The Concerns During Development
The director of the Resident Evil 4 remake has expressed his worries about potential delays caused by numerous bugs encountered during the game’s development phase.
A recent episode of NHK World Japan’s documentary series 100 Cameras, titled Game Developer, shed light on Capcom, the studio behind Resident Evil and Street Fighter 6.
The episode provided an inside look at the final month leading up to the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake in March 2023, showcasing the hard work of the development team as they tackled various challenges (via GamesRadar).
Footage from the episode revealed a multitude of bugs plaguing the game, causing issues such as freezing during action sequences, disappearing visuals, and even characters falling through the world, among other problems.
One developer mentioned discovering around 70 bugs in a single day of playtesting. Game director Yasuhiro Anpo expressed his concerns about potential delays due to the high number of bugs encountered.
During the episode, the QA leader criticized the sloppy bug fixes and had a meeting with Anpo to address the severity of the situation, stating that he had never seen bugs of this magnitude before.
Producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi noted that certain locations in the game were too dark, including the boss room for villain Ramón Salazar. He instructed the team to adjust the brightness for better gameplay experience.
Despite the challenges faced during development, the team managed to resolve the issues, and the Resident Evil 4 remake went on to receive critical acclaim, selling over 6.48 million copies by February 2024.
In a review by TechRadar Gaming’s features writer, Elie Gould, the game was praised as a “frighteningly fun remake” with a perfect five-star rating. The reviewer commended the smart and necessary changes made by Capcom, describing it as a brilliant update to a beloved classic.
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