The Resident Evil series has a fairly convoluted story that 's been told over multiple games, movies, comics and more. 2019's Resident Evil 2 remake was practically an entirely new game, and there were a few story changes it made.
With Resident Evil 3 up next, it's time for Jill and Carlos to take the spotlight once again, along with the fearsome Nemesis. Most fans might think Resident Evil 3 is a direct sequel to RE2, but that's not quite true.
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The real answer is a bit complicated, as Resident Evil 3 jumps around the timeline of the series a bit. Here' when it takes place in relation to Resident Evil 2.
Half of Resident Evil 3 Takes Place Before RE2
Resident Evil 3 is essentially split into two halves, with each one taking place at a different point of the story. The Resident Evil 3 demo has players going through an early section of the game in Raccoon City. Resident Evil 2, obviously, shows that the city is pretty much decimated by the end. The first part of Resident Evil 3 takes place two days into the outbreak in Raccoon City, three days before Leon and Claire are locked inside the Police Department. This shows the early days of the outbreak, as pockets of survivors are still alive throughout the city, and zombies are still blocked off by military barricades.
Things go south quickly and a few days later the military has been decimated allowing zombies to break out of contained areas, and the heroes of Resident Evil 2 to enter the city. Partway through Resident Evil 3 Jill is incapacitated and wakes up days later.
The Other Half Takes Place After Resident Evil 2
The original Resident Evil 3 split things up with the opening section taking place before RE 2, then after Jill wakes up taking place days after the end of RE2. It remains to be seen if the remake will keep things exactly the same, but it will at least be a similar basic structure. Jill is basically incapacitated for the events of all of RE 2, and she wakes up on October 1 after Leon and Claire have escaped the city. In the wake of the events of RE 2, the heroes of Resident Evil 3 have to try and escape Raccoon City as well. While Resident Evil 3 is a sequel and develops on much of the story in RE2, it also functions as a prequel in some ways as well. The events heavily tie into Resident Evil 2, so it's good to have knowledge of the prior game before jumping in.