Separate Ways (2023 version)
Although it is paid dlc, this is easily one of the absolute best dlc Resident Evil campaigns I ever played!!! No really this was truly an amazing experience. Can you believe this is even more different than the original secondary campaign that gotten added in RE4's PS2 port? There wasn't many times the two versions were similar with majority of that being towards the ending portions.
Originally it was broken up into five chapters. Now it's remade into an seven chapter campaign. Yes this is longer than the old version. Also the pacing of the story itself done way better. Unlike the old version, they didn't have to reuse cutscenes from another version of the same game. There's more actual boss fights this time around.
Ada no longer faces Krauser but faces Pesanta that turned out to be U-3. Yes U-3 still in Resident Evil 4 Remake. Another surprise among looking into the creature, Pesanta actually female. I know Pesanta doesn't seem to be female even without the cloak. You actually face Pesanta several times with each being more different than the last.
The first two boss fights with Pesanta heavily reminded me of Jack Norman aka Ultimate Abyss very late into Resident Evil: Revelations. Both of them does a similar illusion with superior speed forcing you to quickly determine which one to attack. I personally loved they went for that. I also wanna say thank you Capcom for not wasting Salazar's bodyguards.
Originally Verdugo got used very well in both versions. The issue was the second one, it was another Verdugo in the original version. Then Salazar with the remaining Verdugo got merged with an plant wow. Also U-3 came out of no where in the same campaign. All of this in the main campaign too. So I loved Pesanta aka U-3 played a much deeper role in the story itself.
Pesanta barely appears in Leon's campaign in the new version. Thanks to Separate Ways we know exactly why. Pesanta sorta came off like Nemesis or Ustatank for Ada. Also considering Jill got infected by the T-Virus by Nemesis in both versions of Resident Evil 3. In this case, Ada gets a different parasite than the ones Leon and Ashley had.
Ada had to fully kill Pesanta including it's parasite. Yes even the other half of U-3 boss fight from the old version came back. You also got to deal with the annoying bugs too. Seriously what's this game's deal with using these bugs? Even Saddler had to use em during the final boss fight. Thankfully not against Ada in Separate Ways.
The actual creature is notably bigger than it originally was. Pesanta is much more aggressive as well as faster than the old version too. I am very glad that labyrinth from the original game didn't return. Although several things from it did make surprising come backs. Facing Pesanta very early in this campaign was a huge risk that actually plays off.
They even made the El Gigante boss fight stand out more. Ada can fight on top of buildings while El Gigante can destroy em. You also got villagers to do with unlike the old version just being El Gigante. I loved some of these exclusive attacks you can do to the bosses. I actually felt they made Saddler quite repetitive.
Update: I forgot to talk about a new boss. Yes there's a new boss exclusive to Ada that's really worth noting. The most unkillable monster in the entire game. Martinico is essentially the strongest regenerator that got loose on an rampage. Ada has no choice but run away from the monster. Martinico is actually my favorite RE4 monster no joke.
Parts of it does sorta look like RE3 Remake Hunter Gammas. I absolutely loved you have to run away from it. Only lasers as in a room are dealing damage. I really loved how this particular boss fight ends with such an epic escape cutscene. Martinico was truly terrifying, a great surprise addition to the game itself.
You really gotta damage him enough his one eye in his mouth appears. They gave him a lot of ways to attack you making it difficult to keep track what he might do next. It almost felt like an DMC boss fight in all honestly. They recreated how Separate Ways originally ends that occurs during Leon's final boss fight. Every boss fight brought something new to the table.
Like the old version you can still buy from the merchant. Actually more than that version, thank you Capcom. Not only that, he also sells keychains. Now keychains does several things to spice up the game play. This version also has more hidden weapons than just the Chicago Typewriter. Which got renamed as the Chicago Sweeper in this version.
Yes you got to go through the maze again. Thankfully all you actually go to do is kill the annoying red cloaked guy. You can use hookshot to get around locations faster or in combat. If you stun enemies but a little notable distance away. You actually can use your hookshot to swing in attacks. Very useful in several boss fights too.
Stuff like the giant drill trap makes an return. I greatly preferred how it was done in this version. Originally Leon gets through with Ashley got trapped behind bars. Two cultists on an huge driller machine coming towards her. All you had to do is kill em to save her life. In comparison, they made it more of Ada's style in comparison.
Ada as soon as she gets the Red Lantern, an giant drill trap activates. She has to rush out going through bars by either pulling strings or firing at symbols to escape. There's more of an enemy variety than in the old version. Even the crushing traps returns with cultists trying to stop you. This felt like what Leon was missing, Ada gains to get used way better.
Story wise I don't think like anything is missing. The old version tried to rush the story out a little too much. Which also why they done Ada's Reports 1-5. There's no Ada's Reports yet it's not necessary either. Yes there's no movie browser option in the newer version. Some might be happy they aren't remaking Assignment: Ada now.
We all can agree both versions of Separate Ways is better than Assignment: Ada. The newer story fully covers everything you won't know from Leon's campaign. They made Ada truly amazing in this, easily her greatest campaign to date. RE6 Ada was among the best in that game. It really has virtually nothing on this!!!
Separate Ways felt like it's own shorter game. At the same time, you don't feel cheated in any possible ways. It actually felt necessary to play this too. I always been an huge fan of RE4 both versions. Both are among my most beloved games to date. This felt like the perfect way to end things on. Easily, one of the greatest Capcom dlcs I had the pleasure of playing easily an 9.5 out of 10 for me.
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