Resident Evil 4 No merchant/ no saving typewriter Professional challenge.

[Dos]

I alluded to this in another thread, but thought that since there isn't a huge amount of activity in the RE4 forum (compared to the RE5 one anyway), it might warrant a little thread of its own...

I recently decided to take up a new challenge! As the title suggests, I've decided to do a run (starting from scratch of course) on Professional mode, and there are two rules I'm applying: I'm not allowed to interact/do business at all with any Merchants whatsoever, and I'm not allowed to save at typewriters found in the middle of chapters. I'll still save on completing each chapter (so eighteen times in all), but that's it.

So I'll be 'living off the land', so to speak. Therefore this means:
-No upgrades of weapons
-No upgrading of attache case size
-No purchasing of new weapons or first aid

Until Chapter 4-1 (when I can pick up the Broken Butterfly) I'll be limited to an un-upgraded Handgun, un-upgraded Shotgun and whatever grenades I can find. What about the free rocket launcher in 3-3, I here you ask? Simple. As much as I would like to take it, I will not have room in the attache case. The base attache case is only 60 squares in size! I will need to hoard ammo as much as possible, way more than on a typical Pro playthrough, mainly because, with un-upgraded weapons and basic weapons at that, ammo will get used up ridiculously quickly.

Because I won't be visiting the Merchants, I'll have no need for the treasures held by some beasts- I'm thinking especially of Verdugo and the Crown Jewel here. So basically I won't be even attempting to kill Verdugo- and on pro he is undoubtedly the toughest boss in the entire game if you don't have a rocket launcher. Likewise, I'll have as little to do with Regenerators/Iron Maidens (they will be almost impossible to kill) as is possible! I'm dreading the one in 5-1 that I have no choice but to kill...really dreading it.



A lot of you may be wondering what the purpose of the no typewriter part of the challenge is. Basically, I guess it's to increase the challenge when confronted with a long/hard chapter- this probably doesn't apply so much in the village , as none of those chapters are overly long and none of the individual scenes/battles are THAT hard even on pro, with the notable exception of the cabin fight and then Mendez himself.

But it really does become a factor when you get to Chapters 3-1, 3-2, 4-1 and all of Chapter 5. Let me put it this way, if you're fighting Verdugo on this playthrough, right at the very end of 4-1, and he kills you for the umpteenth time because he's just too fast and quick, you'll probably feel like giving up and turning the game off right? Sure, but if you do that on this playthrough you'll go right back to the very start of 4-1...and as anyone who has played the game will know, 4-1 is one long b*tch of a chapter so you really don't want to have to go through all that again! Making it harder for myself? Definitely, but more challenging equals more enjoyable.


Anyway, right now I've just finished Chapter 1-2...haven't died yet, although I came very close to doing so twice- once in the village centre in 1-1 and then once in the mountain fortress in 1-2...luckily I was able to heal myself up both times...just.

Shall keep everyone updated here. Feel free to ask me any questions or share your thoughts!

Cheers

 

[Revenantjack_2.0]

Whoa! That sounds like a really tough challenge! Good luck, mate! Would be even better if you can record the whole thing.

 

[La Femme Fatale]

Haha, you're crazy! That sounds nearly impossible. Good luck! I agree with Revenantjack, you should record it!

 

[Romero]

if you're fighting Verdugo on this playthrough, right at the very end of 4-1, and he kills you for the umpteenth time because he's just too fast and quick, you'll probably feel like giving up and turning the game off right? Sure, but if you do that on this playthrough you'll go right back to the very start of 4-1...

So you won't allow yourself to "retry" and start over again in the room where you died?

I'm not sure if you can do this without seeing any merchants, but good luck!

What platform do you play on?

 

[Rusty]

That reminds me of the suicidal knife challenge people kept trying a few years ago. Everyone was trying to do that. Me? I need my butterfly, man.
Best of luck to you. Recording that would be awesome.

 

[Dos]

So you won't allow yourself to "retry" and start over again in the room where you died?

I'm not sure if you can do this without seeing any merchants, but good luck!

What platform do you play on?

Gamecube.

No, I will retry, but from the nearest continue point, wherever that may be. You don't need to be saving at typewriters to use continue points.

It may well be impossible for me, but hey I can try. I've completed another two chapters since posting this- so I've just finished 2-1. I've died once so far, and it was a really, really annoying way to die- on the path leading down to the swamp in 1-3, I got crushed by the rolling boulder! I swear I hit A + B to dodge like it instructed me to- but apparently not. Oh well. So about to do Chapter 2-2, kind of dreading it because of the cabin fight at the end- doubt I'll make it past there without dying a few times, it's a spot I've always had trouble with...

And sorry, won't be able to record it as I don't really have the means to do so! My camera's video recording is okay, but just not good enough.

 

[Dos]

That reminds me of the suicidal knife challenge people kept trying a few years ago. Everyone was trying to do that. Me? I need my butterfly, man.
Best of luck to you. Recording that would be awesome.

I've heard of people doing Knife-only runs on Pro, where they use the knive for all areas except where using a gun is mandatory- so both times that you need to save Ashley in 3-1 and 3-4, Queen's Grail, King's Grail (you could not hope to ever kill the Armaduras' Plagas with just a knife, not the blade plagas anyway), the room with the collapsing ceiling in 4-3, Salazar..there are probably others....I'm just not good enough, nor have the patience, to even attempt such a thing. It would be nigh on impossible I imagine!

 

[Rusty]

I've heard of people doing Knife-only runs on Pro, where they use the knive for all areas except where using a gun is mandatory- so both times that you need to save Ashley in 3-1 and 3-4, Queen's Grail, King's Grail (you could not hope to ever kill the Armaduras' Plagas with just a knife, not the blade plagas anyway), Salazar..there are probably others....I'm just not good enough, nor have the patience, to even attempt such a thing. It would be nigh on impossible I imagine!

No as impossible as on RE5 pro! -_- Believe me, I couldn't get though the first level only using the stun rod! Not enough range. You'd think a mechete would have more distance too... I was like wtf when I saw it in action for the first time.

 

[Dos]

So I've heard. Apparently in pro on RE5 almost everyone more or less has one-hit kill attacks?

I'm playing as we speak, and was just killed for the second time in the cabin fight! It's here that the TMP is missed for the first time, I can tell you that...I just don't have enough shotgun ammo to indiscrimantly spray everyone in range...and then I ran out of flash grenades and got slashed to death upstairs by being surrounded by at least three guys with plaga heads...it was almost identical both times...I had almost got through the fight both times too...very annoying!

 

[Dos]

Just completed 2-2! I was close to dying again that time, but left one flash in reserve until a little later..and this time, when I was surrounded by three plaga heads, I was able to obliterate them, and then other stunned Ganados too....so that worked well. Really glad to be past the cabin fight, it's an area I've always found nightmarishly hard on pro.

Off to work soon so won't be attempting 2-3 now, but I have a basic strategy worked out. I'm going to take the Ganado (left) path, kill as many as possible by congregating them next to the explosive barrels, retrieve as much ammo as possible, but I will definitely NOT be triggering the appearance of the Bella Sisters...instead, once I've collected all the ammo I can without jumping down into the centre pit, I'll go back out the door and take the right path and fight El Gigante. After that it should be fairly plain sailing until Mendez, though I can't let my guard down on the gondola ride- I'll have to aim carefully that's for sure, and be watching out for lots of flying axes! But the Castle is now in sight...sweet.

 

[Revenantjack_2.0]

Congrats on passing the cabin fight, man! Avoiding the Bella sisters is a good strategy.

 

[tequila]

Just completed 2-2! I was close to dying again that time, but left one flash in reserve until a little later..and this time, when I was surrounded by three plaga heads, I was able to obliterate them, and then other stunned Ganados too....so that worked well. Really glad to be past the cabin fight, it's an area I've always found nightmarishly hard on pro.

Off to work soon so won't be attempting 2-3 now, but I have a basic strategy worked out. I'm going to take the Ganado (left) path, kill as many as possible by congregating them next to the explosive barrels, retrieve as much ammo as possible, but I will definitely NOT be triggering the appearance of the Bella Sisters...instead, once I've collected all the ammo I can without jumping down into the centre pit, I'll go back out the door and take the right path and fight El Gigante. After that it should be fairly plain sailing until Mendez, though I can't let my guard down on the gondola ride- I'll have to aim carefully that's for sure, and be watching out for lots of flying axes! But the Castle is now in sight...sweet.

Woah there buddy. That's alot of things going on. Hehe. Good luck with the game. Please update with more when possible.

 

[Romero]

No, I will retry, but from the nearest continue point, wherever that may be. You don't need to be saving at typewriters to use continue points.

Of course. I had mis-read something you said.

but I will definitely NOT be triggering the appearance of the Bella Sisters...instead, once I've collected all the ammo I can without jumping down into the centre pit, I'll go back out the door and take the right path and fight El Gigante.

But the Bellas isn't impossible? On normal mode, each of the sisters have about 20 health points (HP) on their heads. Maybe it's 30 on hard mode. 30 x 2 = 60 HPs to make. A grenade can take some of their HPs.

When you are done with the Bellas you can knife the rest. There's a large gang of Ganados in the last part, but it's possible to lure them to come one by one. At least on Normal mode.

 

[Dos]

Oh it's definitely possible, I COULD definitely do it. But remember, I would use A LOT of ammo. In the entirety of the left path there's about 35 Ganados including the Sisters, and I reckon by only taking on the first 10 or 11 of them before the Bellas appear, then fighting El Gigante, I would use less ammo than if I took on all 35 of them. On pro it also isn't as easy to lure them into coming one at a time- they tend to attack in mobs of three.

Taking the right path may well be the tougher option- but only because there's nowhere to hide Ashley. So she may get killed and I might have to retry a few times, but I'll use less ammo. What Romero said about using grenades on the Bella Sisters is also right, but in this sort of challenge you need to be thinking about what lies ahead even more than normal. And using grenades to kill two tough-ish enemies like the Sisters who aren't compulsory to fight and kill might not be smart when you consider that Mendez is way tougher than the Sisters and that you HAVE to kill him!

 

[Dos]

I've bid goodbye to the village! Got through 2-3 with only one death- at the hands of Mendez. I got through El Gigante with no problems at all as it turned out...I used the boulder to inflict some damage on him, parked Ashley in a corner then ran well away. Turns out El Gigante was too stupid to make things difficult for me by continuing to chase Ashley- he just forgot about her and tried to kill me...which made my job very easy. I used very little ammo at all- a couple flash grenades and one incendiary, a couple shotgun blasts and perhaps ten handgun bullets- but mostly I knifed him by letting him attack then, while he was in 'recovery' mode, getting a few slashes in. Worked a treat.

The Gondola lift was fine, got through with no damage at all. Mendez managed to kill me once as I said, when he was in his second form...I was almost on full health at the time (but at this stage of the game that's still only about 6.5-7 bars of health out of 10, remember), but he launched one of those devastating 'whip' attacks that just come out of nowhere..I saw the danger too late...and suffered the consequences. But second try I nailed him. And then didn't have any problems on the road to the castle, I just ran from the eight guys who pursue you once you turn away from the village gate- and if you run they won't catch you.

So hello to the Castle and Chapter 3-1. This is where things will get a whole lot more difficult- this is the first really long chapter of the game, much harder than any of the village chapters, and where my no typewriter rule will first really sting me. And the whole water room scene near the end of the Chapter is an absolute nightmare...should be interesting.


Just out of interest, here are my stats for the village:

Chapter 1-1
Accuracy: 94%
Kills: 31
Died: 0 times

Chapter 1-2
Accuracy: 91%
Kills: 36
Died: 0 times

Chapter 1-3
Accuracy: 95%
Kills: 45
Died: 1 time

Chapter 2-1
Accuracy: 86%
Kills: 25
Died: 0 times

Chapter 2-2
Accuracy: 82%
Kills: 56
Died: 2 times

Chapter 2-3
Accuracy: 81%
Kills: 30
Died: 1 time

So stats for end of the village

Accuracy: 89%
Kills: 223
Died: 4 times

I'm fairly happy with that.

 

[Romero]

What Romero said about using grenades on the Bella Sisters is also right, but in this sort of challenge you need to be thinking about what lies ahead even more than normal. And using grenades to kill two tough-ish enemies like the Sisters who aren't compulsory to fight and kill might not be smart when you consider that Mendez is way tougher than the Sisters and that you HAVE to kill him!

You'll find at least two Hand Grenades past the Bella sisters (I found three Hand Grenades and one Flash).
If the last ganados are coming three at a time it's not going to be easy to knife them all, but it could be possible if you lure them into the room under the walkway, where there is a window. Windows are great protection!

You're maybe right it's not worth the effort but I'm unsure. I would have tried it. But it's too late this time, I see you're at the castle already.

I got through El Gigante with no problems at all as it turned out...I used the boulder to inflict some damage on him,

I have tested that, and the boulder causes no harm to him. It serves only to distract and delay him. I don't think the boulder can hurt him on hard mode when it can't hurt him on normal mode.
I tested it with the TMP.

I used very little ammo at all- a couple flash grenades and one incendiary, a couple shotgun blasts and perhaps ten handgun bullets- but mostly I knifed him by letting him attack then, while he was in 'recovery' mode, getting a few slashes in. Worked a treat.

Good work! I've never used that little ammo. Can incendiaries hurt him? He's so tall and he's not visibly burning. Maybe it does some damage.

 

[Dos]

Yes I'm at the castle and it's driving me crazy! And I'd had no problems until I'd got to possibly my least favourite part of the whole game- the water room near the end of 3-1. I REALLY, REALLY HATE that whole part of the game. I 'died' four times just in that room, and it was Ashley each time that got killed. And I have to say, not having a rifle in the water room is horrible- not only for the bit where you have to protect Ashley, but also those two crossbow archers who start firing at you as soon as you enter the room.

Anyway, somehow I've finished 3-1, but I used way more ammo and health items than I would have liked- shotgun especially. It's really set me back in terms of how I'm going to play 3-2, to the point where I'm thinking I'll try and run through the Novistador sewer as quick as possible and not engage them in combat unless I have to- they swallow a lot of bullets on pro. I have just 16 shotgun shells left, and that really needs to be saved for the Colmillo maze and then, looking further ahead, the many battles in Chapter 4-1.

You may be right about the boulder, it certainly did slow him down though, and gave me an opportunity to slash him with the knife. Instead of hurting him, the boulder probably has an effect most similar to a flash grenade..

The incendiaries may not visibly burn him, but if he's almost taken enough damage to expose his plaga, then a well-aimed incendiary should be enough to make him kneel over.


So, stats for 3-1 (they're horrible)
Accuracy 71%
Kills 74
Died 4 times

 

[Romero]

I'd had no problems until I'd got to possibly my least favourite part of the whole game- the water room near the end of 3-1. I REALLY, REALLY HATE that whole part of the game.

Funny enough I love that part. Just the hall itself awestruck me. And the music! When I have eliminated the threats there I just have to close my eyes and listen for a while. Especially the music in the last part of the hall is heavenly. The Hall of Water is a bit of a challenge even with good weapons and I like that.

I always throw a grenade at the two crossbows immediately after entering the hall. If the heat gets too high I retreat and re-enter.
I let Ashley lower the bridge while I stand far back ready with a green or red grenade. Ashley will run from the zealots and when she's back at me I lob the grenade. Those scythes are so dangerous that I like to deal with them this way.

Anyway, somehow I've finished 3-1, but I used way more ammo and health items than I would have liked- shotgun especially. It's really set me back in terms of how I'm going to play 3-2, to the point where I'm thinking I'll try and run through the Novistador sewer as quick as possible and not engage them in combat unless I have to- they swallow a lot of bullets on pro. I have just 16 shotgun shells left, and that really needs to be saved for the Colmillo maze and then, looking further ahead, the many battles in Chapter 4-1.

16 shells is not much! Your enemies should drop more ammo and less cash when you're so low on ammo.
You can try and get random shells in barrels and if you don't get any, retry and break it again. What's inside is determined at the moment you break it. This is cheating sort of, but I would do it.

So, stats for 3-1 (they're horrible)
Accuracy 71%
Kills 74
Died 4 times

You can't afford to miss that much. Only 74 enemies killed?
Well I'm sure you tried your best and I'm not at all sure I can match that.

 

[Dos]

The accuracy stat was really brought down in the last bit of the water hall, when I was trying to protect Ashley...I was using the handgun for shooting the zealots on the upper level who were after Ashley, and when you're under seige from other zealots trying to attack Leon at the same time, it can be quite hard to aim accurately from a distance. Perhaps I didn't move around enough during that part, on reflection.

Only 74 kills was due to running away from a few zealots after getting the castle gate key, and leaving at least ten zealots alive when I was escaping from the water hall after Ashley had operated both of the cranks- that was one intense scene. There were three zealots rushing towards Ashley to grab her before she jumped down, and at the same time I had about six or seven bearing down on me...and I was on low health...I just tried to get the hell out of there! And somehow succeeded.

I'm doing 3-2 now, and have paused the game to do write this. I've made it through the sewer without dying..I also got lucky. I killed only four of the Novistadors, and just my luck, two of those four dropped three shotgun shells each, and another one two shotgun shells. None of the boxes I broke except the one in the drainage valve room gave me shotgun shells. So all up I picked up 23 shotgun shells in the sewers, and used only 9....so I now have 30 shells all up. Still not ideal but a lot better than 16!

 

[Romero]

You can now get far before it gets really difficult again, if you manage to kill the red machine gun zealot. I bet you know how to best engage him.

After that the next really big challenge is the ch. 4-1 Armaduras. You're going to spend alot of shells there... I hope you find many grenades.

I forgot to ask this earlier, did you farm lots of eggs at the village farm? It would be of great help had you got a bunch of gold eggs there.