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The best Resident Evil starting point depends on which character you want to follow: choose Resident Evil 2 for Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield, Resident Evil 3 for Jill Valentine, Resident Evil 5 for Chris Redfield, and Resident Evil 7 biohazard for Ethan Winters. Leon also has a later story in Resident Evil 4, Claire’s search continues in Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Jill appears with Chris in Resident Evil Revelations, and Ethan’s arc continues directly in Resident Evil Village.
These are character-based entry points, not a ranking of which game is best. The right choice depends on whether you want a Raccoon City origin story, a later rescue mission, an international operation, or a connected family narrative. Edition names matter because Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 also refer to modern remakes of earlier games.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Resident Evil 2 - PlayStation 5 | $15.19 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Resident Evil 2 Remake PS4 | $23.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Resident Evil Requiem Amazon Exclusive Edition - Nintendo Switch 2 | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - PlayStation 4 Standard Edition | $19.50 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Resident Evil 2 Remake - PS5 - UK PAL | $24.75 | Buy on Amazon |
Quick chooser: match your preferred protagonist to a game
| Character | Best starting point | What the story follows | Most direct continuation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leon S. Kennedy | Resident Evil 2 | His first night as a police officer in Raccoon City | Resident Evil 4 for his later career as an elite agent |
| Claire Redfield | Resident Evil 2 | Her search for her brother Chris during the Raccoon City outbreak | Resident Evil Code: Veronica |
| Jill Valentine | Resident Evil 3 | Her return to Raccoon City while Nemesis hunts S.T.A.R.S. members | Resident Evil Revelations for another Jill-and-Chris-led story |
| Chris Redfield | Resident Evil 5 | His investigation of a bioweapons lead in Africa | Resident Evil 5 itself is the clearest Chris-led starting point in this guide |
| Ethan Winters | Resident Evil 7 biohazard | His search for his wife Mia at the Baker residence in Louisiana | Resident Evil Village |
How to use a protagonist-first guide
Resident Evil has an ensemble cast, so selecting a title by character is more reliable than assuming every numbered game follows the same lead. Start by deciding whether you want an introduction to a character, a later chapter, or a paired story that continues an existing personal search.
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- Pick the character. Decide whether Leon, Claire, Jill, Chris, or Ethan is the reason you are interested in the series.
- Choose the story position. Raccoon City entries establish early survival stories; Resident Evil 4 is a later Leon mission; Resident Evil 5 is an international Chris-and-Sheva operation; and Resident Evil 7 biohazard plus Village form Ethan’s connected family arc.
- Decide whether continuity matters. A first appearance and a direct continuation offer different experiences. Ethan’s two-game sequence is the most straightforward example of a story designed to be followed in order.
- Check the edition before buying or downloading. Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 each have modern remake versions, and a store listing may not make the distinction obvious unless the subtitle, release year, or platform information is shown.
- Confirm current platform and regional availability. Catalogs, editions, and prices can change by country and date. Verify the exact listing for your platform rather than relying on a generic series page.
Leon S. Kennedy: choose between his beginning and his later mission
Start with Resident Evil 2 for Leon’s introduction
Resident Evil 2 is the clearest Leon starting point because it presents him as a new police officer arriving in Raccoon City on the same night that the city’s crisis is unfolding. His first appearance is therefore tied to the character’s arrival, his police assignment, and the immediate survival situation rather than to a later, already-established career.
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- RACCOON CITY, REBUILT IN INTRICATE DETAIL -- The characters, environments, and story have all been rebuilt from the ground up to create a terrifying world that feels both nostalgic and new.
- NEW FOR PLAYSTATION5 – Upgraded features new to the PlayStation5 version of the game include a higher frame rate, 3D audio, added ray tracing, and engaging DualSense support for Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers.
Choose this game if you want to see Leon at the beginning of his chronology and prefer a story that shares its setting with Claire Redfield. Resident Evil 2 is not a Leon-only title: Claire is also a principal character, and her reason for being in the city is separate from Leon’s assignment. That shared structure makes it useful if you are interested in both characters or want to compare how two protagonists experience the same outbreak.
Choose Resident Evil 4 for an older, more experienced Leon
Resident Evil 4 moves Leon into a later role as an elite agent. His assignment is to rescue the president’s daughter in Europe, so the premise is a mission undertaken after the events that introduced him in Raccoon City. It is the better fit when your interest is in Leon as a trained operative rather than as a newcomer reporting for his first police job.
You can begin with Resident Evil 4 if the rescue mission is more appealing than the origin story. Doing so gives you a focused later chapter, but it skips the circumstances that made Leon a central Resident Evil character. If you want the clearest progression, play Resident Evil 2 first and Resident Evil 4 afterward.
Leon decision
- Choose Resident Evil 2 for Leon’s first night, his police-officer introduction, and a shared Leon-and-Claire setting.
- Choose Resident Evil 4 for his later elite-agent role and the mission to rescue the president’s daughter.
- Choose both in that order if character continuity matters more than starting with the later premise.
Claire Redfield: begin with Resident Evil 2, then continue with Code: Veronica
Resident Evil 2 is Claire’s most direct entry point
Claire arrives in Raccoon City looking for her brother Chris. That personal objective gives her route through Resident Evil 2 a different motivation from Leon’s police assignment, even though both characters are in the same game and face the same broader crisis.
Pick Resident Evil 2 when you want Claire’s introduction, her search for Chris, or an entry that lets you experience the outbreak through two named protagonists. Because the game has a shared cast, it is important to select Claire’s path or scenario when the game offers that choice rather than assuming the entire story is exclusively hers.
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- Based on the release of 1998 but completely rebuilt for a deeper narrative experience
- new over the shoulder camera mode and modernized control scheme
- a more modern take on the survival horror experience
- RE engine, Resident Evil 2 delivers breathtakingly photorealistic visuals in 4K
- zombies are brought to life with a horrifyingly realistic wet gore Effect.zombies react in real time taking instant visible damage, making every bullet count.engage in frenzied combat with enemies, explore dark menacing corridors & solve puzzles.a terrifying constant fight for survival.enjoy separately playable campaigns for both Leon and Claire
Code: Veronica continues Claire’s search
Resident Evil Code: Veronica is the natural follow-up when your main question is what happens after Claire begins looking for Chris. Capcom’s official timeline describes her journey from an Umbrella facility in Paris to Rockfort Island and Antarctica. The locations change, but the personal through-line remains her effort to find her brother.
This makes Code: Veronica a continuation rather than a replacement for Resident Evil 2. Starting there can work if you already know Claire and Chris, but Resident Evil 2 supplies the clearer introduction to why Claire is searching and why Chris matters to her story.
Claire decision
- Choose Resident Evil 2 for Claire’s arrival in Raccoon City and the beginning of her search for Chris.
- Choose Resident Evil Code: Veronica when you specifically want the next stage of that search across Paris, Rockfort Island, and Antarctica.
- Play them in that order if you want Claire’s personal storyline to develop without jumping ahead.
Jill Valentine: choose Resident Evil 3 for the most direct match
Resident Evil 3 puts Jill at the center of the Raccoon City crisis
Resident Evil 3 is Jill Valentine’s most direct mainline match. The story places her back in Raccoon City while the T-virus spreads and describes Umbrella unleashing Nemesis against the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members. If your priority is Jill facing a threat specifically aimed at her organization and colleagues, this is the clearest choice.
Jill’s role here is more specific than simply being one member of a large cast: the Nemesis pursuit is the central pressure described for her scenario. That makes Resident Evil 3 the practical answer to “Which Resident Evil game has Jill?” when you want her as the principal viewpoint rather than a supporting appearance.
Resident Evil Revelations offers another Jill-and-Chris option
Resident Evil Revelations is an alternative for readers who want Jill in a story that also includes Chris Redfield among its main characters. It is not the same Raccoon City premise as Resident Evil 3, so choose it when the shared Jill-and-Chris cast is the deciding factor.
Rank #3
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- Grace Ashcroft, an FBI intelligence analyst who is introverted and easily scared, representing a new type of character for the Resident Evil series. Grace will experience horror from the same perspective as the player as she learns to overcome her fears throughout the course of the story.
- For the first time ever in Resident Evil history, players will be able to freely switch between both first- and third-person perspectives throughout the game.
- An Anniversary to Remember: With March 2026 marking the Resident Evil series’ 30-year anniversary, Resident Evil Requiem marks its own milestone in the franchise.
- Pre-orders for Resident Evil Requiem are now open, with the bonus of Grace’s costume: Apocalypse. Please note that the picture weapon does not come with the costume, but it can be obtained in-game.
Jill decision
- Choose Resident Evil 3 for Jill’s return to Raccoon City and the Nemesis threat.
- Choose Resident Evil Revelations for another Jill-led story with Chris also listed among the main characters.
- Check the edition label carefully: the modern Resident Evil 3 is identified by Capcom as a remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, originally released in September 1999.
Chris Redfield: choose Resident Evil 5 for his investigation in Africa
Resident Evil 5 is Chris’s clearest protagonist-led starting point
Resident Evil 5 follows Chris as he investigates a bioweapons-market lead in Africa. The game explicitly pairs him with Sheva Alomar, so it should be understood as a shared-character operation rather than a Chris-only story.
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Account for the shared cast
Chris is the lead reason to select Resident Evil 5, but Sheva is not incidental to the premise: the investigation is described as taking place alongside her. If you are choosing a game specifically because you want Chris and another character together, this shared structure is part of the recommendation, not a footnote.
Chris decision
- Choose Resident Evil 5 for Chris’s African bioweapons investigation.
- Expect a paired Chris-and-Sheva story, with Jill and Wesker also identified in the main cast.
- Choose a different entry if you specifically want a solo Chris premise; the evidence covered here supports Resident Evil 5 as the direct Chris match, not a claim that he is the only playable or important character.
Ethan Winters: play Resident Evil 7 biohazard before Village
Resident Evil 7 biohazard introduces Ethan’s story
Resident Evil 7 biohazard is the best starting point for Ethan because it follows his search for his wife Mia in Louisiana. He goes to the Baker residence after believing she was dead, and the story establishes the personal circumstances that define his character arc.
Start here if Ethan is your reason for entering the series and you want the beginning of his family story rather than a later chapter. The game’s premise is personal and localized: Ethan is looking for Mia at the Baker residence, not joining an established multinational operation as Chris does in Resident Evil 5.
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Rank #4
- Survival horror returns - A brand new tale in the Resident Evil Revelations saga comes to current and next generation gaming consoles
- Clare Redfield and Moira Burton star - Fan favorite Claire returns to the horrors that haunted her in the past alongside Moira Burton, daughter of Resident Evil legend Barry Burton.
- Evil is watching - Set in what appears to be an abandoned detention facility on a remote island, the horror awaits players around every dark corner. Will there be a way to escape?
- A brand new type of enemy - Not as mindless as zombies, the scary design of the 'Afflicted' means they are able to move quickly and attack the player with basic weapons, making them a genuine threat to players' survival.
- Assistive co-op play - Players will need to switch between the two characters to overcome the nightmares in either single player mode with an AI partner or offline co-op. Utilize Moira's torch to temporarily blind the enemy before Claire takes them out!
Resident Evil Village continues the family story
Resident Evil Village takes place three years after the Baker House incident. Its premise follows Ethan trying to save his kidnapped daughter, Rose. That time jump and the change in the family situation make Village a continuation, not the ideal first Ethan game if you want the events that establish his relationships and motivations.
For Ethan, the recommended sequence is therefore unusually clear: play Resident Evil 7 biohazard first, then Resident Evil Village. Starting with Village is possible if its premise is the one that interests you most, but it removes the earlier context that explains why Ethan’s family is at the center of the story.
Ethan decision
- Play Resident Evil 7 biohazard to follow Ethan’s search for Mia in Louisiana.
- Continue with Resident Evil Village, set three years later and centered on his effort to save Rose.
Shared casts and continuity: what a protagonist match does not tell you
Resident Evil 2 is deliberately shared
Resident Evil 2 should not be treated as two unrelated recommendations. Leon and Claire are both principal characters, but they enter the story for different reasons: Leon reports for his police job, while Claire is searching for Chris. Choose the character route that matches your interest, and remember that the game’s broader setting belongs to both of them.
Resident Evil 3 is more Jill-focused in its premise
Resident Evil 3 has a stronger single-character match for Jill because the official premise places her back in Raccoon City and makes Nemesis’s pursuit of S.T.A.R.S. members central to the conflict. That does not mean the wider series continuity disappears; it means Jill is the most direct reason to choose this particular entry.
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Resident Evil 5 is a team story
Chris is the protagonist match for Resident Evil 5, but Sheva’s presence is built into the investigation. Readers choosing by character should distinguish “Chris is a lead” from “Chris is the only important character.” The same principle applies to the listed appearances of Jill and Wesker.
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Ethan’s sequence is the simplest to follow in order
Resident Evil 7 biohazard and Village form a linked two-game family narrative. The three-year gap between the Baker House incident and Village does not break the connection; it marks the passage of time between Ethan’s search for Mia and his later effort to save Rose.
Remakes, originals, and edition labels
Resident Evil 2
Capcom’s timeline labels the modern Resident Evil 2 as a remake of the original Resident Evil 2. When a store or library listing says only “Resident Evil 2,” inspect the release information so you know whether it refers to the remake or an older release. The character recommendation remains Leon and Claire, but the edition determines which version you will actually play.
Resident Evil 3
Capcom explicitly identifies the modern Resident Evil 3 as the remake of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, which was released in September 1999. A listing that includes “Nemesis” is referring to the original title’s subtitle, while a listing using the shorter “Resident Evil 3” may be the modern remake. Check the platform and edition details before purchasing.
Why the distinction matters
Remake and original are not interchangeable product labels. They can represent different releases, packaging, platform support, and availability. This guide uses the current commonly used names while pointing out the remake relationship so you can verify the exact edition in your region.
Choose by the kind of story you want
| If you want… | Choose… | Primary character match |
|---|---|---|
| A first-night Raccoon City survival story | Resident Evil 2 | Leon or Claire |
| Jill confronting Nemesis during the T-virus outbreak | Resident Evil 3 | Jill Valentine |
| A later Leon rescue mission in Europe | Resident Evil 4 | Leon S. Kennedy |
| Claire’s continuing search for Chris | Resident Evil Code: Veronica | Claire Redfield |
| An international bioweapons investigation in Africa | Resident Evil 5 | Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar |
| A Jill-and-Chris-led alternative | Resident Evil Revelations | Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield |
| The beginning of Ethan’s family story | Resident Evil 7 biohazard | Ethan Winters |
| The continuation involving Ethan and Rose | Resident Evil Village | Ethan Winters |
Before you select a listing
- Read the full title. Look for “biohazard,” “Village,” “Code: Veronica,” or “Nemesis” so you do not confuse similarly named releases.
- Confirm the edition. Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 have remake versions identified in Capcom’s timeline.
- Confirm the platform. Availability can differ by platform and region, and a franchise portal does not guarantee that every title is currently sold everywhere.
- Check the release description. A listing should make clear whether it is an original release, remake, collection, or another package.
- Verify date-sensitive details. Prices, stock, storefront access, and regional availability change; check the live listing at the time you intend to play.
Final recommendation by protagonist
Pick Resident Evil 2 if Leon or Claire is your priority and you want their Raccoon City introduction. Pick Resident Evil 3 for Jill’s most direct mainline story, or Resident Evil Revelations for another Jill-and-Chris-led option. Pick Resident Evil 4 for Leon’s later elite-agent mission. Pick Resident Evil 5 for Chris’s investigation in Africa alongside Sheva. For Ethan, start with Resident Evil 7 biohazard and continue with Resident Evil Village so his family story remains in order.
Quick Recap
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