in by the US Government to
investigate a viral outbreak which has occured on a
cruise ship. Umbrella is involved and does their best
to stop the two protagonists, but still fails. FYI:
The word "Gaiden" (pronounced GUY-DEN) means 'side
story' in Japanese.

Resident Evil: Dead Aim / Bio Hazard Gun Survivor 4:
Heroes Never Die - Like the aforementioned "Gaiden"
game, this one also takes place aboard a cruise ship.
This time around, new characters are brought into the
Resident Evil Saga but they don't have any seemingly
direct connection to any of the previous games or
characters despite the fact that both characters are
opposing Umbrella's efforts (yet again).

Resident Evil 4 / Bio Hazard 4 - Takes place in Europe
6 years after the Raccoon city incident. This game
focuses on the return of former R.P.D. Rookie Officer
Leon S. Kennedy, who has not only grown older, but has
also learned quite a few new combat abilities due to
his acceptance and employment with a Government
Agency.



:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[Nez]

Nothing is freakyer then having a 10 foot tall Zombie hunt your ass down. RE 3 has my vote for the best RE. There was a lot of inovation in the control scheme. The quick dodge this 180 turn were the biggest improvments. Then there was the ammo maker or what ever that was called.

My favorite.

[Cobra Commander]

I'm thinking at the moment 4 is my favorite.
I have never seen anything like it. I have never played a game that was just so relentless. Just because there's a cutscene, that doesn't mean you can put down the controller. RE 4 has the best graphics I have ever seen in a video game. That game is so creepy and unpredictable, I have to say it's in the top 15 of my all time favorite games.

[Bluteg]

That poll needs to add:

Resident Evil 2 for GCN and N64

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for GCN


Sorry just being picky and thought if you went through all the trouble of adding the Gun Survivor games and Gaiden those should be added for completeness.

[MegaDrive20XX]

RE2 PSX (Dual Shock version with Battle Mode added) is my all time favorite. Yet I am partial to the N64 version because of the sweet new EX Files

Best version of RE3 imho is the Dreamcast one, because of the extra costumes and Mercs mode is unlocked from the start.

Best story line, probably Code Veronica X, because it was the first to combine all three stories and explain the reason behind why Wesker is still alive and the true intentions he has...

Btw, lovely job on the timeline order

[Videogamerdaryll]

Resident Evil (1996-PS1

[GunPanther]

That poll needs to add:

Resident Evil 2 for GCN and N64

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis for GCN


Sorry just being picky and thought if you went through all the trouble of adding the Gun Survivor games and Gaiden those should be added for completeness.


Oops! I totally forgot those versions for the N64 and GCN.

I'd add them to the poll, but it doesn't seem like I can add them at all. :embarrassed:

Thanks for pointing those details out though.



:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[GunPanther]

RE2 PSX (Dual Shock version with Battle Mode added) is my all time favorite. Yet I am partial to the N64 version because of the sweet new EX Files


Oh yeah, mine too! I loved the whole 'play the game 4 times in order to get the complete story' feature. :)



Best story line, probably Code Veronica X, because it was the first to combine all three stories and explain the reason behind why Wesker is still alive and the true intentions he has...

I agree with you. RE:CVX expanded on it even further, with the additional footage, but that didn't warrant the game to be mentioned in the poll, simply because it was a 're-release' of an old game and not a completely re-done version, like the REmake for GCN.



Btw, lovely job on the timeline order

Why thank you. I decided to put it together because my brother and I had a bit of a debate as to what chronological order the games occur in. I referred to the in-game details (storyline, plot, plot branches, files, etc) as well as any 'official' details or information such as the Brady Games "RE4" synopsis guide that was included with the RE4 Gamestop Exclusive Collector's Tin.

Hopefully it's as complete as possible, at least until RE:Outbreak File #2 is released or possibly even RE5. Here's to hoping. ;)





:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[njiska]

Personally i like REmake the best. The new visuals and the new musical score add an unbelevably sense of terror and it has the wonderful quick 180 turn. REmake retains the night of the Living Dead horror feel the the original version has but i found most of the other RE's were lacking, especially RE4.

Plus the new Wesker voice actor is amazing.

[GunPanther]

At this time, Resident Evil 2 is in the lead and seems to be the fan favorite.

:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[rick weis]

my personal favorite is the 1st Resident Evil, but i like how they did the remake of the first one on the Gamecube, so that is how i voted. Resident Evil 4 is a VERY close 2nd! and thanks people for pointing out about the N64 version, i need to get that one and play it, sounds very good!

Rick

[MegaDrive20XX]

RE Outbreak File #2 looks more focused on RE2 and RE3 this time. (since we add in the RPD and the Racoon City Zoo) Simply incredible detail on this!

I hope you run into some fimilar faces in this game.

Also I have to say "The Wesker Files" (special DVD with pre-order in Japan) was amazing to listen to Wesker speak up and spill the beans on EVERYTHING you could possibily think of.


Yet when you reached a climax like that in the series, it made me wonder why oh why did RE4 drift far far away from that theory which made perfect sense by now.

Then it hits me, perhaps Capcom did this to secure their assets and milk the cash cow more?

Btw, I'm more interested in playing RE Gaiden on GBC to see if it really explains what happened to Barry Burton. I miss him so much.

As I said before and I'll say it again, what happened to these characters Capcom?? Barry Burton, Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Carlos (RE3), Sherry Burkins (RE2), Rebecca Chambers (She could be dead, but who knows)

[Richter]

Sherry is with the US government (custody? guinea pig?)

At the end of CVX, Claire (or Chris) mentioned that they will bring down Umbrella. I haven't played 4 yet, so what happened to U Corp?

Also, what of Wesker? he took Steve's body in CVX and fled the scene.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Sherry is with the US government (custody? guinea pig?)

At the end of CVX, Claire (or Chris) mentioned that they will bring down Umbrella. I haven't played 4 yet, so what happened to U Corp?

Also, what of Wesker? he took Steve's body in CVX and fled the scene.

That's actually answered by Wesker's Report/File

As for Umbrella, all we know is they went bankrupt.

As far as I know, I smell a prequel to show the truth.

Sherry was under Leon's custody until this organization took over. (Apparently her DNA has the G-Virus surpressed in her body still, but Claire's vaccine (which she made during RE2) pretty much put it under control)

Now the reason why Wesker and his team took Steve's body, was to obtain a sample of the "Veronica T-Virus"

Now what is Wesker up to? He is going to combine all four viruses to make the "Ultimate" being.

This storyline has been pretty much hidden.

The four known Viruses are "T-Virus", "G-Virus", "Nemesis T-Virus", and of course the "Veronica T-Virus"

This is my theory of how these viruses work. T-Virus has the power to give super human strength and speed.

The G-Virus as explained in RE2, has the ability to revitalize living cells in the body. Yet, it's major fault is it's unstable and cannot be controlled.

The Nemesis T-Virus combines G-Virus and T-Virus, but created for these creatures only since it failed on human subjects giving a ugly appearence. Allowing the host to mutate his cells and control them and give super human strength and speed at the same time, the only downside is the more interruption of cell structure (More damage to the body frame) causes error and the host cannot control it's bodily form, since it's trying to reconstruct, but fails to do so, causing rapid mutation from it's original pattern.

The Code Veronica T-Virus. Created for Alexia Ashford only. Features super human strength of the T-Virus and supernatural pyrokinesis powers. (creating fire with thought). Also giving the host mutating powers, yet this time, gives that host the ability to morph back and forth between a human and tyrant mode. Stable cells are present, but since she was an unfinished project, it became a total failure which you later find out when she mutates into an insect like creature.

Now, how did Wesker survive? Long story behind this one, but quite good!

Here's how I think it happened, Wesker and William Burkins were best friends, in fact they worked together on the T-Virus at the Spencer Mansion during the 70's and 80's.

Fast forward to 1998, before Wesker heads to the Spencer Mansion with Bravo Team, he took a sample of the G-Virus with him from his buddy William Burkins. At that time, Burkins was proud of his new secret project, in fact after the Spencer Mansion incident, he wanted nothing to do with Umbrella and teamed up with Wesker so that they could create their own organization. Well let's just say 1 out of 2 ain't bad. Burkins came to a bitter end, but Wesker continued that project. When they found out that T-Virus and G-Virus actually create something unique when combined....

So in Resident Evil 1, when Wesker holds Barry and Jill or Chris and Rebbeca at Gun Point at the door to the Tyrant's lair, he injected himself with a G-Virus Sample. The cells would stay stable until something or someone caused damage to his body.

As soon as the Tyrant bust out, who does he stab first? Wesker! That slash into the stomach easily gave Wesker the right amount of T-Virus to combine with the G-Virus. During your battle with the Tyrant, that gave Wesker enough time to re-vitalize his body and wake up with super human strength and speed of a Tyrant, yet with the revitalizing cell structure of the G-Virus.. The Viruses are very rapid when activated. See, the T-Virus can surpress the G-Virus when it comes to rapid G-Virus growth. Keeping a stable appearence at all time.

Thus, that's how Wesker survived Resident Evil 1....

[njiska]

GNG you do an interesting job of peicing everything together but i suggest you read the RE Plot analysis on Gamefaqs. http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/resident_evil_plot.txt

It's the most detailed analysis i've every seen and coming in at over 200 pages it'll answer almost any question you have. It'll help validate or discredit any theories you have.

And now that i've said my peice i've got to get back to playing Becky's Big Adventure aka RE0.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Awesome report and I like the "mistake" section. At last I found out that the upside down American flag is not a bad symbol, just a statement of "State of Emegency"

[njiska]

Yeah the mistakes section was cool and so was the crazy theory section. Personally i like the author's sense of humour especially when he talks about the characters complete refusal to even try for the fucking head shot.

It's probably the best plot analysis i've ever read.

[DynastyLawyer]

I'm gonna go with 3. 2 was too puzzle-heavy. Code Veronica had some good fights, but unfortunately it was too heavy on plot twists that weren't too suprising and we didn't really care about (Leonardo Dicaprio dies). That said, I have not spent an extensive amount of time with either the original, any of the remakes, or Resident Evil 4.

[njiska]

I'm gonna go with 3. 2 was too puzzle-heavy. Code Veronica had some good fights, but unfortunately it was too heavy on plot twists that weren't too suprising and we didn't really care about (Leonardo Dicaprio dies). That said, I have not spent an extensive amount of time with either the original, any of the remakes, or Resident Evil 4.

Too many puzzles? My problems with the newer RE's is that there's too few puzzels. The original was to me, a puzzel game with zombies trying to kill you. It was a wonderful experience. I find the newer ones are all action and less on the puzzels and horror.

I suggest you try playing REmake so you can experience how important and fun those puzzels can be. It's worth your time.

[sabre2922]

Code Veronica (DC) and RE4 both tie as my fav Resident Evils thus far.

RE3:Nemesis (DC) and REmake (GC) tie as close second.

I think Code Veronica has the best storyline and most explanations of the events that happened up to before part4. It just "feels" right playing it on Dreamcast the system it was originally made for and first appeared on.

I think a lot of ppl either never have played Code Veronica or even part 3 wich is unfortunate in that especially CV is a RE gamers wet dream as far a graphics (now only beaten by RE4) and the advancement in the RE storyline.

Im hoping that the PS2 RE4 version will expand more on what happened with chris, Claire and Jill or even Wesker after the events in Code Veronica.

[Zadoc]

Pfft... How could you forget the Tiger Game.com version!!

[DynastyLawyer]

Too many puzzles? My problems with the newer RE's is that there's too few puzzels. The original was to me, a puzzel game with zombies trying to kill you. It was a wonderful experience. I find the newer ones are all action and less on the puzzels and horror.

I generally don't "scare" easily, so I'm clearly not in RE for the horror of it. Silent Hill pretty much destroys RE in terms of overall creepyness. I'm likewise not a big fan of "cheap" scares, and RE tends to rely on those to my disdain. The puzzles for RE always struck me as horribly out of place. I have a gun, I'm on the run from Zombies, and I have to contend with matching checkerboard keys to checkerboard doors? And in sewers? I'm sorry, but that just kills my suspension of disbelief.

[GunPanther]

Pfft... How could you forget the Tiger Game.com version!!


@_@ ZOINKS!

You're absolutely right! I did indeed forget to add in the RE2 version for the ill fated Game.Com system.

Thanks for the reminder. It's too bad I can't add your addition to the poll, otherwise I would.

Also, there was a "9X games" version of Resident Evil 2, in case you were wondering.




:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[njiska]

Too many puzzles? My problems with the newer RE's is that there's too few puzzels. The original was to me, a puzzel game with zombies trying to kill you. It was a wonderful experience. I find the newer ones are all action and less on the puzzels and horror.

I generally don't "scare" easily, so I'm clearly not in RE for the horror of it. Silent Hill pretty much destroys RE in terms of overall creepyness. I'm likewise not a big fan of "cheap" scares, and RE tends to rely on those to my disdain. The puzzles for RE always struck me as horribly out of place. I have a gun, I'm on the run from Zombies, and I have to contend with matching checkerboard keys to checkerboard doors? And in sewers? I'm sorry, but that just kills my suspension of disbelief.

I don't easily scare either, but i do get the whole, night of the living dead, style and feel that RE was trying to create. Hands down Silent hill is better when it comes to the over all creepyness factor (although i found the torture chamber in RE0 to be quite unnerving) and you're right RE does over use cheap scares. But RE was always meant to be like a b-movie and that's why the cheap scares fit.

As for your complaint about the logic of RE i have 2 things to say. First, it's a game and as such things that logically don't make sense have to be taken with a grain of salt. The game was designed to keep you scared by keeping your health and ammo low and forcing you to tread through rooms of zombies in order to get a puzzel peice. The puzzels, while bizzare, are incredibly well designed and fit somewhere between dirt easy and myst hard on the difficulty scale. They exist more to cause you to hurt yourself, rather the slow your progress.

Second of all. Logic must stay at least 500 feet from Resident Evil at all times.

Honestly, given the way RE plays, i don't think it would be as good without the puzzels. if you just ran around killing things it would lack the substance the most RE games have.

Of course that's just my opinion. It's not right, it's not wrong, it's just how i feel.

[slip81]

Right now RE2 is my fave, but that could change once I get a chance to play 4

[Mr.FoodMonster]

I think I'm going to go with Code Veronica. I beat that game the most times out of any of the others, and it was just a fun game. Thanks for that massive plot synopsis too, a nice, nice read.

[GunPanther]

Well, it looks like Resident Evil 2 (no matter what system it's on) is taking the lead. With such solid gameplay, it's easy to see why it's becoming the RE Fan Favorite.

As for other games, not surprisingly, titles such as "RE:Gaiden", "RE: Survivor", "RE:Dead Aim", "RE 0" and "RE: Outbreak" have not even mustered a single vote. Perhaps some of these games were just so horrible that no one voted on them?

Or perhaps it's because most of the aforementioned titles with zero votes were pretty obscure releases which seemingly appeared (and eventually disappeared) out of nowhere?


Now, with RE: Outbreak File #2 just right around the corner, how do you think the game is going to do?

Personally, it might be a bit of a let down simply because whenever a game gets an 'upgrade' and not a true sequel, things tend to get flushed down the toilet.... such as overall quality.

:shameful:


Games get hyped up, all for a disappointing run. Remember Devil May Cry 2? P.N. 03? Resident Evil 0? Street Fighter III?


Let's hope that Capcom isn't running the Resident Evil Franchise into the ground by trying to continually release games which are not sequels.






:rockets: GunPanther :2gunfire:

[cr0n0]

Part 2 was my favorite...then I bought 4. Nuff said.

BRING ON PART 5!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gemini-Phoenix]

For me, you can't beat the good old original which started it all!

The others are all great, but the original holds precious memories for me. Plus, I have played it so much that I have grown fond of it more than the others which I have not played as much - Most of which i've played through only the once and haven't found the time to play through again...