Around 2006/2007 I was very much a fan (or at least I thought I was) of the Resident Evil franchise. I loved the lore, characters, mechanics, pretty much everything about the RE games that I had played at the time. I remember fondly of my brother waking me up at 10/11 PM to come play the original RE on the playstation when I was about 7, scared the shit out of me but I loved it. During my fandom though I had only played: 0, REmake, 4 and part of 2. As I said I considered myself a fan but I hadn't touched 2 or 3 (or any other spin offs for that matter) even though I have bought them twice (Gamecube and PSN version, those GC copies were expensive).

Anyways 5 was released and I slowly drifted away from the franchise. I thought 5 was fun to play but it wasn't a Resident Evil game to me. And as I said after that I just stopped playing them and paying attention in general. My plans to playthrough all the main games was tossed aside and collecting dust. I eventually found myself playing different series and genres and for the most part just forgot/ignored everything about the franchise.

Now a few weeks back someone brought up the fact that 8-4 Play did a retrospective of the first few games and I found myself seeking it out as I do have nostalgia for some of the games they were talking about, and I loved it. Their discussion rekindled feels I had for the series that I haven't thought about in 6 years now (God RE5 was almost 6 years ago, that's depressing to me). Now I find myself wanting to start where I left off, actually starting over entirely and approaching the series with a better plan and idea of how I'm going to accomplish this. And that is where you, the wonderful GB community, comes in. Which games should I play and how should I play these games?

Obviously I want to play the main series (0-6, Code Veronica) but are there any other games that are important to the canon or ones that shouldn't skip for one reason or another? I believe the Revelations games are important to the main games but I don't know for sure.

Also what order should I approach the games? Is chronological order worth it? Is it hard to lets say play the REmake and then go back to the PS1 versions of 2 and 3? Really I wouldn't mind playing them in release date order but I want to do what's best for the franchise. This also leads to which version of games should I play. RE has been remade several times and been released in various forms on almost every console now, but which one(s) should I play? Should I start off with the Director's Cut and also play the REmake? Should I just play one of them? The DS one is the one to play? Etc.

I am looking forward to doing this finally (might be one of the biggest shames in my VG playing lifetime) so any help and suggestions given will be highly appreciated.

Don't play 6. It's a terrible game, both objectively and as a Resident Evil.

Play them in release date order.

Playing them in order of release date is for the best I'd say. Though regarding the very original you might want to look into trying the DS Deadly Silence release, as it includes many improvements such as the 180 degree turn, having your knife equipped at all times ala RE4, and being able to reload weapons without having to enter the inventory menu.

For RE2 & RE3 you're fine in sticking with the PSN versions as unlike the original they haven't gone through as many drastic revisions. Same with Code: Veronica. I would suggest that you maybe hold off on playing RE0, however, as its very likely to get its own remastering pretty soon. I would also recommend you play Revelations on 3DS as funnily enough I think it looks much better than its HD version due to the smaller screen and all. Plus its Raid mode is better balanced and there's some neat little touchscreen interactions in there.

Most of the series' spins-offs are pretty bad, however, and I would recommend you only seek them out for sheer curiosity. Same with RE6 for that matter... But like every game even RE6 has its defenders, so it might be worth seeing for yourself if you're really this dedicated.

wow you haven't played 2, like holy crap balls what the hell you doing with your life.

@cloudnineboya: Let's see, I bought the PSN versions of 2 and 3 at the end of 2008. I started 2 and got through a good portion of it. Stopped for whatever reason and then played 5. I don't think I've played any Resident Evil what so ever since March/April 2009.

@corevi: Regardless of quality I want to play all the games. I have friends that will defend 6 to me (despite all the criticism and how well it was reviewed). I want to see how they wrap everything up.

@yummylee: Any specific versions of games you recommend? As an example I have the Dreamcast version of Code Veronica but apparently the PS2 version included a lot more? Same question in regards to RE4, I have the GC version but its been released on everything since then and probably is considered to be the weakest, so should I look at playing the PS2, PS3, PC or what is added isn't worth it.

Is Revelations perfectly ok to play on a basic 3DS? Besides the graphics, are the versions exactly the same?

And just in general what are your thoughts on Zero? I'm kinda bummed how 8-4 dumped on that game as the low point in the series at the time of the podcast (2011) as I have really fond memories of that game along with the REmake.

@nightriff: Yeah, the 'complete' version of Code: Veronica is the PS2/Gamecube version, if not the 360/PS3 HD rerelease. I haven't actually played the original Dreamcast version, though I do know the extras aren't that significant. Just a couple of cutscenes and a slightly extended ending. Still, you might as well go for the 'X' version if possible.

RE4 however is certainly worth playing again with its new PC HD version if you haven't played any other version besides the original. Lotsa new content was added with its PS2 version onward, primarily being a new 5-hour long Ada side-story. I played Revelations on an XL, but it should be fine on an original. It's also ideally played with a circle-pad pro, however it's not necessary as I played it OK without.

As for Zero, it unfortunately rarely puts its 2-character premise to particularly great use, like such contrivances as Billy being the single character in the RE universe who can't mix herbs. Its lack of item boxes also leads to a lot of frustration for how you'll hafta return to specific areas to recollect certain items you may have dropped. Plus the animations are terribly slow, which is strange considering how fluid the remake is. Zero is also easily the most difficult of the survival horror RE entries at that, which has likely contributed all the more to its divisive nature. I don't think it's terrible by any means, as it certainly looks nice for starters and the backstory it establishes is somewhat interesting for die-hards. Plus the chemistry between Rebecca & Billy is serviceable enough by RE standards. Still, both Zero and (especially) Veronica I consider to be the weakest mainline entries of the series, not counting RE6 anywhoo.

On a similar journey, and I'm kind of playing a bunch of them simultaneously. Terrible way to play games, but weirdly I'm enjoying all of them more this way. A bit of REmaster here, a bit of RE2 there, some RE6 sprinkled in (it wasn't THAT bad), and RE3 waiting for one of the others to be completed. (not to mention all the other games I'm currently playing through)

I'm sure that somebody's screaming "What are you even fucking doing!?" at me right now, but I dunno, it's working out.

The great thing about Resident Evil is that everything outside of the main series is totally avoidable! I mean, I'd also argue that there are games within the series that are entirely optional (RE0 and Code Veronica) but RE6 is the only one I would consider being actively bad (and even then I sorta liked it in a "this is a train wreck and epitomizes everything wrong with modern game development" kind of way.)

Revelations is pretty much the only "essential" side game. The Umbrella Chronicles and The Darkside Chronicles do have some interesting story beats though in their unique campaigns, and both are available on PSN. UC covers the fall of Umbrella, and DC covers Leon and Krauser meeting. Neither are 100% necessary, though. You could just as easily watch cutscenes on Youtube to wrap them up real quick. In terms of versions, the PS3/360 version of Code Veronica is probably your best bet for that, as you get Code Veronica X without having to dig out the PS2/Gamecube. Definitely play Code Veronica X, not the original version. RE2 and RE3 are fine with the PSN versions. With RE1, definitely go for the new remaster, be it for the last gen or for PS4/X1/PC. It's excellent. With RE4, either play the newest HD version on the PC(if you have the computer for it), or if not, just the rerelease on PS3/360. RE5 and RE6 are both fine on whatever. Revelations is better on the PS3/360 due to better graphics/controls, but there is no content difference between the two versions. Guess it just depends if you want something portable or not. And like YummyLee said, RE0 might very well get the remaster treatment in not too long, so I would definitely take that into account.

Personally, I always like to play things chronologically because of story reasons/OCD. However, I realize not everyone is down with that. That isn't that hard with RE, thankfully. This is what you're looking at:

RE0(I hate Resident Evil 0, just felt that needed to be said)

RE1

RE3(until you control Carlos)

RE2(if you want the more canon approach, go with Claire A/Leon B)

RE3(the second half of the game)

Code Veronica

Darkside Chronicles(the main campaign)

Umbrella Chronicles(the Umbrella's End campaign)

RE4

Revelations

Degeneration(the first CG movie, doubt you're getting into those)

RE5

Revelations 2

Damnation(the second CG movie)

RE6

As a side note, RE6 is still my favorite of the whole thing. Some people will hate it, some will love it, some will be indifferent(though apparently not that many).

I always thought that the only games people really had a lot of love for were the core ones. By that I mean 0-6 and Code Veronica. Not sure if the other ones are very praised and I'm not sure where the movies fit in.

@yummylee: Thanks as always our Resident....Resident Evil expert! Your opinion on the series is always welcome and I wouldn't proceed on this journey without some of your input in anyway.

@shagge: That seems crazy and I could never do that, but if you are enjoying it, more power to you duder

@masturbatingestbear: I feel like a lot of people liked the Revelations game and are excited for the release of Revelations 2. Now all the other side games I know little to none about.

@quarters: Thanks for all the suggestions, I really appreciate it.

@yummylee: @quarters: Hey, sorry to bring this up but are there any secret campaigns or hidden secrets in the games that I should make sure I play/see? As an example is the Hunk campaign from RE2 worth seeing? And then is there any alternative way to unlock it as I assume I'm not going to be able to meet the criteria to unlock the campaign on my one playthrough that I can afford each game? Thanks again.

@nightriff: Hm, good question. The Hunk and Tofu Campaigns in Resident Evil 2 don't really have much story in them. No real cutscenes or anything. There is a retelling of Hunk's campaign in Umbrella Chronicles that has a couple of cutscenes, but even that is really light. Basically, with those two, it just depends if you want to play more of the games. If you're really worried about missing something though, you aren't too much. You could just watch the two Hunk cutscenes on Youtube and be good to go.

Resident Evil 4 is a different story. If you play the HD Version, the newest PC Version, or the PS2 version, then they have Separate Ways, which is Ada's campaign. It isn't 100% necessary, but it does have several new cutscenes showing Ada's side of the story, and gives you details on her character. Also, it has a lot more Wesker in it than Leon's campaign does, so it also kind of shows what he's up to in that bit of the timeline. To unlock it, all you have to do is beat the main game, I believe, so it isn't a big deal to grab it.

Resident Evil 5 has the two DLC missions, which are both pretty decent, actually. The first, Lost in Nightmares, delves into the flashback with Chris and Jill that is in the game, allowing you to play as them in what is pretty much a love letter to the first game. Just tons of little references. However, from a story standpoint, it doesn't add a ton, except for a file which talks about Alex Wesker. Cutscene wise, it is almost exclusively the same scenes you see in RE5 proper, just with a couple of extra lines in the beginning. However, there's plenty of chatter/banter during the mission. It's pretty fun, and if you really like the first game, it's probably worth playing. And the other one, Desperate Escape, is Jill and Josh towards the end of the game. Much more action based, and just shows how Jill arrives at the end of the main game. However, it does have all new cutscenes, including a pretty decent action cutscene towards the end. Doesn't really reveal anything new story-wise, but it is all new content. New level, new characters, new cutscenes.

Resident Evil 6's closest thing to a "hidden" campaign is Ada's, which I believe you get now by just downloading the latest patch. Originally, you had to beat all three of the other campaigns, but now it's just unlocked off the bat. However, I would save her campaign for last. Hers delves more into the behind the scenes of some of the villain stuff in the game, and ties together the three campaigns a little bit more. It's certainly worth playing, and has as much effort put into it as the other three campaigns, though it is a little shorter. New cutscenes, new levels, some shared bosses(for story purposes).