Ranking Resident Evil Characters But Number Of Appearances

Summary

• Classic Resident Evil characters like Hunk have become series icons despite limited appearances, earning fan love.
• Longtime presence of original characters like Rebecca Chambers highlights their importance to the fanbase.
• Characters like Claire Redfield and Ada Wong, despite being part of the Big Four, have had sporadic appearances, while Chris Redfield remains a prominent figure.

Resident Evil has been the prime survival horror series for almost three decades, and in that time has amassed a large cast. For the most part, however, it’s the characters who appeared in the first two entries who’ve stuck throughout. The series has a track record of dropping side characters after one game.

It’s easy to see why the characters from the original games are still around: they mean a lot to the fanbase. Even if they are canonically aging by now, their mere appearance in a Resident Evil story is fanservice. Here are the ones who’ve showed their faces the most.

Characters are ranked in order of canon appearances. Due to the series’ fondness for re-tellings, remakes and re-imaginings count as one appearance.

10

Hunk

Little is known about Hunk, except that he may be the hardiest person to ever fight zombies. His penchant for defying death earns him the respect of his Umbrella Security Service squadmates, and Resident Evil 2’s side story showcases his harrowing escape from the city.

The remake further characterized him as an operator who would always come back, no matter how dangerous the mission. Despite his only canonical appearance being in Resident Evil 2, Hunk has become a mascot for the series, appearing in the Mercenaries mode on a consistent basis.

9

Rebecca Chambers

Rebecca was introduced in the first Resident Evil as a medic trying to save her dying teammate. She ended up being the only member of STARS’ Bravo Team to survive the Spencer Mansion incident. The prequel, Resident Evil 0, showcased her terrifying 24 hours before Alpha Team arrived.

Rebecca joined the war on bioterror at a tender eighteen years of age. She didn’t remain on the frontlines for long, as she’s never appeared as a major character in the games since. However, she has appeared in the CGI movies as a scientist, and finally dusted off her rocket launcher in Resident Evil: Death Island.

Rebecca is a heavily favoured character in the Resident Evil novels by SD Perry, appearing frequently and being the protagonist of Caliban Cove.

8

Brad Vickers

Brad’s tale is an especially cruel one. Though he ranks above other characters in the number of canonical appearances he’s made, all but one of them were ill-fated. In Resident Evil, he appears mostly offscreen as the helicopter pilot who flees, leaving Alpha Team stranded, before having a change of heart and returning to rescue them.

In Resident Evil 2, he appears as a secret zombie near the police station: killing him gives you a special key, allowing you to try on new outfits. Resident Evil 3, which takes place in parallel, shows how he became a zombie – he was killed while trying to help Jill.

7

Claire Redfield

Unlike the other protagonists of the first two RE games, Claire had no combat training – she was a college student. One can only assume her brother Chris taught her how to defend herself, as she ended up being just as effective as Leon in dealing with the zombie crisis at the Raccoon Police Department.

Claire has been the protagonist in Resident Evil 2, Code Veronica and Revelations 2. She also makes a non-canon cameo in Operation Raccoon City. Despite this, the long breaks between her entries and her sporadic appearances in the CGI movies leave her feeling the least popular out of the Big Four – the others being Chris, Leon and Jill.

6

Ada Wong

Much like Hunk, Ada is a character shrouded in mystery. Morally ambiguous and notorious for her double-crosses, she often appears in the same entries as Leon, using him to further her own ends. Ada appears in RE2 and RE4 as a ruthless mercenary.

For better or for worse, the character was expanded on in RE6, where she had a playable campaign of her own. Her origins remained mysterious, but at least she finally reciprocated Leon’s feelings a bit. The RE4 remake casts her in a more sympathetic light as someone who does know the difference between right and wrong: she reneges on her deal with Wesker once she learns of his true ambitions.

5

Barry Burton

Because of his magnum-toting charisma in the first entry, Barry will forever be tied to the original Resident Evil despite his future appearances. He helps Jill during the mansion incident, despite being under pressure from Umbrella. He also appears in the true ending of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis to rescue Jill and Carlos, though this appearance was cut from the remake.

Barry’s only leading role before Resident Evil Revelations 2 was in the spin-off Resident Evil Gaiden for the Game Boy Color. Revelations 2 shows that he’s graduated from being the team dad to being an actual dad: his grown-up daughter Moira is also a major character.

4

Albert Wesker

One of gaming’s greatest villains, Wesker has remained an integral part of the Resident Evil series long after his canonical death. Wesker appeared in the original game as a STARS member, though he had been working against his teammates from the start. He reappears in Code Veronica, managing to escape once again after a fistfight with Chris. He shows up as Ada’s boss in Resident Evil 4’s Separate Ways campaign.

Resident Evil 5 finally brought the Wesker saga to an end, as Chris and Sheva make him eat dual rocket launchers. Capcom has yet to find a replacement villain and keeps dropping Wesker references to this day.

3

Leon S. Kennedy

Leon consistently tops popularity polls of Resident Evil characters; his charisma and one-liners, as well as his proclivity for suplexes, have endeared him to fans. It helps that he appeared in RE2 and RE4, both considered among the greatest games of their generation.

His campaign in RE6 was also seen as the best one, and he was a leading character in Resident Evil Gaiden. His time with RE4 rival Jack Krauser is shown in Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.

Leon is the only character to have appeared in every CGI tie-in film for the series.

2

Jill Valentine

One of the four primary heroes of Resident Evil, Jill had the easier campaign in the original game. She could carry more items than Chris, had more puzzle-oriented gameplay and was a master of unlocking. Resident Evil 3, the first entry to lack dual protagonists, made her the main character outright.

After that, Jill didn’t appear in a mainline entry until Resident Evil 5, where she was under Wesker’s mind control. Resident Evil Revelations finally gave her a playable campaign again. She also had a new scenario alongside Chris in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

1

Chris Redfield

If Resident Evil was to have one definitive protagonist, it would be Chris. He appeared in the first game, returned in Code Veronica, was involved in the Terragrigia incident in Revelations, and settled his rivalry with Wesker in RE5. He had a new scenario alongside Jill in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

RE6 showed Chris on the verge of retirement before changing his mind. Out of the four primary characters, Chris is the only one to appear in the Winters saga of RE7 and 8. No one has done more in the war on bioterror than Chris.