I think RE4 is a perfect example of brilliant pacing and level/encounter design. It builds a simple but excellent core gameplay, and then creates everything around it and makes it match really well. RE4 is easily one of the most polished games ever. It's consistent in every area and in every second, and an incredible varied rollercoaster. To this day, I still find it amazing how the team managed to create so many awesome (and varied) moments in it's 15+ hour long campaign. To the classic "village" moment in it's 15 first minutes to the frenetic and intense Krauser last fights, RE4 offers an almost unparalleled amount of fine gameplay set-pieces.
Not anymore. RE2 Remake beats them all. Like ,it beats them to a fuckin pulp. Ok ,unfair comparison. But you realise that we will probably get a RE4 Remake if the upcoming RE3 Remake sells well . It will blow our minds. BLOW OUR MINDS WITH A FREAKING SHOTGUN OF AWESOMEPELLETS
@@eval_is_evil RE2 remake is very good, but it’s an 8 hour game with modern mechanics borrowed from RE7. In some ways, RE2 remake doesn’t even do the OG RE2’s zapping system right. Therefore, I believe that it doesn’t really beat RE4, chiefly on pacing, gameplay depth, boss fights, and most other areas.
I've lost track of how many times I've beaten this game on my Gamecube and Wii. I Bought the PS4 re-release a few months ago, and expected it to be not as good as I remember, but ended up beating it multiple times again loving it the whole way through.
I played RE4 for the first time in 2014, and after finishing the whole game twice + its DLC, I can assure that it is simply one the finest, more addicting, epic, horror third person shooter I have ever played, and I have been playing video games since 1985.
Might've been talking about extras in general. Easier to classify it all as DLC in one scope then to say Assignment Ada and Separate Ways (available in PS2) and The Mercenaries. Bonus content works as well, though. Still.
"Resident Evil 4 is outta control." Is the most accurate description I've ever heard of for it. It's honestly one of the most bonkers games I've ever played and I've played IllBleed.
I think the beginning of re4 is one of the strongest openings of any game ever. The bit in the village with the chainsaw guy is only the third encounter in the game. The third! How many games give you a substantial piece of fun gameplay like that so early on in the game. Even a game like dark souls that people rightly laud over not holding your hand and wasting your time doesn't really take the training wheels off until you've been through about 2 areas and fought a tutorial boss. Also I know you're trying not to be nostalgic but come on, can anyone who played the game at launch, who didn't know much about the game other than it's a resi sequel, ever forget those first few hours in the village? Getting your head chainsawed off? Barricading that little house and finding the shotgun? Revisiting the barn area at night? It will go down in history and is pure GOLD
There is so much to talk about the game. I think one of the most unique "pieces" of the games history is the preview disc that has slight variations on the first level. Very fun to run through that and see what was changed or modified. Excellent work!
Man, i played this game 100% twice!! First time on gamecube, then again PS2. I knew what to expect, but still thoroughly enjoyed the future playthroughs
If I could only choose one Resident Evil game it would be 4. To me, it has the perfect balance of chills and thrills. It’s everything I want in a RE game.
I'd argue that the first sequence in the village is amazing. It's so super tense and teaches you to get good quick. After you stumble in the first time like an idiot and get your head chopped off by a chainsaw guy, you'll soon be flying around trying to be as strategic as possible and trying to figure out how to kill everyone. It does a great job with preparing you for the game and is fun.
Wow, thank you for this video. I'm one of the "RE4 is my all time favourite game", types but i'm holding off covering the game myself until... well i dunno, we'll see. But you gave so much deserved justice to this game, and a game like this, there's SO much to talk about. Would love to pick your brain on the game some time.
5:13 Quick-Time Events only suck when done poorly. My favorite are the QTEs in MGR: Revengeance, which feel great to execute for various reasons. Apart from that, what is a QTE? It is a way of making cutscenes interactive, while in some games also delivering a few extra deathscenes. And that is surely better than just watching a long action cutscenes where you don't have to do anything. And that truly sucks in an interactive medium.
i agree. i feel qte are getting too much undeserved flag, its a good element which makes a lot sense in a video game where you want to engage players rather than just watching things happen apart of your influence, like a movie
+SashaSexyfur I think Shenmue, god of war and most of heavy rain and telltale games do it right. Except that part where you have to hold down 5 buttons in heavy rain during some of the torture scenes.
+SashaSexyfur Quick-Time Events work in games if you keep their use *consistent*. People only have a good reason to hate QTEs when they are used so sparingly as to be a surprise when you have to do them, or are used in very out-of-place ways. I think the reason they get a bad rap is because developers decide to use them as a one-off gimmick rather than a consistent part of one of the game's mechanics. God of War makes quick-time events work by reserving them specifically for finishing moves on large enemies. Sonic the Hedgehog's games reserve QTEs for special trick segments used during long jumps, used to get to higher paths through his levels. I think the part that people hate about QTEs is when they appear suddenly in a game that had mostly avoided them, thus breaking the game's unspoken agreement to obey its established conventions with the player.
8:48 Im sorry but....what??? Resident Evil 4's first act is the best part of the game! Perfect tone, atmosphere, ammo count, enemy count, etc. The list goes on. I actually wanted the game to be this difficult the whole way through, those first hours of excrutiating tension are the best part of the game.
First time I played this game was last year. So without any nostalgia goggles I can honestly say: this game is great. And it didn't have a rough start to me, I instantly got used to the controls. The village was the spookiest place in the whole game, so I enjoyed it the most. The only nitpicks that I have are some bosses were annoying to fight and, like many, I am not a fan of escorting Ashley, but it's alright.
+jktomas Same here! I just played the Wii version of the game a month or two ago for the first time and it holds up really well, but I also feel that RE5 and onwards made some nice adjustments to the system, giving out more ammo and better melee options (like ground takedowns)
+jktomas Normally I would agree but RE4 tends so heavy on the action side of Horror that making ammo limited can put players into unwinnable situations / situations that are hard to get out of with just Leon's butterknife (the house defenses, the mineshaft rollercoaster or the Regenerators come to mind).
+Geminias ammo conservation is the name of the game. i got so good at it every few levels id find myself with way to many bullets and grenades so i played quite a few levels with a knife grenade combo or selling my bullets to the merchant.... btw bad/fun idea always keep your bullets. point is if you play minimaly you are always well equiped
@@GeminiTasiri Yup, I had to start almost from the very beginning of the game once because I got stuck in the lab with the regeneraters with no ammo on my sniper rifle that had the thermo scope. Not knowing that I'd have to conserve my sniper ammo for the upcoming section really screwed me. Other than that, it's still one of my top 3 favorite games of all time.
Dude, this is a really great review. Everything you said was very cognizant and well thought out. It was quite "Adam Sessler-esque". You've definitely earned a sub from me!
This was exactly what I needed to help me decide on whether or not I wanted to play RE:4 or The Evil Within today, thanks Derek, time to boot up that pretty HD RE4
I played this game for the first time last year, and even when I felt the controls dated, it didn't take me too long to get used to them and overall I enjoyed the game. I don't think this game "ruined Resident Evil", mostly because RE was already doomed before RE4, horror game sagas cannot be too long and stay good. I'm glad that RE4 exists because it influenced Dead Space in a good way and also because it was a good game in an horror saga that was already too long and that's hard to do.
Once again your insight into a game hits it out of the park. Not gonna lie, after watching this I was reminded of the hard time I had at the beginning of the game and also of how I felt as if the game was too long in my first playthrough. Good to know it wasn't just me.
RE4 is one of the few games I consider "perfect" or a "masterpiece." It just holds up way too well. One of the few games I could pick up any day any time and always have a blast. God, THIS GAME IS SO GOOD.
+Gorlokk No the game is garbage. It was garbage in 2005, it's garbage today. Nothing has changed. All you people want is non stop action, wouldn't want to use our brains fuck that shit, we must have constant pew,pew,pew. That is what Biohazard 4 was, a shitty action game.
CF-105 Games You speak as though RE4 is a fast paced button mashing, non-stop action game, but it's not. I love RE4 because it is what I consider to be a slow-paced action game. What I mean is that there are a lot of 'gameplay restrictions' that you must accommodate to. Control of Leon is limited (no strafing, or moving while shooting at all), he doesn't move too fast, aiming takes time to understand, in the sense that moving your laser can be slow at times (Wii version excluded) etc. For another example think of Castlevania for NES, another game I love because it's 'slow-paced.' Your whip has a slight delay, you get knocked back by every hit, and your jumps are committed, to name a few gameplay 'restrictions.' And honestly, as a fan of "classic" RE games as well, none of them had actual hard puzzles, so don't try to pull the "use our brains" card because it seriously doesn't apply.
Gorlokk You are right about the old RE games not having hard puzzles (well maybe the water puzzle in RE 3 stumped me for a little bit when I was a teenager) but at least there was more than RE4 had which was almost nothing. RE4 is a fast passed action game. Aiming isn't that difficult nor does it take that much time. Sure you couldn't shoot while moving but it was never a issue. It was far more action orientated than previous games in the series and that was a big turn off. I wanted exploration just like the old games had. But nope that seems to be the new norm now, most games these days are just action orientated shooters because that is was is popular right. Sickens me that gaming has fallen so far. I remember when there was diversity in games, now the only place to find that diversity is in indy games as the AAA makers only want to make what sells millions of copies.
CF-105 Games Oh stop crying about modern games and take off your damn nostalgia goggles. RE4 may have strayed from what was the norm for RE at the time but it's still a damn good action game with a very RE atmosphere. There's a reason why it's almost universally loved, and it's not just because it's an action game, because RE5 and RE6 get shit on all the time-- and for a good reason, because they couldn't pull off an action-oriented RE game that still held a RE feel in many ways. I will definitely agree that RE4 was pretty linear for the most part, but linear doesn't make a bad game. It's also a shame that RE4 took the RE franchise in a different direction, but you should at least appreciate what RE4 does well. And seriously? You really think the indie scene boasts innovation? Yeah, another pseudo 8-bit platformer with a central gimmick, or a 2D roguelike/rougelite.
Gorlokk I don't have to take my nostalgia googles off. I still play my retro games and they are way better than most of the modern crap. Games like Shatterhand, Bucky O Hair,Castlevania 3, Rondo of Blood, Splatterhouse are just some examples of good games. Most games are medicore shooing bs. Yes, I do think most indy games are better than the AAA counterparts. Games like Stick it to the Man, Hotline Miami, Shovel Knight are far better than the overbloood junk such as MGS V The Phantom Pain, Fallout 4. Hell I have played homebrew games made for the NES,Colecovision and other retro consoles that are far superior to the crap we get feed these days. I will gladly take the older games and newer indie games like Axiom Verge over the latest AAA piece of crap Konami,Capcom,EA,Activision throws out there.
I must have missed this. Great video! I loved Resident Evil 4. I was late to the game because after it was first released, I didn't give it a chance due to the changes that were made since I always loved the old school Resident Evil games that were more survival horror, with zombies and the fixed cameras. But when I finally played Resident Evil 4 within the last few years, I grew to really love it. It had such a great mix of horror and action. Resident Evil 4 is actually my second favorite Resident Evil behind Resident Evil 2. Well, Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Remake are almost tied as my second favorite, but I might give Resident Evil 4 the slight edge.
Played RE4 on Gamecube and loved it. Replayed the PC Remaster a year or so ago and loved it all over again. Watching this video makes me want to play it some more. :)
Love the analysis of how it feels like many games shoved together. Brings to mind a famous failed attempt at such a concept: Daikatana. Similarly, Daikatana jumped around with too many unique setpieces and unique environments, but didn't let the play get used to any one point of the game. The glitches didn't help either. Since you'd like to see some horror games moving away from action, I'd love to see what you think of Until Dawn. Just finished it and I thought it was a breath of fresh air, despite hating just about every element of gameplay it involved. That's pretty rare haha!
First time I really played RE4 was on the WII version, made the game insanely easy (to a degree) most due in part to the fact that you always knew where you were shooting.
Resi 4 really is a special beast. Its bizarre mix of themes almost feels like something taken straight from the House of the Dead series. Hell, the whole way the game progresses really has the genetic makeup of an arcade game, a postmodern heir to the lightgun/Cabal shooter genre (though Kill.Switch and consorts are obviously closer to an actual mechanical resurrection of said genre). The sequels then tried to turn up the crazy even more, but never managed to reach that specific charm that R4 had.
Damn I didn't know RE Remake "flopped". It's probably my favorite RE game of all time. I'm playing through RE4 right now actually, the PC version, and it most certainly still holds up. All of your criticisms are valid, but like you said it's just fucking fun to play. I agree with the community, though, that RE4 and beyond took the "horror" out of survival-horror. I can't recall actually being scared while playing RE4. A little claustrophobic maybe, but never scared. Likewise with RE5, which is also really fun, albeit only while playing with a human-controlled partner (fuck CPU-controlled Sheva). I think the single most important reason the games stopped being scary is the abundance of ammunition and healing items, and the lack of impact a single enemy has.
I don't get it, the one game in the series that everyone loved most is the same game that sold poorly. If it wasn't for RE:Remake, we wouldn't be in the process of getting RE:2 Remake.
Victoria Hernandez different games can't really be compared, so with the older games it's a tie between 2 and remake and for the newer games (disregarding 7) I'd say 4.
The remake is my favourite of all of the resident evil games brilliant graphics excellent additions to the original version and the fact none of the changes impacted the original in a negative way it was literally perfect I've owned it on game cube and 360 and I've gotta say its beautiful in HD
Bayonetta 1 did okay-ish, but had infuriating one-hit-kill QTEs in cinematics that depended on a specific button prop. But Bayonetta 2 Nailed it, reserving the QTEs for fights, and even there it's only for counter chances and finishers. It is immensively satisfying, no more bs.
I was interested in RE4 when I watched my brother play it on the Wii. So after he beat the game and I got to give it a go, I was frustrated and discouraged by the things you mention about the beginning: Leon's standing still while in combat mode, too many enemies at once and being underequipped for what should just be the introduction. But this review kind of reassures me that after that part it gets better. So I may give it another try.
Yes, the game has 20 hours... but the brilliant pacing makes it feel shorter than your average 10 hour campaign. Same goes for Dead Space 1 and 2. Bad examples of this are Alien Isolation and Dead Space 3. Well, this video was made before REVII and 2 Remake came out, so no, RE4 did not kill the series, because... RE is back babyyyy!
+Alex Decourville Well, it *is* one of, if not the best versions of the game. The pointer-controls feel spot-on and are used appropriately and it's got the content of the PS2 version with the graphical finesse of the Gamecube version
Cool video. :) I like to disagree on RE4 being the first game with over the shoulder camera. It may be the first with over the shoulder *lock* camera but the first 3rd person action game that did not put the protagonist in the dead center of the screen was Max Payne in 2001. And it was considered a novum back in the day that was mentioned in most reviews. Max Payne had over the shoulder camera. RE4 added the camera zoom-lock. Gears of war added the trajectory for thrown weapons that RE did not yet have ... I'd like to think that mechanics like this don't usually have a single defined origin but more of an evolution with every developer adding their own twist to a formula that proves to be good.
It ruined Leon as a character somewhat. If it was Chris or someone else more action-y from the RE series it would have been more bearable. Leon, like Barry and Jill are far more suited for horror and puzzle so it's kind of insulting to see Leon go "ah trained for 3 years, now I'm Dante Ver.0.5 so I can do kung-fu with Ada". Leon should have kept it to magnums, small guns with one shotgun as his heavy weapon and knives. If anything ruined the franchise, it was Revelations basically being "slightly more puzzley and episodic RE4" instead of being a side-game that was Resident Evil with better and tighter controls, like Onimusha was. People really wanted that hand painted background and close camera angles or at least something closer to the first prototype of RE4 shown to be availiable in the franchise as well.
This is a game I don't think I'll ever get tired of, and I played this game many times on two different Nintendo consoles (played the original on my brother's GameCube but I own the Wii edition) and the Ultimate HD Edition on Steam. You're also dead on about Ashley, I hardly found her a nuisance during my playthroughs.
I always felt like I really missed out on this one. I had it when I was younger, just after it came out, and I just couldn't wrap my thumbs around the control scheme. It was so clunky that I don't think I ever even made it past the first village section, I lost count of how often that chainsaw dude took my head off. But perhaps I ought to revisit it to see if I can work through it.
Some of the things you pointed out reminded me of your Startropics review. How the limiting controls work when the levels and enemies are designed around them.
RE4 is one of our favorites. Funny to see the games that came after. Woukd have to say it's more a fault of bad game design by capcom than 4 ruining the franchise Great video as always!
I love re 4 it was my first shooter game on the ps2 it was awesome I got it when ps2 was still out by far the best re game out there it was a classic and when I'm down I get home and slide the Xbox 360 version of the game and play like I was 8 years old and to rate it10/10 in my best classic games of all time!!!!
+avatarofcloud why is it that some mouthbreathers enjoy making me fuck them up? I discuss things rather civilly and try to help them improve. and what do I get in return: Ad-hominem. I apologize, my "dictonomy" is more suited for people with an IQ over 10 or people who aren't easily triggered bitches. carry on with your moronic views.
I was thinking "What?" when Derrick said RE4 is a classic but it shouldn't be, but after he pointed how much was thrown in I thought "Wow, I see what he's saying. Man, he's right! There is way to much going on in this game!"
i disagree when you said under equiped , weak guns ?? you were supposed to search for someone that's why u only had a pistol Leon didn't know he's gonna fight a village of crazy bastards plus that's what makes it such a good horror game cus u have low Ammunition and not so strong weapons which makes the chances of death really high what do u want shit tons of machine guns when you're only searching for someone ? , btw great review I really liked and enjoyed it keep it up
Love all your info in your videos Derek :) And damn your dancing ghost/skeleton infront of the "D" box is adorible ^^ (Y) Looking forward for your next video! : ) Keep up the good work!
Great video and also I find The comment section in here interesting for people seem to have varying opinions about the game and it's nice to read them for they are detailed explanations.
if you want to know the full behind the scenes story as dude said play the evil within all the archives in that game allude to shinji makami's feelings of the resident evil series because they give dates in these archives that are very close to the development times of RE 4 and 5 and maybe 6
This is my like, third favourite game of all time. Every criticism you have is valid, but it's just a fantastic game. I first played it when I was in Grade 8 and have played it regularly to this day, 11 years.
I always got the impression that Killer7 was another game that spawned from the attempts to rework the RE series into something more modern and marketable for RE4. If you look at the core mechanics and ideas, they're pretty similar, with fixed camera angles, a horrific aesthetic, really similar/simple puzzle design and open areas to explore, an aim button that locks you in place, a quick-turn button, hordes of zombie-esque enemies, etc. Enemies have weakpoints too, which was an idea first implemented in Resident Evil through RE4. The weakpoints are even on the same parts of the body, lol. I can easily see Killer7 and its on-rails design as an earlier compromise Capcom thought might work to quicken the pace of the RE games, while things like the first-person aiming button were maybe designed to appeal to a western demographic (before they thought up the over the shoulder design). Then once they decided to rework it more into the design we see today, Killer7 was given its own identity. Heck, the Killer 7 weapon in RE4 is a reference to KAEDE Smith's pistol, Leon uses Dan Smith's running animation when holding the Handcannon, and Shinji Mikami even co-wrote and was the Executive Producer on Killer7. I dunno, it all just seems to fit too well.
i love resident evil 4, i went out and bought a ps2 for it after playing it at a friends a daily earlier. also later bought it for wii and xbox360. biggest problem with going back to this game is the controls. anyone who plays a 3rd person shooter knows you usually walk and move with the left joystick and aim/ look with the right joy stick, re4 does everything with the left joystick, so hard to get used to. so you walk around with the left stick and aim with the left stick. tried playing it a week ago and just could get used to it again
RE4 is possibly the RE game that I spent the most time with past 1. I have tried to go back and play it, but I just can't bear to play through it again as The world falls apart and I have a break between the strange things that are happening and the realistic and serious looks of it. I do love to watch other people play it, and I am the same way with most Silent Hill games.
of course RE4 holds up today. the most reported game out there right now. and every new report adds something new. I still find something new or something I didn't notice before everytime I play thru a campaign. RE4 is definitely in my top 10 games of all time
Resi 4 is a different kind of scary. The best way I can describe it is when there's downtime, you're just cruising along, exploring when L+R suddenly start flashing, you scream "Oh Shit!" Narrowly dodging a boulder, then immediately getting swarmed by 35 villagers and 2 chainsaw guys, then realizing how fucked you are because dont have nearly enough ammo to take them on because you didn't watch your ammo. Its a hostile game that forces you to fear for your life. You have to be alert and on your toes at all times in order to survive. Its an "Oh Shit!" Game
Has anyone here played Headhunter for the Dreamcast/PS2? It's a Resident Evil clone with hints of Syphon Filter (you even have to complete Metar Gear-style VR missions), an urban setting and shooter elements. It's pretty good and does have a version of the over the shoulder camera too. Also, a fantastic soundtrack.
![Resident Evil (PS1) | Re:Certified Classic [SSFF]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gP98OpAaRbk/mqdefault.jpg)
![Resident Evil (PS1) | Re:Certified Classic [SSFF]](/img/tr.png)
![Silent Hill 2 | Re:Certified Classic [SSFF]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/195KJ5jUquc/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Ridiculous Amount of Resident Evil 4 Ports | Punching Weight [SSFF]](/img/n.gif)
I think RE4 is a perfect example of brilliant pacing and level/encounter design. It builds a simple but excellent core gameplay, and then creates everything around it and makes it match really well.
RE4 is easily one of the most polished games ever. It's consistent in every area and in every second, and an incredible varied rollercoaster. To this day, I still find it amazing how the team managed to create so many awesome (and varied) moments in it's 15+ hour long campaign. To the classic "village" moment in it's 15 first minutes to the frenetic and intense Krauser last fights, RE4 offers an almost unparalleled amount of fine gameplay set-pieces.
Not anymore. RE2 Remake beats them all. Like ,it beats them to a fuckin pulp. Ok ,unfair comparison. But you realise that we will probably get a RE4 Remake if the upcoming RE3 Remake sells well . It will blow our minds. BLOW OUR MINDS WITH A FREAKING SHOTGUN OF AWESOMEPELLETS
Agreed. Especially pacing shows why Shinji Mikami is irreplaceable. RE6 in comparison had horrendous pacing.
@@eval_is_evil Stop kidding yourself, when it comes to game design re4 is a timeless masterpiece and re2remake is an okay videogame. Period.
@@eval_is_evil RE2 remake is very good, but it’s an 8 hour game with modern mechanics borrowed from RE7. In some ways, RE2 remake doesn’t even do the OG RE2’s zapping system right. Therefore, I believe that it doesn’t really beat RE4, chiefly on pacing, gameplay depth, boss fights, and most other areas.
I've lost track of how many times I've beaten this game on my Gamecube and Wii. I Bought the PS4 re-release a few months ago, and expected it to be not as good as I remember, but ended up beating it multiple times again loving it the whole way through.
When I first beat this game I immediately started playing through it again. It was so good I could not play it enough.
I played RE4 for the first time in 2014, and after finishing the whole game twice + its DLC, I can assure that it is simply one the finest, more addicting, epic, horror third person shooter I have ever played, and I have been playing video games since 1985.
RE4 had DLC ? if you talking about ada wong separate way that wasn't DLC that came out with PS2 verison of RE4 as the extra .
Might've been talking about extras in general. Easier to classify it all as DLC in one scope then to say Assignment Ada and Separate Ways (available in PS2) and The Mercenaries. Bonus content works as well, though. Still.
"Resident Evil 4 is outta control." Is the most accurate description I've ever heard of for it. It's honestly one of the most bonkers games I've ever played and I've played IllBleed.
What I love most about RE4 is it's variation - nothing is repeated and that's what makes the game so fun.
I think the beginning of re4 is one of the strongest openings of any game ever. The bit in the village with the chainsaw guy is only the third encounter in the game. The third! How many games give you a substantial piece of fun gameplay like that so early on in the game. Even a game like dark souls that people rightly laud over not holding your hand and wasting your time doesn't really take the training wheels off until you've been through about 2 areas and fought a tutorial boss.
Also I know you're trying not to be nostalgic but come on, can anyone who played the game at launch, who didn't know much about the game other than it's a resi sequel, ever forget those first few hours in the village? Getting your head chainsawed off? Barricading that little house and finding the shotgun? Revisiting the barn area at night? It will go down in history and is pure GOLD
This game has the sexiest weapon reload animations ever xD
Ikr, the first times that i saw Leon reloading different weapons my thoughts where "damn, he looks so frigging cool doing such a simple thing"
BadAssMacmillan ok?
The broken butterflys reload is sexy asf
did you just rip that straight from superbest friends XD are you for fucking real ?
That's your brain being conditioned to it because it means more ammo is there to kill those fuckin freaks. FFFZFZFZHZHFZGZG
There is so much to talk about the game. I think one of the most unique "pieces" of the games history is the preview disc that has slight variations on the first level. Very fun to run through that and see what was changed or modified.
Excellent work!
Video in 2015: We're finally getting the RE2 remake.
2019: REmake 2 finally releases.
almost as if games take time to make
And THANK GOD its a masterpiece
Man, i played this game 100% twice!! First time on gamecube, then again PS2. I knew what to expect, but still thoroughly enjoyed the future playthroughs
If I could only choose one Resident Evil game it would be 4. To me, it has the perfect balance of chills and thrills. It’s everything I want in a RE game.
I'd argue that the first sequence in the village is amazing. It's so super tense and teaches you to get good quick. After you stumble in the first time like an idiot and get your head chopped off by a chainsaw guy, you'll soon be flying around trying to be as strategic as possible and trying to figure out how to kill everyone.
It does a great job with preparing you for the game and is fun.
After all this time I can still play RE4 many many times and have great fun with it.
WELL DONE DEREK AND LOVE HOW IT CLOSES WITH THE RE1 ENDING THEME.
Wow, thank you for this video. I'm one of the "RE4 is my all time favourite game", types but i'm holding off covering the game myself until... well i dunno, we'll see. But you gave so much deserved justice to this game, and a game like this, there's SO much to talk about. Would love to pick your brain on the game some time.
5:13 Quick-Time Events only suck when done poorly.
My favorite are the QTEs in MGR: Revengeance, which feel great to execute for various reasons.
Apart from that, what is a QTE? It is a way of making cutscenes interactive, while in some games also delivering a few extra deathscenes. And that is surely better than just watching a long action cutscenes where you don't have to do anything. And that truly sucks in an interactive medium.
i agree. i feel qte are getting too much undeserved flag, its a good element which makes a lot sense in a video game where you want to engage players rather than just watching things happen apart of your influence, like a movie
I too agree with your point.
+SashaSexyfur They are also used pretty well in Point and Click games, like the Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us.
+SashaSexyfur I think Shenmue, god of war and most of heavy rain and telltale games do it right. Except that part where you have to hold down 5 buttons in heavy rain during some of the torture scenes.
+SashaSexyfur Quick-Time Events work in games if you keep their use *consistent*.
People only have a good reason to hate QTEs when they are used so sparingly as to be a surprise when you have to do them, or are used in very out-of-place ways. I think the reason they get a bad rap is because developers decide to use them as a one-off gimmick rather than a consistent part of one of the game's mechanics.
God of War makes quick-time events work by reserving them specifically for finishing moves on large enemies.
Sonic the Hedgehog's games reserve QTEs for special trick segments used during long jumps, used to get to higher paths through his levels.
I think the part that people hate about QTEs is when they appear suddenly in a game that had mostly avoided them, thus breaking the game's unspoken agreement to obey its established conventions with the player.
I would love to play the Hookman prototype. That game looks incredible!
9:27 This becomes frighteningly accurate when you look at God Hand
8:48 Im sorry but....what??? Resident Evil 4's first act is the best part of the game! Perfect tone, atmosphere, ammo count, enemy count, etc. The list goes on. I actually wanted the game to be this difficult the whole way through, those first hours of excrutiating tension are the best part of the game.
Resident evil 4 is on my top 5 games of all.it was amazing at the time and i still play it every couple years
First time I played this game was last year. So without any nostalgia goggles I can honestly say: this game is great. And it didn't have a rough start to me, I instantly got used to the controls. The village was the spookiest place in the whole game, so I enjoyed it the most. The only nitpicks that I have are some bosses were annoying to fight and, like many, I am not a fan of escorting Ashley, but it's alright.
+jktomas Same here! I just played the Wii version of the game a month or two ago for the first time and it holds up really well, but I also feel that RE5 and onwards made some nice adjustments to the system, giving out more ammo and better melee options (like ground takedowns)
***** I liked the scarcity of ammo though.
+jktomas Normally I would agree but RE4 tends so heavy on the action side of Horror that making ammo limited can put players into unwinnable situations / situations that are hard to get out of with just Leon's butterknife (the house defenses, the mineshaft rollercoaster or the Regenerators come to mind).
+Geminias ammo conservation is the name of the game. i got so good at it every few levels id find myself with way to many bullets and grenades so i played quite a few levels with a knife grenade combo or selling my bullets to the merchant.... btw bad/fun idea always keep your bullets. point is if you play minimaly you are always well equiped
@@GeminiTasiri Yup, I had to start almost from the very beginning of the game once because I got stuck in the lab with the regeneraters with no ammo on my sniper rifle that had the thermo scope. Not knowing that I'd have to conserve my sniper ammo for the upcoming section really screwed me. Other than that, it's still one of my top 3 favorite games of all time.
Dude, this is a really great review. Everything you said was very cognizant and well thought out. It was quite "Adam Sessler-esque". You've definitely earned a sub from me!
This was exactly what I needed to help me decide on whether or not I wanted to play RE:4 or The Evil Within today, thanks Derek, time to boot up that pretty HD RE4
Greatest game ever made.
It’s overrated
@@JoeMama-tl4tr That's the opinion of a weak person.
Weak.
RE4 is one of my favourite games ever. I dont know how many times I've replayed it.
Keep up the great work, Derek! Really enjoying these videos!
I played this game for the first time last year, and even when I felt the controls dated, it didn't take me too long to get used to them and overall I enjoyed the game.
I don't think this game "ruined Resident Evil", mostly because RE was already doomed before RE4, horror game sagas cannot be too long and stay good. I'm glad that RE4 exists because it influenced Dead Space in a good way and also because it was a good game in an horror saga that was already too long and that's hard to do.
Its amazing that this game still gets full physical rereleases on current consoles to this day
only in collections, though.
Once again your insight into a game hits it out of the park.
Not gonna lie, after watching this I was reminded of the hard time I had at the beginning of the game and also of how I felt as if the game was too long in my first playthrough. Good to know it wasn't just me.
RE4 is one of the few games I consider "perfect" or a "masterpiece." It just holds up way too well. One of the few games I could pick up any day any time and always have a blast. God, THIS GAME IS SO GOOD.
+Gorlokk
No the game is garbage. It was garbage in 2005, it's garbage today.
Nothing has changed. All you people want is non stop action, wouldn't want to use our brains fuck that shit, we must have constant pew,pew,pew. That is what Biohazard 4 was, a shitty action game.
CF-105 Games
You speak as though RE4 is a fast paced button mashing, non-stop action game, but it's not. I love RE4 because it is what I consider to be a slow-paced action game. What I mean is that there are a lot of 'gameplay restrictions' that you must accommodate to. Control of Leon is limited (no strafing, or moving while shooting at all), he doesn't move too fast, aiming takes time to understand, in the sense that moving your laser can be slow at times (Wii version excluded) etc.
For another example think of Castlevania for NES, another game I love because it's 'slow-paced.' Your whip has a slight delay, you get knocked back by every hit, and your jumps are committed, to name a few gameplay 'restrictions.'
And honestly, as a fan of "classic" RE games as well, none of them had actual hard puzzles, so don't try to pull the "use our brains" card because it seriously doesn't apply.
Gorlokk
You are right about the old RE games not having hard puzzles (well maybe the water puzzle in RE 3 stumped me for a little bit when I was a teenager) but at least there was more than RE4 had which was almost nothing.
RE4 is a fast passed action game. Aiming isn't that difficult nor does it take that much time. Sure you couldn't shoot while moving but it was never a issue. It was far more action orientated than previous games in the series and that was a big turn off. I wanted exploration just like the old games had. But nope that seems to be the new norm now, most games these days are just action orientated shooters because that is was is popular right. Sickens me that gaming has fallen so far. I remember when there was diversity in games, now the only place to find that diversity is in indy games as the AAA makers only want to make what sells millions of copies.
CF-105 Games
Oh stop crying about modern games and take off your damn nostalgia goggles. RE4 may have strayed from what was the norm for RE at the time but it's still a damn good action game with a very RE atmosphere. There's a reason why it's almost universally loved, and it's not just because it's an action game, because RE5 and RE6 get shit on all the time-- and for a good reason, because they couldn't pull off an action-oriented RE game that still held a RE feel in many ways.
I will definitely agree that RE4 was pretty linear for the most part, but linear doesn't make a bad game. It's also a shame that RE4 took the RE franchise in a different direction, but you should at least appreciate what RE4 does well.
And seriously? You really think the indie scene boasts innovation? Yeah, another pseudo 8-bit platformer with a central gimmick, or a 2D roguelike/rougelite.
Gorlokk
I don't have to take my nostalgia googles off. I still play my retro games and they are way better than most of the modern crap.
Games like Shatterhand, Bucky O Hair,Castlevania 3, Rondo of Blood, Splatterhouse are just some examples of good games. Most games are medicore shooing bs.
Yes, I do think most indy games are better than the AAA counterparts. Games like Stick it to the Man, Hotline Miami, Shovel Knight are far better than the overbloood junk such as MGS V The Phantom Pain, Fallout 4. Hell I have played homebrew games made for the NES,Colecovision and other retro consoles that are far superior to the crap we get feed these days.
I will gladly take the older games and newer indie games like Axiom Verge over the latest AAA piece of crap Konami,Capcom,EA,Activision throws out there.
I must have missed this. Great video! I loved Resident Evil 4. I was late to the game because after it was first released, I didn't give it a chance due to the changes that were made since I always loved the old school Resident Evil games that were more survival horror, with zombies and the fixed cameras. But when I finally played Resident Evil 4 within the last few years, I grew to really love it. It had such a great mix of horror and action. Resident Evil 4 is actually my second favorite Resident Evil behind Resident Evil 2. Well, Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Remake are almost tied as my second favorite, but I might give Resident Evil 4 the slight edge.
RE4 all time favorite since it came out. 7 is a great return to form. Remake also rocks! Cool video🤙
Played RE4 on Gamecube and loved it. Replayed the PC Remaster a year or so ago and loved it all over again. Watching this video makes me want to play it some more. :)
oh yes Resident Evil 4 you know a game is a classic when just by hearing the name you want to play it
Love the analysis of how it feels like many games shoved together. Brings to mind a famous failed attempt at such a concept: Daikatana. Similarly, Daikatana jumped around with too many unique setpieces and unique environments, but didn't let the play get used to any one point of the game. The glitches didn't help either.
Since you'd like to see some horror games moving away from action, I'd love to see what you think of Until Dawn. Just finished it and I thought it was a breath of fresh air, despite hating just about every element of gameplay it involved. That's pretty rare haha!
You ever just go to make a Resident Evil and accidentally make Devil May Cry? Couldn't be me
First time I really played RE4 was on the WII version, made the game insanely easy (to a degree) most due in part to the fact that you always knew where you were shooting.
Did I see a BluRay of Manos: The hands of fate sitting on your shelf, Derek?
I played through it again on PC recently and yes, it is still a really great game!
Resi 4 really is a special beast. Its bizarre mix of themes almost feels like something taken straight from the House of the Dead series. Hell, the whole way the game progresses really has the genetic makeup of an arcade game, a postmodern heir to the lightgun/Cabal shooter genre (though Kill.Switch and consorts are obviously closer to an actual mechanical resurrection of said genre). The sequels then tried to turn up the crazy even more, but never managed to reach that specific charm that R4 had.
I feel like the first 3-5 hours are always the most fun, I'm surprised he disliked that part so much.
I couldn't stop looking at the dancing bobble head skeleton in the background...it was hypnotizing
oh my gawd I neva noticed that before but now I cant look away! haha
Damn I didn't know RE Remake "flopped". It's probably my favorite RE game of all time. I'm playing through RE4 right now actually, the PC version, and it most certainly still holds up. All of your criticisms are valid, but like you said it's just fucking fun to play. I agree with the community, though, that RE4 and beyond took the "horror" out of survival-horror. I can't recall actually being scared while playing RE4. A little claustrophobic maybe, but never scared. Likewise with RE5, which is also really fun, albeit only while playing with a human-controlled partner (fuck CPU-controlled Sheva). I think the single most important reason the games stopped being scary is the abundance of ammunition and healing items, and the lack of impact a single enemy has.
I don't get it, the one game in the series that everyone loved most is the same game that sold poorly. If it wasn't for RE:Remake, we wouldn't be in the process of getting RE:2 Remake.
Omari Thompson it was sold only on the GameCube. That's why
tbh, the game that everyone loved most was RE4.
Daniel Zucker that can be debated it's really a tie between 2,remake and 4
Victoria Hernandez different games can't really be compared, so with the older games it's a tie between 2 and remake and for the newer games (disregarding 7) I'd say 4.
The remake is my favourite of all of the resident evil games brilliant graphics excellent additions to the original version and the fact none of the changes impacted the original in a negative way it was literally perfect I've owned it on game cube and 360 and I've gotta say its beautiful in HD
I can't help but stare at the dancing skeleton in the background whenever you talk. He's so... hypnotic.
Bayonetta 1 did okay-ish, but had infuriating one-hit-kill QTEs in cinematics that depended on a specific button prop.
But Bayonetta 2 Nailed it, reserving the QTEs for fights, and even there it's only for counter chances and finishers. It is immensively satisfying, no more bs.
I was interested in RE4 when I watched my brother play it on the Wii. So after he beat the game and I got to give it a go, I was frustrated and discouraged by the things you mention about the beginning: Leon's standing still while in combat mode, too many enemies at once and being underequipped for what should just be the introduction. But this review kind of reassures me that after that part it gets better. So I may give it another try.
Damn man.
That intro was one really Spooky Scary Skeleton!
Yes, the game has 20 hours... but the brilliant pacing makes it feel shorter than your average 10 hour campaign. Same goes for Dead Space 1 and 2. Bad examples of this are Alien Isolation and Dead Space 3.
Well, this video was made before REVII and 2 Remake came out, so no, RE4 did not kill the series, because... RE is back babyyyy!
"A complex symphony" I like that analogy for this game, perfectly suited, and can confirme the spanish thing "Detras de ti imbecil"
Although I love RE 4 I must confess I've only played the Wii version.
Same here, only played the Wii version (and it cleans up nicely running on the Wii U) Brilliant game, one of my all-time favourites.
+Alex Decourville Nothing wrong with the Wii version. The controls might be different but you get the GCN graphics upped to HD + the PS2 extras.
+Alex Decourville
Well, it *is* one of, if not the best versions of the game. The pointer-controls feel spot-on and are used appropriately and it's got the content of the PS2 version with the graphical finesse of the Gamecube version
+Alex Decourville What's wrong with that? Aside from the game not being in HD, that's the best version, especially in terms of control.
I dunno if you read these comments, but I absolutely love this series! Sometimes its nice to be reminded why a game is so popular and influential.
Cool video. :)
I like to disagree on RE4 being the first game with over the shoulder camera. It may be the first with over the shoulder *lock* camera but the first 3rd person action game that did not put the protagonist in the dead center of the screen was Max Payne in 2001. And it was considered a novum back in the day that was mentioned in most reviews. Max Payne had over the shoulder camera. RE4 added the camera zoom-lock. Gears of war added the trajectory for thrown weapons that RE did not yet have ...
I'd like to think that mechanics like this don't usually have a single defined origin but more of an evolution with every developer adding their own twist to a formula that proves to be good.
That editing at the start. BIIIOTIFUL
"Resident Evil 4: Set Piece Insanity" XD
I am rewatching you videos and just noticed that forest spirit near D and freaked out for a second LMAO damn it!
Can we stop pretending Shenmue invented quick time events? Die Hard Arcade had quick time events and that came out four years before Shenmue.
and technically QTE's started with the so-called "interactive movies" with games like Time Gal and, of course, Dragon's Lair.
Shenmue is boring asf too
Your best video yet Derek ! Keep up the good work.
It ruined Leon as a character somewhat. If it was Chris or someone else more action-y from the RE series it would have been more bearable. Leon, like Barry and Jill are far more suited for horror and puzzle so it's kind of insulting to see Leon go "ah trained for 3 years, now I'm Dante Ver.0.5 so I can do kung-fu with Ada". Leon should have kept it to magnums, small guns with one shotgun as his heavy weapon and knives.
If anything ruined the franchise, it was Revelations basically being "slightly more puzzley and episodic RE4" instead of being a side-game that was Resident Evil with better and tighter controls, like Onimusha was. People really wanted that hand painted background and close camera angles or at least something closer to the first prototype of RE4 shown to be availiable in the franchise as well.
Re4 is one of the best games ever made and Sonic Adventure is too, so glad you used that outro song ;)
This is a game I don't think I'll ever get tired of, and I played this game many times on two different Nintendo consoles (played the original on my brother's GameCube but I own the Wii edition) and the Ultimate HD Edition on Steam. You're also dead on about Ashley, I hardly found her a nuisance during my playthroughs.
Damn. I really need to keep up with his uploads! your still good at reviewing! happy video game nerd 😄✋🎮
I always felt like I really missed out on this one. I had it when I was younger, just after it came out, and I just couldn't wrap my thumbs around the control scheme. It was so clunky that I don't think I ever even made it past the first village section, I lost count of how often that chainsaw dude took my head off. But perhaps I ought to revisit it to see if I can work through it.
Everything was so thought out to bring up, great video dude
Very enjoyable as per usual Derek. Thanks mate
Some of the things you pointed out reminded me of your Startropics review. How the limiting controls work when the levels and enemies are designed around them.
RE4 is one of our favorites. Funny to see the games that came after. Woukd have to say it's more a fault of bad game design by capcom than 4 ruining the franchise
Great video as always!
I love re 4 it was my first shooter game on the ps2 it was awesome I got it when ps2 was still out by far the best re game out there it was a classic and when I'm down I get home and slide the Xbox 360 version of the game and play like I was 8 years old and to rate it10/10 in my best classic games of all time!!!!
The suffering was awesome, just cos a hotdogs not a steak dinner doesnt mean you can shit on it.
I love this as a game, I hate it as a Resident Evil.
Its the only way I can explain how I feel about it.
I hate that argument with a passion. I can name loads of games in series that don't play like the original and fans have nothing but praise for.
Wasn't an argument, its just my feelings on it. Personally don't care what other people feel about RE4
+avatarofcloud if it's a good game then it's a good game. if it's a bad game then it's a bad game. pick one or the other.
+avatarofcloud why is it that some mouthbreathers enjoy making me fuck them up? I discuss things rather civilly and try to help them improve. and what do I get in return: Ad-hominem. I apologize, my "dictonomy" is more suited for people with an IQ over 10 or people who aren't easily triggered bitches. carry on with your moronic views.
Wow that escalated quickly...
Just stumbled on your channel, you're making great videos! Keep it up!
Wait, why is the fact that the developers put tons of effort into even short, insignificant sections a negative? That's polish. Polish is good.
so much of re4 reminds me of enemies/bosses/areas in dark souls 1
Still one of my favorite game's of all time.
Great video Derek! Happy Halloween!
A lot of fans agree that the opening is actually the strongest part of the game. Hell the entire first 7 hours are masterful.
I was thinking "What?" when Derrick said RE4 is a classic but it shouldn't be, but after he pointed how much was thrown in I thought "Wow, I see what he's saying. Man, he's right! There is way to much going on in this game!"
i disagree when you said under equiped , weak guns ?? you were supposed to search for someone that's why u only had a pistol Leon didn't know he's gonna fight a village of crazy bastards plus that's what makes it such a good horror game cus u have low Ammunition and not so strong weapons which makes the chances of death really high what do u want shit tons of machine guns when you're only searching for someone ? , btw great review I really liked and enjoyed it keep it up
What a way to end halloween, MAY THE SKELETONS NEVER REST ITS HALLOWEEN
That little fellar shaking on the shelf had me hypnotized!
Love all your info in your videos Derek :) And damn your dancing ghost/skeleton infront of the "D" box is adorible ^^ (Y)
Looking forward for your next video! : ) Keep up the good work!
awesome video man ur so good to reviewing videogames many love from greece
RE4 is easily one of my favorite games of all time. I beat it when I was 13 years old on PS2.
Great video and also I find The comment section in here interesting for people seem to have varying opinions about the game and it's nice to read them for they are detailed explanations.
if you want to know the full behind the scenes story as dude said play the evil within all the archives in that game allude to shinji makami's feelings of the resident evil series because they give dates in these archives that are very close to the development times of RE 4 and 5 and maybe 6
RE4 and Gears of War 2.
Amazing, unforgettable games with tons of awesome set pieces. Both very much 'Action' games with SOME elements of horror.
This is my like, third favourite game of all time. Every criticism you have is valid, but it's just a fantastic game. I first played it when I was in Grade 8 and have played it regularly to this day, 11 years.
I always got the impression that Killer7 was another game that spawned from the attempts to rework the RE series into something more modern and marketable for RE4. If you look at the core mechanics and ideas, they're pretty similar, with fixed camera angles, a horrific aesthetic, really similar/simple puzzle design and open areas to explore, an aim button that locks you in place, a quick-turn button, hordes of zombie-esque enemies, etc. Enemies have weakpoints too, which was an idea first implemented in Resident Evil through RE4. The weakpoints are even on the same parts of the body, lol.
I can easily see Killer7 and its on-rails design as an earlier compromise Capcom thought might work to quicken the pace of the RE games, while things like the first-person aiming button were maybe designed to appeal to a western demographic (before they thought up the over the shoulder design). Then once they decided to rework it more into the design we see today, Killer7 was given its own identity. Heck, the Killer 7 weapon in RE4 is a reference to KAEDE Smith's pistol, Leon uses Dan Smith's running animation when holding the Handcannon, and Shinji Mikami even co-wrote and was the Executive Producer on Killer7. I dunno, it all just seems to fit too well.
i love resident evil 4, i went out and bought a ps2 for it after playing it at a friends a daily earlier. also later bought it for wii and xbox360. biggest problem with going back to this game is the controls. anyone who plays a 3rd person shooter knows you usually walk and move with the left joystick and aim/ look with the right joy stick, re4 does everything with the left joystick, so hard to get used to. so you walk around with the left stick and aim with the left stick. tried playing it a week ago and just could get used to it again
RE4 is possibly the RE game that I spent the most time with past 1. I have tried to go back and play it, but I just can't bear to play through it again as The world falls apart and I have a break between the strange things that are happening and the realistic and serious looks of it.
I do love to watch other people play it, and I am the same way with most Silent Hill games.
of course RE4 holds up today. the most reported game out there right now. and every new report adds something new. I still find something new or something I didn't notice before everytime I play thru a campaign. RE4 is definitely in my top 10 games of all time
God I love this game’s gunplay
Love your videos man keep it up!
Greatest game of all time
Forever 😄
That outtake at the end is gold xD
This game still scares the whit out of me. I remember picking this up on the GC after blowing off a tour of the university I ended up graduating from.
Resi 4 is a different kind of scary. The best way I can describe it is when there's downtime, you're just cruising along, exploring when L+R suddenly start flashing, you scream "Oh Shit!" Narrowly dodging a boulder, then immediately getting swarmed by 35 villagers and 2 chainsaw guys, then realizing how fucked you are because dont have nearly enough ammo to take them on because you didn't watch your ammo.
Its a hostile game that forces you to fear for your life. You have to be alert and on your toes at all times in order to survive.
Its an "Oh Shit!" Game
Has anyone here played Headhunter for the Dreamcast/PS2? It's a Resident Evil clone with hints of Syphon Filter (you even have to complete Metar Gear-style VR missions), an urban setting and shooter elements. It's pretty good and does have a version of the over the shoulder camera too. Also, a fantastic soundtrack.
wow, someone who understand this game and know history behind it. rare thing this days. its still my favorite video game of all time.