The highly anticipated remake of Resident Evil 4 is finally here, and fans worldwide are thrilled. It's no surprise why; many consider it the best game in the series, and the return to the past is highly welcomed. For the release of the game, we had the chance to talk to Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, the game’s producer, and ask him some questions about the remake. 

Given the number of changes made to Resident Evil 2 and 3, fans were expecting some huge changes with the remake of Resident Evil 4. However, this time around, things are different. We asked Yoshiaki Hirabayashi what the biggest challenge the team faced, to which he said that the team had to start the project by evaluating the experience of playing the original game was. This was the first time for them to have such an experience with a remake, so it felt difficult. 

What are the key elements that should be taken into account for a perfect remake? Yoshiaki believes that remakes should start from a place of love and respect for the original game, no matter how much or how little changes are made. He then shared his thoughts on why Resident Evil 4 is such a beloved installment of the series. According to Yoshiaki's opinion, the breadth of gameplay variety and the progressive story is what fans remember the game for. 

We then asked Yoshiaki if remaking an original game is more difficult than creating a new game from scratch, to which he said that it's very difficult to make comparisons like that. No matter the starting point, it's always tough to come up with ideas that players will enjoy, and the journey from the start of development to a finished game is always a hard one. 

We then asked Yoshiaki what elements he wanted to change, but he was afraid it could spoil the original experience. Luckily, he said that there were no bad-aged parts they would want to remove, but rather, they wanted to update the controls, action, storyline, and stage design while adding new elements to the game. 

To conclude our interview, we asked Yoshiaki if the team had ever considered adding a first-person perspective to the remake. He said that while the team is always open to exploring new possibilities, they wanted to keep the over-the-shoulder viewpoint to build on and update the feeling of the original. 

Overall, we had a great time talking to Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and learning more about the challenges and decisions made when remaking Resident Evil 4. Fans around the world can’t wait to finally jump back into the action and enjoy this beloved installment of the series.