Resident Evil The Mercenaries 3D Review

I played on: 3DS

I paid: £5

Available on: 3DS

Notes: Screenshots taken from the Nintendo store and Resident Evil Wika due to the 3DS being extremely difficult to capture.

The Mercenaries 3D is one of the Resident Evil games I feel gets an unfair reputation. Fans complain that it’s a hollow and shallow experience devoid of the story, horror, and exploration found in most RE titles. While these things are certainly true Mercenaries 3D never pretends it’s something it’s not. 

Resident Evil 3, 4, 5, and 6 all include a minigame called The Mercenaries where players kill as many monsters as possible while surviving until time runs out. The aim of the game is to get as high a score as possible. Getting combos or collecting powerups around the map will increase the time until the end of the round. More time means more kills and as such a higher score but also more chances for the endless hoard to overwhelm you causing you to lose all your score. A simple but very enjoyable extra mode. This is what the Mercenaries 3D is. The controls remain the same as Resident Evil 5 and as such feel fantastic.

You have 8 characters to play as from across the entire series each one with an alternate costume to unlock. While everyone plays mostly the same, each character has their own weapon loadout and unique animations for finishers. The full list of characters is Chris and Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, Rebecca Chambers, Barry Burton, Hunk, Jack Krauser, and lastly Albert Wesker. After you pick your character you will be taking on hoards of baddies from both RE4 and 5 across stages based on iconic areas of both games. If you’ve played either one of these games, then all the enemies will feel familiar. 

The presentation is good but not perfect. Without headphones, the audio can sound rather low quality, but this is more due to the 3DS hardware than the game itself. Graphics-wise, it holds up with the original release of RE4 which for such a tiny handheld is rather impressive. There are no cutscenes, so voice acting is kept to a minimum so not much to talk about there.

If you have a friend with a copy of the game then you can also take on any of the stages with a friend using the 3DS's wireless multiplayer. While this is a fun addition to the game it's not very likely to find many people still using a 3DS since the Switch's release so the multiplayer mileage is limited at best. I remember playing it back when it was first released and enjoying it but was unable to find anyone to play with for this review.

Ultimately the Mercenaries 3D is a small game. Judging from most of the reviews I’ve watched or read this seems to be people’s primary complaint. I find this unfair as it’s literally called the Mercenaries and what you get is the Mercenaries mode from previous games. Perfect for bus rides, waiting for your friends, and any other short waits you may have while out in the world. In my opinion, this is a great bite-sized portable RE game to play on the go. Sure, if I’m on a long train ride I’ll play Revelations, Gaiden, or even REmake on my Switch but for when I’m just on a train or bus into town this fills that 10-minutes perfectly.

Recommendation Rating: 8 out of 10