Nemesis or Nemesis Inferno?

[DeanGaryCox]

Surprised this isn't a topic yet considering it's one that I really want to see peoples views as it amazes me how some people I talk to hate Nemesis at Alton Towers yet love Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park or the other way round... whereas I love both!

Since riding Nemesis back when i was about 10 it has been my favourite ride, even after visiting Florida when I was 11 in 2005, until I visited PortAventura last year and had 20 rides on Shambhala which instantly became my favourite; but Nemesis is still my favourite in the UK. The planning restrictions was a blessing in disguise to make such a compact (but still relatively lengthy) ride, and without a large drop the first inversion still packs a punch and the helix is incredible, and the fact it's in a pit with the blood water (well not any more :x) just creates the experience that cannot be beaten, not always the bigger the better!

Nemesis Inferno is such an amazing coaster (my 2nd favourite in the UK) and since riding it first back in 2009 it has become much more forceful, arguably though has become less re-ride-able due to this (the same with Nemesis which gives me a headache sometimes now), but on a peak day at Thorpe you'd be lucky to ride it more than once anyway. The more I ride it though the more I want to love it as much as Nemesis, I love the pre lift hill drop and when the mist is working properly in the tunnel is just amazing, I also love the final helix; the problem is the mist doesn't always work and sometimes when Inferno has just opened or just generally isn't running as fast the final helix is a bit disappointing, whereas Nemesis' helix never fails to impress!

 

[owentaylor121]

I find Inferno far better, my last ride on Nemesis was dire, the ride completely lost all momentum after the zero-g roll, the loop felt forceless and after that it was just dull.

 

[caffeine_demon]

Nemesis easily - every time I ride it, I'm reminded just how superb it is!

That said - Inferno is sometimes a bit underrated!

 

[DelPiero]

The Original is much better. Even first thing in the morning is still delivers a great ride in most seats, unlike Inferno where I only really enjoy it when;
- It's dark
- The tunnel effects are working correctly
- I'm seated back right

It's a good ride, and i'll always try to have a run when i'm there, but it's nowhere near as good as Nemesis.

 

[ATTACKHAMMER]

Nemesis is the much better ride, there's no doubt about it!
Nemesis is more forceful and interacts with the terrain brilliantly.

Inferno is a good ride but will forever be in the shadow of Nemesis.

 

[gavin]

Surprised this isn't a topic yet

There have been a few in the past, but it's actually been quite a while, so it's due for a rehash.

For me, it's Nemesis at Alton by a mile. I rode it in its opening year, loved it, and it really hasn't dulled for me since then.

There's nothing inherently wrong with Inferno. I like it, and it's the second best coaster at Thorpe for me. It's more rerideable than Nemesis as it doesn't have anywhere near the intensity, but I finds it to be one of the weaker inverts overall, where Nemesis is one of the strongest.

 

[furie]

I agree with everyone who says Inferno tends to be underrated - Whenever I ride it, I forget how solid a coaster it is.

I tend to find Inferno is much more consistent across the ride in terms of pacing and forces. Even running "badly" it's still a very evenly presented ride.

Nemesis however tends to ebb and flow a lot. I love the first drop into the high wingover (which as an element is a little underwhelming, but the sudden height of it is a visual treat) and then into that incredible helix and the speed through to the (not at all zero-g) zero-g. The rest of the ride then is very variable depending on how the ride is running. When it's running well, there can be great forces even on the turnaround before the loop and right to the very end. When it's running badly (or you're in a bad seat), it can be really bland and dull.

It's a ride that isn't consistent enough through the layout and through the day/time of year. Personally, I tend to find that the adrenaline rush form the first half still has be buzzing through the dull half, even on a bad run. I know some people who prefer it when I think it's running badly - there's more time to enjoy the "coasteringness" of it, rather than just being subjected to constant forces.

For me though, when the ride is running badly, the closeness of the environmental aspect always adds extra and I always prefer that first half to anything Inferno offers me. I guess if I was to quantify it:

Running badly
Inferno - 8/10 entire layout
Nemesis - 9/10 first half, 5/10 second half (7/10)

Running well
Inferno - 9/10 entire layout
Nemesis - 18/10 first half, 8/10 second half (13/10)

So overall, Inferno scores 9.5/10 and Nemesis 10/10. You can't argue with the statistics

 

[Rachel]

I enjoy both but for me the original is far superior.

I do agree with what others have said in that Inferno is slightly underrated and it always provides a good fun ride. Perhaps if it wasn't called Nemesis Inferno and didn't have the constant comparisons to the original, it would be rated slightly higher but there you go.

Nemesis however just offers an intensity and relentlessness that I enjoy which is why its so high in my top 10.

 

[TilenB]

I did ride both only once, but I found my ride on the original Nemesis to be far better than that on Inferno. I love its landscaping and the forces the ride produces (second only to Katun in my B&M ranks). On the other side, I found N:I to be a relatively mellow ride, quite forceless and sans any redeeming features...

 

[Jordanovichy]

I really like Nemesis Inferno, before, it was just another coaster I'd ride at Thorpe Park but in 2013 it had a breakthrough year for me, it's well paced, thrilling, exciting. What lets it down against it's older, superior brother is the lack of forcefulness. I wish they'd turn on all the effects for Inferno more often too, the water spray through the tunnel is great fun.

Nemesis wins though, like Inferno, it is well paced, thrilling, exciting but it is also really forceful, has better terrain (obviously because of the whacking great hole it is built in), and is just a much better coaster. I haven't ridden it since October 2013 (GhosterForce X) and I really miss it not going to lie.

 

[Ian]

Nemesis has everything going for it. From the tension building queue line by the waterfall and past the loop where you can experience Nemesis Wind, right up the way the coaster is bolted into position in the hole. The story behind it is better than Inferno's. Nemesis thrills me every single time and I never tire of it, whereas I've sat out of Inferno a couple of times.

If a gun was put to my head, I'd pick Nemesis. Although like olives, gammon and blue cheese, I seem to like Inferno more as I've got older. It's like my taste buds and coaster preferences are maturing in tandem.

The poll results so far show 100% siding with Nemesis. That's very conclusive.

 

[Hutch]

Based on my rides (both were running well), I don't really see how anyone would prefer Inferno over Nemesis. They actually are quite similar rides, with both not being that tall, same inversions, close encounters with the ground. Inferno is great, but Nemesis just does everything better and has better forces, better theming, better near misses, and better inversions.

 

[SaiyanHajime]

I find Inferno rather sickly at times and, contrary to what some have said here, unreridable where as Nemesis is comfortably reridable... Inferno has weird forces on it's first drop that can lead to a much milder version of the visual distortion most people experience on I305, for me. Or when Arrow loopers dip into their loops, for those unfamiliar with I305.

Inferno is better than it gets credit for being, without a doubt. The problem for me is that the more B&M inverts I ride, the more they all blend into one another. Inferno follows a formulae common of Inverts, and it's the same reason I struggle to be as wowed by Black Mamba as the majority seem to be. All Inverts are solid rides and I find myself looking out for uniqueness.

Nemesis was my first so, for the longest time, it's weirdness didn't mean anything. But I remember Tomatron saying years ago how the more you ride, the more you'll love Nemesis... Yeah, that.

I like most of the weird ones.... Great Bear and Alpengeist especially.

 

[furie]

It's not weird Joey, I love those two as well and we all know how right I am

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I agree with whoever is saying that Nemesis Inferno is very underrated. It's actually a good coaster, and is certainly not one of the worst inverts I have been on. Nemesis is just different to pretty much every other invert that I have ridden, and has so much more to offer. The flow and pacing of the layout is very unique, and the setting/theme is fantastic.

If you hadn't guessed, I pick Nemesis.

 

[Ben]

I prefer Inferno, which is really underrated.

Nemesis is massively overrated and a bit poo.

Great Bear and Alpengeist are better too because they're fab.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

^ Alpengeist is gross. Great Bear though <3

 

[SaiyanHajime]

Alpengeist is underrated... It's incredible to get wind buffering your face on an invert. I'm sure if they were all massive it'd be fneh.

I bet Katun is absolutely wonderful - like Alpengeist but, like, critically good as well as being interesting for the sake of it.

Alpengeist's cobra roll is the WORST of them, though. I hate cobra rolls anyway, but Alpengeist's is broken.

 

[Serena]

If a gun was put to my head, I'd pick Nemesis. Although like olives, gammon and blue cheese, I seem to like Inferno more as I've got older. It's like my taste buds and coaster preferences are maturing in tandem.

Haha, agreed! Nemesis Inferno is a coaster one grows to appreciate, once you've developed a mature palette for creds. It's a subtle exploration of forces. Whereas Nemesis is like my favorite pudding: a nostalgic sugar rush of inversions and imagination that always puts a silly grin on my face.

I enjoy both Nemesi' in very different ways, but if we're talking B+M Inverts: Oz'Iris beats them both hands down. It has a much better drop, much better inversions (including 2 lovely, stretched out zero-G's!) and a really great flow to the entire ride.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

Katun is absolutely wonderful - like Alpengeist but, like, critically good as well as being interesting for the sake of it

It's weird for me because I like Nemesis for the sake of how compact, forceful, and unique it is (as well as the awesome theme), but I don't think inverts should be as forceful as Katun. I had three rides on Katun and started feeling extremely light headed. Katun was good for one ride, but it was uncomfortably forceful and therefore unenjoyable for me. Nemesis wasn't disgustingly forceful. Alpengeist, on paper (at least for me), should be excellent. Inverts SHOULD give that sweeping, sort of flying feeling, which it does well, but something about it just doesn't DO it for me. It's a good coaster, I just don't really get a theoretical hard on over it.