Resident Evil 0/development

In contrast to other known Resident Evil prototypes, which have been known to go through massive changes during production, the plan did not change as dramatically compared to the released version. Rebecca's original character design featured her wearing a beret instead of the red bandanna she wears in the original game (it is unknown whether this discrepancy would've been explained in the actual game). In the released GameCube version, she wears neither (as her character model in the game is based on REmake). The train in the beginning of the N64 version did not actually move until being activated by the player. Edward Dewey was originally scripted to lose his hand to a Cerberus before his death (which would later turn out to be the same hand found by Joseph Frost in the original game). However, this would prove unnecessary with the inclusion of Kevin Dooley in REmake. The N64 version's graphics were more in line with Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis than any other game in the series.

Initial development
Developed by Capcom Production Studio 3, the concept of a prequel to the original Resident Evil first blossomed shortly after the Nintendo 64DD's announcement in 1995, when the original game itself was still in development. Early in the game's development, it was intended to be sold on a CD-ROM, with the possibility of an N64 cartridge-based version being researched in 1997.

While the 64DD was intended to use CD-ROMs, Studio 3 instead chose to only use the cartridge-based Nintendo 64, as it was believed by the developers that the platform's cartridge-based media would be more-than capable in handling the item dropping and the unique 'partner zapping' systems proposed for the game than disc-based media, due to the lack of loading times.

It wasn't until January 1999 that the game, itself, was announced. The then-Flagship president Yoshiki Okamoto had previously let it slip to the gaming magazine "Deneki N64" that the game existed, though only said that it was for the Nintendo 64. Resident Evil Zero was first unveiled during the Tokyo Game Show in 2000. Only footage of the train stage, the Ecliptic Express, was used because the quality of the other stages was not considered good enough for preview.

Production of the game began to slow down when it became apparent that the game could not be supported on a single cartridge. Production stopped when it was decided that any attempts to make more room (ie. deleting parts of the game) were not economically viable.

GameCube redesign
Production was revived shortly after when Nintendo announced the GameCube, which provided a means to counter this problem in the form of a two-disk system; consequently, as a result of the transition to sixth generation consoles, the game was delayed so that the environments could be upgraded to match other 120-bit games of the generation. Since the GameCube made use of a disc-based media, the programmers were forced to rely on clever programming methods to shorten the loading times.

The storyline in Resident Evil Zero was originally supposed to lay the groundwork for the forthcoming Resident Evil 4 by introducing the Progenitor virus (beforehand known as the "Clay virus") which was to play a major role in RE4. Initially Resident Evil 4 had Leon S. Kennedy exploring an ancient castle in Europe that was owned by Umbrella and was reported to be where Umbrella's B.O.W. research began. At some point in the game, the Progenitor Virus is unleashed and infects Leon which makes him hallucinate at points in the game which fans have speculated is symbolic for his body trying to fight off the virus. Most of Resident Evil Zero's new storylines was rendered obsolete when Shinji Mikami took over directorial control of Resident Evil 4 and tossed everything out, intending Resident Evil 4 to have a completely new story, as a change of scenery (and enemies) to the previous Resident Evil games. The concept of exploring the origins of the Progenitor virus and Umbrella's research into it was later used in Resident Evil 5.

Wii port


In late 2008, a Wii port was released solely for Japanese gamers. This port was criticized by gamers due to the lack of new features. The basis of which was due to many gamers using the Wii's reverse-compatibility to play the cheaper GameCube port. On March 12, 2009 Capcom announced that they will be releasing Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evil (REmake) on the Nintendo Wii in North America as the Resident Evil Archives. They will be released as the "classics collection" and are slated to hit stores at the end of June 2009 for $30.00 each. A "classics collection" and the release of The Darkside Chronicles is most likely to make up for Resident Evil 5 not seeing a Wii version. As with Resident Evil 4, the games will be outfitted with Wii pointer controls.

Due to an unexpected error on game transfer, the Wii version was pushed back to early December. The games official North American release date was December 1, 2009, making Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero the last game in the Resident Evil series to be released before 2010. Capcom has since released an upgraded version of Resident Evil Archives: Resident Evil Zero that comes with a literal Umbrella colored in the traditional White and Red of the Umbrella Corporation and has the Umbrella logo on two sides.

The Wii Port released in North America has received little to no change from the original GameCube Release, and was criticized for not fully using the Wii remote capabilities.