1. The Very First Zombie in Resident Evil

It may be hard to imagine, but there was a time when the sight of a fully rendered zombie in a video game was both frightening and breathtaking. This was the moment we discovered Resident Evil had teeth. (Photo: Capcom)

2. The Magic Carpet Lava Chase in Aladdin

The Battletoads hoverbike race gets all the fame, but Mikami's lava chase is a contender for the most harrowing tunnel run in video game history. (Photo: Capcom)

3. The Cerberus Window Scare in Resident Evil

When these rabid dogs jumped through a window in a dimly lit hallway, most of us had to fight the urge to jump out of a window in real life. (Photo: Capcom)

4. The Chainsaw-Wielding Dr. Salvador in Resident Evil 4

After a brief warm-up in the woods, Resident Evil 4 quickly descended into all-out chaos as a swarm of angry villagers lusts after your sweet neck blood. The chainsaw brute became a series icon. (Photo: Capcom)

5. The T-Rex Bursting Through the Window in Dino Crisis

The best Jurassic Park game isn't even called Jurassic Park. Dino Crisis is a cool 90 degree turn from Mikami's other horror titles, but the dude couldn't give up his classic window scares. (Photo: Capcom)

6. The Tentacle Erupting From a Ganado in Resident Evil 4

It's alive! Just when players got a handle on evil villagers, this guy showed up. And head shots just made things worse. Now that is scary. (Photo: Capcom)

7. Iwazaru the Bondage Suit Servant in Killer 7

A chill went down everyone's spine when this red-suited freak descended on his bungee cord. Suda 51 rightfully gets acclaim for Killer 7, but Shinji Mikami shares the credit as co-writer. (Photo: Capcom)

8. The Angry Crimson Heads in Resident Evil: REmake

In addition to the lurid new graphics, the Resident Evil remake had some devious updates, including angry Crimson Head zombies that roar to life when a corpse wasn't crispy enough. Yikes! (Photo: Capcom)

9. The Near Invincible Spider-Lady in The Evil Within

We don't know what it is about creepy ladies with long hair covering their faces, but they're a staple of Japanese horror. This spider creature was almost impossible to kill; the only other option: just run, run, run for your life. (Photo: Bethesda)

10. The Licker Surprise in Resident Evil 2

Everything went wrong for poor Claire in the Interrogation Room. If only she knew Mikami's penchant for busting through windows with disgusting creatures, she might have stood a chance. (Photo: Capcom)

11. Pulling Off "Slidekick Backflip Bullet Time" in Vanquish

Scary stylish is more like it. Vanquish was Gears of War on a steady diet of anime and methamphetamine. It was often overwhelming, but pulling off insane stunts like this in the middle of a terrifying firefight felt thrilling. (Photo: SEGA)

12. Getting Barricaded by Griefers in Resident Evil Outbreak

This online Resident Evil oddity for the PS2 left limited means to communicate with co-op partners. That mechanism created the perfect way for pranksters to serve up players as zombie suppers. (Photo: Capcom)

13. The Azel Boss Fights in God Hand

The Head Slicer. The Daisy Cutter. The Reverse Hell Kick. These were all weapons in Azel's formidable arsenal. If players weren't quick to the draw with a Hand Plant Kick, they were toast. (Photo: Capcom)

14. The Draining Bathtub in Resident Evil

Nothing good ever came from draining a bathtub in a haunted mansion. Why is it so impossible to resist? Fate guided our hand forward, revealing the loathsome beast that slept beneath. (Photo: Capcom)

15. The Red and Blue Skeleton Bosses in Goof Troop

Who thought a harmless little game about Goofy and his son Max could hide such a terrifyingly difficult boss fight? They lived up to their self-proclaimed goal of filling our hearts with dread. (Photo: Capcom)

16. The Fleming Fight in Shadows of the Damned

Another Mikami and Suda teamup! Besides having a disgusting totem pole of skulls for a face, Fleming lobbed beams from his eyes, and hid a whole girlfriend in his trench coat. What a creep. (Photo: Electronic Arts)

17. The Search for Dr. Valerio's Key in The Evil Within

The worst part of this scene had to be the disgusting squishing sounds that accompanied the manual exploration of a cadaver. And, of course, the inevitable killer scare. (Photo: Bethesda)

18. The Cabin Battle With Luis in Resident Evil 4

By now, battles with zombies breaking into cramped rooms is de rigueur. But when Leon and Luis first fought this rampaging horde, it felt dynamic and frighteningly realistic, like nothing that came before. (Photo: Capcom)