Ever since I first played Zero back in 2018, I've wished for the game to turn out different. My initial reaction after finishing it was rather bland, it didn't feel like I had just played a prequel to RE1 but rather a stand-alone spinoff with only vague connections to the first game. I didn't necessarily feel disappointed, because the game was still fun to play - It was the story that felt disappointing. To simply quote myself in another thread, I feel like the developers tried to cram too many new stories into the same game, in an attempt to make the game appear grander and more important to the overall RE universe. In reality they should've just kept it simple and focused on those "cannibalistic murders" leading up the mansion incident, and not add all this crap about a military convoy transporting a death-row inmate and a public train attacked by a new leech monster - all happening at the same spot in addition to Bravo team's investigation.
That's why I've been wanting to rewrite the game for a while. In other words, change everything from story, locations, monsters, protagonists, gameplay, etc. in an attempt to make the game a "true" prequel to RE1.
First of all, let's list the biggest problems with RE0's story:
Being aware of these problems, we can now provide solutions for the above:
Now let's move onto the more detailed specifics of how the story and gameplay would play out in such a rewrite. Bear in mind that most of the below text is deliberately rushed in many parts to make for a smooth read.
THE INTRO SEQUENCE
The intro would play out similar at first, but focus solely on Bravo team flying over Raccoon Forest in their helicopter. The windy weather causes an engine failure which forces them to land, damaging the copter in the process. Everyone save Kevin examine their surroundings, but are then attacked by a large group of cerberus and separated in the chaos that ensues. Rebecca and Edward are chased in one direction, Kenneth, Forest and Richard in another, while team leader Enrico is chased down a steep slope. Enrico trips and falls down a high cliff, but fortunately there is a huge lake beneath (Lake Victory). Emerging unharmed from the water onto the shoreline, Enrico tries using his comlink to contact the others, but its been slightly damaged from the water. He swears. To his shock, he finds mutilated corpses on the shoreline and draws his gun before moving forward. There is faint light coming from the distance, which is the first playable level in this rewrite.
Level 1: Lake Victory Resort
While walking towards the light, Enrico passes alongside various signs, benches and trashcans before reaching the main area of "Lake Victory Resort", a mountain resort with a large main hotel building in timber, smaller cabins scattered across a hill, surrounding facility buildings, and a flower garden (Think of it as a somewhat smaller rustic version of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining). However, the resort seems to be closed down undergoing various construction. Enrico enters the main building in search for people but finds zombies instead. After shooting up some more zombies he finds a key and gains access to the Manager's Office. There he reads a document revealing that the resort is actually owned by the Umbrella Corporation. Wondering why a pharmaceutical company secretly operates a mountain resort, his comlink suddenly starts working again and he finally receives some status report from Kenneth, whom says that he, Forest and Richard have taken shelter at an old abandoned mansion, but that Rebecca and Edward's locations are unknown. When Kenneth asks if they should try and come find Enrico, Enrico says that its too dangerous, that "This whole mountain is crawling with zombies! You stay where you are until we've got this situation under control, you hear me? That's an order."
Enrico continues to search the area and finds more clues about the resort's history, its staff and guests. Apparently many guests were family members of people working for Umbrella, and Enrico finds a particulary interesting guest diary in one of the cabins claiming that "there's something sketchy about the swimming pool behind the main building". Upon returning to the main building, Enrico encounters a partly wounded Edward carrying an unconscious Rebecca. "She hit her head", Edward explains. "And the zombies were everywhere, we had to escape, then we lost our radios. I reckoned you'd be down here." Enrico then replies "Well, the others are safe, they're in some kind of abandoned mansion not far from here. Is she alright?". Edward replies "I think so, she hit her head but she's gonna be fine, she's still breathing."
The three move back into the hotel building (Edward carrying Rebecca) to find the swimming pool at the backside. Edward is occasionally making grunt noises, foreshadowing what's about to happen. Enrico instructs Edward to care for Rebecca in one of the hotel rooms facing the pool, while he tries to figure out how to "open the pool" (this is a puzzle).
After entering a password code on a computer in the control room beside the pool, a floodgate beneath the water surface is opened, and the water is drained revealing a hidden entrance. However, once Enrico goes back outside, a large centipede monster emerges from the floodgate and attacks him. A wild boss fight ensues, and once its defeated Enrico hears Rebecca screaming and rushes back to the hotel room. Unfortunately, Edward has turned into a zombie and Enrico has to kill him. Then, he consoles Rebecca and explains the situation, before going with her into the hidden pool entrance.
Level 2: Training Facility
(This area will be quite similar to the one we've already got, with some alterations. This version of the facility is by the side of a cliff and instead of a broken bridge there's a gondola station)
After entering the hidden pool entrance, Enrico and Rebecca find an underground gondola station and decide to take a ride when it says "For Training Facility Staff". First, the gondola rides underground, but then it moves up through a small tunnel to the outdoors, before reaching another station in front of the Training Facility building. Enrico and Rebecca enter the main hall (Instead of James Marcus, there is a portrait of Spencer up the stairs). Once inside, they discover a map of an underground cave system that connects the facility to the supposed mansion that Kenneth was talking about. Enrico and Rebecca decide to split up, but quickly find out that most of the facility is locked. Rebecca then suggests that she crawls through the air vents to find a way to unlock the facility. This is where we get to play as Rebecca in a mini-scenario. She faces a couple of zombies and small bats and then reaches a control room where she unlocks the facility, enabling her and Enrico to move on further. They reconnect with Kenneth on the comlink, with Kenneth asking for help over at the mansion saying "We're being overrun by these god damn monsters, Enrico, so get your asses over here NOW !". Enrico orders Rebecca to get to the mansion through the caves and help the others, while he investigates the rest of the facility.
Level 3: Underground Laboratory
Enrico finds an underground laboratory beneath the training facility, and this is basically where he discovers the ugly truth behind Umbrella's research. The security cameras capture Enrico in the laboratory, as the viewer in a control room is revealed to be Albert Wesker - whom now realizes that he has to move on with his plan. There is another prototype Tyrant here, and Albert decides to unleash it as well as close down the cave system that connects the facility to the mansion. A boss battle ensues down in the underground laboratory, and Enrico seemingly defeats it. Enrico then returns to the entrance to the cave system, only to find it closed shut. Well, at least Rebecca made it back, he says to himself. As he prepares to make it back up to the surface to find another way to the mansion, he hears a roar and hides quickly behind a wall. The Tyrant is back - and it has mutated into an even bigger form! Enrico says "Sh*t", and watches with despair as the Tyrant walks up to the training facility. Enrico realizes that now he has to get back to the gondola without being seen.
Level 4: Hunted at the facility
(This part of the game will basically be a rethread of the training facility as Enrico has to find a way back to the main hall and exit of the facility. The Tyrant will be similar to Mr. X and Nemesis in this part, as he roams the facility looking for Enrico.)
After reaching the gondola, the Tyrant surprises Enrico and blasts through the entrance door after which it jumps on top of the gondola as it speeds back towards the tunnel to the resort. As the cables begin to burst from the massive weight of the Tyrant, Enrico takes his chance and jumps out of the window. He grabs hold of a cliff next to the tunnel entrance as the cables snap, and the gondola falls down the cliff with the Tyrant on top. As Enrico gets a foothold, he watches down as the gondola explodes and the fire consumes the Tyrant. Now its definitely dead.
The final cutscene continues as Enrico uses his last strength to climb up the cliff, and when he reaches the top he looks onto the distance and sees the mansion a bit further down the other side. He then pulls up his comlink says "My team, I'm coming to get you."
Final say
Well, obviously it's not perfect. But I did my best.
That's why I've been wanting to rewrite the game for a while. In other words, change everything from story, locations, monsters, protagonists, gameplay, etc. in an attempt to make the game a "true" prequel to RE1.
First of all, let's list the biggest problems with RE0's story:
- Rebecca being the main character finding out stuff about Umbrella as well facing a Tyrant creates inconsistencies with her portrayal in RE1
- The leeches and the Hive Queen creates more problems than it solves trying to expand on the backstory of Umbrella
- Billy Coen feels out of place and is forced into the story, and when the game is over his arch is complete and is never to be seen again in the series - so what was the point?
- Bravo team is underutilized and given a backseat in what should have been their game
Being aware of these problems, we can now provide solutions for the above:
- Make Enrico the main protagonist
- Have Spencer be the main cause and reduce James Marcus's role (no leeches)
- Remove Billy Coen completely
- Focus on Bravo team's efforts
Now let's move onto the more detailed specifics of how the story and gameplay would play out in such a rewrite. Bear in mind that most of the below text is deliberately rushed in many parts to make for a smooth read.
THE INTRO SEQUENCE
The intro would play out similar at first, but focus solely on Bravo team flying over Raccoon Forest in their helicopter. The windy weather causes an engine failure which forces them to land, damaging the copter in the process. Everyone save Kevin examine their surroundings, but are then attacked by a large group of cerberus and separated in the chaos that ensues. Rebecca and Edward are chased in one direction, Kenneth, Forest and Richard in another, while team leader Enrico is chased down a steep slope. Enrico trips and falls down a high cliff, but fortunately there is a huge lake beneath (Lake Victory). Emerging unharmed from the water onto the shoreline, Enrico tries using his comlink to contact the others, but its been slightly damaged from the water. He swears. To his shock, he finds mutilated corpses on the shoreline and draws his gun before moving forward. There is faint light coming from the distance, which is the first playable level in this rewrite.
Level 1: Lake Victory Resort
While walking towards the light, Enrico passes alongside various signs, benches and trashcans before reaching the main area of "Lake Victory Resort", a mountain resort with a large main hotel building in timber, smaller cabins scattered across a hill, surrounding facility buildings, and a flower garden (Think of it as a somewhat smaller rustic version of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining). However, the resort seems to be closed down undergoing various construction. Enrico enters the main building in search for people but finds zombies instead. After shooting up some more zombies he finds a key and gains access to the Manager's Office. There he reads a document revealing that the resort is actually owned by the Umbrella Corporation. Wondering why a pharmaceutical company secretly operates a mountain resort, his comlink suddenly starts working again and he finally receives some status report from Kenneth, whom says that he, Forest and Richard have taken shelter at an old abandoned mansion, but that Rebecca and Edward's locations are unknown. When Kenneth asks if they should try and come find Enrico, Enrico says that its too dangerous, that "This whole mountain is crawling with zombies! You stay where you are until we've got this situation under control, you hear me? That's an order."
Enrico continues to search the area and finds more clues about the resort's history, its staff and guests. Apparently many guests were family members of people working for Umbrella, and Enrico finds a particulary interesting guest diary in one of the cabins claiming that "there's something sketchy about the swimming pool behind the main building". Upon returning to the main building, Enrico encounters a partly wounded Edward carrying an unconscious Rebecca. "She hit her head", Edward explains. "And the zombies were everywhere, we had to escape, then we lost our radios. I reckoned you'd be down here." Enrico then replies "Well, the others are safe, they're in some kind of abandoned mansion not far from here. Is she alright?". Edward replies "I think so, she hit her head but she's gonna be fine, she's still breathing."
The three move back into the hotel building (Edward carrying Rebecca) to find the swimming pool at the backside. Edward is occasionally making grunt noises, foreshadowing what's about to happen. Enrico instructs Edward to care for Rebecca in one of the hotel rooms facing the pool, while he tries to figure out how to "open the pool" (this is a puzzle).
After entering a password code on a computer in the control room beside the pool, a floodgate beneath the water surface is opened, and the water is drained revealing a hidden entrance. However, once Enrico goes back outside, a large centipede monster emerges from the floodgate and attacks him. A wild boss fight ensues, and once its defeated Enrico hears Rebecca screaming and rushes back to the hotel room. Unfortunately, Edward has turned into a zombie and Enrico has to kill him. Then, he consoles Rebecca and explains the situation, before going with her into the hidden pool entrance.
Level 2: Training Facility
(This area will be quite similar to the one we've already got, with some alterations. This version of the facility is by the side of a cliff and instead of a broken bridge there's a gondola station)
After entering the hidden pool entrance, Enrico and Rebecca find an underground gondola station and decide to take a ride when it says "For Training Facility Staff". First, the gondola rides underground, but then it moves up through a small tunnel to the outdoors, before reaching another station in front of the Training Facility building. Enrico and Rebecca enter the main hall (Instead of James Marcus, there is a portrait of Spencer up the stairs). Once inside, they discover a map of an underground cave system that connects the facility to the supposed mansion that Kenneth was talking about. Enrico and Rebecca decide to split up, but quickly find out that most of the facility is locked. Rebecca then suggests that she crawls through the air vents to find a way to unlock the facility. This is where we get to play as Rebecca in a mini-scenario. She faces a couple of zombies and small bats and then reaches a control room where she unlocks the facility, enabling her and Enrico to move on further. They reconnect with Kenneth on the comlink, with Kenneth asking for help over at the mansion saying "We're being overrun by these god damn monsters, Enrico, so get your asses over here NOW !". Enrico orders Rebecca to get to the mansion through the caves and help the others, while he investigates the rest of the facility.
Level 3: Underground Laboratory
Enrico finds an underground laboratory beneath the training facility, and this is basically where he discovers the ugly truth behind Umbrella's research. The security cameras capture Enrico in the laboratory, as the viewer in a control room is revealed to be Albert Wesker - whom now realizes that he has to move on with his plan. There is another prototype Tyrant here, and Albert decides to unleash it as well as close down the cave system that connects the facility to the mansion. A boss battle ensues down in the underground laboratory, and Enrico seemingly defeats it. Enrico then returns to the entrance to the cave system, only to find it closed shut. Well, at least Rebecca made it back, he says to himself. As he prepares to make it back up to the surface to find another way to the mansion, he hears a roar and hides quickly behind a wall. The Tyrant is back - and it has mutated into an even bigger form! Enrico says "Sh*t", and watches with despair as the Tyrant walks up to the training facility. Enrico realizes that now he has to get back to the gondola without being seen.
Level 4: Hunted at the facility
(This part of the game will basically be a rethread of the training facility as Enrico has to find a way back to the main hall and exit of the facility. The Tyrant will be similar to Mr. X and Nemesis in this part, as he roams the facility looking for Enrico.)
After reaching the gondola, the Tyrant surprises Enrico and blasts through the entrance door after which it jumps on top of the gondola as it speeds back towards the tunnel to the resort. As the cables begin to burst from the massive weight of the Tyrant, Enrico takes his chance and jumps out of the window. He grabs hold of a cliff next to the tunnel entrance as the cables snap, and the gondola falls down the cliff with the Tyrant on top. As Enrico gets a foothold, he watches down as the gondola explodes and the fire consumes the Tyrant. Now its definitely dead.
The final cutscene continues as Enrico uses his last strength to climb up the cliff, and when he reaches the top he looks onto the distance and sees the mansion a bit further down the other side. He then pulls up his comlink says "My team, I'm coming to get you."
Final say
Well, obviously it's not perfect. But I did my best.
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