Shinji Mikami finishes the Resident Evil 4 remake and has good things to say
Game creator Shinji Mikami has finished playing through the Resident Evil 4 remake. He completed the game in two weeks and showed his approval by posting a tweet that said, “I enjoyed it very much.”
Shinji Mikami is best known as the creator of the Resident Evil series and served as director on the original Resident Evil 4. In 2010, he founded Tango Gameworks, where he directed The Evil Within and took on the role of executive producer for Ghostwire: Tokyo.
The Resident Evil 4 remake includes a variety of changes from the 2005 original. Some of the most prominent alterations include a revised story, complete graphical overhaul, refined controls that are more in line with modern titles, the ability to parry attacks with the knife, and more.
Mikami first started playing the remake on April 5, when he sent out a tweet that said, “I’m free for the time being, I started RE4.” By April 7, he had reached chapter 5, and on April 18, he tweeted that he had completed the game.
The original version of Resident Evil 4 is a game that is said to strongly reflect Mikami’s design philosophy. In discussions with Jun Takeuchi, executive producer of the recent Resident Evil remakes, Mikami noted that in addition to being the one who decided to use the over-the-shoulder camera for the game, he was also in charge of writing the game’s story. The story had to be completed on a very tight schedule, and he wrote the whole thing in around two weeks. He offered great praise for the developers who worked on the game, calling them “an unparalleled dream team.”
According to Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, producer for the Resident Evil 4 remake, Mikami was not involved in the remake’s development (related article, in Japanese). As mentioned earlier in the article, the remake includes many new elements, which surely would have allowed Mikami to enjoy the game as a fresh experience.
Back in February, Bethesda Softworks announced that Mikami was planning to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months. It is currently unclear what Mikami’s future plans are after he finishes up at the company. In recent years, he has focused on teaching the younger generation of game developers but has said that he would also like to direct a game of his own once again. Although he has mentioned that he’s “free for the time being,” we may one day see him front and center once more with a brand-new title on the way.
Written by. Marco Farinaccia based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-04-19 19:26 JST)