The original Resident Evil is a classic. It's a pillar of survival horror, and one of the reasons that the genre even got off the ground in the first place. As such, it makes sense that Capcom has re-released the game multiple times. It still holds up, even after all these years — and getting a nice new coat of paint certainly doesn't hurt.
Resident Evil Zero, on the other hand, isn't quite as fondly remembered: originally released on the GameCube, it was overshadowed by the phenomenal Resident Evil 4 a few years later. It followed the classic Resident Evil formula pretty closely, and it featured some of the original game's classic characters, too ... so why was it forgotten so quickly?
Anyone who decides to pick up the Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster will quickly understand why: while the game follows the formula set in stone by its predecessors, it fails to capture any of what made the original games fun. At its best, Resident Evil Zero is a chore to play ... at its worst, the game is downright infuriating.
The story of Resident Evil Zero follows S.T.A.R.S. officer Rebecca Chambers and ex-convict Billy Coen ... sort of. While you do play as Rebecca and Billy, the story doesn't really have much to do with them: instead, the story focuses on the origins of the original T-Virus outbreak and the people behind it. RE Zero introduces James Marcus, a doctor at Umbrella who was betrayed by longtime series villain Albert Wesker. Marcus then unleashes the T-Virus in the woods surrounding the Spencer Mansion, setting the events of the series in motion.
While the concept is intriguing, RE Zero doesn't handle its story well. Rebecca and Billy are basically side characters: they don't do much to affect the story save for stumbling onto Umbrella's research facility. Marcus, the game's main villain, looks like he'd be more at home in a Final Fantasy game, and his plan for world domination doesn't really make much sense. What's even worse is that the subtlety of Resident Evil has all but evaporated. Sure, the original game had its goofier moments, but most of the story was told through cryptic hints and scattered conversations — RE Zero, on the other hand, beats players over the head with bad characters and cliched monologues.
To be fair, the story isn't so bad that it ruins RE Zero, but the gameplay certainly is.
If there's anything that "saves" the game, it's the presentation ... but it, along with the rest of RE Zero, is flawed. The graphics are the best part of the package. Just as with the the first Resident Evil remaster, Capcom has done a great job of upgrading the visuals to look good on a modern TV. Sure, there are more than a few blurry textures, but the character models and environments all look great.
The problem isn't so much with the remaster, but the core game itself: RE Zero's prerendered backgrounds are muddy, and it's hard to tell what is and isn't a boundary. Most of the time, getting stuck on a corner is just a minor inconvenience ... but when you're trying to get away from something, it's almost enough to make you throw your controller. RE Zero's sound design is just as flawed: the gunshots and monsters sound great, but the voice acting is abysmal. Barring the terrible PS1 version of the original, the acting in RE Zero might be the worst the series has ever seen. It's enough to pull anyone out of the experience ... if the rest of the game hasn't already.
It's clear that Resident Evil Zero was built with the successes of the original game in mind — and, in the end, it ends up being a pale imitation of its inspiration. On paper, everything sounds right: two survivors fighting through zombies to uncover the plot of an evil organization. However, in practice, everything just falls apart: the story has no impact, the presentation can actually hinder progress, and actually playing through the game is a nightmare.
The worst part of it all is that Capcom could have fixed it: RE Zero HD is the worst kind of remaster simply because all of the problems of the original are still present. The graphics look great, that much is true ... but that doesn't matter if the game isn't fun to play. While it definitely would have taken more work to get everything in better shape, Capcom could have made RE Zero something worth playing through.
At the end of the day, if you don't feel like yelling at your TV screen for six or seven hours, you're probably better off playing through the original remaster instead — Resident Evil Zero HD just isn't worth it.
