*Editor's note: Title was changed to fall in line with the Looking Back series of posts
Over the course of the last decade, game developers revived several of the most prominent IPs in gaming history. In Capcom's particular case, several of these titles went onto win awards. Below, I'll list Capcom's greatest achievements during the last few years.
That became more apparent with Resident Evil 5, much of which takes place during the daytime. You could gain tons of ammo to keep yourself armed at all times. The monsters were hideous, but none of them were quite terrifying like in older games. With Shinji Mikami's departure, Resident Evil lost its way. It ended up being rated as a great action game with a strong co-op mechanic. Unfortunately, the survival horror element was gone.
Resident Evil began plummeting even further with 2012's release of Resident Evil 6. As opposed to the past two titles, this game was plagued with mechanical issues. At this point, the last numbered title to garner such mixed, reviews put a major damper on the series' reputation.
Capcom began experimenting with bringing back the horror element with the spin-off series, Resident Evil Revelations. However, it wouldn't be until 2017 that Capcom truly brought horror back. With the release of Resident Evil 7, Capcom made a clear change in its direction to instill fear back into its fans.
Not only did the newest title bring back much of the claustrophobic, tight spaces with monsters lurking around the corner, but it offered a major psychological horror element. Corpses, body parts, sounds from out of nowhere, and much of the dialogue echoed a terrifying scenario that covered more than being attacked by zombies. As a result, Resident Evil 7 would go onto win a number of awards including several nominations for Game of the Year in 2017.
Most recently, Capcom released its successful remake of Resident Evil 2 in 2019. Additionally, now Resident Evil 3's remake will come out later this April. All three of the latest titles use the RE Engine and all show that Capcom has revived survival horror to be more terrifying than it ever was before.
Dubbed "DmC: Devil May Cry," it served as an origin story with new character designs for Dante and Vergil. Even though the game wound up with decent ratings, due to its strong gameplay mechanics, many players loved the Dante and Vergil they grew up with and demanded they returned.
At E3 2018, Capcom revealed Devil May Cry 5. Unlike the reboot, this story took place years after the story of DMC4. Once again starring Nero, the story also allowed players to play as Dante and the new protagonist, "V." Critics praised the game for its return to form. Additionally, Devil May Cry 5 would go onto win Best Action Game at the 2019 Game Awards. Plus, the game's ending suggested a sequel may be coming soon.
When Inafune left Capcom, he proposed to start up his own gaming company - Comcept - and crowdfund his next game project: Mighty No.9. Despite multiple delays and poor public relations issues, development pressed on all the way to the game's release. Comcept's release garnered quite possibly the single biggest disappointment of the entire decade. With mixed reviews and many critics panning the game, people knew that this would not be Mega Man's successor.
Finally, after the release of Mega Man Legacy Collection, Capcom announced Mega Man 11. Released in 2018, the first Mega Man title in nearly a decade once again proved a return to form for the Blue Bomber. Additionally, Capcom has released Mega Man X Legacy Collection while Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is slated for a February 25, 2020 release. Whether this means Mega Man 12 is on the way or not remains to be seen thus far. However, it seems surefire that at least Capcom has at least chosen to listen to their fans.
In the case of the former, Infinite never even got its chance at EVO, the single biggest fighting game tournament in the world. As a result, players flocked back to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Meanwhile, this year's EVO will feature a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 invitational to celebrate the title's 20 year anniversary. Whether this spurs Capcom to make a proper sequel is not clear at the moment.
Despite this, Capcom continues to generate success with their games. They've remastered Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and Onimusha Warlords. But what does this mean for the rest of their series? We have yet to see a Capcom vs. SNK 3, Power Stone 3, or even a new Darkstalkers game. Despite releases of a few classic fighting games during the last generation, none of these games have even received so much as a mention during the current generation. Outside of their fighting game franchises, Capcom still has potential to revive more IPs such as Demon's Crest, Breath of Fire, or even Ghosts 'n Goblins.
The decade is still fresh and the 2020s have a long way to go. That being said, Capcom can make magic happen in many ways. Whether its making Street Fighter VI the sequel with proper netcode or reviving more of their old franchises, while following up with their recent successes. We won't know for a while. They've brought major success with Monster Hunter World, a series which has indeed remained successful over the decade. But we would also like to see more of their classic franchises return to form.
If nothing else, hopefully Capcom will announced Ace Attorney 7 at this year's E3. Four years is the longest we've gone without a new game and I'm starting to feel its effects.
I hope you enjoyed my look at Capcom's revivals. Which game were you most excited to see return? What do you want to see revived? Let me know in the comments below.
*All pictures courtesy of Capcom
Over the course of the last decade, game developers revived several of the most prominent IPs in gaming history. In Capcom's particular case, several of these titles went onto win awards. Below, I'll list Capcom's greatest achievements during the last few years.
Resident Evil
Capcom's prominent Survival Horror series wasn't exactly "dead" or even dormant for that matter. After 2005's successful Resident Evil 4, people clamored that it was one of the best games they had ever played. On the flip side, however, many series loyalists also believed that the series began to stray from its survival horror roots.That became more apparent with Resident Evil 5, much of which takes place during the daytime. You could gain tons of ammo to keep yourself armed at all times. The monsters were hideous, but none of them were quite terrifying like in older games. With Shinji Mikami's departure, Resident Evil lost its way. It ended up being rated as a great action game with a strong co-op mechanic. Unfortunately, the survival horror element was gone.
Resident Evil began plummeting even further with 2012's release of Resident Evil 6. As opposed to the past two titles, this game was plagued with mechanical issues. At this point, the last numbered title to garner such mixed, reviews put a major damper on the series' reputation.
Capcom began experimenting with bringing back the horror element with the spin-off series, Resident Evil Revelations. However, it wouldn't be until 2017 that Capcom truly brought horror back. With the release of Resident Evil 7, Capcom made a clear change in its direction to instill fear back into its fans.
Not only did the newest title bring back much of the claustrophobic, tight spaces with monsters lurking around the corner, but it offered a major psychological horror element. Corpses, body parts, sounds from out of nowhere, and much of the dialogue echoed a terrifying scenario that covered more than being attacked by zombies. As a result, Resident Evil 7 would go onto win a number of awards including several nominations for Game of the Year in 2017.
Most recently, Capcom released its successful remake of Resident Evil 2 in 2019. Additionally, now Resident Evil 3's remake will come out later this April. All three of the latest titles use the RE Engine and all show that Capcom has revived survival horror to be more terrifying than it ever was before.
Devil May Cry
While Devil May Cry revolutionized the action genre, its peak came in 2005 with the release of Devil May Cry 3. Despite trying to capitalize on its best elements, 2009's Devil May Cry 4 fell short of its predecessor largely due to recycled level designs. Even though it garnered positive ratings, Capcom opted to "reboot" the series, several years later, with Ninja Theory as the developer.Dubbed "DmC: Devil May Cry," it served as an origin story with new character designs for Dante and Vergil. Even though the game wound up with decent ratings, due to its strong gameplay mechanics, many players loved the Dante and Vergil they grew up with and demanded they returned.
At E3 2018, Capcom revealed Devil May Cry 5. Unlike the reboot, this story took place years after the story of DMC4. Once again starring Nero, the story also allowed players to play as Dante and the new protagonist, "V." Critics praised the game for its return to form. Additionally, Devil May Cry 5 would go onto win Best Action Game at the 2019 Game Awards. Plus, the game's ending suggested a sequel may be coming soon.
Mega Man
When Capcom last released Mega Man 10 in 2010, they had no plans to follow up with anything. While Mega Man Legends 3 was canceled, the timing lined up perfectly with the departure of Mega Man series producer, Keiji Inafune.When Inafune left Capcom, he proposed to start up his own gaming company - Comcept - and crowdfund his next game project: Mighty No.9. Despite multiple delays and poor public relations issues, development pressed on all the way to the game's release. Comcept's release garnered quite possibly the single biggest disappointment of the entire decade. With mixed reviews and many critics panning the game, people knew that this would not be Mega Man's successor.
Finally, after the release of Mega Man Legacy Collection, Capcom announced Mega Man 11. Released in 2018, the first Mega Man title in nearly a decade once again proved a return to form for the Blue Bomber. Additionally, Capcom has released Mega Man X Legacy Collection while Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection is slated for a February 25, 2020 release. Whether this means Mega Man 12 is on the way or not remains to be seen thus far. However, it seems surefire that at least Capcom has at least chosen to listen to their fans.
Final Thoughts
While Capcom has done justice back to some of their classic series, not everyone is happy. Specifically, people have expressed frustration over their fighting game management. Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite was not as well-received as its predecessors. Likewise, Street Fighter V has received continuous criticism, since its release, due to its issues with online netcode.In the case of the former, Infinite never even got its chance at EVO, the single biggest fighting game tournament in the world. As a result, players flocked back to Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Meanwhile, this year's EVO will feature a Marvel vs. Capcom 2 invitational to celebrate the title's 20 year anniversary. Whether this spurs Capcom to make a proper sequel is not clear at the moment.
Despite this, Capcom continues to generate success with their games. They've remastered Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen and Onimusha Warlords. But what does this mean for the rest of their series? We have yet to see a Capcom vs. SNK 3, Power Stone 3, or even a new Darkstalkers game. Despite releases of a few classic fighting games during the last generation, none of these games have even received so much as a mention during the current generation. Outside of their fighting game franchises, Capcom still has potential to revive more IPs such as Demon's Crest, Breath of Fire, or even Ghosts 'n Goblins.
The decade is still fresh and the 2020s have a long way to go. That being said, Capcom can make magic happen in many ways. Whether its making Street Fighter VI the sequel with proper netcode or reviving more of their old franchises, while following up with their recent successes. We won't know for a while. They've brought major success with Monster Hunter World, a series which has indeed remained successful over the decade. But we would also like to see more of their classic franchises return to form.
If nothing else, hopefully Capcom will announced Ace Attorney 7 at this year's E3. Four years is the longest we've gone without a new game and I'm starting to feel its effects.
I hope you enjoyed my look at Capcom's revivals. Which game were you most excited to see return? What do you want to see revived? Let me know in the comments below.
*All pictures courtesy of Capcom
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