Shinji Mikami is the original mastermind behind Resident Evil and played the impressive role of creating Resident Evil 4's original story. I never thought that a remake could beat the original Resi 4, but I was quickly humbled once I actually played the one we got last year, and it seems like Mikami has a similar view towards the later iterations of his games.
"I thought that [the Resident Evil 4 remake] was really well-made," Mikami says in an interview with IGN. "Another thing I thought was really well done was the way they took the half-assed scenario that I just wrote up in two weeks and really built up on that and really fleshed it out.
Mikami shared his thoughts on remakes and remasters as part of promotional work for Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered, which doesn't seem like a passion project, as Mikami admits, "I personally don't really have any interest in remasters." But even so, he can appreciate a good one when he sees it.
"I think the comprehensive and fundamental understanding of what it was that made the original work in the first place is probably the most important point of a good remake,” Mikami says. "There's a few examples of that with certain series that Capcom has put out." Looking at you, Resident Evil 4.
"They showed that they really understood the characters and their interactions. They showed a good understanding of the backbone of each character. And they took not just the scenario itself, but even the dialogue, and they improved all that stuff, so that was really great."
To call Resident Evil 4's original story half-assed seems like sacrilege that obviously only Mikami could get away with. But I do agree that the Resident Evil 4 remake was incredibly impressive, particularly because of how restrained it was in making changes. I played the remake seven times, and it became increasingly clear that every change made was a deliberate decision, not just done for the sake of making it stand out from the original. One part that I enjoyed was how the remake changed Salazar to be less of a gimmick and into more of an unnerving horror antagonist. Gone were the weird Facetime calls in which he bullied Leon, and instead, every appearance was more sinister while still keeping some of his eccentric charm.
The Resident Evil 4 remake has gone on to break record after record, with it recently achieving over 7 million sales worldwide within a year of its release. Capcom attributed the remake's success to "continuous support from the passionate fan base across the globe."
