Originally released at the start of 2005, Resident Evil 4 is still considered to be one of the best games of all time. This is best exemplified by its 96 score on Metacritic which makes it the site's joint-seventeenth highest-rated game when removing duplicates.
Following the success of the recent Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes, there have been numerous leaks and rumors suggesting that Resident Evil 4 will be getting the same treatment. These rumors have caused many players to reminisce about their first time playing Resident Evil 4, and it's easy for experienced players to forget the sheer number of mistakes that they likely made on their first playthrough.
Updated on December 7, 2021, by Jack Pursey: Resident Evil 4 was originally marketed as a GameCube exclusive, which is funny to look back on now as the iconic horror game has since been released on just about every modern system under the sun. This hasn't stopped over 15 years later, as Capcom's shooter was recently brought to the Oculus Quest 2, letting players experience the game in VR for the first time.
With the VR version putting eyes on the game once again, we've updated this list to include a few more entries.
13 Wasting Money
Many people who play Resident Evil 4 for the first time today will already know about the iconic merchant, who somehow manages to traverse the game's dangerous world unharmed, while always being one step ahead of Leon and ready to sell him weapons. Something that most new players won't know, however, is that the money used to purchase items from him is scarce.
To be able to afford quality weapons and upgrades, players need to be very shrewd with their spending and also ensure that they collect and sell treasures (more on that later).
12 Missing The Extra Content
Since Resident Evil 4 was released there has been a sharp increase in the amount of paid content included in major releases. Moreover, many releases now have in-game adverts for their content, ensuring that players know exactly what is available to them.
Consequently, many people revisiting Resident Evil 4 will unknowingly miss about 25% of the game's content. When players complete the main campaign, they are rewarded with three brand new game modes to complete, namely The Mercenaries, Separate Ways, and Assignment Ada; along with a handful of new weapons and armor. The new game modes are sat nonchalantly in the Extras tab, which does have a red circle next to it, but many modern gamers won't expect the amount of content that lies in wait, and will completely miss it.
11 Favoring Weapons
In many third and first-person shooters, it's common for players to find one or two weapons that they like, and stick to them for the rest of the game. This is a bad strategy in Resident Evil 4, however, for two reasons. Firstly, the Merchant consistently offers players improved weapons as they progress through the game that should be purchased, and secondly, each enemy is weak to a certain type of weapons - so players should frequently be switching between them.
Learning which weapon is best for each enemy can take some time, but thankfully for newcomers, we have a guide detailing exactly which ones to use.
10 Wasting Ammo
Not preserving ammo is the most common mistake that new players make. Assuming that there will be a near-constant supply like in most games, many players will just fire tons of rounds without paying attention to their diminishing supply.
Thankfully, there are numerous ways to preserve ammo. The most effective way is by using Leon's knife, but players can also punch, kick, or even suplex non-boss enemies.
9 Thinking The Rocket Launcher Has Multiple Shots
The iconic Resident Evil 4 Merchant may be the most helpful character in the game, but he does have one nasty sales trick. The Merchant fails to mention that the Rocket Launcher is only capable of firing one shot and can't be reloaded. The launcher does say "(Single fire)", although many first-time players will perceive this to mean that it fires one rocket at a time.
Despite its single-use, the rocket launcher poses an interesting conundrum for players; the weapon is expensive considering its limited use, but it will instantly kill bosses if the rocket hits their weak spot. All is forgiven with the Merchant on subsequent playthroughs, as he sells an Infinite Rocket Launcher for 1,000,000 pesetas.
8 Not Saving The Dog
In the first few minutes of the game, players must make a moral decision; whether or not to save a dog caught in a trap. Anyone who hasn't played Resident Evil 4 will probably question why anyone would kill a trapped dog, but this is a game where birds drop hand grenades, so it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the dog is strapped with a shotgun.
Thankfully, Capcom rewards players who do the right thing and save the dog. The dog will run off when it is freed, making it seem like nothing more than a moral victory, but the dog will return later in the game to bravely help Leon in a fight against an El Gigante. Furthermore, the dog won't give players anything if they shoot it, other than existential shame.
7 Not Combining Treasures
One of Resident Evil 4's core mechanics revolves around collecting pesetas to spend with the Merchant; it's a fundamental part of the game as first-time players will struggle if they don't have the latest weapons with multiple upgrades.
Because of this, many players will sell all of their treasures to the Merchant anytime they encounter him. This is a mistake though, as many of the game's treasures can be combined for huge increases in value. For example, the crown is worth 9,000 pesetas alone, but when combined with three jewels that turn it into the Salazar Family Crown, it sells for a huge fee of 48,000 pesetas, which is almost enough for two rocket launchers.
6 Not Buying The Treasure Maps
Following on from the last entry, many players won't buy the treasure maps from the Merchant, feeling that their valuable pesetas are better spent elsewhere.
This would be a mistake though. The treasure maps are essentially an investment that will give players a fantastic return on their money with numerous treasures of values that far exceed that of the maps.
5 No Organization Skills
Neatly packing a case may seem like a trivial task in a survival horror game, but it is essential in Resident Evil 4. Like ammo, case space is very limited in Resident Evil 4 as Leon isn't happy carrying around a backpack with fourteen guns and seven suits of armor like most video game characters.
Players who don't organize their case's should definitely give it a try, as they will be surprised just how much more can be squeezed in.
4 Not Upgrading Weapons
In many games, the answer to the question "what is the best weapon in the game?" is "the one that you upgrade". Resident Evil 4 is a prime example of this, as players can make a vast range of upgrades to their weapons ranging from reload speed, firepower, and firing speed that will greatly improve their weapons.​​​​
Upgrades are handled by the Merchant, and although they can be costly at times, the investment is well worth it every time.
3 Not Buying The Red 9
There is one contradiction to the previous entry, and that is the Red 9, which is by far the best handgun in the game and is worth purchasing on any given playthrough.
The Red 9 has fantastic starting stats and is incredibly quick and powerful once fully upgraded, which is worth doing as soon as possible as handgun ammo is the most common in the game. Honorable mention for the game's best gun goes to the Striker, an excellent shotgun that is also highly recommended.
2 Wasting Flash Grenades
In many non-competitive shooting games, flash grenades are seriously underpowered, and will only be used by players as a last resort if they've run out of everything else.
Wasting flash grenades is a huge mistake in Resident Evil 4 though. Not only are do they stun enemies for an excessively long time, allowing players to reload or get a few punches and kicks in, but they also kill exposed Plaga instantly.
1 Not Collecting The Blue Medallions
Early on in Resident Evil 4, the Merchant will give players a rare side-quest in the game; he tasks them with shooting hidden medallions, with the promise of a specialized gun.
Collecting the medallions isn't easy, especially without a map, but it's worthwhile doing as the merchant gives Leon a handgun for the generous price of free.
Resident Evil 4 was originally released in 2005 and is available on Android, GameCube, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest 2, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Zeebo