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Let's face it, RE4 was a massive mistake.

poodaddy

Member
Oh yeah? Oh yeah?!? Well, well uh......your face is a massive mistake! So what now huh?!




RE4 is one of my favorite games of all time but I kind of get what you're saying as it spawned the complete trash that is 5 and 6, so I'm conflicted. I'll always adore RE4 though, so I just can't really abide calling it a massive mistake, though I definitely agree that it took the series in a direction that I only liked for very literally one game.
 
Going to third person was trash. RE4 turned the franchise into an action game for the next number of installments and they got progressively worse. Leading upto the cluster fuck that was RE6. Those design choices were all rooted in from the success of RE4.

Even RE3 remake while flawed was still better than RE4 as an RE installment.

Want proof? Compare how critically acclaimed RE2 remake and RE7 were. Even Remake went back to it's roots which every RE4 fan were suddenly making it out as the second coming and RE7 was a new step into exploring the psychological horror of the genre. Which what RE is meant to be by the way.... HORROR.

So yeah screw RE4. Good riddance to that history of Resident Evil.

Edit: Was RE4 a fun action game? Sure. Was it a good RE game? No way in hell.

THIS is what RE4 was meant to be before the design change. Biohazard 3.5:



Whoah, whoah, whoah!
BACK UP!
HonoredHighlevelKiskadee-size_restricted.gif



I understand things are crazy right now with pre-order madness, but there's no need to abandon all logic and throw your lithium out the window.

Also, the RE2 remake is more RE4 than it is the original RE2.
 

CuNi

Member
I enjoyed RE4 the most out of all RE games so far. Dunno why.
I feel like they should do 2 RE-Series, one more horror oriented like 7 and probably 8 and one more action oriented like 4 (but not like 5 and 6!!!)

So no, ur wrong.
 

NT80

Member
Going to third person was trash. RE4 turned the franchise into an action game for the next number of installments and they got progressively worse. Leading upto the cluster fuck that was RE6. Those design choices were all rooted in from the success of RE4.

Even RE3 remake while flawed was still better than RE4 as an RE installment.

Want proof? Compare how critically acclaimed RE2 remake and RE7 were. Even Remake went back to it's roots which every RE4 fan were suddenly making it out as the second coming and RE7 was a new step into exploring the psychological horror of the genre. Which what RE is meant to be by the way.... HORROR.

So yeah screw RE4. Good riddance to that history of Resident Evil.

Edit: Was RE4 a fun action game? Sure. Was it a good RE game? No way in hell.

THIS is what RE4 was meant to be before the design change. Biohazard 3.5:



I really liked RE4 but the change from that haunted mansion version of the game to what it eventually became was really disappointing at the time. I still want to play a full version of that game. It looked so atmospheric and spooky and the graphics for the time were incredible.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
Resident Evil decides what Resident Evil is. RE4 is just as much a RE title as 2 or 6 or 8.

That said, RE4 has more in common with the older titles than it does with the newer ones. Fantastic game.
 

Audiophile

Gold Member
It's an excellent game, was appropriate for the times and tried something new for the series.

It did however lack the raw atmosphere of the originals, even the great remakes of RE2/RE3 can't quite capture the magic of the originals; and a big part of it is the restricted nature of the camera (and the vignetted door/stair animations). But, if they released any new games with the old camera, I wouldn't play it now because it's a pain in the arse despite the oodles of atmosphere it provides. They were games of their time and should stay there in all but remasters/remakes.

RE is a series with distinct eras: fixed-cam, third person action and right now we're in the first person & VR era + the slower paced third person remake era. Newer games will have to move forward and continue to reinvent themselves
 
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Nickolaidas

Member
Going to third person was trash. RE4 turned the franchise into an action game for the next number of installments and they got progressively worse. Leading upto the cluster fuck that was RE6. Those design choices were all rooted in from the success of RE4.

Even RE3 remake while flawed was still better than RE4 as an RE installment.

Want proof? Compare how critically acclaimed RE2 remake and RE7 were. Even Remake went back to it's roots which every RE4 fan were suddenly making it out as the second coming and RE7 was a new step into exploring the psychological horror of the genre. Which what RE is meant to be by the way.... HORROR.

So yeah screw RE4. Good riddance to that history of Resident Evil.

Edit: Was RE4 a fun action game? Sure. Was it a good RE game? No way in hell.

THIS is what RE4 was meant to be before the design change. Biohazard 3.5:


I agree with some of the things you have said.

I also think that RE4 was a 'mistake' as an RE game. It took away the horror, the tight environments, the isolation and the claustophobia of the earlier games and became a shootfest galore. The granados were a step back from the decomposed zombies in design, but they were more original and interesting to fight. Regenerators were the only part you could actually hear your heart beat like crazy.

Like you said, an amazing game which became a genre and cemented the shoulder-view cam. But a bad RE game. And yeah, RE5 and RE6 took the IP even further down the drain.

I don't agree with the camera being a reason for RE4 being 'inferior'. Fixed camera angles were becoming dated even then and they needed to go yesterday. Today, with the amazing visual abilities of current and next-gen consoles, 3D simply looks better than 2D backgrounds and offer a thousand better ways to convey horror and tension.

That said, I am SO ready for a RE4make which will put more emphasis on horror and isolation than the original did and make the encounters in the village truly horrifying and memorable.
 

Jaxcellent

Member
I agree, although I never played 4, 5 was not horror at all, I still really dig RE1 and RERemake, 2 was great 2 remake cool, 7 in VR was the most scary and awesome shit i have ever seen
 

Ataraxia

Member
Having played every Resident Evil game, and having been constantly told that RE4 abandoned the "survival horror" aspect of the series, I find it odd that nothing from any other RE has scared me more than the chainsaw villager that inevitably catches up to you when you're trapped in the corner of a cabin. And no other game in the franchise sets the brooding tone more perfectly than the ominous change in the soundtrack before your first encounter the Regenerator in the cryo-lab.

It remains one of my favorite games of all time, so I must respectfully disagree with your position that RE4 was a massive mistake.
 

SegaManAU

Gold Member
I agree with you OP.

Resident Evil 1-2-3 and CV are my favorites. I don't like what it has become.

I enjoyed RE4 but it's more of an action game than anything else.
 
Cheers for everyone taking the time to put in the effort with their replies. Even if I disagree with some of the opinions raised that's totally fine. That's life.

To the other posters that were making drive by insults grow the fuck up.
 
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Barakov

Gold Member
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RE4 is one of the most influential games of all time so you are wrong. It influenced a bunch of 3rd person shooters. Honestly, Gears of War wouldn't exist without RE4. Also it gave RE a new life as a game series. Honestly, without RE4, the RE series would of probably suffered the same fate as Dino Crisis.
 
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There are far worse Resident Evil games than part 4. Spinoffs like Dead Aim, Outbreak and Survivor were ass. Did people really hate QTE in RE4 or is it something people grew to hate over time?
 
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mcjmetroid

Member
No. Resident evil is amazing.

Resident evil needed to try something new and it did. It's issue is follow up didn't match it which is never the fault of the game they're trying to follow.

It's not rocket science.
 

mcjmetroid

Member
There are far worse Resident Evil games than part 4. Spinoffs like Dead Aim, Outbreak and Survivor were ass. Did people really hate QTE in RE4 or is it something people grew to hate over time?
Far worse games than resident evil 4? Lol

What alternative reality is this forum in sometimes.
 
Gotta applaud a dev that's ballsy enough to change up the formula from time to time. Just like with REVII. RE4 might seem antiquated now but when it came out there was nothing else like it and my friends and I went through all nighters to play through it. Super intense mechanics for its time.
 

Megatron

Member
Going to third person was trash. RE4 turned the franchise into an action game for the next number of installments and they got progressively worse. Leading upto the cluster fuck that was RE6. Those design choices were all rooted in from the success of RE4.

GOING to third person? Let me stop you right there. The series was third person from the very beginning. They didn’t switch to first person until Resident Evil 7. I know it’s confusing, but Resident Evil 4 came before Resident Evil 7 Because that is how numbers work.
 
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NikuNashi

Member
The crazy thing is you are RIGHT and wrong. As a hardcore Resi fan I detested 5, didn't even touch 6. So yes because of 4 we got the awful action heavy 5 and 6.

But 4 was an awesome game. So it succeeded but can you blame it or Mikami for the shite that tried to copy it and failed without him.

Now don't even get me started on that first person realistic horror game they renamed half way through development to Resident Evil 7. That has nothing to do with Resident Evil as a lifelong fan and someone who played 1 on release. I detest what Resident Evil has become now and from what I've seen if Village it looks like more of the same, first person serious horror game. No thankyou.
 

Naked Lunch

Member
What the actual fuck?!?

Mikami frowns upon you. The same man created it - then re-birthed it for a new age. RE1 and 4 in particular are untouchable masterpieces.
 

DavidGzz

Member
Going to third person was trash. RE4 turned the franchise into an action game for the next number of installments and they got progressively worse. Leading upto the cluster fuck that was RE6. Those design choices were all rooted in from the success of RE4.

Even RE3 remake while flawed was still better than RE4 as an RE installment.

Want proof? Compare how critically acclaimed RE2 remake and RE7 were. Even Remake went back to it's roots which every RE4 fan were suddenly making it out as the second coming and RE7 was a new step into exploring the psychological horror of the genre. Which what RE is meant to be by the way.... HORROR.

So yeah screw RE4. Good riddance to that history of Resident Evil.

Edit: Was RE4 a fun action game? Sure. Was it a good RE game? No way in hell.

THIS is what RE4 was meant to be before the design change. Biohazard 3.5:



Yep, totally agree. RE4 is where Capcom temporarily killed the franchise. I love the remakes though.
 
Wasn’t Resident Evil technically always third person until RE7?

Personally, I though RE4 was one of the greatest games of the generation, if not of all time. It inspired a multitude of games and franchises. Yeah, it was more action than horror, but I think it was more balanced than RE5 and especially RE6. Don’t get me wrong, I liked RE5 and RE6, but they were glorified action games with sprinkles of horror implemented here and there. Gears of War was more horror than they were.
 
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levyjl1988

Banned
I disagree with OP. But to each their own. It's already created. If you want to make changes to the world then make them rather than be a passive observer. No one likes ones opinion unless it is backed up by well research and thought out execution leading to results. But people enjoyed it.

And I did enjoy Resident Evil 6 for what it was not what it was going to be.
 

avalonzero

Member
I completely agree. RE4 was the first game that made me lose interest in the series, while RE5 cemented it, and I outside of RE2 remake I've never been able to get back into it.
 
GOING to third person? Let me stop you right there. The series was third person from the very beginning. They didn’t switch to first person until Resident Evil 7. I know it’s confusing, but Resident Evil 4 came before Resident Evil 7 Because that is how numbers work.

You know what I mean, but well done for trying to make me sound like an idiot.

Let me spell it out for you. When I say third person, I obviously mean the behind the shoulder perspective as opposed to the fixed camera angles of the earlier installments. That's why oh you know, I very clearly talk about the changes to the game design.

Did RE2 remake manage to retain the survival horror feel of the originals while keeping to the same perspective as RE4? Yes, but the game handled it much differently and much more slowly. RE2 remake is still first and foremost a survival horror.

Next time try not to be an utter twat yeah? Cheers

Nice try though. Next.
 
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bender

What time is it?
I wouldn't say the switch to 3rd person is what made RE4 trash, I'd say the switch to an action QTE fest is to blame for that. That and the ammo piñata enemies that pretty much remove any sense of tension the game might otherwise have had.
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The reload animations though.

SomeLameEnglishpointer-size_restricted.gif
 

Megatron

Member
You know what I mean, but well done for trying to make me sound like an idiot.

Let me spell it out for you. When I say third person, I obviously mean the behind the shoulder perspective as opposed to the fixed camera angles of the earlier installments. That's why oh you know, I very clearly talk about the changes to the game design.

Did RE2 remake manage to retain the survival horror feel of the originals while keeping to the same perspective as RE4? Yes, but the game handled it much differently and much more slowly. RE2 remake is still first and foremost a survival horror.

Next time try not to be an utter twat yeah? Cheers

Nice try though. Next.

Sorry man, I was just having fun. I didn’t mean to piss you off.

I wouldn’t want them to go back the fixed cameras and certainly not the tank controls (which I don’t think you are arguing for) And I’m really not excited about anything about 7 - both the fos perspective and the more silent-Hill style game atmosphere. For me third person is my preferred control method and I think it was a big reason why RE4 was so much better (for me, but it is also the best ever received RE game)
 
Sorry man, I was just having fun. I didn’t mean to piss you off.

I wouldn’t want them to go back the fixed cameras and certainly not the tank controls (which I don’t think you are arguing for) And I’m really not excited about anything about 7 - both the fos perspective and the more silent-Hill style game atmosphere. For me third person is my preferred control method and I think it was a big reason why RE4 was so much better (for me, but it is also the best ever received RE game)

All good man. Sorry about my insults too. I appreciate the apology, thank you.

I'm a massive OG Silent Hill fan, so my bias is very much rooted within psychological/survival horror.
 
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SuperGooey

Member
Influential isn't automatically a good thing.
Except RE4 is a good game. Better than. I've yet to see anyone provide any points that counter this. I mean, there is the lazy "good game but bad RE game" statement being parroted in this thread, but even that point of view is very flawed as I pointed out in my previous posts in this thread.

I'm also a little disappointed that you have acknowledged my posts here. I'd like to see a response to them if you truly think RE4 is a mistake.
 
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bender

What time is it?
Except RE4 is a good game. Better than. I've yet to see anyone provide any points that counter this. I mean, there is the lazy "good game but bad RE game" statement being parroted in this thread, but even that point of view is very flawed as I pointed out in my previous posts in this thread.

I'm also a little disappointed that you have acknowledged my posts here. I'd like to see a response to them if you truly think RE4 is a mistake.

Yeah, I don't get calling it a bad RE game either. They replaced the tension of resource scarcity with moments of being overwhelmed. It still has creepy atmosphere, cheap jump scares and cheesy story elements that are hallmarks of the series. I think people just blame it because it was the pivot point in the series and RE5/RE6 became far less about horror and more about over the top action.
 
The series was getting action-heavy with RE2, and undeniably an action game by RE3. Not sure how more action makes RE4 a bad game, and hating RE4 for being successful is childish. You are conveniently forgetting (or just don't know) that the RE series was dying with Capcom about to pull the plug after the financial failures of REmake and Zero. RE4 saved the series by shaking up the formula and creating something fresh and exciting. I mean, honestly, the oldschool style peaked with REmake. Where else could the series go with in that direction in the early 00s? It needed to do what other dead horror franchise from the time didn't do--evolve!

In order for franchises to survive for decades, they need to evolve and change over time as well. RE4 expanded what an RE game could be. Having a rigid "RE has to be this and only this always" mindset is incredibly close-minded. Though, you can argue that like the oldchool style peaked with REmake, the action RE games peaked early with RE4 with no place to go but downhill. Blaming RE4 for being so well-designed that its sequels couldn't live up to it shouldn't be a mark against the game.

Also, horror is subjective. RE4, to me, is by far the most atmospheric and creepy RE game. The village is incredibly unnerving, and the Regenerators, Dr. Salvadors, and Garrodors still give me more anxiety than any other RE series monsters.

Sorry bro, I'll reply now.

So yes, the genre was maybe starting to get stale back then. However to play devils advocate the Fatal Frame series came out at around the same time as RE4. It was successful, successful enough to spawn 3 sequels all the way to the Wii U and I think that if a new sequel came out today there would be enough people interested to make it a success.

I don't think that a game series always has to necessarily keep to a stale formula as you put it, but I do think that it's important that a series such as RE needs to keep to its survival horror roots to retain its identity. Survival horror has always been, and still is today designed around the concept of limited ammo and limited inventory space, there's a tension and atmosphere when you are forced to make every shot count, or when you have to decide when that last health item counts.

RE4 threw away all of that in the service of tons of action and little to no inventory management. I'm glad Capcom have themselves realised this was a mistake, if RE2 remake and RE7 is anything to go by.

I was never scared during RE4 because the stakes never felt high enough. But your right, horror is subjective.

I do think it's fair to blame RE4s success on RE5 and 6. Capcom took all the wrong lessons from its success and RE5 and 6 nearly destroyed their reputation. But that's just me.
 
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