Alright, personal context for my review, I LOVE Resident Evil. It's my jam. I'll play whatever ridiculous mainline title they throw at us. I don't care. But, I have my preferences and biases. The original, fixed-camera, tank-controls will always be my favorites. And, to further my point, I've always loved horror movies that are just clearly bad films. Awful acting, terrible special effects, ridiculous killers or monsters. That's the height of cinema for me. And those are the original Resident Evil games up and down, through and through.

Resident Evil 4 has always stood out like a sore thumb to me. As it should. It was groundbreaking; it's an objective classic; it was the shock-to-the-chest the series needed for people, other than the diehards, to be interested. But, not so much for me. I recognize the series could have gone under without it. It's a fantastic game, but it was such a pivot from what I knew and loved that it broke my heart a little. I don't even have many complaints about the game itself other than, "this isn't really what I wanted, but thank you". But, it worked.

I watched some of Crowbcat's Youtube video comparing the OG and the Remake. I like the guy, but it seems he has a vested interest in tearing down newer games, often deservedly so, in favor of nostalgia while ignoring antiquated mechanics and QoL improvements. But, his video pointed out to me just how amazing the art direction of the original is. It's picturesque. Every frame looks like it could be a postcard. Working within the Gamecubes limitations and not having prerendered backgrounds to lean on must have been such a battle. But they did SO much with so little. While not overflowing with minute details like the newer titles, they opted for gorgeous composition of their set pieces and it makes the game infinitely more memorable. Every tree branch and lightning flash seems meticulously placed. Every grotesquerie is painted amongst its setting in stark contrast to an otherwise peaceful village. It all just stands out so easily. Not only that, but the music, the ambient background sounds, the sfx, the characters (down to the most insignificant villager "UN FORASTERO"), the locales: they are all amazing and burned into my brain in the best way. It all works with the perspective change, the new maneuverability, the absence of lock-on aiming, and the action. And here is where my personal gripes begin.

I never wanted "more action" out of an RE game. I never minded the interconnected item boxes or expendable ink ribbons or unpredictable angle changes or the desperate search for another box of ammo hidden away in the environment. I always loved the horror, the tension, the slow and purposeful gameplay and the obtuse puzzle-solving. It always gave me the feeling that I was in a horrible place where I didn't belong and I was not safe and I needed to escape immediately. I like being scared to death by media and it seemed like all that went away as soon as 4 came out. And I have never stopped resenting it for that reason. The new direction of the series put me off of it for years. I kinda hate 5 and everyone hates 6. And 7 and Village don't do much for me either.

Not only did I lose the gameplay that I liked, I lost the tone and setting as well. I mentioned awful horror movies earlier. If you're a fan of B-movies like I am, you know there is a HUGE difference between a movie that is not aware it's bad and trying hard to be really good, like The Room, opposed to something like, Cocaine Bear. A movie that KNOWS it's fucking stupid and leans into that, but loses everything endearing about it with its self-awareness. Now there are cues for laughter and any custom fun I can make with my friends is gone. There will never again be a RE1 Barry Burton or RE2 Robert Kendo. It'll always be a Salazar or whatever the fish guys name is from Village. "We know this is ludicrous, that's funny, right?" Ugh, I guess.

The game holds up to this day, except the dumb QTEs plaguing every bit of gameplay. There's a million admirable qualities about it, but it was a death knell for something I loved. You took a man with a polygon'd face, bizarre hand-gestures, and inexplicable speech cadence and put a pillow over his mouth and suffocated him in front of me to rousing applause. Yeah, it was a good show, but something unique died and I miss it terribly.

If you've never played RE4, ignore my self-pitying whining and go love it. Be free, little bird. You would probably find the ones I love unplayable and boring and I accept that.

Mesmo sendo obcecado pela fórmula dos REs antigos, esse jogo me agradou pra um caramba, quem não gosta de sair estourando zumbi desgraçado na bicuda e na bala? Algo que só foi possível justamente com esse jogo. Pra mim ele inovou a franquia trazendo mais diversão e tirando um pouco do foco em só Survival horror, que hoje nem chega a ser mais à identidade da franquia. Uma coisa que eu amo sem dúvidas são as armas, o modo de progressão que nos possibilita juntar o máximo de dinheiro possível pra testar cada uma das armas liberadas conforme avançamos, só fica ainda melhor com a maravilhosa programação desse game, que torna cada bala, muito satisfatória. Entretanto acho meio sem sentido até pra época algumas fazes desconexas e o enredo que até parece inacabado, mesmo assim não o torna uma experiência ruim de jogar, trazendo mais pessoas a conhecer mais jogos dessa franquia.

This just slaps so hard dude - absolutely love how it unravels in scope while still being so contained and effectively simple in its mechanics throughout.

Everything it influenced from the over-the-shoulder action to the inventory management still seems so fresh and the gameplay feels tight in all the right ways with moments of shifting creativity that only add to the enthralling stress of it all.

The village was super impressive with its immediate relentlessness (and has the best fight with Mendez), however, the castle was where the game truly shined at its best for me - just so memorable in its set-piece design (the water levels!!) and cult-like atmosphere. The Island was a fitting way to conclude the game too, stacked with killer bosses throughout and overflowing with urgency. I'm also a sucker for mutation/scientific alteration in video games (just look at my favorites) and that regenerator section with its bodies was just top-tier horror.

So satisfied with this and I can't wait to try the remake when I find more time, an amazing introduction to a series I've been meaning to check for ages.

Also riot gun best gun 💪💪

Playing this game was a one in a lifetime experience, and it’s one I will never forget…

I remember when it first came out, seeing the absolutely insane reaction in every magazine, review show, and game store, everyone was talking about it.

I myself always wanted the chainsaw controller edition that released later on.

However, I never really got to play it.

All I could do was, watch all the images, read all the walkthroughs, and watch as many videos as I could find.

It wasn’t up until I was already a working adult, that I was able to buy my own GameCube, and a copy of this game.

And boy oh boy, was the experience exhilarating…

Just entering the game for the first time, watching the classic, gritty textures, and listening to the desolate ambiance was already thrilling, but then you’re welcomed by the most anxiety inducing opening level in any game, fighting off dozens of plagas AND the chainsaw dude, safe to say, I was already sold on it, but as the experience kept going, it kept getting better and better for the most part.

By the end you do see a few levels that were a bit too much, and just the level of insanity that the story has, but for some unknown reason, it all works out perfectly together in the end.

This is perhaps one of my most replayed games ever as well, and the one I own the most I think, coming down to Cube, IOS, Xbox 360, PS4, PC and now the remake.

While not perfect when fully analyzing every level and mechanic in detail, it definitely works all together as one of the most epic and memorable Survival Horror Action experiences out there.