Resident Evil 4 is widely known for being an all-time classic but have we over the years been blinded by nostalgia for the seminal game? What is it about the fourth game that makes it different from the rest of the series? The game is so highly acclaimed and put on a pedestal, that people seem to have forgotten that it tells one of the most inconsistent and unconvincing stories in the entire series. So let's look back and critique a game that has for years seemed to be immune from criticism.

The Story is as simple as it can get - a prince saving the princess tale, except it's Leon saving the President of the United States’ daughter, Ashley, from a cult that uses a mind-controlling parasite. Leon goes to a village in rural Spain to rescue said daughter, and finds that all the residents are infected with something that makes them none too welcoming to outsiders. We soon learn of a local cult with a man named Saddler at the helm. The cult seeks to control the world through Ashley, who they plan on infecting with the parasite so that she can spread it to the President of the United States and use his influence to do their bidding. 

There’s really not much more to it. Luis is a mysterious man you meet who is also being held hostage by the villagers. Luis clearly knows something is going on, but won’t say to Leon when they meet. Of course, Luis does know a lot really, such as the fact that there’s a cure, and the fact that he himself helped the cult gain more power. Luis does next to nothing for the plot bar to mention that there's a cure, which Ada also does anyways. Ada, who was in Resident Evil 2, was always secretive. She’s a corporate spy and can be seen as a small-time villain of the series (albeit one who’s taken a genuine shine to our boy Leon). Ada has a tendency for grappling off before saying anything of substance. At one point, she saves Leon from being attacked by Mendes - one of the cult members - utters some rather convoluted lines that sound like a random lead to something bigger that never materialises, then shoots off again.  

How about that time we need to go to the island to save Ashley once again, and Ada offers us a lift on the jet ski. Surely now would be the time we finally get to figure out what Ada's goals are and what she has been doing since Resident Evil 2? Nope, because the scene just cuts to our arrival at the island, Ada says goodbye, and grapples up to the island.

It’s important to distinguish between cheesy (but charming) dialogue, and outright bad writing. At the start of the game, when Leon sees the village is empty and says 'Where has everyone gone? Bingo?' is an example of the former - it’s weird, it works, it’s fine. In fact, it’s become such a classic line that it also features in the upcoming remake.

Luis talks about how he's a lady's man at first, then talks about dropping something, then talks about getting a cure, then dies. Great. It's almost as if Luis was originally going to be a bigger player in the plot, but was edited out of all his important moments. Luis knew about the cure and secrets of the cult, Ada is working for the opposing side and is trying to take something from the cult. They sound important, but they probably have around ten minutes of screen time each. 

Are we meant to just think that Ada and Leon said nothing of importance for that short trip? Or maybe they happened to say nothing at all? You’d think that they’d at least awkwardly ask each other something such as ‘so erm hey, what have you been up to since that whole Raccoon City thing?’ so that we’d get some kind of context. Ada and Leon’s semi-romantic is totally lacking in Resident Evil 4, which is a massive step-down from their complex relationship in Resident Evil 2

The remake can fix most of these problems. The game's pacing was fine up until chapter five where we go to the island to rescue Ashley from Saddler once again, which slowed down the pacing and dragged out the length. The dialogue will most likely be  changed to make the characters more human. We have seen proof from the last two remakes that they can improve dialogue.

The story for Resident Evil 4 is there. All the files that you can read are interesting and incredibly insightful. For example, Salazar has a great backstory. His ancestor had originally fought off Los Iluminados and sealed the Plaga within the castle. Fast forward, and Saddler has reignited the fire for the cult, persuading Salazar to join and to protect the plaga instead. It was easy to persuade Salazar as he was isolated for much of his life. Yet, in reality Salazar was just a pawn for Saddler. 

This is a great backstory and gives Salazar some development. It also extends some sympathy to him as it can be imagined just how secluded he was in his daily life. This is the case for the whole game, where the intel you find is much more compelling than the beat-by-beat story. Adding more of this interesting information to the plot could serve the story and characters really well.

Capcom could improve the general dialogue and character development if they intertwined the files into gameplay. Perhaps upon finding a file, Leon Leon could vocalise what he discovered, or Ashley and Leon discuss things while walking around the castle, giving some welcome characterisation to both of them.

As a whole Resident Evil 4 is a clunky, but charming story. If characters like Luis and Ada receive more attention in the remake it would help the plot become more coherent and memorable. Exploring interesting stories like Salazar’s and such would give them their well deserved development. If the dialogue is revamped in the remake it would help the characters seem more life-like. However, keeping some of that cheesy dialogue would be essential, otherwise it wouldn’t be Resident Evil.