The Araña (Spanish for "spider") is a type of enemy encountered in both the original and remake versions of Resident Evil 4. It is a fully matured form of the Plaga parasite that originated from Spain. They are encountered in both Castle Salazar and the Los Illuminados' island stronghold.
Biology[]
The Araña is believed to be the final stage of growth for the typical subordinate Plaga. It is unknown how long a time it takes from hatching to reach this stage. It takes on an arachnid shape, akin to a spider or scorpion. Its body is narrow and supported by eight spindly legs with a webbed membrane spread between them. The body appears to be mostly mouth, the two halves opening up to reveal an orifice filled with many fangs, presumably used to anchor itself to a host's spine. Its fleshy tail sports a series of tendrils which were used to bond with a victim's nervous system.
Unlike other Plaga variants, the Araña is capable of discarding its host body and can survive on its own for an extended period. How long this period of independence lasts is unknown, but it is assumed that the Plaga will eventually die from exposure. However, in this time, it will attempt to find another host, despite now being too large to enter another body without killing it.
Combat[]
In the original version of Resident Evil 4, when a Ganado carrying an Araña-stage Plaga suffers fatal injury, the parasite emerges from the neck, splitting the head. It remains anchored to the top of the spinal column via the tendrils in its tail and continues to manipulate the body's motions. It will move slowly, but can attack by using its legs to stab and scratch at the player. It may also spit globs of acid if the player is standing further away. After taking a certain amount of damage from gunfire, the Araña will detach from its host body and move around on its own, attacking the player by leaping at them and scratching with its legs or spewing acid. Once detached from its host, it takes very little ammunition to finally kill it.
In the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4, the Araña is usually encountered outside of a host body, crawling along floors and walls. It will attempt to hijack the body of a nearby Ganado by jumping onto its back, but since the Ganado already hosts a Plaga, the presence of two parasites will drive it into a berserker state, causing it to rush at the player and even other Ganados and attack with its bare hands. If the Ganado is sufficiently injured, the Araña will let go and seek out the next closest host until it is killed. It can be killed with minimal gunfire or with a flash grenade, which prove extremely useful when encountering multiple Araña at once.
Trivia[]
- The Araña only received its name in the 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4. Prior to this, it was known as "Plaga Type C".