50 Fun Facts About Resident Evil 4

Which 2001 Capcom action game began life as the first discarded version of Resident Evil 4?

Devil May Cry grew out of a stylish action prototype that strayed too far from the series' horror roots. Rather than scrap the work, Capcom turned it into a new franchise.

NubyTech designed two special Resident Evil 4 controllers, for rival consoles, to resemble which tool?

A chainsaw was the shape of both pads, one for each home console the game reached in 2005. Figures by McFarlane Toys, NECA and Hot Toys rounded out the merchandise.

In which European country is the kidnapped president's daughter held by a cult in Resident Evil 4?

Spain is the setting: an unnamed rural village whose farmers pledge their lives to the cult after being infected with a mind-controlling parasite.

The infected villagers of Resident Evil 4 are called Los Ganados, a name that translates as what?

The Cattle is the translation, and unlike the zombies of earlier entries these enemies dodge, wield weapons and work together. They were simple farmers before the infestation.

Which camera view did Resident Evil 4 popularize, later adopted by Gears of War and Dead Space?

Over-the-shoulder aiming, with the camera behind the hero, replaced the fixed angles of earlier entries. Uncharted, Mass Effect and The Last of Us later made it an action-game standard.

In Resident Evil 4, what object represents the grid inventory that holds Leon's weapons and healing items?

An attaché case holds the weapons, ammunition and healing items, each taking up a set number of squares. It can be upgraded several times for more room, while key items and treasures sit in a menu of their own.

What vehicle carries Leon and the president's daughter to safety in the final escape of Resident Evil 4?

A jet ski left behind by the departing spy carries the pair clear as the island explodes. She had just taken the parasite sample at gunpoint and flown off in a helicopter.

Which character, the daughter of the U.S. president, must Leon S. Kennedy rescue in Resident Evil 4?

Ashley Graham has been abducted by a cult that implants her with a parasite, planning to send her home to infect her father and so seize power.

Which studio took cues from the tension and action of Resident Evil 4 while making The Last of Us?

Naughty Dog borrowed that tension and action, and Uncharted director Bruce Straley called the village sequence the best opening fight in a video game.

Edge magazine ranked Resident Evil 4 second among the best games ever in 2007, behind which Zelda game?

Ocarina of Time was the only game placed above it, and a second magazine's top 200 put the pair in the same order. Edge later awarded the horror game a retroactive ten out of ten.

Which mind-controlling parasite turns the villagers of Resident Evil 4 into hosts for a cult?

Las Plagas can sprout from a host's head in the middle of a fight, and the cult injects both the hero and its hostage with it.

Which religious cult kidnaps the president's daughter and controls the villagers in Resident Evil 4?

Los Iluminados plans to send her home infected so that she can pass the parasite on to the president. The 2023 remake spells the name with a double L.

Which leader of the cult in Resident Evil 4 plans to conquer the world by infecting the president?

Osmund Saddler is the last enemy to fall, killed by Leon with a spy's help. He was voiced in English by Michael Gough.

Which spy from Leon's past reappears in Resident Evil 4 hunting a parasite sample for a mysterious employer?

Ada Wong supports Leon during his mission while pursuing her own agenda, then takes the sample from him at gunpoint. Later ports gave her a playable scenario of her own.

Leon S. Kennedy survived the destruction of which place six years before the events of Resident Evil 4?

Raccoon City was destroyed in 1998, and its fall led to Leon being trained as an agent for the United States government.

Which character turns up throughout Resident Evil 4 to buy Leon's treasures and upgrade his weapons?

The Merchant sells first aid sprays and weapons at stops across the whole journey. In the 2023 remake he also sets side quests that can be completed during the main story.

Instead of an on-screen crosshair, what do most firearms use for aiming in the original Resident Evil 4?

A laser sight shows where each shot will land, so a hit to the feet makes an enemy stumble and one to the arm makes it drop a weapon. The 2023 remake swapped the beam for a reticule but kept it as an attachment.

Capcom minimized which signature mechanic of the original Resident Evil 4 when developing the 2023 remake?

Quick time events, such as dodging a falling boulder on a button prompt, were cut back, and a boss fight once built around them became a fully player-controlled duel.

After the village in Resident Evil 4, Leon takes refuge in what kind of building owned by Ramon Salazar?

A castle owned by Salazar is the game's middle act, and its traps soon split Leon from the president's daughter. The remake's developers gave it one of three dedicated teams.

Resident Evil 4 debuted in January 2005 on which console, months before its PlayStation 2 port?

GameCube owners got it first, as one of five games Capcom had promised to Nintendo's console. A port for a rival machine was announced before the original even reached shops.

Which former comrade of Leon, believed killed in a helicopter crash, is the kidnapper in Resident Evil 4?

Jack Krauser staged the abduction to get close enough to the cult's leader to steal a parasite sample. In the remake he acts out of resentment over a mission that wiped out his unit.

Which former cult researcher is held captive with Leon in Resident Evil 4 and later brings him pills?

Luis Sera fetches pills that slow the infection and is killed just after delivering them. The 2023 remake respells his surname Serra and recasts him as a scientist seeking to atone.

Which recurring series villain do the kidnapper and the spy both secretly serve in Resident Evil 4?

Albert Wesker wants a parasite sample of his own, and a five-part documentary added in later versions examines his role in the plot.

Which government contact gives Leon remote support during his rescue mission in the Resident Evil 4 remake?

Ingrid Hunnigan assists him remotely from the moment the president sends him out, and she checks the background of a scientist he meets on the run from the cult.

Before becoming a government agent for Resident Evil 4, what job did Leon hold in Resident Evil 2?

A rookie police officer, Leon arrived late for his first day at work and walked straight into a zombie outbreak. An early prototype of that game had cast him as a veteran instead.

Which corporation, the villain of earlier games, has already collapsed by the time of Resident Evil 4's story?

Umbrella was written out because the new plot, drafted in a matter of weeks, was no longer centred on it. An earlier scrapped draft had sent Leon into its European headquarters.

Which console received a 2007 edition of Resident Evil 4 with new pointer-based aiming controls?

Nintendo Wii owners aimed with a reticle anywhere on screen and slashed or dodged with gestures. The four reviewers at Famitsu gave the edition 38 out of 40.

Which side story, added for the PlayStation 2 port of Resident Evil 4, replays events from a spy's perspective?

Separate Ways was dreamed up by the porting team and added once the game's director approved. It returned as paid downloadable content for the 2023 remake.

Which score-chasing minigame from the original Resident Evil 4 arrived as free DLC for the remake in April 2023?

The Mercenaries challenges players to kill as many enemies as possible before a timer runs out. Capcom added microtransactions for faster weapon upgrades on the same day.

Which of Leon's weapons wears down with use and needs repair in the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4?

His knife can now block attacks and finish downed enemies, but it wears down with use and must be repaired if it breaks. Leon can carry several types with different attributes.

Which virtual reality headset received a 2021 version of Resident Evil 4 developed by Armature Studio?

Oculus Quest 2 players got reworked combat and inventory handling, and the port was named VR/AR Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021.

Which publisher, rather than Capcom, released the 2007 PC port of Resident Evil 4 in Europe and North America?

Ubisoft announced the PC version in February 2006 and shipped it thirteen months later. The port added an Easy difficulty level and support for widescreen resolutions.

Critics faulted the original 2007 PC port of Resident Evil 4 for lacking support for which input device?

The mouse was not supported in the 2007 release, leaving players with frustrating keyboard controls. Reviewers still praised the gameplay, and the port's only patch fixed its lighting problems.

Under which title did Capcom rerelease Resident Evil 4 for Windows in 2014?

Ultimate HD Edition was Capcom's second PC version, but GameRevolution called it a bare-bones port and argued that the truly ultimate edition was the one with motion controls.

Which weapon, new to the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4, lets Leon kill enemies quietly from a distance?

Bolt Thrower is the name of a crossbow built for stealth kills, an option the 2005 original lacked. Enemies were also reworked to be more dangerous, pushing players to use the environment against them.

Which actor returned from the Resident Evil 2 remake to voice Leon in the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake?

Nick Apostolides supplied both the voice and the motion capture, while the character's face is based on the Romanian model Eduard Badaluta.

Carolyn Lawrence, the president's daughter in Resident Evil 4, voices which SpongeBob SquarePants character?

Sandy Cheeks and the hostage Leon spends the game protecting share a voice. Lawrence described her horror character as vulnerable, because Leon must keep coming to her rescue.

Which 2007 shooter's designers said its combat and inventory drew on Resident Evil 4's opening village level?

BioShock borrowed its approach to environments, tools and tactical fights, and its makers pointed to the way the village handled sandbox combat.

What is the horror series called in Japan, a name printed on Resident Evil 4's Japanese soundtrack album?

Biohazard could not be used in the United States, because a DOS game and a New York hardcore punk band had already claimed the name.

Which director led the first scrapped Resident Evil 4, swapping prerendered backgrounds for a moving camera?

Hideki Kamiya felt his hero did not look heroic enough from a fixed angle, so he switched to a dynamic camera. His team spent 11 days photographing Gothic statues and stonework for textures.

The Resident Evil 4 director's vow that it would stay exclusive was parodied by a racing dog in which Capcom game?

God Hand, the last game he directed at Capcom, has a racing dog named after his head, mocking a loosely translated promise to lose it if the horror hit went to another platform. He apologized for the port in 2017.

Dead Space was first planned as which sequel before Resident Evil 4 sent its designers back to the drawing board?

System Shock 3 was the original plan until Capcom's game came out and inspired the team to start again. Designers Ben Wanat and Wright Bagwell told the story themselves.

In the scrapped Resident Evil 4 build shown at E3 2003, what did the ghostlike man stalking Leon carry?

A large hook gave that version its nickname, and its haunted building was filled with living dolls and animated suits of armor. The idea grew from a scene in the film Lost Souls.

Which of the four games Capcom announced alongside Resident Evil 4 in 2002 was cancelled before release?

Dead Phoenix, a shooter starring a winged man, was dropped in August 2003 after failing to appear at E3. Capcom later said only the horror game had been meant as a true exclusive.

Which actor voiced the red-clad spy in the 2023 Resident Evil 4 remake after playing her in a live-action film?

Lily Gao replaced Jolene Andersen as the character's English voice, having first played her on screen in 2021. Online harassment over the performance led her to delete most of her Instagram posts.

Which piece of equipment reveals the parasites hidden inside the Regenerators of Resident Evil 4?

An infrared scope is the only way to see them, and until they are shot the creature keeps regenerating. Its heavy breathing was designed to warn players before it comes into view.

Which record did Resident Evil 4 hold in the 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition?

Best-selling survival horror game was its Guinness title, built on ports to one machine after another. By late 2005 three million copies had shipped for just two consoles.

Which smartphone was announced as a platform for the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 alongside consoles and PC?

iPhone 15 Pro owners got the full remake in December 2023, on the same day as the versions for iPad and Mac.

Which series creator took over as director of Resident Evil 4 and wrote its final story in weeks?

Shinji Mikami replaced the previous director, moved the camera behind the hero and rewrote the plot at speed. He later dismissed his own rushed script and praised the remake for fleshing it out.

Which actor voiced Leon S. Kennedy in the original Resident Evil 4 and again in the film Degeneration?

Paul Mercier went on to play Leon in The Darkside Chronicles as well. A different actor had voiced the character in his debut seven years earlier.