10 Differences Between Resident Evil 4 on GameCube & Other Re-Releases

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10 Differences Between Resident Evil 4 on GameCube & Other Re-Releases

Resident Evil 4 has been released on multiple different consoles, but the release on GameCube has some distinct differences. Capcom’s iconic is a franchise that needs no introduction. For many, it’s the very last word in shuffling zombie ’em ups (), the grandpappy of survival horror as we know it today. , however, marked a huge paradigm shift for the series. This more dynamic, action-oriented, TPS style threw fans for a loop, but Capcom clearly made the right decision: Leon’s happy little adventure through rural Europe has gone on to be rated as one of the best games of all time. As such, it’s been re-released and ported to just about every system known to humankind (). How do all the subsequent versions compare to the original GameCube exclusive release? Let’s take a look! THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

It s One Of The Only Versions To Offer The Ridiculous Chainsaw Peripheral

The Resident Evil series is notorious for To turn the tables, our heroes need to be well equipped to fight back. For the GameCube original and PlayStation 2 port of the game, Capcom apparently thought that ‘well equipped’ meant using one of the most wrist-snappingly impractical controllers ever. This magnificent beast is Nuby Tech’s legendary Chainsaw Controller, which was only released in GameCube and PS2 flavors. As a controller, its weight, design and button placement makes it just about useless, but it’s a heck of a lovingly made collector’s item.

It Was Part Of Nintendo s Early GameCube Resident Evil Deal

Prior to the GameCube’s launch in 2001, Nintendo knew that they’d need to do something about their family-friendly reputation. The core gamer market was only expanding, so they needed something to wow fans of more mature content to. Part of the answer to this was a historic deal with Capcom, which saw Resident Evil Zero and REmake come to the system exclusively, as well as Resident Evil 4 (and ports of other series entries). Of course, none of these titles are exclusive anymore, but they served the system well. The remake of the original Resident Evil, in particular, was a huge success that showed exactly what the little console could do with one of the most visually impressive titles in its library.

It Doesn t Have Motion Controls

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Resident Evil 4 arrived on the Nintendo Switch eShop in May 2019. Newcomers and dedicated fans who already owned the title on seventeen other systems jumped back on board, to find a solid port with one major issue: the lack of motion controls. The Wii edition offered a lot of what the system did best: Wiimote-waggling action. With the Switch being partly portable, motion controls would have been a fantastic inclusion (a bit of a no-brainer, really), but the game launched without them, and they haven’t been patched in since—a real missed opportunity.

It s Missing The Separate Ways Mode

The unfortunate thing about timed exclusivity is that sometimes the original misses out on content that arrives later. In this case, Ada Wong’s ‘Separate Ways’ mini-campaign wasn’t included in the GameCube version of the game. Separate Ways debuted in the PS2 port, unlocked after completion of the main story. It’s a brief campaign consisting of five chapters, played from the perspective of Ada Wong as she manipulates events from behind the scenes in pursuit of her own ends (a viral sample for Albert Wesker, whom she also double-crosses). It adds a lot more depth to the main story, showing how Leon and Ada’s adventures intersect and showing an interesting new perspective on familiar events.

It Doesn t Look Its Best

Well, yes, this was a given, but it still bears mentioning. Like REmake, Resident Evil 4 was a fantastic technical achievement for the GameCube. It put the plucky little system through its paces and proved exactly the kind of visual quality it could produce, besides Nintendo’s bright, bold and brash cartoon color palette. Having said that, it’s inevitable that most ports would outstrip it in that regard. Later HD editions may have been a little lazy in how they ‘enhanced’ the visuals, but they certainly proved that there was more to be coaxed from the aging title.

It Isn t Widescreen

This was another big bugbear. Resident Evil 4 was the biggest and most ambitious adventure the series had embarked on to date, and it was much more of a guns-blazing, action hero sort of experience than anything that had come before. As a result, that cinematic feel was important to the creators. As was the case with Shinji Mikami’s later horror title, 2014’s The Evil Within (pictured here), the game was presented in letterbox mode. This is the sort of thing that immediately divides fans, and unlike the latter title, there was no possibility of a simple patch to toggle this on or off.

It Still Outdid The PlayStation 2 Version

Resident Evil 4 had been a GameCube exclusive for less than a year before it launched on the PS2, arriving in January 2005 on the former platform and October 2005 on the latter. By that time, the PS2 had been on the market for five years, and the PlayStation 3 was on the horizon (launching around a year later). It’s no surprise, then, that the first port of the game wasn’t quite up to the GameCube edition. On PS2, the game had to implement pre-rendered cutscenes, as well as other concessions to the system’s comparatively inferior hardware.

It s Not Portable

Well, we could snarkily point out that the GameCube is very portable (it has that convenient and adorable little handle and everything), but that’s not really what we’re getting at here. What’s important is that some editions of the game are playable on the go: the Nintendo Switch, mobile, and Zeebo (remember Zeebo?) versions. Of course, the latter two are vastly technically inferior, but it’s a miracle that the game even functions on these formats at all. You’ve got to respect the chutzpah, not to mention the all-consuming appeal of this classic game.

There s No Silly Invincible Ashley

As we’ve mentioned before, the original release of the game missed out on a fair amount of bonus content that was implemented later. The intriguing Separate Ways is one example of this, but we’ve also got to mention that completing Separate Ways gave the player an extra bonus: an additional costume option for Leon and Ashley, both of which are pure gold. A 1930s gangster outfit for Leon (complete with fedora) is a winner in and of itself, but Ashley’s full suit of armor is the real winner here. It gives the player a huge gameplay advantage too: she’s rendered too heavy to lift (a hilarious animation will ensue if an enemy tries to do so) and invulnerable to just about any form of damage in this outfit—a sad loss for GameCube players.

Capcom Nailed It The First Time Around

Of course, just over fifteen years later, the original version of Resident Evil 4 looks more than a little rough around the edges. It’s darn well entitled to. For its time, though, it was a stunning looking title and a jewel in the GameCube’s crown. Ports have fared even better as technology has improved, with one notable exception: the PC version. The game was actually released on PCs twice, with the original take of the game being a terrible technical misstep. A second version, the Ultimate HD Edition, finally saw justice done for PC players, though it didn’t arrive until seven years later (in 2014).