The Origin Story Of Mr. X
Capcom
By Aaron Greenbaum/Sept. 25, 2020 11:51 am EST
Resident Evil is one of the richest survival horror franchises on the market. Each title sticks to a specific set of rules, and every monster has a backstory. Granted, these usually boil down to «created in a lab with the t-Virus,» but they still feature recorded histories, so you usually know why zombies are fighting alongside sharks and human-fly hybrids. However, no Resident Evil monster is as infamous as the Tyrant — or Mr. X.
Mr. X is the ultimate stalker. In the original Resident Evil 2, Mr. X hounds your every move during the «B Scenario» (i.e., your second playthrough with a different character), but in the remake, he is a much more constant threat. Despite his numerous appearances, Mr. X remains shrouded in mystery. Why is he in Raccoon City? What is his mission? Where did he buy a fedora in his size?
You could dig through countless in-game records to find the answers to these pressing questions, or you could read this article. The choice is yours.
You can’t make a T-103 without a T-002
Capcom
Mr. X, officially known to Umbrella staff as T-00, is part of the T-103 line of Tyrants. T-103s are a more advanced model of Tyrant and based on the T-002. Most humans mutated by the t-Virus devolve into mindless, shambling zombies, but some transform into Tyrants. Early in the Tyrant Project, the Tyrant-to-zombie ratio was far from satisfactory, so Umbrella scientists developed a new strain of t-Virus that eventually resulted in the T-002. Not only was the T-002 stronger and more durable, but it retained most of its intelligence — a far cry from the mush-brained T-001.
After Umbrella higher ups deemed the T-002 a success, it was cloned, and the clone embryo was stashed in a lab underneath Racoon City. From there, improvements were made to create a new model with increased metabolism to provide rapid healing. Moreover, scientists fixed the T-002’s Achilles’ heel: free will.
If left alone for too long, T-002s start to think independently, which is the last thing an evil organization needs from its bio organic weapons.
Once Umbrella scientists fixed the sentience problem — and developed «power limiters» to prevent healing factors from mutating out of control — they started mass producing T-103s, one of which was fated to become the legendary Mr. X.
The events of Resident Evil 2
Capcom
On the fateful night of Sept. 29, 1998, Umbrella Colonel Sergei Vladimir air-dropped six T-103s into Raccoon City. Five were sent to eliminate an elite squad of soldiers known as the Delta Force, which resulted in mutually assured annihilation. The sixth T-103, dubbed T-00/Mr. X, was given two tasks: kill everyone inside the Racoon City Police Department and retrieve a G-Virus sample. Needless to say, it didn’t succeed.
Unlike the other T-103s, which were sent on a seek and destroy mission, Mr.
X’s objectives involved covert operations — or as covert as you can get when you’re seven feet tall and can deadlift a helicopter one-handed after being hit by one. To emphasize this, the game developers gave Mr. X a makeover. He’s shorter than other Tyrants, making him appear more human (at least from a distance), and his fedora completes the disguise. Despite lacking free will, though, Mr. X is attached to his hat, since he angrily charges at you if you snipe it off his head. He barely flinches when you lob a grenade at his eyes, but Mr. X doesn’t let anyone threaten his beloved accessory.
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How Mr. X Works Offscreen
By
Jacob Zeranko
Resident Evil 2 remake’s Mr. X, despite what many initially believed, is not cheating to scare and kill the player. Here’s how his AI works offscreen.
When Capcom released the Resident Evil 2 remake in 2019, players were greeted with the awe-inspiring terror of the new and improved Mr.
X. As players explored the RPD, his footsteps constantly thundered above or shuffled around in an adjacent room. Searching a random room could suddenly turn into a fight for dear life as the fedora clad behemoth made his way through the door. With quick enough decision making, players could lose him and escape to fight another day, but Mr. X would continue his search. It seemed like the Tyrant was everywhere, but behind-the-scenes digging has revealed just how Resident Evil 2‘s Mr. X works.
In the world of Resident Evil, Mr. X was a T-103-series Tyrant, the result of cloning and experimentation by the game’s evil Umbrella Corporation. Despite his hulking, monstrous form, Mr. X was a highly intelligent agent for Umbrella. His mission in RE2 was to kill any survivors of the Raccoon City T-Virus outbreak and to retrieve the G-Virus for Umbrella. Naturally, protagonists Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield stand in his way and become his primary targets.
Related: Every Resident Evil Remake Game, Ranked Worst to Best
For the Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom decided to lean into that motivation and create entirely new AI for Mr.
X that would make him a more omnipresent foe. After the game’s release, Mr. X was an instant hit with fans, but many were convinced the sounds of his footstep were just sound effects and that he was «cheating,» teleporting around the map to catch players off guard. However, game director Kazunori Kadoi quickly dispelled these rumors in an interview with PC Gamer. So, to fans curious about the inner workings of this stalking Tyrant, here’s how Mr. X works in RE2‘s remake.
How Resident Evil 2 Remake’s Mr. X Moves Around RPD
Unlike what many players initially thought, Mr. X doesn’t teleport around the Raccoon City Police Department — at least not to take players by surprise. Instead, he actually roams through the halls, meticulously searching every room. When he does teleport, it’s usually due to wandering into unloaded parts of the map or when a scripted event is about to happen. One such instance is the infamous Press Room Sequence. As YouTuber SlippySlides revealed in a video following Mr.
X with a floating camera, he will stop searching wherever he is, teleport to his scripted position behind the wall, and wait indefinitely for the player to trigger the beginning of that sequence.
One arguable edge Mr. X has is that he moves very quickly when searching far away from the player, as Reddit user Chabb revealed in a thread studying Mr. X’s Resident Evil 2 AI, but he slows down once he gets close. This mechanic keeps Mr. X from getting caught up in distant rooms for too long, while also giving players a fair chance to detect or avoid Mr. X when he’s nearby. The best method of detecting him is listening for his footsteps. As Kadoi put it, «If you hear Tyrant’s footsteps in the vicinity, you can definitely bet that he is actually in close proximity.»
How Resident Evil 2’s Mr. X Searches For Players
As Mr. X navigates the halls of the RPD, he will stick his head into each room and look around. His AI is programmed to meticulously search whatever room or hall he finds himself in.
Should he not detect the player, he will continue following his randomly generated path. That is important to note, as many players thought RE2‘s Mr. X was able to surprise them so easily because he was always aware of their location. In truth, he is never fully aware of the player until he sees them, but he is always listening for them.
Related: How Silent Hill’s PS5 Reboot Could Outdo Resident Evil 2’s Remake
In videos shared by Chabb and SlippySlides, Mr. X can be seen perking up if the player runs or fires a gun within normal searching distance. The longer the noise goes on, the easier it is for him to find where it’s coming from. This is made worse if the player has been able to avoid Mr. X for long enough though; Kadoi revealed that, if enough time goes by without detection, Mr. X’s senses and awareness grow more sensitive.
When he does find the player, he will immediately go for the kill. It is possible to stun Mr. X with bullets or grenades, but neither will kill him, and both will actually make him more aggressive.
In this scenario, the only thing the player can do is stun him, run away, and hide. Once the player is able to escape his line of sight, Mr. X will resume his randomly generated search path, listening for noise and looking for a glimpse of the player.
How Mr. X’s AI Could Impact Resident Evil Village
As the story of Resident Evil has continued, both in the Resident Evil 3 remake and the upcoming Resident Evil Village, this AI has had the chance to grow and evolve into something far more terrifying. In the Resident Evil 3 remake, this AI appeared to be worked into Nemesis, the game’s main antagonist. His stalking behavior was scaled down a bit, however, and fans wished it was utilized even more, feeling that Nemesis was much less intimidating than his predecessor. There’s a decent chance this AI will be implemented in Resident Evil Village, whether it’s with werewolves that hunt players down in the streets or with Lady Dimitrescu in her enormous castle.
Should this be the case, it’s even more crucial to understand how Resident Evil 2‘s Mr. X works in order to better combat the threats to come — especially with heightened werewolf and vampiric senses. Though this isn’t a confirmed feature of Resident Evil Village, the potential for its inclusion certainly gives cause for excitement. As of right now, the future of this AI is uncertain; what is certain is that its creation and implementation in Mr. X gave fans something they will remember as a highlight of the series for years to come.
Next: Is Resident Evil Village’s Lady Dimitrescu a Stalker Like Mr. X?
Source: PC Gamer, SlippySlides/YouTube, Chabb/Reddit
Resident evil. Tyrant vs. Nemesis — DTF Games
No, this is not a new fighting game from Capcom, but an attempt to take a closer look at the legendary monsters updated with remakes. There are minor spoilers.
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This question has been around since time immemorial, and to be more precise, since 1999, when Resident Evil 3 was released for PS1: who is cooler, a tyrant or Nemesis? Who is more effective at tracking down these pesky heroes who could endanger Umbrella’s existence? With Capcom recently releasing a Resident Evil 3 remake and a Resident Evil 2 remake a year earlier, it’s time to revisit the age-old debate.
The answer is something to think about, since two decades have passed, and in the updated projects, the antagonists have not only received plastic surgery, but have also been rewarded with a new set of skills. In the original games, these guys looked much simpler.
Nemesis. After its debut in 1999, it offered something that Resident Evil fans had never experienced before: Umbrella’s bio-organic creation, capable of using weapons, moving fast, and seemingly appearing anywhere. More importantly, he did not die, but reappeared in various forms throughout the game and demanded final destruction.
In the new Resident Evil 3, he is even more agile. His recognizable style is present, but now he also jumps perfectly, landing right in front of the player, blocking the path. Also uses tentacles to grab Jill from a distance and pull her towards him. If we consider weapons, then along with the classic rocket launcher, Nemesis has a flamethrower in its arsenal. Turning zombies into allies is also quite a creepy and effective addition.
The Tyrant in Resident Evil 2 also stalks the hero, but in the original, he had only a few appearances during the campaigns for Leon and Claire. He moves slowly, his footsteps echoing ominously through the corridors. He has a cool feature to break walls, but the tyrant is still quite easy to stop for a while.
Mr. X is another type of stalker who walks towards the player at a fast pace, stamping his feet loudly to give the player a bream with a powerful punch. Its appearance has been updated, and the monster looks more sinister in this dapper hat. In addition, it gives the tyrant personality (and gives the player an achievement, if you know what I mean). Mechanically, Mr. X makes up for his lack of agility with brute force, pushing zombies aside and knocking the player down with ease.
He also has the most spectacular appearance ever: instead of just walking around the corner, he picks up a helicopter that has crashed on the police station, loudly announcing his arrival.
And, unlike the original, you will meet the tyrant much more often.
At first glance, it would seem that the victory should go to Nemesis. He has more weapons, more chips, perhaps more interesting AI. For example, if you run into a building, then Nemesis can ambush you.
But! In the Resident Evil 3 Remake, Nemesis appears in locations in Raccoon City at certain points in the scenario. In the original, Nemesis was still a constant threat, forcing the player to always be ready to attack. This emphasizes the more gameplay-oriented approach of the original. By downplaying the randomness of his appearances, the remake crosses the line between third-person shooter or thriller and survival horror.
By comparison, Mr. X’s role has been expanded in the Resident Evil 2 Remake to fit in with the core gameplay. It appears when you least expect it. However, it is easy to run away or hide from him. But Mr. X remains a nightmarish force that you cannot ignore. He is like a terminator, albeit not agile and not fast, but he is what tirelessly pursues you.
He’s not bad in the original game, but he looks and acts even better in the remake. And this is taking into account the fact that some players do not quite like the fact that the tyrant is constantly following them.
When it comes to boss fights, Nemesis has a significant advantage. While Mr. X is essentially the boss only once, Nemesis boasts a variety of encounters and transformations. Either he appears with a flamethrower, or he mutates into a four-legged monster and jumps at you from a great height. And in the finale, it generally turns into a shapeless, grotesque biological heap. At the same time, each version of Nemesis has its own scenario for defeating him.
Both of these monsters are interesting in their own way. But Mr. X seems like a completely logical rethinking of the original game, while Nemesis is reworked quite radically. Given his more varied moves and abilities, he should have opened up a series of new, unique encounters, much like Mr. X did.
Instead, after a few crossings in town, he only appears as a scenario item or boss (quite an interesting boss, but nonetheless ). It’s on par with Mr. X, but its use in the Resident Evil 3 remake seems worse.
Total. Mr. X is able to create an atmosphere of fear, he can only be stopped for a short time, even if you release all the available ammunition into him. The tyrant’s design is faithful to the original, while adding interesting details. And while he doesn’t have a variety of abilities or moves, he fits in perfectly with the pace and atmosphere of the remake.
Nemesis doesn’t seem to be that much of a threat until you hit the side of the building and dodge it. And he beats the heroine completely mercilessly, sometimes not even letting her get up from the ground. And if she manages to get up, it is unlikely that even a meter will calmly run. And, despite the fact that Nemesis will not be able to follow you everywhere (for example, to a toy store), through the window you can see his sinister figure, frozen in anticipation.
Would you like to leave after this? Add Capcom to his image with more dynamism and random appearances to combine with amazing boss battles and new mechanics, then he would be unmatched.
Who do you think is the best hunter for the main characters of the Resident evil series?
Source:
Resident Evil Story: All About Tyrants
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So who are the Tyrants? Players of the younger generation who are not familiar with the series and saw Mister X in the Resident Evil 2 remake probably think that this is some kind of unique creature in the universe. But no, it’s much more complicated. Mister X is a subspecies of a line of super soldiers created by the Umbrella Corporation, codenamed «Tyrant». When the «Progenitor» virus was discovered by the corporation, its potential in the development of biological weapons immediately became visible. But Umbrella wanted to create not just a virus capable of causing mutations that would be difficult to control, but based on it to create super soldiers that could be controlled.
Immediate developments began in this direction, and soon the creators faced the first serious problem that could put an end to further developments to create super soldiers. James Marcus, one of the founders of the corporation and a research scientist, created, based on the «Progenitor», a virus that was called the «T-virus». Marcus began to experiment with him and various animals. The research yielded amazing results, and the question arose of experiments on humans in order to finally create a super soldier. But it soon became clear that there were very few people who would take root «T-virus». Only in one US territory, there were no more than 10 people who could survive the virus inoculation, as they had unique DNA. The rest of the subjects died and, as a result, were reanimated by the virus, becoming «Zombies». One of these unique people was Sergei Vladimirovich, a former colonel of the Soviet Union, who served as the head of the U.B.C.S. On the basis of his DNA, virus-enhanced clones of Sergei — Tirana were created.
Two «Tyrants» were nicknamed «Ivan» and became the colonel’s personal bodyguards. With the rest, they continued development, creating «Tyrants» of prototypes 001 — and 002. These super-soldiers did not justify themselves, and development continued. Then «Tiran-103» was created, the production of which became serial.
In addition to creating «Tyrants» from clones of Sergei Vladimirovich, another way was found to create them. It was discovered that an enzyme secreted by the brain called Beta Hetero Nonserotonin allows the virus to take root and make the «Tyrant» out of an ordinary person. On the island of Tire, a laboratory for the serial production of «Tiranov-103» was created. To extract the enzyme, children from different parts of the world, in particular, from third world countries, began to be supplied to the laboratory.
The impetus for the development of the creation of «Tyrants» was given by the invention of the NE-α parasite, capable of taking control of the host’s brain, and itself acting as a second brain, replacing the host’s now unnecessary brain.
