Resident Evil 4/Side quests

There are two minigames within the main story. These are purely optional in that they don't advance the plot, but you do get rewards for completing them.

Blue Medallions

 * Availability: Village only

Start this by collecting the piece of blue paper hanging from the tree in the farm. The locations of the medallions will appear on your map but some are, nevertheless, still well hidden.

Farm walkthrough

 * 1) Start by shooting the one hanging from the tree where you got the blue paper. This is in the yard with the chickens.
 * 2) Go north into the cowshed, then turn around and find the next one hanging in a window above the door. You may have to move a bit if a beam is blocking your view.
 * 3) Continue north and get one hanging from a tree.
 * 4) Go to the back of the barn and find one very high up above the wagon, just under the eaves.
 * 5) Go into the barn, up the ladder, then turn around to find the next one hanging in a window.
 * 6) Turn around again and go out the window on the left. Follow the ledge to the end and notice the windmill slowly moving. Get the next one hanging from the windmill blades.
 * 7) Drop down from the ledge and stand about halfway between the table and the gate to the east. Aim above and to the left of the gate to find the last one hanging near the top of the wall. You have to stand in the right place to get an unobstructed shot.

Cemetery walkthrough

 * 1) Starting from the entrance, go right and find one in a tree just past the shack.
 * 2) Follow the path east to the first gap in the fence, then find one hanging from a tree on the other side.
 * 3) Cross the graveyard going northeast to find one in a tree on the north side.
 * 4) Cross back to the path, then go past the front of the church and find one hanging on the left behind a fence.
 * 5) Go around behind the church to the pedestal, aim up and find one under the eaves.
 * 6) Take the path to the right the church to the rickety ledge. Follow this to the first gap but don't jump over. Find the next one hanging near the shack ahead.
 * 7) Hop over the gap then immediately turn around and fire through the gap to get the next one.
 * 8) Continue to the second gap but don't jump over. Look some distance away, under the ledge ahead, to find the last one.

Followup
When you’ve hit at least 10 medallions you can collect you reward, the Punisher, from the Merchant. If you get all 15 then a firepower Lv. 2 upgrade included as well. When it's time to collect, you 'buy' the weapon like any other item except that its price is listed as 0 for now. Make sure you have room in your inventory before buying. Even if you never plan on using the gun, get it anyway since you can sell it back to the Merchant for half its normal price.

Target Practice

 * Availability: Castle, Island

Overview
This is a mini game where you can practice your aim. There are 4 venues you can play in (see below). With each venue you can play a new variation on the game, labeled A through D. Each variation has an easy version and a hard version, you get the hard version after getting half the bottle caps for that variation. Enter the room and talk to the Merchant’s brother behind the desk. To start the game you must choose between rapid fire and sniping weapons. With each choice you get several weapons to use in the range, you also get ammo to go with them. Equip a weapon, enter the next room and start the game when you’re ready.

The idea, of course, is to shoot the cardboard enemies before they disappear. In all but the easiest setups Ashley appears as well and you lose points if you hit her. You get extra points for headshots so try to get them when possible. If you get five consecutive hits a special target, Salazar, appears at the back of range, hit it for bonus point. Your ammo is refreshed at the start of each round.

Prizes

 * Ordinary bottle cap: You can win up to four of these in each venue. Simply score 3000 points or more. What you really get is a miniature statue which you can examine up close, this happens to use a bottle cap as a base.
 * Rare bottle cap: There is one of these in each venue. Either break the range record of 4000 points or hit every enemy target without hitting any Ashley targets.
 * Cash prize: One for each venue when you get all six bottle caps. The amount depends on the venue.

Possible Scores

 * Targets: 20 male villagers, 5 female villagers, up to 5 Salazar targets.
 * Scores: Male villager 50/100, Female villager 50/200, Salazar 500.
 * Min score, all 25 targets: 1250
 * Max possible score, no Salazar: 3000
 * Max possible score: 5500

Backgrounds
There are two possible backgrounds, these make little difference in the game but offer a number of Easter eggs to make things more interesting.

Village
Village shack among trees, daytime.

Easter eggs: Shoot the window in the shack to here a villager groan and fall down. Shoot the nest on the right wall of the shack to stir up a swarm of bees. Shoot the bushes on the left to scare a flock of birds that leave feathers all over. Shoot the chimney to make smoke come out

Castle
Castle on a hill under a crescent moon.

Easter eggs: Shoot stars, there is a strange light followed by a meteor falling into the target area. This can be unfortunate if Ashley happens to be there. Shoot castle, Salazar giggles. Shoot moon then castle, fireworks and a 300 point bonus.

Locations
Background: Village. Game A.
 * Venue 1: Ch. 3-1

Background: Village. Game A, B.
 * Venue 2: Ch. 4-1

Background: Castle Game A, B, C
 * Venue 3: Ch. 4-2

Background: Castle Game A, B, C, D
 * Venue 4: Ch. 5-1

Background: Castle Game A, B, C, D
 * Venue 5: Ch. 5-3

Game A

 * Leon w/ rocket launcher
 * Leon w/ shotgun
 * Leon w/ handgun
 * Ashley Graham
 * Luis Sera
 * Ada Wong (rare)

Game B
Bella Sisters (rare)
 * Don Jose
 * Don Diego
 * Don Esteban
 * Don Manuel
 * Dr. Salvador

Game C

 * Merchant
 * Zealot w/ scythe
 * Zealot w/ shield
 * Zealot w/ bowgun
 * Leader zealot
 * Don Pedro (Don Esteban in tentacle form, rare)
 * Award for completing all: 35000 PTAS.

Game D

 * Soldier w/ dynamite
 * Soldier w/ stun-rod
 * Soldier w/ hammer
 * Isabel
 * Maria

Tactics: Position yourself to the right of the bell, this seems to work best to see the enemy targets hidden behind Ashley. It’s difficult to avoid hitting Ashley using anything but the rifle so use it exclusively. Make sure you get the rare bottle cap before getting two of the regular ones as it is much harder to get in the tougher version of the game.