On April 3rd, gamers will once again be allowed to step back into the horrors of Raccoon City with the release of the Resident Evil 3 remake. Originally subtitled Nemesis, players will be forced to reckon with sheer terror as the eponymous monster methodically hunts them down. Nemesis harbors a triple threat of being very strong, very smart, and very well-armed.
He's already pretty well cemented in gaming canon as one of the scarier monsters in all of gaming. But is he the scariest? When compared to other video game enemies, which ones would shudder as he approached, and which would frighten him to his core? Here are five enemies that aren't scarier than Nemesis and five that are.
10 Not Scarier: Mr. X (Resident Evil 2)
Let's get the obvious comparison out of the way: no, Mr. X, from last year's remake of Resident Evil 2, is not as scary as Nemesis. For starters, he's not nearly as smart. He's much more of a blunt instrument, whereas Nemesis is a blunt instrument with a brain. Sure, both have an uncanny ability to bust through walls and doors, but Nemesis is going to be smart about it.
On a more pedantic level, Mr. X has one thing that Nemesis doesn't: a stupid hat. Nemesis, on the other hand, is mostly comprised of exposed tissue and weapons. You can shoot off Mr. X's hat for an achievement, but if you shoot Nemesis in the head... well, he'll probably just shoot you back.
9 Scarier: Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts Series)
At first glance, the keyblade master might not seem that scary; but if you dive in a little deeper, you'll realize that Xehanort's wide-spread and ambiguously defined set of powers gives him a much more terrifying bent. Not only does he wield a keyblade, but he also seems to be able to resurrect himself and possess others at will.
I mean, it's Kingdom Hearts logic, after all. And even in a universe as gonzo-mad as the Resident Evil one, the wild, contradictory, and nonsensical Kingdom Hearts lore is much more terror-inducing.
8 Not Scarier: Shido (Persona 5)
The entirety of Persona 5 builds to your final confrontation with Shido, the man seemingly behind all of the ill will in Tokyo and the source of much of the Phantom Thieves' ire. The multi-staged boss fight in his Metavese Palace is a tough one, too. It requires careful item management, buffing/debuffing, and a fair bit of luck.
However, outside of the Metaverse, Shido is just some dude hanging out in a tower. And since Nemesis doesn't seem to be planning any trips into his subconscious, Shido's machinations and political maneuvering aren't exactly a match for, well, a big scary monster with a gun.
7 Scarier: Dracula (Castlevania Series)
Time and time again, Vlad Tepes has proven himself very hard to kill (and not just in a "final boss" sense). His vast vampiric powers make him not only a terrifying foe but a strong one as well. And unless Nemesis happens to be well-versed in the Belmont ways of monster hunting, he'll be at a strong disadvantage.
Not to mention that it's probably safe to assume that Ol' Nemesis has a lot of blood, and, considering how Dracula feels about the red stuff, Umbrella's favorite goon might have the script flipped on him if he's not careful.
6 Not Scarier: Koopa Troopa (Mario Series)
It probably goes without saying, but no: Koopa Troopas are not scarier than Nemesis. In fact, they're not really all that scary to begin with. If Jill Valentine were to run into one of these deep in the heart of Raccoon City, she'd probably just shrug and leave it alone. Even in recent Mario games, Koopas haven't really been "enemies." In Super Mario Odyssey, the Koopa seen above is even friendly!
At worst, Koopas are innocent bystanders, who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as Mario jumps down from above and murders them. Wait a second... Is Mario... Scarier than Nemesis?
5 Scarier: Mario (Mario Series)
Absolutely; Nintendo's beloved plumber is nothing short of a tyrant. Time and time again, he's been shown to have a singular driving force behind him that causes him to barrel his way through several ecosystems and buildings, destroying everything in his path. Consider the Koopa: he's just a turtle who loves to walk back and forth while occasionally stopping to wave and dance.
That means nothing to Mario; Mario only sees targets. And with the numerous power-ups that he can find around the Mushroom Kingdom, he's honestly not too far from jumping on Nemesis's head and turning him to dust.
4 Not Scarier: Blue (Pokémon Series)
All throughout many's first Pokémon adventure, your rival, Blue, is ahead of you every step of the way, daring you to smell him later. In later games, the rivals get progressively friendlier, but Blue towers over them all as a rude pre-teen who desperately wants to be the best (or, at the very least, better than you). In the original games, the fights against Blue are especially tough and can be scary for an ill-prepared trainer.
Unfortunately, Nemesis (as far as we know) isn't a Pokémon trainer and probably won't adhere to the turn-based battle format those games dictate. Even if you run into the beast with a team of Lv. 99 Pokémon, you might never get the chance to say "I choose you!"
3 Scarier: Revolver Ocelot (Metal Gear Solid Series)
Obviously, given the choice between being stuck in an abandoned city with Nemesis or Shalashaska, one would probably go with the less monster-y one. But Revolver Ocelot's combat prowess isn't what makes him scarier than Nemesis; it's his planning capabilities and tactical foresight that give him the edge.
Nemesis might think he's following orders from Umbrella, but what if Umbrella was just a puppet of the Patriots? Is the entire outbreak in Raccoon City just a product of Ocelot's machinations, designed to keep the entire world plunged into an economy dependent on fighting zombies? Can love truly be found on the battlefield? All of these ambiguities combined are much scarier than any uttering of "Stars" could ever be.
2 Not Scarier: Guardians (The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild)
Ah, the Guardians. The bane of any Breath of the Wild player's existence. These spidery machines aren't just deadly; they're very hard to defeat without the right preparation. The same can be said of Nemesis, to a certain extent, but with one crucial difference: you will absolutely never be prepared to kill Nemesis.
In BotW, you get more powerful weapons, armor, and abilities that make Guardian fights an eventual breeze. By contrast, in Resident Evil, you will only ever truly be prepared to distract and/or stun Nemesis long enough for you to get away. No amount of perfect parries with a shield will let you get the advantage on this particular hulking beast.
1 Scarier: GLaDOS (Portal Series)
Nemesis, at his core, is just trying to kill you. GLaDOS is also trying to kill you, but she's going to make you work for it. There's at least some measure of escape you can find in Raccoon City, even though that would be an uphill battle for sure. By contrast, you have very little chance of escaping from Aperture Labs as long as everyone's favorite killer AI is running the place.
As the walls of Aperture start closing in, and the puzzles turn into traps, you'll probably start wishing for a big horror beast to burst through the wall instead of just taking another elevator ride down to the next level of torment.