r/unpopularopinion • u/A-Dubs398 • Mar 07 '26
Resident Evil 4 Original(2005) is better than Resident Evil 4 Remake(2023), and it's not just because of nostalgia. It's critically better.
Resident Evil 4 OG had a unique gunplay style even when it was new. It's the tank controls of the classic RE trilogy masterfully combined with over-the-shoulder arcade action. I admit this combat feels a bit odd at first, but once I got used to it, it's some of the best feeling 3rd person shooter combat of all time.
As for Resident Evil 4 Remake, it's still a good game, but it's gunplay feels very generic like GTA, Fortnite, or Last of Us, but a bit more sluggish. It's still fun, but it's gunplay is just not as satisfying or tense as RE4OG. Reason why most newcomers instantly dismiss OG4 as outdated and clunky cuz they aren't used to any shooters being even slightly different than the norm, and will have zero patience to attempt to get used to any shooter different feeling than their typical Fortnite, GTA, or Last of Us.
Ashley is also way better and funner to defend in OG4, she actually obeys, ducks when you aim her way, and it's one of the first times ever a game made escort missions fun. While RE4R Ashley is way more unpredictable, wanders off, and annoying. Her screams are less annoying, but that's not about gameplay.
RE4R also removes some classic areas like Lava Room, Statue room, Cargo falling boss, etc. but I will say Remake improves Luis and Ashley as characters, but that has nothing to do with gameplay.
But if you like Resident Evil 4 Remake more, that's fine. I'm okay with all opinions, but to dismiss others for preferring RE4OG as just "blinded by nostalgia" is an objectively ignorant statement. There's lots of older games I think suck and don't hold up, but Resident Evil 4 OG isn't one of those. Not all old games are only liked cuz nostalgia. It's not like all games magically stopped sucking at 2010 and on, it's not smart to think like that.
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u/Superblaster35 Mar 07 '26
I prefer the gameplay of the original but I think the pacing of the remake is a lot better. I feel like the original drags towards the end and by the time you get to the island I get kind of bored. In the remake I feel engaged the entire time.
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u/Manjorno316 Mar 07 '26
The story/characters are a lot better in the Remake I think. I never really cared for Luis in the original, but I loved his arc in remake.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
I agree, Ashley and Luis as characters are one of the few things Remake improves over the original IMO.
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u/Manjorno316 Mar 07 '26
That's a big reason as to why I prefer it. The story is amazingly cheesey in the OG, but Remake actually made me care in a way OG didn't.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
If there's one thing modern games consistently improve on, it's always character writing and voice acting. But gameplay is 50/50.
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u/WiseBench5805 Mar 07 '26
Saying Ashley is better is the og isn’t an unpopular opinion it’s just straight up wrong.
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u/mynameizmyname Mar 07 '26
If my sidekick isn't throwing me ammo every other minute and yelling "Booker, Catch!"..I don't want a sidekick.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26
He's honestly not entirely wrong. Sure, her personality is better in the remake and she doesn't feel as bratty, but her AI in the original is honestly superior. As OP mentioned, Ashley will closely follow behind you at all times in the OG, whereas in the remake she'll sometimes wander off and do her own thing. Sometimes she even gets in your way when you're trying to take care of a swarm of enemies and that can be very distracting and a bit frustrating.
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u/Billib2002 Mar 07 '26
You can toggle her behavior in the game. You can either have her stick behind you or tell her to stay away from you so you can fight in peace. I've never played the original, but as someone who recently finished the Remastered version and understood this mechanic, people complaining about Ashley's AI is kinda crazy to me. In my 24 hours or so spent in the game, not once did I have a (not scripted) scenario where Ashley pissed me off
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Remake Ashley AI did not piss me off much at all. I'm just saying OG Ashley AI is much better and funner to play.
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u/Appropriate-Tennis-8 Mar 07 '26
i’ll never forget playing and being knocked down by bad guy just for her to die because she is trying to pin her skirt down and hide her underwear and calling me a pervert. Good times.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26
I always found it hilarious when an enemy would knock you down and she'd call you a perv. It's like let me get this straight, a bad guy is trying to kill your bodyguard and you're annoyed at them for seeing your panties by accident? Talk about some skewed priorities! 🤣
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u/Maxcalibur Mar 12 '26
I'm playing bits of the original after playing the remake and I honestly think so far I do prefer the way the commands work in the original. In the remake it's more of a "tight and loose" formation with her still sticking close even in the loose formation, but in the original it's easier to get her to stay in a safe area since it's a strict "stand still or follow behind me" deal
Then again I haven't got to the castle yet in the OG so maybe it gets to be a pain when there are tighter spaces
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
I said her gameplay AI is better in OG. How is Ashley AI better in Remake? Remake Ashley is less annoying as a character, but more annoying AI/gameplay wise.
But even so, not everyone is super annoyed by OG Ashley as a character, she isn't that bad IMO.
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u/Billib2002 Mar 07 '26
Ashley obeys and ducks in the Remaster as well. Did you actually interface witg the behavior toggle the game tells you about or did you just like have it set to one mode the whole game?
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Of course I did, Remake Ashley only has a "tight" or "loose" command, which she will still do what she whats. Where as OG Ashley has "stay" and "follow" command, and Ashley WILL ALWAYS follow you super closely when you tell her to follow. She will also always stay when you tell her to stay, unless she gets captured of course.
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u/Billib2002 Mar 07 '26
In my personal anecdotal experience, these commands always behaved predictably in the Remaster. There were like 2 times in the whole game where I got kinda annoyed with Ashley and both times were user error (had the wrong behavior selected). Honestly after finishing the game I thought that maybe Ashley's AI was too good at staying out of trouble lmao. It felt like you could just select "loose" in most encounters and just not think about her till you're done. That's why people complaining about her AI is honestly so crazy to me lol
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
As I said, it's not a huge complaint, Remake Ashley really didn't upset me that much at all on normal mode. Her AI in OG4 is just better and funner to protect in OG4. Ashley objectively obeys her commands better in OG4.
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u/fvgh12345 Mar 07 '26
No, no, your definetley right. how you didnt mention the laser sight instead of crosshair in the OG is weird, considering that was a huge part of the gunplay difference in that game. Made shooting feel completley different and the laser sight in the new game just doest work the same. Its also lame you can only use it on like 3 guns.
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u/Psylux7 Mar 07 '26
I remember being told the laser sight was an aesthetic thing that had zero effect on the gameplay and that wanting it back in the game was stupid. There is definitely no difference in having an aiming mechanic that always makes your shot go exactly where you point the gun without forcing leon to wait around for his shots to line up more accurately.
If only the laser was not confined to a couple of handguns as a spinel funded item of the merchants. Also, the quests to earn spinels were often really boring, and I hated feeling pressured to do that nonsense solely to afford cool items.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
I'm a big fan of both the original and the remake and I believe there are some ways the OG is better and other ways in which the remake is better. I'm sort of with you when it comes to the lack of moving and shooting in the original. I understand it's a bit inconvenient for more modern players, but I feel it's one of those things you quickly get used to. Regardless, Capcom needed to add moving and shooting for the remake as features like that are the absolute bare minimum for games in this day and age.
I also miss the lava room and cargo falling boss part. The statue room (I'm assuming you mean the one with the giant stone statue of Salazar) I can do without. The silliness of that segment would clash with the remake's solemn tone.
Lastly, I agree with you on your final argument. Just because someone prefers the original game that doesn't necessarily mean they're "blinded by nostalgia", and furthermore, a game being remade does not automatically invalidate the orignal. The original Resident Evil 4 is still a timeless masterpiece regardless of it being remade.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Thank you for a fair level headed normal response. Rare to see on upopular opinion.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26
No problem. I consider myself to be a rather fair person who sees things from multiple different angles.
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u/Castelante Mar 07 '26
So does literally everyone else. No one thinks of themselves as unreasonable and obtuse.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Hunter never said no one else thinks reasonable.
Also thinking your reasonable and actually being reasonable are two completely things.
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u/Castelante Mar 07 '26
Yeah. Of course you think he’s reasonable— he’s agreeing with you.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
There's also been comments here that say they prefer 4 Remake, and I thumbed them up and said that's valid. It's only objectively unreasonable for example if someone says something like, "you only like this old thing because you're blinded by nostalgia."
So I do not care if someone think 4 Remake is better, that's okay and valid. Just don't use unreasonable demeaning points, like the cliche "blinded by nostalgia" point for example. Which is not even a real point cuz that has nothing to do with the actual game and game mechanics themselves.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26
Ahh yes, gotta love the joys of social media where someone says one thing and someone else completely misinterprets them.
I swear, I could make a post saying I love waffles and someone in the comments will get butthurt and be all "WTF??? WHY DO YOU HATE PANCAKES???" yeah, that's not what I said!
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u/JojoOH Mar 07 '26
« Critically better » doesn’t exist here, it’s preference
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Art can be measured by a critical standpoint. For example, something like "Godfather" is critically better than "The Room" by Tommy Wiseau. You can still personally enjoy The Room more, but it's not critically better. And if all movies studied the Room for inspiration, it would be chaos.
Same way Sonic 06 is objectively bad critically. It's a glitchy unfinished mess with awful controls. Sure, someone can still personally enjoy it, but it's still critically awful, and the game industry would collapse if all game companies had games on the same quality as Sonic 06.
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u/JojoOH Mar 07 '26
This is actually the way ''criticism'' has ruined art in a lot of ways just letting you know, it's people who are mindless enough to try to follow a specific check list of criterias like a robot instead of trying to feel art.
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u/Kuma-Luma Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 12 '26
Preach brother, all the down votes you're getting is just 4make fans who can't understand the concept of liking the original game more. (I vastly prefer OG RE4 as my #1 RE game while 4make is like one of my least favorites in the series. Mercenaries is better in 4make though! That's all I'll say)
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 12 '26
This sub makes no sense. Aren't actual unpopular opinions like this supposed to get thumbs up? But instead everyone thumbs down opinions they personally don't like, despite it's actually unpopular.
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u/Kuma-Luma Mar 12 '26
Id say you're doing a good job/proving their point on why our opinions are unpopular haha
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u/futurepastman00 Mar 15 '26
OG is the best game ever made. Aiming is so smooth! I also don't like some of the changes to the cinematics like the El gigante boss fight with the guy ringing the bell compared to the villagers bringing it out it's just way less satisfying in the remake in terms of the cinematic presentation. Same with the boss fight in the shed/barn you and the whole barn as a boss fight arena but in remake he's just in front of you the whole time, felt like several steps backward in design.
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u/MRnibba_ Mar 07 '26
So I played the remake first, and it's one of my favorite games of all time. I started the OG sometime after that, but I never ended up finishing it. I wasn't stuck or anything, and I didn't even dislike it, but I guess I just didn't see any reason to keep playing, when I enjoy the remakes gameplay far more.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Which is completely valid and I respect your opinion. As long as you don't say something like OG4 fans are "blinded by nostalgia," there is no issue.
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u/MRnibba_ Mar 07 '26
Yeah, preferring either one is completely valid, whether or not nostalgia is a factor
But, and I'm not targeting this towards you, for many people nostalgia plays a bigger part than they admit, or even realize. And it's understandable. I just wish more people would acknowledge it
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Nostalgia plays a part in liking older things, of course, but that older thing can still be objectively good, hence why it was liked so much in the first place. There's lots of bad older games that people admit they still suck. But usually when something old is still highly liked, it was cuz it was/is objectively good, and that objective good quality just enhances the nostalgia, not the other way around.
I agree though some people go to far with mindless nostalgia glazing, but I think most normal intelligent adults can differentiate if something old objectively holds up or not.
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u/peelego Mar 08 '26
I had the same thing happen to me. I stopped playing after reaching the castle, but a few weeks later I picked it back up and I got so hooked I played the rest in one sitting and then immediately started a new playthrough. It has become my all time favorite game and I replay it all the time. I completely respect putting down a game that you aren't enjoying though
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u/Gloglibologna Mar 07 '26
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Great point. You got me there. This destroyed all my points, and this alone destroys all unpopular opinions. No real points needed, just 1 word GIF destroys all points automatically.
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u/No-Plankton4841 Mar 07 '26
You have almost no points to 'destroy'.
You rattled off a bunch of subjective opinions, set up a few straw men, while making negative assumptions about people who 'can't play old games because it's not like Fortnite'.
Like... there were no real arguments to begin with. lol.
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u/Gloglibologna Mar 07 '26
I mean was i supposed to agree with you?
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
You could've agreed or disagreed, but just saying "Okay.." just shows you have no real points.
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u/No-Plankton4841 Mar 07 '26
RE4OG as just "blinded by nostalgia" is an objectively ignorant statement.
By what standard is it 'objectively' ignorant?
There are in fact many people that prefer the original for nostalgia reasons.
Most of your points are subjective opinions. Like the gameplay is not as 'satisfying or tense'. Okay. For me the remake is far more satisfying and tense..
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 12 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
Obviously nostalgia always plays a part when it comes to older things you liked, but to dismiss something's objective quality and to say it's "ONLY liked cuz nostalgia," or people who like are "blinded by nostalgia" is in fact an objectively ignorant statement. Nostalgia is obviously a factor, but it's not the only factor, and it's actually a very tiny factor in the grand scheme of things. And generally, the reason some older things hold up is cuz they were always objectively good. There's a lot of games I liked as a kid, but play now and not like them, but Resident Evil 4OG is not that. As I already said in my main post, NOT ALL OLD games are bad and ONLY liked cuz nostalgia.
If anyone can give points on why 4R is better without using the word "nostalgia," and talking about actual game mechanics, then they are more valid, even if I don't agree with their said points.
And the fact that RE4OG uses tank controls which also force you to have to stand still to shoot is in fact more "tense." While 4R lets you move any direction you want, move the camera anywhere at any time, can parry pretty much anything does in fact remove "tension." but sure, RE4R is a fun action game, but it doesn't have as much tension. It has as much tension as a GTA shootout. While RE4OG was literally made as Action evolution of classic Survival horror of the RE OG trilogy, so they purposely tried to give it lots of tension in the spirit of the OG trilogy, but with an action twist of course.
I could've elaborated on why OG4 was "tense" in my Original post, but I NEVER want my questions to be too long, cuz people are always like, "too long, dont wanna read." Trust me, I could write 10 pages of this elaborating on every little detail, but no one is gunna read all that if I did. But there you go, there's my reasoning why I think OG4 is more tense right here. Basically everything else I said like Ashley AI better in OG4 is pretty objective. Funny how you just cherry-pick 2 brief words I said to say I'm being subjective. It's like me saying, "I think this game is good," then someone is like, "well good is just your subjective opinion!!!" Well duh. Obviously liking something comes with both objective and subjective points. But even then, I tried to give the least subjective points I could.
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u/No-Plankton4841 Mar 12 '26
You clearly don't understand the meaning of the words objective and subjective. You are just sharing your opinions again.
By what metric are you judging their 'objective' quality?
I like Sherrys AI better in remake. Because 99% of the time she just stays the hell out of your way and isn't as much of a liability. In the original she was pretty annoying to micromanage.
The original RE4 has a goofy silly tone and is more of an action game than remake. Remake is way more of a 'horror' experience in every way. From art direction to the game mechanics themselves. I play on hardcore maybe that impacts the gameplay but I found it way more tense. It requires more resource management, strategy, movement. Every encounter felt like I was fighting for my life and barely scraping by on the first playthrough.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
I clearly do know the difference between objective and subjective and shared both. I literally did not just talk about my opinions, I also shared objective points like Ashley's AI, and why the game is objectively more Tense by definition.
Ashley's AI is objectively better in OG and I already explained many times. OG Ashley will ALWAYS stay close behind you in Follow command, making it easy to keep track of her and defend her. And when you tell her Stay command, she will always stay in place. As opposed to remake, there's only a "loose" and "tight" command and Ashley will still randomly wander off. This not about difficulty, I'm good at both games, OG Ashley is just objectively better gameplay wise.
What you said about Ashley is extremely vague, cuz you clearly have no real points why OG Ashley is worse. Just saying she's "annoying to micromanage" doesn't really mean anything or tells enough. It's too short and vague.
Then you go to say Remake has a more "horror" experience. Great, I was talking about gameplay mechanics, but sure. But both games are goofy though and meant to be fun.
Then you go into more vague short points like saying Remake is better cuz it has more strategy and resource management. Stradegy is so vague and could mean anything, hence not a real point. As for resource management, neither game is super about resource management, it's mainly just about action. Sure on Professional, resource management is a little more important, but that's the same for both games, so no really a real point for how the Remake is better.
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u/No-Plankton4841 Mar 15 '26
You still have no idea what 'objective' means.
The concept of 'better' or 'worse' are subjective and dependent on your opinion of what is better or worse for you.
I don't want to have to manage Ashley. I don't care about her AI. That was my least favorite part in the original I never enjoyed the escort mission to begin with. In remake you really don't have to worry about her much which is preferable to me than having to micromanage her.
Resource management and strategy are gameplay mechanics. A core part of the 'survival horror' genre.
The original RE4 is a straight up action game. The game floods you with resources and ammo. Remake tweaked the balance to be more of a horror game where you have to carefully consider the most efficient way to use resources to take out the enemies balancing your limited supply. That is literally one of the core mechanics of 'survival horror'.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 15 '26 edited Mar 15 '26
You literally have to worry about Ashley more in Remake cuz she wanders off and doesn't obey commands as well.
Resident Evil 4 is the first of the series to let go most of the "Survival horror" elements and embrace action, hence why resource management is in fact not as important. I never struggled that much with lack of resources in either. Plus Remake 4 let's you craft more ammo if you run out. You're literally just making stuff up about the remake. Neither game has an extreme focus on resource management. That mightve been a thing of you never figured out how to craft ammo.
Your point is false, but even if I played along with your false premise, don't get how having a limited supply would make the action better itself. Limited supply is better for Survival horror, but not great for full action. Both OG and Remake are central Action games. I obviously understand they come from a classic Survival horror trilogy, but at the end of the day, they are full action games.
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u/CaffeineCravingFox Mar 07 '26
I love the original, but I haven't played the remake yet. Too busy. I think originals are always better technically, anyways, but I can't weigh in yet.
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u/Wise-Fruit5000 Mar 07 '26
I think they both do certain things better than the other. There’s room for them both to co-exist, and the remake doesn’t take away from how mindblowingly awesome RE4 was back in the day
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u/Uollie Mar 08 '26
Here's my unpopular opinion. I never understand why most people think RE4 (OG or remake) is the Pinnacle of the franchise.
I've always felt the original and now even remakes of 1-3 are FAR better games than 4. I couldn't even play original 4 past the village. It just genuinely was a bad experience for me. Even the remake, I begrudgingly finished the whole game.
1-3 have an actual horror tone to them while 4 is a cheesy action movie parody. I definitely place re2 remake as best in the entire series.
My ranking of the games IMO 2 > 1 > 3 > 4 > 7 > 5
Havent played 6,8 or 9 but it looks like 9 might be a top 3 if I did play it. And I played code Veronica X way too long ago to remember anything about it.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 12 '26
Ever since it came out, people been saying this. Fans of RE4 already accepted it's not supposed to be as horror as the OG Trilogy. We embrace it as a fun campy 80s Action movie vibes. But if you don't that's okay. Everyone has different opinions. But to us that are okay with the change, we LOVE IT! And judging it as just an ACTION game, it's still VERY solid, and better than 99% of 3rd person action shooters.
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u/Uollie Mar 12 '26
I had some pretty big resentment for re4 OG when it came out because of the lack of zombies. Las plagas just irritated me lol. The fact it was its own thing felt weird and I just didn't have fun killing cultist like people compared to zombies. I also was a huge fan of the fixed perspective camera so over the shoulder introducing an action game felt like an even bigger disrespect to the series for me.
I played Re4 remake last year and I was able to shelf my feelings that RE games must be horror and just try to enjoy it. For the most part I did, but so many times it just actually irritated me.
Then I played re2 remake and WOW it was amazing for me. Even the controls felt way better than 4 remake. Re2 just has so much replayability it was the first game that made me actually consider trying to speed run it.
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u/franklin_wi Mar 07 '26
You are completely correct. RE4 Remake is still good, but original RE4 is on another level.
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u/KuzcosWaterslide Mar 07 '26
Call me crazy, but wasn't there also an area in OG RE4 where you had to fight through guys with chainsaws for arms that isn't in the remake? I feel like I remember that, but it isn't in the remake and I no longer have the OG.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
There is no chainsaw for arms guys in OG. Only normal people wielding chainsaws. You might be thinking of the Garrador enemy, who has giant wolverine claw weapons. He looks kinda different in the Remake, which is why you might confuse them.
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u/KuzcosWaterslide Mar 07 '26
Nah, I'm just wrong lol I definitely remember dudes with like metal face coverings and their arms are chainsaws from the elbow down. I thought I remembered fighting them with Leon, but I was wrong and I have no idea where that's from now 🤣
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Yeah, you're probably remembering another game. Sounds like an enemy type from The Suffering, a horror game that came out around the same time as Resident Evil 4, but I don't know.
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u/HunterTheHoly Mar 07 '26
I can't say I know what you're talking about. I've played the original RE4 about 5 times and I can't remember that part happening. I think you might be confusing RE4 with another game.
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u/KuzcosWaterslide Mar 07 '26
It's possible 🤣 it's good to know that the remake didn't cut that out, though. It's been bothering me for a WHILE wondering if I was wrong or not
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u/allbetsareon Mar 07 '26
You missed the most important downgrade from the OG to the Remake. The Remake doesn’t have the PRL 412 as a unlock for beating it on Professional
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u/InkPixelZ Mar 07 '26
I'm playing through the original right now (currently at the Salazar boss fight) and I've been really enjoying it! But boy do I not miss quick time events.
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u/csortland Mar 07 '26
I like them both equally. Each has strengths and weaknesses that kinda even out.
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u/argyllcampbell Mar 08 '26
I started with Resident Evil 4 on the gamecube almost 20 years ago and fell in love. The remake is just too polished for me to go back. The controls, graphics, and flow of combat are just too good to give up. Combine that with my personal petpeeve of not being able to convert my mouse sensitivity into the original re4 and ill probably never touch it again.
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u/Underpantsgnomes89 24d ago
1000000% agree. How in the world can someone play both games and say the original isn't a better piece of art?
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u/Rare_Bridge7703 Mar 07 '26
I don't disagree. For any of the positives in Remake, all the losses negate them overall by the end. Re4-R is like the DBZ Kai version, but it forgot (much like Kai) that some of the filler had value. 4R has no downtime, which is very important in these kinds of games to make hectic moments stand out more. If it's always throttle, nothing feels better than the last.
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u/PutridMeasurement522 Mar 07 '26
OG aiming with the laser made every shot feel intentional; remake feels like it's smoothing out the jank that gave it personality. also yes, stopping to shoot is cursed... but it's OUR cursed.
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u/Psylux7 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
TLDR: I strongly agree, and it's refreshing to read this instead of yet another black&white "the remake is objectively better in every single, last conceivable way" take. Below, I list the many things that irked me in the remake.
I put off the og re4 and didn't think it looked enjoyable in the gameplay videos and because I had not previously enjoyed the action side of resident evil. I finally, hesitantly picked it up to prepare for village and after maybe twenty minutes, I got comfortable with the controls (which i was dreading), survived the village battle, and proceeded to experience one of my finest gaming experiences. Two years later, I played the remake, and while it is a very good game and has a variety of excellent tweaks that make it harder to go back to the original (like moving&shooting or the knife system) it also loses a lot of the magic and things I liked from the original, resulting in a more bland, generic, homogenous feeling version of re4 with less personality.
The original had a truly special, magical, bizarre charm to it that was so endearing, while the remake felt almost ashamed to commit to that same vibe. It feels like it halfheartedly does it out of a begrudging sense of obligation rather than a sincere desire to recapture that same, quirky spirit.
Cutting out fantastical levels&setpieces for realism as well as removing the ridiculous gore from kicks&suplexes was also unnecessary/boring. Re4 being wildly&stupidly unrealistic and otherworldly, as a shooter set in 2005, was part of the charm.
I also found myself a lot more frustrated with the remake gameplay, such as the less accurate aiming system, the inconsistent stun effects on ganados, sidequests often being boring filler so you can afford exclusive items, ashley having worse AI (the catapult sequence was awful with ashley), getting stunlocked to death by crowds like I would in a souls game, etc.
Characters like Ashley (her escort missions are worse, however) and Luis were improved, while the villains were often a lot more boring and forgettable, especially salazar. I found Ada very unlikeable both in personality and in her unpleasant voice (the VA talking in her normal voice is genuinely an upgrade over her Ada voice).
I was really hoping to enjoy the island so much more and for the regenerators to make the original ones look like scooby doo villains in comparison, but I still found the island pretty underwhelming (while it kept my most hated part and removed parts i liked), while the regenerators looked really goofy and did not feel any scarier.
I was annoyed that they kept the kinds of QTEs I hated while removing the ones I actually liked. I wish they had done what spider-man did and made those QTEs optional while doing away with the ones that happen in combat as they were bad then and bad now.
Some bosses also disappointed me by either being much more annoying or not doing enough to improve their underwhelming original versions.
Salazar's new fight was a lot more obnoxious (even if the old fight was lame in its own right), U3 lost the most memorable part of the fight while being cut and sold as dlc, Verdugo was somehow a worse bullet sponge, and Saddler was a very forgettable final boss despite original saddler also having a poor boss fight.
Overall, I found it had a lot of moments that either frustrated me more than the original or did not sufficiently improve on the things I really wanted improvement for. As said before, it also has only a fraction of the charm and personality by sanding off a lot of flavour, becoming more homogenous in the process.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
The only 2 things I don't like about OG4 is the QTEs and the fact you have to pause every time to equip a different weapon. Don't get why OG4 didn't allow d-pad weapon switching. Would be super easy to implement, it's not a complex thing.
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u/Psylux7 Mar 07 '26
D pad weapon switching is such an insanely nice addition to the remake despite being such a simple fix. Seeing as how capcom tweaked a new version of devil may cry 3 to have the dpad to instantly switch combat styles, i do not see why they could not have done this in newer versions of the og re4. That one little thing makes it hard to go back to the og. The one good thing about opening inventory was that it often gave players a breather so they could plan their next action in a tough situation. I often opened the inventory regardless in the remake to relax and plan my next move. It still really hurts that the og does not use the dpad.
I actually really liked the cutscene QTEs, but I hated moments like mashing for leon to climb up the edge of the cliffs (because he died so easily) and on mouse&keyboard it was hellish mashing the x button. Also hated when bosses would flash a QTE on the screen, and you would have to frantically hit it to dodge an attack. Separate ways saddler was the worst for that. So I was not only sad to see cutscene QTEs gone, I was quite annoyed that bosses still had their sudden QTE like attacks where you had to hit a button out of nowhere.
I get that people can be extremely angry about QTEs (if reddit discourse is any indication), but not everybody hates them. Spider-man 2018 had QTEs as a feature you enabled or disabled in settings, and I wish the remake did that to keep the cutscene QTEs for those who liked them while everyone else would not have to worry about them.
Qtes are not a big deal, though as far as remake changes go. I just liked some of them a lot (while disliking others).
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u/BakedWizerd Mar 07 '26
I’m too accustomed to strafing side to side, I know it’s an incredibly small thing, but I can’t go without it in a third person shooter. Tank controls are just too outdated for me.
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u/Billib2002 Mar 07 '26
How would they keep the control scheme intact while also making it playable for Mouse and Keyboard players in your humble opinion?
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u/Reivoulp Mar 07 '26
RE4 remake made RE4 more subtle and gave it depths while keeping the blockbuster action hero story.
It's a way more compelling story and presentation than the Original which had a different goal.
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u/Snoo-7148 Mar 07 '26
On some parts I agree, like Mendez, he was far more intimidating in the original because he didn't talk so much.
But on the whole i disagree.
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u/Manjorno316 Mar 07 '26
What's your opinion on RE2/RE2R?
I think RE4R is the better experience personally.
There is no right answer, just different opinions.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
I love both versions of Resident Evil 2, but I like the OG more. But I know most people won't jive with the fixed camera/tank controls style, which is fine.
But also the 2OG does the A/B scenario MUCH BETTER than 2 Remake. But 2 Remake is still my fav Resident Evil game in the modern style. With 7 and Requiem somewhere close behind.
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u/Manjorno316 Mar 07 '26
I agree. I love the old style RE games as well. RER is the best in the series.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
You mean RE1R? RE1R and RE3OG are my favs of the classic RE style.
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u/Manjorno316 Mar 07 '26
Yes the OG remake. I haven't played OG RE3 yet but I have it in my library.
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u/Saiyan_Gods Mar 07 '26
Nah. RE4make made it a survival horror game. Anything the og does better is an aspect regarding action or tropes regarding it. One came out before the other and changed gaming. Remake4 is an example of a few of how good remakes can be and games overall. A laser sight and action cheese quips are not enough to make it better. Not even the combat is better. It’s not scarier. It doesn’t have as much violence or even the writing work the remake happens to have. You spent more time with one is all it is. Doesn’t change what og did. But REmake 4 is the definitive version. It also doesn’t have the QTE’s. The characters overall are just better too lol OG4 asi has the island which is the weakest part of the whole game that got rectified in the remake. It blows it out of the water. Even made the regenerators scarier. Separate ways is also vastly superior to the original.
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u/Glum_Lime1397 Mar 07 '26
That's not really an unpopular opinion, but I will say playing RE4 Remake in VR is mindblowing
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u/Armin__Tamzarian Mar 07 '26
I'd say they're about tied, Remake has a darker tone but gunplay is more generic shooter, OG was more campy but gunplay was more survival horror paced.
RE4 is overrated in general, it opened the franchise up to a more casual action oriented audience but the action sequences are always the worst parts of the series.
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u/Odd_Contact_2175 Mar 07 '26
I have no nostalgia bias but I played the OG before the remake came out and it ks rough to play in 2026. The ability to move and shoot is so necessary now that playing without it feels awful.
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u/PS5013 quiet person Mar 07 '26
Made it to the second paragraph until I determined, that this is rage bait.
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u/A-Dubs398 Mar 07 '26
Sure, everything you personally don't like is ragebait. Very mature way of thinking.
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u/PS5013 quiet person Mar 07 '26
Gunplay like Fortnite or GTA… definitely rage bait. Nobody, who has played the game, would seriously draw that connection
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