biohazard 0
BIOHAZARD Zero is the first prequel to the Series. Originally released for the Nintendo Game Cube, the story follows the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team members and the events before the “Mansion Incident”.
PLOT
The story follows S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Rookie member Rebecca Chambers and ex-soldier Bill Coen.
Bravo’s Team helicopter makes an abrupt landing due to engine failure while on a mission in the Arklay Mountains on the outskirts of Raccoon City.
After the forced landing Rebecca enters a stalled locomotive that is seemingly abandoned.
FEATURES
One of the unique features of ‘Zero’s Game-play is the unique “zapping system” among characters. Previous installments of BIOHAZARD had you choosing between two possible characters. In ‘Zero both characters remain together for the duration of the adventure. The player can choose to control both characters at the same time or let the AI assist. Some puzzles require Billy and Rebecca to split up, thus creating an emphasis on item management.
The universal item containers have also been removed in order to counter the extra character and thus, extra storage space. The player can choose to drop and request items among both characters. The dropped items will remain in the same location indefinitely.
DEVELOPMENT NOTES
The idea for a BIOHAZARD prequel came up due to the Development of the Nintendo 64DD add-on.
Due to the 64DD providing more storage compared to the regular Nintendo 64 cartridge, the Development team at Capcom Production Studio 3 was able to implement the partner “zapping system” without the loading times presented in Optical Drive Systems [such as the Sony PlayStation]. The extra storage space of the 64DD would be an excellent platform for a full BIOHAZARD release.
However, once the 64DD performed poorly in the Japanese Market Capcom decided to move production over from the 64DD to the Nintendo 64 itself. When Capcom realized that the content for BIOHAZARD 0 would not fit on a regular Nintendo 64 Cartridge Development of ‘Zero was moved to the newly announced Game Cube. The game was around 20 percent complete when Development moved to the new console. All of the game’s assets were remade, thus giving ‘Zero a higher Production Quality for the final release.
ATTACHMENTS
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
DEVELOPER Capcom Production Studio 3
GAME ENGINE Unknown [Presumably in-house Capcom Toolset]
DIRECTOR Koji Oda
WRITTEN BY Noboru Sugimura / Hiromichi Nakamoto / Junichi Miyashita
ORIGINAL RELEASE PLATFORM Nintendo Game Cube
