As Capcom continues to remake classic games from the Resident Evil series, most recently culminating in the newly released remake of Resident Evil 4, the question of which remake truly stands out remains. While each remake in the series brings drastic visual improvements, some, for better or worse, deviate more heavily from the original games, making significant changes to gameplay and story aspects.
Although remaking old Resident Evil games has become a successful trend, the various remakes have had a fair amount of variance between them. The remake of the original Resident Evil, for example, follows the original game's gameplay fairly faithfully, making updates to controls, enemies, and items, but focusing the majority of its efforts on visual improvements. Resident Evil 2 and 3, on the other hand, are more complete re-imaginings of their respective original games, with fully modernized gameplay that abandons the fixed camera angles and discreet rooms of the original games in favor of more traditional third-person shooter controls and continuous maps. Along with Resident Evil 4's blending of the remake-style gameplay with the original game's classic action, each remake has plenty to offer - but some stand out more than others.
4 Resident Evil 3
Despite quickly following the release of the critically-acclaimed Resident Evil 2 remake, having come out barely more than a year after its predecessor, the Resident Evil 3 remake unfortunately disappoints in several ways. While the game builds on the mechanics of the Resident Evil 2 remake in interesting ways, like with Jill's snappy dodge roll that rewards perfect timing with a brief time slowdown, too much of the original game is cut out. Most egregiously, many of the original game's locations and enemies fail to make their way to the remake, making for an experience that can feel somewhat short and incomplete, especially for fans of the original.
One of the game's greatest failings, however, is in its handling of its signature enemy, Nemesis. While Nemesis can be threatening, its appearances are limited to specific chase sequences, locations, and boss fights, meaning that it fails to build on the mechanics of the Resident Evil 2 remake's Mr. X. Despite debatably being more integral to Resident Evil 3 than Mr. X was to 2, the remake's Nemesis ultimately fails to make as big of an impression, contributing to the incomplete and stripped-down feel of the game. While Resident Evil 3's remake can't be called a bad game in isolation, it ultimately can't stack up against the series' other remakes.
3 Resident Evil
As the first remake in the series, Resident Evil's 2002 release precedes the other remakes by a wide margin. As a result, it differs from other remakes in the series in a number of ways, with significantly more dated gameplay and a stricter adherence to the series' classic design hallmarks. Also unlike the series' later remakes, Resident Evil makes no significant story changes to the original, with the majority of its improvements being related to either visuals or quality of life. For fans looking for a more classic experience, the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil is a good choice.
However, many of the same aspects that make Resident Evil a more faithful, classic experience can also make it more dated or clunky to play than later entries. Even by the standards of the series, the original Resident Evil has extremely limited inventory space, further compounded by key items taking up important slots, and its gameplay depends more on players dodging past zombies than shooting them, making combat a last resort option in many cases. Moreover, the ink ribbon system, which is mostly phased out of modern entries, limits saving in a way that can be frustrating for players.
2 Resident Evil 2
As the first modern remake in the series, Resident Evil 2 manages to strike a careful balance between horror and action, as well as between referencing the original game and updating it for modern audiences. While the third-person camera and modernized gameplay are perhaps less conducive to horror than the fixed camera angles of the original, the darkened hallways of Resident Evil 2's Raccoon Police Department, as well as the relative scarcity of ammo mean that in general, players never feel too safe. With both playable characters, Leon and Claire, following distinct paths as well, the game offers plenty of replayability.
One of the remake's most significant features is the expanded role of Mr. X, who roams the map at certain points in the game in an impressively dynamic way. Rather than being limited to scripted chase sequences, Mr. X is a constantly roaming threat whose attention can quickly be drawn by loud noises, such as gunshots, adding an extra level of tension to the experience of exploring the remake's map and solving its puzzles. However, the remake is also subject to a few complaints, with its separate Leon and Claire storylines not integrating quite as well as in the original game.
1 Resident Evil 4
As a remake of one of the series' most beloved entries and a foundational game for shooters in general, Resident Evil 4 had a tall task ahead of it - one that it mostly managed to accomplish. Generally, the most well-liked and iconic aspects of the original remain, with contextual melee, a wide variety of upgradable weapons, and attache case inventory management all making their way to the remake in updated and generally improved forms. Alongside a somewhat revamped story and additional mechanics, like parrying with the knife, Resident Evil 4 manages to hit all the original's major beats while updating its gameplay to be smoother and more skill expressive.
However, while Resident Evil 4's many gameplay changes are mostly for the better, some other changes from the original can be contentious. Much of the original game's cheesiness, for example, has been stripped out, with the remake generally favoring more serious tone, although some of the original's camp still makes itself known in banter and dialogue. On the whole, however, the game manages to deliver a modern version of an all-time classic, with many of its cuts, like the original game's many quick time events, being for the better. Much like the original, RE4's remake stands out from its peers as one of the best in the Resident Evil series.
