4. Resident Evil 0

Resident Evil 0 was my first RE game. Knowing what I know now, I regret playing this one first because there are major spoilers for the original Resident Evil in RE0.

In this game, you play as Rebecca Chambers (a member of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team) and Billy Coen (a convicted felon). Rebecca has a talent for mixing herbs (and playing piano, but that's in Resident Evil) and Billy...Can push things and use a lighter. He's also able to take more hits than Rebecca and if you strategize well enough, you can avoid taking damage from a lot of enemies by having Rebecca wait in a corner somewhere and calling her over to you when you reach a door to the next area. (If you're playing the remaster, you can also play "Wesker Mode" and replace Billy with Albert Wesker, who has a few of his own advantages.)

Resident Evil 0 starts off with a train being attacked by leeches. Eventually, Rebecca wanders onto it, where she meets Billy. Even though Billy is a wanted man, they decide to work together because there are some damn strange things happening on that train. The train arrives at a training facility belonging to Umbrella Corporation, where Rebecca and Billy are forced to explore and find a way to escape.

Truthfully, Resident Evil 0's story isn't my favorite. There are two main reasons I love this game. The first is nostalgia. This was the first RE game I ever played, it was like nothing I had ever played before (I grew up on Mario and Donkey Kong games) and I really enjoyed it. The second reason is that I love the Leech Hunter mini game. Out of every mini game in this series, Leech Hunter is my favorite. Your goal is to go around the training facility and collect 100 leeches, 50 blue and 50 green. The catch is that the leeches take up space in your inventory, so you have to make your way around the facility, killing everything in your path, and then go back and pick the leeches up. The problem is that once you collect a certain amount of leeches, enemies will begin to respawn, so you have to leave the leeches in the rooms closest to the main hall for last, that way you can quickly run in and grab them and get back out. Depending on the number of leeches you collect, you'll be rewarded with new weapons and infinite ammo for the story campaign.

People have very mixed feelings on inventory management in this game. You're able to drop items from your inventory wherever you want, but then you have to go back and get them if you need them later on. (Leaving items in the main hall is always a good idea.) Again, this was my first Resident Evil game, so I had nothing to compare it to and I actually enjoyed it. I found it easier to drop items in strategic locations than I found it to store items in the inventory boxes like you have to in other games.

I rate Resident Evil 0 an 8/10 for having the best mini game in the entire series.