Anniversary: Resident Evil 4, One Of The Greatest Games Ever Made, Turns 20 – Nintendo Life
GuestGuestLogin | Sign UpNintendo LifeGuestLogin or Sign Up”2005… I’ll never forget it”It seems funny to think back on it now, but during the early days of Resident Evil – when decomposing zombies were the top dog and Raccoon City was everybody’s favourite apocalyptic holiday destination – the idea that the franchise would find itself in the rural outskirts of Europe in which you fight a child-like evil castellan seemed utterly absurd.That’s exactly what Resident Evil 4 was, however – absurd. Although the series has always enjoyed its own endearing sense of lunacy amongst the gritty, survival horror tropes, RE4 went above and beyond with its utterly ridiculous storyline and gameplay.Where once we were traipsing through the burning streets of Raccoon City, now we’re practically skipping through the hallways of a grand castle, shooting down mysterious blue medallions, bartering with a charismatic pirate-like merchant, suplexing cultists, torching giant parasites, and knifing conveniently placed pots and barrels. It was insane and, in many ways, it wasn’t entirely Resident Evil. But y’know what? It saved the franchise.It’s not out of the question to state that RE4 is one of the greatest games of all time. It was a blast to play back in 2005, and it’s a blast to play this very day, 20 years later, even with the remake out there. It showed just how successful a game can be when developers choose to take a risk and usher their franchises in new and exciting directions. In an age in which bloated budgets make publishers more risk-averse than ever, it’s something we frankly don’t see enough of anymore.You only need to take a look at the ridiculous number of ports RE4 has received since its initial release to understand just how significant a game it really is. One of the best (and perhaps more underappreciated) was the Wii Edition which implemented excellent motion controls for the aiming functionality, but of course, you can boot it up right now on the Nintendo Switch, if you wish. And with the upcoming ‘Switch 2’ boasting full backward compatibility with current Switch games, you’ll be able to enjoy RE4 comfortably for the best part of the next decade, at the very least.If you somehow haven’t played RE4 yet, I urge you to give it a go. Yes, you can play the remake if you really want to, and that’s a perfectly fine way to experience Leon’s deadly jaunt into Europe, but the original is such a special game and is, in my eyes, a required experience for fans of survival horror, action games and, well… just games in general.What’s your favourite memory of Resident Evil 4? Did you play it on day one on GameCube, or was your first experience via one of its many ports? Let us know with a comment.2Demake”My, my, we’ve got a feisty one”You sort the Nintendo S.T.A.R.S. from the lickersAbout Ollie ReynoldsNintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.Comments 76The best Gamecube exclusive!I took a punt on this game by pre-ordering it from the US (the European release was months away), even though I’d never really gotten on with the previous titles in the series. What a wonderful gamble that turned out to be!I’ve played this game several times over on several platforms and I still really love it.I remember getting this game back in the day when I was staying at my aunt and her at-the-time 6 year old son. I got the game together with Mario Party 6. I actually really wanted to play RE4 first, but of course because the young lad wanted to watch, we just played Mario Party 6 instead. I don’t recall if I did end up playing RE4 there at the time, but I certainly did when I got back home at least!Good memories, regardless.Been playing it solidly for the past month and having a blast.I remember I couldn’t get it for months in Northern Ireland as it was sold out everywhere, even got scammed on ebay trying to get a copy of it. When I finally got it my expectations were ridiculously high but it still managed to surpass them.The perfect pacing, the action, the hilarious one liners, Leon being both a complete dork and badass at the same time. Simply the best game ever made.I remember picking this up day one for my purple cube and intending to play a couple hours with a friend over. We ended up playing 10hrs straight not realizing it. Amazing experience.20 years of not thanking the broThis was the first game through the NES-GC eras that I thought had received the amount of attention and detail that a Zelda title would receive during development. And the first time I had ranked something outside of Nintendo truly in the same league as Nintendo.Back in NES and SNES days I always thought Capcom was the next best in line to Nintendo when it came to development, Mega Man X truly steeled that for me.During the N64/Ps1 era I didn’t have access to a Ps1, so I missed out a bunch until the end of that cycle. Didn’t play RE1-3 or Metal Gear Solid till almost when Ps2 released. Still though, that era was a bit rough, especially for 3D games and their wonky cameras. Ocarina of Time and Majora’s mask were 2 major stand outs during that time frame however.By Ps2 and GC we’d had a bit more grips with 3D work and much better cameras. As far as GC titles go, RE4 was easily a top 3 title with it’s only 2 competitors both Zelda titles. If you expand things out across all platforms at the time but narrow the genre to just action/adventure it still stands in a top 3 or at least top 5 ranking.I don’t mind double dipping on games to have them on multiple platforms just in case I don’t have access to one of them. RE4 is one of the few titles I’ve rebought on every platform however. It’s just that good, and stands up even to this day. Not many games can truly say they’re still really good 20+ years later.Happy Anniversary RE4, looking forward to finally giving it a try myself when I can (while horror isn’t my cup of tea I’m willing to at least give it a shot, pun intended) thanks to its rerelease on Switch!Fantastic game. Every aspect was well executed. 10/10 would put in my top 20 games of all time.If you wonder if it stood the test of time, they tried to improve it with a remake and they buthered it. That’s how you determine the quality of a 00s gemI know im the outlier here, but my least favorite RE game.Truly amazing game that I played through for the first time only 2 years ago.Got the remake for 20$ on Xbox Series S and it has been stellar so far!I played this several times over, first on easy and then on normal which gave extra parts of the map in certain places. It was that good an action game with amazing set pieces. I haven’t played it on Switch, with the backlog of games, I experienced more than enough of this game on the GameCube.Happy 20th anniversary RE4.🎉🎊One of my favorite games ever! It’s fantastic from the beggining to the end.I really hope we can have the remake of this one and the rest, and VII and VIII on the Switch 2.I remember all the $ony fanboys being hyper pi$$y about it being on GameCube and non stop female-dogging $ony and CapCom that it needs to come to PS2.@Max_the_German It was barely an exclusive!6 months and it was ported to PS2One of my fav games ever. I beat it on the cube, the Wii, and the meta quest. Still need to do my 4 remake on ps4. Happy Birthday!!@DripDropCop146 I can see that. Have a friend who preferred the original 1-3, as they were more horror focused. Another friend prefers 5&6 because he’s an action fan and those were action games with a side of horror. Then there’s the 7&8 crowd because those were almost like playing a horror movie. 7 on Madhouse is probably the most intense game I’ve ever played to this day….@Spider-Kev”non stop female-dogging”somehow this is so much worse than just saying the “b word.” 😂 ✌️One of the games I love to replay from time to time. It’s always a great experience, even though 20 years have passedThis forastero is my favorite title in the franchise alongside RE2Yep I remember picking this up at launch at this awesome little game shop in a mini mall, that is sadly now long gone. Still a masterpiece to this day, one of those rare games that I immediately started replaying after beating it the first time.I do remember though while most people loved the game, there was a small but vocal minority of hardcore RE fans online, who took it upon themselves to constantly deride the game and claim it wasn’t ‘real RE’ because it lacked item boxes, fixed camera angles, etc. While I do still love the older games, that’s not to say a series can’t change and evolve with the times. And the old formula was becoming a bit stale at the time, RE4 was the shakeup the series needed I think.That being said, I am glad there’s a bunch of indie developers still making games inspired by the old RE style.@DripDropCop146 I’m with you. The intro is brilliant and the setting is great, but outside of the Wii control novelty I found the rest of the game a big slog. Especially the terrible pacing after RE3 had it so brilliantly nailed.RE4 on Wii was one of my favorite gaming experiences.RE4 remake with pointer/mouse controls on Switch 2 please congratulation RE4 , ok time to reveal RE9 or Re5 remake or somethingIt’s sorta funny to me the trajectory these remakes are heading in which lead to the series getting a soft reboot in the first place.I would honestly laugh if RE:10 was “Getting back to the RE roots…again”RE4 released in the same day as The Minish Cap@-wc- The “b word” is censored hereAnd genuinely one of the best games ever in VR too. In Quest 3 it’s just brilliant.This with REmake, the Metroid Prime games and the two Zeldas make the cube such an awesome machine. Chuck in F-Zero GX, WaveRace, 1080 and a brilliant Mario Kart for good measure and racing fans are covered. Gaming nights with Monkey Ball and Double Dash were only ever matched by MK64 and Goldeneye nights a few years prior. What a time.I really have to get around to finishing the game. With little ones around me I can never find the time until they are asleep. Fits perfectly actually. Playing a horror game in the dark.My favorite memory of RE4 is how I worked the trade-in system at Blockbuster to get the game new at launch for only $8. They had buy 2 used games, get 1 free. So I bought the cheapest thing they had, meaning I got 3 copies of Turok Evolution for $8.They also had trade any 3 games in, get any 1 game. So I turned around and traded 3 used copies of Turok Evolution for 1 new copy of Resident Evil 4 (just a week or two after it released on Gamecube).I felt like a mad genius! As a broke college student, these were necessary survival skills 😄… and since that time I’ve bought the game not only on Gamecube but also Wii, PS4, and Switch.@MegaMari0 Bahahahah! I feel ya there! Just wait till you’re remote playing RE7 on Madhouse in bed with your headphones on at 2am and while Jack is chasing you, your 5 year old suddenly appears above your device saying “What ya doin daddy?”Someone pooped my pants at that exact moment, I still haven’t figured out who….And for a short time my daughter thought I called her “Oh f*** god****”Resident Evil 4 the game that killed the original Resident Evil spirit off and made the series casual, no piety here!Up there with Super Mario 64 for sheer seismic influence@SearchingS Would much prefer a Code Veronica remake personally.Definitely a top entry in the entire series and one of my favourite games of all time. Here’s hoping the remake will be heading over to Switch’s successor. I can’t wait to play the non-cloud versions of all those games!This game had my friend on Gamecube.İ have played with his Gamecube the full game. İ must say this was the one of the best games İ have ever played. The other game is one of the best games that İ have played was Zelda Ocarina Of Time.Zelda Ocarina Of Time was still better than Resident Evil 4.İ must say İ have beat it Resident Evil 4 2 times and İ want to play it still.Resident Evil 4 is a must play game.@XE77 Yes, but in such a strange way while Capcom lost the spirit of what made RE beloved, other games inspired by it were born. While Capcom was chasing the action crowd, games like Dead Space and Amnesia chased the crowd Capcom left behind.Top 5 all time favorite. Played multiple playthroughs on the Cube, only to be outdone by the superior Wii version. Haven’t played the remake yet. Looking at you, Switch 2…I recently bought the original version of Resident Evil 4 for Quest 3 and I still enjoy it every bit as much now to what I did back in the day.@Spider-Kev Or… you could use another word such as “moaning”, “complaining”, “whinging”…Love this game so, so much. I just played it again a couple of weeks ago so probably won’t do that again right now (though I’ve done two runs of it in the same day before), but been due to play the remake again so might be a good time for that.@Ooyah Doesn’t get the point across as wellI remember winning a competition prize which was the GC Resi 4 demo a month before the game came out. It blew me away but I couldn’t wait for the full game after blasting through the demo.It didn’t disappoint, great game!Somehow for nearly all of 2005 this totally passed me by (though I had a lot going on). I had moved abroad by the end of the year and when returned briefly for Xmas I decided to get a new game, as my PS2 was going back with me. I picked up RE4 and was hooked from the first play.That game got me through one of the coldest winters on record, where I could hurry home and just loose myself in it. It was one of the only games where I can remember finishing a section and thinking ‘please don’t be the end of the game. New part? Wahoo!’The PS2 version has a different balance for some of the weapons any contained Operation Ada and Separate Ways, neither of which were on the original GameCube release. However I managed to scratch the disc and picked up the GameCube version to play during the summer when I returned home. The graphical differences between the Cube and PS2 versions is quite noticeable. My now wife who was with me at the time still occasionally quotes the Merchant (‘what are a buying?’) as I am sure she was sick of hearing it!@WheresWaveRace couldn’t have put it better myself. Though the PS2 got most of my attention at the time I still had a GameCube for exclusives and over 20 years later it is the system I’m far more fond of. In fact I was playing Double Dash just today!Loved it back in the day, because it shook up the formula, but playing the remake last year, I feel the set piece-driven gameplay does not hold up. I like RE better when it’s constrained to a few locations and focuses more on exploration. RE4 basically goads you from one location to the next.Amazing game, definitely in my all time top 10. I had the special edition Gamecube console at the time. Played the original again a couple of years ago and loved it. Had to play nothing else at the same time though as the controls really need locking into as feel pretty unnatural by modern standards. Funnily enough just finished the REmake on PS5 last night. Was incredible, somehow managed to feel both completely authentic to the original and modern at the same time. Cannot recommend it enough.@Rainbowjames the remake is one of the very few games I preordered to play day one. No regrets. It is a fantastic update, just as the remake of Resident Evil on GameCube and Resident Evil 2 a few years ago are.I bought this game when it came out. Beat it very fast and loved it.I’m still kind of annoyed they remade it, the original was still perfect IMHO. The Wii version is still the best, I can’t quite fathom how Capcom failed to put gyro aiming into the Switch version. 😞I can’t deny that many people love RE4 so it succeeded in that way. My experience was negative, but I’ll be brief because I don’t want to drag anything down. I thought that the early stages of the game were great. At roughly halfway through the game, it felt like things changed and it became a slog to me. I despised the QTE knife fight and had some other issues. Not everyone will like the same things, and that’s how it goes sometimes. From the sound of it, the remake sounds like it fixed various issues and credit to Capcom for making some changes to things that maybe didn’t work so well or did not age well like the aforementioned QTE-heavy stuff. If they ever take the additional DRM out of the PC version, I’d be willing to give the remake a shot.@Princess_Lilly Would not at all describe the remake as butchering it. Personally think both games are fantastic.The GC version was a masterpiece. You had to be there when it launched. That little cube put out fantastic graphics and sound like no one had seen before. I remember playing it and I’m like there’s no way the PS2 can replicate this and then when that version launched, I was right. if you never played the cube version, you didn’t really know, but if you played that version, and then you saw the PS2 version all blurry as hell and dumbed down graphically, it was pretty bad. was such a great time in gaming history.Being a GameCube owner during that time was really special.@SBandy1 hello my fellow Northern Ireland NintendoLifer! I remember buying a GameCube with RE4, Viewtiful Joe and… something else, probably Double Dash. All awesome games, but man I wish I could play RE4 for the first time again! I remember climbing out the window on to the roof… and the enemies following me! RE4: Wii Edition is even better, but nothing will ever feel like playing it for the first time on GameCube again.Nice read, Ollie! Did a great job at convincing me.Reminds me to give this series another chance. I always want to start with the first one but maybe this is a better choice.@Gamecuber that’s hilarious, my now-wife still does that too, despite never holding a GameCube controller in her life 😅 Soon as she says it, she follows up immediately with ‘what’re ya sellin?’Resident Evil 4 defined the 2000’s and remains one of the best games ever.I hope we see the remakes of Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 on Switch 2.The Wii B&W artwork is still the best horror game cover of all times.Hands down my favorite RE title to date…I probably beat this game at least a dozen times on multiple platforms. The best way to play this is in my opinion with the Wii remote and nunchuck. I’m still angry that Capcom left out the basement cage maze boss fight, that tension is like non other in any horror game except maybe some of the original Dead Space moments@AmplifyMJ mine does too! Usually followed by one of us answering with something inappropriate…@Spider-Kev definitely not as well as “female-dogging.” Succinct.I do like this game, but it also marks the turning point when I stopped liking Resident Evil games. For me, Code Veronica was the series peak.I remember pre-ordering this in December of 2004 and GameStop provided a demo disc. It was the opening of the game through the village sequence where the bell rings and the game starts proper. My friends and I would do runs over and over every night until the release. The Gannados moved so realistically for the time and reacted to your actions. Every run felt unique. When we picked up the game it came with a ‘Making Of’ DVD that I still have to this day. After we beat the game, MERCENARIES runs took over our existence for the next two years. A seminal game and truly 2005’s GOTY. I own it on GCN, Wii, WiiU Digital, Switch Digital, Meta Quest 2, and of course the REmake on PS5 (which met all of my expectations).And the best version currently resides on Quest 3.
The Switch Port is rough around the edges. Capcom should of knocked the resolution down to 720p docked to lock the 60fps, because at 900p(Docked) the frame rate stutters occasionally, something that never existed with the 480i/p @30fps GameCube original.The PS4 version? 1080p + a locked 60fps with improved textured(etc) are great and all, but I find it plays worse with either the DualShock 4 & DualSense. The lower placed left stick and jittery aiming muck it all up. I don’t know, there’s just something about using the GameCube controller back in 2004 with the top right stick & big A button made RE4 feel more distinct and unique.Also, the Wii versions pointer controls work very well, but the bobbing ‘always on-screen’ white cross hair is extremely annoying. But in 2025? The Quest 3 version is thee’ definitive version of this classic, no doubt. You’re plunked IN the game itself, in stereoscopic 3D, the motion pointer aiming is an evolution of the Wii remote Plus & Nunchuck and offers far more leeway and diversity, since you’re not using them on a rectangular screen.The entire experience winds up being far more immersive, transformative, visceral and next level thanks to being VR-ified.
I wish more high ranking Devs like Retro Studious would take older classics and transform them into VR, 3rd person VR, top down VR, whatever best suites said game they’re VR-ifying.You have a whole new level of dimensionality with motion aiming and what you can do thanks to VR, and….Drum roll. VR motion has a reference, unlike Switch & PS5 Gyro. So even if Capcom updated both RE4 on Switch & PS5 with gyro aiming, the accuracy would be unreliable. And even if both versions had a sensor bar for 100% reliability for pointer based aiming, they’d still feel like nothing compared to the Quest 3 version.@JohnnyMind same here, but this game I bought day one because I had read so many articles at the time that were glowing about this game. It seemed to be heavy on action and I’ve always liked a good shooter, so I rolled the dice and it really did become one of my all time favorite games. I have never had an experience before or since where I felt such overwhelming dread, than in that opening act where you’re in the village surrounded by all these farmers with pitchforks and axes and then a big crazy guy with a chainsaw lopped my head off from behind while I was fighting for my life. I wasn’t angry but I was shaking and on pins and needles, I just turned off my cube and let out a sigh. This may sound unappealing to you because there is definitely a horror aspect but there’s also a great sense of you playing as a bonfide hero and you’re given plenty of arms to deal with the creepy people.I still think the original is better than the remake.@DripDropCop146 If you like 6 better than it you’re insane. If you just like the survival horror ones better than the action ones that’s understandable.Loved this game on gamecube & beyond. I’ve still got the Gamecube Resi 4 Chainsaw controller.
I loved the earlier games & unlike some i loved Resi 4 when it came out on the Gamecube. I’ve got this game on Gamecube, Wii, Xbox 360, Series X, Ps3, Ps4 Switch & the recent remaster.@Qwiff The remake got rid of a lot of the atmosphere!The background is also vastly different.Try playing the “original” RE4 again.’cube, Wii, WiiU or Switch version!@WaveBoy That quest version and all those fake VR games are horrible for your health!Ridiculous eye strainBright lights right on top of the eyesMakes one cross eyedNot real Virtual Reality@zeromission80 Yeah, I really don’t know why they omitted that sequence. Besides the Verdugo, that’s probably my fav boss fight in the original. They kinda bring back that creature in the Separate Ways DLC, but it’s not the same.Guess I should play the separate ways portion of the game then 🤔 LoL, I don’t know why I stopped after I beat the game…🤷At that time I was just such a fan of Leon S. Kennedy that I was going to play it no matter what lol. I had no idea just how fun it was going to be. Dealing with the tank controls of previous entries was mastered in my mind, so the relative “freedom” was a revelation. I thought that Resident Evil Revelations 1 mastered this further by bringing back the closterphobia while still retaining the “action”. In any case, RE4 definitely improved the series at the time. Show CommentsLeave A CommentHold on there, you need to login to post a comment…Anniversary: Resident Evil 4, One Of The Greatest Games Ever Made, Turns 20″2005… I’ll never forget it”Feature: Biggest Nintendo Gaming Anniversaries Of 202557 games with big birthdays this yearOkami Sequel Studio Looking Forward To Sharing “More Exciting News” ASAPHideki Kamiya chimes in with a New Year messageFeature: Meet Four Developers Making Brand-New Game Boy Titles In 202435 years and stronger than everFeature: “It’s Fun, So It’s Okay!” – Celebrating Takashi Tezuka’s Astonishing 40-Year Nintendo CareerA look back at a glittering catalogueFeatured Games 37Poll Are There Any Good Lord Of The Rings Games On Nintendo Consoles? 36News Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Estimated File Size Update 28Poll Box Art Brawl – Duel: Klonoa: Empire of Dreams (GBA) 107Rumour Switch Virtual Console Was Apparently Nintendo’s “Original Plan” 33News Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Spotted In The WildNews Nintendo Breaks Silence On ‘Switch 2’ Image And Video LeaksNews Is This Our Best Look Yet At ‘Switch 2’?Rumour New ‘Switch 2’ Photos Show Off A Very Legit-Looking Joy-ConNews Digital Foundry Weighs In On ‘Switch 2’ Motherboard – Just How Powerful …News Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Tops Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Games Of All TimeNews Switch’s First ‘Rebootless Update’ Of 2025 Is Now Live, Here Are The Det…Rumour New ‘Switch 2’ Leak Suggests Console Will Require A 60W ChargerFeature 8 Games That Defined The Switch GenerationReview Freedom Wars Remastered (Switch) – A Fair Reprieve For One Of PS Vita’s …Guide Best Nintendo Switch RPGsPopular Right NowShow More Join 1,468,177 people following Nintendo Life:© 2025 Hookshot Media, partner of IGN Entertainment | Hosted by 44 Bytes | AdChoices | Do Not Sell My Personal Information
