This game made many people envious during the sixth console generation. Released exclusively for the GameCube in that generation, nearly all of us PlayStation 2 owners were left empty-handed. The game was, and remains, excellent. It brings together every element that made the classic Resident Evil franchise unforgettable while adding gameplay innovations never explored before. Fortunately, it was rereleased on several platforms, allowing all of us to enjoy the experience today.
The beginning of another memorable video game adventure.
Resident Evil Zero (Biohazard Zero in Japan) was originally released for GameCube in 2002 and rereleased for Wii in 2008. An HD remaster reached the market in 2016 for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Finally, the Switch will soon add this great game to its library as well. The following review covers the high-definition version.
Graphical comparison between the original and the recent HD version.
Note: I recommend reading the previous review of Resident Evil Remake HD before this one for a better understanding of the story and the differences between the games.
Below is the trailer for the recently released HD remaster of Resident Evil Zero.
Trivia 1: Capcom's former partners SEGA and Nintendo were apparently not very happy when one of the company's greatest hits, Resident Evil, was released exclusively for the new rival PlayStation. To ease tensions, all indications are that Capcom promised two exclusive games from the same franchise for the two consoles. They would be Resident Evil Dash for Saturn and Resident Evil Zero for Nintendo 64. Unfortunately, those promises were not fulfilled during the generation: not even a single image of Dash was released, while Zero ultimately appeared only on the GameCube successor. Sega and Nintendo fans in the fifth console generation had to settle for the later releases of Resident Evil 1 and 2, respectively.
Events Before Resident Evil Zero
Next, we will look at some important facts for a better understanding of the events that led to the conflicts in Resident Evil Zero. They are spoilers, but I will try to describe them without disrupting the experience of anyone who has not yet played it.
In the early 1960s, three scientist friends working in bioengineering and virology decide to found a company to conduct various kinds of research. They are Edward Ashford, the noble member of a European family; James Marcus, the wisest; and Ozwell E. Spencer, the wealthiest and the owner of the classic mansion from the franchise's first game.
In 1968, Spencer creates the Umbrella Corporation with his friends, and friction immediately begins among the partners. Their lack of trust creates division, and individual research starts taking place without everyone's knowledge. As a result, only Spencer knows the results obtained from test subject Lisa Trevor, while Edward's son Alexander Ashford secretly opens a research center in Antarctica, where the Code: Veronica project begins.
Edward Ashford dies that same year, giving Spencer more power and influence within Umbrella. Following its patriarch's death, the Ashford family loses considerable business prestige, while James Marcus, obsessed solely with science, ignores Umbrella's direction and focuses all his attention on the virus he was studying.
Spencer, who already aspired to control everything, sends two promising young men to serve as assistants and spies in Marcus's laboratories. They are William Birkin and Albert Wesker, both longtime acquaintances of Resident Evil fans.
In September 1978, James begins maintaining a stable form of the Progenitor virus, now called the Tyrant Virus, or simply the T-virus. This success comes through the use of leeches as intermediate hosts in the refinement process. In 1988, the T-virus is finally completed, and Spencer sends troops to kill Marcus, who apparently is no longer useful to Umbrella's interests. USS agents shoot the chief scientist in front of William and Albert, students whom James regarded almost as sons. William Birkin receives credit for the virus, becomes the lead researcher, and begins studying an even stronger parasite.
Leeches, responsible for great harm in the world of Resident Evil.
The Story of Resident Evil Zero
The following section contains game spoilers, but only from its beginning.
As its name suggests, Resident Evil Zero takes place shortly before the campaign of the first game. More precisely, it describes the events that brought Rebecca Chambers inside the Spencer Mansion, where Chris would later find her.
In July 1998, bodies are found on the outskirts of Raccoon City near the Arklay Mountains. Among the various signs of violence on the corpses, some show evidence of cannibalism. The S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team is sent to seek an explanation. At the same time, the Umbrella-owned Ecliptic Express is carrying company employees to one of its laboratories when mutant leeches attack it. Besides derailing the train, this incident also causes a military vehicle transporting a convicted prisoner in the area to overturn.
That zombie coming toward us with raised arms could not be left out.
After disembarking from the team's helicopter, which had malfunctioned in the forest, Rebecca finds the overturned military vehicle and two dead officers. Examining documents at the scene reveals that it was transporting a prisoner sentenced to death. The prisoner's name is Billy Cohen, and finding the fugitive within the surrounding area becomes Bravo Team's priority.
After the team splits up, Rebecca finds the train and sees with her own eyes that the people inside are turning into zombies. This is where the campaign of Resident Evil Zero begins.
It does not take long for the protagonist to meet Billy, with whom she must form a partnership if both are to escape this horror alive.
The conflict of trusting someone with a criminal record.
Behind the Scenes of the Game
As soon as the first game in the Resident Evil franchise became successful, Capcom began planning a title set before the original. One of its new features was the ability to alternate between two characters. That was precisely why the Nintendo 64 was chosen as its platform at the time, since it would be the only system capable of switching protagonists without a loading screen disrupting the experience.
Resident Evil Zero was initially announced for release on Nintendo 64 in early 2000. After numerous delays, however, Capcom publicly announced in September of that year that the title would be released exclusively for the company's next console, the GameCube. Problems compressing data onto cartridges and insufficient time to finish all the content were cited at the time.
Below are images from the beta version of Resident Evil Zero, which was originally intended for Nintendo 64.
Trivia 2: One reason Resident Evil Zero was moved to GameCube was that it had originally been developed for the Nintendo 64 DD (Disk Drive), a console accessory that used magnetic disks to run games of up to 64 MB. Despite being announced before the main console's launch, however, this add-on suffered numerous delays and was ultimately released only in Japan, bypassing Europe and the United States.
Below are images of the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive accessory.
Technical Analysis
Graphically, Resident Evil Zero was incredible when it was released in 2002. The level of detail in the environments and protagonists, along with the light and shadow reflections, was fantastic by the standards of the period. It was difficult to believe it belonged to the same generation as Code: Veronica. This HD version was also handled well, refining details to create a worthy remaster. Everything appears more sharply defined than in the HD version of the original Resident Evil, except for the cutscenes, which seem to be exactly the same as on GameCube without improved visual treatment.
The campaign lasts around 17 hours on a first playthrough if you die a few times, get stuck on some puzzles, and read the files carefully. This playtime is slightly longer than in the other classic games because it does not have the two campaigns typical of the early entries.
The narrative of Resident Evil Zero follows the franchise's style, with cutscenes and files scattered throughout the environments. These texts are very important, not only for learning story details but also for solving some of the most difficult puzzles.
In "dead ends" such as this one, we used to find our beloved item boxes. Those were good times.
As in the HD version of the original Resident Evil, here we can switch the image between its original aspect ratio and widescreen, as well as choose between classic controls and a modern option using the analog sticks. As I said in my review of the original Resident Evil, I recommend the classic settings: widescreen cuts details from the top and bottom of the image, while tank controls work better on a digital directional pad because we can rotate the character on the spot.
The game's replay value is low because it does not bring together two campaigns as Resident Evil 1 and 2 do. Even so, extra modes are unlocked and satisfy those who want to keep playing after finishing it.
Resident Evil Zero tried to innovate on the series' classic formula by introducing two features that became signatures of the game. The first was a system called "partner zapping," in which we alternate between two characters within the same campaign. This system not only makes environments easier to explore but is also required to solve certain puzzles. The second new feature, which made players tear their hair out, was the removal of the "magic" item boxes where collected items were stored. Here, we must manage the famous limited inventory by leaving items, including weapons, on the floor and returning to retrieve them later when necessary.
Leaving items on the floor. What agony.
When production began, Capcom's goal was to make the most challenging Resident Evil yet, and it apparently succeeded. Details such as the absence of item boxes, managing two characters simultaneously, seemingly tougher enemies, the characters' classic vulnerabilities, inventory limitations, and scarce resources make this the hardest chapter in the main franchise. I personally do not find any Resident Evil excessively frustrating, remembering that knowing how to manage what you have is the secret to success.
The protagonists differ throughout the game. Rebecca's medical knowledge allows her to combine healing herbs, though she is more fragile in combat. Billy is stronger, so he can move heavy objects in the environment and withstand more damage in combat. Combining each character's strengths is necessary to complete Resident Evil Zero.
After completing the campaign, we gain access to Leech Hunter Mode. The goal is to collect 100 "leeches," amulets scattered throughout the environments. The detail is that only Billy can pick up blue leeches, while only Rebecca can collect green ones. Their positions are randomized, and finding them unlocks items in the main campaign, such as weapons with infinite ammunition. It is fun.
One of the remaster's new features is the option to play as Wesker.
This HD version introduces Wesker Mode, in which Billy is replaced by the series' classic villain. The game's story remains the same, and the only difference lies in Albert's extra abilities. It is not essential, but it is entertaining for a while and adds replay value.
The soundtrack and effects are good. Nothing remains especially memorable from the gameplay, but they perform their roles very well, as usual for the franchise. The music is disturbing when it needs to be and calming in safe areas. The sound effects are equally well made, worthy of a main-series chapter.
Below is the complete game soundtrack for anyone who wants to revisit it or hear it for the first time.
Trivia 3: Despite the differing opinions about Resident Evil Zero, it can now be considered a sales success within the franchise, with more than 3 million units across all versions. It is undoubtedly good to see quality games receive the recognition they deserve.
The Bestiary
As usual, I will present a selection of enemies from the game's campaign. Resident Evil Zero combines familiar enemies from the classic franchise with some new additions, especially among the bosses. This time I chose seven monsters: five adversaries commonly encountered during gameplay and two bosses. The game has several others, but I will leave players to discover them and avoid larger spoilers.
- Zombie: Humans infected with the T-virus either accidentally or through the bite of someone carrying the disease. They are basic enemies from the classic franchise and display their standard behavior, slowly moving toward the protagonists and becoming troublesome only in large numbers. In this installment, we do not need to worry about burning them after taking them down, thankfully.
Zombie
- Hunter Alpha: The MA-121 model of the monster. Regarded as the first bio-organic weapon created by Umbrella, it originated from a combination of a human ovum, reptilian DNA, and a variant of the T-virus. It is fast and deadly, as always. Unlike in the first Resident Evil, we do not encounter it as often here.
Hunter Alpha
- Eliminator: Before researchers used the T-virus on humans, monkeys served as test subjects. The result was these highly agile and aggressive primates, which show a greatly reduced capacity for reasoning. Although they are not very resilient, their high speed makes them troublesome.
Eliminator
- Lurker: During his T-virus research, James Marcus tested its reactions on various life forms, including frogs. The result was these monsters, which are incapable of following orders and grew to many times their original size. Although considered a failure in the company's research, these tests made it possible to develop the Hunter into its future Y version.
Lurker
- Mimicry Marcus: The terror of Resident Evil Zero. It forms when countless leeches join together to resemble James Marcus. This is a strong enemy that can reach us from a distance. When one appears in our path, tense music begins playing to make us even more uneasy. Here is a tip: they do not like fire very much.
Mimicry Marcus
- Stinger: This is the game's first boss, encountered only a few minutes into the campaign. As we already know, arthropods were among Umbrella's first test subjects in its T-virus experiments. We see several of them in this game with their typical reaction: a dramatic increase in size. This scorpion is said to be able to cut through even steel with its gigantic pincers.
Stinger
- Proto Tyrant: This is model 001 of the famous Resident Evil monster. The Tyrant is the ultimate goal of Umbrella's researchers: an extremely strong and resilient being that is completely obedient to its master. Here, however, it was still in the testing stage, with poor brain development due to an unregulated amount of T-virus inserted into human tissue, a staggering gait, and excessively exposed weak points. Few people know that only around 0.0001% of human beings are genetically compatible enough to become a useful Tyrant. Umbrella solved this by cloning a perfect model, which became possible after finding former Soviet colonel Sergei Vladimir, who was 100% compatible with the mutation.
Proto Tyrant
Trivia 4: Few people know that the Biohazard Café and Grill S.T.A.R.S opened in Tokyo in 2012, a restaurant based on the Resident Evil franchise and featuring several elements from the series, such as weapons and costumes. One wall stands out for its incredible replica of the first incubated Tyrant. It is a curious way to promote a franchise. Below is an introductory video of the café and grill.
Our Conclusion
Resident Evil Zero was practically both a restart and a farewell to the franchise's classic era. A high-quality game, it certainly would not remain exclusive to GameCube for long. Its mechanics differ somewhat from the other fixed-camera games, but it deserves to be played just as much as they do. Its story gave us a better understanding of how everything began and left us satisfied with the care it received. Today, we can play it on practically every available platform, which is mandatory for fans of the Resident Evil series, especially anyone planning to play one of the most anticipated titles of 2019, Resident Evil 2 Remake, which will be released soon.
Some of Resident Evil Zero's puzzles rank among the best in the franchise.
Rating: 9
Played on the Xbox One version
