As far as games in this series went, Resident Evil 4 was somewhat grounded. It was like a reboot for the franchise that put Umbrella to the side along with the iconic zombie enemies. This time around Leon was sent on a secret mission to another country to rescue the President’s daughter, Ashley.
When he arrives, Leon soon finds out the villagers of this area have been infected with a parasite and are being controlled by a cult. The core story of Resident Evil 4 remains the same, but certain elements were changed seemingly to surprise older fans. There will be spoilers in this breakdown of the changes.
Spoilers Ahead
8 How It Begins
In the opening of the original game, Leon was driven to the outskirts of the village and then let out. There was a scene before this wherein Officer Castano went out to go to the bathroom but nothing happened. In the remake, Officer Castano follows a voice after relieving himself.
The other officer asks Leon to go check on him which leads to the iconic opening fight with the villager. In the basement, he finds Officer Castano has been tortured to death. It’s also worth mentioning this scene takes place at night instead of in the daylight. However, not long after this day breaks as soon as Leon reaches the main village in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
7 Leon’s Backstory
Before the car scene, the original truly began with Leon recounting the events of Resident Evil 2 involving Raccoon City and Umbrella. He also mentions why he was sent to this random village, although details are scarce. This is more or less how the remake handles the storytelling as well.
However, there are new scenes that help flesh out small details about Leon that fans have never seen before. The biggest of which shows Leon training with other soldiers within Krauser’s unit.
6 The Wolf
There is an amazing fake-out in the Resident Evil 4 remake involving the white wolf. In the original, this wolf can be found on the way to the village. If players save it, the wolf will return to help Leon during the El Gigante boss fight in Resident Evil 4.
In the remake, players will, unfortunately, find a dead wolf caught in the bear trap leading up to the village. However, the real white wolf is still alive and is instead stuck outside the village mansion. Saving it will get Leon that extra furry partner for the boss fight.
5 The Garden Maze
Despite his best efforts, Ashley gets separated inside the castle in the original game. When players reach the garden maze, they find Ada inside the room above it. Ada and Leon instead meet inside the castle. Now, in the remake, Leon and Ashley get to the garden maze together.
Once here, Ashley gets possessed by Saddler, freaks out, and then runs away to the room where Leon and Ada are supposed to meet. Once players find her, Ashley then becomes a partner in the garden maze in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
4 Luis Becomes A Partner
Luis helps Leon out once in the original game. The two of them have to keep Ashley safe inside a random house while hordes of villagers storm it. This happens in the remake as well and Luis can handle himself well as an AI partner.
The cool thing that the remake adds is that Luis also tags along with Leon into the mine. It’s a long section too which makes it much easier to deal with the villagers. The mine cart section is more fun as players get to use Luis’ gun and it has infinite ammo in the Resident Evil 4 remake. He even gets to help in the boss fight against the two El Gigante monsters.
3 Luis’ Death Alongside Krauser And Saddler’s Appearances
Not long after the El Gigante boss fights, Luis is killed by Krauser. This prompts the first boss fight with Krauser to commence in the Resident Evil 4 remake which is no longer a QTE battle. That doesn’t happen until the prison-like island at the end of the game.
In the original game, Saddler is the one that kills Luis who is inside the castle and there is no boss fight. Saddler is seen in visions in the remake but Leon and him don’t come face to face until the very end of the remake. Following the playable Luis partner section, this whole thing might be the biggest change in the remake.
2 Where’s U-3?
Every major boss is in the remake albeit remixed in some cases like an armored version of El Gigante appearing. The only exception is U-3 which is a huge one in the original game and easily the hardest. Players have to go from a series of crates, dismantling them as this unstoppable beast keeps getting in Leon’s way.
After surviving in this cramped space, players then have to beat U-3 on land. Taking it out of the remake seems like a wise decision to help rebalance the difficulty. Also, it didn’t make sense in the story because U-3’s origins are never explained or even remarked upon.
1 Ada And Wesker
There are a lot of ending bits that get cut from the remake such as the scene involving Leon dodging lasers along with the truck fight. The actual end is the biggest difference though. Ada gets away with the Las Plagas amber just like in the original game. However, there is a scene wherein players get to see Ada talking to Wesker in the remake.
As Wesker is more of a Jill and Redfield villain, it made sense not to include him in the original release of Resident Evil 4 since Leon never had any contact. The inclusion of him in the Resident Evil 4 remake may set up two possible sequel remake roads Capcom could follow. He’s the big villain in both Resident Evil – Code: Veronica and Resident Evil 5.
The Resident Evil 4 remake was released on March 24, 2023, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.