History Videogame / ResidentEvil4

* AwesomeButImpractical: The mine thrower. Awesome firepower with a tracking upgrade, but typically not worth the inventory space. This is made worse by (or maybe due to) the fact that ammo for it tends to be even rarer than Magnum ammo.

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Ada Wong]], though they NeverFoundTheBody in the first place...

** BadassSpaniard: Luis Sera, as the cabin siege sequence can attest. "Did you send out those invitations!? I told you, no more than FEEEFTY PEOPLE!"
** TookALevelInBadass: Leon grew some muscles and got in touch with his inner wrestler after 2.

** BrainFood: One things the zealots ''do'' say, among other things, is chanting "Cerebros, cerebros, cerebros" (Brains, brans, brains").

* RecurringTraveler: The Merchant. You ''can'' kill him, but he'll still appear at the other locations without comment. (On normal mode, at least.)
** Possibly not the same individual. There are only so many character models used in the game.

* ShortRangeShotgun: Fantastically subverted with the exclusive upgrade for the basic shotgun.
** Doesn't seem to work in the gamecube version.
* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ResidentEvil4 Many]].
** Most of the mutations seem to be based on TheThing.

* FreudWasRight: In Separate Ways, after Ada defeats Krauser, she says [[spoiler: "That's a large "thing" (referring to his knife hand) you have there, but I don't like it when men [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything play rough]]"]]
** There's also Saddler's tentacle-wang...

* BottomlessMagazines: Most guns in the game can be upgraded to hold more bullets, with some reaching ridiculous capacities. The Broken Butterfly, a magnum revolver with '''six''' clearly visibly slots for ammo, can be upgraded to hold 12 rounds. The Blacktail, a basic handgun, can be upgraded to hold 35 rounds. The Matilda, a burst-fire handgun, can be upgraded to hold 100 rounds. Finally, the TMP, a basic sub-machine gun, can be upgraded to hold 250 rounds.
** The Striker, a shotgun with drum magazine, can hold 100 rounds when maxed, and the Hand Cannon will have UNLIMITED AMMO.
** Not to mention the unlockable Chicago Typewriter, and the ''Infinite'' Rocket Launcher.
*** Played with in the CT's case - you can reload it at will, even after you've just reloaded. It has no gameplay function, it's there just because of RuleOfCool.
** The (un-upgraded) {{Handcannon}} inverts it: Six slots for ammo, but can only hold 3 bullets...

** He has been infected with a las plagas. Some of his powers can be attributed to that.

* UpdatedRerelease: The PS2, PC, and Wii versions. And now the HD remakes.

* BlatantItemPlacement: Nobody in the game until the final chapter actually uses guns, so why do they carry bullets, have a shotgun mounted on a wall, and a Broken Butterfly revolver [[spoiler:in ''a medieval-style castle?'']]
** And even the guns that they do use are reserved for minibosses (the [[GatlingGood minigun-toting]] J.J.), single shot weapons (rocket launchers and crossbows), or are mounted and unable to move (the Gatling guns).
** It's possible that Ada, Luis, and the Merchant were putting the guns and ammo around to help Leon, and that the villagers just found the boxes and picked them up.

** Reloading an area will change variable item drops. Saving and reloading will reset certain things, such as the chickens (if you didn't kill them) and the lanterns in Ashley's segment.

*** But the semi-auto rifle fires quicker and doesn't break your aiming. The bolt action rifle will get you killed.

*** Not really. The spread of the regular shotgun negates its power at longer range. The shotguns are all close-range weapons. Thus, the Striker's exclusive is a real lifesaver. Especially since you get the 100 extra shotgun shells along with the exclusive. It's as close to infinite ammo as the regular weapons get.

*** Not true, except for the weapons that you've found. If you bought the weapon, then it will have cost you twice as much as you'll get back out of it. As a general rule of thumb, sell the regular handgun and the Punisher and buy a Red 9, and don't buy a Combat Shotgun and instead wait for the Striker. And if possible, don't even buy the bolt action rifle.

** Not the case in this troper's experience. Dog died.

** This troper must have one of these later versions, then. He dies quite easily from the semi-auto rife.
** In the Gamecube version, on the island, you can blow up the gatling turrets with rockets before they're manned. The soldiers manning them will just fall over and appear to die in the cutscenes where they're active, but will not actually be dead. If you shoot them, they'll die for real. The Wii version prevents this, making it so that they have to start shooting at you before you can blow them up.
** In the castle, just after the pendulum room, there is a gathering of zealots. Take a rocket launcher to the group of before they notice your presence and you'll be rewarded with enough treasure to have made the purchase of a standard rocket launcher profitable.

** Only endurable if you're not a casual gamer... Or if you use an Action Replay to make her invicible, or play a version that gives you the armor for her.

** For non-hardcore gamers, this means that players are required to own controllers with turbo function, as it can be insanely hard to tap A or B (or A suddenly switching over to B, or B to A) fast enough to not die. Fixed somewhat with the ability to just have to shake the Wii remote.

** It was attached to his utility belt. {{IAmBatman Leon Is Batman}}.

* SuplexFinisher: Leon. Ashley can do it too.
** No she can't. Ashley is unable to attack.

* KarlMarxHatesYourGuts: The Merchant, though quite willing to sell you stuff, sells it at twice the price he'll buy it from you. Subverted, because you can get an FN Five-seveN by shooting specific targets. ([[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/1/14/ Obligatory Penny Arcade link]].)

* PressXToNotDie: This game loves it, and pretty much kick-started [[FollowTheLeader gratuitous use of it in other games]], arguably making it the TropeCodifier. It was certainly the first game in recent memory to put them in cutscenes

** Ashley has "LEON, HEELLLLLPPPPPPP!"

* ShutUpHannibal: When Ramon Salazar gives Leon one too many smarmy monologues, Leon cuts him short with a knife to the hand.

** And the first shotgun's exclusive upgrade (what you get when it's fully upgraded) is WAY better than the exclusive for the striker. Sure, a 100 round magazine is practical. But doing full shotgun damage at every range...

* GenreSavvy: Barely anything fazes Leon, up to and including the announcement that the island he's on is about to explode.

* AKA47: Most, but not all weapons; the Striker is an exception, so is the TMP. "Chicago Typewriter" is a common nickname, as is the Red9 (there was a version of the Mauser C96 with a big red "9" engraved into the grip, called "the Red-9" -- you can actually see that nine on the model.)

* YouFightLikeACow: Leon and Salazar trade quips back and fourth every time they talk to each other. This gives us the exchange of:

-->'''Leon:''' You're right hand comes off? (It's spelt like that in the subtitles... And is now a [[MemeticMutation popular meme]].)

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim In chapter 3-2, you're faced with a [[BossInMookClothing Red Zealot]] standing on a balcony, who you then have to chase throughout the gallery...or, if you have the GameCube version, whip out your [[MagikarpPower fully upgraded bolt-action rifle]] and [[OneHitKO boom, ]][[BoomHeadshot Headshot]]! Not even the Infinite RocketLauncher can one-hit this enemy. Alas, this was fixed in later versions, where the Red Zealot is invincible until you go up the stairs to start chasing him.

* WhatTheHellHero Just ''try'' looking up Ashley's skirt.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: In chapter 3-2, you're faced with a Red Zealot standing on a balcony, who you then have to chase throughout the gallery...or, if you have the GameCube version, whip out your [[MagikarpPower fully upgraded bolt-action rifle]] and BoomHeadshot!

* [=~What The Hell, Hero?~=]: Just ''try'' looking up Ashley's skirt.

->''"Meanwhile, you're playing ''Resident Evil 4'' and it's like '''BITCH! ZOMBIES COMIN' UP THE HELL RIGHT NOW! SHOOT 'EM IN THE HEAD! SHOOT 'EM! GRAB THE SHOTGUN! YOU DON'T NEED TO LOAD IT, WE DID THAT SHIT FOR YOU! WHAT ARE YOU PRESSIN' [SELECT] FOR? YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE A PROFILE, BITCH! ZOMBIES IN THE ROOM! HIS AXE IS ON FIRE! HE KILLED YOUR PARENTS! SHOOT 'EM IN THE HEAD! SHOOT 'EM IN THE HEAD!... BITCH, THIS AIN'T A CUTSCENE! PRESS A! PRESS A! YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO SMOKE A BOWL! YOU STILL PLAYIN'! JUMP, GYPSY! C'MON, JUMP! PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER'S BEEN KIDNAPPED! IT'S UP TO US!"'''''

''Resident Evil 4'' is a 2005 {{GameCube}} game which was eventually ported to the {{PlayStation 2}}, [[PortingDisaster PC]], and the {{Wii}} (in 2007), with an HD remake for the {{Playstation 3}} and {{Xbox 360}} released in 2011. The game was a kick to the face of the SurvivalHorror genre and the ''ResidentEvil'' franchise in general. It has an over-the-shoulder camera angle (compared to the other ''ResidentEvil'' games, which have fixed camera angles based on horror movies), severely [[{{Aversion}} averting]] CapcomSequelStagnation. ''[=RE4=]'' was so successful that it kicked off its own wave of FollowTheLeader, with nearly every ThirdPersonShooter now using its OverTheShoulder perspective and nearly every SurvivalHorror game now resembling third-person shooters.

* AlwaysOverTheShoulder

*** [[DifficultButAwesome With enough practice]], the Mine Thrower can be absolutely devastating, essentially replacing the regular hand grenades (which you can sell back to the merchant for 2000 pesetas apiece!). In particular, shooting an enemy in the face with a mine will allow you to [[ActionCommands melee]] them into a crowd without detonating the mine. Also keep in mind that every time you upgrade the mine thrower's weapon capacity, [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity your ammo for that weapon refills]], so if you can stock up on mine ammo and only reload when you have to, it becomes extremely powerful AND practical.
** The [=Killer7=] (yes, [[{{Killer7}} that Killer7]]) Magnum. It ends up holding 2 more shots than the Broken Butterfly, but has less power and the Butterfly can be found for ''free''.

*** [[LiteralMinded But you only need to kill 40 Ganados to end the cabin siege...]]

** Don't forget the Thompson [=M1A1=], also with infinite ammo.

* EscortMission: Half of the game. Fortunately, it's pretty endurable, all things considered. Ashley has decent AI (hiding behind you ducking when you aim in her general direction, etc.), and there's usually a good place to stow her away in just about every map.

* ImplacableMan: Regenerators, Iron Maidens, and Verdugo. They tend to come off like [[HopelessBossFight Hopeless Boss Fights]] to most first time players (and the first two aren't even bosses).
** The first two ''can'' actually be destroyed my conventional tactics; it just requires so much firepower that it's simply not worth it.
** Except the first Iron Maiden that you have to kill in order to get an necessary item. If you have enough money you can buy a rocket launcher to the Merchant next door and finish him in one hit. If not say goodbye to your precious ammo.

* OverTheShoulder: The game pioneered the over-the-shoulder perspective now used in nearly all ThirdPersonShooter games.

* PantyShot: Sure, you can try, but Ashley won't be having any of it.
** There are ways around that.

* RewardingVandalism: Subverted on occasion, when snakes are in the crates instead of money or bullets. Killing the snake gets you an egg though.

* ShoutOut: Bitores Mendez, the chief of the Ganado village, heavily resembles Gregori Rasputin from Film/{{Hellboy}}. In fact, Jesse Corti, Mendez' voice actor, voices him in a very similar fashion to Rasputin in that film.
** The end of the game is strongly reminiscent of the end of the first ''DevilMayCry'' (timed mission to escape on a vehicle from a collapsing island with the female sidekick, complete with a tunnel death-course). Considering that DMC was made from the bases of the original project of RE4, it may or may not be a coincidence.

* AchillesHeel: Krauser's is the knife. Testing has shown that the knife does around .6 damage (an un-upgraded handgun does 1 damage) and that Krauser has 900 health. How many hits from the knife does it take to kill him? At most, a dozen. In other words, the knife's damage was deliberately and massively buffed in the fight with Krauser. Further, one of his attacks has him running at you, pausing, then knifehand attack. If you pull out your knife and slash its already at his head level and stops his attack easily.

* AchillesHeel: Krauser's is the knife. Testing has shown that the knife does around .6 damage (an un-upgraded handgun does 1 damage) and that Krauser has 900 health. How many hits from the knife does it take to kill him? At most, a dozen. In other words, the knife's damage was deliberately and massively buffed in the fight with Krauser. Further, one of his attacks has him running at you, pausing, then knifehand attack. If you pull out your knife and slash it's already at his head level and stops his attack easily.

* LuckBasedMission: The Waterworld stage in Mercenaries to some extent for HUNK and Leon, largely because their lack of stopping power to deal with Super Salvador. The amount of damage he can take [[ImplacableMan before flinching]] can vary wildly from a well placed shotgun or spray to the face to multiple grenades or exploding barrels. It's sucks seeing the futility in trying to slow someone who can instant kill you [[InstantDeathRadius just by being next to you]].