
Okay … I might have a Resident Evil 4 addiction. I’ve played the campaign five times now, and loved it every single time. Which also means I’ve tussled with each boss five separate times, so I can now form some concrete opinions on them!
They’re very impressive across the board (unlike some other RE games I’ve played …), and my opinions have changed a lot since I ranked all sixteen chapters.
Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:
Meh
11 – Del Lago
After my first playthrough, I thought Del Lago was one of the coolest boss fights in the game. After my fifth, I hate his guts.
The harpooning mechanic feels very shallow, and on higher difficulties the fight drags out for way too long. It’s not badly designed or anything like that, but I always dread it whenever I reach Chapter 3.
OK
10 – The Bella Sisters
I wasn’t sure if the Bella Sisters counted as a “boss fight” to begin with, but some people included them on their lists so I will too.
The dual chainsaws is quite an intimidating prospect when you first face them, but on every subsequent playthrough I treat them as standard (albeit tougher) enemies and dispatch them.
Good
9 – Chief Mendez
I know people who played the original have complaints about Mendez’s transformation (or lack thereof), but I thought it was fine.
His boss fight is solid on the whole, but the first phase has no depth and the second phase can be a bit unreliable / hard to dodge.
8 – Ramon Salazar
All of the Castle chapters were leading to the ultimate confrontation versus Ramon Salazar. It was decent.
I like his design and the way he darts around the space, but I find the other bosses to be much more fun to play.
Great
7 – El Gigante
Del Lago is more of a gimmick boss with how it gives you infinite harpoons to take him down, so I consider El Gigante to be the real first boss of RE4.
He’s an absolute unit, and my heart skipped a beat the first time he picked up a whole shack and tossed it at me. If you rescued the dog in Chapter 3, you also get a furry partner to help you take El Gigante down!
6 – Garradors
I’m of two minds when it comes to ranking the Garradors, as the single and double fights vary wildly in quality.
The double fight feels a bit clunky and overkill, but the 1v1 in the Castle Dungeon is one of the best horror atmospheres in the game. On average, both encounters are still pretty “Great”.
5 – Krauser (Chapter 11)
The Resident Evil developers played “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” and fancied a piece of that action.
For a fight without any guns, it’s one of the most bombastic and thrilling in the game with great knife-play and deep emotional stakes.
4 – Two El Giantes
I complained when they doubled the Garradors for that one section, but the double El Gigante fight did an excellent job of ramping up the action.
What makes this fight so good is the Blast Furnace – it added a whole new dimension to the fight, and it’s so satisfying to successfully drop one of these titans to their fiery demise.
Amazing
3 – Osmund Saddler
I spent the whole game hating Osmund Saddler’s guts, and his climactic boss fight did not disappoint.
He has one of the coolest final forms of any boss I’ve ever seen, and I love the tried-and-tested RE formula of shooting the weak spots scattered across his deformed body.
2 – Verdugo
One of the major complaints I’ve seen about RE4 is that it wasn’t scary enough … Did those people not fight Verdugo?!?
I just about soiled myself when Salazar’s right-hand man started stalking me in Chapter 10, and using the close-proximity cold showers to defeat him added an extra level of stress and urgency.
1 – Krauser (Chapter 14)
The best boss fights in videogames tend to combine fantastic gameplay with intense emotional stakes and storytelling, and Krauser’s final battle ticked all the boxes.
Every phase of his fight, from the deadly trials to the final showdown, feels like scenes from the coolest action movie ever, and the backstory connection between him and Leon made all of their interactions unforgettable.
Aaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below:
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I love that you are covering so much re4 content! I just got super into the game too
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