SPOILERS
I've been talking about Resident Evil 4 lot lately, and just can't seem to get the game out of my mind. Originally I thought about reviewing the game, but considering it's been running badly on my PC, I didn't want to review the "Ultimate HD" edition not having played it in its enhanced version. Instead, I've decided to go back to a series I haven't visited in some time, and look at the ten best moments from the game. Introducing the game is getting a bit old for me, personally, so I think we should just go ahead and jump into what I consider to be the ten best moments in Resident Evil 4.
10. Visiting The Merchant
The Merchant is one of the most elusive characters in the entire Resident Evil series...a series full of betrayals, backstabs, and people like Wesker who seemingly survive everything. Somehow, The Merchant stays alive during all of Resident Evil 4, and is not killed by the Los Ganados. His eyes glow red, implying he's holding a Las Plagas inside of him, but he works for Leon and not against him. When you see his hulking frame, or his blue torches, you know that the area is safe. You're able to run up to him, and hear him cry "Welcome!" enthusiastically, in his grizzled voice. He is the replacement for the safe rooms in the original Resident Evil games, but considering he can upgrade your weapons and also give you new ones...he's quite a bit awesomer than them.
9. Facing Krauser
Even though Leon is taking on an assignment that has nothing to do with his previous work fighting B.O.W.s, he comes in contact with two people he'd met and worked with before; Ada Wong and Jack Krauser. Krauser had been presumed dead by Leon, after being told he had died in a helicopter crash two years prior to the game. In reality, Krauser had defected to Wesker's side, and had ended up trying to gain Osmund Saddler's trust in order to get the sample of Las Plagas for Wesker. Even though Krauser was only introduced in Resident Evil 4, the history between him and Leon was made readily apparent. His boss fight is a bit tough if you don't know what you're doing, and is also the only one (I believe) to be timed too.
8. Removing The Parasite
For most of the game, Leon and Ada have Las Plagas inside them, waiting to hatch and take over their minds like the Los Ganados. However, before they're completely taken over, they both manage to get the radiation treatment necessary to kill the parasite inside them. Even though the whole scene is over quickly, it was great to see the actual parasite die inside them; it was a sign that the game was wrapping up, and that a showdown with Saddler was imminent.
7. The Cabin
Once Leon and Ashley get caught in a crossroads, with numerous Los Ganados surrounding them, they barricade themselves in a cabin where Luis happens to also be. As Ashley hides upstairs, the pair of men deal with all of the Los Ganados invading the Cabin. It's like an actual horror movie moment, and is one of the first times your attention span is really tested, as multiple windows need to be attended to.
6. Seeing Ada Again
Ada Wong always seems to run into Leon S. Kennedy wherever he goes. First in Raccoon City, and now in the middle of Spain, in a remote village. Of course, she did have a reason to be there, but it's still funny to me that they both happened to be there at that time; Ada could have come earlier. Regardless, I think it's great that Capcom continued to keep their arc of working together, even if it got a little weird in Resident Evil 6.
5. Luis' Death
Luis is one of the characters who assists Leon on his journey through rural Spain, but unfortunately he gets killed by Saddler a little over halfway through the game. After getting vaccine pills for the parasites and the sample that Ada wanted, he's finally caught and killed. Even though Leon has only met him a couple of times, he grieves deeply for the former researcher's death, and swears that he will avenge his death.
4. Facing Salazar
Despite his gray hair and wrinkles, Salazar proclaims he is only twenty years-old to Leon. I don't know if that is true or not, but what I do know is that Salazar is quite a hot-tempered man. He tries to maintain his calm at first when Leon easily deals with what's thrown at him, but then he gets into fits, saying "die you worm!". That made killing his mutated form so much more satisfying...especially since I was able to get him with a direct rocket launcher early on in the fight...
3. Mike's Death
Even though there's action-ish parts for most of the game, they don't compare to Leon being backed up by a man in a helicopter named Mike who attacks enemies and shoots missiles down while you're playing. Then, what does the game do? That character gets killed from a rocket launcher. Just after Leon promised to buy him a drink after everything was over. Like he did with Luis, Leon swears to avenge Mike's death, and it's this entire sequence that makes me feel like Capcom had a perfect balance of horror and action in the game.
2. The Village
The opening village is definitely the most iconic part of Resident Evil 4. The game drops you onto this path in the beginning, and as you follow it more and more villagers attack you. Finally, Leon reaches the actual town, and at first things seem peaceful...until you notice the corpse burning on a bonfire in the middle of town. Worse, it's the corpse of one of the policeman who came with you to the town. After entering the village, everyone drops what they're doing and attempts to kill Leon, and they also bring out Dr. Salvador to try and decapitate our hero with his chainsaw. It may not be as momentous as some of the other moments on this list, but it is iconic, and it's really where you get your feel for how the adventure will play out.
1. Taking Down Saddler
Saddler is the main antagonist of Resident Evil 4, and facing him as the final boss is really, really great. He mutates his body into a giant spider-like enemy, but it's actually pretty easy to defeat him if you shoot the eyeballs quickly enough. Stabbing his eye with the knife and also using a magnum on it was really satisfying. The, in the final moments, Ada gives Leon a special rocket launcher, which helps to destroy Saddler once and for all.
I'm done for tonight...night all.
Peace.