Are Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village both overrated?

[CrowingJoe79]

I see these games getting compared a lot. I really do. But while I think the remakes are a money mill on the original (and greatest) RE games ever released in general, RE8 is a money mill to RE4, but falls short of the mark, a bit. 

I even think RE4 has better replay value than RE8, because while I liked the game in May, now I think it's a one and done kind of game with one of the most BORING lead characters of any horror game, in recent memory. I even think RE7 and of course RE4, have better replay value, and I do think that RE7 is not a masterpiece, because all it does is pretty much just copy every classic horror movie moment under the sun. But RE4 is a game you can go back to and enjoy being like Rambo towards the villagers, soldiers, and druids. I mean, after all, RE4 Is one of the most amazing examples of early Action Horror titles, after the slew of first person stuff like the Doom games that came out before it. But I have very mixed feelings about the plot overall. 

Now please don't gimme a GameFAQs style, "But Joe... the story has always sucked in the series" kind of a response. I disagree. RE2 had a simple, yet brilliant and gripping story. Curses to Capcom for that awful 2019 remake, where Claire just flirts with Leon while zombies are nearby, and her brother's diary is never mentioned. What a way to screw up a highly important plot point. Meh.  

Well... what do you think? Do you think RE4 is golden, or is it overly praised dog poop? About my biggest issue with it besides the repetition of the gameplay, is that Capcom should have did a proper game about the downfall of Umbrella to end the original story in a decisive manner. Then RE4 could have been like a 100% *NEW* storyline. But it's okay, I suppose. They did that Wii shooting game, which was kind of rank, but the cutscenes were awesome, and they did set up Wesker's status with him becoming the main villain. I liked it when they shot at the Hunters running in the snow near the base in Russia, and Chris had his CVX look to him, pre-RE5 beefcake, steroids abusing Redfield.   

But that fake Chris in RE7!? KILL IT WITH FIRE! 

All the best. CrowingJoe79, aka thesaunderschild.  

[Dcubed]

RE4 is one of the greatest games ever made; and the single best game that Capcom has ever published.

It deserves every single bit of praise it gets.

[Glen-i]

Yep, Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition and Revelations are the only games in the series I actually like enough to finish.

Unfortunately, Wii Edition is so much fun, that the current version with it's non-gyro controls is something I just can't deal with.

[CrowingJoe79]

RE5 plays exactly the same, and feels more relevant to the series in general. But that game is even less of a survival horror game with the deliberate action tone. However, it has Chris, Jill, and Wesker. What's not to like?

Nonetheless, how can a guy with a huge hammer NOT actually scare you!?

[bob]

RE5 plays exactly the same, and feels more relevant to the series in general. But that game is even less of a survival horror game with the deliberate action tone. However, it has Chris, Jill, and Wesker. What's not to like? [emoji3]
Nonetheless, how can a guy with a huge hammer NOT actually scare you!? [emoji14]

....

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, CrowingJoe79 said:

RE5 plays exactly the same, and feels more relevant to the series in general. But that game is even less of a survival horror game with the deliberate action tone. However, it has Chris, Jill, and Wesker. What's not to like?

The fact that you basically have to play the game in Co-op to avoid getting lumped with AI controlled Sheva?
Somehow harder to look after than Ashley was!

[CrowingJoe79]

So other than Revelations, which is a prequel to 5, Jill hasn't been seen in any capacity for original storylines since 2009. You cannot count remakes, because well, remakes aren't even new at all.

Criminal!

[Hero-of-Time]

10 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

The fact that you basically have to play the game in Co-op to avoid getting lumped with AI controlled Sheva?
Somehow harder to look after than Ashley was!

I feel that over the years the internet has really overblown the issue with Sheva’s AI. I played through the game back in Feb and wrote this in the Gaming Diary thread.

Quote

I last played it back on the 360 and done most of it in co-op with a friend, which I found to be a fantastic time. This time I had to play on my own and I was worried about how the AI of Sheva would perform. I remember hearing horror stories about how rubbish the AI was in this game. To my surprise I found it to be absolutely fine. In fact, i'd go as far as to say that it was pretty broken at times. Once I unlocked the magnum with infinite ammo and gave it to her she was picking off enemies left and right without even breaking a sweat.

She was an absolute beast when she had the right weapons at her disposal. Bear in mind I had to play on the highest difficulty setting as well and she was fine during that.

As for Resident Evil 4, I’ve stated many times over the years my dislike of the game and how it just disregarded the story that was setup in previous entries. 

RE5>>>>>RE4 both in story and gameplay. 

Edited July 1, 2021 by Hero-of-Time

[Hero-of-Time]

15 minutes ago, bob said:

....

Man, that picture takes me back. The game where he used to whack kids over head with the mallet if they got a question wrong was hilarious. Probably couldn’t get away with that now. 

[CrowingJoe79]

This is probably going to be a very unpopular opinion, but I think merchants being in the series is incredibly dumb. I know other horror type games have a merchant too, or at least a shopping system. I've never really liked that being in RE games, though. I've always felt that Capcom decided to bend their own rules, and some fanboys were like, "Well, whatever!" 

For a start, how the hell do they get their merchandise from A to B? OK. I know Duke has a carriage. So what? It doesn't really make much sense to me. I mean, the whole idea of RE to begin with is that you were mostly supposed to be a lone protagonist going through creepy environments, with an occasional assist from Barry Burton, or whoever else happens to be nearby. Hell has broken loose. You have to make everything you find, count. In general, you found stuff. No one really just sold you stuff, or whatever. I remember some special weapons being locked away, and you needed to meet an objective first for to earn that reward. Not unlike today, where everything you slay basically dispenses a truckload of bullets and coins.  

RE4 introduced that silly concept of looting after shooting. I just don't like that in RE games. I know it was in RE2 and 3 somewhat, with Mr. X and Nemesis dropping items. But you can tell Capcom sold out with RE4. And I agree with the poster who was disappointed with 4's inept story. Personally, I will always prefer the PlayStation era games to the overrated rubbish that I know Capcom makes nowadays. 

[Dcubed]

Of course the merchant is dumb.  Nobody disputes that.  The guy somehow manages to carry around 5-10 guns, several attache cases and a rocket launcher around a giant infested island for goodness' sake!

It's ridiculous.  It's also hilarious and great fun though!

Edited July 3, 2021 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

Merchants are dumb and don’t make sense but somehow magical storage boxes that connect to other rooms in the area are fine? Okay. 

[nekunando]

With merchants and 'magical' storage boxes, they both exist to make the games more enjoyable at the expense of 'realism', which is probably something to be appreciated.

I can't speak for Resident Evil Village as I haven't played it (nor do I find myself having any desire to do so ) but Resident Evil 4 is undoubtedly the highlight of the series for me. I loved it on Gamecube and then I loved it even more on Wii

As @Glen-i says, though, it's such a shame the pointer controls (or at least some form of gyro aiming) never made it across to the Switch port of the HD version. I think that's one of the main reasons why I haven't stuck with it just yet!

In terms of the franchise as a whole, of probably argue that the remake of the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4 are the only entries I really properly like!

I bought Resident Evil 2 on PS4 last year for £8 and I can't find the desire to actually start it..

[Hero-of-Time]

26 minutes ago, nekunando said:

With merchants and 'magical' storage boxes, they both exist to make the games more enjoyable at the expense of 'realism', which is probably something to be appreciated.

Zero tried to make the games more grounded by removing teleporting boxes and the game was far worse for it. Magical boxes and randomly appearing merchants are definitely the better option.

[CrowingJoe79]

RE4, 5 and 6 all have areas built like arenas too. There is way too much room to shoot and do stunts. In the older games, hallways were so narrow, you couldn't even really safely run past a zombie a lot of the time. Later RE games have more action, sure. But while I don't particularly welcome that fact, I can still see why that is the case.

After you endure a nightmare with bioweapons, or something, like what Ripley suffered with the alien, you end up knowing what to do the next time. So the move towards action was natural, but I guess if you prefer sheer terror, it doesn't meet your expectations. Nonetheless, Aliens is fantastic.  

[Aneres11]

2 hours ago, nekunando said:

 

I can't speak for Resident Evil Village as I haven't played it (nor do I find myself having any desire to do so )

I bought Resident Evil 2 on PS4 last year for £8 and I can't find the desire to actually start it..

What… what even are you?! 

[nekunando]

6 minutes ago, Aneres11 said:

What… what even are you?! 

[Dcubed]

3 minutes ago, nekunando said:

[CrowingJoe79]

Sherry and Ashley may as well have been the same woman.

By the way, the new Netflix CGI series is coming next week, I think.  

Edited July 3, 2021 by CrowingJoe79
I misspelled CGI.

[Beast]

Huge Resident Evil fan so I would definitely say Resident Evil 4 is the best one in the series closely followed by Resident Evil 2 and then Village. 

Whilst I understand that Ethan may not exactly be the greatest character in the series, Ashley is 100% the worst and yet it doesn't spoil the game even though she's one of (if not, the) major flaw in it. I do believe that Village brought the series back to it's survival horror reputation, nicely mixing the survival aspect and the horror without overusing the action, much like Resident Evil 6 did. For me, I enjoyed the characters in Village as much as I enjoyed them in Resi 4. Most Resi games are enjoyable to me with only a few I couldn't play because they were either boring, they sucked or they sort of aged a little.

[CrowingJoe79]

I like Resident Evil: Revelations 2 a lot, and I thought at E3, there was going to be a new game announced about Rebecca Chambers. This site (biohazardcast.com) said it was rumoured to be revealed for the Nintendo Switch, but it never happened. 

It's supposed to have Rebecca at a university, which is overrun by infected people, and the girl called Natalia, is a student there. She was adopted by Barry Burton, but Alex Wesker is still controlling her mind. So I think she'll be the next major villain in the series.

Sounds awesome! 

[Dcubed]

On 04/07/2021 at 12:15 PM, CrowingJoe79 said:

I like Resident Evil: Revelations 2 a lot, and I thought at E3, there was going to be a new game announced about Rebecca Chambers. This site (biohazardcast.com) said it was rumoured to be revealed for the Nintendo Switch, but it never happened. 

It's supposed to have Rebecca at a university, which is overrun by infected people, and the girl called Natalia, is a student there. She was adopted by Barry Burton, but Alex Wesker is still controlling her mind. So I think she'll be the next major villain in the series.

Sounds awesome! 

That’s almost certainly Resident Evil Revelations 3 (AKA Project Outrage).  It was discovered as part of the Capcom Ransomware leak; hasn’t been announced yet, but will probably be coming out early next year.

[CrowingJoe79]

I watched the new CGI Netflix series earlier. It was okay.

I don't really care much for it, to be honest.

[RedShell]

Don't think the original RE4 thread exists any more so posting this in here. It's a vid that highlights how amazing the fan-made RE4 HD Project is:

I've played through the PC version of RE4 twice recently, first playing just the standard version, and then once again with the HD Project mod installed. And yeah, the mod is bloody incredible!  They went so above and beyond with this thing, it really does amaze me just how much it improves the visuals while still perfectly retaining the feel of the original game. Top-notch work.

Will be interesting to see exactly what direction Capcom take with their remaster, but I am super happy that they didn't get in the way of this one at least, as it is undoubtedly the finest way to experience Resident Evil 4.

Also, RE4 now has the distinction of being the only video game that I have purchased 3 times! GCN, Wii & PC.

[Glen-i]

It's really cool, isn't it? A ridiculous amount of time and effort went into it.

If only it could support Gyro (or the Wii Remote's IR aiming)...