‘We needed to make Nemesis ferocious’
[Update: Capcom and OXM have clarified that Nemesis can’t enter Resident Evil 3 “safe rooms” as previously thought, but he can enter certain areas that have a typewriter. Here’s the correction:
“In this month’s Official Xbox Magazine‘s hands-on preview of the game, we reported on needing to dodge past the Nemesis when he broke into a room with a progress-saving typewriter. This location was not in fact a designated safe room. The clue’s in the music, as is traditional in the Resi franchise – and not all save points are in safe rooms.”
“The big bad of Resident Evil 3 is certainly relentless, and unlike Mr. X can and will break down doors in his pursuit of Jill, but thankfully certain areas are still off limits to the big bully.”]
Capcom raised the stakes for Mr. X in last year’s remake of Resident Evil 2, and it’s doing the same (and then some) for Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. In a new preview from Official Xbox Magazine, the publication said the pursuer was able to enter their safe room. I’m thinking back on all the times I escaped Mr. X and laughed in his face as he refused to open safe-room doors. This is payback. This is terrifying.
“The situation is desperate, but at least we can take a moment to gather our thoughts,” OXM wrote. “Except we can’t because all of a sudden, Nemesis barges into the room. Into the safe room. That long-established Resident Evil oasis of calm, ink ribbons, and item storage has been compromised.”
That’s not to say we’ll need to worry about Nemesis in every single location – RE3 will still have puzzle-solving and moments of relief – but we’ll want to master Perfect Dodging as soon as possible.
“Pacing is important,” Resident Evil 3 producer Peter Fabiano told Official Xbox Magazine. “You need to make sure you have the right balance between having the player feel a little bit more relaxed, but also have that level of tension. You don’t want it to be constant balls-to-the-wall [action], we want to give players that little bit of respite, but at the same time always wondering where Nemesis is going to be, where is he going to come from, and how do you deal with him. Do you run, do you fight?”
“The director looked at what they had done with the Tyrant in [Resident Evil 2] and was like, ‘Wait a minute! They’ve Nemesis-ified him!’ So it was like taking it that one step further – we needed to make Nemesis ferocious and a real threat, and I think you’ll feel that when you play the game.”
My expectations for this remake couldn’t be much higher.
Resident Evil 3 producer reveals how the reimagining of Nemesis was influenced by Mr. X [GamesRadar]