The Best Version Of Resident Evil 4 Doesn't Exist Anymore

Resident Evil 4, as a concept, feels like it’s been around for as old as time itself.

People may tell you it actually came to be in 2005, but given the large number of versions the game has, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version simply manifests itself every set number of years, like Pennywise or Cthulhu.

As one of the best horror games of all time, I make sure to replay Resident Evil 4 at least every few years. It’s a fantastic game, after all, but the wide number of platforms it’s available on means I can pretty much play it anywhere, no matter what I’ve got currently plugged into my TV.

That’s what I’m doing at the moment. I’m replaying the original Resident Evil 4 on my PC with the HD Project installed. It’s amazing what you can do with mods nowadays, and this new experience with the game has given me a fresh perspective on how I like to enjoy video games.

But as much as I’m enjoying playing Resident Evil 4 on PC, I can’t help but feel there’s a superior version of the game out there. In fact, I’d say this version is so superior, it kind of ruined all other Resident Evil 4 playthroughs for me. And worse of all, this version isn’t even easily available to play anymore.

I’m of course talking about the Nintendo Wii version, a port of Resident Evil 4 that came in 2007. By this point, Resident Evil 4 had already earned its place in gamer canon as one of the greatest video games of all time, having already been released on GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2005.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition Is One Of The Greatest Video Games Ever

The Wii version is my favourite version of Resident Evil 4 for a myriad of reasons. First of all, the over-the-shoulder action gameplay translates perfectly to the Wii’s motion control aiming. Instead of using a joystick to aim your weapon, you now simply had to point the Wiimote to where you wanted Leon to fire, and a crosshair would appear on screen allowing him to aim at that specific spot.

World of Longplays / Capcom

It does make the game a little easier than other console versions of Resident Evil 4, where aiming with a joystick can be a little tricky due to how clunky aiming on a traditional controller can be. With the Wii’s pointer controls, you’re given further precision over where you aim your gun, making it a lot easier to land successive headshots against enemies.

Still, that ease in difficulty is offset by the fact that aiming with a Wii remote is just… fun. Released during a time where the quality of games that were previously on GameCube/PlayStation 2 was quite weak, Resident Evil 4’s Wii port simply felt like it was made for the console all along.

Facing off against a group of Ganados and having to carefully aim your crosshair over each enemy’s head in quick succession, using physical movement with the Wii remote like you would with a real gun? It’s absolutely priceless, and no other Wii game has hit the same mark for me.

This extends to other uses of the Wii remote’s features outside of aiming your weapons. You have to wiggle the controller to get free when a Ganado grabs you. You can slash it for Leon to pull out his knife and break open a container. The remote even plays a few sound effects at select moments throughout the game’s campaign.

It’s these kinds of features that just make me feel like Capcom really cared about designing Resident Evil 4 specifically for the Nintendo Wii, two years after it had already been released on other platforms. This wasn’t a case of the developer cashing in on the Wii’s popularity for a quick buck, but instead going back and looking at all of the game’s features, then repurposing them to work with the Wii’s motion controls and other features. It doesn’t feel clunky, nor unintuitive.

Capcom Needs To Bring Back Motion Controls To Resident Evil Games

In the years since Resident Evil 4’s Wii release, the game has come to many other platforms, including various Xbox and PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile. There’s even a VR port for Oculus Quest 2, which also uses motion controls (as is the case with VR games), making it the closest successor to the Wii version we have so far.

When Capcom ran out of platforms to port it to, it released the Resident Evil 4 remake in 2023. A great game, to be sure, but there isn’t really anything pulling me back to replay this over the Wii version or another variant of the 2005 game.

Unfortunately, Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition isn’t quite as easy to play anymore. The Wii celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, but the console is several generations old, and isn’t being manufactured by Nintendo anymore. Likewise, Capcom stopped selling new versions of the game a long time ago, and you can’t get it digitally anymore thanks to the Wii U eShop shutdown in 2023.

World of Longplays / Capcom

This essentially leaves you with grabbing a pre-owned second-hand copy of the game. On eBay, these are going for about a tenner, which is not bad, assuming you already own a Wii. But I wish there was an easier way to access this specific version of the game in 2026, especially on modern platforms.

The Nintendo Switch and its successor have really excellent motion controls, but I don’t see enough third-party games taking advantage of it. Resident Evil 4 is available on the system, but there’s no support for these motion controls to be used in the same way the Wii edition did. Capcom, if you’re reading this, we really need this version to make a comeback on modern systems.