25 years ago to this day, one of the video game industry’s longest-running and beloved franchises was born.
Resident Evil, the series which helped birth the survival horror genre on March 22nd, 1996, continues to enjoy as much – if not more – success today as it did over two decades ago and fans are unsurprisingly celebrating the milestone all across the internet. On Twitter, in particular, many are sharing fond memories of their first foray into the iconic Spencer Mansion as Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, encountering their first reanimated corpse shortly after walking through its doors.
It’s worth mentioning, of course, that not everyone has been a loyal follower since day one, and given how much the IP has changed over the years, it’s looked very different throughout its history. Indeed, while it’s arguably thanks to Capcom’s continued attempts to modernize and innovate with each iteration that Resident Evil has stood the test of time, there have certainly been missteps along the way (RE 6 being a particular low point), though they’ve been far outweighed by the highs.
In any case, take a look at some of the appreciation posts for yourself down below:
From the Spencer Mansion to Castle Dimitrescu – thanks for opening the 🚪 to survival horror, Capcom.
Cheers to 25 years of Resident Evil pic.twitter.com/s4az7Iw9G7
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) March 22, 2021
— Momokun Gift Store (@momokungiftcard) March 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/epeytonhudson/status/1374021492611104770
https://twitter.com/OctoTako1/status/1374020803222765570
Happy 25th Anniversary, Resident Evil!!! 🥳
25 years ago, March 22, 1996, RE popularized both the survival horror genre and zombies. It still continues strongly till this day. The franchise has its ups and downs, but we still adore and love this franchise.#REBHFun #REBH25th pic.twitter.com/7ajbik7UhJ
— REAGENT1998 (@REAgent1998) March 22, 2021
A HUGE Happy Birthday to my favourite #Survivalhorror #horror game , 25 years old since this classic came out #ResidentEvil #residentevil25thanniversary #Capcom #Zombies #Umbrella #ArklayMansion #STARS #JillValentine #ChrisRedfield #BarryBurton #AlbertWhesker pic.twitter.com/oz48HKqSIV
— RyanActually1 (@RyanActually1) March 22, 2021
https://twitter.com/Kostowiczc/status/1374018367091314690
Happy 25 years #ResidentEvil, one of my favorite gaming series ever! pic.twitter.com/2fefqqycY5
— Brayden (@dayfan01_green) March 22, 2021
25 years ago, one of the most important and successful games of all time was released. Happy birthday, Resident Evil!
— Carlos Matos (@solracmatos) March 22, 2021
Resident Evil aka Biohazard turns 25 today!!!
Happy 25th #Capcom #ShinjiMikami #TokuroFujiwara#ResidentEvil #Gaming #gaminglife #Gamingmeme #gamingcommunity #gamingislife #gamingnews #gamingchannel #gamingforlife #gamingfolk #gaming4life #GameGods #GameGodsTV #GGTV pic.twitter.com/stSGKiZYka— Game Gods TV (@gamegodstv) March 22, 2021
Today marks 25 years of Resident Evil!
So here's a throwback from this casual cosplay at Katsucon with @derpstracosplay pic.twitter.com/p59EI8QKYr
— MikkiMarvel (they/them) (@Mikki_Marvelous) March 22, 2021
As for how Capcom itself intends to mark the occasion, it’s confirmed that today is the beginning of a months-long period of festivities that will continue well into the summer and beyond. April will see the broadcast of a brand new game showcase, with the release of Resident Evil Village to follow on May 7th. All of that’s in addition to several movie and TV projects based on the series currently in the works and you can read more about those over here.