In anticipation for the remake, I decided I wanted to give RE4 original another spin as it's been a couple years, and I haven't played it with the brilliant RE4 HD Project that was released in full.
As I revisit my favorite titles and get older, I typically find a newfound appreciation that only comes from another year wiser, healthier and more refined in taste. What makes gameplay and a story memorable becomes more memorable, and glaring weaknesses that much more prevalent if present.
Without getting too wordy, I'm just going to spitball a few things in no particular order that I've noticed in this most recent (and likely final) playthrough of RE4 original with modern enhancements, how I feel about it now since playing the game dozens of times over since release in '05, and what I think has to change to make the remake a superior version upon release in three months.
This '23 playthrough was done on Professional mode with the latest up-to-date PC HD Project version, modern controls using KBM, QTE's on for half the game, and Ashley's costume from the original beta to give that closer to remake-vibe. This is not a HD Project review, but simply what I notice and feel about RE4 these days, in the present moment.
- With the HD Project, the game feels like new. It doesn't replace the visual RE Engine uniformity needed to stand toe-to-toe with the other modern remakes, but it absolutely looks often very high-res and gorgeous. The weather, lighting, particle and volumetric effects are stunning, and really makes the darkest sections of the game pop in ways you would expect them to realistically. It was interesting going through sections that should've been dark in the regular version but weren't. The art direction still holds up, and fits closer in line with the likes of REmake and Zero now more than I remember. It truly looks as if it's in the same universe.
- Ashley's "new" costume from remake that is now more or less available in the HD Project as the original beta costume, is infinitely better. It gives more sophistication to the tone of the game and her character. I honestly probably never liked her original skirt and turtleneck in retrospect. The original devs made the wrong decision, here.
- To my biggest surprise, the HD Project and its modern controls, controls like a DREAM. It's the best controlling, snappiest RE prior to RE2 remake. Reminds me of the Wii version but better. I can't imagine experiencing this game on anything but KBM now.
- I played half the game with QTEs off, because I'm not a fan of them during cutscenes. During gameplay, however, made me feel like I was cheating, so I had to turn them back on. The game is too designed around this in its combat to have off completely.
- The game DOES have more horror elements and curated horror sections than what I used to give it credit for. Noticing this in 2023, this playthrough somehow felt LESS like an action game than I remembered for this reason. We have 5 and 6 to compare it to, but I'm even comparing it to itself and how I used to view it. The new lighting and visuals from the HD Project enhances the horror.
- Professional mode on a fresh playthrough does have more ammo management than I remembered, which makes the game as a whole feel closer to a true survival horror game. RE4 foregoing a lot of the survival horror design was always my biggest complaint, with its frequent colorful glowing item drops and insignificant backtracking that doesn't provide much player environmental agency or thought. The latter issues still haven't changed, but the need to watch out for your ammo helps the experience and tension, which I was reminded of. It's not complete survival horror mix with competent action like RE2 remake, but it's more than I used to view it as.
- Whether I loved or loathed a section, every area separated by a loading screen is ICONIC with an often completely unique layout and new angle on the gunplay. RE4 is still a MASTER of pacing for this reason. Every spot tells a story. A non-stop "just one more area" vibe.
- It's linear, but seeing how each section and cutscene leads into the next area as if its a grounded and well-realized location, feels like RE4 is a continuous adventure, which is essential to typical survival horror. This reason alone is why I consider RE5 to be nothing more than a shallow copycat with its often disjointed-feeling levels, parading as "RE4's Greatest Hits" arcade shoot-em-up.
- Despite what is probably going against popular opinion, the CASTLE is the most repetitive worst part of the game when it comes to level design... NOT the Island. While the setting itself is cool, there are a LOT of shitty rooms made for gunplay alone that are heavy on the combat for far too long. If Capcom took out the long series of gallery rooms, I wouldn't miss them. That's without saying how absolutely dumb some of the traps are, too. The giant statue and lava room speak for themselves. Memes aside, they are terrible. The Island gets a lot of hate by fans, but the Castle feels the most rushed to me and needlessly action-packed on a room-to-room basis for what it is. The Island has its moments of being too much, but it's honestly not that much better or worse than the Castle that comes before it with both its high points and lows. TDLR; the Castle sucks more than you remember, with the Island being not completely worthy of the bad rap it gets. They're both pretty even on the enjoyment level factor to me, and the Island is more than 'just' that Regenerator part.
- The writing is still awkward as hell, with great voice acting.
- I enjoy Leon's flirtatious comments. They will be missed.
- The story uses notes to fill in the plot holes and reasoning of characters' actions, even though it doesn't always make sense. i.e. - Why are the leaders and their Ganado communicating with each other through writing letters if they're supposed to be a hive-mind collective? There is a good narrative behind these issues with RE4, but the moment to moment story logic needs work.
- The big bads being in the same room as Leon, and doing next to nothing about him, over and over again. It drives me nuts.
- Luis' death scene by Saddler is as convenient and random as it is ass. He deserves better, and so does the story.
- Krauser still feels shoe-horned into the story. I like him, but he should've just been a new character that was working for Wesker. Lazy on the writers' part for us to just imagine Leon's prior relationship with him.
- The soundtrack is filled with genuinely unnerving tracks, similar to REmake. Rest/save themes are perfect.
- The option to "skip" a boss with a rocket launcher in exchange for a load of money collected is kind of a neat approach in game design.
- The village at night is still my favorite section of the game.
- Ada is peak Ada here. She might be MVP as far as intrigue and scene-stealing goes.
- Red9 = Best sounding handgun ever.
- RE4's animations are incredibly underrated. Top-notch. Sometimes looks better than anything I've seen in recent years from other more modern games. Combat largely in due part to location-sensitive reactions make it almost never get old. The quality here is unique.
- The length of RE4 I still believe to be a part of its identity. I love how long of an adventure it is, with little fluff. Even at its "worst" moments, they pass, and then you're on the parts you better enjoy again, which is often.
- The puzzles and gates that trigger because you killed 'the thing' does take you out of the immersion. RE4's puzzles aren't very imaginative or logical, which again, reminds you you're playing a video game. "Krauser took the three things that you need and spread them around the ruins! Better go get them, Leon!" It's stupid and doesn't match the brilliance of the gunplay.
- ATMOSPHERE.
That's really all I could think of. This was my favorite RE4 playthrough yet, probably since my first ever one back in '05. There's still nothing quite like it.
If there's anything I'd like to improve in the remake, it's the following in no particular order:
- More open-ended, interconnected level design, aka less linear and more like classic RE.
- More believable object placement, both interactable (ammo, money) instead of glowing colored beacons of light and non-interactable (level design geometry) that looks realistically placed. Ammo shouldn't just drop from any old villager. Village did this well.
- A better balance between traditional survival horror item and enemy management instead of being a constant shooting gallery at times. RE2 remake and Village, both succeeded here.
- A more cohesive story with more believable character actions and reasoning, with the same or similar story beats. Have Krauser's inclusion make sense, and Wesker ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING with his version of Umbrella, retconning RE5 and his untimely death as we know it.
- Get rid of the jump the shark moments that plagues the Castle section and sullies the entire original game, tonally. People mostly don't take RE4 seriously due to the moments in the Castle, even though Island gets all the flak. I can see a revised, interconnected Castle being much less linear in the remake and working well like a larger Spencer Mansion. If anything, save more of the action for parts on the Island, as it still can have a place in the gameplay and narrative.
- General tightening up of the dialogue and character believability.
- Ditch the QTEs (Thanks for this already, Capcom.)
- Don't make Leon overly serious.
- More logical, well-thought out puzzles, event triggers.
That's it! I thought I'd want more out of the remake, but I guess, not really! Honestly, I was almost expecting to like RE4 original LESS, but found myself only appreciating it more, especially because there's still room for improvement on very specific key areas in the remake on top of an already incredibly beautiful addition to the franchise and overall work of art.
As I revisit my favorite titles and get older, I typically find a newfound appreciation that only comes from another year wiser, healthier and more refined in taste. What makes gameplay and a story memorable becomes more memorable, and glaring weaknesses that much more prevalent if present.
Without getting too wordy, I'm just going to spitball a few things in no particular order that I've noticed in this most recent (and likely final) playthrough of RE4 original with modern enhancements, how I feel about it now since playing the game dozens of times over since release in '05, and what I think has to change to make the remake a superior version upon release in three months.
This '23 playthrough was done on Professional mode with the latest up-to-date PC HD Project version, modern controls using KBM, QTE's on for half the game, and Ashley's costume from the original beta to give that closer to remake-vibe. This is not a HD Project review, but simply what I notice and feel about RE4 these days, in the present moment.
- With the HD Project, the game feels like new. It doesn't replace the visual RE Engine uniformity needed to stand toe-to-toe with the other modern remakes, but it absolutely looks often very high-res and gorgeous. The weather, lighting, particle and volumetric effects are stunning, and really makes the darkest sections of the game pop in ways you would expect them to realistically. It was interesting going through sections that should've been dark in the regular version but weren't. The art direction still holds up, and fits closer in line with the likes of REmake and Zero now more than I remember. It truly looks as if it's in the same universe.
- Ashley's "new" costume from remake that is now more or less available in the HD Project as the original beta costume, is infinitely better. It gives more sophistication to the tone of the game and her character. I honestly probably never liked her original skirt and turtleneck in retrospect. The original devs made the wrong decision, here.
- To my biggest surprise, the HD Project and its modern controls, controls like a DREAM. It's the best controlling, snappiest RE prior to RE2 remake. Reminds me of the Wii version but better. I can't imagine experiencing this game on anything but KBM now.
- I played half the game with QTEs off, because I'm not a fan of them during cutscenes. During gameplay, however, made me feel like I was cheating, so I had to turn them back on. The game is too designed around this in its combat to have off completely.
- The game DOES have more horror elements and curated horror sections than what I used to give it credit for. Noticing this in 2023, this playthrough somehow felt LESS like an action game than I remembered for this reason. We have 5 and 6 to compare it to, but I'm even comparing it to itself and how I used to view it. The new lighting and visuals from the HD Project enhances the horror.
- Professional mode on a fresh playthrough does have more ammo management than I remembered, which makes the game as a whole feel closer to a true survival horror game. RE4 foregoing a lot of the survival horror design was always my biggest complaint, with its frequent colorful glowing item drops and insignificant backtracking that doesn't provide much player environmental agency or thought. The latter issues still haven't changed, but the need to watch out for your ammo helps the experience and tension, which I was reminded of. It's not complete survival horror mix with competent action like RE2 remake, but it's more than I used to view it as.
- Whether I loved or loathed a section, every area separated by a loading screen is ICONIC with an often completely unique layout and new angle on the gunplay. RE4 is still a MASTER of pacing for this reason. Every spot tells a story. A non-stop "just one more area" vibe.
- It's linear, but seeing how each section and cutscene leads into the next area as if its a grounded and well-realized location, feels like RE4 is a continuous adventure, which is essential to typical survival horror. This reason alone is why I consider RE5 to be nothing more than a shallow copycat with its often disjointed-feeling levels, parading as "RE4's Greatest Hits" arcade shoot-em-up.
- Despite what is probably going against popular opinion, the CASTLE is the most repetitive worst part of the game when it comes to level design... NOT the Island. While the setting itself is cool, there are a LOT of shitty rooms made for gunplay alone that are heavy on the combat for far too long. If Capcom took out the long series of gallery rooms, I wouldn't miss them. That's without saying how absolutely dumb some of the traps are, too. The giant statue and lava room speak for themselves. Memes aside, they are terrible. The Island gets a lot of hate by fans, but the Castle feels the most rushed to me and needlessly action-packed on a room-to-room basis for what it is. The Island has its moments of being too much, but it's honestly not that much better or worse than the Castle that comes before it with both its high points and lows. TDLR; the Castle sucks more than you remember, with the Island being not completely worthy of the bad rap it gets. They're both pretty even on the enjoyment level factor to me, and the Island is more than 'just' that Regenerator part.
- The writing is still awkward as hell, with great voice acting.
- I enjoy Leon's flirtatious comments. They will be missed.
- The story uses notes to fill in the plot holes and reasoning of characters' actions, even though it doesn't always make sense. i.e. - Why are the leaders and their Ganado communicating with each other through writing letters if they're supposed to be a hive-mind collective? There is a good narrative behind these issues with RE4, but the moment to moment story logic needs work.
- The big bads being in the same room as Leon, and doing next to nothing about him, over and over again. It drives me nuts.
- Luis' death scene by Saddler is as convenient and random as it is ass. He deserves better, and so does the story.
- Krauser still feels shoe-horned into the story. I like him, but he should've just been a new character that was working for Wesker. Lazy on the writers' part for us to just imagine Leon's prior relationship with him.
- The soundtrack is filled with genuinely unnerving tracks, similar to REmake. Rest/save themes are perfect.
- The option to "skip" a boss with a rocket launcher in exchange for a load of money collected is kind of a neat approach in game design.
- The village at night is still my favorite section of the game.
- Ada is peak Ada here. She might be MVP as far as intrigue and scene-stealing goes.
- Red9 = Best sounding handgun ever.
- RE4's animations are incredibly underrated. Top-notch. Sometimes looks better than anything I've seen in recent years from other more modern games. Combat largely in due part to location-sensitive reactions make it almost never get old. The quality here is unique.
- The length of RE4 I still believe to be a part of its identity. I love how long of an adventure it is, with little fluff. Even at its "worst" moments, they pass, and then you're on the parts you better enjoy again, which is often.
- The puzzles and gates that trigger because you killed 'the thing' does take you out of the immersion. RE4's puzzles aren't very imaginative or logical, which again, reminds you you're playing a video game. "Krauser took the three things that you need and spread them around the ruins! Better go get them, Leon!" It's stupid and doesn't match the brilliance of the gunplay.
- ATMOSPHERE.
That's really all I could think of. This was my favorite RE4 playthrough yet, probably since my first ever one back in '05. There's still nothing quite like it.
If there's anything I'd like to improve in the remake, it's the following in no particular order:
- More open-ended, interconnected level design, aka less linear and more like classic RE.
- More believable object placement, both interactable (ammo, money) instead of glowing colored beacons of light and non-interactable (level design geometry) that looks realistically placed. Ammo shouldn't just drop from any old villager. Village did this well.
- A better balance between traditional survival horror item and enemy management instead of being a constant shooting gallery at times. RE2 remake and Village, both succeeded here.
- A more cohesive story with more believable character actions and reasoning, with the same or similar story beats. Have Krauser's inclusion make sense, and Wesker ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING with his version of Umbrella, retconning RE5 and his untimely death as we know it.
- Get rid of the jump the shark moments that plagues the Castle section and sullies the entire original game, tonally. People mostly don't take RE4 seriously due to the moments in the Castle, even though Island gets all the flak. I can see a revised, interconnected Castle being much less linear in the remake and working well like a larger Spencer Mansion. If anything, save more of the action for parts on the Island, as it still can have a place in the gameplay and narrative.
- General tightening up of the dialogue and character believability.
- Ditch the QTEs (Thanks for this already, Capcom.)
- Don't make Leon overly serious.
- More logical, well-thought out puzzles, event triggers.
That's it! I thought I'd want more out of the remake, but I guess, not really! Honestly, I was almost expecting to like RE4 original LESS, but found myself only appreciating it more, especially because there's still room for improvement on very specific key areas in the remake on top of an already incredibly beautiful addition to the franchise and overall work of art.
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