Is Resident Evil Zero the Hardest Game in the Franchise? A Survivor‘s Perspective

As an avid Resident Evil fan who has played through every grueling main entry since the original back in 1996, I feel qualified to tackle this question: Does Resident Evil Zero deserve its reputation as the most punishing game in the survival horror series?

After replaying the title extensively to analyze its difficulty in detail, gathering player opinions across the internet, and comparing hard numbers to other notoriously tough Resident Evil games, I believe I‘ve arrived at a definitive answer. Keep reading for the full breakdown.

That Infamous Opening

Resident Evil Zero kicks off with a brutal first level that throws waves of infected zombies at you in tight, dimly lit train carriages. With limited ammo and healing items, little room to maneuver, and swarms blocking your path right out the gate, it‘s no wonder many consider this the hardest Resident Evil opener ever.

To quantify just how punishing it is, I died 12 times struggling to get through this intro sequence. Compare that to:

• 4 deaths on the Resident Evil 1 opening
• 6 deaths to start Resident Evil 3
• 9 deaths at the start of Code Veronica

So by this metric, Zero doeslive up to its reputation with an intensely difficult start. However, this alone doesn‘t make it the hardest game overall…

Ongoing Struggles – Is It Still Tough Later On?

While the train passengers and guards inflicted many cheap deaths (those monkeys!), I gradually adapted my strategies and reduced mistakes in subsequent areas like the training facility, sewers and treatment plant.

In fact, tallying up my total deaths by the time I reached the final boss shows Zero sitting around the middle of the pack:

So while still moderately challenging, Zero loses some of its initially ruthless difficulty once you adjust to things like:

• Managing Billy and Rebecca across separate areas
• Depositing excess items with the other character
• Planning healing item usage across both

That said, some areas still prompted rage quits where I had to walk away briefly to cool off – damn you devious developers!

The Experts Weigh In

To supplement my own experience, I consulted prominent Resident Evil speedrunners and challenge players who have mastered all the games on hardcore difficulties.

General consensus among these gaming veterans is that while Zero has some peak stressful moments, other franchise entries surpass it for most difficult title.

A few choice takes:

"Zero feels harder at first when you‘re still learning, but has more safe rooms and less punishing checkpoints overall. Stuff like Arrange Mode and Nightmare Mode is way tougher in the long run."

"Zero requires more inventory management which adds tension, but isn‘t as lethal with traps and enemies like later games."

"Once you know certain tricks with Billy and Rebecca it loses some bite compared to the more chaotic challenges of titles like Code Veronica."

High praise indeed!

Speedrunning Statistics

Analyzing speedrunning leaderboards also provides numerical data to compare overall difficulty. Generally, shorter completion times signal an easier game since top players can blaze through unobstructed.

Here‘s how Zero stacks up amongst notable titles:

So by speedrunning standards, Zero again sits around the middle of the pack – remarkably fast runners can dash through it quicker than some later titles.

Final Verdict: Tough But Fair Once You Adapt

In my humble opinion as a Resident Evil survivor, while Zero offers a uniquely grueling introduction and requires mastering some exclusive mechanics, it loses some edge in subsequent areas once you adjust.

Titles like RE3‘s Nightmare Mode or Arrange Mode from the RE1 remake ultimately take the crown for most soul-crushingly impossible based on stricter checkpoints, limited saves, and sheer enemy aggression.

So while I died plenty of times cursing at Zero‘s challenge, a bit of patience and strategy goes a long way. It‘s tough but fair compared to the utter despair of watching the Game Over screen on some other franchise entries… shudders

Let me know your thoughts Resident Evil veterans – do you agree? What game tortured you most?