Here are eight dormant Capcom franchises that should come back in the next couple of years.
Dino Crisis
The premise of Dino Crisis is simple - Resident Evil but with dinosaurs. The first Dino Crisis game, which was created by the same guy behind Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, was released back in 1999 for the PlayStation and got positive reviews from critics and sold millions of units. Naturally, this led to the creation of multiple mainline sequels in 2000 and 2003. The latter effectively killed any hopes for the franchise. Instead of focusing on the survival horror aspect that made the first two games so memorable, Dino Crisis 3 was an action-adventure game that pit players against dinosaurs but in space. With Resident Evil 9 likely many years away, Capcom could tide survival horror fans over by giving Dino Crisis a modern facelift. If nothing else, a Dino Crisis reboot could ride on the hype generated by Jurassic World Dominion, which will premiere on June 10.
Mega Man Legends
Losing Keiji Inafune effectively killed the Mega Man brand. However, after 2018’s Mega Man 11 debuted to such strong reviews and sales, maybe there’s still hope for a new Mega Man game. If this happens, we’d prefer Capcom do Mega Man Legends instead. Both Mega Man Legends games were such a departure from the franchise’s established formula and would probably fit perfectly in a market looking for a different kind of open-world title if done right. At the very least, Capcom owes it to the series’ long-time fans to see if Megaman is still alive after being stuck on the moon for so long. Poor guy’s been trapped there since 2000.
Darkstalkers
For a time, Darkstalkers was as big of a hit in arcades as Capcom’s marquee fighting game series, Street Fighter. Furthermore, Stalkers was the first Capcom fighter to use 16-bit animation while its gameplay heavily inspired future Capcom mega-hits like 1995’s Street Fighter Alpha and the Marvel Vs. Capcom games. Unfortunately, Darkstalkers never really got the love that it deserved despite the warm reception that 2013’s Darkstalkers: Resurrection, a remaster of the first two Darkstalker games, got from critics and audiences alike. It’s such a shame that Capcom hasn’t invested in Darkstalkers as much as they should. More gamers need to know that Darkstalkers is more than just its flagship characters, Morrigan Aensland and Jedah Dohma, which are staples of Capcom’s Marvel Vs. Capcom games.
Power Stone
Power Stone stood out in a sea of 2D fighters back in the 90s by doing two things: using a three-dimensional arena as a fighting area and letting players use the environment. Oh, there was also the titular “power stone” gimmick that let anyone who collected three power stones transform and become more powerful. Capcom could use the power of next-gen consoles to create an expansive Power Stone game with a more detailed environment to go along with its unique arena-style combat.
Breath of Fire
Just in case Capcom hasn’t been keeping its ear on the ground, JRPGs are cool again. So, why aren’t we hearing news about Capcom bringing back Breath of Fire? Sure, there was 2016’s Japan-exclusive Breath of Fire 6, which was a mobile game, but doesn’t a classic like Breath of Fire deserve to have a proper installment on a modern console like the Nintendo Switch? We’d understand if Capcom was hesitant to release a new Breath of Fire game if at least one installment didn’t do well, but all mainline installments are highly regarded among gaming circles. So, what gives? We don’t know. We’re hoping that Square Enix’s decision to remaster Chrono Cross lights a fire under Capcom and makes them want to bring back their only notable RPG franchise outside of Monster Hunter. In the meantime, you can check out these modern JRPGs that you might have missed.
Rival Schools
Technically, Capcom hasn’t forgotten Rival Schools. The fighting game series shares the same world as Street Fighter, so by association, Rival Schools is still alive. Not to mention, Capcom added Akira, one of Rival School’s main characters, to Street Fighter V last year as part of the game’s fifth season of DLC content. But, while Rival Schools hasn’t completely fallen from Capcom’s radar, the game deserves a bit more recognition, especially as it was widely considered more popular than Street Fighter at some point in the 90s. If it’s any consolation, Akira was quite popular among fans in Street Fighter V, so we might just see more Rival Schools characters appear in Street Fighter VI.
Lost Planet
You could argue that Capcom was right to forget about Lost Planet. The series, which is surprisingly three games deep, never really could get its identity right. The first game from 2006 was a shooter while the sequel in 2010 tried to incorporate elements from Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise then, in 2013, Capcom tried to tug on the heartstrings of gamers with a narrative-driven adventure with Lost Planet 3. While none of the three Lost Planet games were critical darlings, each one did sell millions of units, so it wouldn’t be a bit idea to revisit the franchise with a fourth game that could maybe tie all the successful elements of all three games together for a current-gen console.
Strider
For a group of skilled warriors that are best known for stealth and assassination, ninjas have been on the forefront of mainstream media a lot in recent years. There are the rival ninjas of the live-action Mortal Kombat adaptation, which just got a sequel. Meanwhile, games like Overwatch and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have put the spotlight on shinobis once again. It should stand to reason then for Capcom to bring back one of gaming’s original ninjas. After a successful reboot in 2014’s Strider, Capcom could use a sequel that further refines the improvements that the reboot made to create another modern classic.
