Intro: Nothing compares to the feeling of seeing a video game from your childhood rejuvenated and brought back to life in a way that does it justice. New fans, and new memories are made with this remake, Resident Evil 4 was a game that many a childhoods leaned on for comfort creating memes and memories for a lifetime. The original Resident Evil 4 came out in 2005, and now got a fresh coat of paint, better mechanics and fleshed out story that truly does the series justice but also raises more questions as well. Welcome Home: the smell of fresh coffee, the pitter patter of feet and the dead body in the corner make for a happy home. I don’t think we truly talk enough about the fact that the Resident Evil series as a whole is like a warm morbid memory hug that feels safe, crushing and always there. Resident Evil 4 Remake is like getting that same hug from an old friend whom you haven’t seen in years. The rawness of the original is still maintained in the remake, the same with the grit and the beauty of it all are still kept and even amplified to a point where I didn’t thing that this game could get any better. The original, now seeming like a rough draft of what was to come. A Burnt Bridge, or a Better Option? The Resident Evil series prides itself on being the epitome of survival horror. Landing itself in prime real-estate for any horror hungry fan who wants something scary but that also makes them think at the same time. Resident Evil 4 Remake, however landed itself in a perfect storm of delivering what the fans wanted, changing things that needed to be changed, changed things that shouldn’t have been changed all while keeping the integrity of the game and what made it special to begin with. With Luis not dying by the hands of Saddler, and instead Krouser, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth, an almost “how dare you writers mess up a point in the story” that is quite frankly huge. Luis is one of the most diverse characters in the game when it comes his personality and where his loyalties lie. Him being a double agent, with his truest agenda being one of a good, and wanting to help Leon it doesn’t surprise me that they writing team this time around kept him on for a bit longer in the game. Helping leon with multiple tasks that we would normally do on our own, and bringing more dialogue strength to what his character originally lacked. The same goes for Ada Wong. Her character originally felt too infatuated with Leon, and this more cold/distant Ada felt like the better approach, making her character as a whole a more genuine portrayal of how Ada should be represented a double agent with a moral heart. She cares about Leon, and the human race. To see her voice and behaviors finally fit how I had imagined them too is amazing. With how the characters changed it was an, albeit shocking thing to see because of how used to am seeing them one way, but that’s the thing having a remake it means things get remade. Sometimes not always for the better, but even the things I didn’t like, for example, Luis helping leon with both Ogres. It changed the dynamic entirely of the fight and how it flowed.
Not only that but riding on the mining tracks with Luis instead of doing it on our own was fun sure, but not the welcome change I had hoped for. Several cut scenes with Ada were removed or just remained entirely some for the better, others not so much. Even the removal of Saddler and having quippy one liner conversations with Leon was missed, Joking with Saddler was a highlight and I wonder why he was not interacted with in the remake until basically the end of the game and the boss battle. The other part that was removed and I don’t quite understand why, was the “IT” boss battle, which was a truly good battle that would always leave me on the edge of my seat. Could I get the doors open in time, nobody knows.
The Mechanics We All Wanted: from my earliest memories of playing Resident Evil 4 on the Wii as a child, I always thought that it was so cool what Leon was capable of, the QTE’s, the “bad-assness” of it all. Now, with new controls, minimal QTE’s and a wave of hepatic feedback inserted into the control to make you feel like your gun is responding is something I never would have thought possible. we live in the golden age of technology, and I am always in a state of shock at what humans are capable of creating. From the more in-depth cutscenes, so how Leon reacts to every situation, and after each fight.
After a battle he will do different body movements as a sign to a degree of how you did. If he massages his musicals, we could have done a bit better but he will act cocky to a degree if we preformed all tasks well. The fluidity of how well the gun mechanics are in this game versus the original are night and day! I felt like I had more control over the sniper rifle, and the guns that I never used before actually packed a punch, where as in the original they were just ok. The knife in the remake actually works and does its job versus the original where it would work only at certain points and sometimes not at all. The attaché case even got a MASSIVE overall with automatic organization. There is also parrying in this remake, yes you read that right.
Baby Eagle Has Landed: Ashley by far had some of the biggest changes in the remake. In the original you had to heal her, catch her from every roof top and ladder. Not anymore, with the new version of Ashley she is much more independent and capable of doing things on her own unless need be in certain spots. There is also tight and loose formation where you can have the space you need when dealing with enemies, or having her close to Leon when you need to get out of a tight spot. Ashley has gotten a major upgrade. I actually care about her character now, and see her and Leon as a working duo, instead of it being a purely an escort mission with a whiny brat. Where’s Everyone Going? Bingo? This remake showed itself to be something truly incredible. Ever since the mishap that was Resident Evil 3 Remake I was worried that this one would be less than what we wanted or what was needed. Resident Evil 4 Remake is a beautiful tale of what happens when you remake a game correctly. With new puzzles added, and a lot of puzzles kept (which made me very happy to see) and was a big change up from RE3 Remake. Capcom changed enough so that it was more flushed out, but kept enough of the soul of what made Resident Evil 4 what it was so that it still stayed genuine and true to what players knew.
Comments