Resident Evil 4's legacy is one that can't be fairly put into words, it functionally invented a genre, rose its franchise to legend status, and became the game to be for many, many years. following the announcement of its recently released remake, it became the focal point of a heated debate about whether or not we should attempt to recreate greatness. this is why i chose to sit down and fully complete the game, and, while i can't downplay how much of a masterpiece it is, it's one with many, many cracks.

the whole first half is incredible. controls are snappy, gunning down ganados through the village is incredibly satisfying, pushing your way through waves of cultists in the castle is consistently fun, but near the tail end of the castle, things take a noticeable turn. the fight with salazar was a slog, the first few areas of the island are full of bullet sponges and insanely high damage enemies, and it all just becomes repetitive and boring quick. the final boss against saddler is disappointingly short and easy, and the game ends on a pretty sour note. i adored my time with Resident Evil 4 overall, but at the end of the day, sometimes, masterpieces are far from perfect.