Chapter 8 of Resident Evil 4 Remake did not end too badly, at least compared with some of the game's other chapters. We managed to reunite with the girl, at any rate. Considering that she is our main objective, that means roughly 50% of the mission is complete. Collect the items in the room and head south, descending into the Courtyard.
When you reach the bottom of the central staircase, open the map and note the two exclamation marks: one reached by heading north and then south, and another above the ladder slightly south of your current position:
Begin by climbing the ladder and turning the crank to lower a flag. Now use the map to explore the entire area, but bear in mind that you cannot reach the northern exclamation mark from ground level. To be honest, the map will be more useful than I am here, for obvious reasons. Remember to explore the alternative routes for resources, but watch out for enemies. Dogs will appear at several points and can even pass through the hedges to attack from any direction. Be extremely careful. Make sure you head east to collect the Elegant Chessboard treasure.
When you reach the southeastern corner, you will find another tower with a crank.
From the southeastern corner, you can continue to the southwestern corner. Explore the alternative paths in search of items and have Ashley pull the lever in the corner so that you can pass through the raised gate.
This will allow you to climb the stairs to the third crank, which opens the gate leading onwards. The problem is that it also opens the gate to the Wine Cellar, allowing enemies to emerge. Kill them all before they can carry Ashley away. Afterwards, head west towards the Wine Cellar. The Merchant has a new attaché case upgrade available. Now head north to the spot where Ashley can climb through and open a door. Be careful, as one of the suits of armour is infected and you must aim carefully to destroy the parasite. It will drop a Spinel.
Next, have Ashley climb through the opening in the door to reach the Depraved Idol treasure.
Continue northwest to the Bindery. There, you will encounter another two infected suits of armour that also drop Spinels, so they are worth defeating. You can technically return to the battlements, but do not bother. There is nothing of interest there, only a few more ordinary enemies, so it would be a waste of time and ammunition. Return to the Courtyard and, before leaving, make sure you destroy Clockwork Castellan #09, located in the northwestern corner of the area's ground floor.
Head east and climb the staircase to the Grand Hall. Collect some resources and the Alexandrite treasure, then enter the Merchant's area. You will also find the notice that unlocks the new upgrades, the request involving the Blue Medallions in the Grand Hall and the second Shooting Range.
Once you are ready, go through the door south of the shop—take note of the new locked container in the southwestern corner, as you will soon be able to open these—and follow the corridor. You will find a carriage that takes you back to the Audience Chamber. Enter the main room to encounter another of those enemies wearing red robes. He will drop a Beryl, so he is worth defeating. Return to the Grand Hall and head to the upper floor by climbing the stairs to the east.
When you reach the chimera statue with missing pieces, head north to find a door with a notice that activates the More Pest Control request. Do not worry: as always, we will let you know when you reach the area where it can be completed.
Go through the door to enter the Dining Hall. Collect the resources and note that you can have Ashley sit in one chair while you sit in another. This is a puzzle, and the solution can be found by examining the portraits at the northern end: Ashley must sit in the woman's place and Leon in the man's.
Ashley should sit in the upper-right chair at the southern table when facing north, while Leon should take the upper-left chair at the northern table. This will open the cage containing the serpent statue, allowing you to collect the Serpent Head. Before leaving, kill the first rat for the request you accepted moments ago. Return to the central area and head to the northwestern section of the upper floor, climbing the stairs beside the statue. You will enter a room containing several suits of armour, with a Small Key in its northwestern corner.
The path ends in an area containing suits of armour and a statue in the centre. There are plenty of resources around the edge of the room, so collect everything because the suits of armour contain parasites that will activate when you pick up the Lion Head. If you are lucky enough to lure them beneath the blue lanterns, Ashley will throw the lanterns onto them, paralysing the armour and allowing you to perform a finishing attack. For the final wave, we recommend using the rifle to expose all three parasites at once, then throwing a Flash Grenade.
Stand beneath Ashley so she can drop down, then pull the levers beside the statues together to leave. In the corridor, you will find a chest containing the Cubic Device, the area's special key. We will soon take you on a treasure-hunting trip, so do not worry. Incidentally, the second rat for the request can also be found in this corridor.
Return to the upper floor and use the southern door to enter the area known as the Gallery. As you attempt to cross the bridge, a cutscene will play, you will be ambushed and another enemy wearing a red robe will appear. You already know what these creatures can do, so before they have a chance to react, we recommend throwing a Heavy Grenade—or an ordinary one if you have none of the more powerful variety—onto the balcony where the robed enemy is standing. This will prevent the appearance of a large number of scythe Plagas, making the encounter much easier.
Once the situation has calmed down, collect the items dropped by the enemies and the resources scattered around the area. Then climb the ladder to the west to reach the balcony with the crank and raise the bridge. Before continuing, look beneath the bridge to find a Yellow Diamond inside a chest.
You can now reach the end of the bridge and collect the Goat Head. Before placing all three heads on the chimera statue, make sure you have done the following:
Now place the three heads on the chimera statue. After the cutscene, continue onwards and collect the lantern, which will cause part of the wall to open.
Continue until you reach a room containing a suit of armour, where you will see a grandfather clock in the southwestern corner. You do not have the correct time yet, so continue to the Library. Once there, head south to find a spot where you can place the lantern.
This will open a path leading to a crank, which in turn lowers a staircase. Go back, retrieve the lantern, climb the stairs and collect the Bunch of Keys. You will now hear noises downstairs. When you descend, you will see that the suit of armour from earlier is now moving. Quickly head west, crawl beneath the gap in the bookcase and use the second key on the chest to obtain the Elegant Perfume Bottle. Now return to the clock room—you can paralyse the suits of armour by shining the lantern on them—and set the time to 11:04: the short hand should point to XI and the long hand to the fourth mark between I and II.
A door leading to the Mausoleum will open. Here, you will encounter another gong puzzle featuring different symbols. Head to the far end and examine the symbols on the plaque beside the gate: bird, stag, fish and snake. In other words, you must activate all four while avoiding the suits of armour.
At the end of the Mausoleum, you will find four lantern pedestals. Each lantern projects light onto a plaque bearing a symbol. You will also notice that each lantern has a symbol on the jewel facing you. You simply need to match the symbol on each plaque with the one on the jewel by interacting with the pedestals to swap the lanterns. This will allow you to collect the Salazar Family Insignia. Run back and, when you reach the top of the stairs, move left behind the screen.
You will find a chest on which you can use the first key from the key ring to obtain an Emerald. Now crouch to pass between the paralysed suits of armour and run along the right-hand side of the room to reach the lift safely. Upstairs, you will encounter another suit of armour coming down the stairs. Move back and run towards it when it reaches the bottom, passing beside its right arm so it cannot hit you.
Return to the Library. Head to the northern wall, using the gap on the left to avoid the suits of armour.
There is a gate in the wall that can be opened using the third key. You do not need to go through it. Run to the northeastern corner instead, where you should see that a secret passage has opened in the wall. Climb to the room above, where you can read a couple of notes and collect a Sapphire. Afterwards, use the Salazar Family Insignia on the mechanism beside the northern gate. A cutscene will play and you will finally proceed to Chapter 10.
