Summary
TheResident Evilseries is known for its catalog of terrifying monsters and iconic villains.The Tyrantwas one of the first to be both. This towering hyper-intelligent bioweapon appears in a great deal ofResident Evilgames, as well as movies and other related fiction in the expansiveREuniverse, and it is also one of the strongest, smartest, and most grotesque enemies in the games.
The Tyrant made its debut to scare gamers in the firstResident Evilgame released for the PS1 in 1996. Since then, a variant of the Tyrant has appeared in a variety of media related to the franchise. All Tyrants eventually turn into a Super Tyrant form, which almost always leads to it growing a fleshy claw arm and becoming the final boss. Here’s a list of everyTyrant appearance inResident Evilin chronological order, beginning with the very first game in the historicsurvival horrorfranchise.
The games with remakes and multiple versions only receive one entry, since the Tyrant is essentially the same character in each.
Updated on June 20, 2025, by Jason Wojnar:Even if Resident Evil completely crashes to the point where the series never recovers, it will always remain one of the most relevant IPs for its contributions to the horror gaming genre. In addition to the series' iconic zombies, the Tyrants are just as responsible for the scares players experience in the world of survival horror.
The varying abilities and designs of the Tyrants always surprise gamers, as the updated version of this list below shows. Just because somebody knows a Tyrant is part of a particularResident Evil story, that monster’s individual characteristics can still surprise even the most jaded gamers who think they have already seen everything.
The original Tyrant was created in the Arklay Laboratoryduring the events of the firstResident Evil.The events of the game leadT-002to mutate into a Super Tyrant before trying to kill the last remaining S.T.A.R.S. members in the facility. The T-002’s exposed heart and organs, as well as its claws for hands, became one of the two templates, alongside the T-103, for most future Tyrants.
This Tyrant is the climactic boss of the game and stands out as one of the best bosses fromResident Eviland its 2002 remake. Whether one is playing the 1996 original or the2002 GameCube remake,one can be rest assured that the Tyrant boss will have them shaking in their boots.
The Tyrant that appeared in theoriginalResident Evil 2is T-00, but since the 2019 remake,most fans have known him as “Mr. X.” In the original 1998 game players could get used to where he pops up and know when to expect him. In the remake, Mr. X stalks the player around the police station more dynamically, causing terror with just the sound of a distant footstep.
This Tyrant is known for his iconic trenchcoat and more human-like form. T-00 is huge, towering, and one of the most formidablevideo game enemies of 2019. The beasts giant trench coat and fedora feel like they should be silly, but it just makes the monster scarier.
TheNemesis inResident Evil 3created the idea of a Tyrant that stalks the player throughout the game. While it’s not as well-implemented as in the modernResident Evil 2, Nemesis was a technical marvel for the time and the defining hook of the thirdREgame. Nemesis is known for its massive size and giant teeth-filled mouth, and it was the first appearance of a T-103, the first mass-produced Tyrant.
Fans were expecting Nemesis to follow players around the way Mr. X did in theResident Evil 3remake.However, it shows up in pre-determined, scripted sequences, and players must either run or fight it head-on in a traditional boss fight. It might be disappointing for some, but it is easier to appreciate if one knows what to expect and can just enjoy the ride.
One of the multiple Tyrants that appear in the Dreamcast and PS2 gameResident Evil CODE: Veronica,T-078is another T-103 model. This one looks similar to the T-002 model from the original game. Sent to kill Claire Redfield and Steve Burnside, T-078 eventually gets pushed out of an airplane by Claire at the end of that game.
It also appears as a boss inResident Evil: Darkside Chronicles, alight-gun game that takes players through the events of classicResident Eviltitles.
Bandersnatch
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica
Bandersnatch, based on the Lewis Carroll character, is the other Tyrant from CODE:Veronica. This creature appears as a boss and has uncanny arms that can stretch out to unreasonable lengths to damage the player.
Following the boss fight, Steve kills the Bandersnatch. It used to be so easy to get comfortable being out of arm’s reach of monsters, but this creature’s ability to stretch really brings a new layer of fear into the equation.
Genre
Light-Gun Shooter
Resident Evil Survivorwas the first of a small handful oflight-gun gamesgames in theResident Evilfranchise. Players move around the environment freely and then press a button to enter aiming mode and start shooting at the undead.
It can be played with both a controller or a light-gun peripheral. The game received almost universal jeers at launch. The final boss is this Tyrant model,Hypnos-T,which physically has nothing particularly standout about it.
The first Tyrant prototype was, of course, featured in the earliest game in theResident Eviltimeline.T-001, or the Proto Tyrant, was created in Arklay’s Lab as the first Tyrant bioweapon and is a boss fight multiple times inResident Evil 0. It was destroyed during the self-destruct sequence of the Umbrella Training Facility at the end of the game.
Resident Evil 0tries something new by letting players control two different protagonists, switching between them at will. While an interesting idea, it stumbles with the execution in some key areas in this prequel.
Resident Evil: Dead Aimwas another light-gun spinoff that was released in 2003. The game featuresTyrant 091who has the first attempt at engineering a Tyrant with both the T and the G virus, but this one has a unique look.
Instead of claws for hands, like many of the T-002-inspired creations, this Tyrant had tentacles that came out and attacked the player. Bruce McGivern, the player character ofDead Aim, destroyed Tyrant 091 in a boss fight.
Resident Evil: Outbreakwas an experimental multiplayerResident Evilspin-offthat took place in Raccoon City around the time of the events ofRE 2and3,andThanatosis one of the Tyrant bosses to appear in the game.
This Tyrant was created by rogue Umbrella Corporation scientist Greg Mueller and is visually similar to the design of the T-002 model in both regular and Super Tyrant form.Outbreak’sunique approach to online cooperative play makes it unique even in this day and age. Back in the early days of the PS2, it was downright bleeding-edge gaming.
Unfortunately, bothOutbreakgames have had their servers shut down for well over fifteen years at this point. The titles are playable solo, however.
The Tyrant R experimental subspecies of the T-103 Tyrant appears first in the sequel toOutbreakand later inThe Umbrella Chronicleswhere it is killed by Ada Wong. At the end ofOutbreak: File #2,R is absorbed by Nyx, the grotesque biological weapon that serves as the final boss fight.
It survived when Nyx was destroyed due to its strength and regenerative abilities. Like the firstOutbreakgame, it is almost impossible to play the game online, the way it was meant to be experienced. Perhaps a re-release will remedy this sometime in the future.
