15 things to know before playing

While some of Capcom’s re-released Resident Evil 4 make new is different than in 2005, including core and not so core (sorry, perverts!) game mechanicsthe horror game is still ready to kick your ass.

It’s okay, we have been there. We’ve seen parasites slash open the heads of angry villagers when we ran out of bullets, we’ve broken knives as they pounce on our necks, but we survived to tell the tale. Now we pass our tips on to you.

I talked to kotaku staff author and RE4 Authority Zack Zwiezen on 15 of his best pieces of advice and fully supported them all. Whether it’s your first time traversing the game’s dangerous slice of Spain, spooky crawling with parasites and sexy blonde jerksor you revisit it, these tips should help you break through the game’s trickiest spots.

Continue reading: “Resident Evil 4 Reissue: The kotaku Review”

1. Use the map! (Treasures, goals, etc. are clearly depicted on it)

Ashley Bardan: Don’t be shy – if in doubt, open your map from your menu. The map offers more than simple waypoints, including locations for blue medallions you can shoot for spinel, the merchant’s rarer trading currency, and treasure (once you get the treasure map) are marked.

Your map also shows where to find important pickups, such as: B. the consumable herbs that boost your health.

2. Preserve red and yellow herbs to increase your HP

AWAY: After you’ve used your map to sweep an area and confirmed you’ve collected all of its refreshing green, red, and yellow herbs, don’t worry about how many attaché squares your new planting hobby has taken up. You’ll be glad you have them when you need them.

Combining herbs will boost your health, so make an effort to always have loose red and yellow herbs on hand. Combining these with just one green herb will amplify its effects and, in the case of yellow, increase your maximum health.

3. Shoot crows for resources

AWAY: Players are well conditioned – we see something that we need to smash and we smash it to get an item hidden inside.

RE4 however, has a more sophisticated treasure chest, greedy crows that drop coins upon death. If you see a lot of them in the quarry, throw a hand grenade to get ruthlessly rich.

4. Always carry at least one flash grenade

AWAY: Both Flash and hand grenade are useful props for your briefcase. Not only do these items kill crows, but they also help with crowd control, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed by a place the early game village. They also provide easy ways to vary and increase the overall damage dealt during a boss fight.

ZZ: And flash grenades can instantly kill the dangerous parasites that erupt from enemy heads while saving ammo.

5. Aim for the knees

AWAY: Most Resident Evil 4 requires shooting, so you may have noticed that you fall into a typical shooter impulse and aim for the monstrous heads of the enemies.

Headshots are…okay, they deal extra damage and improve your chance of landing a critical hit, but aiming for enemies’ knees destabilizes them almost instantly. They fall and you have a chance to take them out with a well-timed melee kick. It’s far less demoralizing than firing bullet after bullet at monsters’ steel brains.

6. Use Leon’s Superkick to take out many enemies at once

AWAY: You can also be refined with Leon’s melee kick. When faced with a mob, try getting on your knees with your weapon or use a flashbang to stun the group. Kick them when they’re asked to, and rejoice when they hit the ground.

7. Your knife won’t last forever – upgrade it

Zack Zwiezen: A big change this time around is that Leon’s trusty knife will eventually break over time. While you can extend the time between repairs by using random kitchen utensils you discover in the world, you’ll want to improve the knife’s durability as soon as possible whenever you come across it RE4‘s lovable merchant. Once maxed out, Leon’s knife will last much longer and help you stealthily take out more baddies without wasting all your pistol ammo.

8. Don’t sell gems or treasure right away

AWAY: Loose gems look tempting on their own, but they’re worth much more to the dealer when embedded in treasure.

However, before you start embedding, make sure you consult the gem bonus table in your Treasures menu. Typically, matching gem colors increases a treasure’s value, but slotting an item with five different colored gems will reward you with the ultimate bonus.

9. Upgrade weapon damage stats first

ZZ: At first, Leon’s starting pistol and other early weapons you pick up or buy feel a little weak, especially when tougher enemies seem to be ruining your day. To fix this problem, talk to the merchant and upgrade the damage on all of your favorite weapons. Just a few upgrades can make a big difference. However…

10 However, be careful not to over-upgrade early guns you replace

ZZ: Don’t try to fully upgrade every weapon during your first playthrough. As you and Leon progress through the game, you can purchase newer, better versions of most weapons from The Merchant.

Luckily, you can sell upgraded weapons and get back 95 percent of your invested coins, but you still don’t want to drain your wallet with things you’ll be replacing soon enough. Instead, focus on damage and ammo capacity, and keep an eye out for better weapons, like the amazing Striker shotgun or the Blacktail handgun.

11. Don’t buy every new gun

AWAY: As exciting as new weapons are, you’ll find it impossible and overwhelming to meaningfully upgrade each new weapon, actually use them all in combat, and find adequate space for them in your inventory. Save yourself the stress and the money.

12. Buy body armor!

ZZ: Not only does Leon look way cooler in his tactical gear, body armor helps a lot too. It completely blocks damage from ranged attacks and explosives. And it softens the melee hits that Leon will suffer during the events RE4. Not only does this help you stay alive, but it also means you use fewer healing items!

Just remember that like the knife, you’ll need to repair it at the dealer’s shop from time to time. Once the durability reaches zero, it no longer protects you from all the dangers in the world. So fix it!

13. Organize your briefcase to maximize space

ZZ: Don’t let Leon randomly put shit in the game’s inventory. He’s cute and good with a gun, but he’s bad at organizing things. Instead, take a few minutes now and then to organize your case. This will help you maximize your space early on before purchasing case upgrades. Better yet, you can quickly see what you have and need at a glance if your suitcase is well cared for.

Or you could just Click the Auto Sort button and live like a monster.

14. Play for prizes at the shooting ranges

AWAY: The Merchant Shooting Gallery minigame becomes accessible in Chapter 3, where you can hop in an elevator behind the teleporting vendor and take him to his smokebox. Here you can play infinite bullet shooting games.

Perform well to earn silver and gold tokens that you can load into a vending machine for random, performance-enhancing charms that you can attach to your briefcase. As an added, added bonus, I’d say most charms, regardless of what they are, look pretty cute dangling from your kill box.

15. Want a free powerful pistol? Grab the red 9

ZZ: The best things in life are free. And that’s true in Resident Evil 4, to. Well, something like that. Regardless, the Red 9 pistol is free and amazing, and well worth grabbing if you can.

To get this free pistol, just jump on your boat in Chapter 4 – after the sea fight – and head to the middle of the lake. There you will find an old boat and a treasure chest on board that contains the Red 9.

Bonus! 16. Shoot the Lake…

ZZ & AB: trust us We absolutely don’t screw with you at all…

what are your best Resident Evil 4 tips? Let us know in the comments.