Resident Evil 4’s Merchant is one of the dumbest parts of the game already packed with completely ridiculous over-the-top stuff, but he also shows examples of everything that makes that game great. increase.
This guy first pops up in a random window like a sock puppet and convinces Leon to meet him in a corner with all the nuanced salesmanship of a 1980s anti-drug PSA crack dealer. He is vaguely threatening at first, but soon realizes how goofy he is. It’s the same with much of the Resident Evil series. Scary at first, then ridiculous.
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The Merchant’s design encapsulates RE4’s visual sensibilities in one man. His clothes and mask and knapsack make him look like he’s straight out of a fantasy RPG, but open up his coat and it’s clear his specialty is something else. RPG — and that’s the whole aesthetic of the game, not just creepy old fairy tale elements like villages and castles, but also sophisticated futuristic like science laboratories and submachine guns with thermal scopes. It is an inharmonious combination of elements.
Where in the world would trade a hand-inlaid, jewel-encrusted antique goblet for an automatic rifle and a spray can of bactin? Because it’s a video game! You guide Leon through unimaginable horrors, through the most difficult and death-defying obstacle courses, and walk around the corner. Sell laser sights for guns.
how did he get there It doesn’t matter, you’re always happy to see him, and he’s always happy to see you.
I’ve seen theories that perhaps this merchant isn’t one guy, but a bunch of different guys who dress the same way and spit out the same one-liners, but if you’re going to make him even more ridiculous, he’s …a scary mall Santa who sells firearms?
Too many games add as much context as possible to try to quell the ludicrous narrative cacophony that players can feel when one of the systems that make the game fun breaks. bent backwards to explain the “video game nature” of Realism and immersion. Resident Evil 4 doesn’t just try to hide its video game nature, it shows it off. Since it’s a handbag, there’s room for a crossbow that fires mines.
What does the merchant do with all these priceless curios? Who supplies him with guns? Do they buy stuff from him? Most importantly, if his back is killing him, why doesn’t he take off his backpack and sit down? is friends with Duke in Resident Evil Village, what are they doing?
When it comes to the complete nonsense of video games we take for granted, merchants are right up there with finding whole roast chickens on ramparts and rocket launchers in their back pockets. – and indeed RE4 is not the same without him
