Resident Evilhas had a good string of games lately; starting with 2017’s first-personResident Evil 7: Biohazard, then with the remakes ofResident Evil 2and3, and most recently with the action-orientedResident Evil 8: Village. It is those remakes ofResident Evil 2and3along with the obviousResident Evil 4inspirations found inResident Evil 8thatsuggest Capcom is already working on a remakeof 2005’sResident Evil 4.
Resident Evil 4, for those who haven’t played it, was a game-changer for the series. It did away with the fixed camera angles of previous games and went for an over-the-shoulder camera - one which inspired multiple game companies and titles to take after it.Resident Evil 4was also more action-oriented and used adrenaline-fueled set pieces and quick time events to give its players a sense of urgency. This reliance on action fed into the game’s overall tone.Resident Evilup to that point had been walking the line between overly serious and ridiculously cheesy, but withResident Evil 4’s release, Capcom decided to jump the gun and go all-in with the cheese.
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A Simple Story Told In A B-Movie Manner
The premise ofResident Evil 4is quite simplecompared to its predecessors. Leon S. Kennedy, the rookie cop protagonist fromResident Evil 2, is now a U.S. government agent tasked with saving the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham. She had last been seen in a village in Spain run by a cult that called themselves the Los Illuminados. Cue a parasitic infection which turns the villagers into crazed mutants, and the makings of aResident Evilstory aren’t far behind. SinceResident Evil 4doesn’t tie in closely with past events such as the Spencer Mansion and Raccoon City incident, Capcom was able to take more liberty with both the gameplay and storytelling, and it is truly ludicrous.
For starters, Leon himself is a lot more chatty than hisResident Evil 2incarnation. He constantly spouts one-liners to both his allies and his enemies, with one of his most quotable moments being when Ramon Salazar, the village castle owner, monologues to Leon that he has sent his right-hand henchman to dispose of him. Without skipping a beat, Leon questions Salazar if his literal right hand comes off. It’s moments like these that can make the player groan at the script, but at the same time laugh athow something as cheesy as thisRE4dialoguemade it into a AAA video game.
Suplexes And Roundhouse Kicks Round Out RE4’s Gameplay
The cheesiness doesn’t stop with the dialogue andbleeds straight intoResident Evil 4’s gameplay. Whereas previous games would have players scared as they turn around every corner,Resident Evil 4has them roundhouse kicking and suplexing villagers to bring them down. It isn’t just for show, either. By performing a roundhouse kick or suplex on an enemy, players can save on ammo, which is rather scarce at the start of the game. That’s nothing to say of the other crazy stunts Leon and the rest of the cast can do (Ashley being constantly told to hide in garbage dumpsters deserves special mention).
Still, even with all this goofiness on display,Resident Evil 4can still deliver tension. Quiet moments, which are more commonly found at the start ofResident Evilgames, are emphasized with their minimal sound and eerie atmosphere. The only difference inResident Evil 4is that these quiet moments build up to a big fight or the introduction of a new enemy archetype.
While theResident Evil 4remake will most likely go down the same serious paththeResident Evil 2and3remakes have, Capcom shouldn’t rule out the possibility of keeping the original game’s tone. Just as it was refreshing to see a cheesy, action-orientedResident Evilback in 2005, bringing that same tone back for the remake could revitalize people’s interest in the franchise.
Many players stillcountResident Evil 4as one of their favorite games, so bringing back the suplexes and one-liners, while removing some of the game’s more sexist elements, might not be so bad.
Resident Evil 4is available now for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and legacy platforms. A remake is rumored to be in development.
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