dscross said:
the crux of my point is only the fact that many dedicated fans of the originals didn't enjoy the new style of gameplay they went for because it's a completely different style to what they like. That's it.
Actually RE4 went into more of an action direction b/c of poor sales of RE Remake(which could probably also be contributed to it being a Gamecube exclusive but still, this wasn't a problem for RE4). Ironically, RE Remake was one of the biggest sellers on PSN so that might have contributed to RE7's 'oldschool' horror focus.
Point is that by the time RE4 came out Capcom had done every possible combination with pre-rendered backgrounds, obtuse puzzles and tank controls you can think of. Even introducing dinosaurs and ridiculous shit like that. RE4 changed the series focus and was better for it. It provided a new experience with much more timeless gameplay than any other game in the series(I loved RE7 but that is also a game I see age quickly). Let alone replay value. The other games have little replay value but I can't even count the amount of times I replayed RE4. RE4 also had this intangible atmosphere that made it still feel very much like a RE game to me unlike RE5 with roided beefcake Chris or RE6 with it's weird Call of Doodle influences and shite partner system.
What RE4 did was simply toss out all the boring stuff that really wasn't fun anymore after so many of the same game while introducing new gameplay that remains remarkable timeless and cements RE4 as one of the best games of all time for me. Some people never want to change anything, like, they would probably prefer to still travel by horse or something, but sometimes change is good.