Resident Evil, known as Biohazard (バイオハザード Baiohazādo?) in Japan, is a
survival horror video game based media franchise created by Shinji Mikami and owned by the video game company Capcom. The franchise focuses around a series of survival horror video games, but has since branched out into comic books, novels and novelizations, sound dramas, a series of live-action films and animated sequels to the games, and a variety of associated merchandise, such as action figures. The overarching plot of the series focuses on multiple characters and their roles in recurring outbreaks of zombies and other monsters, initially due to the release of the T-virus, but still more throughout the franchise. All of these are a biological weapon created by the fictional Umbrella Corporation.
The eponymous first game in the series was released in 1996 as a survival horror video game, but the franchise has since grown to encompass other video game genres. The series is a mix of action and horror film-inspired plotlines, exploration and puzzle solving, but from Resident Evil 4 onwards, the main series took a more third-person shooter approach with fewer puzzles and greater emphasis on gunplay and weapons upgrading. As of 2015, the video game series has sold 61 million units worldwide. It has become Capcom's biggest franchise in terms of sales and marked the start of the "survival horror" genre, which was already influenced by earlier efforts such as Sweet Home (also by Capcom) and the Alone in the Dark series.
Five live-action films have been released under the title of Resident Evil. These films do not follow the games' premise but do feature some game characters, and were all written and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for these films. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live action film series has made over $900 million worldwide. They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film.The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game."
Resident Evil (2002; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004; directed by Alexander Witt)
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007; directed by Russell Mulcahy)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
The earliest Resident Evil novel was Hiroyuki Ariga's novella Biohazard: The Beginning published in 1997 as a portion of the book The True Story of Biohazard, which was given away as a pre-order bonus with the Saturn version of Biohazard. The story serves as a prelude to the events of the original Resident Evil, in which Chris investigates the disappearance of his missing friend, Billy Rabbitson.
S. D. Perry has written novelizations of the first five games, as well as two original novels taking place between games. Her seven titles are:
The Umbrella Conspiracy, a novelization of the first game.
Caliban Cove, an original novel set after the first game.
City of the Dead, a novelization of Resident Evil 2.
Underworld, another original novel set after Resident Evil 2
Nemesis, a novelization of the third installment of the franchise.
Code: Veronica, a novelization of the homonymous game.
Zero Hour, a novelization of the prequel game.
Using horror elements, puzzle solving, and a lot of action, most of the games in the main Resident Evil series have been released to positive reviews. Some of the games, most notably Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, have been bestowed with multiple Game of the Year honors and often placed on lists of the best video games ever made.
In 2012, Complex ranked Resident Evil at number 22 on the list of the best video game franchises. That same year, G4tv called it "one of the most successful series in gaming history." The series has sold 66 million units as of September 30, 2015.
The eponymous first game in the series was released in 1996 as a survival horror video game, but the franchise has since grown to encompass other video game genres. The series is a mix of action and horror film-inspired plotlines, exploration and puzzle solving, but from Resident Evil 4 onwards, the main series took a more third-person shooter approach with fewer puzzles and greater emphasis on gunplay and weapons upgrading. As of 2015, the video game series has sold 61 million units worldwide. It has become Capcom's biggest franchise in terms of sales and marked the start of the "survival horror" genre, which was already influenced by earlier efforts such as Sweet Home (also by Capcom) and the Alone in the Dark series.
Five live-action films have been released under the title of Resident Evil. These films do not follow the games' premise but do feature some game characters, and were all written and produced by Paul W. S. Anderson. The series' protagonist is Alice, an original character created for these films. Despite a negative reaction from critics, the live action film series has made over $900 million worldwide. They are, to date, the only video game adaptations to increase the amount of money made with each successive film.The series holds the record for the "Most Live-Action Film Adaptations of a Video Game" in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition, which also described it as "the most successful movie series to be based on a video game."
Resident Evil (2002; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004; directed by Alexander Witt)
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007; directed by Russell Mulcahy)
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2017; directed by Paul W. S. Anderson)
The earliest Resident Evil novel was Hiroyuki Ariga's novella Biohazard: The Beginning published in 1997 as a portion of the book The True Story of Biohazard, which was given away as a pre-order bonus with the Saturn version of Biohazard. The story serves as a prelude to the events of the original Resident Evil, in which Chris investigates the disappearance of his missing friend, Billy Rabbitson.
S. D. Perry has written novelizations of the first five games, as well as two original novels taking place between games. Her seven titles are:
The Umbrella Conspiracy, a novelization of the first game.
Caliban Cove, an original novel set after the first game.
City of the Dead, a novelization of Resident Evil 2.
Underworld, another original novel set after Resident Evil 2
Nemesis, a novelization of the third installment of the franchise.
Code: Veronica, a novelization of the homonymous game.
Zero Hour, a novelization of the prequel game.
Using horror elements, puzzle solving, and a lot of action, most of the games in the main Resident Evil series have been released to positive reviews. Some of the games, most notably Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, have been bestowed with multiple Game of the Year honors and often placed on lists of the best video games ever made.
In 2012, Complex ranked Resident Evil at number 22 on the list of the best video game franchises. That same year, G4tv called it "one of the most successful series in gaming history." The series has sold 66 million units as of September 30, 2015.
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