Resident Evil Timeline: Chris Redfield's Journey to Village

Resident Evil, or Biohazard outside of North America, can likely condense its main characters down to four people. The first is Leon S. Kennedy, as he goes from rookie cop to secret agent. Another is Jill Valentine, the lockpick expert and walking cocktail of antiviral agents. Third is Claire Redfield, who went on to fight bioterrorism through activist organization Terra-Save. The last is Claire’s brother, Chris Redfield.

Chris goes from a S.T.A.R.S marksman and member of Alpha Team to one of the biggest forces for good in the franchise. With Resident Evil: Village dropping today, now is a great time to organize the timeline for Chris Redfield. Since this is a recap, beware huge plot spoilers for Resident Evil, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: Revelations, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, Resident Evil 6, Resident Evil Vendetta, and Resident Evil 7.

1998: The Mansion Incident

Appears: Resident Evil (all ports), Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: the Official Comic Magazine (WildStorm), Resident Evil (Marvel Comics)

Chris Redfield’s journey began with the events of Resident Evil. On the evening of July 24, 1998, Chris and the rest of the Alpha Team flew over the Arklay Mountains in search of the missing Bravo Team. When they landed, they uncovered the corpse of Bravo pilot Kevin Dooley. Zombified dogs attacked the party shortly after, prompting a quick retreat as they maul Joseph Frost. Pilot Brad Vickers escaped in the helicopter. Only Chris, Jill, Barry Burton, and Albert Wesker made it to safety in an enormous, eerie mansion.

The mansion, however, was not safe at all. Jill and Barry went missing almost immediately, and Wesker was nowhere to be found, either. Chris explored the mansion until he stumbled upon Rebecca Chambers, a rookie member of Bravo Team. Bravo Team, investigating the strange attacks on people and wildlife over the past few months, was separated by the various creatures prowling around.

Following her nightmarish ordeal in Resident Evil 0, Rebecca promised to help Chris however she can. Her assistance included treating his wounds and playing piano to help him progress. The mansion was a front for experiments by Umbrella, a massive pharmaceutical company also in the business of manufacturing viruses and monstrous Bio Organic Weapons.

Chris eventually discovered that Wesker lured the S.T.A.R.S. there as a trap to gather combat data for the B.O.W.s. A Tyrant, one of the most advanced creatures, attacked and presumably slew Wesker while Chris and Rebecca made their escape. To prevent the spread of the t-Virus, Rebecca set up a bomb to destroy the facility. After freeing Jill Valentine, the group defeated the Tyrant on the helipad and signaled Brad to evacuate them. The canon is a mix of both Chris’s and Jill’s scenarios, with Barry surviving the incident as well.

After the Mansion Incident, Chris left town to investigate Umbrella, as his sister Claire finds out during Resident Evil 2.

1998: Rockfort Island Incident

Appears: Resident Evil CODE: Veronica (+X), Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil Survivor 2 CODE: Veronica, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica (WildStorm)

Following her escape from Raccoon City during Resident Evil 2, Claire left Sherry Birkin and Leon to find her missing brother.

Claire’s investigations led her to an Umbrella facility, though she was captured and taken to their prison on Rockfort Island. Thanks to a tip from Leon, Chris arrived some time thereafter to rescue her. He pursued Claire to a research base in Antarctica. While there, he encountered Wesker. It turned out Wesker survived the Mansion Incident and developed superhuman abilities. Wesker fought Alexia Ashford, the latter bolstered by the T-Veronica virus. Wesker eventually retreated, forcing Chris to defeat her instead.

As the base began to fall apart, Wesker took Claire hostage. Convincing him to release her, Chris and Wesker began to fight. With time running out, Chris retreated to a hanger and fled the facility along with his sister. Afterward, Chris reunited with his comrade, Jill, and they worked together for several years.

2003: Fall of Umbrella

Appears: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, BIOHAZARD UMBRELLA CHRONICLES: Prelude to the Fall

In 2003, Chris and Jill journeyed to the Caucasus region and investigated an Umbrella facility in hopes of putting the organization down for good. Appearing in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Chris and Jill investigated a remote village in the area with an all-too-familiar infection. Wesker appeared again to taunt them, but denied his involvement before fleeing the scene. He later reappeared, revealing many of the citizens of the town were, in fact, Umbrella employees.

The pair continued their investigation. After shooting through dozens of undead, Lickers, and monkey-based Eliminators, the two battled t-A.L.O.S., a Tyrant integrated with an onboard computer and powered armor. They defeated it, and once again the pair were forced to escape the facility before its destruction.

2003-05: Early BSAA, Il Veltro

Appears: Resident Evil: Revelations

With Umbrella’s collapse, Chris and Jill turned to fight bioterrorism on a larger scale. Umbrella had managed to sell a notable number of its products on the black market, prompting wide-scale extermination efforts against B.O.W.s. They helped found the Biohazard Security Assessment Alliance. The BSAA, with the permission of the United Nations, would stop bioterrorism wherever it appeared.

After the 2004 Terragrigia Panic orchestrated by Il Veltro, Chris investigated the perpetrators. Ordered by BSAA director Clive R. O’Brian, he searched for Il Veltro’s new hideout after their apparent resurrection. Along with his new partner, Jessica Sherawat, he traveled to a remote part of Finland up in the mountains. They lost contact with the BSAA shortly thereafter, and Jill launched a rescue mission to find her old partner.

Jill found the Queen Zenobia, a large ship in the Mediterranean Sea, and began to search for Chris. Meanwhile, Chris and Jessica sifted through the wreckage of a plane crash. It’s apparent the pilot was mauled by some sort of creature, and the two encountered t-Abyss-infected wolves in the vicinity. They found Il Veltro’s hideout and reestablished communication, only to be told that Jill and her partner, Parker Luciani, were missing somewhere in the ocean.

Chris and Jessica boarded a ship in the area, but soon came to the conclusion that they were aboard the Queen Semiramis, a copy of the Queen Zenobia. Correcting their mistake, the two headed towards the Zenobia with coordinates from O’Brian. They encountered someone dressed like an Il Veltro agent. Jessica fired on him, apparently killing him. Upon removing his mask, he is revealed to be Raymond Vester, an Federal Bioterrorism Commission operative and veteran of the Terragrigia Panic, like Jessica and Parker.

Chris found JIll, and the two worked together to prevent t-Abyss from spreading to the ocean wildlife. They encountered a wounded Parker and learned that Jessica is working for Morgan Lansdale. Lansdale, head of the United States’ FBC, was the true culprit behind the Terragrigia Panic. Though he fell to his apparent death, Parker does end up surviving and escaping the Zenobia. O’Brian also admitted to duping Jill and Parker in an attempt to bring Lansdale to justice. Lansdale used the Regia Solis, a large satellite, to essentially fry Terragrigia and destroy the city. It also had the side effect of cleaning up any evidence of his involvement.

However, Jack Norman, head of Il Veltro, was alive beneath the ruins of Terragrigia. Chris and Jill traveled to the Queen Dido, a sunken ship and Norman’s location. Norman injected himself with t-Abyss to take revenge on Lansdale, but Jill put him down with some help from Chris. With their evidence, Chris and Jill also put Lansdale behind bars, though O’Brian was arrested for his actions. Chris became a Special Operations Agent and worked with Jill to stop bioterrorism across the globe. He rose through the ranks to become a top agent, with considerable authority.

2006: Spencer Estate Investigation

Appears: Resident Evil 5 (Lost in Nightmares DLC)

Chris and Jill learned the location of Umbrella founder Oswell E. Spencer. Discovering his bodyguards already dead, the pair solved a number of puzzles and escaped familiar-feeling traps. After finally catching up to Spencer’s hiding place, they found Wesker. Having just killed Spencer himself a few minutes prior, he challenged his former subordinates.

Of course, thanks to his powers, Wesker easily overpowered the two of them. Just as Wesker was about to finish Chris off, Jill tackled Wesker. The two went through a window and disappeared into a ravine. Though the BSAA searched for three months, they eventually concluded that Jill was killed in action. Part of a marketing trailer for Resident Evil 5 showed Jill’s apparent grave.

2009: Kijuju Incident

Appears: Resident Evil 5

By 2009, Chris had become one of the top operatives in the BSAA. He received intelligence of a potential bioterrorism deal in the Kijuju Autonomous Zone in Africa. Joined by a new partner, Sheva Alomar of the West African branch of the BSAA, they worked to arrest bioweapons dealer Ricardo Irving. It was rumored that Irving had connections to a new virus known as Uroboros.

It turned out, many of the residents of Kijuju have become Majini, humans infected with a Plagas parasite (from Resident Evil 4). After discovering that most of the BSAA Alpha Team was slaughtered, Chris and Sheva received data from one of the survivors before he passed. The meeting with Irving was a setup. Armed with the information from Irving, they traveled to a storage facility and uploaded the data.

While chasing Irving, however, Chris’s air support was killed. Chris and Sheva were ambushed by a motorcycle gang of Majini, but the two were rescued by Delta Team. Josh Stone, a member of Delta Team, shared information with Chris and Sheva. He revealed that, based on the evidence the two had uploaded, Irving had fled to a set of mines nearby. Chris also noticed that among the data was an image of a woman who looks like Jill. The two resumed their pursuit, though a mysterious cloaked figure helped Irving thwart them.

Some time later, they reunited with Josh at the docks and confronted Irving. After defeating his mutated form, he directed Chris and Sheva to a cave in the area before dying. Chris and Sheva investigated the cave, discovering an Umbrella facility amid the underground ruins. As he searched for Jill, TRICELL Regional Director Excella Gionne taunted Chris, claiming that he would never learn of her whereabouts. Though he did not find Jill, Chris did learn that Wesker had survived his apparent death at the Spencer Estate.

When Chris and Sheva encountered Excella, she led them into a trap. The cloaked figure from before attacked, ambushing Chris and Sheva before Wesker appeared. He also revealed that the figure is none other than Jill, who had been brainwashed. After Chris and Sheva’s defeat, Wesker left Jill to finish them off, but Chris broke through her control for a moment. Together, the two managed to remove the device controlling her, leaving Jill to recover while they chased Wesker.

The two went after Excella, who dropped a strange serum in her panicked fleeing. They eventually cornered and defeated her after she was mutated by Wesker into Uroboros Aheri. Jill contacted Chris and Sheva, explaining that Wesker required a special medication to remain human. An overdose would prove dangerous for him. Fortunately, Excella had inadvertently provided the medication needed.

Continuing to pursue Wesker, they eventually managed to sicken him with a dose of serum. Chris relived Jill’s sacrifice as Wesker clung to Sheva’s leg, but he caught her before she and Wesker tumbled out of a stealth bomber. They crashed into a volcano and took on a rapidly mutating Wesker. Here, Chris infamously punched a boulder to reunite with Sheva. With their firepower, they subdued Wesker long enough to cause him to fall into the lava. Chris and Sheva boarded a helicopter flown by Josh and Jill. Though Wesker attempted a last-ditch attack, Chris and Sheva fired some RPGs at him, presumably destroying him for good. They reached out to Barry Burton, recommending him for the BSAA.

2010-12: Further Bioterrorism Incidents

Appears: BIOHAZARD THE STAGE, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire

Sometime after the Kijuju Incident, Chris stepped down from his position as a Special Operations Agent, pivoting to a Special Operations Unit Captain. Among the fresh faces of the BSAA was Piers Nivans, a sniper. Chris took a special interest in his abilities and mentors him more closely.

In mid-August of 2010, Chris, Piers, and Rebecca investigated Philosophy University in Australia. They discovered a professor’s involvement with Umbrella and killed Mary Gray, the true mastermind behind the experiments on campus. This is portrayed in BIOHAZARD THE STAGE.

Chris and Piers later handled an incident at an American mall. As their relationship grew, Chris and Piers traveled to Asia to help the Far East branch of the BSAA. They met up with a new agent, Merah Biji, and worked with her to investigate the Marhawa School Outbreak two years later in 2012.

Redfield, Nivans, and Biji came to a remote school in fictional Asian country Kudahnkan. This is the first canonical appearance of the C-Virus, a test for the events of Resident Evil 6 orchestrated by Ada Wong doppelgänger Carla Radames. The remote location of the school made it a perfect testing ground while the three agents fought off waves of zombies. Merah sacrificed herself at the last moment, urging Chris to continue his crusade against bioterrorism and telling Piers to take care of Chris before dying.

During this time, Claire introduced her brother to Leon (as seen in a file in Resident Evil 6).

2012-13: Edonia & Lanshiang

Appears: Resident Evil 6

On Christmas Eve, 2012, Chris, Piers, and the rest of Chris’ team were sent to Edonia in Eastern Europe. New creatures, called J’avo, assisted the rebels in the Edonian Civil War. Chris and his team encountered various J’avo and a massive Ogroman, then proceeded to the City Hall.

Chris and Piers eventually ran into Sherry Birkin, now an adult and D.S.O. agent, and her charge Jake Muller. The four of them worked together with the rest of Chris’s team to defeat a pair of Ogromen. Muller seemed oddly familiar to Chris, but he couldn’t put his finger on why, exactly.

After Sherry and Jake evacuated Edonia via helicopter, Chris and Piers continued to investigate City Hall. They came across a woman in blue claiming to be Ada Wong, and agreed to help her evacuate the building. It turned out to be a trap, however, and the woman infected the other members of Chris’s team with the C-Virus. Reinforcements managed to rescue Chris and Piers, though Chris’s injuries caused him to lose consciousness.

The trauma of losing the squad caused Chris to repress his memories. Having fled the hospital before anyone could explain, he loitered in Edonia for six months with no idea as to his real identity. Piers tracked him down to his frequent watering hole, scornful of his commander’s new attitude. Chris stopped only upon recognizing the BSAA emblem on Piers’s clothing.

Though he still suffered from amnesia, Chris rejoined the BSAA. Chris and Piers were swiftly dispatched to Lanshiang, China. As they take out the J’avo invading the city, Chris begins to remember what happened six months prior. The two of them quickly come across Sherry and Jake, who had been missing since leaving Edonia. Chris and Piers split up from them shortly thereafter in pursuit of a giant snake monster.

They spotted a blue-clad Ada Wong and pursued her, also running into Leon and his partner, Helena Harper. Leon and Chris argued for a moment, and Chris learned that “Ada Wong” isn’t Ada at all. Derek C. Simmons was responsible for everything, and “Ada” was simply going rogue. Her flash grenade disoriented the group and she escaped. Chris and Piers left Simmons to Leon and Helena, instead going after “Ada.”

Confronting “Ada” on the docks, Chris and Piers prepared to arrest her. She said that she planned to infect the world with the C-Virus using missiles. Someone aboard a helicopter suddenly shot her in the chest, and she tumbles over a railing. She left behind a case containing an enhanced version of the C-Virus, which the two of them take. Though Chris and Piers tried, they failed to stop the missiles from barraging the mainland, turning many of the city’s residents into zombies.

Leon contacted Chris, urging him to rescue Sherry and Jake from an underwater Neo-Umbrella facility. He also informed Chris that Jake was Albert Wesker’s son, and the secret to treating the C-Virus. Chris and Piers agreed to Leon’s request, with Chris musing about retiring and naming Piers as his successor. They rescued Jake and Sherry, but tensions flared when Chris admitted to Jake that he killed his father in Kijuju. Despite their uneasiness, they worked together long enough to get Jake and Sherry out of the facility.

Unfortunately, HAOS, a B.O.W. designed to infect the planet with the C-Virus, hatched from its chrysalis. Chris and Piers confronted it, sending Jake and Sherry to safety, but it managed to maim Piers and put Chris on the defensive. As it came to its full strength, Piers injected himself with the C-Virus in a moment of desperation, using its power to stop HAOS long enough for Chris to defeat it.

Piers trapped Chris in an escape pod, sending him to the surface. HAOS attacked once more, but an electrical blast from Piers seemed to destroy it for good. Piers is considered KIA. In honor of his memory, Chris continued to serve as a Field Captain for the BSAA.

2014-15: New York Outbreak

Appears: Resident Evil Vendetta

After the events in Resident Evil 6, in 2014 Chris found himself involved in a sting with the Mexican government to seize weapons dealer Glenn Arias. In addition to his work detaining Arias, Chris was also searching for the missing BSAA operative Cathy (sometimes Kathy) White and her son, Zack.

The mansion Chris and his team investigated was not, however, abandoned. Inside were a number of zombies, including an undead Zack. Redfield was forced to retreat, and easily taken out by Arias. Arias showed him a zombified Cathy, who attacked Chris to the exclusion of Glenn and his cronies.

Chris’s work led him to New York City. There, he met Rebecca, now an established doctor, and learned from her that the new A-Virus had traits similar to Las Plagas (Resident Evil 4). The two of them picked up Leon in Colorado. The team was ambushed, and the perpetrators absconded with Chambers against her will.

Chris and the others returned to New York City. He learned the location of Arias and his hideout, where he’d taken Rebecca and infected her with a particularly potent strain of the A-Virus. Chris made his way to the laboratory, rescuing Rebecca and carrying her up to the rooftop.

Once again, Chris engaged Arias, the two coming to a standstill before Chris gained the upper hand. He resumed his search for Rebecca’s vaccine. Arias fused with Diego Gomez, who’d kidnapped Rebecca earlier. The two of them became a Tyrant-like creature, quickly overwhelming Leon until Chris blasted apart its heart. Leon, Chris, Rebecca, and the rest of the team then distributed the vaccine, curing most of the infected residents of New York City.

2017: Dulvey Incident

Appear(s): Resident Evil 7 (Base Game, Not a Hero DLC)

Chris Redfield appeared towards the end of the game, rescuing Ethan Winters from Eveline in the swamps of Dulvey, Louisiana. Though he didn’t like it, he cooperated with Blue Umbrella to bring in Lucas Baker and deal with the Mold.

Once Ethan and Mia were evacuated via helicopter, Chris began to chase Lucas and find three of the missing operatives. Though Lucas managed to strap an explosive to Chris’s arm, Chris opted to continue following him instead of removing the bomb.

As Chris progressed through the mines, he failed to save them from Lucas’s traps. Lucas also attempted to detonate the explosives on Chris’s arm, but he was able to douse it in liquid nitrogen to disable it. Evading another trap, Chris learned that Lucas intended to upload data to The Connections, a greater-scope criminal organization and antagonist.

Lucas caught onto Chris, however, and ambushed him with a knife. Chris shot Lucas, accidentally causing him to mutate into the DLC’s final boss. Once Chris put him down, he destroyed the hard drives containing the data. Some time later, he searched for Zoe Baker in the vicinity at Ethan’s request. Though he did not personally find her, he helped Zoe reconnect with Ethan.

That’s pretty much everything of note that Chris has been involved with in the Resident Evil series. What was your favorite game? Why did they change the colors of Claire’s jorts from pink to plain denim? There are still plenty of unanswered questions, and hopefully the latest installment will answer them. Resident Evil Village is out now.