Game Review: Resident Evil 4
For as comprehensive an experience as the end product came to be, the development of Resident Evil 4 was not nearly as straight forward as you might think. The original version of Resident Evil 4 was headed by Resident Evil 2’s primary director, Hideki Kamiya and it was touted to be a very action-driven concept. Producer at the time Shinji Mikami ended up shuttering the initial version as he noted he ended up stemming too far from the survival-horror concept the series was known for. That project wasn’t lost however, as Kamiya ended up branching off with the project to make another iconic Capcom series; Devil May Cry. Hiroshi Shibata was the next director to step up and lead the development on the “Fog” version of Resident Evil 4. While this version did feature Leon Kennedy as the main character, the setting and gameplay was vastly different as it followed him trying to survive in Umbrella’s headquarters based in a castle in Europe. This version went through many iterations, including a more supernatural vibe with a hook-man enemy who was set to stalk Leon. Ultimately though this version also got canned and Mikami stepped in to take over directorial duties with the intent of introducing a new gameplay format and re-writing the story from the ground up to be less-reliant on the existing franchise’s plotline and tell its own original plot.
Resident Evil 4 was originally intended to be a Nintendo Gamecube exclusive as part of a promoted exclusive agreement between Capcom and Nintendo. Despite the verbal agreement however, Capcom ultimately decided to port the game to the PlayStation 2 in response to the market at the time and the Gamecube’s dwindling sales numbers. Originally releasing on the Nintendo Gamecube on January 2005 and subsequently PlayStation 2 in December of the same year, Resident Evil 4 became an instant financial and critical success. By the end of the year, Capcom noted the GameCube and PS2 sales totalled over 3 million copies worldwide. Those sales number never stopped either, as the series received multiple ports to newer hardware over the decades with the game amassing a total of 15.2 million copies sold by 2025 across all consoles. On the critical front the game was instantly lauded by critics and the general audience, scoring an impressive 96 on Metacritic from the critical aggregate. That success was only further emphasized by the plethora of awards it earned during the subsequent award season, even earning a game of the year award at the Spike Video Game Awards.
The narrative of Resident Evil 4 follows Leon S. Kennedy, who after the events of Resident Evil 2 became a government agent for the United States of America. After the President’s daughter Ashley Graham is kidnapped, Leon is tasked directly by the President to go and track her down and rescue her. Following up on rumoured sightings of Ashley in the mountainous regions of Spain, Leon ends up in a remote rural village where he soon discovers the local villagers aren’t too friendly towards outsiders. Leon’s exploration of the village soon leads him to discover that its inhabitants have been indoctrinated into a local cult by the name of Los Iluminados via means of an invasive parasite called Las Plagas. Discovering that they are behind the kidnapping of Ashley Graham, Leon gets to work on unravelling the dark secrets buried within the village and saving Ashley before it’s too late. This will be far from an easy endeavour however, as this rescue mission will lead Leon not only through the village itself, but the nearby Salazar Castle and a remote military island as the threats he faces become more and more monstrous.
The original Resident Evil 4’s narrative is bizarre in all the best ways. Shinji Mikami’s decision to focus on an original setting and threat works easily towards establishing a unique impression that myself and so many people have come to love for so many years. Leon is a much more confident character compared to his days as a rookie cop trying to navigate a zombie uprising. His experience in the field has made him more used to these strange dangers, so in turn he’s less frightened by his situations and more mildly annoyed by them if anything. This in turn is a primary contributor towards the games much beloved camp tone and dialogue which I can quote with complete ease. Leon’s ability to spout a lot of dry, humorous comments in the face of the settings consistent horrors helps to balance the tone between horror and comedy all throughout the narrative. It helps that besides Leon the game’s setup itself is devoted to being serious for the most part, so it never feels like it’s a parody of itself as can often be the case. The way the narrative is also segmented between the village, castle and island helps to give the game a well-rounded structure to follow as well as the stakes and plot beats continue to develop. It helps that the original story offers a lot of memorable moments and characters that go a long way in making it a truly distinct narrative which is quoted and referenced to this very day.
Besides the memorable narrative, what also makes Resident Evil 4 such a beloved game is its gameplay. Mikami’s devotion to shift the gameplay up so it wouldn’t feel to much like the prior games was met with notable resistance internally. It was noted his fellow developers were reluctant to leave behind the gameplay design that was ingrained in the DNA of the franchise up to that point. I think on reflection however, the decision to shift the gameplay up was the right move. Rather than playing the game from a fixed-camera perspective like previous titles, the camera is now centred behind Leon to give players much more control over their perspective on the environment. The control scheme is still tanky in terms of movement, but you have more control over where to aim your shots thanks to the laser-sight. Where prior games required a lot of item management and back-tracking, Resident Evil 4 embraces a notably more linear approach. Each of the three key sections of the game features their own robust maps, but for the most part you won’t be required to back-track and store key items to solve puzzles anymore. I appreciate for some, this was a sign of the franchise’s dissolution into the Action-focused mess that culminated in Resident Evil 6; but I don’t think it really ruins the core DNA of the series in this game’s case.
Leon still has threats to face like any of the prior Resident Evil games and this time they’re more equipped than your standard zombies. The villages all come armed with their pitchforks and sickles and can become a notable threat if you let enough of them gang up on you. The cultists that inhabit Salazar Castle have the ability to dispatch you from afar with their crossbows as well. On the island, the military soldiers you face will be geared up to take more of a hit and can dispatch you with more advanced equipment too. There’s also the dynamic difficulty system in which the game would ramp up things like enemy damage, spawn rates and aggression depending on how well you were playing. For a game that came out in 2005, to even consider such a dynamic feature is beyond impressive. It also helps the game consists of a collection of fun, memorable boss fights. Enemies like Dr. Salvador, the Bella Sisters, Garradors and the Gatling Man pop up throughout your time in the game and serve as mini-bosses which will quickly kill you if you don’t learn to dispatch them effectively. The main bread and butter definitely come in the form of the main bosses. El Gigante, Méndez, Verdugo, Salazar, Krauser and Saddler all offer their own fun and cinematic boss fights that feel distinct from one another. On the whole the combat and enemy side of the game definitely leans more into the action side of things than the survival horror side, but like with other aspects of the game, it’s balanced in such a way that you still feel genuine fear and danger in the wake of these encounters.
One thing I do love about Resident Evil 4 is its explorative element. As mentioned previously, the game takes a more linear approach to its map design as you often won’t get the chance to return to certain areas once you progress too far. This means its important to fully explore the areas you come across when and wherever possible. There’s a lot of justification to exploring these maps because you’ll often find resources and even treasures that you can sell back at the infamous Merchant vendor. These treasures all have their own value and some can even be combined together to add even more value, rewarding players who are patient enough to hold off on selling them upfront. The Merchant will even provide you with medallions to shoot down in certain segments of the maps that if done, will reward you with additional rewards to help upgrade your arsenal. The map design itself is well-thought out as each of the three key areas all make cohesive sense in their layout and function. Salazar Castle is definitely my favourite area to explore on account of all of its hidden rooms and routes. This is definitely a game which wants you to wander off the beaten path, even if that means more danger, you’re enticed to do so with the possibility of even more rewards too.
Upon my time replaying the game, I have to note how well the games visual style has held up for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re going to ask me to pick between the original or the remake in terms of presentation, I’ll likely pick the remake on account of its graphical advantage. Despite its age however, Resident Evil 4 still holds a core image and presentation that gives it a timeless appeal. The environmental design makes great use of colour and scale to make these areas feel as horrific and scary as intended. The character models all look unique and have noteworthy animations to make them feel important. I also appreciate how the game doesn’t shy away from leaning into the body horror aspect too. Chainsaw enemies and Garradors can be brutal in the way can decapitate Leon’s head clean from his body and the way the enemies and bosses will mutate to try dispatch you can be very gross. On the music front, I also have to give compliments to Misao Senbongi and Shusaku Uchiyama for their work on the score for the original game. Each track works excellently to fill the environment and its encounters with the necessary level of dread to help generate that uneasy feeling. The fact that whenever you are in an enemy encounter and the uneasy and overwhelming combat track plays and won’t end until all the enemies are killed was an excellent use of the music. I also want to give special credit to the safe room/typewriter tracks which work in exquisite contrast to the dread tracks to make you feel some kind of relief in the wake of all the chaos surrounding you.
Whenever people ask me what are my five favourite video games of all time are, I still to this day list Resident Evil 4 as one of them. For a game that started out with such an identity crisis during development, Shinji Mikami and his development team came out of the other end with something truly incredible. The biggest thing I always take away from this game is its balance. This game balances everything to a perfect extent. Whether it’s the survival horror and action gameplay or the serious setting and campy humour; everything in this game exists on the idea of balance. Nothing feels wasted or too one-sided in this game, all of its components are segmented together to make a truly cohesive experience that rewards the player each and every time they decide to come back to it. There’s a reason this game has defined a legacy all of its own, despite being the 4th entry in a franchise that has well over 30 games at this point. Resident Evil 4 is as close to perfect as you can get when it comes to a video game experience and it will always remain in my favourite video games for as long as I live.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Comments
Post a Comment