Resident Evil 4/Chapter 4-4

Colossus

You're now inside a cathedral-like building; the tower you're trying to get to is on the left somewhere. Follow the hall a bit to find two Handgun Ammo refills and a typewriter; there not much point to saving now through since there was a save at the end of the last chapter.

Continue and find a giant statue of Salazar. It's quiet for the moment so explore a bit to get the layout, but don't start down the path over the water just yet. One either side of the statue are structures with three levels and there is a platform at midlevel in front of it. You enter on the lower level of the statue's left but most of the rest isn't accessible now.

Start walking down the path over the water and a zealot leader appears and pulls a lever; this lowers the path so you can't cross (wading/swimming being out of the question), and starts the statue moving. For now, just its left hand moves and it makes a kind of lift to get from the second level to the third level on the left side. You can also use it as a stepping stone to hop over to the platform in front of the statue. Other zealots appear in various places.

It's tempting to go after the zealot leader inside the cage on the right side, but just ignore him for the moment. Go up the ladder on the right side, then stay there and fight zealots as they use the hand to get down to you from above. Beware of the occasional zealot who climbs up the ladder after you. Now use the hand to get to the top level and take out the archer and any other zealots there. There is a mechanism here but ignore if for now and use the hand to get to the platform in front of the statue. Activate the switch here and the statue's right hand starts to move. Stay there and fend off zealots who jump onto the platform with you. One of them might be the zealot leader and if so then defeat him now; if you did it earlier when he was in the cage then you wouldn't get his sizable 5000 PTAS drop. If you drop to the ground and need to get the statue's left hand moving, just shoot the lever.

Use the right hand to get to the top level and from there to a ledge near the statue's head. Go around to the back and pull the lever. Now the statue's hands are both moving in a more complicated pattern that allows you to reach all the levels on either side. Clear out any remaining zealots.

Now that the area is quiet again, search for items.

• Two pots on the left side lower level
• A pot on the left side middle level
• Two pots on the left side upper level
• A pot behind the statue's head
• A pot on the right side lower level
• Two pots on the right side middle level
• A pot on the right side upper level

Operate the lever on the top level on the left and clear out the zealots that appear. Now do the lever the lower level on the right; a group of zealots appears right next to you but an Incendiary Grenade will take care of them quickly. Other zealots appear including an archer on the left side so clear the area again, or not since there's not really anything else you need to do here.

The path over the water is now restored, but before crossing get out your rifle scope and zoom in on the door on the far side, then snipe the lock on the door; this will save you a second or two later when it will be important. If you don't have a scope then don't worry about it.

You can easily switch up the order you do things here, for example pull the lever on the left as soon as you get to it; the major difference will be that you may have to fend off more zealots at once. But if you'd rather just avoid them instead of fighting then it's a better way to go. The upper floor on the right side and the switch behind the statue's head is optional.

You may want to go back to the typewriter and save at this point because it will be a while before the next one.

Start down the path when the area is clear. The statue will start to move and chase you, knocking down pillars in its wake. Press the button shown on the screen to run and watch for other buttons to appear dodge falling debris. If you haven't already, shoot the lock on the door at the end to unlock it, or better, snipe it before you start, and go through.

The statue breaks through the giant door and you have to keep sprinting until it collapses under it’s own weight. Then do a final button combination to jump to the other side of the chasm and press another button to pull yourself up.

If you have trouble getting enough time for the final jump then there are a couple things you can try. First, if you use a continue instead of reloading you seem to get a bit more time. Second, if you interrupt the short cutscene between when you exit the door and when you start running again then you get that additional time. There are a few other factors which may make this easy or difficult such as the version you're playing and the controller you're using.

There’s no going back now so enter the tower up ahead.

Ritual tower

A cutscene starts. Salazar applauds your ability to have gotten so far and says Ashley is in the tower to have the final ceremony performed. You respond by throwing a knife and wounding Salazar in the hand, his minion throws it back at you and you must perform a button combination to dodge. Salazar ducks into an elevator and disappears.

First get the Handgun ammo on the left and open the treasure chest under the stairway to get a Yellow Herb.

Start up the stairs. A zealot starts rolling barrels down them so you must time you movements. If you have spare rifle ammo, try sniping him from the landing just before where the barrels crash. Or you can use your shotgun on the barrels to break them before they reach you.

Get up to a landing with wooden scaffolding connected to it. The barrels won't get to you if you're off to the side, but you won't be able to get further up the stairs without getting hit by a rolling barrel. Get a barrel here and fight a zealot or two who may drop down on the scaffolding from above.

Climb up the ladder here and defeat any zealots there to take control of the rolling barrels. More zealots appear at the bottom of the tower and start up the stairs so you can roll barrels at them now, but be careful to stand on the right side of the lever or the barrels will land on you. Watch for monks that follow you up the ladder if the barrels missed them. Meanwhile, a zealot with dynamite appears on a ledge on the opposite side of the tower, so snipe him before he can make trouble for you.

Get a barrel on this level. The way up the stairs is blocked but there is a Green Herb on the next landing. The only way further up is to use the left in the center of the tower, but if you check the controls you'll learn there is too much weight on it. So push the crates off and start the lift. As you go up zealots will jump onto the lift with you. The extra weight will stop the lift again so you need to keep fighting them; use a spare Incendiary Grenade if there are a lot of them, and your TMP or shotgun otherwise. There an archer to the north and second one further up to the south; snipe them when you have a free moment.

Eventually the lift reaches the top and there is more scaffolding here. Cross the bridge to the west to a ledge outside the tower. Get a barrel here and hop over the gap to get back inside on a ledge to the east. Get two barrels and a Red Herb, then drop down at the far end of the ledge to find a treasure chest with the Gold Bangle.

Head south and use the small lift to take you further up. Follow the ledge here to find the Merchant and a typewriter. We're about to start a boss fight so a save is recommended. Collect Magnum, TMP and Rifle Ammo plus a First Aid Spray here. Then go into the tower again.

Altar

Now is the time for the showdown with Salazar and a cutscene starts. First he says that you’re too late to find Ashley since she’s been taken to an island. Meanwhile he and his remaining minion merge with some kind of giant plant monster and start to attack.

Salazar

This monster has a tentacle on either side and a long stalk in front with the head of what Salazar's minion has turned into. At the base of the flower, hidden inside a sort of pod, is Salazar himself.

If you have been saving your Rocket Launcher from the armory then this battle is probably the time to use it. It takes up too much space in your inventory and you can always buy another one if the need arises. We do recommend that you at least attempt this rather awesome boss fight a few times without it though.

The Rocket Launcher won't get to Salazar where he's hiding. To expose him, you need to damage his minion, and his only vulnerable spot is his eye. Any weapon will work except the rifle, though the more firepower the less time it will take. Also you will have to stand a bit closer for the shotgun to be effective. So choose your weapon, aim at the eye and start blasting. Eventually the flower will open in a short cutscene and Salazar is out in the open. Quickly equip the Rocket Launcher, then aim and shoot before the flower closes again; if it goes well the battle will be over. Read below for more on avoiding damage while trying to get the flower to open.

If you decide to fight without the Rocket Launcher then more detail will be helpful. The monster will be trying to attack with its tentacles in various ways. Use combination buttons that appear on the screen to avoid them. Sometimes the a tentacle may grab you and throw you to the ground. There are parasites down there so shoot or avoid them and climb up the ladder to get back to the battle. There are barrels down there so you may want to jump down there on your own if you're low on supplies. You will occasionally be hit by tentacles without warning down there though.

The minions head has a few attacks of its own that you need to avoid as well. First, watch for it to open its mouth and show its teeth; when that happens then is it’s about to try to bite you. Immediately run to the side to avoid this since it can't change direction once it starts to lunge. This is an instant kill if it gets you. The minion will also occasionally beats the floor around where you’re standing, run under to the right while it’s in the air since it always does a right to left pattern.

The best place to stand during all this seems to be in front of the gate where you came in. You're close your target and somewhat out of the tentacles reach. The strategy is mostly the same; shoot the eye until Salazar is exposed, then do as much damage to him as you can before the flower hides him again. Most weapons will work, though it's a matter of the more firepower the fewer times you'll need to repeat the process. Salazar is too far away for your shotgun to be much use. If you didn't swap your bolt-action rifle to the semi-auto then make sure to be quick before Salazar hides again. The animation with Salazar coming out of his pod is only shown once, so learn to recognize the signs that it's about to happen.

When the monster is gone, check the area for items you may have missed. Get Handgun Ammo, Shotgun Shells and a Green Herb from the ledge where the battle takes place, and eight barrels from the floor underneath; the parasites disappear when the battle is over. Get a 50000 PTAS drop from the monster as well, then continue through the far door to the outside of the tower.

Dock

You're on a high ledge; get two barrels here and climb down the rope to a slightly lower ledge. There are two more barrels and a snake is in the one on the right.

Take the elevator down to an underground passage. Follow it to find the Merchant and a typewriter, though the end of the chapter is coming so a save isn't really needed. Collect a box, two barrels, a Flash Grenade, Shotgun Shells, Handgun Ammo and Rifle Ammo here. Go through the door and down the hall to start a cutscene.

Ada Wong is waiting for you in a boat and offers you a ride to the island where Ashley was taken.

(If you're playing the Gamecube version you will be asked to swap disks for the next chapter.)