Resident Evil 4 Merchant

About

Resident Evil 4 Merchant is a memorable character from the 2005 video game Resident Evil 4. In the decades since the game's release, the merchant has garnered a reputation as one of the game's most beloved aspects thanks in large part to his plethora of memorable quotes, including "What are ya buyin'?," "Got somethin' that might interest you, stranger" and "Heh heh heh… thank you." The merchant has since become prevalent in memes and fan art online, notably seeing a resurgence leading up to the March 2023 release of the RE4 remaster.

Origin

The merchant appears in Resident Evil 4, first released for the Nintendo Gamecube on January 11th, 2005.^[1] In the game, he serves as a hub for players to purchase weapons and upgrades in exchange for pesetas. He appears at several key places throughout the game and greets Leon Kennedy as "stranger." The merchant, voiced by Paul Mercier,^[2] has several memorable quotes throughout the game, including "What are ya buyin'?," "Not enough cash, stranger," "Heh heh heh… thank you" and others.

The character was quickly a fan favorite, and parodies centered on the merchant soon followed the game's release. One of the earliest known parodies was posted on June 11th, 2006, by the YouTube channel Mega64, showing a man acting as the merchant in real life. The video gained over 7.5 million views in over 16 years (shown below).

Spread

The merchant has long been thought of as one of the most memorable characters in Resident Evil 4. In 2022, GameRant^[3] theorized that this was due to the merchant being one of the only friendly characters in Resident Evil 4, writing, "He provides [the player] with the things they need to survive and does it with such professionalism and enthusiasm that players can't help but come back for more."

The character's iconic lines have been referenced in other video games. Rodin in Bayonetta referenced "What are ya buyin'?" in the first game of the franchise. The Duke in Resident Evil Village also references "What are ya buyin'?"

In addition to the merchant often being quoted online, he has been the inspiration for cosplay and fan art. On May 5th, 2015, Tumblr user spaz-kun^[4] posted fan art of Pepe the Frog as the merchant, gaining over 270 notes (shown below, left). On July 25th, 2018, an Imgur user posted cosplay of the merchant at Otakon 2015 (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References