How Capcom Should Remake Resident Evil 4

4. We Need To Talk About Ashley, Part 1

There's no point skirting around it anymore, let's get to the one complaint even die-hard fans have about Resident Evil 4, and the element Capcom's almost nailed on to change for the remake: Ashely.

Though it was commendable and a smart move on paper to give Leon someone to protect as you became more comfortable in combat, and switching player characters is an iconic RE move, Ashely was so bloody annoying. It's like kicking a dead horse now, but her cries of "Leon! Help!" and incessant desire to run into the arms of enemies wanting to bite her head off made her the bane of players' lives.

She wouldn't even need changing too much as an NPC: get rid of the annoying cries, make her at least capable of a little self-defence, and don't make her feel like a hindrance. For instance, in the section where you have to protect her with a rifle, have her do something other than shrivel up into a little ball. Ally NPCs like Ellie from The Last of Us have proven how far we've come when designing escort missions, and some of those innovations could be used to address Resi 4's biggest problem.

I'm not saying Ashley needs to transform into a Jill Valentine-style badass, but a little self-preservation would go a long way.