Resident Evil 3 Remake, hot off the heels of the massively successful Resident Evil 2 Remake, brought a few unique touches to a very similar formula. Dodging was a movement option in the game, new difficulty modes were offered, and an unlockable item shop helped refresh every playthrough.
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A shining staple of the Resident Evil series is its commitment to post-game unlockables and content. These can be perfectly normal items, like a unique handgun that a character used in the story, high-tech creations used to eliminate the zombie hordes, or novelty items that exist just because they can. The Resident Evil 3 remake continues this trend and gives you access to over a dozen unique game modifiers, weapons, costumes, and difficulties. This is a list of every major unlock, ranked.
Updated on March 21, 2023, by Axel Bosso: With the incoming launch of Resident Evil 4 Remake, we thought this was a good time to get back to the previous remake in the series and check a few things. For example, which are the best items and weapons you can either find or unlock in the game? This list has been updated with the site's newest standards.
15 Samurai Edge Pistol
- Unlock Requirement: 5,600 Points in the Shop.
The Samurai Edge is a basic handgun that continues to show up in nearly every Resident Evil title as some sort of unlockable item. It is typically not much better than the other handguns in the game, but it can be a viable option for your first or second playthrough.
This unlockable exists for Resident Evil purists that want to keep the story of the Samurai Edge alive.
14 Nightmare And Inferno Difficulty
- Unlock Requirement: Complete the game on Hardcore and Nightmare.
There have often been two or three difficulty modes in most iterations of Resident Evil games throughout the past decade. Resident Evil 3 Remake offers an Assist, Normal, and Hardcore mode while also providing two higher difficulty modes.
Nightmare and Inferno are unlocked by beating the hardest difficulty available to you. For those wanting to lessen the challenge and take down Nemesis, the other unlocks on this list can be used to make these modes a cakewalk.
13 Hot Dogger Knife
- Unlock Requirement: 7,200 Points in the Shop.
Cementing its spot on this list through novelty alone is the Hot Dogger. It is a flaming knife capable of engulfing the zombies of Raccoon City in flames. It has a longer reach than the normal knife and does fire damage, making this the go-to for melee weapons in the game.
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Players have beaten the original Resident Evil 3 with a knife, so you could imagine what could be done with an upgraded variant of one.
12 MUP Pistol
- Unlock Requirement: 8,000 Points in the Shop.
Relying too much on the MUP Pistol is like only using the Samurai Edge or any other pistol in a game with assault rifles or rocket launchers present. Pistols can be useful but become less so once other weapons are discovered.
However, the key difference here is that the MUP is one of the unlimited ammo weapons. For those working towards the better unlocks, this is a solid stop on the way.
11 Lockpick
- Unlock Requirement: 2,800 Points in the Shop.
The lockpick is a mostly optional item throughout the first playthrough of the game, but can really strengthen your other playthroughs when you have it early.
Why, do you ask? This useful object lets you access locked rooms or lockers with first aid sprays, ammo, and weapon parts. Unlocking this in the shop can speed up your ongoing playthroughs without needing to first detour and get the lockpick.
10 Bolt Cutters
- Unlock Requirement: 2,800 Points in the Shop.
The bolt cutters and lockpick are nearly identical in function, allowing access to restricted areas or lockers, but the bolt cutters are a much more satisfying item to use.
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The distinctive *click* of the chains being cut has become a strange phenomenon that keeps appearing in recent Resident Evil games. As well as what happens with the lockpick, having this item in your inventory can take out some solid time for those doing a playthrough as quickly as possible.
9 Rai-Den
- Unlock Requirement: 12,000 Points in the Shop.
In a not-so-subtle nod to Mortal Kombat's Raiden, the Rai-Den gun electrifies zombies and removes them of their heads. This pistol leans closer to novelty than a truly functional item, but it can be a fun gun to bring with you for a playthrough to see how it performs and to see the spectacular effect it causes.
This weapon's shot has to be charged and can only hit critical points on whichever enemy it is targeting. It is clearly designed for individual use on zombies, as it is much less effective on other enemy types.
8 Crafting Companion
- Unlock Requirement: 4,000 Points in the Shop.
The crafting companion is one of the more basic unlocks available to you. It has a very clear use that could be very quickly outlived. This unlockable has to be carried in your inventory but allows you to create more ammo.
The best uses of this will most likely come from the creation of extra grenade launcher ammo, as it does the most damage until later unlocks are earned.
7 Hip Pouch
- Unlock Requirement: 4,800 Points in the Shop.
The hip pouch makes a return from Resident Evil 2. These items are scattered throughout the game and add two inventory slots to Jill's increasingly large toolbelt.
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This unlockable hip pouch acts as icing on the cake, removing further needs for inventory management from your game and allowing you to carry most of the unlockables that you would like.
6 STARS Combat Manual
- Unlock Requirement: 6,400 Points in the Shop.
Resident Evil 3 Remake implemented a dodge mechanic that can help you get out of a sticky situation. This dodge can also be done at a "perfect" time to perform a perfect dodge.
The perfect version of this move activates a brief window of bullet time that allows you to do extra damage or escape. The combat manual makes this activation window longer, so more perfect dodges are likely.
