One of the paramount questions surrounding any remake of a classic game is what changes the developer will make from the original. The degree to which video game remakes adhere to the conventions and storytelling of their original versions is varied, and developers have a difficult balancing act in attracting new players while also pleasing the existing fanbase. While some studios are more successful than others at toeing the line between nostalgia and innovation, perhaps no studio has proven as adept at this asCapcom has with the remakes ofResident Evil2,3,and the recentResident Evil 4.
Often considered one of the best games in the long-running survival-horror series,Resident Evil 4is one of the rare examples of an almost 20-year-old game that holds its own against modern day AAA releases. Part of the game’s staying power can be attributed to the way that it influenced all third person action games moving forward following its release, but the originalResident Evil 4is not without its flaws. Several sections of the originalResident Evil 4were either remixed or cut entirely for the remake, resulting in a game that is all the better thanks to its more even pacing.
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The Resident Evil 4 Remake Eschews Unnecessary Bloat
In the originalResident Evil 4, both the village and castle sections of the game carry on for much longer than they do in the remake. Capcom’s willingness to either remix the events of these sections or cut portions of them entirely in the remake helps to make the mid-game feel much less bloated by comparison. The gondola section in the village, the trudge through the sewers and prison of the castle, and the chase sequence with the stature of Ramon Salazar have all been eitherremoved from theResident Evil 4remakeor minimized in such a way to help improve the flow of the game and keep the action and tension more intact than in the original.
TheResident Evil 4remake also finishes on a much stronger note than the original by significantly shortening the island section at the game’s culmination. While some of the remixing of encounters and puzzles was likely done to help keep returning players on their toes, it also has the secondary effect of making the later sections of the game less of a slog. Considering that theoriginalResident Evil 4has 19 chapterscompared to the remake’s 16, the trimming of the proverbial fat makes completing the game in a reasonable time more of a possibility.
Removing Frustrating Encounters in the Resident Evil 4 Remake
One of themore difficult non-boss encounters inResident Evil 4are Leon’s fights against the Garradors. These blind enemies are practically invincible unless shot in the exposed parasite on the backs, making the arenas in which they are fought hugely important to a player’s strategy and approach. The remake keeps all but one of these fights intact while removing one that was needlessly frustrating from the original thanks to its claustrophobic arena. By removing the Garrador fight where Leon is forced to do battle in a cage (all while being assaulted by cultists), the remake rebalances these tense encounters and makes them less harrowing.
The remix and removal of the Verdugo fight and U-3 boss in theResident Evil 4remake also removes unnecessary frustration from the later sections of the castle and island sections. The encounter with Verdugo is made much more manageable thanks to the new evasion system as well as the remake’s use of infinite liquid nitrogen stations. Similarly, theResident Evil 4remake’s elimination of the U3 bossencounter helps to streamline the most difficult section of the game. Capcom has established a willingness to take its classic titles and make them more palatable for modern audiences, crafting better games in the process.
Resident Evil 4 Remakeis available on PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X/S.
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