Clattertron

[dc]I[/dc] forgot about the scale of some of the creatures in Resident Evil 4. Sure, the earlier games had big baddies too. There was the shark thing and the crazy plant in the first Resident Evil, and the giant sewer alligator in Resident Evil 2. (It’s been too long since I played Resident Evil 3, so I can’t remember what’s in there)

But, RE 4 really ups the crazy with its big creatures.

Resident Evil 4 Bought a Zoo

First, there is Del Lago, the grotesque, giant salamander mutant in the lake. I remembered this part from my two previous attempts to finish the game. Remembering didn’t make it any easier though, it is still a tough fight. A fun, different fight, but tough.

And creepy. Living in Michigan means I’ve seen a fair amount of spooky lakes, and Del Lago is exactly the kind of beast one could find here.

El Big Boy

RE 4 has a great bit of foreshadowing in this section. Leon walks through El Gigante’s pen and you only hear the beast. For now. I remember my first time through years ago and thinking, “What is that?”

It took me a couple of tries to beat El Gigante, as I forgot the strategy, so my first finish wasn’t the smoothest (and I used up way too much ammo and health items).

El Gigante needs to get the growth on his back looked at. Seriously.

Oh Great, Snakes

What the heck, RE 4? Putting snakes in boxes and barrels when I’m looking for items is pretty low. I forgot about these until I smashed open a box and saw a coiled object and The Panic set it.

Ugh, taking damage while looking for items is the worst.

I made short work of the snake with my handgun though, and got a chicken egg for my trouble. So, hooray?

Oh Great, Wolves

My first time through the cemetery on the way to the lake, I had gut feeling there were wolves or dogs or some other hell-beasts, but they didn’t show. “I must be thinking of something else,” I thought.

Nope.

The wolves showed up later, in the storm, their white eyes shining in the inky darkness between crashes of thunder and lightning. I took out the first one with my rifle from a distance, but the next two were on me fast. This is why the shotgun’s description says, “Never leave home without it.”

Oh Great, Creatures Growing Out of Necks

Then there was my first run-in with the creepy Lovecraftian things coming out of villagers’ necks after they die. Yeah, that brought back some panic chills. I bought the scope for the rifle, and it helps take these things out with one shot (I upgraded the damage too).

Shopping Spree

Now I have the Red9. Ho. Ho. Ho.

The Red9 is my favorite handgun in RE 4, and perhaps the best (there’s a lot of debate on this). I read you could buy the Red9 right before heading into the church after getting the emblem.

So I bought the heck out of it.

I completed the medallions mini-game, getting all 15, earlier. I sold the handgun, and used the Punisher until I could buy the Red9. Bye-bye, Punisher. Hello, Red9. Thanks to my careful upgrading (and avoiding doing any on the handgun and Punisher), and finding some good treasures, I was able to buy all of the available upgrades for the Red9. The stock attachment too.

The only snag is, between the Red9’s stock and the rifle’s scope, space in my attache is starting to shrink.

Resident Evil 4 Cook Book

One would think you could combine the different herbs with either the eggs or the black bass to make some sort of super-food. Right? Makes sense to me, but I don’t think you can. Black bass seasoned with red, green, and yellow herbs? I would give it a try. I wonder what the gold eggs taste like.

Probably chocolate.

What’s Next?

I’m about to head inside the church and find Ashley. I think. My memory is a bit hazy, but I’m having flashes of a fight in the church.

Swell.