My Review of "Resident Evil Zero"

Resident Evil Zero is actually a pretty old game. The series had started back in 1996 with the original Resident Evil on the original Playstation. It was eventually ported to the Saturn. Then we had a number of sequels to the franchise.

It wasn't until Nintendo asked Capcom for some exclusive Resident Evil titles back around 2002, that Capcom made Resident Evil Zero. Capcom had remade the original Resident Evil with better graphics exclusively for the Nintendo Gamecube. Soon after that, Resident Evil Zero came exclusive for the Gamecube.

I bought the updated version of the original Resident Evil for the Gamecube but never finished it so I never bothered getting Resident Evil Zero.

Fast forward to 2020 and I'm able to buy all of these old "exclusive" titles on any platform. I so happened to have found Resident Evil Zero on sale for a great price and bought it not actually ever expecting to play it.

Now with the global pandemic, I finally have the time to play the game. It didn't disappoint me but then again I have to also play the game with my 2002 goggles on.

I had loved Resident Evil 2 so much back in the early 90's but I never played any of the other Resident Evils with the exception of Code Veronica. I enjoyed them. They're basically small action based escape room games in video game format.

When I got into Resident Evil Zero I didn't know what to expect. The game starts off on the train. Basically this game is the precursor to the original Resident Evil. No one knows about the T-Virus so everyone is pretty much new to what's going on.

They added some new mechanics to this game that I took a little getting used to. There's a button to switch between characters. In this game just like the second game there are two main characters. This time we have Rebecca a member of some Bravo team. I guess she's a police officer? I didn't really pay too much attention to it.

She finds a criminal named Billy. They're teamed up throughout the game to solve all of the puzzles to understand what's going on and ultimately escape unscathed. Pretty much like all the other games in the franchise.

It did take a little getting used to the mechanics again. Games don't really play like this anymore. They have the old preset screens that you jump into when you reach certain spots. I forgot how annoying the camera can be in the old versions of Resident Evil.

I set the game on easy because it's much more fun to just go through the puzzles and not have to worry about ammo. At least for me. Some people love playing these games for speedruns. Although I like watching speedruns I definitely don't have the patience or the skills to ever attempt them.

The game did bring me back to the feel of what Resident Evil used to feel like. I have to admit going back is only a nostalgia thing. I kind of do prefer the new Resident Evil 7 style of game play over the old way. There were too many issues with the camera in the old versions.

Resident Evil Zero actually has a ton of replay value. They have these different modes and unlockables if you finish the game all over again. With the addition of trophies and achievements there's even more incentive to play the game again. I for one had enough through the first play through though.

Some of the voice acting and cut scenes are really dated. They never updated the look and sound of the game despite going on much stronger platforms like the Xbox 1 or the PS4. Again it's the nostalgia factor that saves the day for them again. This is pretty much exactly how it was on the Gamecube when it was first released.

Overall, it was a nice play through and I liked how I got extra trophies on the PS4 playing through this. I had a good time doing it and I'm not able to take this off my gamer bucket-list. I'll have to give this game a 7 out of 10. I would only recommend this game to Resident Evil aficionados. Them and maybe people that like puzzles. It is quite dated so the appeal of this game is kind of limited.