Resident Evil 4

• 1. Introduction

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  Resident Evil 4 is a 2005 survival horror game from Capcom, released first for the GameCube, and by March 2025 it had sold 15.2 million copies. Its hero is Leon S. Kennedy, a special agent dropped into rural Spain on a rescue mission. Players who picked it up in 2005 found a series transformed, with a camera, a pace and a kind of enemy that earlier entries had never used. None of that arrived in one clean stroke. The game was started, scrapped and started again. Why did a team keep throwing away work on a sequel to a hit series? Who finally decided what it should become? And how did a decision about where to place the camera spread so far beyond Capcom?

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• 2. Discarded Versions

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  In 1999, producer Shinji Mikami said that a new Resident Evil was in development for the PlayStation 2. The road from that announcement to the finished game was long. At least four versions were discarded along the way.

  The first was directed by Hideki Kamiya. Around the turn of the millennium, Noboru Sugimura, who had written Resident Evil 2, built a story on Kamiya's wish for a cool, stylish action game. Its hero was Tony, an invincible man whose intellect and abilities exceeded those of ordinary people, with biotechnology offered as the explanation. The plot was about unraveling the mystery of Tony's own body. Kamiya felt a hero seen from a fixed angle never looked brave enough in battle. So he dropped the prerendered backgrounds of earlier games in favor of a dynamic camera. The team also spent 11 days in the United Kingdom and Spain, photographing Gothic statues, bricks and stone pavements to use as textures.

  Devil May Cry, released for the PlayStation 2 in August 2001, was the eventual fate of that first attempt. Mikami felt the coolness theme strayed too far from the series' survival horror roots. He gradually persuaded the staff to turn the project into an independent game, and it became a new Capcom franchise.

  Development on Resident Evil 4 restarted at the end of 2001. In November 2002, Capcom announced the game as one of the Capcom Five, five GameCube exclusives from Capcom Production Studio 4. This version, commonly called the fog version, was directed by Hiroshi Shibata. It was 40 percent finished at the time of the announcement. Leon was struggling to survive after infiltrating Umbrella's castle-like headquarters in Europe, and traditional monsters such as zombies roamed it. Sugimura's scenario company, Flagship, wrote the new story. In it, Leon became infected with the Progenitor Virus and gained a hidden power in his left hand. The producer of the final version later pointed out that Ashley did not appear here. A different girl took her place, and she was never revealed to the public.

  Resident Evil 5 in 2009 inherited pieces of that abandoned story. It covered the Progenitor Virus, and the Spencer Estate became the setting for its downloadable pack Lost in Nightmares, starring Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine.

  At E3 2003, Capcom showed a very different version. Mikami introduced the trailer and assured the audience that development was going smoothly and that the game was scarier than ever. It was set in a haunted building where Leon caught a bizarre disease and fought paranormal enemies. These included animated suits of armor, living dolls and a ghostlike man carrying a large hook. Flashbacks and hallucinations were marked by a bluish tint and a shaking camera. Several ideas here survived into the final release: the over-the-shoulder camera, the laser sight and quick time events.

  In 2012, Yasuhisa Kawamura, scenario writer of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, said this version was his. He wanted to make Biohazard 4 scarier and suggested borrowing a scene from the 2000 American film Lost Souls, where the main character suddenly finds herself in a derelict building with a killer on the loose. Kawamura said he was very sorry, even ashamed, that Mikami had to step in and scrap it. The version had only a basic story concept, because Sugimura's scenario had been dropped.

  After that attempt, one more revision brought back classic zombies. It was discontinued after a few months, before the public ever saw it, because the developers felt it was too formulaic. Some of this abandoned work did surface. Five minutes of gameplay footage appeared on the Biohazard 4 Secret DVD, a Japanese pre-order bonus handed out in January 2005.

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• 3. Mikami Takes Over

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  Mikami took over directing duties from Shibata and began work on the version Capcom finally released. In an interview with Game Informer, he explained that after playing Resident Evil Zero, the older system felt like "more of the same." He said he only felt nervous again when he played with the newer system.

  Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi spoke for the team in similar terms. He said the staff were "tired of the same thing," and that some had grown bored and moved on to other projects. He described the older format as "stuck in a cookie cutter mold" and called it "shackles holding us down."

  Kobayashi's frustration was not shared by everyone on the team. Some staff members felt depressed and were hard to motivate once the focus shifted toward action. Mikami demanded that the camera system be revised, yet the team had reservations about making big changes to a series he had created. Eventually he intervened and explained his proposed changes. He also wrote a new story that, unlike earlier installments, was not centered on the company Umbrella. Because time was short, he wrote the entire story in just three weeks.

  Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, from 2004, supplied the camera idea. Mikami had enjoyed playing it but felt it could be better with a different view, so he placed the camera behind the playable character. To suit the new gameplay and story, the team created a new type of enemy called the Ganado, in place of the undead creatures of previous games. The producers also updated characters who had appeared in earlier games. In a documentary about the characters, Kamiya said he intended to make Leon Kennedy look tougher, but also cool.

  Kobayashi himself designed some of the final game's enemies, including the Regenerators. He described them as byproducts of Los Iluminados' research into bioorganic weapons, malformed creations implanted with multiple Plaga parasites. Regenerators are designed to take distinct heavy breaths before they come into view, which warns the player. They walk slowly toward the player, often in small confined spaces. A Regenerator continuously heals itself, and the only way to stop it is to find the parasites inside its body. Those can be seen only through the infrared scope. In an interview with Famitsu, Mikami said such elements keep the survival horror feeling alive, balancing "scary kind of gameplay and the challenge of overcoming that fear."

  The English voice actors recorded their parts in four sessions over three to four months. Capcom assigned Shinsaku Ohara as script translator and voice over coordinator. Carolyn Lawrence, who voiced Ashley Graham, called her character "vulnerable, because Leon has to come to her rescue all the time." She described Leon as "more brawn, perhaps, than brain." The game's designer also detailed each cinematic sequence so that every character's facial expressions matched the tone of the voice actor.

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• 4. A Cult in Spain

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  The story opens in 2004, when U.S. government agent Leon S. Kennedy, voiced by Paul Mercier, travels to an unnamed rural village in Spain. Ashley Graham, voiced by Carolyn Lawrence, is the president's daughter, and a mysterious cult has abducted her. The villagers pledge their lives to that cult, Los Iluminados. They were once simple farmers, until a mind-controlling parasite known as Las Plagas infected them.

  The village chief, Bitores Mendez, captures Leon and injects him with Las Plagas. Leon wakes up held captive beside Luis Sera, voiced by Rino Romano. Luis is a former police officer in Madrid and a former Los Iluminados researcher. The two work together to escape and then go their separate ways.

  Leon finds Ashley in a church and rescues her. The cult leader, Osmund Saddler, voiced by Michael Gough, then reveals his plan. The parasite injected into Ashley is meant to let him manipulate her. Once she is home, she would inject the president with a "sample," and Saddler could begin his conquest of the world.

  Leon fights through many villagers, including Mendez in a vicious battle. He and Ashley then seek refuge in a castle owned by Ramon Salazar, voiced by Rene Mujica, another of Saddler's henchmen. Salazar's traps separate the pair. Meanwhile, Luis searches for pills that will slow the infection in Leon and Ashley, along with a sample of Las Plagas. He delivers both items to Leon but is killed by Saddler, who takes the sample.

  Inside the castle, Leon briefly meets Ada Wong, voiced by Sally Cahill, a woman from his past. She supports him while pursuing her own agenda, recovering a Las Plagas sample for her mysterious employer. That employer is evidently one of the unnamed rivals of the now defunct Umbrella corporation. Leon battles through the castle and kills Salazar.

  Jack Krauser, voiced by Jim Ward, waits on a nearby island research facility. He was a former training comrade of Leon, believed killed in a helicopter crash two years earlier. Leon learns that Krauser was responsible for Ashley's kidnapping, as a way to get close enough to Saddler to steal his new Plagas sample. Krauser and Ada are both working with Albert Wesker, voiced by Richard Waugh. Saddler, suspicious of Krauser's intentions, orders him to kill Leon, believing he benefits whichever man dies.

  After Krauser's defeat, Leon rescues Ashley, and a specialized radiotherapeutic device removes the Plagas from both their bodies. With Ada's help, Leon kills Saddler. Ada then takes the sample from Leon at gunpoint and escapes in a helicopter sent by her employer. Leon and Ashley flee on her Jet Ski as the island explodes.

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• 5. Over-the-Shoulder Combat

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  Every firearm in Resident Evil 4 has a laser sight, and none has a crosshair. The camera sits behind Leon and zooms in for an over-the-shoulder view when he aims a weapon. Aiming a sniper rifle switches to a first-person view.

  Earlier games let players shoot only straight, up or down. Here a shot to an enemy's feet can make it stumble, and a shot to the arms can make it drop its weapon. Players can even shoot down projectiles such as thrown axes or scythes. The emphasis falls on combat and shootouts more than on slow exploration.

  Context-sensitive controls are another addition. Depending on the situation, the player can kick down a ladder, jump out of a window, dodge an attack or perform a finishing move on a weakened enemy. Quick time events ask the player to press the buttons shown on screen. They might dodge a falling boulder or wrestle an enemy to stay alive. These often appear in occasional boss fights, where the player must avoid instant-kill attacks.

  The main enemies are violent villagers called Los Ganados, which means "The Cattle" in Spanish. They can dodge, wield melee and projectile weapons, work collectively and communicate with each other. Infested by Las Plagas, whose name means "The Plague," some of them can sprout mutated parasites from their heads.

  The inventory is a grid represented by an attaché case, and each item takes up a certain number of spaces. Upgrading the case adds room. Weapons, ammunition and healing items go in the case, while key items and treasures live in a separate menu. A Merchant, who appears in various locations, sells first aid sprays and weapons, upgrades weapons and buys the treasures Leon finds.

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• 6. Ports and Editions

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  On the 31st of October 2004, Capcom announced that Resident Evil 4 would come to the PlayStation 2 in 2005. The company cited increased profit, changing market conditions and increased consumer satisfaction. It had decided the game did not fall under the exclusivity deal with Nintendo. Two 2003 side stories, Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Resident Evil Outbreak, were also outside that policy.

  The PlayStation 2 version reached North America on the 25th of October 2005. Its largest addition was Separate Ways, a new scenario for Ada written by Haruo Murata. According to producer Masachika Kawata, the porting team thought it up, and it went ahead after Mikami approved. It follows Ada's involvement in the main story and her link to Wesker. A five-part documentary called Ada's Report examines that relationship. Other unlockables, in all versions, include the minigame The Mercenaries, the short scenario Assignment Ada, new costumes for Leon and Ashley, and a cutscene browser.

  On the 1st of February 2006, Ubisoft announced it would publish the game for Windows. Sourcenext developed the PC port, which reached Hong Kong on the 1st of February 2007 and Europe, North America and Australia in March 2007. It added an Easy difficulty level and support for multiple widescreen resolutions, and a single patch fixed shadow and lighting problems.

  Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition launched on the 31st of May 2007 in Japan and the 19th of June 2007 in the United States. The Wii Remote aims and shoots anywhere on screen with a reticle that replaces the laser sight. Motion gestures handle actions such as dodging or slashing. Later came a Mobile Edition, released in Japan on the 1st of February 2008, which split the story into sections such as Village, Ravine, Fortress and Subterranean Tunnel. On the 13th of July 2009, an iOS version appeared in Japan without announcement and was quickly removed, though some players managed to buy it.

  High-definition remasters followed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, announced on the 23rd of March 2011. The Ultimate HD Edition reached Windows on the 27th of February 2014. Capcom announced a Nintendo Switch release in October 2018, for 2019.

  In October 2021, Armature Studio released a virtual reality version for the Oculus Quest 2, built on Unreal Engine 4. Combat and inventory management were changed to suit VR. Executive producer Tom Ivey said the changes were made to update the game for a modern audience, so some animations, dialogue and flirtatious banter were removed. The VR version also omits both Separate Ways and Assignment: Ada.

  The original soundtrack came out in Japan on the 22nd of December 2005 with 62 compositions and a 48-page booklet. NubyTech even designed two controllers shaped like chainsaws for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions.

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• 7. Acclaim and Sales

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  On Metacritic, the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions of Resident Evil 4 hold a score of 96/100, which signals "universal acclaim." They top Metacritic's list of the best video games of 2005. Reviewers praised the characters, the story and the voice acting. GameSpot's Greg Kasavin liked the voice work but said it was betrayed by "some uncharacteristically goofy dialogue."

  IGN's Matt Casamassina singled out Paul Mercier's performance as Leon. He wrote, "For once, the characters are believable because Capcom has hired competent actors to supply their voices. Leon in particular is very well produced." The television program X-Play gave the game 5 out of 5 and later named it the best game it had ever reviewed. Game Informer noted that ammunition is more plentiful here than elsewhere in the series, which makes the game more action-oriented.

  The ports drew more mixed scores. The original PC release was criticized for having no mouse support, frustrating keyboard controls, low-quality cutscenes and choppy lighting. Still, critics at IGN and GameSpot gave it generally positive reviews. Famitsu reviewed the Wii version and scored it 38 out of 40, with two editors giving it a perfect 10. British magazine NGamer gave the Wii Edition 96%, slightly below the 97% it gave the GameCube original. In October 2013, Edge retroactively awarded the HD release ten out of ten.

  Awards piled up for 2005. Edge, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, GamePro and the Chicago Tribune were among those naming it Game of the Year. GameSpy called it the GameCube Game of the Year but placed it second overall, behind Civilization IV. At GameSpot's Best of 2005 Awards it took Game of the Year and Best GameCube Game. In 2021, the virtual reality version was named VR/AR Game of the Year at the Game Awards.

  Sales matched the praise. The GameCube version sold over 320,000 copies in North America in its first twenty days. The European release sold its entire 200,000-copy run in the first month. By December 2005, 3 million copies of the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions had shipped. Capcom's figures from the 17th of January 2007 showed 1.6 million GameCube copies and over 2 million PlayStation 2 copies. The 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition listed it as the best-selling survival horror game.

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• 8. Lasting Influence

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  In 2008, readers of IGN voted Resident Evil 4 the best video game of all time. Nintendo Power had already ranked it first among the top 25 GameCube games in 2005. In 2007, Edge placed it second on its list of top games ever, behind only The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The reference book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die includes it.

  Its biggest legacy is the camera. The offset, over-the-shoulder viewpoint became standard for action games, including Gears of War, Dead Space, Uncharted, Mass Effect, Grand Theft Auto and The Last of Us. In 2019, Game Informer called it the most important third-person shooter and said it "innovated two genres." Naughty Dog took cues from its tension and action while making The Last of Us. Uncharted director Bruce Straley called the village sequence the best opening fight in a video game.

  Dead Space designers Ben Wanat and Wright Bagwell said their game was originally meant to be System Shock 3. Resident Evil 4 inspired them to go back to the drawing board. BioShock took ideas from the game's environments, combat and inventory system. Cory Barlog cited its blend of poised camera exploration and scavenging as an influence on the 2018 God of War.

  Not everyone cheered the change. Some reviewers suggested the series had abandoned survival horror by demolishing the conventions it had established. Other horror series followed its lead anyway, adding more action to their combat, as in Silent Hill: Homecoming and the 2008 Alone in the Dark. Resident Evil Village, released in 2021, carried that influence forward. Its director said that where Resident Evil 7 inherited the DNA of the original game, Village was designed with the essence of Resident Evil 4 in mind.

  In June 2021, photographer and author Judy Juracek began legal proceedings against Capcom. She alleged that images from her 1996 book Surfaces: Visual Research for Artists, Architects, and Designers had been used without permission to create textures for several games, including Resident Evil 4 and Devil May Cry. The parties reached an undisclosed settlement, and a dismissal was filed on the 7th of February 2022.

  A remake arrived on the 24th of March 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S. It was also announced for the iPhone 15 Pro, with a release planned between late 2023 and early 2024.

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