When Resident Evil 2 released earlier this year, one of the biggest talking points of the remake was: Mr. X, also known as, Tyrant.
While many were gushing about the game’s graphical overhaul, more were talking about Mr. X. Whether sharing their terrifying experiences with the soulless behemoth or passing around one of his many memes: Mr. X was everywhere. And according to the game’s director Kazunori Kadoi, the team didn’t expect Mr. X to be the sensation he was.
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“There are elements that we included (such as his hat) that we hoped would resonate and be a talking point with players, but we had no idea that people would enjoy Tyrant to this degree, so it honestly makes the development team as a whole really happy to see things like this,” said Kadoi while speaking about the character to PC Gamer. “It’s always unpredictable what will truly resonate with fans no matter how much you aim for something particular, but it’s always a pleasant surprise when fans walk away from a game with a positive experience and have something to share with their peers.”
What’s interesting about all of the Mr. X hooplah, is that there was none of it in the build-up to release. Sure, Resident Evil fans remember the character and probably have some fond memories of playing the survival-horror classic with him as the centerpiece, but, he was never this popular. I suppose that’s the power of memes though — and of course, excellent AI scripting.
Elsewhere in the chat with PC Gamer, Kadoi also put to bed the crazy fan theory that there’s actually multiple Tyrants. Turns out he’s just really good at hunting you down.
“There’s only one Tyrant,” said Kadoi. “When designing the game, we wanted whichever scenario the player is currently in to be representative of the main story arc. You could say that each scenario could be considered a parallel world, which is why you see Tyrant appear multiple times.”
Resident Evil 2 is available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more coverage on the survival-horror remake, click here.
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