Resident Evil - Timeline / Playing Order

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Timeline 9 (Novel Timeline)
Resident Evil: Zero Hour
 Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy
 Resident Evil: Nemesis
 Resident Evil: Caliban Cove
 Resident Evil: City of the Dead
 Resident Evil: Underworld
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica

Timeline 10 (Prequel Novel Timeline)
Resident Evil: The Book
Resident Evil

Couple of corrections/comments

In Timeline 9 Caliban Cove happens before nemesis, as its an original story about a separate outbreak event. Nemesis has that odd "happens before and after" relationship with City of Dead that the Nemesis game has with RE2. Also if you really want to be pedantic the later novels (Nemesis, Code Veronica and Zero Hour) actually retcon the events of the first four novels. This is because the first 4 were written after the release of RE2 and really flesh out the story in some ways that match up with the plots of later games (for example, there is a whole Chapter in "City of the Dead" which focuses on Jill leaving Racoon City before the events of Nemesis even happen).


As for Timeline 10, Am I right that this is a reference to the "true story of BIOHAZARD" book? if so that I'd recommend that you also incorporate the "Flagship expanded universe" into that timeline. Basically in the 90s Capcom had a team of writers brought in to help improve the story quality of the games, and they also wrote a bunch of expanded universe content which was Japan-exclusive and, sadly, frequently clashed with the established plots of the games.

 

[Jozaca]

Couple of corrections/comments

In Timeline 9 Caliban Cove happens before nemesis, as its an original story about a separate outbreak event. Nemesis has that odd "happens before and after" relationship with City of Dead that the Nemesis game has with RE2. Also if you really want to be pedantic the later novels (Nemesis, Code Veronica and Zero Hour) actually retcon the events of the first four novels. This is because the first 4 were written after the release of RE2 and really flesh out the story in some ways that match up with the plots of later games (for example, there is a whole Chapter in "City of the Dead" which focuses on Jill leaving Racoon City before the events of Nemesis even happen).


As for Timeline 10, Am I right that this is a reference to the "true story of BIOHAZARD" book? if so that I'd recommend that you also incorporate the "Flagship expanded universe" into that timeline. Basically in the 90s Capcom had a team of writers brought in to help improve the story quality of the games, and they also wrote a bunch of expanded universe content which was Japan-exclusive and, sadly, frequently clashed with the established plots of the games.

Yeah, I know that the later novels in timeline 9 retcon things that were made up in the earlier novels. Like the first novels told the history of the creation of the T-Virus that get contradicted by Zero. But since I haven't read them I only put them in the Resident Evil wiki Continuities article order, except for Zero, since I figured that it would be the first one.

As for Timeline 10, no, the flagship expanded timeline is another one, I don't know why I didn't add that one, I guess I would add the flagship timeline later

 

[Jozaca]

Maybe I should include novellizations in the same universes that their original material since they seem to share the same story like with "Resident Evil 2 (Original) / Resident Evil 2 (Remake)"

 

[Jozaca]

List Of Universes in the Wiki
Prime (Called Main Timeline here) - Added
Flagship Expanded Universe - Added
Makino (Novellizations of a game and a CGI movie)
Makoto (Novelization of another CGI movie)
The Beginning (licensed novel prequel to Resident Evil 1, according to the article "Its heavily altered English translation was used as a basis for S.D. Perry's novel series" wich could be taken as the English translation being an alternate universe to the japanese version)
Makoba (Radio play prequel of the first game "Tragedy of Makoba Village")
Gaia (Musical non canon)
Gaiden (Gaiden Timeline, game from gameboy color seemingly ignored by the rest of the games) - Added
Operation Raccoon City (Alternate version of 2 and 3) - Added
Perry (Called Novel Timeline here) - Added
Anderson (Called Live Action Movie Timeline here) - Added
DeCandido (First novellizations of the movies) - Added
Shirley (Novellization of the 5th movie by a different author of the first 3 movie novellizations, according to the wiki is an amalgam of Anderson and Decandido, sorry 4th movie, you got no novellization) - Added
Waggoner (Novelization of the 6th Movie) - Added
Roberts (Called Live Action Reboot Timeline here) - Added
Netflix (Netflix TV Show) - Added
WildStorm (WildStorm comic, could be part of a bigger wildstorm universe?) - Added
Marvel (Marvel comic prequel to the first game) - Added
King's Fountain (bizarre comic with talking dragons)
Tinhangse (another comic adaptation of 3 and Code Veronica)
Yulang (another comic adaptation of 0)
Earth-30847 (Marvel vs Capcom) - Added
Monolith Soft (Part of the Super Robot Wars Multiverse, would come later once I have finished Resident Evil, Dead Rising, Super Robot Wars, USGF, Mazinger Z, Tekken, Soulcaliburn, Street Fighter, etc Timelines)
TEPPEN (mobile game crossover with other properties)
Dead by Daylight (I am not going to do that for the moment)
BIOHAZARD 1.5 ( guidebook with info about the lore and the upcoming Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 2 prototype) - Added
Confidential Report (Mobile Phone game timeline)
BAKAHAZA (Parody game with crossover with another IP)
Bioroid (Musical Parody)
BIOHAZARD Rose Blank (fanfiction novel that won a competition)
BIOHAZARD to the Liberty (fanfiction novel that won a competition)

 

[Jozaca]

As for Timeline 10, Am I right that this is a reference to the "true story of BIOHAZARD" book? if so that I'd recommend that you also incorporate the "Flagship expanded universe" into that timeline. Basically in the 90s Capcom had a team of writers brought in to help improve the story quality of the games, and they also wrote a bunch of expanded universe content which was Japan-exclusive and, sadly, frequently clashed with the established plots of the games.

OK, I saw that "BIO HAZARD The True Story Behind BIO HAZARD" contained "Resident Evil The Book" so, sorry, it is actually the same book. But, there is anything that sugest that flagship universe was the same as that universe? Or it would be better to just list it as an alternate timeline?

 

[Jozaca]

I have simplified the Gaiden and Raccoon City timelines

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

"the true story behind BIOHAZARD" is written by Hiroyuki Ariga who has connections to the Flagship staff. Personally I would group all of the early japanese sound dramas/novellas and short films into the same timeline for simplicity sake. This would look go:

July 1998
Tragedy of Makoba Village
True story behind BIOHAZARD
BIOHAZARD 1 (except spencer mansion doesn't blow up apparently...)

August 1998?
Biohazard the Bewitching Beast of the North Sea

September 1998
The Doomed Racoon City Vol 1-3
BIOHAZARD 4D Executer
BIOHAZARD 2
BIOHAZARD 2 Drama Album - The Little runaway Sherry


October 1998
BIOHAZARD 2 Drama Album - The Female Spy Ada lives!



as for the SD Perry continuity, its cool to hear about your process with these media however these novelizations have far too many contradictions to the game lore to take place in the same timeline. Also Caliban Cove definitely should go before Nemesis (i would also argue that Nemesis should go after City of the Dead, since City of the Dead includes a chapter focused on Jill before the events of Nemesis but I digress)

 

[Jozaca]

as for the SD Perry continuity, its cool to hear about your process with these media however these novelizations have far too many contradictions to the game lore to take place in the same timeline. Also Caliban Cove definitely should go before Nemesis (i would also argue that Nemesis should go after City of the Dead, since City of the Dead includes a chapter focused on Jill before the events of Nemesis but I digress)

No, I was not planing to add the SD Perry Novels to the game timeline. I was talking about the Umbrella Chronicles novellizations and the novellizations of Damnation and Vendetta

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

No, I was not planing to add the SD Perry Novels to the game timeline. I was talking about the Umbrella Chronicles novellizations and the novellizations of Damnation and Vendetta

oh I see, I don't know much about those so I can't comment

 

[Jozaca]

Flagship Timeline Added (Or at least what I could find, since I am not sure if there is a date of what day exactly of September the events of Doomed Raccoon City or 4d EXECUTER happen) also I don't know where Ada and Sherry audiodramas happen but they must be after 3, right? (I have not read/listen to them)

 

[Lucid_Dreamer]

Flagship Timeline Added (Or at least what I could find, since I am not sure if there is a date of what day exactly of September the events of Doomed Raccoon City or 4d EXECUTER happen) also I don't know where Ada and Sherry audiodramas happen but they must be after 3, right? (I have not read/listen to them)

Resident evil wiki lists the Sherry audio drama as taking place 2 days after Resident evil 2

It also lists the ada wong audio drama as starting on on October 5th

There are transcripts for the audio dramas on projectumbrella.net but I havent been able to read them yet