it be a breakthrough if they used the environments and enemys of the first titles and not 3rd world countrys and fantasy enemies

just imagine sonys dead nations in a 3rd person shooter

re4 wasnt the first to use the over the shoulder concept either i believe it was seen a year or 2 earlier in killswitch and winback

i liked the game and rate it high but the RE ive known was gone with re4 so i have a love hate relationship with it

re4 just brought it to the mainstream and then later seen in gears

Opposite, resi 4 was widely praised ( or was it resi 0 first)
But I share the same as most. Although a great game, fucked up the 'classic' resi to do it.

I fucking loved RE4.

My kingdom for another like it.

It's the only RE people talk about, so no. Probably not

HERETIC!

But in all seriousness I can see why you would think that. I feel like RE4 represents the tonal shift that many rag on RE for these days. And while I love the game itself the ones that came after it really just went all over the place in the worse ways possible. 

To the OP: I feel as though it provided a breakthrough in the sense that it attracted a new kind of audience and introduced many new mechanics to the franchise. But it also inadvertently set the RE franchise on the course to becoming a shell of its former self. 

Just a correction here. RE4 takes place in Spain, and Spain is definitely a first world country. 

I don't know what shit Mikami smoke, but having latin americans armed with shovels and knives, and using pesetas  as currency doesn't make anywhere "Spain".

4 wasn't bad, but it put the franchise on a path I didn't like. However, I do realize that a LOT of people absolutely 4 and I can respect that.

Yeah, it was an alternative Spain... But isn`t Pesetas the currency Spain used before Euros?

Yes, but the amount the player received / used for exhange made me think they had zero clue about them xD