The Nemesis, also called the Nemesis-T Type, or the Pursuer (Japanese: 追跡者, Hepburn: Tsuisekisha) in Japan,[11][12] is a character in the Resident Evil survival horror video game series created by Capcom.

Taking inspiration from the T-1000 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Nemesis was conceived by Shinji Mikami and Kazuhiro Aoyama as an enemy that would stalk the player throughout the game and invoke a persistent sense of paranoia.

"[2][1] Taking inspiration from the T-1000 villain from the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day,[13] the character was initially meant to be a slime creature that could bypass obstacles such as doors by liquifying past them or melting through them.

[2] The character was designed under the concept of a "huge, overpowering monster that could use weapons and intelligently track you anywhere,"[14] partly inspired by the movie Day of the Dead, where scientists attempt to train zombies, only to be shot by them at the end of the film.

[15] Kawamura conceived the character as the result of infecting a T-103 model Tyrant—a humanoid bio organic weapon (BOW) created to be the ultimate lifeform by the Umbrella Corporation[16]—with the Nemesis Alpha parasite (or "NE-α") designed to increase its intelligence.

Upon infection, the parasite takes control of the Tyrant's nervous system, forming its own brain and enabling it to follow precise instructions and make decisions without needing constant direction.

[3] Nemesis' appearance was designed by Yoshinori Matsushita, with Aoyama instructing him to create "a rough guy who attacks with weapons and has an intimidating build" in order to heighten the fear of being pursued.

As Nemesis is damaged its appearance does not change as drastically as previous Tyrants, due to Matsushita wanting to keep him visually different from Resident Evil 2's William Birkin in this regard.

[4] The secretions from the parasite give the Nemesis massively heightened regenerative abilities, which result in the creature being almost impervious to damage; although it can be put down with enough fire from small arms, eventually it will repair itself and resume the pursuit of its targets.

[18] In Resident Evil 3, the creature's survival instincts eventually override Nemesis' programming, causing the host's body to reject the parasite and transform into a giant digestive organ.

[24] The game's protagonist, Jill Valentine, first encounters the Nemesis outside Raccoon City's police station where it kills Brad Vickers and then pursues her, uttering "STARS..." on sight.

Jill finally defeats the Nemesis using a rail cannon, and then depending on the choice of the player, she either kills it once and for all by unloading her weapons into it, or leaves it to die in the nuclear explosion that destroys Raccoon City.

[27] The Nemesis also appears in Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, in which its programming is damaged and Umbrella dispatches a task force to find a NE-Alpha parasite to repair it.

In the game it uses a gatling gun for the fight and is mainly based on its film counterpart; however once the task force completes their mission, the Nemesis awakens to find its rocket launcher and proceeds to hunt after the STARS police team.

[31] The character has been featured in other games outside of the Resident Evil franchise as well, such as in the Capcom title Under the Skin alongside Jill,[32] and serves as a boss the player must steal coins from in a Raccoon City-inspired level.

[33] In an interview, Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds producer Ryouta Niitsuma stated a desire to use the Nemesis in the title as a "monster-type" character from the Resident Evil series, but was dropped after considering it too "grotesque and disgusting" and in consideration of ESRB ratings.

The character's design was left relatively unchanged, brandishing a rocket launcher and similar attire, but with the addition of a forearm-mounted rail gun,[5][46] modeled after a heavily modified minigun.

Writer and producer Paul W. S. Anderson noted that the gun's addition was inspired by the idea of the Nemesis "walking around with a gigantic, powerful weapon in each hand and almost indecisive as to which one to use".

[50] The Nemesis appears in a 1999 Hong Kong manhua adaptation of Resident Evil 3 by Lee Chung Hing, Biohazard 3: Last Escape, which is named after the game's Japanese title.

[54] Instead of mutating due to having taken damage, the Nemesis transforms voluntarily towards the conclusion of the story in its pursuit of Jill,[55] with its second form from the game being its actual appearance beneath the coat.

[59] Palisades Toys used its likeness to create a posable action figure (packaged with a base and equipable rocket launcher) and a mini bust, which were released alongside several other Resident Evil-based merchandise.

[67] GameSpot featured Nemesis in a "Reader's Choice" edition of their "Top 10 Video Game Villains" article and noting the character's high popularity among fans when compared to the Tyrant.

"[71] In 2021, Alex Aniel in the book Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial History of Resident Evil described Nemesis as an icon fondly remembered for his aggressiveness and terrifying personality, and further noted him as a popular subject for fandom convention cosplay.

"[75] While Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting noted Nemesis "looks awesome and is a total badass" in the film, he shared similar disdain for the character's heroic turn in the finale, exclaiming "Why would you take the biggest and baddest Resident Evil villain and neuter him?

[80] This led some critics to believe that he was underused and that a lot of his potential was wasted, with Electronic Gaming Monthly's Mollie Patterson stating "[if] you were hoping for him to dial up the danger, you may feel some disappointment.