What's the best mainline Resident Evil game, (not including remakes) and why?

[drbunnig]

Dante9 said:

The first game was an instant classic and one of the games that defined the Playstation.
The balance of exploring, puzzle solving and fighting was perfect, whereas the sequels started to bend towards straigth up action and urgency more and more.
I loved the feeling of exploring the giant, creepy mansion and slowly uncovering its secrets. Of course, as the first game, it had the advantage of blowing our minds with the whole Umbrella secret lab situation that you did not see coming and setting up the lore, and the sequels basically just recycled the same beats while trying to make everything more impressive.
The original was a different vibe, one that gradually got lost as the series went along.

My choice too, for pretty much the same reasons. It was incredible to play at the time - I'd never experienced anything like it. The atmosphere is unrivalled (helped by the soundtrack - one of the best in gaming), and the way the story slowly unfolded was gripping. One of those games that I wish I could play for the first time again.