For a while now, there have been persistent rumors that Capcom is remaking Resident Evil 4. The Osaka-based game company has already remade other RE games, so it doesn’t seem that far-fetched.
Given the fan-made Resident Evil 4 HD mod looks excellent, a proper remake feels even more welcome.
In a recent interview, Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami was asked what he thought about the possibility of a RE4 remake. He told VG247 that “fans will most likely want it, and so that’s a good thing.” But Mikami had some surprising comments for how he’d like to see the game changed were that to happen.
“It would be great if Capcom could do a great job and make the story better, and put out a good product,” he said.
Mikami not only directed Resident Evil 4, but also wrote the script. He doesn’t exactly seem pleased with how it turned out, but that could be because of the strict deadline. According to Mikami, he “only had three weeks to write it.”
Originally released in 2005, Resident Evil 4 was revolutionary, bringing a new over-the-shoulder camera angle that changed video games forever. Kotaku previously explained its impact and why RE4 remains a crucial part of gaming history:
Titles like killer7 or even the original version of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater tried to manage their gameplay ambitions by either keeping players on rails or fixing the camera. While this allowed those games to tightly compose their action, they were still based upon limiting the player’s relationship to the game world. Something had to give. Resident Evil 4 was that something.
Resident Evil 4's over the shoulder camera allowed for a surprisingly active experience that merged the navigation of first-person shooters with a pulled back perspective that stressed the player character, Leon, as something of a focal point. As a consequence, there’s a keen awareness of Leon’s body and movements that wasn’t present in many titles at the time with the exception of something like the Splinter Cell series.
Mikami currently heads up Ghostwire: Tokyo studio Tango Gameworks, where he hopefully gives writers more than three weeks to turn in game scripts.
In case you missed it, check out Kotaku’s impressions of RE4's VR port.