This video slaps and it's a crime it doesn't have more views. Both versions of RE4 are good for the exact reasons you elaborated on and I greatly appreciate that you made your points concisely, intelligently and fairly. I'm always delighted when I click on an interesting-sounding video essay and it's NOT a plot summary or an angry rant lol. Please keep going, you're a good writer!
I think the Ashley change actually increases the number of tradeoffs overall despite reducing the choices available for healing items. Ashley going down in a single hit and then being killed by a second hit reduces the cumulative penalty for Ashley being hit but means that Ashley's wellbeing is an immediate priority. This means players are saving flashbang or using up rare ammo to clear an area in order to pick her up immediately, rather than just leaving her on half health until you can be bothered healing her. As for the item box, I don't think it's a bad thing to be able to store first aid sprays because it's a source of income you're giving up by leaving them in storage. I do think being able to send items to storage from your inventory is a negative overall but convenience can be nice sometimes.
I was about to say everything in this comment almost word for word but I guess you beat me to it lol. Fully agreed, and I'd even go so far as saying that RE4R has my favorite "escort missions" ever. Taking care of Ashley isn't too difficult or annoying, but it's still something you have to actually DO because she's not just invincible as a cop-out. Plus her writing and acting has improved so much you'll actually want to protect her just because you genuinely like her.
Thank you! It always makes my day to see a comment like that. I have some plans for future videos that will probably end up being on the longer side, so watch this space.
I played Signalis a few months ago and I agree that it's a good game. The notes I made on it actually ended up getting incorporated into this video - the first part about the essence of old survival horror games. If the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake is worth a video then I might mention a few of the 'survival horror revival' indie games that have been coming out recently. Thanks for the comment and I hope you enjoyed the video.
Believe it or not, my first proper playthrough of RE4 was on the Wii version over ten years ago. The strongest memory I have of that playthrough was the enemy encounter after meeting the merchant for the first time - I think this was the moment I realised what a special and groundbreaking game it really was. In terms of spectacle, my favourite moment was probably the giant statue of Salazar, because after that point I felt like literally anything could happen.
@Erumore yeah some people were a little bit pissed that the statue was cut but it is still technically in the game it just doesn't chase you but instead you have to move quickly around it without the statue breathing fire on you
I really enjoyed this remake, but I did miss the cheese from RE4 original. At least they added in the tap-dancing line, that was great. Your points about trade-offs are all great, and I wish we had more games with incredible new ideas.
Having played the original and remake back to back, I think the remake gets the tone mostly right, and I did actually laugh at Leon's one-liners once or twice. Personally I prefer the more grounded characters of the remake, especially Luis, who has more to do and feels like an actual character this time. It feels like the characters actually have things to say to each other, which they didn't really in the original - the boat ride to the island has an actual conversation between Leon and Ada in the remake, whereas there's just nothing there in the original. I guess Capcom made the call that a giant Salazar statue chasing Leon through a church would look kind of stupid in 4K HD, and honestly they're probably right, but it's true that a certain something was lost with the removal of stuff like that. Thanks as always for the comment!
This is a good point. I can see how the fact that enemies take an inconsistent number of headshots to stun would make high level play unreliable, especially compared to the original which had rock solid consistency. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I guess they did that for balance purpose. If you try the game in medium or easy difficulty a HS is always a stagger in the early tier of the game. However in this remake you can also move while shooting and reloading and parry most of the attack so if they keep the one HS=stagger and the laser pin point accuracy the game would have been far too easy.@@Erumore
@@johnspartan2096they did it because studies show it functions a lot like gambling. It also plays into their adaptive difficulty system which is actually an algorithmic Success/Failure generator. Player is playing poorly given a freebie, player is playing well, kill em so they think they being challenged. It's predatory game design but it works on people who don't know any better. This is why RE2 remake is actually easier on hardcore mode than standard because hardcore mode is fixed and consistent, whereas standard mode actually generates artificial fails states when the player is too good at the game.
@@Samuel-j6w6u yeah in fact the og re4 use this adaptive mechanics too, and professional is more consistant. Although the og re4 adaptive diff have some interesting choice like removing some spawn in the village battle or the water room if you die twice in a row. Re4 remake on the other hand use rand in every difficulty which isnt really great. Like if you complete the village and the mill section without a lot of hit you are on secretly on professional. And professional have 2 additional threshold. So that s a lot of hidden factor. Add to this some hp threshold on a lot of ennemy to prevent over dmg or one shot with a max upgrade weapons and yeah you obtain a pretty obscure and very artificial difficulty balance. That s why a lot of runner use sg09 and bolt action,because hp threshold don t stop crit dmg. Don t believe me? Do the test , use a fully upgraded sg09 if you roll a crit boom one shot headshot to a cultist. So a fully upgraded red9 should do the same with 2 shot in the head consistently, well not always.
@@johnspartan2096 at this point I won't touch the base game of RE4 Remake, it's just more frustrating than fun. In order for a successful run you have to use cheap metagame tactics like what you mentioned above with the critical damage trick. I do genuinely enjoy the Separate Ways DLC but that was built by the RE3 team, so no big surprise there. As some one who plays No Hud No reticle, I'm too accurate and as a result the game often generates artificial fails states and then becomes too easy upon fail. The same thing happens with Dragons Dogma 2 and at the end of the day I don't find adaptive difficulty satisfying at all. To me its seems like a way for the dev to never have to actually balance the game in a way that is fun to replay, and replay is what I'm all about. I personally love the RE3 remake as it is fast paced and damn near perfectly balanced on Nightmare Mode. Inferno mode does utilize adaptive difficulty and can be fun, but the last 2 boss fights with Nemesis often create artificial fail states for playing too well and can result in overstaying their welcome. The plus side to inferno is how aggressive Nemesis can be in the first half of the game, especially the rooftop flamethrower battle which can get incredible intense as nemesis will change the speed of his attacks but still provide the player with enough time to evade and counter properly...that is unless he decides to light the whole floor on fire as you are perfect dodging another attack which of course is an artificial fails state. Someone else said this to an older comment I've mine, and I feel it was well put and that is "when the pro tactic is the same as the meta speed runner tactic then you've failed in your games design and balance.". I strongly agree with this sentiment as I want a challenge that encourages me to play with all the games mechanics instead of isolating to the meta efficient tactic.
I have two major complaints and one major complement to remake. First the complement. The heros have much more character, depth, and story impact than the original. First complaint. The villains now suck. Salazar was gun to watch slowly go mad over watch Leon always survive and constantly tuant him but now he has like... two sentences with eachother. The cult leader (who's name escapes me) was fun to watch. How he clearly didn't buy into his cult and how he loved going back and forward with Leon in contrast with his short henchmen. But in remake hes... cult leader number 2786. Amd finally the gun balance sucks. The bolt action rifle is WAY too over powered and the games code gives you less gun powder if you have 12 so there's never a reason to save for magnum bullets, and sniper ammo is only 10 so if you just spend it on ammo for the bolt action not only do you do statistic the second highest damage on weakpoints but you have lots of ammo.
Commenting to break the 3 comment chain of this disgrace of a Chrono Trigger fan that brought a stealth espionage game, a platformer from the NES, a turn based RPG from SNES, and whatever the fuck genre Yakuza falls under (hint: its not survival horror or horror action or even a third person shooter) into this discussion about RE4 as if those are at all relevant or make for any sort of decent argument or meaningful discussion at all.
The gameplay is better here than the og but man the story is generic, og is campy bs but this just tries to be 'dark' and fails its not dark at all. How im i supposed to take it seriously when og lines are censored for being offensive.
Sorry but RE4 OG already had pacing issues and RE4 remake only adds to this. This whole narrative that RE4 is a masterpiece is nonsense. It was quickly smacked together after they tossed the original Survival Horror version because of the poor sales of RE remake and RE0 on the GameCube. Mikami himself admitted he wrote the story in a weeks time because of the sudden switch in direction. The result was a relatively fun and arcade like shooter with a satisfyingly reward for staggering the enemy. RE5 is where the system was put to proper use with bettee combat gameplay and mechanics as well as enemies, level design and scenario setups. While it has its flaws it is better in all respects to RE4 minus the lackluster on the rails Jeep Humvee sequence and the disappointing and lazy troll battle. With that said, Separate Ways remake is far better than RE4 remake base game in pacing alone, not to mention the addition of the grapple mechanics and farther range for melee actions. But hey, I think RE3 remake is actually the best RE game since the RE1 remake.
Re 4 remake is trash, and it is shocking how much better og re4 controls and plays. Check out the review that electric underground did, it articulates the misdirection of the remake very well
RE4 Remake if any actually helps elevate what made the original RE4 so exceptional in the first place. It doesn't replace or insult original in any way, but simply provides a modern enhanced version of it. I love both versions and so happy both exist and are very accessible side by side unlike most games. Either versions of RE4 can claim once again why it's simply one of the greatest and most innovative games ever.
What is this rant about capcom not releasing new games with new stuff? Did you just hide under a rock when RE village literally came out 2 years ago? Not to mention Monster Hunter and DMC 5 still being recent. Gaming is better than ever now, bud.
RE4 is definitely not as complex or as good as MetalGear Solid 2 and 3. SMB 3 is even better. Hell. Even Final Fantasy 6 is an all around better and more original experience over RE4. RE4 is good. But masterpiece? I doubt it. Try playing better games. Try some Yakuza
The original RE4 is definitely not a masterpiece. Paysing every time you pick up an item. Ashley having no personality. Luis being undercooked. The boss fights are easier than the enemies. You cannot move and shoot. I beat the original more than the remake. Only delusional nostalgic fools think RE4 is a masterpiece. Try playing a real masterpiece like Yakuza 0 or Final Fantasy 9 o3o
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
This video slaps and it's a crime it doesn't have more views. Both versions of RE4 are good for the exact reasons you elaborated on and I greatly appreciate that you made your points concisely, intelligently and fairly. I'm always delighted when I click on an interesting-sounding video essay and it's NOT a plot summary or an angry rant lol. Please keep going, you're a good writer!
I think the Ashley change actually increases the number of tradeoffs overall despite reducing the choices available for healing items. Ashley going down in a single hit and then being killed by a second hit reduces the cumulative penalty for Ashley being hit but means that Ashley's wellbeing is an immediate priority. This means players are saving flashbang or using up rare ammo to clear an area in order to pick her up immediately, rather than just leaving her on half health until you can be bothered healing her.
As for the item box, I don't think it's a bad thing to be able to store first aid sprays because it's a source of income you're giving up by leaving them in storage. I do think being able to send items to storage from your inventory is a negative overall but convenience can be nice sometimes.
I was about to say everything in this comment almost word for word but I guess you beat me to it lol. Fully agreed, and I'd even go so far as saying that RE4R has my favorite "escort missions" ever. Taking care of Ashley isn't too difficult or annoying, but it's still something you have to actually DO because she's not just invincible as a cop-out. Plus her writing and acting has improved so much you'll actually want to protect her just because you genuinely like her.
What are your thoughts on the separate ways DLC? I think it’s a masterpiece and you should make a follow up video on it.
Masterpiece, no. But a massive step up from the slog that is RE4 remake.
Great video! Thanks for the content.
Really well said. Really appreciate your unique but reasoned perspectives.
Love your reviews/critiques/analysis 😂 I only wish they were longer but that’s just me being selfish
Thank you! It always makes my day to see a comment like that. I have some plans for future videos that will probably end up being on the longer side, so watch this space.
Could you please do a video on signals its also a good game that borrows a lot from resident evil
I played Signalis a few months ago and I agree that it's a good game. The notes I made on it actually ended up getting incorporated into this video - the first part about the essence of old survival horror games. If the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake is worth a video then I might mention a few of the 'survival horror revival' indie games that have been coming out recently.
Thanks for the comment and I hope you enjoyed the video.
What is your favorite memory from original resident evil 4
Believe it or not, my first proper playthrough of RE4 was on the Wii version over ten years ago. The strongest memory I have of that playthrough was the enemy encounter after meeting the merchant for the first time - I think this was the moment I realised what a special and groundbreaking game it really was. In terms of spectacle, my favourite moment was probably the giant statue of Salazar, because after that point I felt like literally anything could happen.
@Erumore yeah some people were a little bit pissed that the statue was cut but it is still technically in the game it just doesn't chase you but instead you have to move quickly around it without the statue breathing fire on you
I really enjoyed this remake, but I did miss the cheese from RE4 original. At least they added in the tap-dancing line, that was great. Your points about trade-offs are all great, and I wish we had more games with incredible new ideas.
Having played the original and remake back to back, I think the remake gets the tone mostly right, and I did actually laugh at Leon's one-liners once or twice. Personally I prefer the more grounded characters of the remake, especially Luis, who has more to do and feels like an actual character this time. It feels like the characters actually have things to say to each other, which they didn't really in the original - the boat ride to the island has an actual conversation between Leon and Ada in the remake, whereas there's just nothing there in the original. I guess Capcom made the call that a giant Salazar statue chasing Leon through a church would look kind of stupid in 4K HD, and honestly they're probably right, but it's true that a certain something was lost with the removal of stuff like that. Thanks as always for the comment!
while gameplay in the remake is good, its not reliable like the OG imo. especially in pro runs.
great video!
This is a good point. I can see how the fact that enemies take an inconsistent number of headshots to stun would make high level play unreliable, especially compared to the original which had rock solid consistency.
Thanks for the comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
I guess they did that for balance purpose. If you try the game in medium or easy difficulty a HS is always a stagger in the early tier of the game. However in this remake you can also move while shooting and reloading and parry most of the attack so if they keep the one HS=stagger and the laser pin point accuracy the game would have been far too easy.@@Erumore
@@johnspartan2096they did it because studies show it functions a lot like gambling. It also plays into their adaptive difficulty system which is actually an algorithmic Success/Failure generator.
Player is playing poorly given a freebie, player is playing well, kill em so they think they being challenged. It's predatory game design but it works on people who don't know any better.
This is why RE2 remake is actually easier on hardcore mode than standard because hardcore mode is fixed and consistent, whereas standard mode actually generates artificial fails states when the player is too good at the game.
@@Samuel-j6w6u yeah in fact the og re4 use this adaptive mechanics too, and professional is more consistant. Although the og re4 adaptive diff have some interesting choice like removing some spawn in the village battle or the water room if you die twice in a row. Re4 remake on the other hand use rand in every difficulty which isnt really great. Like if you complete the village and the mill section without a lot of hit you are on secretly on professional. And professional have 2 additional threshold. So that s a lot of hidden factor. Add to this some hp threshold on a lot of ennemy to prevent over dmg or one shot with a max upgrade weapons and yeah you obtain a pretty obscure and very artificial difficulty balance. That s why a lot of runner use sg09 and bolt action,because hp threshold don t stop crit dmg. Don t believe me? Do the test , use a fully upgraded sg09 if you roll a crit boom one shot headshot to a cultist. So a fully upgraded red9 should do the same with 2 shot in the head consistently, well not always.
@@johnspartan2096 at this point I won't touch the base game of RE4 Remake, it's just more frustrating than fun. In order for a successful run you have to use cheap metagame tactics like what you mentioned above with the critical damage trick.
I do genuinely enjoy the Separate Ways DLC but that was built by the RE3 team, so no big surprise there.
As some one who plays No Hud No reticle, I'm too accurate and as a result the game often generates artificial fails states and then becomes too easy upon fail. The same thing happens with Dragons Dogma 2 and at the end of the day I don't find adaptive difficulty satisfying at all. To me its seems like a way for the dev to never have to actually balance the game in a way that is fun to replay, and replay is what I'm all about.
I personally love the RE3 remake as it is fast paced and damn near perfectly balanced on Nightmare Mode. Inferno mode does utilize adaptive difficulty and can be fun, but the last 2 boss fights with Nemesis often create artificial fail states for playing too well and can result in overstaying their welcome.
The plus side to inferno is how aggressive Nemesis can be in the first half of the game, especially the rooftop flamethrower battle which can get incredible intense as nemesis will change the speed of his attacks but still provide the player with enough time to evade and counter properly...that is unless he decides to light the whole floor on fire as you are perfect dodging another attack which of course is an artificial fails state.
Someone else said this to an older comment I've mine, and I feel it was well put and that is "when the pro tactic is the same as the meta speed runner tactic then you've failed in your games design and balance.". I strongly agree with this sentiment as I want a challenge that encourages me to play with all the games mechanics instead of isolating to the meta efficient tactic.
I have two major complaints and one major complement to remake.
First the complement. The heros have much more character, depth, and story impact than the original.
First complaint. The villains now suck. Salazar was gun to watch slowly go mad over watch Leon always survive and constantly tuant him but now he has like... two sentences with eachother.
The cult leader (who's name escapes me) was fun to watch. How he clearly didn't buy into his cult and how he loved going back and forward with Leon in contrast with his short henchmen. But in remake hes... cult leader number 2786.
Amd finally the gun balance sucks. The bolt action rifle is WAY too over powered and the games code gives you less gun powder if you have 12 so there's never a reason to save for magnum bullets, and sniper ammo is only 10 so if you just spend it on ammo for the bolt action not only do you do statistic the second highest damage on weakpoints but you have lots of ammo.
Commenting to break the 3 comment chain of this disgrace of a Chrono Trigger fan that brought a stealth espionage game, a platformer from the NES, a turn based RPG from SNES, and whatever the fuck genre Yakuza falls under (hint: its not survival horror or horror action or even a third person shooter) into this discussion about RE4 as if those are at all relevant or make for any sort of decent argument or meaningful discussion at all.
The gameplay is better here than the og but man the story is generic, og is campy bs but this just tries to be 'dark' and fails its not dark at all. How im i supposed to take it seriously when og lines are censored for being offensive.
Sorry but RE4 OG already had pacing issues and RE4 remake only adds to this.
This whole narrative that RE4 is a masterpiece is nonsense. It was quickly smacked together after they tossed the original Survival Horror version because of the poor sales of RE remake and RE0 on the GameCube.
Mikami himself admitted he wrote the story in a weeks time because of the sudden switch in direction. The result was a relatively fun and arcade like shooter with a satisfyingly reward for staggering the enemy.
RE5 is where the system was put to proper use with bettee combat gameplay and mechanics as well as enemies, level design and scenario setups.
While it has its flaws it is better in all respects to RE4 minus the lackluster on the rails Jeep Humvee sequence and the disappointing and lazy troll battle.
With that said, Separate Ways remake is far better than RE4 remake base game in pacing alone, not to mention the addition of the grapple mechanics and farther range for melee actions. But hey, I think RE3 remake is actually the best RE game since the RE1 remake.
Re 4 remake is trash, and it is shocking how much better og re4 controls and plays. Check out the review that electric underground did, it articulates the misdirection of the remake very well
Comment
RE4 Remake if any actually helps elevate what made the original RE4 so exceptional in the first place. It doesn't replace or insult original in any way, but simply provides a modern enhanced version of it. I love both versions and so happy both exist and are very accessible side by side unlike most games. Either versions of RE4 can claim once again why it's simply one of the greatest and most innovative games ever.
What is this rant about capcom not releasing new games with new stuff? Did you just hide under a rock when RE village literally came out 2 years ago? Not to mention Monster Hunter and DMC 5 still being recent. Gaming is better than ever now, bud.
RE4 is definitely not as complex or as good as MetalGear Solid 2 and 3. SMB 3 is even better. Hell. Even Final Fantasy 6 is an all around better and more original experience over RE4. RE4 is good. But masterpiece? I doubt it. Try playing better games. Try some Yakuza
The original RE4 is definitely not a masterpiece. Paysing every time you pick up an item. Ashley having no personality. Luis being undercooked. The boss fights are easier than the enemies. You cannot move and shoot. I beat the original more than the remake. Only delusional nostalgic fools think RE4 is a masterpiece. Try playing a real masterpiece like Yakuza 0 or Final Fantasy 9 o3o