Every Port of Resident Evil 4 Compared: RE Retrospective

[@AvalancheReviews]

I hope you guys get a kick out of this one because it was a ton of "fun" to work on. If you're wondering why I sound odd towards the end, I had to get one tooth pulled and a root canal on a different tooth from the same side. So I had a hole in my gums and a temporary crown on one of my teeth. Couldn't quite get my mouth to do what I wanted. I'll sound normal next video. I promise. Also, I did some testing and it looks like my guess was correct. Those vertical bars in GameCube video output do seem to come from a low pass filter blurring the dithering. So if you own a Tink 5X, just turn your LPF off. Problem solved!

[@rejamo]

Thank you keep up the amazing work!

[@datboileek9997]

All good fam, keep up the good work and keep them videos coming!

[@alisamir6350]

Hope you'll get better soon, respect from Iraq✌️

[@Lord_Deimos]

Get well soon and take a look at the RE 1st person fan game!

[@samsniper2000]

where's the IOS and zeebo port?

[@PuNkY-fr]

The Wii version of Dead Rising is made with the RE4 engine. I would love to hear what you think about it.

[@MrBreakthewalls]

salut punky

[@gmanuk1986]

That's really interesting, I didn't know DR on Wii was on a different engine

[@holylettuce4730]

The Wii version was my favorite I always felt like I was the best at that version.

[@kazer4]

@@holylettuce4730 only cos they had to skim down on content so it would fit on a wii disc

[@paulbell3682]

@@kazer4 Capcom & TOSE had to skin it down because of the Wii's hardware limitations & was nothing to do with the amount of space that Wii discs could hold.

[@Excalibur01]

RE4 is the only thing that makes me understand why people keep buying and replaying Skyrim

[@Orbitthemaster]

If only God Hand and Viewtiful Joe got the same treatment.

[@wingusdingus9447]

they do in this house

[@luckyghost7777]

I do both

[@InfernalMonsoon]

It's a shame vanilla Skyrim is absurdly boring, dull and has severe balance issues to the point where I'd rather just go back and play Morrowind again to dick about with mods and multiplayer.

[@GinkgoPete]

But Re4 is actually a finished product and good. Skyrim is a boring glitchy mess

[@burningvalhalla3359]

I might have missed it but when you were talking about difficulty and consistency, professional difficulty locks the game to thr hardest difficultly no matter how bad youre playing. It also makes enemy moves and spawns way more predictable that way.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Thanks for this comment. My distaste for adaptive difficulty is an all time high, and it's one reason I haven't revisted RE4. Playing on Professional won't penalize me for playing well by withholding ammo and stuff, will it?

[@burningvalhalla3359]

@@12ealDealOfficial i mean it caps the difficulty to the max so ammo will also be the most scarce.

[@12ealDealOfficial]

@@burningvalhalla3359 I'm up for that. Personally, I find it satisfying to know the stockpile of ammo and herbs I'm able to save up isn't the result of the game's mulligans. One of my favorite aspects of Resi is being a complete tightwad with supplies.

[@burningvalhalla3359]

@@12ealDealOfficial ha I agree. I think professional is the best way to play re4

[@Circaninesix]

@@12ealDealOfficial Unfortunately you have to beat the game on normal to even unlock professional.

[@steviesteve3411]

I’m impressed you managed to cram all 12000 ports into one hour, well played me boy

[@JXZX1]

I believe not even Skyrim has as many ports as RE4. Eat your heart out, Todd Howard.

[@ferdinand12390]

he's out for that record

[@Gruntvc]

The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S game libraries just won't be complete or awesome without new RE4 ports.

[@Henrik_Holst]

RE4 have what 12 ports? Tetris have over 65 ;)

[@nobel11]

We need to port RE4 into Skyrim.

[@kingdomkey2262]

@@nobel11 I bet someone modded that in

[@BadAssMacmillan]

Few games compete with RE4 in terms of replayability. I finished it dozens of times and yet I'm still not bored of it. What's funny is that in most of these times I wasn't even planning on finishing it, I just plan on dipping into it for a few minutes just to scratch an itch and the next thing you know I'm watching the end credits lol the progression of the game is just so well done. Once you pick it up it's so hard to put it down. Every new port that comes out is pretty much just an excuse for me to play through it again.

[@OSW]

We need to rally and get Jared an iPhone with RE4 for that maximum jankiness!

[@12ealDealOfficial]

Don't forget the port to Frigidaire that came bundled with Skyrim!

[@desupocalypse]

@Luis Collado no one cares lol

[@duskieangel9115]

@Luis Collado why? politics aren't important when it comes to entertainment at least not to me

[@duskieangel9115]

@Luis Collado so? it won't change a thing to me

[@duskieangel9115]

also let him believe what he wants to you might disagree but that doesn't make his opinions invalid or wrong or horrible whatever you want to call it rather then just reject it get into a discussion about it instead of just shutting it down

[@RexVergstrong]

I always heard that the PS2 sound is compressed that way due to memory issues. I'm guessing you can have better files due to space on disc but playing them takes memory away too especially depending on the game choice of audio compression. Also, they don't only sound compressed but they seem to have taken the peaks away and there's no treble or bass to them.

[@AvalancheReviews]

That makes a lot of sense actually. Never considered memory or even bandwidth could be an issue.

[@Gruntvc]

The PS2 was a great console, but man was it underpowered compared to the original Xbox and GameCube. I would've liked to see an original Xbox port of RE4. I doubt it would've sold as well on Xbox as PS2, but it definitely could've been better than the PS2 port.

[@Henrik_Holst]

The PS2 had more RAM than the GameCube (32MB vs 24MB), the difference sounds more like they applied a filter than compression. Could there perhaps be a low pass filter on the PS2 that Capcom forgot to disable like how there where one on the Amiga that many game devs forgot to disable.

[@Henrik_Holst]

@@Yodagamer1 of course you can fit more into ram with compression, the very same technique can be used on the PS2 or any other system for that matter, I used it extensively back in the c64 days. What is facts are that both ram and storage should be no problem. Left is of course the competency by the devs involved, perhaps the GC devs where just that much better than the PS2 devs in cramming it all in, perhaps the PS2 devs just always used this audio compression to save space and never considered that it wasn't needed in this particular case. Far too many unknowns.

[@Clay3613]

@@Gruntvc It came 2nd in the generation after Dreamcast, all of the other companies threw a fuck ton of money at developing their console to one-up SONY. Guess what, they all failed. Xbox and GC got awful ports usually.

[@EricMaulson]

Ive been playing this game since 2006 and i never knew that you could close the well so the pendant doesnt get dirty 🤦🏽‍♂️. Still suprising me all these years later lol

[@jdottdeestv8149]

:)

[@TheSecondcitysaint]

🤣

[@ConnorSeals]

Reading this comment and had no idea. That’s sick

[@opticalsalt2306]

One of my favorite details it’s so silly and unnecessary

[@denisruskin348]

You forgot to mention that the GameCube version is the only one that has different damage values to weapons, mostly all do less damage IIRC. Broken B. maxed does 35 damage and 50 on every other release. So in theory it’s the hardest version. Amazing detailed video though, as usual.

[@Lucrei.]

Wow I did not know this... I was thinking the new version would be the hardest because of 60fps, but not if this is the case for the Cube version

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

I remember hearing back in the day the weapon rebalancing actually started in the European release of the GameCube original (I swear I read about the likes of the Red9 and Rifle being buffed in Europe before the PS2 port released), but I'm having trouble finding sources to collaborate this. I could probably boot up the EU version in Dolphin to check this, but meh.

[@PadChords]

24:21 The difference in audio sample fidelity has less to do with the capacity of the storage medium and more to do with the amount of audio RAM each platform had available to keep those samples on hand in. The GameCube had a luxurious 16MB of audio cache while the PS2 had to manage with a paltry 2MB. Note: The GameCube's actual audio ram was an even smaller 8KB, but most games would read in samples as needed from the cache.

[@Yodagamer1]

You also have to account for all the prerendered videos taking up disc space too. I'd bet that's a problem as well.

[@eldonhill4840]

I think that Capcom was incredibly smart in not telling anyone about the adaptive difficulty. They very easily could have advertised it as a back of the box bullet point, but they didn't do so probably because they wanted people to naturally have an experience with the right amount of challenge without knowing the game was catering it to them (or giving them the knowledge to exploit it). They succeeded in hiding it too, I think, it didn't really become common knowledge until many years later when fans and content creators circulated it on their own. Another cool tidbit is that the AI is actually coded to attack much less frequently when offscreen or behind the player. They must have been concerned about the small FOV and new perspective, and did this to cut down on the number of "cheap hits" the player suffers. Not saying it still doesn't happen, because it definitely does, but I just think that's kind of neat how they coded that.

[@maskednil]

One the second point. I think speedrunners like to change the camera to keep enemies off screen when running to lower the chance to being hit.

[@RQUKOfficial]

Great video! I love how the RE4 HD Project is so much more than texture and model replacements. Cris and Albert are actually improving lighting and other environmental effects. They're even going as far as remodelling the gnarly looking portions in certain areas of the maps. It really is a labour of love. I'd love to see Capcom use this pack and see the guys receive some reward or at least recognition. I think this has been in the works over 5 years now. Crazy amount of passion and dedication.

[@sukamadik5983]

I've lost count of how many streams I've watched of you gathering footage for this video but I loved every second of it. This video is basically the dessert after the buffet of streams.

[@DrearierSpider1]

I think RE4, Skyrim, and DOOM will always be in contention for most (official) ports and re-releases.

[@Mannimarco_King_of_Worms]

You forgot GTA 5

[@DrearierSpider1]

@@Mannimarco_King_of_Worms If it hasn't been ported to the Switch it isn't a contender.

[@SpecShadow]

Street Fighter 2 wants to have a word with your

[@zeroattentiongaming820]

DMC 3 is getting up there now with 9 versions. 10 if you want to count the Japanese and Western versions of the original release of the game separately due to the western version being significantly harder intentionally. Capcom sure knows how to milk a good thing. Now if only they would start milking so many other properties the way they have RE 4, DMC 3 and Street Fighter in general.

[@jacksawack6724]

@@SpecShadow arcade, arcade, arcade, arcade, arcade, arcade, arcade, game boy, Super Nintendo, genesis, switch, ps4, Xbox, mobile, pc.

[@deerpoob]

It's strangely poetic that the VR release gets a confirmed release date right after you post this.

[@seane113]

I thought the same

[@therandomdickhead5744]

Would love to play the vr version

[@nickhasaproblem375]

it's such a good game and it was my introduction to resident evil games besides for resident evil Revaluations 3ds demo.

[@SeriousDragonify]

Then remake and they retconned whole story & characters... Now theyre all bland now.

[@Talesfromtheshelf]

It’s possible to enjoy both RE2 style and RE4 style. RE wouldn’t be around today if they kept making games the way they did in the 90s. Things need to change over time

[@Jose-se9pu]

RE4 was a natural evolution for the a franchise that was action oriented since the second game...and I love the old games (except Zero), but that formula was DONE by the time CODE Veronica came out.

[@Talesfromtheshelf]

@@Jose-se9pu seriously. As much as I love Jared and his videos I’m tired of this whole “re4 ruined the franchise” narrative. Maybe it did for you and that sucks I guess but if you honestly think capcom is gonna continue making games in the style of a PlayStation 1 game in 2021 your delusional.

[@jdottdeestv8149]

@@Talesfromtheshelf Re4 never ever ruined the franchised, but it definitley set wheels in motion that us (the fans) are still feeling with every new iteration. Some it doesn't bother, some they just about notice it, and some just can't bare it.

[@Talesfromtheshelf]

@@jdottdeestv8149 if you don’t like new RE games just don’t play them. The ones you like will still be there. When a franchise goes on as long as RE has, not expecting things to change is kinda silly.

[@jdottdeestv8149]

​@@Talesfromtheshelf And where did I say I didn't like them? nvm Just realised you're a very bored individual with nothing better to do then pose points just so you can retort, if all be it in a childish mannor.

[@hardmodefbl]

That's great to hear, that someone is actually making a higher and clearer resolution on the *Separate Ways* cutscenes

[@Fahrenheit38]

Before I watch, my favorite way is the wii version on a crt. Wii mote aiming makes the game so easy but it's so fun. Wanna see how it stacks up.

[@ifistedabear]

I've been wondering if you'd ever get to this topic, since RE4 and Skyrim are on the same level of different ports. Nicely done, man.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

Even then Skyrim and RE4 don't even hold a candle to Doom. Because the source code is so readily available for that game and it's so low spec, people have been porting that to literally everything. Now imagine playing RE4 on a pregnancy test because someone got Doom running on that, please release the source code Capcom.

[@aarklin1946]

I love hearing the Wii version getting some love. It was always my favourite and especially loved the reloading sounds coming from the remote..even if it was jank as hell

[@coffeeaddict5802]

Professional difficulty: Exists Avalanche Reviews:I'ma ignore that

[@aidanklobuchar1798]

I guess he kind of implies that he would find it "too cheap". Which is pretty much a case of "git gud".

[@cameron5367]

@@aidanklobuchar1798 i mean it is an incredibly cheap difficulty

[@michaelrubino5897]

Professional's higher difficulty is barely noticeable. You could argue Normal is harder because enemies are more unpredictable. RE5 on veteran is consistently tougher for me than RE4 on professional. Only challenge runs make the game hard and this is coming from someone whose favorite game is RE4.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

@@michaelrubino5897 But then again, RE5 has some utterly pants on head ridiculous levels of awful game design that makes me wonder how on god's green Earth did that even get through the alpha phases.

[@monsifessabar5822]

@@InfernalMonsoon re5 have annoying enemies Mike those bugs and the mini gun guy They have a health pool larger than some bossrs in other games😂😂😂 I think that's why

[@jdottdeestv8149]

Not gonna lie, the hype leading up to 4's release was real. People, who didn't even play video games were talking about. And that was just in secondary school. And I have to agree with you on what it did for the rest of the franchise. Didn't stop me from enjoying those games either, but I know exactly what you mean.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Nice! It's good to see a few people feel the same way.

[@OSW]

48:23 Yeahhhh Rewind Mike gets some love! There are dozens of us marking out. DOZENS!

[@AvalancheReviews]

At the very least

[@RewindMike]

Hundreds even!

[@eva-0173]

The Re4 HD project modder has a KZbin channel and is consistently updating stuff in the game and he's nearly finished including all pre-rendered cutscenes, separate ways, the mercenaries, and also assignment ada. The modder youtube channel is named "Albert Marin" and he's spanish that's why we don't see him often. His work is very unprecedented and he deserves credit for his passion in the game.

[@DrearierSpider1]

I always found it interesting that some weapons had different stats in the GCN version. That, and I miss being able to lava one El Gigante and still get his treasure in Chapter 4.

[@Reutimus]

Shout out to the random pile of gold in the corner of the room you get the stone of sacrifice still being there since GCN.

[@Devilkingliebe]

I'm honestly surprised this isn't a 3 hour video. This game got around more then my ex.

[@buttermilk5364]

The whole complaint about the adaptive difficulty is easily remedied if you play on professional. There's no adaptive difficulty it just stays the same.

[@insertnamehere658]

Wdym? It's one of the only games thst uses adaptive difficulty well.

[@buttermilk5364]

@@insertnamehere658 I never said it didnt.

[@MattKimura]

Except that you take twice as much damage. If only there was a way to play with professional mode settings, without the damage multiplier change. (Not that I can't beat professional mode, beaten it several times)

[@buttermilk5364]

@@MattKimura I'm just happy we got resident evil 4.

[@kellybailey921]

The GameCube release was on 2 disks, halving what was needed for both disks, allowing for higher audio quality and assets, while the ps2 version had the entire game on the one disk, but all together, could still store more then the GameCube disks, so ya, the audio compression and quality is a little weird

[@cax1175]

GameCube is also just more powerful than the PS2

[@badacid7388]

Ps2 sales were super boosted by the fact that a cheap DVD player was over 300 dollars. By combining them Sony made the ps2 a no brainer. The GameCube was more powerful from a hardware standpoint and also had 4 controller ports, but the bad controller and no DVD player made it less desirable by parents that didn’t play games.

[@nocturne9969]

When you play pro difficulty the adaptive difficulty is always set to max iirc

[@AvalancheReviews]

Honestly, it feels a little easier because of it.

[@nocturne9969]

The enemies become more predictable and easy to juke yea. On normal it’s always a toss up wether they’re going to try and grab/attack you or not when they get close, or delay then attack. On pro they pretty much always go try to do something the second they get in range

[@SmashBros2009]

Still bugs me why the Switch version of RE4 lacks motion control despite RE5/6/Rev1/Rev2 having them on the same console...:(

[@alexanderclark2121]

RE2 and RE4 are the best by far story wise and gameplay. It’s just something about raccoon city for me. Great seeing my video there. Deeply appreciate it!

[@AvalancheReviews]

No prob! Thanks for giving me the ok to use it.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I think RE7 would be my favourite story wise, I love the more smaller scale and intimate look into a small and once loving family torn asunder inside and out by a horrifying BOW who is a pretty sad character themselves. Almost everyone is tragic in their own way and it got my feels really going while still being a pretty bonkers story about bioweapons, terrorist organisations and all that good cheese the RE games are known for. Plus I always love that rural southern setting - something about it just gets me giddy.

[@White927]

RE 4's story is rushed.

[@VibinWithBrian231]

Oh hell yeah! My most played RE title! Thank you Jared! Your voice is so relaxing and helps me with my anxiety/panic attacks. You are amazing!

[@AvalancheReviews]

Happy to help my man! I'm glad these videos can offer that kind of a service to people.

[@VibinWithBrian231]

@@AvalancheReviews Omg! I didn't even get notified you responded! Thank you! You are kind of like an older brother to me. If that makes sense. You give me comfort when I am having a bad day! Keep up the great work!

[@stevebutters306]

First time I played 4 on PC, as a PCMR nerd, I used arrow keys for aiming because the mouse aim felt weird and... it honestly made it SO much better. I can't believe I'm suggesting using arrow keys to aim over the mouse, but it was fantastic. And to add to your bit about the Wii controls, CoD4 on the wii remains my favorite CoD title ever.

[@RatchetandSly]

Yesterday I was attempting to find info on the differences of the ports and couldn't find much. Then you made this video. Thank you!

[@JangoTheBlueFox]

everything in the PS2 version is downgraded simply because the hardware isn't as powerful as Gamecube. the extra storage space of the PS2's DVDs doesn't matter when the console can't render the original assets. there were alot more differences than the one's you covered. as an example alot of assets in the environments have been removed and every model has a lower polygon count, plus the lower resolution textures. this is why all the cutscenes were turned in to pre-rendered videos, the PS2 wasn't capable of rending the high quality models used in the cutscenes.

[@johannparis9445]

yes exact due to his very poor VRAM that was... 4 ...Mo Cube have 16 Mo something like that I advertise the Steam mdded version who is the better to all levels. And is finish almost (main game/Mercenaries and Separate ways...just wait for the extra costumes etc ..but 95% in done) Rest just the pre rendered cutscen. Actualy a programmer is trying to fix them..He is the one tha Albert hire for. I play the old 2018 patch HD ndrl

[@marc3122]

Yes! In addition, audio takes a lot more than just storage. Audio files can affect performance just as much as graphics. Unfortunately, there aren't as many methods of optimization/compression to audio as there are with visual assets like textures and models. To makes matters more unfortunate, audio codecs in 2004-2005 weren't as clean and lightweight as they are today.

[@serpentza]

RE4 is my favorite game of all time, nothing can replace those days when me and my buddies were all playing it concurrently, swapping stories and notes, absolute gem, an action adventure with great characters, sass, mystery and fun, keep going back to it every few years to relive that nostalgia. Also a fan of the other RE games for sure, but this is just the sweet spot of the franchise for a born in 1980 kid like myself

[@AvalancheReviews]

Honestly, I find the original to be a little more fun for a repeat playthrough than the remake. There was definitely something special about this one. Also, big fan! Awesome to have you in my comment section dawg!

[@AquaFan1998]

Interestingly the hookman build spawned haunting grounds for the ps2, an amazing game with the hookman being a persuer that cant be killed only stunned and it being in a huge castle being the same, re4 even references haunting grounds with the dog you rescue from the bare trap which has the same model as huey the dog from that game :)

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

It's actually the Castle/Fog build where Haunting Grounds spawned from! The credited "draft" scenario writer for Haunting Grounds (Noboru Sugimura) was writing for RE4 during the Castle build, and when it was scrapped the script he made was donated to Production Studio 1, who later went on to do HG (this is the story told by the Resident Evil wiki on Fandom anyway). I think the pursuer concept probably originated specifically from Clock Tower 3; Capcom had some experience with the IP through that entry of the series, and I've heard HG described as a spiritual successor to CT3.

[@pjf674]

51:20 The HD textures project actually tracked down a lot of the original source photos.

[@RegalPixelKing]

Funny that this was uploaded when it was. I just played like 20+ hours of RE4 over the past week cleaning house with this game. I just beat all of the Ada stuff, as well as getting 5 stars with every character on Mercenaries mode, and I'm over half way done with Professional mode. Also I played through the PC port, the use of keyboard and mouse added a lot to the accuracy of the shooting. I also used the RE4HD project which makes this game look outstanding, I am so hyped for the full release of that project later this year. Edit: On a side note the 2007 PC port is actually very respectable after the 1.1 patch came out which you did not cover. The 1.1 patch pretty much fixes up all of the lighting and fog issues that you brought up. So although you are correct that everybody should avoid that version, when it comes to the 1.1 version it's arguably as good or even better than the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions minus all the cutscenes being pre-rendered.

[@evolancer211]

In the scene with the first regenerator. That was an extremely nice and well organized briefcase/suitcase/tactical case, whatever the hell out is lol. I rewound the video a couple times just to bask in its glory lol

[@JangoTheBlueFox]

speaking of the Ultimate HD release I wish that version used the Wii Remote aiming mechanics for the mouse and keyboard. using the mouse to control the on screen reticle and the ASWD keys to move the camera while aiming would have provided that version of the game with significantly more accurate aiming than what was included.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Honestly, i think that would have been pretty damn awesome.

[@JangoTheBlueFox]

@@AvalancheReviews Wii remote aiming mechanics are generally on par with mouse aiming so when the Ultimate HD version was announced I was expecting it to pull those mechanics from the Wii version, I was disappointed when it didn't. although I suppose you could play the Wii version in Dolphin with mouse and keyboard to replicate what it would have been like, that might be worth looking into.

[@Jonen560ti]

@@JangoTheBlueFox I tried that, but at 30fps, the mouse movement just feels wrong. And I think they're using some kind of interpolation on the reticle that makes it even worse. My personally favorite way to play the game is using the steam version played with a Switch controller using Gyro to simulate mouse movement. I don't even have to sacrifice analog controls since steamInput can be configured to only simulate the mouse when a button is pressed, which I of course set to the aim button. And the game is able to seamlessly blend KBM and Controller inputs so I can mix gyro and joystick input as necessary. So I can use the joystick for wide movements and use Gyro for precise adjustments.

[@taeeat12]

Babe wake up Avalanche put out a new RE video

[@PeixeKing]

The "I Don't Hate RE4" section is a summary on what's wrong with this channel's content: addressing a non-issue with a somewhat contrarian opinion, while actively berating a large portions of your own viewers for thinking differently in a way that you could just pretend you didn't, and not providing solid enough arguments for your points. First of all, he claims he's not calling RE4 fans a bunch of "johnny come-latelies", but he is at least heavily implying he thinks that way, considering RE4 is nearly 20 years old and has been considered a classic on it's own for most of this time. Liking classic RE more because you played them first is also a form of "bias", and doesn't entitle you to the claim on what the franchise should or shouldn't be moving forward. If we're talking about "age related bias", how old is this man was that he was already married when the game launched? He must be at least in his 40s now, was already an adult back then, and is still somewhat salty nearly 20 years later that the "new kids" got to experience the franchise in a different way he did. And then, we go on to the "arguments". Dude says he "feels like RE4 is an incredible case study on how truly bad a game's pacing can be". How? It's still, to this day, considered a game with a great pacing. It does lose some steam near the end, and it doesn't end as strongly as it starts, but it really gets bad enough to be considered one of the major cases of bad pacing in videogames? The same thing could easily be said about any of the "classic" games, you know. He then implies that RE4's popularity was more due to the moment at the time than it's actual quality, because the PS2 was popular and people were buying more consoles and games back then, and until it's release, RE was a "relatively niche" franchise. The "right place, right" argument doesn't really work when you think about the game's long term popularity: despite being a a newer release on what was already a well established franchise with many titles by that point, it became more popular and influential than any of the previous games, and that doesn't happen simply because of a "right place, right time" situation. Horror, as a whole, will always be a "niche" genre compared to most other games, but RE was already very popular in the 90s and early 2000s, for any standards, and the PSX was a pretty popular piece of hardware. It had a movie adaptation back in 2002 that was popular enough to spawn it's own sequels, and the first sequel was released even before RE4. Every person I knew that had a PS2 (and there were a lot) had played at least one of the "classic" games, and even knew people that didn't really care about games that knew about the franchise. Yes, it was already pretty popular, even before RE4, but none of the previous games were as influential as RE4 in the long run. It's funny how he even tries to devalue the game's popularity by claiming that "middle schoolers" were hyped about it. Yes, kids and teenagers play more games than adults. That's just how it is. What demographic does he think was the most responsible for the first games' sales and popularity? This wasn't an issue when played the first games in his teens, so why in RE4's case it is? There's, of course, the complaint that due to RE4's popularity, there wasn't a new game in the "classic style" since. What a lot of "classic" fans conveniently forget to address is that the franchise started leaning more towards action before 4. The second game was already more action focused than the first, and so was the third one compared to the second, and Code: Veronica was already experimenting with a more dynamic camera with fully 3D environments, inspired, probably, by Dino Crisis. Dead Aim experimented with a gameplay and perspective that made it basically proto Re4. This was done to keep the formula from getting stale, and even so, by 2002, it was basically a consensus among players and devs that the formula was getting stale. Apparently, I need to remind people that the idea to change RE4 so much in comparison to previous ones didn't come from some spiteful devs that didn't like the originals, but from Mikami himself and his team, people who created the franchise, respected the previous games, and wanted to build on them. By 2005, the franchise already had about six mainline games in the "classic"style released on the spam of less than a decade, not to mention spin offs like Outbreak, that were closer to the classic style. Weren't those games enough, at least for a while, even more so considering that they tried to innovate and experiment with the formula? Another essential reminder is that the fixed camera angles in the original games weren't originally a choice born out of artistic intention, but from technological limitations: Mikami wanted to make a fully 3D game with a first person perspective, but the PSX couldn't handle that with the kind of game he wanted to make. Avalanche here also claims that RE4's popularity meant that every game in the series for "nearly 2 decades" played "exactly" like it. C'mon, man, that's an hyperbolic, dishonest statement made in order to seem like his arguments have more of a basis than they actually have. First of all, no subsequent game in the series plays "exactly" RE4, because they were trying to be more like games that were inspired by it, instead of building up on it. Even 5 is different enough to be considered a very different experience. 6 was a full on action game, and the first Revelations was the one that came the closest to being "like RE4", but even it was more action focused and had very streamlined gameplay. Rev2 was basically The Last of Us in an eastern-European setting. Ok, even if that's a gross exaggeration, maybe he meant those games had basic shooting and perspective similar to RE4 (although, need I remind, perspective alone doen't define a game). Well, that still means the last game in RE4's style was Rev2, released in 2015. That's a decade, not "nearly two decades"; still, if you consider the moment the franchise was "rebooted" again, with RE7 in 2017, that's "over a decade". "Hey, what about the RE2make?" RE2make is overall closer to classic style RE than to 4, regardless of perspective. 3make was more action focused, sure, but it was still closer to 2make than 4, and by then the series had already established a pattern of 2 different types of release: remakes and first person sequels, with Village being closer to 7 than to 4. I guess 4make is actually the game that is the closest to being exactly like 4, released nearly 2 decades since the original, but it wasn't out when this video was made, and it's, well, a remake, and with some substantial differences. What's also funny is the "boomer" resentment of his demographic not making up the majority anymore, and it's absurd that he wishes it still did. Well, yes, things change, and still, nostalgia bias keeps him from reflecting on why RE4 had (and still has) a longer lasting legacy and more influence than the first games, even nostalgia aside. Things change, and some things do for a reason. Due to nostalgia happening in cycles, there has been a resurgence of classic style survival horror games, and there's also a reason why it isn't as popular as, let's say, the 2D gaming resurgence. There are some pretty good games from this batch, like Signalis and Tormented Souls, but that also means people can more easily why the industry has moved on from such games. Avalanche claims to "respect" what RE4 did for the industry, but not liking what it did for the series. That's contradictory. Actually respecting means understanding and accepting what it it did for it's own series, and why it did it. RE was always a franchise that innovated by building upon a previous formula, setting trends and standards for the industry, and 4 is no different. Disclaimer: I like classic RE and the newer games (well, most of them). I even like REmake as much as 4, for different reasons.

[@cuttrogue]

Great write up, the only thing I disagree with is the popularity argument in regards to the classic RE games. Not everything being popular is good, and not everything unpopular is bad. Classic RE games are iconic, I regularly replay them and they are not worse than 4 - they are just completely different with different stong points compared to 4. It's true the franchise needed to innovate as it did with 4, but that doesn't make the classic games any lesser than 4.

[@nianddra]

It's amazing how Mikami created resident evil, perfected it with the gamecube remake and "killed it" with RE4. And then he went on to create many more great action games like Godhand and Vanquish and leave resident evil fans seething

[@PeixeKing]

@@cuttrogue if it came out that way, it wasn't my intention, and I don't think that RE4 is inherently better than previous games. I was just pointing out that it's very dishonest and unfair to dismiss RE4's success exclusively as a "right place, right time" thing considering it's impact on the industry.

[@PeixeKing]

@@nianddra yes, God Hand is great, and classic RE purists will always find a reason to complain about any gamein the franchise post RE0, regardless of quality.

[@yikes6969]

dat butthurt

[@removelimitbreak7524]

I remember the day the steam port came out me and a couple friends were trying to play it with PCs that couldn't really handle it so two out of three of us had a game that was running in slow motion while the third person in the group had a game that had Leon with no hair. So his frames were so low that Leons hair wouldn't render. I think the bald Leon screen shot is still around somewhere

[@wangchung2157]

I personally LOVE the wii version I get away with stuff in that version I can only dream of in other ports, personal favorite being able to quick draw kill enemys

[@SimonHill94]

It's my personal favourite as well. Aiming for me fit in between being better than using an analogue controller and slightly worse than a mouse and keyboard but without the jank of the pc versions. Also the QTEs were most bearable on Wii I thought Also also, the UK Wii box art is my favourite

[@Clay3613]

Ewww, low-res.

[@russellcontreras394]

Now you can do it in true vr

[@DannysHauntedJourney]

25:35 Indie game dev here. So, my speculation for why the audio files are more compressed is likely due to the PS2's cpu and memory buffer being much smaller/limited than the GameCube. Regardless of storage, all audio files will need to uncompressed at run time, which the PS2 is not great for (this is a CPU task). Decompressing audio files at run time, and running multiple audio files simultaneously will take memory, and cpu calls. If you notice many PS2 games vs the competition, this is the case, and it's the only conclusion I can draw.

[@scottnotpilgrim]

That Evo Moment 37 mention was unexpected..but welcome. That being said RE4 did introduce some mechanics that ended up turning off fans of the series as time went on

[@Neronova888]

Like?

[@gameovergandy]

Ayyyyy u did it! Nicely done man! I feel like we were there for so much of this hahaha

[@Excalibur01]

I also didn't know about the adaptive difficulty until I was told and then started to remember moments when the AI felt stupid all of a sudden

[@AvalancheReviews]

Same here. I found out about it like 8 years after I first beat it.

[@IanVersusDaddybones]

I got the Oculus Quest 2 version last week. Holy crap. I can't believe they were able to do this in VR. It's perfect. Something so familiar is brand new at the same time. Classic battles. New controls. More hands on than the Wii version. Definitely worth buying an Oculus for. The cabin and shed battles are so sick.

[@Yodagamer1]

I really hope they find a way to make it work on psvr even if it isn't as good as the quest 2 tech wise. I want re4 vr, but I don't really wanna buy a new head set for it. Loved doom 3 vr.

[@IanVersusDaddybones]

Hey some people bought a Nintendo Wii just for Wii Sports. This is definitely worth the $300 to play Resident Evil 4 again with the immersion.

[@paparoxo3606]

Only for GameCube......... and Playstation 2, Windows, Wii, iOS, Zeebo, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Oculus Quest.

[@StudioMod]

Did you once mention that there are more enemies on screen in the gamecube version? The PS2 had an enemy on screen limit.

[@bluesbro8533]

Another plus of the Switch version is that you can hook up a GameCube controller (using the Smash usb-adapter) for a close-to-original feel but in HD!

[@AvalancheReviews]

That's a good point. I didn't even think about that.

[@titanoboaoficial2014]

Man thanks for being so passionate about games and for making these amazing videos... Gems for the future.... Saludos desde Colombia!

[@kevinmajorca]

I've been wondering for a long time about the quick time -stuff on the Steam port. I thought that game just had poopy QTE's like all games that have them. Played the PS2 one long time ago and didn't remember it being that bad. But of course it was the old "game logic tied to fps" -thing XD. Had to redo the mine cart section three times because the prompts went away so freaking fast at the very end of it when you have to jump from the cart. I remember Dark Souls 2 having a similar issue originally on PC. Some things like weapon durability was tied to the damn fps, so on pc's 60-fps your weapons would break twice as fast. Fun times.

[@AvalancheReviews]

I love little tidbits like that!

[@AJadedLizard]

That minecart bit *kicked my ass* the first time I played the HD port, and I actually got frustrated enough with it I had to do some Googling to figure out the issue. I'd put several dozen hours into the Ubisoft port and was using the same controller, so I was unwilling to accept that I was just bad at the game at that point; it turned out I wasn't and that was honestly a major relief to my ego.

[@WolfHreda]

Just about any game that ties something directly to frame rate ends up having weird problems.

[@charlie1234500]

@@WolfHreda The VR version for RE4 runs at 72fps. So basically what the Oculus dev team did to fix the broken QTE's in RE4 was to slow down every QTE section because it wouldn't be possible to complete them at such a high framerate. There's also the dreaded V-Sync options in games where if you have it off can make games impossible to finish or even play. I remember GTA 4 on the final mission where it was impossible to complete if you have V-Sync off because the AI will always crash into a building breaking the mission. Same with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood with one of the early missions. I always turn off V-Sync in games because I prioritize input response times over minor screen tearing and added latency that you get with V-Sync being on. You'd be surprised how many games are broken when their framerate is unlocked.

[@Aurias]

I feel like this video is a part of me since I watched every livestream you did for footage.

[@MilkshakeSkunkette]

"....with what it did to a franchise up to a point" God i couldn't agree more. i love RE4 but i hate what it did to the series (outside of ya'know - keeping it alive ) i remember seeing the trailers for RE4 when it was in its weird 'progenitor virus' infecting Leon stages and being so excited to see that RE4... still one of the lost/beta RE titles id love to see more of one day~

[@MilkshakeSkunkette]

@Emo Gamer R i definately agree with your points- code veronicas opening was pretty crazy, and dont get me wrong- i dont hate 4 at all- i just found the trailers for the re4 betas so interesting- and was a bit bummed out they just sorta poofed into the aether :( But upon 4s release i played through that gane about 30 times consecutively, i was absolutely hooked- it inly dawned on me later that the earlier trailers told a diffrent story... sorta like the early trailers of revelations :o Though i will admit, i shamelessly love resident evil zero xD i love the fixed cameras, its pre rendered backgrounds- basically everything that ISNT the hookshot... because ya'know- nobody loves the goddamn hookshot xD

[@brianbrianbification]

Just when I needed a little pick me up. More RE content is always appreciated

[@SPrime345]

The only thing I hated with 4,5, and 6 is the qte, I don’t want to break my controller playing these games

[@AvalancheReviews]

I can understand that.

[@Smithjaack]

14:00 I’m not gonna lie. This has to be the single best retort, I’ve ever heard.

[@earthbounder8329]

Re 4 VR got missed

[@abyss9316]

I still remember when I first got re4 at the store it was my birthday and for and for 14 year me this was the turning point in my life and the world of videogames never before had I played a game like re4 it was so revolutionary I had no idea what I was in for I had played the OG Resident Evil before but had no idea how this story and gameplay had progressed since PS1 re, re2, and Code Veronica And also the 2 outbreak games

[@danielvandusen5724]

I wonder if Avalanche has a Quest 2. I would love to hear what he thinks of RE4 VR.

[@Fedor_Kisliakov]

Watching a new entry of your RE retrospective is like meeting with an old friend. After all, that's how I found your channel. Hope that TGS next week confirms the RE3 Nemesis Edition leak, and we'll indeed see you very soon on the Resident Evil retrospective.

[@lunarceltgaming4968]

my first experience with re4 actually was that 2007 PC port, my computer barely ran it at like maybe 20fps (it was a cheap all in one computer since I was 11 at the time) and I played it on a keyboard. somehow I ended up 100 percenting that version and unlocked all the special weapons. no idea how I did it looking back lol

[@blunderingfool]

I did the same, I remember playing it as far as I could unpatched too as there was missing fog and shadow effects which made it run better. XD Had to patch the game to finish though as there was a consistent crashing issue.

[@rickshawjones8591]

I love that you were going to review every port but you just reviewed the game for the first 20 minutes. You have an it's complicated relationship with Resident Evil 4 . I love your reviews dude

[@AvalancheReviews]

Complicated. That's a good way to put it. HA!

[@rickshawjones8591]

I'm loving this video so far, can't wait for your infinite Darkness review.

[@badacid7388]

The ps2 port was far inferior to the GameCube version. Worse visuals and less enemy’s able to populate on screen.

[@amadeusdark]

The Only good things was Separate Ways.

[@benvanasdale6273]

Jared, I love you, bro. The amount of work and research you put into these videos is absolutely insane. You're the one KZbinr I wish I could have a beer with and shoot the shit about survival horror, which is my favorite genre of gaming since RE1. Two things: 1. You are the only other person than myself that I've heard admit that RE4 has the same controls, just from a different viewpoint. 2. This could just be me as it's been years since I played the PS2 version, but I remember some of the enemy character models having fewer polygons (look at their feet when they're laying on the ground, they're rectangles like in RE 1-3 lol) Keep up the amazing work, my dude.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Ha! Great minds think alike! Looking back on the footage, I think you're right. Crazy how I didn't notice that.

[@xXAquaReaper43Xx]

Are you going to review the vr edition of this game? Would love to hear your thoughts on that version game since it’s going to be a almost completely different experience from that of the Wii version

[@arthurcuesta6041]

Although I agree with most points in this video, I never even realized that difficulty changed throughout the game until a couple of year ago, even after at least a hundred playthroughs since my childhood. The thing is I used to tryhard this game a lot, so maybe that's why. Great review as always, man.

[@stefanoninivaggi98]

This game is so fun, but I'd love if Capcom would have cracked the formula for the "over the shoulder horror" before RE2MAKE came out. Nonetheless, this game is such a gem. I just love it.

[@AJadedLizard]

Re2R was at once frustrating and a relief. A relief because it meant (at least potentially) there was no reason we'd get more awful first person games, and frustrating because it showed Capcom absolutely had the formula down...and for some reason just chose not to follow it for Re7. Almost all of my problems with Biohazard would've been solved by it playing more like Re2R and less like Outlast.

[@acheron16]

@@AJadedLizard Glad to see I'm not the only one who's not a fan of the FPS perspective of RE7 and 8

[@AJadedLizard]

@@acheron16 8 is better, but both would've been better as third person games.

[@unbrokenatreyu6003]

Oh man. I'm so glad this dropped today. Good timing

[@DJ5540]

As one of those people whos first experience with RE was through RE4 and consider it a masterpiece, I understand your frustration. I feel the exact same way about Breath of thr Wild.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Glad my complaining didn't make you leave the video at the 30 sec mark.

[@sugarhieroglyph]

I hate how weapons break in BoTW.

[@SnappleRyRy89]

Hey man, great retrospective comparison on the infamous RE4 ports as always and was happy to catch you streaming on getting footage on this video too! Even though I already have the original GC, PS2, and PS3 ports of the game, you convinced me to check it out again on Steam. Guess theres always something new as each port goes on haha

[@Nonlethal106]

Honestly bullshit they are remaking RE4 instead of Code Veronica.

[@Henrik_Holst]

Well to be honest all talk about a RE4 remake is just rumours still.

[@Nonlethal106]

@@Henrik_Holst I think it was pretty much confirmed in the latest NVIDIA leaks but yes you are correct.

[@yikes6969]

Womp womp

[@colbys1234]

Your inventory is the most chaotic layout I have ever seen anyone have.

[@ProofSILVER135]

I'm surprised how he didn't go into how any port past ps2, Separate Ways used the compressed 480i video files from the ps2 on said port. The cutscenes look like garbage on anything but the ps2 which is why he mentioned that the HD Project wanted to remaster the Separate Ways cutscenes

[@AvalancheReviews]

I talk about those cutscenes being pre rendered, but sort of towards the end. I do mention all of the ps2 cutscenes being that way, so technically it counts. HA!

[@ProofSILVER135]

@@AvalancheReviews Yeah, I caught that you mentioned the main game had pre rendered cutscenes but I must have missed you talking about the Separate Ways ones. Great video regardless minus the missing mention of professional mode or easy mode.

[@johnfinnegan9446]

For my money the GameCube version still reigns supreme. I still don't think I've played a game with tighter controls than RE4 on the GameCube. That game was made for that controller. After all these years this game still maintains a top 3 position all time for me, love it!

[@Tetsaga]

The bit about perfect parrying chun legs was great. Love the content man!

[@sayedistrending]

Fun Fact: Another great video! Did you know you can kill The Merchant in RE4? I had no idea you could do this until I shot him 🎮😆🔫😱

[@AvalancheReviews]

That was one of those things I found out about on the internet wayyyy after I beat it. I never even thought to shoot at him.

[@sayedistrending]

@@AvalancheReviews Lucky for me, I saved before I shot him. So I just loaded my previous save. I think once he is dead, he is dead forever. There was a puzzle or something where I had no idea what the hell to do with Leon, so I just said the hell with it and shot him out of frustration 🎮😆🔫😱

[@BrankoPlays]

lol this video's ending aged well. They did go on to make a VR port and remake lol

[@MegaTerryNutkins]

I didn't mind the graphical downgrade going from GC to PS2, didn't even notice the audio issues at the time. The worst thing was going from the GC controller with it's great left analog stick and sprung shoulder buttons to that outdated dualshock, just made the game so much more awkward to play. Still have the steelbook though! Had a ton of fun replaying the PC DVD version of RE4 on the GPD Win, seems to run a lot better than the original Steam version.

[@Clay3613]

Are you insane? The Dualshock is the golden standard for modern controllers since it debuted!

[@MegaTerryNutkins]

@@Clay3613 It really isn't, was an ok design back in the PS1 days as there was nothing else with that degree of 3D control, both the GC and XB Controller S were far better one generation later though. Sony guys seem to love it, people who play a variety of systems usually tend to rank it lower.

[@NovaStrike118]

Regarding your criticism of Dynamic Difficulty: Professional difficulty locks the slider to its highest, making every encounter consistently the same difficulty. I know you have to unlock it first, but just letting you know. Also, the existence of Professional also means there is an actual maximum difficulty that you can master to effectively conquer the game.

[@AvalancheReviews]

Solid point.

[@opticalsalt2306]

You can’t escape 30fps rifle reload..

[@huhuhu557]

I love that joeypocket reference for the switch joke

[@CucasNerdyCorner]

I find it very odd that the PS3 or heck even the PS4 version, doesn't have move controller support, so you can have that Wii controller style support. One thing I find kinda annoying about the PS4 version is that, they didn't bother changing/adding new PlayStation trophies including a platinum trophy.

[@theironquack]

it also is bs considering the ps3 version of re5 has move support

[@CucasNerdyCorner]

@@theironquack I KNOW RIGHT!? But the PS4 version of resi 5 doesn't lol

[@theironquack]

@@CucasNerdyCorner i actually prefer the re4 wii version for the motion controls

[@PadChords]

SoulCalibur III also supports 480p by holding Triangle and X during boot. There's a handful of other titles and I'm sure Google will find you a list of them easily.

[@Excalibur01]

The only reason why I didn't initially like RE4 on the PS2 was because I had owned the PS2 late in my high school life and had the GC for most and had to catch up to a lot of PS2 games and how the controller feel. For me, the GC controller is superior

[@AvalancheReviews]

The PS controller always felt just right in my hand. There are some games where the GC controller works really well with some games, but playing a ps2 or Xbox port on the GC is a nightmare. Games really need to be custom tuned to that controller.

[@jrme4216]

its funny of all the videos you made this is THE ONE i had always been waiting for yet never asked for it. i dont know if you know but what makes your vid so special is that you go in depth with the different port version, pros and cons and what is thebest way to play such and a such game nowadays. anyone can make game reviews and there are plenty on resident evil but nobody goes over the different versionb and how we coud have the best experience, nobody but you, thats what made me an avid follower

[@jrme4216]

also are you in japan now? would love to meet u one day, go searching games for cheap around japan like 2 treasure hunters

[@vornamenachname7600]

i love the ps2 version :) Playing it once in a while. it has in my op the best gameplay (the ps2 controller is better than the gc controller), the game is harder on the ps2 than on the gamecube which is a plus for me, i like the challenge. Leons flashlight is on in the scary village part and looks more atmospheric. The audio is muddy yes, but at least it is not buggy as the later ports (all of them..a lot)... one example, the sniper rifel reloading sound doesnt match the visuals in the later ports. And as i say ther are so many audio bugs or visual bugs(reloading the assault shotgun, the bullets clip through the rifle) (weird 60fps and 30 fps visual effect mix looks awful)... I also think...the higher the resolution gets the worse the game look...takes away the atmosphere in my op, its a horror/action game. (same what happend to the silent hill hd version) there are more things why i prefer the ps2 version over all others, but im to lazy to write :D

[@Majinhero]

When you look at the PS2 original it cuts corners with everything with models, background details and effects, but what i found strangest of it all is that it's the only version where the villagers can wear glasses.

[@okmate]

I can confirm that Saddler's presence is just too intimidating, so that chandelier is just naturally shivering without the mod too.

[@AvalancheReviews]

He is pretty intimidating.

[@ichigowww]

Doing a quick google search (which led me to wikipedia), I found out that the Gamecube uses 16MB of external auxiliary ram for everything sound related, whereas the PS2 only has 2MB of "sound memory" (not a lot of details on this one). I don't know if this information is accurate or not, but if it is, then the audio compression would make sense to me, assuming this memory is used for loading sound effects on both consoles and not for something completely different

[@PacketWrangler]

You mentioned dusting off 7th gen consoles - mine never got put away. That got me thinking. We're nearly at the 15th anniversary of the PS3 launch. You know what else was 15 years apart? The US launch of the NES and PS2 (well, 15 years + 1 week). By Thanksgiving, it will be a longer time since the release of PS3 than the space between the launches of the NES and PS2. How insane is it that PS3 titles continue to hold up the way they do? Anyways, thanks for this Jared. I've been looking forward to it since I saw the live stream pop-ups from your collection of the footage. Great content as always.

[@AvalancheReviews]

That fact makes me feel double old. HA!!!

[@AlphachadEpicCollector]

The Ultimate HD PC port, with the HD Project mod, which I own, is the best version. End of story! 😎

[@Renulph]

The rubber banding of mechanics in this is a good thing, because it prevents softlocks - I think it's genius. Code Veronica, iirc, didn't have this and there are some nasty situations you can get yourself into where you can feasibly not be able to do something because you lack ammo.

[@indefenestrible8196]

Your videos introduced me to the concept of ports being different from each other. For my whole life I always thought the machine you played a game on didn't matter, at least for consoles. You kind of blew my mind, I'm glad I'm seeing the difference now.