It is an absolute blessing that Resident Evil 0 will be the first RE game that I will be playing in this series; that also means it is an absolute curse as well. As stated in the initial blog, Resident Evil 0 is one of the few RE games that I have actually beaten and played to completion. In fact, behind RE4, 0 is the Resident Evil game that I have beaten the most times and spent the most time with, that is how much I really enjoyed playing this game back in ‘03/’04.

That means I have quite a bit of nostalgia backing my memories of the game and are ready to defend this game in most cases right now. Why must it be defended? Well apparently RE0 is one of the black sheep of the main RE games and it seems the majority of people (or at least the people that matter i.e. 8-4, Yummylee) either hate it and/or find a lot of it dull, boring, uninspired, etc. My main goal is to return to these games and just enjoy the through story, I’m not going to defend a bad game if it is a bad game, but once the final bullet has pierced the giant leech thing and the game ends, I will be most devastated if my nostalgia is shattered and I’m left sitting there completely bummed as the credits roll. For the most part all the other RE games that I have played are pretty much a known quantity to me, RE0 is the one that even though I spent a ton of time with it, I can’t quite separate fact from fiction in my memory. Ultimately I will find this out on my own and I’m very excited about either crushing my memories or validating them and need to plead a case to the fans of RE on the site.

Note: I meant to write the next part before I actually started the game but I was unable to do so, I am writing this as of finishing the train (roughly 1 hour in)

What are my memories, hopes, dreams, and expectations of the game before going in?

• ·As mentioned before, I feel like I remember quite a bit about the game but I’m not sure how much of it is accurate in anyway. I fully expect to constantly state to myself through the playthrough, “I remember this!” Going through the train just a little bit ago absolutely validates this and I don’t expect any difference for at least the mansion, if not more.
• ·I remember liking Rebecca for the most part, she was kind of annoying but her cuteness made up for it.
• ·I also remember really liking Billy, his back story of why he was doing time really intrigued me (didn’t want to massacre a village so his squad pinned it on him(?)) and it felt like he was different than most characters in the game/series, and I love the fact that he is a one-and-done character, walking off into the sunrise after the hellish night. While I have really no idea why I feel this way, I’m very intrigued to find out if this is how I will feel afterwards.
• ·Tons of insects (forgot about the scorpion on the train), remember the centipede fight to be annoying.

Note: I should state first and foremost I really hate the slimy design that the series seemed to take over the course of the franchise (that I’ve experienced). This deals a lot with the fact that I just didn’t think the character design is scary and most of their attacks are annoying. An example, (one of?) the final bosses in RE5 being a giant tentacle creature thing was fucking stupid.

• ·Ammo was never a problem in my memory… this freaks me out as in just the first hour I have actually had to survive so that either means: a. I was fucking awesome at the game or (more likely) b. I played on easy exclusively (playing on Normal for every game in the series). It could very well be that the train has little ammo and everything else is stocked, we shall see...
• ·I remember there being only a few puzzles where you are separated from your partner BUT I remember enjoying them. This could possibly be that these puzzles were annoying so the fewer the better, I….am expecting that to be the reason.
• ·Weird mutated creature Lisa……? For the life of me I can’t remember if Lisa (that her name?) the mutant girl that was tested upon is in this game or the REmake, I feel like I can argue who was there whether it being Rebecca or Jill. Most of me thinks that she is in the REmake but a little part of me is going “Nah dude, she is totally in this one” and it’s just enough for me to question myself

For the most part that is what I remember. There is a bunch more minor details that I don’t feel are important in stating (really specific boss fights, moments that stuck with me and I’m not sure if they actually occur in this game). If there is one thing I can hope for, regardless of how I feel about the game by the end, I want the desire to jump into the next game rather than needing a break.

Let the game begin or rather continue! As always suggestions on how to improve these in anyway would be most appreciative. (Continue to Post-Game Thoughts)

Add me to the list of people who didn't much care for RE0. Just played through it for the first time a month or two ago (played through the whole series up to 5, actually) and had a really hard time liking it. The inventory management can be a complete nightmare, especially early on. Bosses and leech enemies sponge ammo like crazy (this is a problem I have with most post-RE2 games in the series, however). While I liked Rebecca, Billy just seemed utterly pointless and dull.

Worst of all, it just feels like the most poorly-designed game in the series. Solving puzzles was never fun, mostly because I had to cart items back and forth in a tedious manner. The new mansion didn't stick with me in the way that older games' settings still do. It's the only old-style RE game that does absolutely nothing for me.

Hopefully, your good impressions of it stand the test of time. While I don't enjoy it, it's always disheartening to hear of someone playing a game they used to love and suddenly hating it. At the very least, it leads to some fantastic titles in the future!

Zero is my favourite Resident Evil.

Bosses in Resident Evil games, appart from the original RE that I never played and can't speak for, were always ammo spongy.

And to me puzzles were always an hassle, because we always had to drag items from point A to B, and a lot of times backtrack.

There's nothing really wrong with Zero, it's just not as good as REmake or RE2. Not quite as good a sense of place as REmake and fewer iconic locations than either despite using the more sprawling design style of 2. The train section is a fantastic start though and looks astonishing for the time.

Also, skirting toward a certain iconic location then not letting you in there was the worst sort of cock-tease that generated unfulfilled expectations for the last part of the game.

Oh and that's Rebecca's alternate costume available after you complete the game.

Oh, oh, and those fucking monkeys...

Excited to see your journey begin! Zero is certainly my least favorite by a country mile, but it still has a couple of decent moments, and some interesting mythology stuff(plus a little set up for RE5). For your sake, I hope you still like it. So, I will say this; if you want to go in total chronological order here, after you finish RE0, watch the Wesker RE0 and Nightmare segments of Umbrella Chronicles. The Nightmare segment bridges RE0 and RE1.

I'll be curious to see how your thoughts of the game mirror your expectations! Hopefully you'll still be able to enjoy it of course, but I'd honestly be surprised if you don't come away without coming upon many of the annoyances so many others have with the game.

My memory of RE0 isn't the most vivid as other RE games (and I'd much rather wait for the inevitable remastered version for a chance to play it again), but I do remember thinking the chemistry between Rebecca and Billy was handled well enough. Even though I would have much preferred if the duo was made up of Rebecca and Richard Aiken instead; would add a little more weight to his inevitable death in the remake. Also kinda crazy really to consider what Rebecca goes through... two Resident Evil games of madness in quick succession! And yet she's the one character who still hasn't been given the chance for a comeback, though after Barry's wonderful return I guess there's hope. Then again Rebecca has never been sought after to star in a new RE game as much as Barry. Also, the fact of what everything Rebecca goes through makes it harder to believe how weirdly incapable she is in the first Resident Evil. What happened to all of the weaponry she acquired at that?

Yeah, there's a fair degree of insect monsters, though that's par for the course for this series I'd say! And yes, it's likely you were playing on easy :P RE0 is without a doubt the most difficult classic survival horror RE of the series. It brings to mind the feeling of triumph for beating it on Hard mode. Was pretty funny too because for the end boss I had actually ran out of ammo, so my only course of action to halt the queen was to just run into her to slow her advance a little while Rebecca turns the valves! Also Lisa is in the remake, not zero. Though Zero does have the Proto-Tyrant, which I thought was an interesting idea.

I actually played Zero a few months ago and found it to be worse than I remembered it. It has a decent beginning and ending, but the main "Training Facility" area is pretty bland. It's also remarkably stingy with ammo and healing items on occasion and doesn't really go anywhere story-wise.

@yummylee: Yeah I finally put together that Lisa was in the REmake, guess I look forward to that moment as I remember it pretty vividly (except for who I was actually playing I guess).

@quarters: Again, thank you for the update, if I'm going to do this, I might as well jump all the way in.

@budgietheii: I figured it was her alternate costume, I just never earned it back in the day I guess. And yup, fuck those monkeys.

Sorry for the late replies, our second child was born on Wednesday and haven't been on GB all that much, that also means I'm scrapping for time to play through the game, having to restart didn't help either as I ran out of ammo...

Heh, no problem, and congrats!

Huh, I never played this one. I might have to check it out. Best of luck to you.

And hey, Congrats on the kid. Got a 2 y-old myself. He sits in the couch, looking at me grudgingly for not watching Dora with him

@andylonn: My 2 yr old will go and grab the other controller and hopes to play with me. Tried playing MK Double Dash co op with him, he was actively working against me I swear. At least the new born could care less if I game or not, but that won't last forever.