Capcom's been more than a Japanese publisher and developer for the last 38 years. Capcom's managed to not only introduce us to great new worlds and dazzling characters, but they have created franchises that have stood the test of time. There are tons of companies that create new games hoping that they're successful enough to become franchises, but there's only a handful that can do it over and over again. Capcom's managed to deliver staples in the fighting and survival-horror genres. Street Fighter and Resident Evil didn't just take place in these genres, they set the golden standard.
Every company is prone to having a failure every now and again. Some people feel, however, that Capcom tends to play a little fast and loose with its IP. It's an interesting place to be in considering some companies receive complaints based on letting their franchises become stagnant. Resident Evil 6 is a glaring example of providing an experience that doesn't necessarily match up with fans expectations of the franchise. Some people considered it to be a great game, but Capcom decided to turn the survival-horror classic into an action based shooter. Capcom has taken their known properties and experimented with various mechanics and genres over the years. Some of these have managed to breathe fresh air into a dormant and stale experience, while others have been considered the downfall of their respective series. Let's take a look at some of the greatest successes and failures that Capcom has delivered to gamers in their iconic and storied history.
15 Best: Dragon's Dogma
Dragon's Dogma is a perfect example of a Capcom game that was loved in Japan but didn't seem to see the same sales success in the West. The original version of the game sold over 400,000 copies and was regarded as the fastest-selling new IP in Japan. The updated version of the game, Dark Arisen, found better critical success as well as sales numbers in the United States. It quickly became Capcom's best PC launch and was lauded for improving framerate and fixing the issues the original release suffered from. Due to its success, Capcom has stated they would consider doing a sequel and have actually released an MMO-style game in the franchise, Dragon's Dogma Online, in January 2016. Here's hoping we see more from this under-appreciated action role-playing game.
14 Worst: Lost Planet 3
This franchise as a whole, despite having a decently sized fanbase, has been a letdown and never really reached its potential. The franchise was criticized for lacking a strong narrative and never really did anything great. As the Lost Planet franchise continued, it seemed that the critical reception was steadily declining alongside the releases. The third entry, Lost Planet 3, though receiving praise for putting a stronger emphasis on story, had the lowest cumulative score and ultimately seemed to kill the franchise immediately. There's been no sign of a revival and a promising film adaptation of the series simply faded into nothingness. Don't be surprised, however, if Capcom takes another crack at developing or publishing another game in the series via a 4th installment or possibly a complete reboot.
13 Best: Okami/Okami HD
You can't make a list comprised of the best Capcom games and not mention either iteration of Okami. It's easily one of the best PlayStation 2 games and arguably the greatest game in which you play as a dog. Okami received countless awards and was the beneficiary of numerous high scores in regards to reviews. Players controlled the Japanese god Okami Amaterasu, in the form of a stellar looking white wolf. The games art direction and unique style lent itself to the immersion and fluid gameplay. There's never really been a game that looks anything like
Players controlled the Japanese god Okami Amaterasu, in the form of a stellar looking white wolf. The games art direction and unique style lent itself to the immersion and fluid gameplay. There's never really been a game that looks anything like Okami. It's still regarded as one of the games with the highest potential to succeed as a franchise. Fans of the original can be seen begging Capcom in forums and message boards across the internet for a home-console sequel of some kind.
12 Worst: Devil May Cry 2
Devil May Cry 2 is an interesting game in the series, and its development is equally as interesting as the game's narrative itself. The game didn't review as well as Capcom hoped it would. Amongst the numerous problems reviewers had with the game, it seemed that there were two glaring issues. The first is that the game was simply easier. The original Devil May Cry set a standard for difficult, and it felt to many that appealing to a wider audience compromised the sequel. Many people also discussed the feeling of a lack of refinement in terms of the gameplay. A lot of fans and critics alike felt that these issues were caused by one of two things.
Capcom either decided to take Devil May Cry and have it appeal to the widest demographic, or they rushed out a sequel to benefit off of the success of the first game. Either way, it seemed that Capcom paid attention and consistently tried improving the experience.
11 Best: Onimusha
Onimusha is a game that simply gets lost amongst the countless great games Capcom has delivered. As of 2012, Onimusha was actually Capcom's 6th biggest franchise. This is a series that not only captured the attention of critics, but fans have also been eagerly awaiting a follow-up in the series. The original game in the series has been praised countless times for its focus on action. Though the first two entries were criticized for forcing players to use the d-pad to move, the games never received an aggregate score lower than an 80.
We currently live in a world where Shenmue 3 is in active development thanks to a fervent fanbase, so anything's possible. Thanks to Kickstarter it seems that the possibility of willing something into existence is higher than ever.
10 Worst: Clock Tower 3
Clock Tower 3 isn't one of Capcom's worst games based solely on review scores. The game actually received a lot of scores ranging from 60-69, which isn't a shockingly low score. This game is one of Capcom's largest commercial failures in terms of what they expected it to sell, and how many units were actually purchased. Capcom felt that Clock Tower 3 would sell upwards of 450,000 copies and be one of the largest Japanese releases in 2012. By the end of the year, the game had only amassed a total of 78,000 copies sold. Over the next couple of years the game would sell an additional 40,000 units but ultimately manage to sell less than 45% of Capcoms estimated sales expectations. This drastic failure in terms of sales is probably the reason we haven't seen an entry in the series since.
9 Best: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Phoenix Wright games have not only been a staple in Capcoms yearly catalog, but they've also been a constant in the hearts and minds of Nintendo handheld owners. The games have never really been the recipients of countless awards and accolades, that being said, they've created their own niche genre and have found their way into the hearts of thousands. The first game in the series released on Nintendo DS to mixed reviews but sold favorably well. It was one of Capcom's more successful launches in terms of new IP and created a franchise they would support for years to come. Look for Capcom to take advantage of the shallow game library on the Nintendo Switch and hopefully deliver gamers a great Phoenix Wright experience that takes advantage of the boost in power and the creative sparks the hardware itself can create.
8 Worst: Dino Crisis 3
How can you mess up a game with dinosaurs? Well in 2003 Capcom found a way to do exactly that. Many people felt that Capcom took what could have been a great opportunity to advance the series, and simply squandered it. There were many glaring issues with the game but none more prevalent than the infamous camera system. The camera system in Dino Crisis 3 was so bad in fact, that IGN named it "The Worst Camera Ever." That's not exactly an easy feat to accomplish. The game's speed didn't work well with the dynamically changing camera angles and it led to vast confusion amongst gamers. It's regarded as one of the worst sequels of all-time and like most games on this worst list, led to the absence of the franchise.
7 Best: Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age Of Heroes
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 isn't just a great Capcom game. It's regarded as one of the best fighting games ever created and the marque video game in terms of Marvels licensed ventures. The reason the game is so beloved has to do with its frantic gameplay that collides head-on with its refined battle system. The characters and setting are what made the game intriguing. Its gameplay and community turned it into the iconic fighting classic it is today. Capcom, unfortunately, lost the Marvel license after the release of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 but ten years later found another partnership with Marvel games division to deliver Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In 2017, Capcom is releasing the next installment in the series Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite. It looks to take the series back to a 2 vs. 2 environments with a heavy focus on Marvel's infinity stones.
6 Worst: Mega Man X7
Mega Man can easily be regarded as Capcom's most important franchise in terms of their impact on the industry. There are multiple games in the series that are regarded as some of the best of all-time. The Mega Man franchise has seen its fair share of experimentation and spinoffs, but nothing stung quite like Mega Man X7. A lot of the game's issues came from the idea of mixing 2D gameplay alongside 3D. Many critics felt that this was a clever idea for the long-running series, but the mechanic was too poorly implemented to function.
It's one of the lowest scoring Capcom games and remains —to this day— a serious blight on the Mega Man legacy as a whole. Capcom hasn't seemed to do much to celebrate the anniversary of their iconic platformer, but luckily Nintendo has given us a gift in the way of a Mega Man Amiibo.
5 Best: Resident Evil/Resident Evil HD Remaster
Resident Evil and its HD remake not only provided a true baseline of what survival horror can be, they repeatedly took the genre in interesting and terrifying directions. The limited save system and inventory space allowed designers to give players a true sense of vulnerability. At the time, the uncooperative and questionably placed fixed cameras lent themselves to the claustrophobic, gut-wrenching encounters.
Seeing what seems to be a human crouched over your friend's corpse turnaround to reveal its true zombie form is still one of the most iconic and memorable in-game reveals in the history of video games. With the release of Resident Evil 7, it seems the franchise has gone back to its horror roots and implemented a new first-person perspective. One can only imagine what terrors Resident Evil 8 holds.
4 Worst: Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor
Now, the Steel Battalion franchise has a storied history considering it was the catalyst for the most expensive controller ever made. It was also the beneficiary of being a title that tried to utilize the power and tools of the Xbox Kinect. The game was released to abysmal reception due to its reliance on the Xbox Kinect's accuracy. Many critics felt the game was unplayable because the Kinect couldn't accurately read the players movements. Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor managed to rack up historically low score after historically low score. It's interesting to see Capcom take so many risks with this franchise and let its success live or die based upon the performance of an external device. Will we ever see another Steel Battalion? Like I said before, Shenmue 3 is currently in development, so anything's possible.
3 Best: Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Super Street Fighter 2 is the game that will be at the top of every fighting game list for the foreseeable future. It's a master class in design and shows that if a community is fervent and passionate enough about a product, it can withstand the test of time. Heck, the game was recently ported for a release on the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It's often regarded as one of the greatest sequels of all-time and showed developers how to deliver something familiar but take it to the next level. You'll never meet a video game community that's as loyal, critical, and passionate as the one Street Fighter has had the honor of receiving. If you haven't played Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo yet, please do yourself a favor and get to it.
2 Worst: Umbrella Corps
It's amazing to see in a span of a year that Capcom delivered two games in the same franchise that couldn't be farther apart in terms of critical reception and Capcom's understanding of what fans wanted. Umbrella Corps isn't just a bad game in the Resident Evil franchise. It's a slap in the face to fans and a move so corporately slimy you can smell the greasy palms from North America.
Umbrella Corps was supposed to be an exciting multiplayer focused venture in the world of Resident Evil. What it ended up being was a rushed to market cash grab that ultimately showed what greed and exploitation could deliver. The game was lucky enough to receive scores of 50 from some outlets, while most simply stamped it with a low 30.
1 Best: Mega Man 2
Mega Man 2 isn't just the greatest game Capcom has ever made. It's the template for platformers looking to set a foundation of excellent gameplay and design. Mega Man 2 is master-class and will go down as one of the greatest video games of all-time. The franchise has seen plenty of highs and lows, but many people regard 2 as the peak of Mega Man excellence.
Mega Man 2 has inspired countless games and is responsible for setting a standard in terms of platformer gameplay and design. It's unfortunate that Capcom didn't really do much in terms of celebrating the franchise's anniversary, but gamers can get their hands on a host of Mega Man titles via the Legacy Collection on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The ports of the classic Mega Man games was handled with care and attention, which is evident in their performance on current generation hardware.