With the recent launch of Resident Evil Requiem and the return of daddy Leon, I thought it would be a good time to look back at the many playable characters we’ve seen across the entire series. From the downright iconic to the utterly forgettable, there have been some real highs and lows, so on a recent episode of our Patreon-exclusive LLC DLC podcast, myself, Steve and Mick took these characters and assigned them a rank from S to D.
Now, before we get started, a few things to caveat:
- These are our own opinions. If you’re not happy with them, make your own list.
- We’ve covered characters who are playable in some sort of story content, whether main game or DLC, from what we’re considering “noteworthy” entries in the series.
- Yes, we’ve forgotten a few, and no, being playable in Mercenaries doesn’t count
Also, thanks to the Resident Evil Wiki, which I used when making notes ahead of the podcast and for images of the characters used in this article.
Anyway, on to the ratings!
E-tier Characters
Agent
I know I said this was an S – D tier list, but if you listen to the bonus podcast you’ll know that Agent is a surprise E-tier entrant.
As he canonically doesn’t exist it’s hard to justify him being anywhere else in the list, especially as two-third of our panel had never heard of him. A late addition to Resident Evil 6, Agent was shoehorned in as Ada’s partner in her campaign after Capcom realised that making everything except her campaign playable in co-op was not a wise idea. Agent was introduced to fill that gap, but as her campaign was originally a solo affair, he’s unable to interact with puzzles or open doors, making him essentially a gun on legs. If you’re hoping for him to come with his own badass hookshot then you’re out of luck, as he simply disappears and reappears next to Ada when she uses hers.
Ultimately it’s a stretch even calling Agent a character, but the rest of the Resident Evil 6 cast made this list so fair’s fair.
D-tier Characters
Sheva Alomar
Partnered with big Chris Redfield, Sheva is a respectable single-entry character in some ways but as an AI companion she can be a bit of a pain. The general consensus was that she’s just a bit forgettable though, and even as someone who has Resident Evil 5 in his top 3 games in the series, I don’t really have much to say about her.
Jake Muller
Our second Resident Evil 6 character, and another one-shot character. Despite a great voice actor and “special blood” that meant everyone in-game wanted him more than anyone playing the game did. A poor character in a poor game, Jake, like half the cast of Resident Evil 6, didn’t really stand a chance here.
Joe Baker
Unfortunately we were missing Lyle, the only member of the team that had actually played the End of Zoe DLC for Resident Evil 7, when we recorded so take this with a grain of salt. That said, Jack’s boots are pretty tough to fill, and even Joe’s penchant for punching infected alligators to death isn’t going to close that gap.
Moira Burton and Natalia Korda
Literally none of us recording this episode could remember anything about either of them.
C-tier Characters
Billy Coen
Ah Billy. There’s more to like about his character than just his snazzy tanktop. There’s some genuinely interesting backstory here, with his reason for being incarcerated at the centre of it. It’s just a shame that we never see him again following his appearance in Resident Evil 0. Still, definitely one of the better one shot characters.
Chris Redfield
Mr Boulder-puncher himself. This one’s going to be controversial, but the general consensus was that Chris is just a bit… boring. You could argue he’s just there to be a generic solider boy, and that might be true, but that doesn’t change the fact that in a series that hosts some very unique and memorable characters, he’s just not one of them. It doesn’t help that he seems to change appearance in every game either: half the time you’re not sure if it’s actually Chris that has shown up (until you catch a glimpse of those earth shattering biceps).
Helena Harper
A slightly more interesting character from Resident Evil 6, which still isn’t saying much. Nobody could remember too much about her, and we never see her again after her outing as Leon’s partner, but her involvement in the killing of the president at least makes for a mildly interesting moral conundrum.
Piers Nivans
Very similar to Helen, Piers is largely forgettable other than for one core narrative moment. With Helena it was the start of her story, while for Piers it’s his ending. Sacrificing himself to save the characters people actually like, he got turned into a huge BOW to defend them and got himself a hero’s end in the process.
Rose Winters
Again, one that our panel didn’t have much knowledge of as we’d not played the DLC. She’s the daughter of mould-man Ethan Winters with her own unique powers though, which at least makes her interesting, as does the possibly endless potential her powers afford her. Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ve seen of her in the Resident Evil universe, and it’s that hope that got her into C-tier.
B-tier Characters
Rebecca Chambers
Spunky medic Rebecca gets a respectable spot on the list for a few reasons. Partially for superficial reasons, as she shares Steve’s surname and Mick had a thing for her live action actress in the original game, but also because she throws herself headfirst into a nightmare scenario even though she’s a little wet behind the ears.
Jill Valentine
Along with an iconic name, Jill is just a bit of a badass. Surviving the Spencer manor, taking down Nemesis, throwing Wesker out of a window and coming back from it all is evidence enough of that. Plus she’s immune, which opens up all sorts of plot implications for the future!
Carlos Oliveira
With gorgeous hair in Resident Evil 3 Remake, and a positive, friendly attitude, you can’t help but like Carlos. We only spend a short time in his shoes, but the fact that we still remember him immediately puts him above like half of the Resident Evil 6 cast.
Barry Burton
Great beard.
Grace Ashcroft
The newest character on this list, but a popular one despite us having not finished Resident Evil Requiem at time of recording. Grace has some phenomenal acting, with her breathlessness and stutters reflecting the hands-off nature of her character as someone more comfortable browsing Reddit behind a desk than putting zombies in the ground. We popped her in B-tier because we like what we’ve seen and there’s potential for growth.
A-tier Characters
Claire Redfield
We’ve got a soft spot for Claire because, like Rebecca, she gets pulled into a horrific situation she’s completely unprepared for but still manages to handle everything thrown at her like a total boss. Not only is she kicking ass and taking names, she also stops to take Sherry under her wing and get her to safety without so much as a grumble. A-tier behaviour in our books.
Sherry Birkin
You only play her for a small period in Resident Evil 2 Remake but Sherry is still a great character. To have William and Annette as parents, survive the Racoon City Incident as a small child and still go on to have a career as an agent is particularly impressive, and she’s one that we all have a bit of a soft spot for.
Ada Wong
Initially starting as S-tier before we knocked her down a little, Ada is one of the most iconic characters in the series, and for good reason too. Her motives and actions bring intrigue to every game she’s in, and we love that her espionage is always taking place in the background, never the focus outside of a few short bonus campaigns. She’s an instigator, putting events into motion that impact our main characters, while also discreetly cleaning things up afterwards.
Plus, getting Leon to follow her like a lovesick puppy is an incredible skill to possess, and one that brings tension to every scene they share.
Ethan Winters
I love Ethan. In a world where you’ve got characters defined by their 90’s boyband hairstyle or their arms that are as thick as thighs, Ethan has zero defining features. We don’t even see his face as his games are played in first person for the most part. Despite this, I think he embodies a lot of the silliness that the series is known for, adding an almost slapstick element to the story with how often he’s losing fingers and hands, which might also explain why he’s not overly arsed that his daughter ends up separated into four jars in Village.
Following the end of his story in Resident Evil Village, it opens up all sorts of questions for how he spent his time between that and Resident Evil 7 too. I won’t go into spoilers here, but was he just living out an ordinary life with his…condition?
S-tier Characters
Leon S. Kennedy
Was this really going to be anyone other than Leon S. Kennedy? It’s in his name, for God’s sake!
Leon is Resident Evil. He’s the character you picture when you hear someone name the series, whether it’s 32-bit rookie Leon on his first day in the R.P.D, or special agent Kennedy on a mission in rural Spain with Ashely Graham screaming “LEEEEON” in the background.
Everything about him is iconic, from his Nick Carter style locks to his (sometimes jarring) one-liners, Leon’s not only grown with the series since his introduction but he’s helped define it too.
And that’s the list! If you want to argue with us then join our Discord, or if you want to hear the (sometimes misinformed) deliberations that led to this list then join the Patreon and listen to the bonus podcast.
