Resident Evil is easily the most iconic survival horror series in gaming, hell, it invented the survival horror genre. Since its inception in 1996, the Resident Evil series has seen many characters come and go, and some are well liked a lot more than others.
The Resident Evil fan base is nothing if not passionate. Everyone has their favorites and most can agree about great characters, but like all fandoms, unpopular characters are hated with a fiery passion. Let's take a look at how people feel about some Resident Evil characters. Here's five characters from the series every fan loves, and five they hate a little too much.
10 Hate: Jake Muller
Resident Evil 6 was a mixed bag, to say the very least. It had a few good things going for it but ultimately, it fell flat. Not least of those not so great aspects was the character of Jake Muller, the illegitimate son of baddie Albert Wesker.
The biggest problem about Jake was simply how bland he is. If it wasn't for the fact that he's Wesker's son and is immune to the C-Virus, all we'd be left with is "cool guy mercenary dude #2". Still, his and Sherry Birkin's campaign had some good moments and Troy Baker's performance carried Jake's campaign.
9 Love: Rebecca Chambers
The only complaint people ever have about Rebecca Chambers is that she's not in enough Resident Evil games. When you first meet her in the first Resident Evil, she seems like a fresh-faced, defenseless member of S.T.A.R.S. but she's anything but.
Rebecca is more than capable of handling herself in a zombie apocalypse, which she proved in Resident Evil 0, a prequel to the first game and the first and only Resident Evil game to have Rebecca as the main characters. Her bubbly personality, even in times of crisis, has charmed its way into our hearts and we want to see more of her.
8 Hate: Ada Wong
To be fair, Ada Wong does have a number of fans that like her character, but the fans that hate really hate her, despise her even. We can understand people not being a fan of her character but the amount of hate she gets from some can be a bit much.
People often cite her "too cool for school" attitude as the reason they dislike her, and how she comes off as self-righteous, but we feel that's part of her charm. Another complaint about Ada is her frequent over-the-top spy hijinks that just aren't believable, which is fair enough.
7 Love: Claire Redfield
Honestly, what's not to love about Claire Redfield? Fans felt a connection with her almost immediately and her sharp wit and her easygoing personality made her a fan favorite just as quickly.
Perhaps the reason fans love her so much is the fact that she's easy to identify with. Nearly all the other protagonists in Resident Evil have been trained in combat one way or another, but Claire is just an ordinary college student trying to survive in a world that's gone to Hell and to find her brother, making her story one of the most personal in the series.
6 Hate: Ashley Graham
Depending on who you ask, Resident Evil 4 is either one of the greatest games ever made or the game that ruined the Resident Evil franchise, there's no in between. But what both sides can agree on is that it's incredibly annoying escorting Ashley Graham through the game.
Nobody likes escort quests, the AI always seems to be janky causing something to go wrong, but the amount of hate that Ashley gets is a bit excessive. No one is saying that it's not frustrating watching her get taken by Ganados without even trying to run away, but people tend to vent that frustration on Ashely as a character rather than the gameplay mechanics.
5 Love: Chris Redfield
No one else on this list can say that they've punched a boulder to death, but Chris Redfield sure as hell can! Chris Redfield is without a doubt one of the most iconic characters in the horror genre and he's had the most appearances in the Resident Evil series than any other character.
Chris has been a major part of the series since the very beginning, being one of the protagonists in the first Resident Evil. His combat skills, bonds with his teammates, and desire to protect the innocent give him that "main character" quality that everyone loves.
4 Hate: Steve Burnside
Resident Evil - Code Veronica is probably the most underrated Resident Evil game in the series but there are a lot of people who loved the game but just hated the character of Steve Burnside.
It probably doesn't help that Steve looks like a K-pop band reject, but the biggest complaint people have about Steve is his whiny and annoying voice and personality, and that's fair enough, but he had a pretty interesting story arc. And let's be honest, the voice acting of all the early Resident Evil games wasn't exactly stellar.
3 Love: Leon Kennedy
From rookie cop to jaded government agent, Leon Kennedy has a quite the ride in the Resident Evil franchise, and he's been a significant presence in the series. He was already hugely popular with Resident Evil 4, but his popularity has only grown since Resident Evil 2 Remake.
Between his cool hairstyle and cool attitude, it's always a blast to play as Leon. Even in Resident Evil 6, which wasn't well received, fans and critics agreed that Leon's campaign was the best.
2 Hate: Sheva Alomar
Resident Evil 5 is a divisive game to say the least, stemming mostly from controversies of alleged racism in the game. Whatever you're feelings on this topic, we're here to talk about the co-protagonist of the game alongside Chris Redfield, Sheva Alomar.
Sheva is similar to Ada in that there are plenty of fans who like her character, but also plenty that hate her. She doesn't deserve all the hate she gets, sure she can use up your ammo surprisingly quickly which is frustrating, but she's an interesting character with a personal tie to the story.
1 Love: Jill Valentine
When we mentioned a few entries back that Chris Redfield is one of the most iconic characters in the horror genre, we used the words "one of" because Jill Valentine is right up there with him, and may even edge him out for most iconic.
Fans of the series have loved Jill from the get-go, but more than that, fans of video games in general have loved her character for years because she's a fully developed, capable, and compelling female character in an industry that hasn't always had the best track record for its portrayal of women. With the remake for Resident Evil 3, which she stars in, just on the horizon, we get the feeling there's going to be a whole new wave of people clamoring onto the Valentine train.