The Resident Evil 4 remake is a mostly faithful recreation of the classic Resident Evil 4 game fans have come to know and love, but there is some content that didn't make the transition. Capcom has remastered and re-released Resident Evil 4 numerous times, often adding some kind of new content on top of everything that was already there. The Resident Evil 4 remake does have some new content, but it's also missing some things that fans of the original may be sad to see go.
The Resident Evil 4 remake does deserve some credit for adding new content for fans to check out, even though there are also some things missing. Besides changes to the controls and the introduction of the parry mechanic, the Resident Evil 4 remake adds side quests, new weapons, and new enemies. The Resident Evil 4 remake reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, so fans shouldn't think that just because the game has cut some content that was found in the original that it's necessarily inferior.
With that in mind, here is everything that was cut in the transition from the original Resident Evil 4 game to the recently-released Resident Evil 4 remake.
Assignment Ada and Separate Ways
The original Resident Evil 4 game had a bonus mode players could unlock called Assignment Ada that allowed them to play as the Resident Evil franchise's most mysterious and elusive character, Ada Wong. Later versions of Resident Evil 4 added a proper Ada campaign called Separate Ways that offered fans some new perspectives and fresh plot reveals. Unfortunately, Assignment Ada and Separate Ways are both completely missing from the Resident Evil 4 remake. Capcom has not announced any plans to release Assignment Ada or Separate Ways as DLC at the time of this writing, so it's unclear if the bonus modes will ever make a comeback.
The Mercenaries
Speaking of missing bonus modes, perhaps the most egregious is the lack of Mercenaries. The Mercenaries mode was a bonus mode that players earned after beating Resident Evil 4's story, giving them the chance to play as different characters and try their luck battling waves of enemies. It put the focus squarely on Resident Evil 4's combat, which made it highly replayable to those who wanted a quick, fast-paced experience without going through the story again. While The Mercenaries is not available in the Resident Evil 4 remake at launch, the good news is that it's coming to the game in the relatively near future. The Mercenaries will be added to the Resident Evil 4 remake come April 7 as part of a free update, so fans have that to look forward to at least.
U-3 Boss Fight
The Island section in the original Resident Evil 4 is easily one of the most divisive areas in the entire game. There are some fans who enjoyed it, but others were happy to see that while it's still in the remake, it's slightly reduced in scoped and better-paced. To accomplish this, some content was removed from the Island section of the Resident Evil 4 remake, like the U-3 boss fight. The U-3 boss fight has long been hit or miss with the Resident Evil community. Some liked its more horror-focus compared to the other boss encounters in Resident Evil 4, whereas others felt it served little purpose beyond breaking up the Krauser fights. Regardless of where one stands on the issue, U-3 is not in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
QTEs
Just like some Resident Evil 4 fans may not care that Capcom decided to cut U-3 from the game, they may also not really be sad to see the QTEs go either. At the time when the original Resident Evil 4 first released, QTEs were somewhat of a novelty in the video game space. While some titles had used them, they weren't over-satured yet, and so they were easier for fans to appreciate. There are some instances in the Resident Evil 4 remake where players have to quickly press the dodge button to avoid being hit by something, but otherwise the button mashing QTEs and the like are nowhere to be found in the remake.
Incendiary Grenades
The Resident Evil 4 remake has new weapons for Leon to add to his arsenal, but it's also missing one of the weapons that was featured prominently in the original game. For example, incendiary grenades are nowhere to be found in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Like with the other cut content, Capcom has offered no explanation as to why the incendiary grenades were removed from the Resident Evil 4 remake at the time of this writing.
Laser Hallway and Throne Room
With QTEs missing from the Resident Evil 4 remake, it may not come as any big surprise that the game is also missing its Resident Evil movie-inspired laser sequence and the subsequent throne room. In the original Resident Evil 4 game, there is a section where Leon gracefully dodges a hallway full of lasers, echoing a scene from the critically-panned Resident Evil movie adaptation. After dodging all the lasers, Leon is able to proceed to the throne room where he is free to collect a treasure and then sit on the throne with a goofy pose. The Resident Evil 4 remake tones down the cheesiness compared to its predecessor, which could be why the laser hallway and this version of the throne room is absent.
There are other changes from the original Resident Evil 4 game that arguably aren't so much "cut content" as "changed content." It's also possible that some smaller details have slipped through the cracks, but the Resident Evil community are able to discover all the potential cut content for themselves now that the highly-anticipated survival-horror game has been released to the masses.
Resident Evil 4 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
