5 Best Games From Resident Evil Creator Shinji Mikami, Ranked

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Shinji Mikami began his career at Capcom in the early 1990s, initially working on games based on Disney properties like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Aladdin. He quickly became famous for creating the hugely popular Resident Evil series. This success launched his career, and over the past few decades, he’s consistently delivered excellent games for various companies. Mikami is known for being open to trying new things; while he first gained recognition with survival horror, he’s worked on a wide variety of game types. However, five games particularly stand out as his most impressive work.

This is a list of the five best games directed or significantly influenced by the renowned game designer, Shinji Mikami. Any game he worked on was considered for inclusion.

5) The Evil Within 2

In 2010, Shinji Mikami started Tango Gameworks with the goal of bringing back classic survival horror. He was a pioneer of the genre, and after spending five years on action games like Vanquish and Shadows of the Damned, fans were excited to see what he would do with a return to horror.

The original The Evil Within didn’t gain much attention, despite being a decent game. It felt like a departure for its creator, Shinji Mikami. For the sequel, Mikami stepped back, allowing John Johanas to lead development while he served as an executive producer. This change in leadership resulted in a highly praised survival horror game, considered one of the best of the last ten years.

The Evil Within 2 delivers a fantastic atmosphere and genuinely suspenseful gameplay. While the open world isn’t the most visually exciting, it doesn’t significantly hurt the overall experience of this cult classic from Tango Gameworks. It’s unfortunate that it didn’t reach a wider audience, but the game is still readily available, so it’s easy to pick up and play.

4) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Just like with The Evil Within 2, Shinji Mikami was the executive producer for the first three Ace Attorney games. He later worked with Shu Takumi on Dino Crisis 2 and then encouraged the young director to spend six months creating a project of his own choosing.

The game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney became a hit, offering players a unique and exciting visual novel experience centered around courtroom trials. While it’s a video game, so more over-the-top than a typical Law & Order show, people loved it anyway.

Mikami-san worked on Justice for All and Trials and Tribulations too, and honestly, either of those could easily be here. But you know what they say about first impressions, right? So I’m going with the very first Ace Attorney game for this spot. It’s just special to me!

3) Viewtiful Joe

Before leaving Capcom, director Hideki Kamiya delivered one final gem: Viewtiful Joe. This action game was part of a special initiative called Capcom Five, a collaboration with Nintendo to bring five high-quality third-party titles to the GameCube. I’ll be discussing the most popular game from that lineup shortly, but Viewtiful Joe is definitely worth mentioning.

Hideki Kamiya and Shinji Mikami had collaborated on games like Devil May Cry and Resident Evil before. For Viewtiful Joe, Capcom aimed to create a stylish and groundbreaking action game, and the team delivered, making it one of the most visually impressive titles on the GameCube.

Adding in the unique “Viewtiful Effects Powers”—which let players manipulate time and space using camera angles—makes this one of Capcom’s greatest titles. And this wasn’t a one-time collaboration; Mikami and Kamiya later joined forces again at both Clover Studios and PlatinumGames.

2) Resident Evil Remake

The first Resident Evil game practically defined the survival horror genre. While incredibly influential, it couldn’t fully realize the director Mikami’s original vision because of the PlayStation’s technical limitations. Although the GameCube wasn’t known for cutting-edge graphics, Mikami and his team decided to remake the original Resident Evil to introduce a new generation of players to this timeless classic.

As a fan, I still think Capcom’s original Resident Evil remake is one of the best remakes ever made. Newer games like Resident Evil 2 Remake definitely look amazing, and the Final Fantasy VII Remake series is really redefining what a remake can be. But for years, that GameCube Resident Evil remake was the standard – every other remake had to measure up to it.

The remake is so well-done that Capcom doesn’t seem in a rush to make another one. They’ve remade almost every other Resident Evil game from that time period, but the original RE1 remains untouched. While a remake could happen eventually, the lasting quality of the GameCube version is proof of how good it still is, and why Capcom hasn’t felt the need to revisit the game that started it all.

1) Resident Evil 4

It’s definitely Resident Evil 4. This game was Capcom’s biggest hit, and for good reason – it made a ton of money for them when it came out in the 2000s, and has since been released on almost every gaming console. Some people think the series went downhill with RE5 and 6 because of the focus on action, but that doesn’t change how thrilling Leon’s adventure still is.

It’s easy to see why Resident Evil 4 is so popular and appears on so many platforms. It’s widely considered one of the greatest action games ever made, and the recent remake has only improved it. While I don’t think it’s the best Resident Evil game personally, I know most people disagree. Regardless, it’s the strongest title that Shinji Mikami directly oversaw.

For years, Mikami has been trying to recreate the success he had with Resident Evil 4. While he’s created other good games since then, none have been quite as impactful. With his new studio, Kamuy Inc., he has a chance to really elevate his work to a new level.

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2026-01-07 22:17