Resident Evil 4 (REmake)

Casual Shinji

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Even stranger (heh) as nobody apart from Luis and The Merchant gave a terribly great performance. I saw them complaining about it on Castle Super Beast, too, and really she's barely any worse than the actress who played her in RE2 Remake. Both Leon's, Krauser's, and Sadler's performances were equally bland and pale in comparison to the original voices.
 

BrawlMan

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Even stranger (heh) as nobody apart from Luis and The Merchant gave a terribly great performance. I saw them complaining about it on Castle Super Beast, too, and really she's barely any worse than the actress who played her in RE2 Remake. Both Leon's, Krauser's, and Sadler's performances were equally bland and pale in comparison to the original voices.
I disagree. Everyone did an phenomenal job. It sucks they switched Ada's voice actor again, but she did her job. I didn't find any of them to be "bland" compared to the originals. There either similar, but different or somewhat unique takes on the characters.

This harassment is bullshit of one of the highest caliber. I know some people don't like Ada's performance in RE4Remake, but it ain't worth harassing the actual actress over. I think Gao did a fine job, and she's supposed to mostly cold and distant in this one. Ada's doing a job she doesn't exactly doesn't like, because Wesker is footing the bill, and Leon remains distant from her from what happened in RE2Remake. Even then, she does care for Leon and helps him out, despite his cold rebuffs and later thanks her. Nothing against the actress in og RE4 (she did her job too), but they turned Ada into Trish, and Ada sounds like a flirty Bond girl. Like I said before, Ada has not had consistent characterization or character development since OG RE2. RE2 Remake and RE4 Remake is the most consistent characterizations she's gotten in a long time, and this actually works. I stand by that. Shinji Mikami for years stated how shitty story was and how he handled the characters. So even regrets what he did.
 

Drathnoxis

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I disagree. Everyone did an phenomenal job. It sucks they switched Ada's voice actor again, but she did her job. I didn't find any of them to be "bland" compared to the originals. There either similar, but different or somewhat unique takes on the characters.

This harassment is bullshit of one of the highest caliber. I know some people don't like Ada's performance in RE4Remake, but it ain't worth harassing the actual actress over. I think Gao did a fine job, and she's supposed to mostly cold and distant in this one. Ada's doing a job she doesn't exactly doesn't like, because Wesker is footing the bill, and Leon remains distant from her from what happened in RE2Remake. Even then, she does care for Leon and helps him out, despite his cold rebuffs and later thanks her. Nothing against the actress in og RE4 (she did her job too), but they turned Ada into Trish, and Ada sounds like a flirty Bond girl. Like I said before, Ada has not had consistent characterization or character development since OG RE2. RE2 Remake and RE4 Remake is the most consistent characterizations she's gotten in a long time, and this actually works. I stand by that. Shinji Mikami for years stated how shitty story was and how he handled the characters. So even regrets what he did.
Look, if people don't want to be harassed, they should just do things perfectly the way that I want them to. It's simple.
 

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Look, if people don't want to be harassed, they should just do things perfectly the way that I want them to. It's simple.
I just find it ironic that there are "RE fans" complaining and harassing a person, because of their supposed bad voice acting. When bad or narmy vocal performance has been in the franchise since day 1. This is usually where the "it's part of the charm" defense fans come in. Even if I didn't like Gao's performance, there was way worse voice acting in RE1, Gun Survivor, and Dead Aim. Still wouldn't warrant acting like spoiled assholes. Or they just that pissed off that an actor from Welcome to Raccoon City was hired by Capcom to do her fucking job? Get the fuck over yourselves you little dingleberries.
 

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A hilarious thing I realized is that Sebastian from both Evil Within games (more so 2) moves faster than Leon. Despite Sebastian being older than Leon. Not to say Sebastian doesn't have his own form of sluggishness, but he moves way quicker than Leon. To make up for this, Sebastian does have a meter that can be upgraded. That said, if you empty it out, it takes a second for it to go back and he has to take a breath.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Near the end of the island section.
So what I got so far is this: the village is a near 1:1 adaptation (no second optional Gigante and no lift area, that's about it) and the castle gets creative in merging, tweaking and reordering all the different areas, set-pieces and enemy encounters (while also forgoing even more parts: no lava room, no spiked ceiling room(s), no mincer room, no Garrador cage match, no robot chase).

And that's fine, I get why they cut some parts for being too random or too ridiculous. Most of these are just "moments" anyway, memorable but not necessary. But maybe these moments were memorable precisely because of how unnecessary they were. The game doesn't need to suddenly transform into Bowser's castle or Mad Max's Thunderdome or have a giant robot come to life and chase you to the next set-piece. It also doesn't need the laser room in the island, or a boss fight against a thing that's never referenced before or after (ironically the U-3 gets more of a buildup in the remake, despite not appearing, by being mentioned in a document in the castle). But the original just kept throwing these things at you, and went along beautifully with the game's philosophy of sudden wild escalation and Leon's over the top, show-off character. Now Remake Leon pouts and protests through the more outlandish bits they decided to keep (eg. the minecart ride) where OG Leon wouldn't even question them.

The game's not ruined for me or anything (it's great! GOTY so far), but forget the all very nice and modern quality of life improvements (stealth takedowns, weapon shortcuts, no QTE cutscenes, etc): from a design perspective what's the point of "the same, but less"? Also your character is slower, your escort is more unruly and your knives and armor need constant maintenance?
 

Casual Shinji

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Near the end of the island section.
So what I got so far is this: the village is a near 1:1 adaptation (no second optional Gigante and no lift area, that's about it) and the castle gets creative in merging, tweaking and reordering all the different areas, set-pieces and enemy encounters (while also forgoing even more parts: no lava room, no spiked ceiling room(s), no mincer room, no Garrador cage match, no robot chase).

And that's fine, I get why they cut some parts for being too random or too ridiculous. Most of these are just "moments" anyway, memorable but not necessary. But maybe these moments were memorable precisely because of how unnecessary they were. The game doesn't need to suddenly transform into Bowser's castle or Mad Max's Thunderdome or have a giant robot come to life and chase you to the next set-piece. It also doesn't need the laser room in the island, or a boss fight against a thing that's never referenced before or after (ironically the U-3 gets more of a buildup in the remake, despite not appearing, by being mentioned in a document in the castle). But the original just kept throwing these things at you, and went along beautifully with the game's philosophy of sudden wild escalation and Leon's over the top, show-off character. Now Remake Leon pouts and protests through the more outlandish bits they decided to keep (eg. the minecart ride) where OG Leon wouldn't even question them.

The game's not ruined for me or anything (it's great! GOTY so far), but forget the all very nice and modern quality of life improvements (stealth takedowns, weapon shortcuts, no QTE cutscenes, etc): from a design perspective what's the point of "the same, but less"? Also your character is slower, your escort is more unruly and your knives and armor need constant maintenance?
Even if the aiming was as good as the original, and the combat wasn't as sloppy as it is, I'd still consider this remake fine at best. Other than the ability to strafe and quick-select weapons, I don't see anything that really improved, and other than the parry system, there's isn't anything that stands out as something new. Even graphically, while obviously vastly superior technically, it comes at the cost of the clean and easy to read visuals of the original.
 

CriticalGaming

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The more I hear about this game. The less I remember about the original and the more I wanna play the Remake.
 
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from a design perspective what's the point of "the same, but less"?
It's called adaption distillation. They cut out the fluff that doesn't work or is just senseless padding, and made the level design airtight. I love the flow and structure of this game so much more. Like I mentioned before, the only problem is that the side quests can be too repetitive. It's either blue medallions, kill some rats, or kill a beefy enemy. At least the third option mixes it up each time you're doing it.
Even if the aiming was as good as the original, and the combat wasn't as sloppy as it is, I'd still consider this remake fine at best. Other than the ability to strafe and quick-select weapons, I don't see anything that really improved, and other than the parry system, there's isn't anything that stands out as something new. Even graphically, while obviously vastly superior technically, it comes at the cost of the clean and easy to read visuals of the original.
Also your character is slower, your escort is more unruly and your knives and armor need constant maintenance?
The knife is powerful enough as it is. The weapon degradation is obviously a balance. I'm not the biggest fan of this type of gameplay system either, but once you get your knife at max upgrade, or if you decide to upgrade Krauser's,it barely becomes an issue. The body armor I would have preferred that you just take reduced damage and not have to do a maintenance on. Like they did in the original and RE5. I know it is, but I rarely had troubles getting Ashley to safety, nor protecting her. There were a couple of goose, but nothing that happened in the middle of the fights. She only got stuck on the door one time, and that was when enemies weren't around. She was immediately able to get herself out of it. I do know it was awkward parsley my first time through, they didn't take long to get used to the mechanics. I do say the beginning castle section really stresses this and points out the flaws, but once you know where the enemies are in that section memorize where they launch the catapults, it gets easier. Besides, there are sections where you can hide Ashley. Maybe is not as many as there used to be, but you can least still put her in lockers. And the best part is that she won't come out until the battle is actually over. So you don't even have to command her to come out when you finish it.
 

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Resident Evil 4 Remake is better than the original RE4. Also, this is the most consistent Ada has ever been in an RE game now. Yeah, I said it.

I know the Remake can't replace the original for many and I agree to an extent, but I don't have much love nor admiration for the original game. I have even less patience for RE4 now than I even did back then. For me at least, the remake downright replaces the original. The Remake cut out all the unnecessary fat and padding that plauged the original release. Removing the insta-death death ☠ qtes is a godsend, as I really have no patience for QTEs anymore. Outside of finishing action moves when an enemies already stunned or near death.
 

FakeSympathy

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Just reached the island on my first playthough, on hardcore!

Overall, I'd say my experience so far has been really solid. Remakes always have this challenge of revamping the original gameplay to modern style vs not straying too far off from the original games. And luckily, this remake seems to walk that fine line in-between.

The village portion was great. It's just as atmospheric as I remembered, and I felt a great sense of dread of being on a foreign land. Constantly switching weapons from situational scenarios or simply running low on ammo was great, as it forced me to change my playstyle. Traveling across the lake to find all the treasures and complete merchant challenges was great.

The castle part was where I felt the game got difficult, simply because I felt they kept throwing as many enemies as possible. The priests that forces plagas to come out was really annoying, because everytime they do their "call", Leon would get stunned while non-plaga enemies close in quickly and get free hits. Thank god for the flashbangs, but I feel I was forced to use resources to craft those and not being able to craft ammo for my other guns. And don't even get me started on the bugs. Still, the castle was fun to explore, with the creepy yet beautifully designed areas made me wanna explore every corner.

Most of the boss fights have been great. Krauser fight #1 is pretty damn good, not only for revamping from the old QTE section, but for revealing more of his character. The fights against Menendez and Salazar were great. Their plaga designs were freaky back then, and its still freaky today, now with the updated graphics and visuals. The twin giante boss fight didn't feel that great, because they still had their old movesets and behaviors, and all I had to do was to get them in the middle to drop them in the inferno.

Spiel trading at first I thought there weren't enough rewards, but I realized how rare the spiels are, so it's only appropriate to have not have too much stuff to buy with. I'm supposed to be more thoughtful with these trades. Although some rewards like treasure maps, weapons, and attachments definitely stood out more compare to the likes of attachment cases and gems.

One of the complaints I have is the inability to buy ammo. I know this was done for balancing purposes, and you are supposed to craft them using gun powders and resources, but they aren't always a guaranteed drops and sometimes it feels unfair for them to not show up when I need the most. Instead, I get money drops which again drops an insulting amount per drop, and I am left with nothing to defend myself with. The merchant does sell resources, but I still need to go find more gunpowders to get ammo. IDK man, I feel like the crafting materials should've dropped more or the ammo be purchasable.

Another thing is I wish the game could've given me a bit of warning on point of no returns, as I missed out on so many treasures. I missed one of the challenges in the village section as well, and lost the chance for 8 spinels, which would've been very helpful. Maybe it is on me for not being aware enough or not remembering everything from the original game, but goddamn, as somewhat of a completionist this annoyed me.

Ashley's new mechanics left me scratching my head. She's great at reaching higher ledges and getting through tight spaces to open doors, but those are more or less situational. She's invulnerable to my gun damage (I think?) but still can be killed when I throw a grenade near her? I do wish there were more hiding spots for her, or at least they kept the stay and follow command. At least her voice isn't as annoying as the original.

I'm guessing my first playthrough will end around 16-18 hours mark, which is perfect for me
 
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She's invulnerable to my gun damage
No she is not. I've accidentally shot her twice.

Another thing is I wish the game could've given me a bit of warning on point of no returns,
The merchant does if you bothers interact with them. He will give you a reminder to pick up any valuables you missed, before going to the point of no return for each section.
 

Casual Shinji

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One other thing... Capcom, stop highlighting auto-saves, it only spoils that something important is going to happen.
 
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Johnny Novgorod

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Even if the aiming was as good as the original, and the combat wasn't as sloppy as it is, I'd still consider this remake fine at best. Other than the ability to strafe and quick-select weapons, I don't see anything that really improved, and other than the parry system, there's isn't anything that stands out as something new. Even graphically, while obviously vastly superior technically, it comes at the cost of the clean and easy to read visuals of the original.
Speaking of the aiming, I really don't like the delay between pulling out a gun and being able to pull the trigger. I swear it was faster in the original, even after going to the inventory and back.

Another QoL upgrade: storing weapons at the typewriter, even remotely, is pretty handy.
 

Casual Shinji

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Speaking of the aiming, I really don't like the delay between pulling out a gun and being able to pull the trigger. I swear it was faster in the original, even after going to the inventory and back.
In the original it was instant, no draw animation. I don't mind the gun switching in the remake, but I do find that the quick-select can get a bit confused by my inputs if I try to quickly pull out the gun I just put away.

Another QoL upgrade: storing weapons at the typewriter, even remotely, is pretty handy.
You can also store first aid sprays, which feels a bit like cheating. I never bought any of the special attache cases either with spinels for the same reason. I might if I ever try to attempt Hardcore mode again, because honestly the game cheats as well.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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One of the complaints I have is the inability to buy ammo. I know this was done for balancing purposes, and you are supposed to craft them using gun powders and resources, but they aren't always a guaranteed drops and sometimes it feels unfair for them to not show up when I need the most. Instead, I get money drops which again drops an insulting amount per drop, and I am left with nothing to defend myself with. The merchant does sell resources, but I still need to go find more gunpowders to get ammo. IDK man, I feel like the crafting materials should've dropped more or the ammo be purchasable.
I felt that too. You couldn't buy ammo in the original but your weapons would fill up whenever increasing ammo capacity at the Merchant's, which not only was super useful but added (for me anyway) a nice game of "no reloading" whenever a Merchant was close by. That provided like 90% of Magnum ammo in the whole game too.

You can equip charms to increase resource drops by trading spinels, but I don't know if that's just for "resources" or applies to gunpowder as well. Personally I used the preorder money booster charm, and still felt short even towards the end of the game. The knife, even fully upgraded and with a 30% off repairs charm, and vest become constant money pits.

Another thing is I wish the game could've given me a bit of warning on point of no returns, as I missed out on so many treasures. I missed one of the challenges in the village section as well, and lost the chance for 8 spinels, which would've been very helpful. Maybe it is on me for not being aware enough or not remembering everything from the original game, but goddamn, as somewhat of a completionist this annoyed me.
As a completionist I found both the village and castle areas fairly easy to traverse. The cabin fight with Luis and the clocktower are the cut offs, I believe you can do anything and go anywhere until then. The island on the other hand appears to have several cut off points.

If this is about trophies you can still reload an early save and do a request. You obviously won't get the spinels in your most recent save but game keeps track of requests across all saves. I missed out request #18 and only found out after turning in #19 past the point of no return; reloaded an early save and the trophy popped when I completed it.

Ashley's new mechanics left me scratching my head. She's great at reaching higher ledges and getting through tight spaces to open doors, but those are more or less situational. She's invulnerable to my gun damage (I think?) but still can be killed when I throw a grenade near her? I do wish there were more hiding spots for her, or at least they kept the stay and follow command. At least her voice isn't as annoying as the original.
I agree, wish there were more hiding spots. But it's not really a case of old vs new; as I recall the original only has one more hiding spot than the new one (the farm, just before the cabin fight). After that there's only one dumpster in the Bella Sisters area and another in the Regenerador section. Actually the remake features two hiding spots in this section, so that makes them even.

There're a couple of bits in the island where the game basically forces Ashley to be kidnapped while holding a door or bridge in place while Leon's far and away, and I'm not super fond of that.