This guide is intended for achievement hunters, but will likely have some points of interest for anyone that wants to play the game well. It is a strategy guide more than a "how to" guide. In some sense, a lot of the information in the guide would be considered spoilers as it doesn't appear in any of the in-game instructions, nor the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ CAPCOM game manual. However, it is not the intent of this guide to give away "secrets" nor to remove any of the challenge of the game. The purpose of this guide is to give you a strategy for getting the most out of the game without burning out or becoming tired of the game before you reach 100% achievement status.

In places where I felt I was providing some bit of information that goes beyond strategy, I have marked the area as "spoiler".

When you first start a new game you are given three relatively vague descriptions about how difficult you want the game to be. Contrary to your intuition the setting are NOT Easy, Normal, and Hard. Instead they are Very Easy, Easy, and Normal.

You can not select Hard game play until you have completed the game at least once.

It should be noted that Easy, is very likely to feel like a "Normal" setting if you are playing blind. This game is challenging.

While it seems self explanatory that saving the game uses a "Save Ribbon", can only be done at a typewriter, and saves your progress in the game... that is only part of what saving a game does. Each saved game contains your "progress" on game play bonuses and achievements as well.

Once you complete the game you have the option of saving your progress again. This will create a "00/CLEAR" entry in the saved game list. When you load this game, unlike a standard save, you will be presented an option menu rather than entering game play directly.

Many of the achievements can not be completed in a single pass through the game and require you to play different characters and make conflicting choices during the game. Because of this it is important to use the "Once Again" option after loading a "00/CLEAR" game save. This will give you the option of "re-starting" the game play but maintain all of your achievement and unlocked bonuses. Once you are playing in "Once Again", you can save like normal on different slots or the same slot and the achievement progress as well as progress in the new game will be maintained.

There are only 8 saved game slots, so be careful how you overwrite previous saved games to make sure you don't lose your overall achievement progress.

You will probably fair better if you use "Alternative" controls. With the "original" controls the left joystick on your controller moved the character based on the direction they are facing: Joystick "up" = character "forward", etc... vs. the more modern "Alternative" controls which are based on Camera Direction: Joystick "up" = "into the scene", etc...

Using Joystick configuration "A" gives you "Alternative" control with the Joystick and "Original" Control with the D-Pad. Though the character will always walk using the D-Pad.

You can not really move while aiming. The D-Pad and Joystick will aim "up" or "Down" and turn your character a few degrees. You will need to have a good handle on "aiming" to complete the "The Survival Horror" achievement.

You have the option to play through the game as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. Both are officers in S.T.A.R.S. The story line doesn't really change, but the details revealed do. Along with the story details that change, each character has some significant game play differences.

Chris will get aid from Rebecca (from Resident Evil 0). Depending upon Chris' actions and dialog choices in the game you will even get the opportunity to play a small portion of the game as Rebecca. Rebecca is a medic - which can come in handy. From the beginning of the game Chris carries a lighter which has several uses and is required to access some items in the game. Chris can take more damage than Jill. Chris also has a couple of distinct disadvantages. He only gets 6 inventory slots and has to acquire and use "old keys" to access some key areas in the Mansion.

Jill will get aid from Barry, another member of the S.T.A.R.S team. Barry is not a medic and you will not have the opportunity to play any of the game as Barry, but he plays a major roll in Jill's story line and can get her out of some tight spots. Jill has the major advantage of 8 inventory slots and carries lock picks from early in the story line which gives her access to parts of the mansion with no need for "old keys". She also gets access to more powerful weapons and moves quicker than Chris.

To complete all of the achievements you will have to play through the entire game several times and at a minimum 2 times for each of the characters.

The HD Remake of Resident Evil is a great game. Like the game, the achievements are meant to be a challenge, and they most definitely are. Many of the challenges are designed to be contradictory forcing you to play the game multiple times, on different difficulty settings, and make different decisions. Some of the challenges may seem nearly impossible, and would be if you attempted them "cold" from a blind start, but because you will have to play the full game multiple times, the maps and puzzles become well known. In addition you will unlock various in-game bonuses which help mitigate the difficulty.

In this guide it is our goal to provide a strategy that will get you through all of the achievements without burning out or rage quitting the game. However, this is not a "walk through" nor detailed guide to solving puzzles or achievements. In most cases we will not provide any real clues on how to complete any individual achievement, but rather describe in a general way a set of game play throughs and what achievements each play through should complete. If you manage all of the play throughs you should get to 100% achievement completion.

Some "spoilers" are marked in areas where it seemed additional help my be necessary.

The goal is to get to 100% achievement status in 8 play throughs. Yes, this will be time consuming and yes, this will be a challenge. I have done my best to keep each play through as entertaining and as challenging as possible.

Each play through uses the difficulty settings I felt were most appropriate to the achievements. Some of the runs will be on the very easy difficulty setting - this is not done for you to blast through the challenge, but rather because the challenge itself is so difficult that "very easy" becomes a challenge. In general any play through could be done on a higher difficulty than that described. Some can be done on a lower difficulty setting than described (though not all). I chose settings that I felt still conveyed a sense of accomplishment and challenge, you should pick difficulty settings that are appropriate to your skill level and desire for challenge.

Start with a New Game. Choose Jill as the character. During the playthrough save everyone you have the option to save. Kill every boss you can. Don't try to fight Lisa Trevor and you can avoid Yawn the snake the first time you encounter him. Do not worry about the time it takes you to complete the game, the number of times you save, nor the amount of health restorations you use.

The goal of the first pass is as always to focus on entertainment. Focus on exploring the game, learning all the ins and outs, the secrets and the story. This is a story rich game and one of the best horror games of all time - make sure you enjoy it.

In this pass of the game you should attempt to save everyone you can. Jill can save Richard, Barry, and Chris. In most cases, fully exploring the game maps and reading all the files will direct you to a path where it is clear how to save the other characters. Giving Barry Back His Gun means you will get the "good" ending.

During this first pass you should obtain the following achievements in the normal course of completing this specific first play through:

• First Kills Are Special
  
• Get Use To It
  
• Seeing Red
  
• Deep Sixed
  
• Who's The Hunter Now?
  
• Delaying The Inevitable
  
• Spider Sense
  
• Grave Digger
  
• Like Taking Candy From A Baby
  
• Not Waiting to Exhale You have to defeat Yawn the first time you encounter him. Make him "retreat" out he roof of the room.
  
• The Key Master
  
• Giant Snake Got Nothin'
  
• Where the Magic Happens
  
• Alpha Team's Finest
  
• Not In the Mood To Die
  
• Trust Him
  
• Sorry About the Wait
  
• I'm A Member of S.T.A.R.S.

Jill must give Barry back his gun to fight Lisa Trevor and Barry must also survive the final encounter with Tyrant

The following achievements can also easily be obtained in this first pass, but could be missed .

• Not Taking Any Chances
  
• What A Great Guy Requires Jill retrieve the shotgun without the "replacement".
  
• Beak Out The Marshmallows!
  
• Every Nook And Cranny

Easiest areas to miss picking things up are Lisa's mother's tomb and Chris' jail cell. "The Closet" is not necessary on this first pass, but if you fail on this pass it will be required on subsequent passes.

If you play the game on Normal difficulty you will also get this achievement:

• Take That Zombies!

In this pass you will also have gained progress on a few other achievements:

• We're In This Together
  
• Starsenal
  
• Passion for Fashion

Start by loading you previous /00/CLEAR game and choosing "Once Again". Choose Chris as the character and set the difficulty to "Normal" or "Hard".

Focus is once again on enjoying the game thoroughly through Chris' story - revealing the rest of the story line. Once again save everyone but step up the difficulty a notch.

Saving Richard by getting the serum in time means Rebecca won't be available to help with Plant 42, and will make that boss fight much harder.

Save your /00/CLEAR game.

The following achievements will happen in the normal course of this specific play through with Chris, and specific to saving everyone:

• Not Just Any Object
  
• Herbicide
  
• Written Word Is Dead
  
• An End To A Poor Girl's Misery
  
• You da Man Chris
  
• Sorry I Made You Wait
  
• That Was Nice Of You
  
• The Nightmare Ends
  
• Take That Zombies! (if not already obtained)

If you play the game on Hard difficulty you will also get this achievement:

• Oh, The Horror

The following multi-session achievement will be completed because you have now completed the game at least once as Jill and at least once as Chris:

• We're In This Together

In this pass you will also have gained progress on a couple of other achievements:

• Starsenal
  
• Passion for Fashion

Start by loading you previous /00/CLEAR game and choosing "Once Again".

You will have to make a second pass with both Jill and Chris to complete some achievements, so we will start our second Chris run as a speed run. Because of the limitation to 6 inventory slots, Chris is not the ideal choice for a speed run, but his added health can help you get by some level of sloppy play as you make your first attempt at a speed run. The absolute goal here is to be under 5 hours to get the "Racing And Pacing" achievement. Racing to beat the 3 hour time for the "Don't Stop Running" achievement will reduce the number of times you have to play the game, but may not be worth the stress.

One essential element to a speed run is to not save anyone. For reasons that will become obvious at the end of the run, this dramatically cuts down the time needed to make a run with Chris. By not saving Richard, Rebecca can poison Plant 42, making that battle much easier. By not saving Rebecca from the hunter, you will only have to face the Tyrant once - in the lab with Wesker, however the self-destruct will not be triggered and the lab and Tyrant will survive.

Save your /00/CLEAR game.

Completing this pass without saving anyone will complete the following achievements regardless of how quickly you complete the pass:

• Bravo, Rebecca
  
• Every Man For Himself

Completing this speed run in 5 hours will give subsequent runs access to the "samurai edge" handgun which comes with infinite ammo and fires three rounds quickly when the trigger is held. In addition it will complete the following achievement:

• Racing And Pacing

If you complete this speed run in 3 hours, subsequent runs will have access to a rocket launcher with infinite ammunition. You will also complete this achievement:

• Don't Stop Running

In this pass you will also have gained progress on a couple of other achievements regardless of time:

• Starsenal
  
• Passion for Fashion

If you were able to complete the previous run in under 3 hours, you can skip this run and go on to Pass #5.

Start by loading your previous /00/CLEAR game and choosing "Once Again".

A second pass with Jill is required in order to unlock several of the achievements you have been accumulating progress on with the first 3 runs. Like the last run, this run is considered a speed run. As your 4th pass through the game you should have no issue navigating each of the maps and the puzzles should present no issue. If you managed to complete the last run in under 5 hours you will also have "The Samurai Edge" bonus weapon which should greatly limit the amount of inventory shuffle necessary making it even easier to get under 3 hours in this run.

On this run Jill should not save anyone. This will not only complete several additional achievements, but will also make it easier to complete the run in under 3 hours.

To not save Barry, don't give him back his gun when prompted. This will leave his gun on the ground for you to pick up and use. This gun 1 shots the tyrant - making the ending of the game insanely simple. It also causes you to skip the final battle, getting the "bad ending" with the tyrant still alive and the self destruct sequence never started.

It is critical that you complete this run in under 3 hours. If you do not complete the run in under 3 hours, you will need to simply try again before progressing to the next run in our list.

After this 4th pass through the game you will unlock a roaming zombie covered in hand grenades. Shooting this zombie with any weapon at any distance creates a blast that will kill you 100% of the time. Avoiding this zombie will often force you to use different "longer" more "time consuming" paths.

Save your /00/CLEAR game.

Completing this pass without saving anyone will complete the following achievements regardless of how quickly you complete the pass:

• Every Woman For Herself
  
• Starsenal
  
• Passion for Fashion

Completing this speed run in 3 hours will give subsequent runs access to a rocket launcher with infinite ammunition. You will also complete this achievement:

• Don't Stop Running

Start by loading you previous /00/CLEAR game and choosing "Once Again".

After completing the 3 hour speed run, Jill will have all the fire power and unlimited ammunition she needs to conquer the game even on Hard with zero saves. This run is specifically directed at the "Ink is for squids" achievement and should not be treated as a speed run. Because you will not need to pick up any ammo or even any different weapons than what you start with, inventory management will be much easier.

The infinite ammunition rocket launcher you start the game with will pretty much one shot everything except the tyrant in the final battle.

The goal is to play with just enough caution to allow you to complete the run without ever saving. This can still be a challenge, as there are times where Jill can die easily regardless of the fire power she possesses. Be very careful around dogs and hunters - try to always be in possession of a defensive item (daggers or batteries). Make sure you treat any poison quickly, and use the space you would normally use for ammunition and secondary weapons to carry health items. Take the time to burn zombies you kill in high traffic areas.

Even the rocket launcher has no lasting effect on Lisa Trevor. Make sure you don't get knocked off the platform when you encounter her near her mother's coffin.

If you fire the rocket launcher while carrying the charged fuel cell near the end of the game, the fuel cell will explode and kill you. So make sure the two zombies that could get in your way or not only already dead but have been burned, and the one bug in the way is dead.

Save your /00/CLEAR game.

Choose the ending you want, and plan your gameplay around what that means about who you need to save or not save during the game. If you skipped Pass #4 because you had already made a 3 hour speed run - then you will need to not save anyone in this pass to obtain the following achievements:

• Every Woman For Herself
  
• Starsenal
  
• Passion for Fashion

Completing this pass will earn the following achievements:

• Oh, The Horror (if not obtained previously)
  
• Ink is for Squids

Start by loading you previous /00/CLEAR game and choosing "Once Again".

You will not get any of the in-game bonus weapons you have unlocked when playing on this mode. The game difficulty can not be chosen nor changed and is set to Hard. So you are back to shuffling through inventory and trying to make sure you put the right things in the right chest. It is probably self evident, but try not to leave anything valuable in remote chests - focus on the most accessible chests that are closest to the "edges" of the game maps.

This is your 6th pass through the game (or at least 5th pass). By this time you should know what items you will need for each section of the game. Using Jill will allow you to have more of those items in your immediate inventory more of the time, but even she can not simply carry everything all the time.

Save your /00/CLEAR game.

Completing this pass will earn the following achievement:

• The Survival Horror

Start by loading you previous /00/CLEAR game and choose "Once Again".

By this time you should have a good idea of where the monsters will be. Having the in-game bonuses from your timed runs, you can blast way and usually kill anything that would have been an issue.

This pass can be run on basically any difficulty you want to run on. I suggest "Very Easy" as this is almost your final play through of the game and by this time you are likely to be ready to complete the game and move on to a new game (such as RE2). Use saves just to make sure you don't back track too much if you get sloppy. You won't have access to the infinite ammunition bonus weapons, but on this mode, the fights themselves are not the challenge - just remembering where the foes will appear and what weapon to use against them. Aim Assist does work on this run - like your character can see the foes only you can't...

This will complete the following achievement:

• Ghost of a Chance

Start a new game rather than loading your previous /00/CLEAR game. When saving make sure not to overwrite your previous /00/CLEAR game!

Chris is typically the better choice of character for this achievement simply because he can take more damage, starts with a knife in hand, and doesn't stomp on any heads in cut scenes. However, it is possible to do this pass with Jill.

The goal of this pass is to get the final achievement: "CQC-FTW". This achievement means you can not fire any weapons, smash any heads with your boots, or use any defensive weapons. This means you will be bitten, period. Even on "Very Easy" difficulty, your knife will not be an effective weapon most of the time. You will need to avoid as many fights as possible.

There are a few fights you simply can not avoid. Use what you have learned in previous runs to effectively avoid as much damage as you can. Save often (Very Easy mode showers you with an abundance of ribbons). Carry a significant amount of health with you into any of the fights you can not avoid - better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. You will be surprised that it is in fact possible to defeat the enemies you have to with a knife - it just takes patience and some skill.

I would suggest making sure you get the "bad ending" to avoid the final boss fight all together. By this time you should know what choices to make to avoid that fight. For Jill don't give Barry back his gun. For Chris don't save Rebecca from the hunter.

List of fights you can not avoid:

• Dogs you call with the whistle. Stand near where the potted green plants are and attack the dog(s) as it comes to the corner of the railing.
  
  
• Crimson from the coffin released by the death masks. Bring as much healing to this as you can. Try to attack right after avoiding his lunging attack. This battle may seem impossible and will likely take multiple tries to get right - so be sure to save just before it.
  
  
• Plant 42. Slash "up" at tentacles while standing at the corners of the longest upper balcony. Move back and forth from corner to corner. After there are only a couple tentacles left you will have to move around the balcony to the right and attack it from there. By not saving Richard, Rebecca will dramatically lesson the difficulty of this fight.
  
  
• Snake in the library. Kill it by attacking the end of it's tail as you run behind it making circles around the book shelf.
  
  
• Bug near where you have to place the charged power supply. If you do not kill this bug before you bring the charged cell into the room, it will most likely cause you to explode.
  
  
• Tyrant in lab with Wesker. Oddly, it is fairly simple to run behind the Tyrant on the side with the short arm (his right side). Slash from behind as much as you can, just keep moving around in a circle.

Completing this pass will earn you:

• CQC-FTW

MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT OVERWRITE YOUR PREVIOUS /00/CLEAR save game with any saves from this pass.


Congratulations - you are now 100% Achievement complete.

The following is the list of "To Do Items" in order that I used to complete the 3 hour run in just under 2.5 hours. The number in parens is meant to represent the number of items I think are in the inventory at this point. I can't vouch for all the inventory numbers as I didn't take the time to double check them as I was making the run. I do seem to remember having to "ditch" the "armor key" in a chest at some point and not expecting to do that.

This assumes you are using Jill and have access to The Samurai's Edge handgun with infinite ammunition.

• (2) Handgun
  
• find dead guy
  
• Get (3)Arrow Head (2FL-Mirror Corridor)
  
• Get (3)Sword Key (Crypt)
  
• Get (4)Dog Whistle & (5)Lighter (2FR-Small Library)
  
• Get (6)Fake Key (2FL-Balcony)
  
• Get (5)Armor Key (3F-Death Passage)
  
• Start Richard Death Timer (2FR-Pilar Room)
  
• Get (6)Mask #1 (2FR-Sleeping Knights)
  
  • -- Unlock Door (2FR-Outside Patio)
    
• Get (7)Herbicide (1FR-Outside Boiler)
  
• Stop by room (1FR-Store Room)
  
  • drop unneeded gun
    
  • Leave via "bad door"
    
• Use Armor Key - Get (6)Mask #2 (1FR-Stained Glass Gallery)
  
  • -- Unlock graveyard gate
    
• Visit medicine room from 2nd floor
  
  • touch but don't pick up serum
    
  • Leave Sword Key (only kitchen door left)
    
• Unlock 1F hallway behind medicine room access
  
• Get (6)Music (1FL-Piano Room)
  
• Go Back to Richard - should be dead
  
• Get (8)Music Page (2FR-Servant Quarters)
  
  • (7)Combine Music
    
• Get (8)Wooden Shield (1FL Dinning Room)
  
• Use Music - Get (7)Golden Shield (1FL Piano Room)
  
• Use Golden Shield - Get (7)Shield Key (1FL Dining Room Clock)
  
• Use Shield Key - Get (7)Mask #3 (2FR Snake Room)
  
• Use Herbicide - Get (7)Mask #4 (1FR Plant Room)
  
• Use (4)Masks - Get (4)Stone & Metal disk (Crypt)
  
• Use Disk - Leave Mansion -> Courtyard
  
  • (1)Hand Gun
    
  • (2)Lighter
    
  • (3)????
    

• Get (4) Red Book (Spider/Pool Tables)
  
  • -- Light the candles to get doorway solution
    
• Push Box to get to rest of residence
  
• Get (5) Residence Key in bathroom (Ladder Down Room)
  
• Use Residence Key - Get (5) Control Room Key (Room across from typewriter room)
  
• Use Control Room Key
  
  • -- Down the ladder
    
  • -- Floating Boxes
    
  • -- Sharks
    
• Get (5)Gallery Key (Residence Basement)
  
  • -- Drain Shark Pool
    
  • -- Go down to bottom & kill big shark
    
  • -- Can pick up magnum ammo if needed
    
  • -- Head back up on ladder from bottom
    
• Use Gallery Key - Get (5)Bug Spray (Gallery)
  
• Use Bug Spray (Hallway)
  
• Get (5) Room Key (Gallery)
  
• Use Room Key
  
• Use Red Book
  
• Make Herbicide (7)Four Flasks
  
• Use Herbicide - flasks go away
  
  • -- All the way back down through control room to adjacent room
    
  • -- All the way back up to the gallery
    
  • -- Go through door books revealed
    
• Get (4)Helmet Key
  
• Back to Mansion
  
  • (1)Hand Gun
    
  • (2)Lighter - can be left behind
    
  • (3)Green Crank
    
  • (4)Helmet Key
    

• Get (5)Book #1 / Coin (2FL-Far Back Room)
  
  • -- Solve the collapsing room puzzle
    
  • -- Go Through hole in floor to basement
    
  • -- Power up the elevator
    
  • -- Take elevator in Kitchen to 2nd floor
    
• Get (6)Battery (2FR-Closet Near elevator)
  
• Get (7)Book #2 / Coin (3F-Access to library)
  
  • -- Kill the snake
    
• Get (8)Red Gem (2FL-Trophy Room)
  
  • -- After getting gem go by medicine room (avoid hunters this way)
    
  • -- use 1F hallway - zombies
    
• Use Key last time and Red Gem - Get (7)Emblem Key (1FR-Mirror Room)
  
  • -- Dumbass jigsaw puzzle
    
• Use Emblem Key - Get (8)Metal Emblem (1FR-Courtyard Study)
  
  • -- through graveyard
    
• Head Back to Courtyard
  
  • (1)Gun
    
  • (2)Lighter
    
  • (3)Green Crank
    
  • (4)Wolf Coin
    
  • (5)Egal Coin
    
  • (6)Battery
    
  • (7)Metal Emblem