Few franchises handle unlockables with as much grace as Resident Evil. They’ve always been a staple of the series, from the very first entry on the PlayStation. Modern Resident Evil game’s throw unlockable after unlockable at the player, which is something fans have Resident Evil 4 to thank. The biggest game in the series at the time, Resident Evil 4 padded out its length with a host of unlockable content.
Beating Resident Evil 4 is honestly just the tip of the iceberg as the game set precedents for the franchise across the board. Between new difficulties, weapons, and costumes, Resident Evil 4 features a whole game’s worth of content for players to unlock.
New Game Modes
Several alternate game modes are unlocked when you finish Resident Evil 4 for the first time: The Mercenaries, Assignment Ada, and Separate Ways. The Mercenaries is a series staple that recently made a comeback in Resident Evil Village, but arguably was at its best in Resident Evil 4. Assignment Ada is a small mini-game starring Ada Wong, and Separate Ways is a mini-campaign that shows what Ada was up to during the main story.
Costumes
Unlockable costumes are a staple of Resident Evil, with RE4 featuring two sets for Leon, Ashley, and Ada. The first set – Special 1 – is unlocked by completing the main game once. Leon wears his RPD uniform from Resident Evil 2, Ashley swaps to an all white get-up, and Ada wears all black gear. Special 2 is unlocked by completing Separate Ways and puts Leon in a mafioso suit while sticking Ashley in a full suit of armor.
Professional Difficulty
Completing Resident Evil 4 once a new difficulty mode: Professional. The hardest difficulty in the game, Professional mode is the perfect way to revisit Resident Evil 4 on repeat playthroughs. Not only do enemies take less damage, they also hit harder and aggro at Leon much faster. Professional forces you to master Resident Evil 4’s core mechanics or suffer.
Matilda
The Matilda is a 5x2 handgun that’s unlocked after completing the main story once. The Matilda can be purchased from the Merchant on New Game Plus for 70,000 pesetas. While powerful, the Matilda is the single most expensive handgun in the game to upgrade and eats through Handgun Ammo faster than any other weapon. The Matilda has enough drawbacks where it won’t dominate a new cycle, but it’s an incredibly fun gun to play with.
Infinite Launcher
Like the Matilda, the Infinite Launcher is unlocked after completing the main game for the first time. The Infinite Launcher can be purchased from the Merchant on your next cycle for a whopping 1,000,000 pesetas. The weapon itself is 8x2, taking up a fair amount of space in your Attache Case.
As the name implies, the Infinite Launcher has infinite ammo and allows Leon to use one of the single strongest weapons in the game indefinitely. While the price tag will leave you cash poor for a while, the Infinite Launcher’s speed more than makes up for it – turning Leon into a bonafide killing machine.
Handcannon
The Handcannon is a powerful Magnum that’s unlocked by getting a Five Star Ranking on every stage of The Mercenaries with every playable character. Once everything’s been completed, the Handcannon will be available for purchase for 0 pesetas in the Cleared Game shop. A 4x2 Magnum, the Handcannon is a unique weapon in that it takes its own ammo that only spawns if the gun is in your inventory: Ultimate Mighty Z Bullets. The Handcannon is incredibly expensive to upgrade, but it’s worth it to unlock infinite ammo.
P.R.L. 412
The P.R.L. 412 (Plagas Removal Laser) is a ferociously overpowered gun that’s unlocked after completing the main game on Professional once. The P.R.L. 412 can then be picked up at the shop for free on your next cycle of the game.
A 7x3 weapon, the P.R.L. 412 takes up space, but it’s incredibly useful. The gun can either fire out a blinding flash or a powerful laser that kills most enemies in a single hit – not even bosses are immune to the P.R.L. 412’s might.
Chicago Typewriter
The Chicago Typewriter is a 7x3 Machine Gun that needs to be unlocked a few times. Completing Assignment Ada unlocks the Chicago Typewriter for purchase in Separate Ways for 300,000 pesetas. From there, completing Separate Ways once unlocks the Chicago Typewriter for purchase in the main game for 1,000,000 pesetas. The Machine Gun requires quite a lot of money to fully upgrade, but it’s arguably the single best weapon in Resident Evil 4.
