{"id":843490,"date":"2026-03-22T20:41:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/843490\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T20:41:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:41:22","slug":"congratulations-to-resident-evil-30-years-old-today-and-better-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/843490\/","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations to Resident Evil, 30 Years Old Today and Better Than Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

I was born in 1988 so I was still wet behind the ears when Resident Evil<\/a> first released for the PS1, on 22nd March, 1996.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t recall my first time seeing the game, but I think Resident Evil 2<\/a> was probably the first one we owned. I distinctly remember being frightened by the opening CG cutscene, and even more terrified by the controls.<\/p>\n

I was a hopeless Dreamcast fanboy in the 2000s, so Resident Evil: Code Veronica<\/a> was the first game in the series I really paid attention to.<\/p>\n

I was approaching my teens at that point so I was tough enough to deal with the zombies, and all the mags at the time were hyping it up \u2013 it was a timed Dreamcast exclusive, after all.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think I ever actually got around to playing Code Veronica until it was ported to the PS3 a decade later, but I did watch the opening cutscene multiple times. Back then there was no YouTube, so demo discs were how I exposed myself to trailers for various upcoming games.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

The first time I really sat down with a Resident Evil was with REmake<\/a> for the GameCube; it\u2019s amazing to think there was only six years between the PS1 original and this incredible reimagining \u2013 could you imagine if Sony announced a remake for The Last of Us: Part 2<\/a> later this year? That\u2019d be six years too.<\/p>\n

Obviously, the tech was evolving at a much quicker pace in those days, and REmake looked like a completely different game. I distinctly remember printing off a full strategy guide from GameFAQs \u2013 I hope all that paper got recycled, because it must have totalled hundreds of pages.<\/p>\n

But that was the point I personally became a Resident Evil fan. I\u2019d go on to really enjoy Resident Evil 0<\/a>, and I\u2019d list the original Resident Evil 4<\/a> among my favourite ever games. (Ironically, life has got in the way so I haven\u2019t played the PS5 remake yet.)<\/p>\n

I actually reviewed Resident Evil 4 for Nintendo Life<\/a> when it came to the Wii; I don\u2019t know why it\u2019s remained in the site\u2019s archives \u2013 I\u2019m sure our overlord Ant Dickens would agree, things were a lot more hobbyist in those days.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

When Resident Evil 5<\/a> came out in 2009, I was at that point in my life where I was a student, so I had a lot of free time. I remember picking up my copy from a local game store \u2013 remember those?! \u2013 first thing in the morning and then playing pretty much all day.<\/p>\n

I recall that game getting a bit of a mixed reception at the time, but it was part of the PS3\u2019s turning point for me. Obviously it was the exclusives like Uncharted 2: Among Thieves<\/a> that really reinstated the console\u2019s reputation, but the third-party games really picked up in the latter half of that generation too.<\/p>\n

I was excited for Resident Evil 6<\/a> when it came around a few years later, and I bought it day one. But actually, I don\u2019t think I ever took the wrapper off my PS3 copy; the mixed reviews softened my interest.<\/p>\n

I played it a bit a few years later but I couldn\u2019t really get into it. Despite it trying to do a bit of everything, I think it\u2019s comfortably the worst numbered entry in the series.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

Which brings me to the modern day and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ll recall, Sony was flogging the original PSVR<\/strong><\/a> at the time, and it was showing a demo called Kitchen. It wasn\u2019t revealed until much later that this was actually based on Resident Evil, but I was really enthusiastic about virtual reality at the time, and I remember being blown away by that demo<\/a>. I\u2019m sure Simon Fitzgerald will share the full story.<\/p>\n

In the end, I think Resident Evil 7: Biohazard<\/a> really put the franchise back on the map, and kickstarted this unstoppable run we\u2019re currently on. I loved the switch to the first-person perspective, and I thought the Baker household was an awesome backdrop.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

I enjoyed Resident Evil: Village<\/a> plenty, but it lacked the novelty of its predecessor for me. Still, I think Capcom\u2019s ability to keep making really high quality campaigns has led us to the point we\u2019re currently at, where Resident Evil Requiem<\/a> is one of the fastest-selling entries in the series<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve focused on my relationship with the mainline entries in this article, but I\u2019ve enjoyed so much more Resident Evil over the years.<\/p>\n

I personally enjoyed the Milla Jovovich movies, even if they strayed from the source material. I\u2019ve even watched most of the CG films, too. And recently I bought the Infinite Darkness comic book; I\u2019ve got some of the old S.D. Perry novels on my book shelf as well.<\/p>\n

I remember getting a review code for Resident Evil Outbreak: File #2<\/a> all the way back in 2005; I would have been at high school back then, and was running my own multiformat website named Games Main Frame<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Congratulations<\/a> Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square<\/p>\n

It\u2019s crazy to think that game introduced Alyssa Ashcroft, who\u2019s now a key figure in the latest game. I wonder if they\u2019ll do more with her story in the future.<\/p>\n

Whatever the future holds, it\u2019s clear we have a lot more Resident Evil to look forward to. Despite being 30 years old today, the series is stronger right now than it\u2019s ever been. And that\u2019s a testament to the incredible stewardship from creator Capcom, despite the occasional up-and-down.<\/p>\n

Happy 30th, Resident Evil!<\/p>\n

What’s your favourite Resident Evil game? (343 votes)<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Resident Evil (1996)<\/strong>7%<\/li>\n
  2. Resident Evil 2 (1998)<\/strong>17%<\/li>\n
  3. Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (1999)<\/strong>4%<\/li>\n
  4. Resident Evil: Code Veronica (2000)<\/strong>4%<\/li>\n
  5. Resident Evil Remake (2002)<\/strong>6%<\/li>\n
  6. Resident Evil 0 (2002)<\/strong>\u00a0 0.3%<\/li>\n
  7. Resident Evil 4 (2005)<\/strong>17%<\/li>\n
  8. Resident Evil 5 (2009)<\/strong>2%<\/li>\n
  9. Resident Evil Revelations (2012)<\/strong>\u00a0 0%<\/li>\n
  10. Resident Evil 6 (2012)<\/strong>\u00a0 0.3%<\/li>\n
  11. Resident Evil Revelations 2 (2015)<\/strong>\u00a0 0%<\/li>\n
  12. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)<\/strong>5%<\/li>\n
  13. Resident Evil 2 Remake (2019)<\/strong>13%<\/li>\n
  14. Resident Evil 3 Remake (2020)<\/strong>1%<\/li>\n
  15. Resident Evil Village (2021)<\/strong>3%<\/li>\n
  16. Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023)<\/strong>15%<\/li>\n
  17. Resident Evil Requiem (2026)<\/strong>6%<\/li>\n
  18. Other<\/strong>\u00a0 0.3%<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Sammy<\/p>\n

    As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He\u2019s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image: Damien McFerran \/ Push Square I was born in 1988 so I was still wet behind the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[25288,126,262,2974,32102,59,55,16622,53,16,15],"class_list":["post-843490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-capcom","tag-features","tag-ps1","tag-ps2","tag-ps3","tag-ps4","tag-ps5","tag-resident-evil","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116274770158357475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}