History YMMV / ResidentEvil4

* FranchiseOriginalSin: ''[=RE4=]'' was met with commercial and critical acclaim for being an ActionizedSequel that still had enough horror elements to stay true to the genre. Nearly every other SurvivalHorror game (including its sequels) [[FollowTheLeader tried to follow suit]], upping the action further in response to the more mainstream popularity of FPS and other shooters. This is viewed as an AudienceAlienatingEra for the genre, where it neglected the horror aspect and became indistinguishable from any other action game, because they lacked the action-horror balance that let ''[=RE4=]'' succeed. The genre only got back on track with smaller titles that often removed the "action" half to focus purely on the "horror" end, while the ''Resident Evil'' series itself (after the massive BrokenBase ''[=RE6=]'' caused) only started getting back on track with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'' and the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake''.

** The original 2007 PC port, which claimed it was going to have the graphical quality of the [=GameCube=] with all of the [=PlayStation=] 2 version's content. It was a buggy product with visuals that are ''much'' less detailed than the [=PlayStation=] 2 version with missing lighting, visual effects, and heavily-compressed [=FMVs=] that look worse than the [=PlayStation=] 2 version, which needed to be patched (and [[GameMod modded]]) frequently to even be playable. As with many PC ports of Japanese console games at that time, it's primarily designed for gamepads, with no native mouse support and rather clumsy keyboard controls. The in-game button prompts only refers to generic numbered gamepad buttons, not the keyboard controls or conventional gamepads such as Xbox 360 ones, which would be forgivable if it wasn't for the game's ''extensive'' use of quick time events. What's also {{iron|y}}ic is that the PC port of ''[=RE4=]'' was handled by [=SourceNext=], the very same company behind well-received (and unfortunately Japan-only) PC ports of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 3]]''.

** Downplayed with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' release on Steam; while it's a vast improvement over previous PC port from 2007, it initially shipped with incorrect gradients and lighting effects, making the game look off compared to the Xbox 360 and even [=GameCube=]/Wii versions, which were thankfully fixed with patches and through mods. Some of the other issues with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'', however, were left unaddressed. Problems includes the imperfect mouse aiming calibration, which may be unplayable for some players, performance issues, slightly blurrier image quality due to a vertex buffer error, some missing details, forced V-sync that cannot be disabled through conventual means, and various bugs (both major and minor) caused by playing the game at 60 FPS as opposed to 30 FPS like in the previous releases. The game offers the bare minimum for keyboard remapping in-game; some of the other keys such as the keys used for [=QTEs=] (which are the X and C keys by default) can only be remapped through editing a config file, with [[GuideDangIt little-to-no help]] on how reconfigure said keys, and some keys are already hardcoded. Not all of the game's textures have been remade in higher resolution, with most of them have been ran through an image upscaler, resulting in an mix of muddy upscaled textures with the few new ones. Thankfully, the original [=GameCube=] textures are included as an option, and modders already have faithfully recreated the game's areas with updated textures, lighting fixes, and model edits while using references to real-life architectures the game's original assets were based off. Other modders also created a plugin that restores various aspects missing from the [=GameCube=] release, fixes for the QTE speeds when running the game at 60 FPS, convenient tweaks for the keyboard and mouse controls, among other enhancements and fixes.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Quite a few new fans of the series don't seem to realize what the "4" in the game's title actually denotes.

* SpiritualAdaptation: It's basically an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' game with ''Resident Evil'' lore and characters.

** Veterans of this game would only use two of multiple available pistols that you can buy; [=Red9=] (with stock) and Blacktail. [=Red9=] with the stock gives you a firepower and stability worth of a handheld rifle while Blacktail is a practical and powerful pistol with solid DPS and stability and doesn't take as much space as [=Red9=]. Other pistols weren't as useful as the these two and is largely ignored unless you're doing a challenge run.

* DamselScrappy: Ashley. You'll hear "LEON HALP!!" so much that you're bound to want to kill her yourself by the end of the game. Anytime the player starts wanting to cut her some slack for being a defenseless young woman stuck in such a nightmarish situation, she'll go and do something [[IdiotBall eye-twichingly stupid]] like shove Leon (i.e. the only thing keeping her safe) away and run headlong into a booby trap. The most frustrating part? Unlike [[TheManyDeathsOfYou you and your comrades]], she only has one death animation, so you can't even enjoy the momentarily therapeutic satisfaction of [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential ignoring the cries of]] "LEON HALP!!" and just standing back to watch Dr. Salvador slice her obnoxious head off.

** Shield-wielding Ganados are introduced in the Castle level. Their shield essentially acts as their second healthbar, hides their headshot weakspot, makes them immune to flashbang grenades and increases the range of their attacks, making avoiding them difficult. They always appear in squadrons of 2-3 members, often guarding other enemies. Thankfully, once their shield is broken, they're just a normal Ganado that you can easily skip past through.
** Ganados with protective headgear. Just like the shield wielding ones, they start to appear in the Castle level onwards, and although less abundant and lacking the barrier efficiency of the shield guys, they have higher resistance against headshots. This means you can't instantly kill them with a rifle round to the head or by suplexing them. Worse yet, it's possible to encounter a Ganado wearing both a helmet and a shield at the same time.

For YMMV tropes regarding [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4Remake the remake]], see [[YMMV/ResidentEvil4Remake it's own YMMV page]].

** Ashley is able to {{suplex|Finisher}} certain enemies via a glitch in the [=GameCube=] version after stunning them by busting a door open in their faces.

** The ''[[UpdatedRerelease Wii Edition]]'' has everything the original PC version claimed it was going to have, and on top of being perfectly stable, the Wii Remote's 1:1 aiming gives it the best controls out of any entry outside of using a mouse.

** The ''HD Edition'', released on UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360, has higher native resolution, added shadows and colored lighting in many locations. The PC port of the HD release, dubbed ''Ultimate HD Edition'', is playable at even higher resolutions than its console versions, has an added hi-res texture pack, has controls comparable to the Wii version thanks to supporting mouse and keyboard controls, and can run at 60 frames per second; the ''HD Remastered'' version on [=PlayStation=] 4, Xbox One, and to a lesser extent, the Switch are also comparable to the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' in terms of visual fidelity and frame-rate. This is opposed to...

** The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 port is inferior compared to the original [=GameCube=] version in various ways. While it was the first version to feature Ada's additional story campaign and the unlockable P.R.L. 412 for completing Professional mode, eliminated the need to swap discs at the last third of the game, support for proper widescreen presentation[[note]]the original [=GameCube=] version's game screen is displayed at 16:9 letterboxed to a 4:3 viewport, while the [=PlayStation=] 2 version features an option for widescreen presentation, provided the player has a widescreen television that can stretch the video output to fullscreen[[/note]], and some minor fixes that are exclusive to this port, the game's graphics and audio were downgraded in order to run on the console despite being released in DVD format. Downgrades includes lower resolution textures, simplified models and environments, missing details and effects, sound effects and voice overs compressed so badly it sounds muffled, and introduces some glitches and loading issues. The cutscenes where also noticeably replaced with low resolution pre-rendered [=FMVs=], rather than rendering them in-game engine.
** The original 2007 PC port, which claimed it has the graphical quality of the [=GameCube=] with all of the [=PlayStation=] 2 version's content. It was a buggy product with visuals that are ''much'' less detailed than the [=PlayStation=] 2 version with missing lighting and visual effects, and needed to be patched (and [[GameMod modded]]) frequently to even be playable. As with many PC ports of Japanese console games at that time, it's designed for gamepads, with no native mouse support and rather clumsy keyboard controls. The in-game button prompts only refer to buttons on a gamepad, not the keyboard controls, which would be forgivable if it wasn't for the game's ''extensive'' use of quick time events. What's also {{iron|y}}ic is that the PC port of ''[=RE4=]'' was handled by [=SourceNext=], the very same company behind an improved (and unfortunately Japan-only) PC ports of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 3]]''.
** Downplayed with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' release on Steam; while it's a vast improvement over previous PC port from 2007, it initially shipped with incorrect gradients and lighting effects, making the game look off compared to the Xbox 360 and even [=GameCube=]/Wii versions, which were thankfully fixed with patches and through mods. Some of the other issues with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'', however, were left unaddressed. Problems includes the imperfect mouse aiming calibration, which may be unplayable for some players, performance issues, and various bugs (both major and minor) caused by playing the game at 60 FPS as opposed to 30 FPS like in the previous releases. The game offers the bare minimum for keyboard remapping in-game; some of the other keys such as the keys used for [=QTEs=] (which are the X and C keys by default) can only be remapped through editing a config file, with [[GuideDangIt little-to-no help]] on how reconfigure said keys, and some keys are already hardcoded. Not all of the game's textures have been remade in higher resolution, with most of them have been ran through an image upscaler, resulting in an mix of muddy upscaled textures with the few new ones. Thankfully, the original [=GameCube=] textures are included as an option, and modders already have faithfully recreated the game's areas with updated textures, lighting fixes, and model edits while using references to real-life architectures the game's original assets were based off. Other modders also created a plugin that restores various aspects missing from the [=GameCube=] release, fixes for the QTE speeds when running the game at 60 FPS, and convenient tweaks for the keyboard and mouse controls among other enhancements.

* DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound: [[DamselScrappy Ashley's]] signature cry:
---> '''Leon Help!'''

* EvenBetterSequel: The ''Resident Evil'' games were always well liked, but this game is considered the apex of the entire series. It's sitting at ''96'' on Metacritic and is considered the game of the year for 2005. It's been released on multiple platforms and holds the Guinness World Record for best selling survival horror game. It did so well and is so liked that almost all of the main entry ''Resident Evil'' game since ''[=RE4=]'' have followed its template and tropes. And it's credited for bringing the AlwaysOverTheShoulder viewpoint into new prominence in ThirdPersonShooter genres and [[FollowTheLeader inspired a lot of other games]], such as ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' for one.

** The [[https://www.re4hd.com/ RE4 HD Project]] is one of the most polished fan updates to a game ever made. After the unsatisfying release of the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' on Steam, a team of fan modders went back and gave the game an unbelievable facelift. Pretty much every single texture, model, effect, and location were given a number of touchups, or in some cases outright revamps, to better match modern visual quality. For instance, several 2D textures and model elements were made fully 3D, while several models were updated to use higher quality versions. [[https://youtu.be/iEsFcVdJ0uA The result is an incredible visual improvement nearly across the board.]] It's so impressive that ''Capocom themselves'' pinned the mod to the top of the [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/254700/discussions/ Steam Discussion forums]] for the game, essentially making it an officially promoted mod.

** The Novistadors are not well-liked among the ''Resident Evil'' community. They fly, they lunge, and they almost always come in a crowd. In the higher dynamic difficulty setting and Professional mode, not only they're a lot more durable and can tank more shotgun blasts than usual, their flight pattern also become a lot more jittery and unpredictable as the game goes on. At least they only appear in the Castle and only seen three times through the entire game, and they kidnap [[DamselScrappy Ashley]] so you don't have to look after her.
** Shield-wielding Ganados. They only appear on Castle level onwards, but whenever they're start appearing, you'll bound to lose some precious shotgun or rifle rounds. The shield essentially acts as their second healthbar, hides their headshot weakspot, makes them immune to flashbang, adds another ways to attack you, and they always appear in a 2-3 squadron guarding other GoddamnedBats. If you think you can just juke their attacks and run past them, their shield also increases their width by a lot that you can't get past through them anymore. Good thing about the shield guys is that once the shield is broken off, they're now just a normal Ganado that you can easily skip past through. Speaking of being more resistant to headshot...
** Ganados with protective headgear. Just like the shield wielding ones, they only starts to appear in the Castle level onwards, and a lot less abundant than the shield guys. What they're lack in barrier efficiency of the shield guys is traded off with higher resistance against headshots, meaning that you can't just pop on a rifle round to it's head once as it no longer kills them instantly. You think you can just make them kneel and suplex them for an easy kill? The helmet protects them from instant kill. Worse yet, none of these traits are exclusive to each other, so you can encounter a helmet + shield or a helmet + crossbow Ganado in the same area (shield guys can't wield crossbow for obvious reasons). If you encounter one enemy with two of these traits? You better kill them fast before it becomes an annoyance.

** The Novistadors are not well-liked among the ''Resident Evil'' community. They fly, they lunge, and they almost always come in a crowd. At least they kidnap [[DamselScrappy Ashley]] so you don't have to look after her.

** Leon will eventually become this in stages where he doesn't have the raw firepower to go up against more difficult minibosses like Super Salvador. Leon's biggest strength is his crowd control with the Riot Gun (and generally being the only character with a shotgun), while his most effective melee is the leg shot suplex that's powerful, but not enough to reliably kill things. Ada is also this for similar reasons, but only because the Punisher is the weakest out of all available pistols and most of her weapons [[SomeDexterityRequired require consistently getting headshots to do good damage]].

** HUNK would be categorized in the high tier if not the fact that he lacks a knife and doesn't have reliable crowd control outside of his grenades and a leg kick move. Against single targets, HUNK is a powerful force to be reckoned with, as his neckbreaker move kills any single target in one hit.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: In spite of having a role in the main story and Ada's side-story 'Separate Ways', Luis is unavailable to play in the mini-game Mercenaries in spite of being proficient with a gun himself.
* TierInducedScrappy: Plenty in Mercenaries mode:

** On the other side of the spectrum, Krauser is considered by the playerbase as the "Easy Mode" of Mercenaries thanks to his kit; A compound bow that almost guaranteed to kill enemies in one headshot, a knife bigger than Leon's, two devastating melee hits that provide multiple utilities, and a powerful [[SituationalSword one time rechargeable]] plaga arm attack that clears out every enemy in a straight line in front of him, including [[ThatOneBoss the minibosses]]. Wesker is also this to a degree, thanks to his pistol being fully upgraded and his deadly melee attacks, but lacks a knife, starts with no spare ammo, and has very little inventory space with how many guns he has.
** HUNK would be categorized in the High tier if not the fact that he lacks a knife and doesn't have reliable crowd control outside of his grenades and a leg kick move. Against single targets, HUNK is a powerful force to be reckoned with, as his neckbreaker move kills any single target in one hit.

** In terms of the many different versions, the ''Wii Edition'' is this to every port that came after it. While higher fidelity and better framerates from more powerful consoles were appreciated, the Wii's usage of motion controls makes it so that the ''Wii Edition'' is widely considered by fans to be the most fun version of the game to play, as the aiming and shooting is that much better due to motion controls. Many were even disappointed at the Switch's lack of gyro for its version, given that the console already supported gyro with ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''.

** While it's generally considered great, there are a number of people who didn't like the greater action focus. A number of the same people see this in a different light after the much more actiony, and much less atmospheric ''[=RE6=]''.

** Downplayed with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' release on Steam; while it's a vast improvement over previous PC port from 2007, it initially shipped with incorrect gradients and lighting effects, making the game look off compared to the Xbox 360 and even [=GameCube=]/Wii versions, which were thankfully fixed with patches and through mods. Some of the other issues with the ''Ultimate HD Edition'', however, were left unaddressed. Problems includes the imperfect mouse aiming calibration, which may be unplayable for some players, performance issues, and various bugs (both major and minor) caused by playing the game at 60 FPS as opposed to 30 FPS like in the previous releases. The game offers the bare minimum for keyboard remapping in-game; some of the other keys such as the keys used for [=QTEs=] (which are the X and C keys by default) can only be remapped through editing a config file, with [[GuideDangIt little-to-no help]] on how reconfigure said keys, and some keys are already hardcoded. Not all of the game's textures have been remade in higher resolution, with most of them have been ran through an image upscaler, resulting in an mix of muddy upscaled textures with the few new ones. Thankfully the original [=GameCube=] textures are included as an option, and modders already have faithfully recreated the game's areas with updated textures, lighting fixes, and model edits while using references to real-life architectures the game's original assets were based off. Other modders also created a plugin that restores various aspects missing from the [=GameCube=] release, fixes for the QTE speeds when running the game at 60 FPS, and convenient tweaks for the keyboard and mouse controls among other enhancements.

** The [[PressXToNotDie Action Commands]] penalize the player for dropping their guard during cutscenes, as almost all of them come without warning and result in a Game Over. Made even worse during the infamous Leon vs Krauser knife duel in which you must do several QTE's (which can be unresponsive even if you press the right buttons) spread over one long unskippable cutscene. And if you lose then it's instant game over and you must redo the entire scene from the start.

%%* SpiritualAdaptation: It's basically an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' game with ''Resident Evil'' lore and characters.

* ThatOneAchievement: Getting the Handcannon requires you to get a 5-star ranking on each stage with each character in Mercenaries mode. That's '''20''' perfect runs you have to do, and some are significantly harder to pull off than others.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Several changes were made exclusively for the VR edition, which doesn't sit well with long time fans.
** The removal of the extra gamemodes (Separate Ways, Assignment Ada, and The Mercenaries) doesn't sit well with the fans, since the hardware in question is more than capable of rendering the game perfectly in 30-60 FPS. This also means the corresponding secrets such as the Chicago Typewriter and the Handcannon were all omitted from access. That said, it has since been announced that The Mercenaries will be added as a free update in early 2022, so this has been mitigated somewhat. Time will tell if the rest is added, however.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: In spite of having a role in the main story and Ada's side-story 'Separate Ways', Luis Sera is unavailable to play in the mini-game Mercenaries in spite of being proficient with a gun himself.

** In terms of the many different versions, the UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} version is this to every port that came after it. While higher fidelity and better framerates from more powerful consoles were appreciated, the Wii's usage of motion controls makes it so that the Wii version is widely considered by fans to be the most fun version of the game to play, as the aiming and shooting is that much better due to motion controls. Many were even disappointed at the Switch's lack of gyro for its version, given that the console already supported gyro with ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''.

** When the game first came out, Ashley Graham was considered TheScrappy for being helpless and forcing the players to divide their focus between protecting her and fighting enemies. With [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQhkR1AFaBA&ab_channel=RapidCrafter leaks]] of Resident Evil 4 Remake removing most of the tension in escorting and protecting Ashley by having her hide in the safe room during combat, some fans admitted that the tension of escorting Ashley actually enhanced their gaming experience and that the change was completely unnecessary, arguing that her AI was actually quite good, given she knew how to duck, hide, and follow Leon accordingly.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: For a UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube game, this one has gotten a lot of milage in the visuals department.

** The [[https://www.re4hd.com/ RE4 HD Project]] is one of the most polished fan-updates to a game ever made. After the unsatisfying release of the Ultimate HD Edition on Steam, a team of fan modders went back and gave the game an unbelievable facelift. Pretty much every single texture, model, effect, and location were given a number of touchups, or in some cases outright revamps, to better match modern visual quality. For instance, several 2D textures and model elements were made fully 3D, while several models were updated to use higher-quality versions. [[https://youtu.be/iEsFcVdJ0uA The result is an incredible visual improvement nearly across the board.]] It's so impressive that ''Capocom themselves'' pinned the mod to the top of the [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/254700/discussions/ Steam Discussion forums]] for the game, essentially making it an officially promoted mod.

** The HD Edition, released on UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and UsefulNotes/Xbox360, has higher native resolution, added shadows and colored lighting in many locations. The PC port of the HD release, dubbed ''Ultimate HD Edition'', is playable at even higher resolutions than its console versions, has an added hi-res texture pack, has controls comparable to the Wii version thanks to supporting mouse and keyboard controls, and can run at 60 frames per second; the HD Remastered version on [=PlayStation=] 4, Xbox One, and to a lesser extent, the Switch are also comparable to the ''Ultimate HD Edition'' in terms of visual fidelity and frame-rate. This is opposed to...

** The UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 port is inferior compared to the original [=GameCube=] version in various ways. While it was the first version to feature Ada's additional story campaign and the P.R.L. 412 for completing Professional mode, eliminated the need to swap discs at the last third of the game, a proper widescreen mode[[note]]the original [=GameCube=] version's game screen is displayed at 16:9 letterboxed to a 4:3 viewport, while the [=PlayStation=] 2 version features an option for widescreen presentation, provided the player has a widescreen television that can stretch the video output to fullscreen[[/note]], and some minor fixes that are exclusive to this port, the graphics and audio were downgraded in order to run on the console despite being released in DVD format. Downgrades includes lower resolution textures, simplified models and environments, missing details, compressed sounds and voice overs that can sound muffled, and introduces some glitches and loading issues. The cutscenes where also noticeably replaced with low resolution pre-rendered [=FMVs=], rather than rendering them in-game engine.

** The Switch port is also another downplayed example. While it is based off the HD Remastered ports like the Xbox One and [=PlayStation=] 4 versions, it exhibits frame-rate problems more frequently than the original [=GameCube=] version or its [=PlayStation=] 2 port despite rendering the game at 600p in handheld mode and 900p while docked. Also not helping matters was the game initially retailed for $29.99 without any additional features nor the ability to use the Switch's gyro motion controls[[note]]although it does supports [=GameCube=] controllers like in the Wii version through USB-to-[=GameCube=] adaptors[[/note]] whereas every other digitally available port was cheaper.

** The original 2007 PC port, which claimed it has the graphical quality of the [=GameCube=] with all of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 version's content. It was a buggy product with visuals that are ''much'' less detailed than the [=PlayStation=] 2 version with missing lighting and visual effects, and needed to be patched (and [[GameMod modded]]) frequently to even be playable. As with many PC ports of Japanese console games at that time, it's designed for gamepads, with no native mouse support and rather clumsy keyboard controls. The in-game button prompts only refer to buttons on a gamepad, not the keyboard controls, which would be forgivable if it wasn't for the game's ''extensive'' use of quick time events. What's also {{iron|y}}ic is that the PC port of ''[=RE4=]'' was handled by [=SourceNext=], the very same company behind an improved (and unfortunately Japan-only) PC port of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''.

** The original [=PS2=] port also was inferior in many ways. While it was the first version to feature Ada's additional story campaign, the graphics were inferior to the Gamecube version, with cutscenes noticeably being FMVs, rather than rendered by the in-game engine, and suffered from some glitches and loading issues.

** The original PS2 port also was inferior in many ways. While it was the first version to feature Ada's additional story campaign, the graphics were inferior to the Gamecube version, with cutscenes noticeably being FMVs, rather than rendered by the in-game engine, and suffered from some glitches and loading issues.

* ColbertBump: A minor example for the Zeebo. This Brazilian video game console would've likely flown under the radar internationally had Resident Evil 4 not had a port for it. The port is essentially another point in favor of the game's PortOverdosed status.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The prominence of the Spanish language in the game ensured a thriving Latin American fanbase for ''[=RE4=]''. However, the Brazilian fan community appears to be the most noticeable of these- despite being from a Portuguese-speaking country. At any rate, expect to see lots of Brazilian in [=YouTube=] comment sections of videos about the game.