Resident Evil Zero

Overview

Resident Evil Zero (or Resident Evil 0) is a 2002 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube. It is a prequel to Resident Evil (2002), following S.T.A.R.S. officer Rebecca Chambers and convict Billy Coen as they explore an abandoned training facility for employees of the pharmaceutical company Umbrella in the outskirts of Raccoon City. The gameplay is similar to other Resident Evil games, but adds the ability to switch between characters to solve puzzles and use unique abilities.

Development for Resident Evil Zero began for the Nintendo 64 in 1998. The partner system was created to take advantage of the short load times possible with the capabilities of the Nintendo 64 Game Pak. The cartridge format also provided limitations, as the storage capacity was significantly less than that of a CD-ROM. The team had to approach the design differently from previous series entries to conserve storage space. Resident Evil Zero was designed to be more difficult than previous Resident Evil games. Inspired by Sweet Home (1989), the team removed the item storage boxes present in earlier games and introduced a new item-dropping feature. Production was switched to the recently unveiled GameCube after development slowed due to memory storage issues. Only the concept and story remained from the original game, which had to be rebuilt.

Resident Evil Zero received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the graphics and audio for building a haunting atmosphere. Opinions on the new partner and item systems were mixed. Some found the changes were an improvement and added new layers of strategy; others believed the changes were cumbersome or non-innovative. The game's tank controls were criticized as outdated.

Official trailer

Trailer. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

GameCube Longplay [018] Resident Evil 0 (US), World-of-Longplays. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

Developer

Capcom Production Studio 3

Publisher

Capcom

Series

Resident Evil

Platforms

Nintendo GameCube

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

ACB

MA 15+

ESRB

M

PEGI

16

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Space and patches

Update patchNo patch

DLC

No DLC. GameCube games had no downloadable content.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single player only, with no online features. The disc runs on a GameCube or a Wii with GameCube ports.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	GameCube	83	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
Game Informer	9.3	10
GameZone	9.3	10
IGN	8.2	10
GameSpot	8	10
Eurogamer	8	10
GamePro	4.5	5
GameSpy	4	5
Famitsu	38	40

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Developer	Capcom Production Studio 3
Publisher	Capcom
Director	Koji Oda
Producer	Tatsuya Minami
Programmer	Yoshifumi Hirao
Writers	Noboru Sugimura, Hiromichi Nakamoto, Junichi Miyashita
Composer	Seiko Kobuchi

Notes for collectors

• Sold 1.25 million copies on the GameCube.
• Reissued as a Player's Choice title in North America and Europe in 2003.
• Ported to the Wii as Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero, in Japan in 2008 and North America in December 2009.
• The 2016 HD Remaster on PlayStation, Xbox and PC, and the 2019 Switch release, added Wesker Mode and an easy mode.
• The North American disc carries product code DOL-GBZE-USA.

Credits

Publisher

Capcom

Developer

Capcom Production Studio 3

Director

Koji Oda

Released

2002-11-12

Age rating

ESRB M

Disc ID

DOL-GBZE-USA

Region

US