Mmm, lists, I can hardly resist the urge.
Masterpieces: The presence of the original PS1 trio of games (and in ascending order too) here is no mistake. While people will ultimately argue about whether RE1, 2 or 3 is the better game, the point remains that there was a time in which the franchise had three absolutely stellar titles released back to back before Capcom would muddy the waters with the release of Survivor. I firmly believe that if Resident Evil as a franchise had never gone on past the PS1 era, people would still be talking about it as one of the all time great video game series. REmake represents the ultimate refinement of that PS1 ideology and formula, and made the brave choice to scale things back rather than dial them up. Meanwhile years later RE4 would chart a bold new direction for a franchise that needed a shakeup to remain relevant, and in doing so revolutionized not just the series but the world of video games as a whole.
- RE4
- REmake
- RE3
- RE2
- RE1
Great Games: Following the promise of RE2 is a series of strong games that I just don't think suit my own tastes quite as well. The emphasis on co-op was never something I liked too much as a primarily single-player gamer, but I can't deny that they were all still a lot of fun. Resident Evil 6 also has the strong distinction of being a completely unique experience, there's no game with equivalent mechanics, which is enough to elevate it above some of its messy design. I really strongly hope that Capcom iterates on RE6's gameplay some day, cause if they could give us a game with the same combat system, just slightly refined and with a more even campaign to go along with it, it'd be a heavy contender for on of the best titles in the series. Mercenaries mode in RE5 and 6 is pure, arcade action bliss and I've sunk so many hours into it the quality of it would probably warrant an inclusion here all on its own. Upon replaying Revelations 2 recently I find that my opinion of it hasn't gone down, even if the mechanics aren't quite as solid as 5/6 the progression, structure and plot of the game manage to help it rise up to sit comfortably beside them.
- RE6
- Revelations 2
- RE5
Good Games: I feel a bit uncomfortable judging RE7 so close to its release, as I've had time to do multiple playthroughs of every other game on this list (except Rev1, blegh) and let my thoughts on them sink in. Not to mention that the coming DLC could elevate it if it's good enough to make up for the lackluster second half of the main game. If RE7 had kept up the quality of the Baker Estate throughout the whole game, it would be a shoe-in for being right up there with the PS1 trilogy. But alas, they weren't quite able to pull it off. Still, the promise of RE7 remains strong, and if a possible RE8 can take everything that was good about it and flesh that out into a full game, then I think the franchise has a very bright future indeed. C:VX represents the ultimate shark-jumping moment of the series for me, bringing back dead characters and giving them bizarre motivations, taking the abilities of viruses into weird, absurd directions, and just generally lacking the refinement of previous games (why can't I freely move up stairs?!). RE0 is this but even worse, and if REmake was the ultimate expression of the classic formula, then RE0 represents everything that was wrong with it. Revelations 1 is just an all around meh game in every respect, and was especially disappointing since I didn't get to play it until a year or so after it came out and I had heard all the "best RE game since RE4!" It's one of the only games in the franchise I've never had the energy to sit through a complete, second playthrough of.
- RE7
- C:VX
- RE0
- Revelations 1
