Forgot what I’m doing? Read my initial blog here

I was…..going to play the railshooter RE games, but those fucking suck, so I actually played Code Veronica X last, which you can read my thoughts about the game here

Ready for a shocker, ok here it is…..YO, RE4 IS STILL A FUCKING FANTASTIC GAME!

I really could stop this blog right there and be happy with it, but then why the hell did I write a blog? Let me elaborate. Resident Evil 4, a game that I hadn’t played in at least 8 to 9 years, is still as enjoyable an experience as it was then. Everything I loved about the game came flooding back to me in a giant wave of nostalgia and excitement, something that usually doesn’t happen when I return to a game I once loved. Usually when I play a game that I absolutely adored years and years prior, I might still like but I remember bits and pieces that I overall didn’t like. That was not the case with RE4 as I have no issues with that game in any way possible. RE4 isn’t a perfect game mind you, it is a perfectly executed game where everything came together in one terrific package where its weaknesses aren’t too big of an issue as the game doesn’t focus on them for very long at all. Interestingly enough, I decided to replay Batman: Arkham Asylum (because of all the Arkham Knight talk) which is in the same exact spot as RE4 in my book. Both games do have some issues that are easy to point out, but the overall experience is so solid, so complete that those problems don’t hurt the experience, in my case, at all.

Let’s talk about the story, pacing, characters and overall presentation of the Resident Evil 4 to begin with. You are Leon, the President’s daughter is kidnapped, go to Spain, shoot dudes, witty banter, win. Ok, I do have an issue with the game, it shouldn’t be called Resident Evil 4, it is more of a side story to the overall Umbrella Ark that the previous games all dealt heavily in. Minor issue, as considering the game a side story somehow contains the stigma that it is lesser than the main series games (see Operation Raccoon City). That is not the case of RE4 and I give it a slide in that department. Moving on, the game does have a simple story, but that tends to be the case in most of the games I have played so far. And just like the previous games, there is a lot of story development in the back 1/3, new threats and story threads are introduced and set up future events in the series that I will eventually playthrough (I assume). The game strikes me as sometime during the development, the creators decided to not go so bat shit insane (they saved it for 5 from what I remember) and instead keep it simple, story wise. And because of this, I might say it is one of the best paced games I have ever played. It never felt too long, never felt to short, you never did anything annoying or frustrating for too long, the cutscenes weren’t crazy long or so frequent that it became an issue. The pacing might be the biggest strength of the game. From the previous RE games that I’ve played, pacing always seemed to be an issue, RE4 they solved that problem finally. Don’t want to go on this too long, but the characters are extremely memorable, including the enemies and boss battles. Leon’s banter against Salazar and Sadler is very fun and adds a goofy tone that they really embraced in this title. MVP goes to the Merchant though, I wonder if they knew how memorable a character they had right there, I’m going to guess no but just everything about him is awesome.

Now the combat. I see and even understand the reasons people complain about it, since games like Gears of War of come out since RE4’s release, everyone wants to move around while shooting. Here’s the thing, it is still a survival horror game (too some degree), and having that option would take out a lot of tension and suspense that the combat brings. Being able to continually back pedal and shoot the enemies that are moving towards you would completely take the game out of the genre that it somewhat still has a foot in, it would also render all the “smaller” enemies absolutely useless as they are melee attackers and to be effective require you to take a chance in whether to run or attack. Easily some very memorable encounters and boss battles would be rendered obsolete if the ability to move and attack at the same time existed, to name a few: the chainsaw/1-hit-kill enemies require to be very close to you, creates tension; el gigante fights would at least be far easier; several combat set pieces in the castle would be rendered pointless as it would be easier. I understand the complaint, I personally think it only adds to the gameplay and style of the game. If anyone says that RE4 is a “bad game” because of this problem they have, I personally have a hard time trusting their opinion on any game in the future. Everything else pertaining to the combat is fantastic, from the weapon options, to the button prompts and options to approach each situation, the game is very friendly and almost encourages the player to experiment with different styles and approaches. Even the inventory management system is awesome, no more slots, now its Tetris with weapons and ammo.

Alright, let’s see if I can muster up some complaints about RE4. There are some not so fun boss battles in the game, they led to some frustrating moments while playing. Specifically, The Big Cheese gave me some issues thus leading to me being annoyed; the final gigante fight was tedious and at that point the enemy was used too many times; I don’t think the final Krauser confrontation is all that great, ends up being a little meh with what ends up being the second to last boss fight; Ashley being a 1-shot-kill if you hit her is annoying, led to a few parts of just me sigh as I accidentally hit her again with the sniper (telling me those bars that are holding her against the wall aren’t thick enough to stop the bullet from penetrating and killer her? Come on….); The Merchant doesn’t have enough dialogue, repeats the same 7 (amazing) lines constantly; And sometimes an enemies head will burst from shots that weren’t hitting their head, strikes me as forced and if I want to waste more ammo on killing enemies through non headshots, that should be an option. And this are just complaints, minor complaints. And as I compared RE4 to Arkham Asylum earlier, these complaints and issues don’t ruin an overall experience that was incredibly enjoyable and rewarding from all fronts. They are either moments that are fleeting and don’t stay around too long to stick in my long term memory, or are so minor that the only reason I mention them is to write something in this section.

Resident Evil 4 is a game I put over a hundred hours in just under a decade ago. I wasn’t worried about returning to the game, I felt strong that it would at least still be fun to play, and the game is honestly an awesome experience that can be enjoyed by all. Even now that I beat the game a few days ago, I just bought the PC version (it was on sale) and are even considering going for all the unlockable and other modes, or even just run through the game again with my upgraded weapons. A metric I always use for finishing a game is if I want to continue to play the game despite beating it, and RE4 passed with flying colors.

The next game I am to play is Resident Evil: Revelations. I don’t really know much about the game; you are on a ship I think? And that’s it. I am waiting for the last few RE games to show up in our mail so hopefully not to long of a pause before I can jump back into a Resident Evil game.

Until next time…or read my thoughts on Revelations now, here.

Glad to see you're still going strong! Yeah, the Chronicles games aren't the best, but there are some decent cutscenes in there. Nothing Youtube can't solve. RE4 is my least favorite of the "new school" REs, mainly because of the pacing. I think the game is about 10 hours too long. Just really ridiculous filler, like Ashley constantly getting kidnapped, and other random things. However, it's a huge step up in terms of cutscenes and presentation from all of the previous games, and sets up some really important building blocks for gameplay for the series to this day.

In regards to plot importance, yeah, RE4 isn't too big. Mainly, it's there for Leon and Ada to reunite, which is probably one of the more important details(mainly for RE6). Some of the Ganado stuff, and the story details in Ada's side story, set up Wesker a little bit more for the future and has some minor ties into RE5 and Damnation(CG movie number two). Also, it really sets up a lot of Leon being super secret agent guy for the rest of the series.

Revelations is...okay. Some people really go crazy for it, but it isn't my favorite. However, it has its moments. There's some good stuff in there, it plays well, and it isn't too obscenely long.

It's all downhill from here! Ok, well, Resident Evil 5 is still pretty great and Revelations is... competent. Just don't expect any "revelations" from it because even by the low standards of Resident Evil the story is all sorts of nonsensical.

When it comes to pacing, I think the castle portion of RE4 is an hour or two too long. But otherwise it's pretty much one of the best games ever made.

@quarters: I am really debating on getting the wii versions or picking up a move just to play them, they really are impossible to play with the controller. I would love to read your thoughts on why you think RE4 is the weakest of the newest RE games, personally for me it is easily in my "favorite games of all time" list (not top 10). I liked when Ashley got kidnapped as I didn't have to worry about her lagging behind anymore and 10 hours is a bit of an exaggeration as it took me 13 hours to beat it. Is the Ada stuff worth playing through or should I just seek out the wiki or youtube stuff to find out what happens (if its important to know).

@arbitrarywater:I feel like companies should stop using "Revelations" in their titles when there is no fucking revelations to speak of. Agree on the castle, would even say all 3 sections are an hour too long, but once again it doesn't drag on for 3 hours so it is a minor issue. I am really curious how 5 will play out for me as I haaaaated it when it first came out.

@nightriff: I think the Village segment of RE 4 is pretty much perfect, especially the part that takes place during the day. The entire thing is dripping with atmosphere and is early enough that you aren't drowning in ammo the way you are later on, leading to some fun tense moments.

Separate Ways is absolutely worth playing through. It's decently challenging, only a few hours long and gives you some fun stuff that doesn't appear in the rest of the game, like getting a bowgun that shoots explosive bolts and fighting a boss who doesn't show up in the main story. Assignment Ada is more of an optional thing (non-canon), but it's also meant to be finished in a single sitting.

Game of the generation. Easily.

It's always a pleasure to see a duder enjoy this fantastic game. About a year ago, I did a senior experience at my high school focused on the new field of games journalism and broadcasting, which means I played a lot of games that I livestreamed to Twitch and wrote about them when I wasn't playing them. RE4 was a smash hit among my small audience, and it was a smash hit for me. The game has a fantastic difficulty system, and the gameplay also makes one feel like if you die, you probably died because you did something you shouldn't have. I predicted that Professional mode would've been a slog through a bog, but I actually enjoyed it, and beating the game on the highest difficulty created one of the most intense feelings of self-accomplishment I've ever felt. You should give it a try!

My personal favorite moment that I love to share is the second Krauser fight. I had been stuck on this guy for an hour: I reloaded my checkpoints and went back a couple saves to get enough monies in order to stock up on magnum bullets. One can imagine my surprise when I emptied five or six clips into his head, and the fact that he was still standing. After that, I was so fed up with the game. I said, "FUCK IT," and charged him, pulling out my knife. I was even more surprised that this guy was wrecked to shreds by Leon's blade, like a MegaMan boss-esque weakness. I wish I was recording the moment that I streamed that. 'Twas a good time for all.

Good luck with the rest of the RE series, I hope you at least get a kick out of the story!

Yeah, RE4 is still great. I played it last year I think when I finally bought it HD on 360. That said, it was a different feeling experience for me to some extent. Revelations is pretty good, I just didn't love the feel of shooting, in terms of the enemy reactions; it just made the impact of weapons feel less great. RE5 was initially not that great to me because of what it lacked that RE4 had, but later turned out I actually loved it, and played through it multiple times, and a lot of co-op. Wasn't a huge fan of Revelations 2, and especially in the latter parts, the dialogue is absolutely atrocious, more so than usual to me. Also, I'm in the minority, but I think RE6 is a really great game, though no, it is not scary in any way, unless you can consider nasty enemy monster designs scary. It's just a really fun game regardless to me, and interestingly enough, I just started playing it again because my brother wanted to go through all of it on co-op; he hasn't finished it yet. We just have to do the Ada stuff. I finished all of it on all difficulties with all characters (well, except for no hope, because I don't really care for that, nor have I ever played as the hunk looking character in Ada's mission).

I have it on Wii, and in my pile of shame. I haven't even played it yet.

Yeah, I realize that my opinions on RE4 are most certainly not popular, haha. I think it's several things, really. One, while I think the village stuff early on is pretty cool(obviously the chainsaw encounter before the title card is fun and such), but I HATE the castle and a lot of the late game areas. Too many caves and so on. Two, I'm just not a big fan of the story. Now, this is where my opinion is really going to diverge from some, so bear with me. Part of my problem with the story is that a lot of it has really goofy dialogue, despite the vastly increased production value everywhere. It leads to a weird disconnect(one that Revelations also shares, some goofy crap in that game). RE5 and RE6 take themselves more seriously, which a lot of people loathe because it isn't close enough to the originals, but I think that it makes for much better told plots. I really love a lot of the character stuff in those games as well as the major mythology beats, whereas in RE4, I feel like there's just nothing to bite into. Leon says some goofy lines, looks cool, end credits. It's just really simple, which lends to the side story feel(I really wish Code: Veronica was RE4, it deserved to be). Three, I can't stand most of the villains. I think Krauser is great, and "The Big Cheese" is cool, but outside of that, I think they are some of the worst villains in the series history. Salazar straight up is my least favorite enemy. So obnoxious. I think part of what makes me hate them so much is the increased emphasis on the codec calls(as a side note, I will always find the crazy amount of Metal Gear references amusing for being so random), leading to tons of repetitive, trash talk conversations with all of the villains, none of which are that great.

That's the long and short of it, really. Like I said, I don't expect many to share my opinion, but it is what it is. On the bright side, when it comes to obnoxious tag alongs, while Sheva can be killed in RE5, your partners in Revelations RE6 are invulnerable(or at least might as well be). You won't have to worry about them or their inventory anymore.

As for the Ada stuff in RE4, it's alright, but it just depends on how much more RE4 you want to play. You're going to go through a lot of the same environments, and it isn't super short. There's a lot less upgrades and such, but overall, it's just a shorter RE4. Personally, I would probably just look up the scenes as their aren't a ton of them, and it's pretty easy to spot where the occur within Leon's story, but that's up to you. I will say though, if you go through Ada's stuff, I would do it after checking out the unique story stuff in at least Umbrella Chronicles. Wesker and Ada's position is set up in that game, and it might be a bit of a shift going from the last time you saw them to RE4. You can do whatever you want, obviously, but if you want the smoothest experience, I would do that at least. With Darkside Chronicles, the main thing you'll get it is more setup for Leon and Krauser pre-RE4. And primarily, what the Ada stuff accomplishes is following up on those threads from UC, and also sets up a bit for how Ganado-type creatures pop up in RE5 and Damnation. Not a ton more. It certainly isn't the most important side story of the series, just gives some more flavor to RE4's story and helps it feel more connected to the larger universe.

I realize the second response isn't to me at all, but I thought I'd chime in on that one anyway. Yeah, Revelations is a pretty big bust when it comes to actual revelations, but on the other hand, Revelations 2 is actually potentially really important, and has some great stuff in it. It goes much bigger than the first one just in terms of story stuff it pulls from. Revelations 1 has a couple of interesting details, and sets up Chris and Jill for their pre-RE5 BSAA stuff, but that's kind of about it. However, there's a thing in it that could end up being a returning plot line, so we'll see.

There's still a lot I like about RE4, but at the same time... after recently playing through the remake again on Hard mode as both Chris & Jill, Holy Hell do I miss that style of RE game so much. I miss having one huge environment to explore rather than being pulled along a linear path; I miss key items that weren't immediately used up like two steps in front of you; I miss the incredibly beautiful camera angles; I miss having to consider my resources rather than just safely blasting everything in front of me knowing that they're going to drop ammo to refill most of what ammunition was lost; I miss the days when Leon wasn't a blasted Ninja who can defy the laws of everything, like during that stupid laser hall sequence.

There's two sides of criticism I've long directed at RE4, and that is criticisms for what it isn't, and criticisms for what it is. Fortunately what it is is still a superb third-person shooter with a highly methodical pacing that no other game, except RE5, really matches. Still, that can only blanket so much of my dismay as for what RE4 turned the series into. It's basically the complete reverse of how so many people were pissed at Doom 3 for funnily enough completely rewriting the structure and pacing of Doom into something more horror-oriented.

...Despite all that, when I can sheath my anguish at RE4's transformation of the series as a whole, yeah, it's still really damn good. Especially the first third in the village, which is the closest it gets to mimicking the pacing of the classic RE games. The castle portion ups the amount of puzzles, and also throws you into environments that are much more claustrophobic, though the Island mostly sheds all of that away in favour of basically what RE5 would become. It's still fun for the most part, though that sequence with all the turrets gunning at you really is sort of a mess. While the tank controls and stop & pop gameplay of RE4 totally work for like 95% of the game, that entire segment throws so many obstacles at you that left me feeling ill-fit to combat against. You at least have 'Miiiiike!' to provide support on Normal mode, though for Professional however he doesn't do squat besides destroying the towers to let you progress. Still, RE4 is such an impressive game, all the more so as I've gotten older and can more properly appreciate such things like level design and such. It has so much going on, with it switching from unique set-piece to unique set-piece across its 12-15 hour long run, an expansive weapon upgrades system that was practically unheard of for games of its type, a huge variety of bosses, the clever way of hiding jewels in the environment and combining them to increase their worth, superb graphics, a stable framerate, a bevy of unlockables, and then there's the whole list of genuine innovations like its over-the-shoulder camera and what have you. Which ultimately lead to Gears of War, one of my all time favourite franchises even.

Though as is the consensus, Ashley is a total fucking bint. From a gameplay standpoint she's not too bad, what with you often hilariously being able to just stick her in a bin, only to then whistle for her when you want her to return you... Jesus, when you write it out like that... But as a character she's probably the most Anime of all RE characters I'd think, complete with schoolgirl uniform and panty jokes and ''ballistics'' and constantly screaming Leon's name even when she's been taken to the island and has no way of knowing you're coincidentally like a few metres away. Though if I'm being honest I never much cared for Leon, either. I always disliked how cocky he was and many of his one-liners were corny, but without being endearing. Where's everybody going - bingo? OH STFUUUUUUUU. Also, Krauser seemed like such a weirdly misplaced villain. Like, they establish this backstory for him and Leon (likely as a means to create rivalry akin to Chris & Wesker), but because this history literally never existed until Darkside Chronicles years later, the ''twist'' of Krauser's appearance meant nothing. He makes for pretty stellar (if easy) boss fight, though, and his bow in Mercenaries might be one of my all time favourite bows in all of gaming.

Also, fun fact regarding the Merchant: Mikami was initially going to have a similar Merchant character in The Evil Within, though opted for the torture chair thing instead for the sake of... it being more psychological horror-y or something. A weird omission given that the Merchant character is legitimately one of the most iconic aspects of RE4.

Finally, before I finish my blog-within-a-blog, I must post the legendary 'Hookman build' video so as to gasp at just what could have been.

This build was actually being directed by the RE3 guy, though problems in development forced Mikami's hand to step in and redo it all from the ground up. The unfortunately poor sales of the remake (which given that it was a third-party gamecube exclusive was inevitable) is what lead to him deciding to make an action game as opposed to a survival horror one.

I have a love hate relationship with RE4, in a way its a great fucking action game, ground breaking some would say, but its also where Resident Evil slowly started taking a turn for the worse. Less atmosphere, the lore got even sillier in a non awesome way, tension was replaced with action and spectacle. Still its a great game, but it should have been a spin off.

EDIT: Yummylee said it all.

@tothenines: I don't think having RE4 function as a spin-off would have changed the trajectory of the series, as it would have still proved to be far more successful than any other RE game before it regardless. The main series would thusly have adopted this design anyway and we'd be in the same position.

If 'RE4' was instead sold as an entirely new IP, that would then have most likely resulted in the RE series ending right there, right along with Dino Crisis, Onimusha, and so on. Though given that this means RE wouldn't have had to bear the brunt of brand damage via RE6, maybe it would have been better that way...

RE4 will always hold a special place in my heart and it will always be one of my favorite games. I have played through it so many times.

I don't have anything to add to what others and yourself have said, but I love the hell out of that game. I kind of miss the days when I'd go through a game of that length over and over and over again. Easily my favourite in the series, and I'm a big fan of the direction they took the franchise.... well, before they decided to make whatever the fuck Resident Evil 6 is.