Resident Evil 4 Remake 2025 Professional S Rank Speedrun Guide: Chapter by Chapter Walkthrough

TL;DR

• Hit the 5:30 chapter timer maximum across all 16 chapters to lock in S Rank on Professional difficulty, with a total run time under 7 hours total
• Skip 90% of optional loot and all side quests to save time – only pick up mandatory key items and enough ammo to one-shot stagger enemies
• Use the full knife parry strat to negate 90% of melee damage and conserve ammo; knife durability only matters for the Krauser QTE sequence
• Skip the merchant’s first upgrade until Chapter 3 – get the Red9 immediately after the lake fight for max DPS through the mid-game

Introduction: What You Need To Know Before Starting

You already know how to play Resident Evil 4 Remake – you’ve beaten the campaign, you know how headshots work, you know how to sneak. This complete guide is for hardcore players gunning for that elite Professional S Rank speedrun, the achievement that gets you the Chicago Sweeper unlimited ammo unlock and bragging rights on speedrun leaderboards.

First, the hard rules for RE4R Professional S Rank: you need a total clear time under 7 hours, no New Game Plus carryover, no bonus weapons, and you can’t use any cheats or modifiers. That means every second counts, and we’re cutting all the fat. We’re not here to collect all 16 clockwork castellans (that’s for 100% runs) – we’re here to get S Rank, fast.

This chapter by chapter walkthrough follows the fastest route, skips all unnecessary fights, and calls out every key decision that’ll save you 10+ minutes over slower runs. Let’s get into it.

Common Mistakes That Kill Your S Rank Run

1. Looping back for extra loot: Even 30 seconds of backtracking adds up across 16 chapters. If it’s not a key item or mandatory ammo, skip it. Full stop.
2. Upgrading the pistol early: The starting SG-09 R hits for 2.3 damage per shot fully upgraded – the Red9 hits 3.6 damage stock. Save your pesetas for Red9 upgrades, not the starter pistol.
3. Fighting every enemy: 70% of ganado encounters can be skipped entirely by sprinting straight to the exit. You only need to kill enemies that block your path.
4. Wasting knife durability on regular enemies: Only use your knife to parry and break free from grabs – don’t stab downed ganado unless you have to. You need at least 30% durability left for Krauser’s knife fight.
5. Forgetting to quick time event skip the cutscenes: Press Start/Options → Skip Cutscene immediately after every trigger. This saves you 10+ minutes of run time alone.

Chapter 1: The Village

Overview

Timer target: < 12 minutes. This is where most new speed runners bleed seconds – the village is open, and it’s easy to get distracted. This step by step route keeps you on track.

Step-by-Step Progression

1. Sprint past the first two ganado in the cabin, don’t stop to loot. Grab the village key from the chief’s house, head straight to the farm gate.
2. Kill only the two chainsaw ganado blocking the exit: 2 headshots with the pistol to stagger, one grenade to finish. That’s 2 kills, done.
3. Skip the entire village siege by climbing the ladder to the church roof as soon as the cutscene ends. Don’t bother fighting all 20+ ganado – the game progresses as soon as you reach the door cutscene, even if you haven’t waited out the timer. This saves you 3-5 minutes right out the gate.

Key Decisions & Loot

• Only pick up: 10 pistol ammo, 2 grenades, the village key. Skip all treasure, all herb, all side quests.
• Don’t buy anything from the first merchant. Just unlock the gate and leave.

What To Do Before Proceeding Checklist

• ✅ Village key in inventory
• ✅ 8+ pistol ammo remaining
• ✅ > 90% knife durability remaining
• ✅ Timer under 12 minutes

Chapter 2: The Forest & The Cabin

Overview

Timer target: < 10 minutes. Straightforward linear progression, only one mandatory boss fight against Del Lago at the end.

Step-by-Step Progression

1. Sprint through the forest, parry the two wolf traps to save time (don’t stop to disarm them). Kill only the ganado blocking the tunnel entrance.
2. Grab the insignia key from the cabin, skip the Luis trap sequence. Sprint straight to the lake.
3. Del Lago Boss Strategy: Throw all harpoons as soon as Del Lago is in range – don’t wait for perfect shots. You need 12-15 direct hits to kill him. When he charges, dodge at the last second (1 frame before he hits the boat) to get back to throwing faster. Average kill time: 90 seconds or less. Don’t mess around.

Notable Loot

• Only pick up the 5 pistol ammo and 1 health herb on the path to the lake – skip everything else.

What To Do Before Proceeding Checklist

• ✅ Insignia key obtained
• ✅ Del Lago defeated
• ✅ Full health before entering Chapter 3
• ✅ Timer under 22 minutes total for Chapters 1+2

Chapter 3: Castle Gate & The Merchant

Overview

Timer target: < 12 minutes. This is where you make your first key purchase that defines the rest of your run.

Step-by-Step Progression

1. Sprint past the two dynamite ganado at the lake exit, don’t stop to fight. Use a flash grenade to instantly kill the two plagas ganado that spawn when you grab the hex token.
2. Do the fish puzzle in 2 seconds: the correct combination is 1 3 2 – don’t experiment, just input and go.
3. Visit the merchant: this is your first key purchase. Buy the Red9 and the Red9 stock immediately. Sell your starting pistol and all treasures you’ve picked up so far to afford it. Don’t buy anything else yet.
4. Upgrade Red9 damage once before leaving. That’s 9,000 pesetas total – exactly what you’ll have from selling the starter pistol and the few treasures you picked up.

Key Decision

Skip the request to kill the blue medallions. It takes 3 minutes to get all 5, and the reward is a puny discount you don’t need. Save the time.

What To Do Before Proceeding Checklist

• ✅ Red9 + Red9 stock purchased
• ✅ One damage upgrade on Red9
• ✅ Hex puzzle solved
• ✅ 10+ Red9 ammo in inventory
• ✅ Timer total under 34 minutes

Chapter 4: The Quarry & The Church

Timer target: < 18 minutes. This is the longest early chapter, but most of it is just boat travel. Keep the throttle held down the entire time, don’t stop to loot fishing spots.

Step-by-Step Progression

1. Boat straight to the quarry, sprint through the cave, kill the two giant armor ganado with one grenade each. Don’t waste ammo shooting them – their armor breaks instantly with a grenade, then you can run past.
2. Grab the church key, head back to the boat, go straight to the church. Skip the merchant stop unless you need extra ammo – you shouldn’t.
3. Church puzzle solution: Rotate the blue to 2, green to 3, red to 1. Done in 5 seconds. No trial and error needed.

Common Mistake:

Most players stop to loot the multiple treasure chests along the boat route. That adds 2+ minutes of unnecessary movement. Skip it all – you have enough pesetas for the upgrades you need.

What To Do Before Proceeding Checklist

• ✅ Church key obtained
• ✅ Church puzzle solved
• ✅ > 50% knife durability
• ✅ Total timer under 52 minutes

Chapters 5-7: The Castle Approach

Overview

Combined timer target: < 45 minutes. These chapters are all linear progression through the castle entrance, with two mandatory boss fights: El Gigante and Bitores Mendez.

Chapter 5 Step-by-Step

1. Sprint through the village exit, kill only the ganado blocking the bridge. Use one headshot from the Red9 to stagger every ganado, sprint past the rest.
2. El Gigante Boss Strategy: Don’t shoot the legs to stagger. Wait for the hidden wolf trap to trigger (you don’t have to free the wolf, it’ll still spawn and bite his leg) – when he falls, climb up and stab the plagas once. Repeat one more time. Total kill time: 90 seconds. You only need 6 Red9 shots to finish him off. Skip the treasure after the fight, just grab the lift key and leave.

Chapter 6 Step-by-Step

1. Sprint through the water hall, flash grenade the three plagas ganado that spawn when you grab the winding key. Run straight out, don’t stop to fight.
2. Mendez Boss Fight: Mendez has 15 HP total. Shoot the upper body 5 times with the fully upgraded Red9 (you should have two damage upgrades by now) to stagger him when he jumps to the rafters. When he falls, shoot the plagas on his back 3 times. Done in under 60 seconds. Don’t fight him on the ground – it’s way slower.

Chapter 7 Step-by-Step

1. Run through the gate, solve the lantern puzzle by placing the amber charm in the slot. Done. Don’t stop to loot the castle entrance.

What To Do Before Proceeding Checklist

• ✅ El Gigante and Mendez defeated
• ✅ Red9 upgraded to 4.0 damage (two damage upgrades)
• ✅ At least 10 shotgun shells (buy the shotgun from the merchant before entering the castle, 20 shells max)
• ✅ Total timer under 1 hour 37 minutes

Chapters 8-12: The Castle Interior

Overview

Combined timer target: < 1 hour 45 minutes. This is the mid-game, where you’ll fight two big bosses: Ramon Salazar and the Verdugo. We’re skipping most optional areas entirely.

Key Speedrun Strategies

• Verdugo: Don’t run around flipping all the switches to freeze him. Use 3 nitrogen canisters and 6 fully upgraded Red9 headshots. That’s enough to kill him before he can enrage. Skip the infinite rocket launcher trick – it requires backtracking to get it