Resident Evil is one of the longest running horror series in video game history, and to celebrate its anniversary, we’re taking a look back at the protagonists of the mainline games and ranking them from worst to best.
15. Steve Burnside
Kicking off our list, we have one of the most annoying characters ever to grace the Resident Evil series. Starring in Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Steve Burnside is a fellow prisoner that Claire meets on Rockfort Island during her quest to find Chris.
Not only is Steve completely and utterly useless, he also has an incredibly annoying personality. He’s kinda arrogant, makes a lot of silly mistakes, and only causes trouble for Claire.
His only defining characteristic is his irritating bravado, which eventually becomes endearing to Claire as she starts to see him as a little bit of a romantic interest.
Then he dies. Good riddance.
14. Piers Nivans
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
Piers Nivans was one of the new playable characters from Resident Evil 6, and his purpose was basically just to push Chris back into the zombie-killing action after the trauma of losing his team to a deadly virus.
Piers had a lot of potential in the early hours of that game and could’ve even been a successor of sorts to Chris, but unfortunately, his time was cut short as Capcom decided that they wanted to stick with Chris instead.
13. Helena Harper
Similar to Piers, Helena was yet another new playable character introduced in Resident Evil 6, as well as new potential love interest for series favorite Leon Kennedy.
Sadly, aside from her drive to take revenge for her infected sister, she doesn’t have much else going on in the personality department and lacked the flair or charm of the series’ other protagonists.
12. Jake Muller
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
Not that the bar for Resident Evil 6 was particularly high, but Jake Muller is easily the most interesting new character from that game, primarily because he’s allegedly the son of Albert Wesker.
That alone makes him a fascinating character that you’d want to know more about, but Jake also has a fair bit of charm to him.
He’s roguish, not unlike RE4’s version of Leon, and has an interesting melee combat style where he uses some form of martial arts to take down the zombies.
11. Billy Coen
Billy wasn’t particularly well-received when he made his debut in Resident Evil 0, but over time, he’s really started to grow on me. In all honesty, the Resident Evil series doesn’t have enough of the ‘bad boy’ archetype, but Billy fits that role perfectly.
He’s the strong, silent type, which is what makes him come off as boring at times, but he also has plenty of funny quips when speaking with Rebecca. It’s just a shame that we haven’t seen him again since the events of that game.
10. Ethan Winters
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
The newest addition to the Resident Evil family, Ethan Winters made his debut in RE7 and instantly served as a nostalgic throwback to the original protagonists.
He was your average everyman, thrown into an insane situation with limited ways of fighting back or defending himself, which made him instantly relatable to the player.
Ethan is very much a blank slate, as he’s meant to be a stand-in for the player, but in a series like Resident Evil where its villains can be extremely cartoony and wacky, that’s actually not such a bad thing either. Ethan pipes up with a funny quip or two every so often, adding some flavor to his character as well.
9. Rebecca Chambers
Rebecca Chambers only properly starred in Resident Evil 0, made an appearance in 1, and was pretty much never seen again, at least as far as the video games are concerned. It’s a shame, too, as Rebecca’s not a bad character.
She’s pure-hearted, strong-willed, and she cares deeply about helping people, moreso than any other main character in the series.
8. Sherry Birkin
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
While Sherry was nothing but a burdensome annoyance in the original Resident Evil 2, she’s presented as a much more sympathetic character in the excellent remake. Going even further than that, she grows up to be a very strong protagonist in RE6 as well.
Working with Jake, Sherry is more than capable of holding her own, clearly inspired by her time with Claire in Raccoon City. She’s smart and quick-witted, and watching her shoot the crap out of zombies once she’s all grown up is pretty endearing.
7. Sheva Alomar
Yet another character that deserved more screentime, Sheva was Chris’ partner during the events of Resident Evil 5.
Prior to Chris’ arrival, she was already a leading force in suppressing the fighting and virus breakout in Africa, and quickly proves to be a very capable partner once Chris comes into the picture.
We do wish that she could’ve served as more than just a foil to Chris’ previous trauma of losing Jill, but we see through data entries in future games that she still keeps in pretty close contact with him, checking in to make sure he’s okay.
6. Carlos Oliveira
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
Carlos was pretty forgettable in the original RE3, but just like Sherry, he’s shaped into a much more likable personality in the remake. It actually feels like he has more to contribute to the fight in the re-imagining of the events in RE3, and is full of funny one-liners when interacting with Jill.
He’s only let down by the scenes he has with other characters who aren’t Jill, during which he becomes yet another stoic military type.
5. Chris Redfield
Chris is the original Resident Evil protagonist and one of the most recognizable.
During the events of the first game, he’s simply a tough guy cop trying to get his team out of the Spencer Mansion alive, but over time, his character gets some proper development and he gets fleshed out to become a true icon.
He’s been through it all; he’s suffered betrayal at the hands of Wesker, lost his partner, lost his team, and always finds a way to bounce back stronger than ever.
He continues to play an active role in the modern RE storyline, and is set to appear as a bit of antagonist in the upcoming Resident Evil Village, so there’s definitely more character development to look forward to with him.
4. Ada Wong
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
Ada is a bit of tricky one. She typically takes on an antagonistic role in the games that she does appear in, but always ends up having a change of heart and helps the protagonist (read: Leon) out in some way.
Her relationship with Leon always feels complicated, especially in RE2 and 4, where they both keep each other at arm’s length but are always looking out for each other, which makes her a fascinating character.
It’s only in Resident Evil 6 that she finally feels like a proper hero as she helps Leon and Helena out quite a few times when dealing with the C-Virus. She’s always decked out with cool gadgets like a grappling hook, and always working behind the scenes.
She’ll stop at nothing to get a job done, but that doesn’t mean she lacks any sense of morality.
3. Jill Valentine
Similar to Chris, Jill’s origin story begins in the Spencer Mansion as well where she suffered betrayal at the hands of Wesker, and later went on to team up with Chris in the BSAA to continue fighting bioterrorism.
She’s also undergone a lot of character development, transforming from a rookie cop into a certified badass even after being captured by Wesker right before the events of RE5.
It’s a shame that she hasn’t gotten a proper standalone game since the RE3 remake, though, so here’s hoping she gets more screentime soon.
While her story is largely similar to Chris’, she stands out as having a much more enjoyable personality and well-defined characteristics and traits such as her unparalleled ability to pick locks.
2. Claire Redfield
Best Resident Evil Protagonists, Ranked
These next two protagonists are miles ahead of the rest of the protagonists in Resident Evil, and it’s no coincidence that they also happen to be the stars of the most popular game in the series.
Claire Redfield is easily the most relatable protagonist in the series. In RE2, she’s just a college student who’s come to Raccoon City in search of her brother.
Armed with literally nothing (yes we know she starts with a gun in the remake, but let’s ignore that for a bit) but a knife and an incredible sense of bravery, she puts herself through danger to find Chris, and is resourceful enough to link up with Leon and survive.
Not only that, she even finds the time to take care of Sherry during her mission, and prioritizes getting Sherry to safety because she recognizes the fact that the little girl literally has no one else to depend on.
Post-Raccoon City, Claire never gives up on Chris, and after that, she continues to fight against bioterrorism in her own way.
She’s spunky and badass, and certainly deserves a lead role in another mainline Resident Evil game.
1. Leon Kennedy
There’s literally no one else it could’ve been. Just like Claire, Leon is also incredibly relatable as a character. His story starts with him as the rookie cop who’s excited about his first day on the job, and of course, everything goes straight to hell as the zombie outbreak has completely taken over Raccoon City.
Leon is similar to Chris in that he’s very duty-bound and committed to doing the right thing, but he does so with a great sense of humor. This trait of his comes through in the RE2 remake, where he has no shortage of quips whenever he’s faced with some sort of large monstrosity he needs to take down.
That sense of humor carries over in RE4 as well, where there are literally video montages of him just being a total sass king. Leon is easily the funniest Resident Evil protagonist in the series, and the most capable as well. After all, he did go on a mission to rescue the president’s daughter carrying nothing but a handgun and 10 bullets.
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