The game begins 24 hours before the outbreak seen in Resident Evil 2 . Jill, under house arrest due to the Arklay Mountains incident, decides to escape the city as the T-Virus spirals out of control. However, the Umbrella Corporation has deployed a new Bio-Organic Weapon (BOW) codenamed (a.k.a. "The Pursuer") — a super-intelligent Tyrant variant programmed to eliminate all surviving S.T.A.R.S. members.

Originally intended as a non-numbered spin-off, marketing executives pushed for the "3" branding. The result is a hybrid: a classic survival horror game fused with action-heavy set pieces and a relentless, intelligent stalker enemy.

Jill Valentine (S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team, former Delta Force operative).