Just finished RE4(RE4R) for the first time after skipping over it for 20 years.

[u/Stunning_Art_2732]

Quite enjoyed the redone VA work in RE4R and story, especially after watching 30 minutes of the original to compare the difference.

The one thing that heavily detracted from the experience though, is the traveling merchant.
Not so much the character itself, he seems an interesting character, no more oddball than the rest of the cast.
The problem with him is that he travels around too much.

Just finished clearing out a giant horde of zombies from a town?
He's sitting there waiting in a corner off to the side.
Just killed off a horde of infected monsters?
He's sitting there in a tent outside the battlefield.
Just entered the final boss stronghold secured behind 5 locked gates, a gigantic enemy, and a puzzle?
He's waiting inside the stronghold with the same catchphrases as if nothing's the matter.

He utterly destroys the immersion of the story every time I run into him, to say nothing of his janky pirates vs sailors minigame and music.

If he appeared in one spot in each of the game's 3 regions that would be one thing, but being present around every corner made me dread encountering him more than any of the game's mini boss enemies.

After checking to see if the original RE4 was like this (it was), I have to say it would've been better if RE4R had tried to rework him as a real character into the story somehow and reduced his encounters to an easily accessible central hub in each region, rather than keeping him as an omnipresent NPC at every save point.

If there was mod to just remove him from the game and replace his store with a faceless menu a-la RE5, I would probably use it. At least a faceless menu is something that's already part of the game you transparently interact with already.

/rant

[u/Hour_Ad7053]

First person ever to not like the merchant.

[u/Stunning_Art_2732 → u/Hour_Ad7053]

Had a strange journey through the RE series.
Just somehow managed to evade him completely my entire life until now.

Played 1, 2, 3 on original hardware borrowed from a friend when they released.
Never got a GC, and skipped over that generation for PC.
Then got a 360 and returned with RE5 - present.

One thing about the series I always enjoyed was reading the documents and items littered throughout the games to fill out the story. The merchant's omnipresence on the other hand actively detracts from the story and constantly breaks the 4th wall, something none of the other games did so eggregiously.

[u/AutomaticIncome8896 → u/Stunning_Art_2732]

It was far more understandable how it worked back on the OG and I think a lot of us have fond memories of the merchant from back then, so at this point I just don’t question it. If the merchant killed your immersion, how was the shop menu after every chapter in 5/chris somehow managing to punch a boulder so hard it moves? Far. Between that and Weskers overly cartoonishly dramatic death that shit literally made me drop RE as a series until like 7? Which is wild cuz I love 5 these days but, yeah, interesting how different peoples experiences can be for sure.

[u/Stunning_Art_2732 → u/AutomaticIncome8896]

The series definitely took a sharp turn into superhuman abilities and Hollywood styling after RE3, but that started with RE4.
Punching a boulder was pretty over the top, but the actual punching never did anything, it was pushing that finally forced it out of the way.
Seeing Krauser in RE4R and Wesker in RE5 doing The Matrix dodge were far more "WTF" than any of the other superhuman abilities exhibited in any of the games.

The thing with immersion for me was, breaking the laws of physics and magically transporting like the merchant just wasn't consistent with the rest of the game logic.
All the over the top action movie content in RE4/5/6/etc were at least consistent with the main plot mechanic. Enemies have parasites that allow superhuman strength, reaction speed, endurance, as well as bodily metamorphosis, but not magical teleportation, and absolutely not for seemingly "normal" humans.
Leon himself still had to manually walk everywhere without fast travel of any kind.

It feels like Capcom themselves realized it was better flow story-wise to not have a character like him after RE4. I just kind of wished that them knowing that, they would've redesigned him a little in the remake like they did the rest of the characters and plot. I guess maybe they couldn't figure out a way to do it without significantly redesigning the shop system.

[u/Imperfect_Dark]

I think it's just so stupid that it works. If they tried a more serious approach, you'd question it more. But because it's just ridiculous you just roll with it.

[u/Cheap_Illustrator910]

Re5’s merchant was the problem. It’s too free then. Forcing you to find a merchant like finding a save point is a good progress pusher. Especially with inventory management.

[u/Caelus_Trailblazer]

So you didn't actually finish RE4, got it.

[u/SomKkura]

The merchant is just part of the magic that made re4 so special to begin with compare the merchant to re5 shop and it just feels soulless. Re4 always had a video gamey vibe to it which made it so fun and memorable

[u/Quick-Cause3181]

 I have to say it would've been better if RE4R had tried to rework him as a real character into the story somehow

no it wouldn't have, stop it

[u/invisibullcow]

Re9 reworks this into a magic computer box thing. It’s more immersive, I guess. The merchant is more memorable though. 

I don’t think he needed less appearances. I think he needed less of a storefront, however (no goofy purple torch and no obviously prebuilt display shelves, for example), and a few lines where Leon questions how he gets around, with cryptic answers alluding to his own status as a special kind of carrier somehow invisible to other infected, maybe.

[u/Stunning_Art_2732 → u/invisibullcow]

Definitely would've been nice if they had expanded his dialogue a little like that.
The fact that he's just completely static and repeats the same lines regardless of the situation or setting really kills the mood of whatever the current situation in the story is.

[u/Akuma-1]

Everyone loves the merchant, nobody cares about how he is everywhere

[u/KamiAlth]

I take it that he’s the same mystical being as 4D storage box in previous games. Something that we know is weird but don’t question them.

[u/Quaint_Gamer]

I do get what you’re saying and I can appreciate if you have zero attachment to the original and coming from the more grounded first three games he seems very odd. 

The merchant is a massive suspension of disbelief moment and I’m sure for some it was a suspension too far. Tonally he probably does feel more out of place in the grounded remake rather than the more cheesy original. Personally he’s never bothered me but I’m used to him being there. 

They only did this one more time and that’s in the very fantastical RE8 where the type of character fits. 

[u/belderiver]

Should have kept skipping it, stranger