Here's the review from Under the Mayo.
RE:4 RE4R Separate Ways and Mercs Update
- Thread starter OmegaBlackHeart
- Start date
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
I remember checking his review about the game before. I didnt fully watch it but he seemed to really like re4r, particularly compared to re3r which he hated massively, and he still finds separate ways just " fine " ? I think it's one of the best dlcs in the series, without it, ı wouldnt even buy the game in the 1st place to play it. I even think ada and wesker have some of the best character developments in the series here with this dlc. It even ties to re5 and re6 better than re4-assignment ada-separate ways do.
The RE3 remake is a turd. I only held off disposing of it in the shop I visited recently because it's still RE. I even said that to the sales assistants. They said I had quite the collection, but I said RE is my favourite series. However, I said I won't sell the mainline RE or Silent Hill games. Even the games I don't like in their respective series, I don't particularly hate either. I mean, sure. I often moan about RE4 and 5 being action heavy, and they agreed that 5 ain't scary at all. But because they are still RE, I won't do away with them.
Other exceptions are Obscure, Alone in the Dark games, definitely Clock Tower, and the latest games like The Evil Within 2 and Days Gone, I heartily enjoy.
I really don't count the remakes as being canon anyway. I do count the first remake only as being properly canonical, and the in-between parts in the Wii on rails games, even though those games aren't all that good, to be honest. But the recent remakes are their own thing, really.
Other exceptions are Obscure, Alone in the Dark games, definitely Clock Tower, and the latest games like The Evil Within 2 and Days Gone, I heartily enjoy.
I really don't count the remakes as being canon anyway. I do count the first remake only as being properly canonical, and the in-between parts in the Wii on rails games, even though those games aren't all that good, to be honest. But the recent remakes are their own thing, really.
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
Discussing the gameplay more but ı didnt buy the vest here. From what ı've seen, it can apparently get damaged and even be broken where you need to repair it over time. I didnt like the vests in both re4 and re5 since they change characters' appearances and in re5, they even take space in inventory. But in re4r, the vest is even more pointless to me due to this reason. I still prefer defense skill in re6 since it comes much more useful and none of the skills change characters' appearances unlike the vests in re4 and re5 as well as the vest in re4r.
Yeah. The first person stuff needs to go bye-bye. Or they could make it optional.
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
I hope hirabayashi will return to work in a future new game story as a producer. The last time he worked on a new game story was still re6 and since he worked on re2-4r as a producer, ı think that's why ı enjoyed those games from a gameplay standpoint. He didnt work on re7, re3r and revillage and yet, ı still see re3r being forcefully compared to re6 unlike re2-4r which remind me of re6 more than re3r does. This was one of the many reasons why ı still didnt buy and play revillage cause ı dont like re7 and ı dont have re3r legally either.
Yeah. I agree that 7 and 8 are just terrible games. I felt as if RE was going downhill for a while, and it's only recently when they started to have characters teaming up, that I'm a fan again. I mean, I feel like this will probably only apply to spin offs, with the mainline games always being "experimental" in some ways. Like, I don't see Capcom ever really sticking to one storyline, pathway, gameplay style, or whatever. It's probably always going to be confusing and messy in that regard, which is precisely why fans began to feel pissed off to begin with. But if they do continue any story, I hope they reveal why the people Chris used to work with started making clones.
The time leap in 8 bothers me. I also just hated 8 in general. The DLC in 7 with Lucas talking to the Connections had me intrigued about where they could take this route, and while 7 wasn't the most fascinating sequel, they finally had something interesting going on. Then 8 comes out, and I felt like I was watching a rejected pilot for a new Game of Thrones series. It just wasn't anyone's idea of a true RE entry at all, and they just wanted to copy elements from RE4, because they knew that was gonna get remade. I honestly feel like 8 was made to promote 4, in a way. But all in all, the plot and the bosses was just outlandishly crappy. So if that's gonna continue in 9, I'll be about done with the franchise.
The time leap in 8 bothers me. I also just hated 8 in general. The DLC in 7 with Lucas talking to the Connections had me intrigued about where they could take this route, and while 7 wasn't the most fascinating sequel, they finally had something interesting going on. Then 8 comes out, and I felt like I was watching a rejected pilot for a new Game of Thrones series. It just wasn't anyone's idea of a true RE entry at all, and they just wanted to copy elements from RE4, because they knew that was gonna get remade. I honestly feel like 8 was made to promote 4, in a way. But all in all, the plot and the bosses was just outlandishly crappy. So if that's gonna continue in 9, I'll be about done with the franchise.
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
For leon, ı miss kobayashi's absence for the stories that involve the character without him. I think his absence is one of the reasons why ı cant enjoy leon from a writing standpoint in re2-4r as much as ı want to compared to the previous stories where kobayashi worked as a producer. Kobayashi seems to work as a producer in remake as well and ı think that's one of the reasons why ı still find remake the best and only remake in the series but re4r was still a lot of fun to play as a faithful adaption to og game. I still cant see leon in re4r connecting to the future storyline from a writing standpoint, the lack of knife scar as well as the way krauser is handled in re4r being one of the many reasons why. With the way his relationship with ada and luis are handled, ı think his relationship with ada ties to re6 fine along with ada tying more to re6 as well but ı still find leon's writing starting with 2015 disappointing.
That's eggsactly what he deserved, though. 
Likely, it is gonna be ages before Capcom announces RE9 or something else. But 2023 was a rather great year for RE overall, and for once I had mostly positive feedback to provide for them.
Definitely a big improvement over the 2016 to 2022 period, which in my opinion, had been quite a drag with these first person games and mediocre remakes, sans 4. I do wonder though, if RE9 will be insanely unusual like RE8 is. If so, I will probably feel like their momentum wasn't to last...
Definitely a big improvement over the 2016 to 2022 period, which in my opinion, had been quite a drag with these first person games and mediocre remakes, sans 4. I do wonder though, if RE9 will be insanely unusual like RE8 is. If so, I will probably feel like their momentum wasn't to last...
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
I found out that it's possible to skip ashley's section faster by immediately inputing the time to the clock before finding the note however this causes to miss some treasures to be picked up by her. I still find her gameplay section boring compared to og game where playing as her was more enjoyable, especially since you could throw lanterns at cultists to kill them but in re4r, you can only stun armaduras. I'm still surprised they are kept, ı was wondering if they would be cut or not.
mert20004
Mert_BIO_6
So this is a video ı found. It looks like giant chainsaw ganados can decapitate the characters in mercenaries but the normal chainsaw ganados cant decapitate the characters for some reason. I find that odd.
Also this is wesker getting decapitated on mercenaries by a female chainsaw ganado. I found it funny.
Now that the dust has settled on RE and Capcom redeemed themselves after the travesty that was RE8, I am now focusing my attention on Silent Hill. Although I must say that Konami has been ironically rather silent about those projects since the showcase they presented way last year.
Did you play and finish RE8?
Yes, I did. Back in the summer of 2021, I bought the game for the PS4. I watched the DLC online in late 2022 as for the first time in ages, I had no motivation to be arsed playing something so dumb. I thought it was an insulting Silent Hill knock off.
And while the base game wasn't completely unenjoyable, it didn't feel like a real RE game. At least not like older games, like from before they became weird. But the bosses and situations were just so outlandish, that I don't know how anyone would want to treat it seriously. I would say it was a good game in terms of offering something decent to play for a few days. The voice acting was great. But it was otherwise just pretty silly in terms of the plot and setting.
I also got vibes they cut and paste too many ideas from RE4, like the inclusion of a cult leader, the castle, the merchant, and so on. A lot of it just felt like a repeat. Almost everything feels the same as 4, and when it's been so long since RE4 was released in general, it made it feel like Capcom got desperate with their creativity.
Like when the lycans ambush Ethan for example, Capcom was just copying the primary village section in 4, where the villagers chase Leon around until the church bell sounds off. So that's just laziness to have the same things occurring.
And while the base game wasn't completely unenjoyable, it didn't feel like a real RE game. At least not like older games, like from before they became weird. But the bosses and situations were just so outlandish, that I don't know how anyone would want to treat it seriously. I would say it was a good game in terms of offering something decent to play for a few days. The voice acting was great. But it was otherwise just pretty silly in terms of the plot and setting.
I also got vibes they cut and paste too many ideas from RE4, like the inclusion of a cult leader, the castle, the merchant, and so on. A lot of it just felt like a repeat. Almost everything feels the same as 4, and when it's been so long since RE4 was released in general, it made it feel like Capcom got desperate with their creativity.
Like when the lycans ambush Ethan for example, Capcom was just copying the primary village section in 4, where the villagers chase Leon around until the church bell sounds off. So that's just laziness to have the same things occurring.
Personally I really enjoyed it. I'm not the biggest fan of the Ethan Winters story (although it had its moments) but the gameplay was great. I thought the castle mansion was good too, as it had been a while since we had a mansion. I liked the fact that it was inspired by Resident Evil 4, it goes well with the RE4 remake in terms of gameplay. My only regret is that I didn't get to play it originally in 3rd person mode, but I think it is a good sign that they added it eventually. Also I wasn't really a fan of the Shadows of Rose DLC, but at least that ends the Winters story. I'm looking forward to RE9 hopefully returning to more familiar characters and story. Bring back Wesker!
I think a big part of why Separate Ways has been such a success is getting more time with Ada and Wesker, both favourite characters from the series that we want to see more of.