10 Big Leaps Between Video Game Sequels

The difference between Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Resident Evil 4 is so huge that presented to a non-gamer it wouldn't be surprising if they assumed they were totally unrelated. 

Now that's not to say there weren't Resi games in the six-year gap between the third and fourth numbered entries. The 2000s was one of the busiest and most experimental times for the series, with Capcom releasing side games, spin-offs and a remake. Even so, people were hungry for the next mainline game that would push the series forward after the destruction of Raccoon City.

However, people were not expecting the gigantic jump that Resident Evil 4 would bring in absolutely every way. Its story is completely separate from the rest of the series (going so far as to wrap up the fate of the malevolent Umbrella in the opening monologue), its quipping action hero interpretation of returning hero Leon might as well be a different person, it dropped virus-infected zombies for parasite-infected humans and it traded all of the gameplay tropes it helped establish for something fresh.

It's such a wild departure that it's still discussed amongst Resident Evil fans today for how it boldly cleaned the slate, for better or for worse. This aside, there's no arguing that it saved the series from stagnation and changed gaming forever with its at-the-time innovative over-the-shoulder panic horror action.