Thanks to CAPCOM for the invitation, we interviewed producer Hirabayashi Yoshiaki and project director Mr. Ampo Yasuhiro on the eve of the release of Resident Evil 4 Remake. In this interview, we asked about some of the differences between the remake and the original, and learned more details about the remake.
Resident Evil 4 Remake Producer Hirabayashi Yoshiaki
Ampo Yasuhiro, Project Director of Resident Evil 4 Remake
Here's what the interview looked like:
Q: The horror of Resident Evil 4 has always been a controversial topic, and we can see from the video that the remake deliberately reduces the player's visibility and shows many eerie and narrow environments to deepen the player's horror impression of the game.
A: First of all, we didn't want to have a terrifying atmosphere in all scenes. In the original Resident Evil 4, each scene has a unique theme, and it may be that in the video released this time, the more terrifying scenes account for the majority, but the other scenes that are not shown, we have not changed their scene style, but have completely upgraded the scenes that appeared in the original work.
Also, we didn't deliberately make the scene very dark or very narrow to create a claustrophobia. In terms of creating a sense of horror, we chose to make the scene more detailed, and when the player sees some leftover items in the scene, they will involuntarily associate the horror events that have happened here, achieving an effect that makes players think about it and frightened.
Now that the technology for developing games is more mature than the hardware, we hope that some elements will be more expressive in the remake, such as scenes, monsters, ambient sounds, etc.
Q: In the video, we see some scenes located at night, so does the remastered version add a day-night system, or does the fixed scene correspond to a fixed time?
A: The remake is the same as the original, the time in the game does not pass with the passage of real time, and each plot is a fixed time period.
Q: Collecting hidden elements in Resident Evil 4 is a very interesting way to play, but the explorable areas of the original game may be a little lacking today, will there be more explorable areas and collecting elements in the remake?
A: Compared to the original work, although it may not be too much, there are still some areas to explore. In addition, some hidden elements that appeared in the original game, such as spinels, etc., will also appear in the remaster, and the number of treasures that can be collected in the remastered version will also increase.
Q: Now that players can give Ashley the command to "follow" or "stay away" to avoid Ashley being accidentally injured during the fight, how far away will Ashley be from Leon after giving the stay away order?
A: When the player gives Ashley the order to "follow", Ashley will closely follow Leon action, and when the player gives the command to "stay away", Ashley will find a safe location away from the player, but not too far away.
Q: So when executing the stay away order, does Ashley evade enemy searches on his own? After all, it is difficult for the player to immediately get out and rescue her when fighting.
A: When Ashley is alone, she can slightly avoid some attacks from enemies, but when the enemy attack is more ferocious, Ashley will still be injured or captured by the enemy, and the player must hurry to rescue her, otherwise the game will end. In other words, Ashley in the remake, although smarter, still needs some attention from the player.
Q: The Plaka parasite is a very difficult enemy and an iconic monster in Biochemical 4, does the remake add some new varieties of Plaka? If the player doesn't want to deal with this monster, can they still use combat techniques that don't expose its parasite?
A: We can't answer this kind of question about the detailed setting in the game, because Resident Evil 4RE is a horror survival game, and we hope that players will get more surprises when playing the game, so we are not inclined to disclose the content of the game's plot and setting in advance.
Q: Will the Remake provide players with more guns and bullets than the original Resident Evil 4?
A: Compared with the original, there will be several additional special firearms in the remake (also no spoilers, I hope players can explore and discover by themselves in the game at that time). As for bullets, an important item "Powder Powder" has been added to the remake, which players can use to create the kind of bullets they want.
Q: In the video, we see a combat mechanic similar to "bounce counter", Leon makes a parrying action when he is about to take damage from a melee attack, and quickly pulls out his dagger to counterattack, is this an independent bounce counter-mechanism? Or is it just a QTE that requires a quick response from the player?
A: In the remake, the function of the knife has been expanded, for example, you can use the dagger to repair the knife when the enemy falls, or backstab the enemy in stealth, similarly, the dagger block is also a kind of knife function, in the battle, the player is optimistic about the timing, when about to be attacked, press the block button, you can successfully block the attack.
In our view, QTE refers to key prompts that suddenly appear in cutscenes and require a quick reaction from the player. The dagger block in the game is a special combat mechanic that the player can play at any time during the battle, and the QTE does not appear in a specific scene.
Q: During the hand-to-hand fight with Klausa, Leon showed more diverse physical movements than the original, did the remake enrich Lyon's physical system?
A: Some of the special physical moves that players see in the battle of Klausa are exclusive to this battle and are not used in other parts of the game.
Q: Will drivable vehicles be added to the remake? If so, can these vehicles only be driven on fixed sections, or are they free to drive throughout the scene?
A: We have retained some interesting settings from the original game, but it is not convenient to go into great detail now.
Q: Finally, is there anything you'd like to say to players who are looking forward to the release of this game?
A: Everyone has been waiting for a long time! On March 24, the game will be officially released, and in response to everyone's expectations, we have been working hard to make the game better. In addition, we will release a special demo version of Resident Evil 4 Remake in the near future, and I hope that after the release of the trial version, you can play the trial version while looking forward to the official release.
Resident Evil 4 is a popular game, and as a staff member, we hope that the remake will also be recognized by everyone, and everyone can have enough fun in the game.