Last week the news broke that Capcom is looking to revive its dormant franchises. However, there’s been no word on when this will happen, nor – and perhaps more importantly – which series will be rebooted. There are a number of infamous Capcom series which haven’t seen new releases in many years. Some of which are long overdue a comeback.
Many years ago, the Japanese developer/publisher was synonymous with groundbreaking new IPs. However, in recent years the company has rested more heavily on its most popular brands. Namely Street Fighter, Monster Hunter and Resident Evil. Even the classic Mega Man series hasn’t had a new outing on console in four years.
Thusly, this news marks a significant change. The last new IP Capcom developed was Dragon’s Dogma, which recently celebrated it’s 10th anniversary without a true sequel in sight.
Capcom Series Most Likely to Return
In order to avoid simply compiling a list of names – anyone could do that, right – we’ve done a bit of digging. We’ve spent the last week looking through trademark expirations and sales figures to bring you the most likely assortment of Capcom series comebacks. We won’t go through every single IP Capcom owns (there’s a lot!), but instead offer 15 possibilities, broken down into ‘likely’, ‘possible’ and ‘unlikely’. So, with that said, here’s our picks for Capcom series most likely to be revived:
Dragon’s Dogma
As stated above, Dragon’s Dogma recently celebrated it’s 10th anniversary. So far, we’ve seen a celebration launch on the official website, but that’s it. However, hope remains high that this is all building to something. After all, Capcom has published the original title and the revamped Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen on several formats, and even seen an animated series launch on Netflix in 2020.
Dino Crisis
This is the Capcom series that many have wished to make a comeback. And for quite some time. Dino Crisis was created by the original Resident Evil team. The series drew many similarities to Capcom’s frontrunner, and in fact brought many new techniques to survival horror predating their appearance in it’s more famous sister series. However, Dino Crisis 3, released in 2003, was not particularly well received. The series has been in indefinite hiatus since then. Could we see a Resident Evil Remake style release for the first game?
Dead Rising
Dead Rising is a Capcom series that hasn’t really gone ‘away’. It’s more just been having a long overdue nap. The last title, Dead Rising 4, attempted to reinvigorate the template. However, it became a mishmash of ideas which never truly felt cohesive. Yet, Dead Rising remains one of Capcom’s best-selling series, with over 14 million units sold so far. So expect a new title to have another crack at open-world zombie slaying in the not too distant future.
Onimusha
Onimusha is a series that has a great reputation amongst gamers. Despite the lukewarm reception to Onimusha 3: Demon Siege, a fourth title was developed. This signifies Capcom’s faith in the series at the time. The original title, Onimusha Warlords, received a HD makeover for current formats in 2019, perhaps as a way of gauging interest for more?
Power Stone
Power Stone is another beloved Capcom series from the 2000’s era. Debuting in the home via the SEGA Dreamcast, Power Stone undoubtedly followed in Super Smash Bros. footsteps as showing that fighting games could be done in many different ways. Given the recent rise in popularity of fighting games, and subsequently the burgeoning eSports sector, it might be within Capcom’s vision to attempt to expand their reach.
Capcom Series Possible for Revival
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe is a series that has been largely hit-and-miss. Debuting on the GameCube back in 2003, the series was an argument for modernising the scrolling beat-’em-up formula. It has mostly been hit with the fans, but far too often a miss commercially. Capcom could be interested in giving it another bash as development costs will likely be substantially lower than many of the fully 3D titles included here, and the rapid adoption of digital storefronts gives the publisher an opportunity for a mid-price revamp.
Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire is a remnant of a time when Capcom delved into numerous genre. Can you believe the series is nearly 30 years old? And yet, despite the innumerable Street Fighter titles we’ve seen in that time, we’ve only had six mainline Breath of Fire titles. While not one of Capcom’s best performing series, Breath of Fire is no slouch, having sold in excess of three million units. There’s an outside chance that Capcom would be willing to bet that success would continue.
Clocktower
One of Capcom’s lesser known series, Clocktower was a modest success. Four titles were released in the series, but there has been nothing new in 20 years. A co-production between Sunsoft and Capcom, it could potentially be more challenging to revisit Clocktower than many other Capcom series. However, with survival horror back in fashion it makes sense for now to be the time of revival.
Lost Planet
It may come as somewhat of a surprise, but Lost Planet ranks very highly in Capcom series sales. More than 6.4 million units to date, and that’s even with the ridiculously negative reaction to Lost Planet 3. After the co-op based Lost Planet 2 the series turned back into a single-player experience. The third title featured an everyman in space, and was incredibly well pitched for a story of survival. However, at the time games were going through a period of carbon copy muscle bound protagonists, within which Lost Planet 3 didn’t fit the mould. Here’s hoping there’s more to come from Lost Planet, and that once again it eschews trends for something unique.
Okami
Speaking of unique, Okami is one of Capcom’s most beloved bounds into the absurd. Universally acclaimed, Okami debuted on PlayStation 2 before being ported to Wii and receiving HD editions on modern formats. However, the game initially sold very poorly in Japan. It performed better in the west, and the re-releases certainly helped bring it to new audiences. Perhaps, 16 years later, it’s time for a sequel?
Capcom Series Unlikely for Revival
Bionic Commando
Capcom already attempted to revive this franchise once. Both 2D and 3D modernisations were made for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. However, the response was certainly mixed. The 3D modernisation of Bionic Commando certainly wasn’t bad, but the commercial success was. It’s not likely Capcom would want to try a second revival.
Darkstalkers
Conversely to the idea that Onimusha: Warlords‘ HD re-release, Darkstalkers has seen numerous re-packaging over the years. In fact, it’s set to arrive again next month as part of the Capcom Fighting Collection. However, in a recent interview Street Fighter 5 producer Shuhei Matsumoto stated that this doesn’t mean Capcom are interested in revisiting the series.
“We do not think that this will necessarily increase the possibility of these series being revived”
Shuhei Matsumoto, Game Informer
We can still hope though, right?
Rival Schools
Rival Schools: United by Fate is widely regarded as Capcom’s first true success in bringing fighting games into the 3D arena. Whereas Street Fighter EX tried to adapt the unwieldly formula, Rival Schools: United by Fate came in fresh and set the template for many games to follow. A sequel was launched in 2001, but since then we’ve heard nothing from the franchise. However, Rival Schools was more of a critical success than a commercial one, and given Street Fighter‘s continued success it’s unlikely Capcom would want to muddy the waters.
God Hand
Unlike the aforementioned Okami, God Hand has not benefitted from re-releases. Nor HD upgrades. In fact, to this date, God Hand is only available on PlayStation 2. Despite significant critical acclaim the game failed to perform, and has since long been forgotten by all but the most faithful. It’s possible we could see a HD re-release at some point, but don’t go getting your hopes up for a sequel.
Asura’s Wrath
Asura’s Wrath is mentioned a lot when talking about dormant Capcom series. It’s not really a series though, as only one title was ever released. And that, only on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Plus, the game tied up it’s story with a nice little bow; to the point even where DLC had to be offered as expanding on earlier parts in the story, opposed to additional content after the closing. As with God Hand, you could suggest that maybe a modernisation has been earned, but a sequel would be a stretch.
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