For nearly 30 years,Resident Evilhas remained the premier survival horror franchise due in no small part to its incredible rogues' gallery. Aside from the trademark zombies that have defined much ofResident Evil’s beginnings, each title features an impressive cast of grotesque bioweapons that have been engineered by the Umbrella Corporation, with many of them earning recurring spots in multiple series titles. Given the franchise’s recent track record and Capcom’s release strategy, it seems likely that the next title in the series will beResident Evil 9, and there’s an opportunity for the next main sequel in the franchise to include some monsters that have been absent fromResident Evilfor years.
The very firstResident Evilprimarily had players facing off against a variety of “zombies” that were actually Umbrella researchers unfortunately infected with the T-Virus. Outside the undead denizens of the Spencer Mansion, players also had to contend with zombified dogs (Cerberus) and sharks (Neptune). While the Cerberus, designed as undead and gore-ridden Doberman Pinschers, have made recurring appearances in severalResident Eviltitles, there are even more frightful monsters from the originalResident Evilthat have yet to appear in more than one or two series entries, making them perfect candidates for a glow-upcourtesy ofResident Evil 9.
RELATED:Resident Evil’s Legacy Characters Are Now a Ticking Time Bomb
The Hunter Should Make a Return in the Next Resident Evil
It’s surprising that the Hunter enemy type has only made a mainline series appearanceas recently asResident Evil 3(including 2020’s remake), although the iconic monster does rear its ugly head inResident Evil Revelations. A horrific blending of human and amphibian DNA, the Hunter is one of the most fearsome and deadly foes in bothResident EvilandResident Evil 3, routinely showing up at the most inopportune times to completely disrupt players' temporary senses of safety.
Playing in Nightmare or Inferno mode inResident Evil 3’s remake showcases how deadly the Hunter truly is, with most encounters ending in one-hit kills. WithResident Evil 9likely continuing the trend of new numbered sequels being first-person, the thought of confronting a Hunter becomes even more terrifying.
TheResident Evilseries has been further leaning into its horror roots as of late, in both the remakes and the main series sequels. If Capcom intends forResident Evil 9to be a watershed momentfor the series and mark a full-circle moment for the overarching narrative and characters, the appearance of the Hunter would be a welcome (albeit terrifying) callback to the series' origins.
Chimera Haven’t Been Seen Since the First Resident Evil
While the Hunter enemy type has had its fair share of time in the spotlight pastthe firstResident Evil, there’s one enemy that has been absent from the series outside the series' beginnings despite being one of the most harrowing and intense encounters in the late game. This enemy type is, of course, the Chimera—the human and fly DNA hybrid that is somehow just as disturbing and unsettling as David Cronenberg’s Seth Brundle/Brundlefly from his timeless and gut-wrenching remake ofThe Fly.
That the Chimera hasn’t made a main series appearance since the first game seems like fertile ground for a reappearance in the nextResident Evil. The Chimera tend to walk on ceilings and then drop to surprise the player, making them an ideal enemy type to add tension and horror to the first-person gameplay that will likely be utilized bythe nextResident Evil.
Other than the telltale hissing and clicking sounds that the Chimera makes, they are darker, easily hidden within shadows, and harder to see sneaking up on the player. It’s honestly difficult to think of a better classic enemy from the series that could instill true terror in players. Many fans believe thatResident Evil 9might see longtime series hero Chris Redfield return as the protagonist, and what better way to send off the former STARS member than to have him face off against some of his earliest nemeses.
Resident Evil 9is rumored to be in development.
MORE:Capcom Gives Resident Evil Fans New Hope for Code Veronica Remake
