Capcom is one of the most legendary Japanese developers still in the game, starting their legacy in 1979. Nowadays, they are known for Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, but back in the day, they used to pump out more games. Capcom is sitting on a gold mine of franchises that other developers would assuredly love to get a crack at, from Dino Crisis to Mega Man.
Best Capcom Game On Every Nintendo Console
From Resident Evil to Mega Man, these are the Capcom games from each Nintendo console that left a lasting impression on fans.
Franchises aside, there are also individual games that don’t get talked about as often as the greats. From the NES to the DS, Capcom has forgotten gems on all platforms out there. It may be hard to find and play these games on modern consoles, but where there is a will, there is a way.
Goof Troop
A Shinji Mikami Classic
Goof Troop
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
When it comes to Capcom-made Disney games, most remember DuckTales or Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers. One of the unsung heroes of this era is Goof Troop, a top-down action-adventure game with a heavy emphasis on puzzles.
Goofy and Max are trapped on an island full of pirates and have to escape one puzzle area after another. It’s notable because Shinji Mikami worked on it before he went on to make Resident Evil for Capcom, and it’s easy to spot some ties between the two games.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
A Great Movie Sequel
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge
- Released
- October 10, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
Fans have been clamoring for a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas for ages, but unbeknownst to them, there was a great sequel via a video game already. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge was made by Capcom for Disney, featuring Jack as the protagonist who has to stop Oogie Boogie from returning.
It’s a 3D action game wherein players get a sticky slime substance to whack enemies and solve puzzles, and there was a Game Boy Advance version too. It was no Kingdom Hearts in terms of a collaborative effort, but it was a decent action platformer and sequel to a classic movie, all the same.
Chaos Legion
Action-Based Persona
Chaos Legion
- Released
- March 6, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
Chaos Legion was a one-off action game that was released initially for the PS2 before getting a PC port later. It seemed like an answer to Devil May Cry with similar fast-paced action, with a little bit of Persona or Pokemon thrown in as well. Players could gain alliances with Legions, which were demonic soldiers that fell under base classes.
There were full-on attackers along with bowmen who hung back to pick off enemies. Leveling up these Legions was an addictive gameplay loop to create a cool army of demons, and sadly, no sequel was ever made.
Destiny Of An Emperor
Turn-Based Dynasties
Destiny of an Emperor
- Released
- May 19, 1989
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Tactical
Destiny of an Emperor was an NES RPG, one of the few that Capcom ever made during this era. Based on Chinese mythology, fans of the Dynasty Warriors or Romance of the Three Kingdoms franchises would recognize some of the families and characters within, like Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu.
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Battles were turn-based, with armies of the principal characters representing their HP. The town and overworld maps were similar to Dragon Quest, and while it was a simple RPG, it was still better than most on the NES.
God Hand
The Power Of My God Hand
God Hand
- Released
- October 10, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m // Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Beat 'Em Up
God Hand is another Shinji Mikami joint, which he directed as part of Clover Studio, which was funded by Capcom. It’s one of the more bizarre games in Mikami’s catalog, with the protagonist, Gene, possessing a powerful, spirited arm called the God Hand.
It was a 3D brawler for the PS2 at its core, set within a Western motif, and it is filled with wacky characters and cheesy dialogue. Perhaps the best part of the game is the final dance number and song that will get stuck in the heads of players like a true earworm.
Under The Skin
Aliens Among Us
Under the Skin
- Released
- October 12, 2004
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Capcom Production Studio 4
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
Under the Skin, not to be confused with the later Scarlet Johansson film, stars an alien sent to Earth to conquer it. In each mission, players are tasked with creating as much chaos as possible. Players can take on the form of any human and then do everything from punch other NPCs to blow parts of the city like fire hydrants.
The coolest addition to the game is the Resident Evil section, wherein players could meet Jill Valentine and Nemesis to create some chaos in Raccoon City, but overall, this is a cute chaos simulator for the PS2.
P.N.03
One Of The Capcom Five
P.N.03
- Released
- March 27, 2003
WHERE TO PLAY
P.N.03 was part of the Capcom Five, a group of GameCube-exclusive games that were supposed to help the hardware. Also directed by Shinji Mikami, the game can best be described as a stylish shooter as the protagonist, Vanessa, sort of dances around the battlefield as she fires lasers in place.
As stylish as the game is thanks to Vanessa’s hip swings, it is a dull-looking game overall without much color beyond grays and whites. It’s an arcade-style experience with action first and story falling by the wayside, but Mikami fans would surely enjoy the weirder aspects of it.
E.X. Troopers
A Hidden Gem
E.X. Troopers
- Released
- November 22, 2012
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- HexaDrive
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Shooter
E.X. Troopers was a spinoff of the Lost Planet series, which Capcom developed as a way to fight alien bugs in space. Capcom focused on the 3DS version while another company, HexaDrive, finished the PS3 version.
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Both games are virtually the same, and what sets them apart from the main Lost Planet games is the manga-inspired visual style and more heated action. While players could import either version of this game, they were never officially released outside of Japan, like many of Capcom’s gems.
Strider (2014)
A Ninja Metroidvania
Strider
- Released
- February 18, 2014
- ESRB
- E 10+ // Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language
- Genre(s)
- Action, Platformer
Strider began as a manga before Capcom turned it into a game series that thrived mostly in the 90s. Like most ninja games of this era, Strider eventually fell by the wayside, but this 2014 reboot was meant to revitalize the brand. It was developed in collaboration with Double Helix Games, a California-based company that specialized in putting a Western spin on classic Japanese franchises, including Silent Hill: Homecoming and Front Mission Evolved.
The 2014 Strider game is probably their best work, as it was a Metroidvania with slick action, great power-ups, and intense speed that is still fun and easy to play nowadays.
Exoprimal
Not Quite Dino Crisis
Exoprimal
- Released
- July 14, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
Exoprimal is one of Capcom’s latest experiments that didn’t create a phenomenon. It was a multiplayer-focused game wherein players put on mechanized suits and were dropped into time distortion zones to take care of dinosaurs that were literally falling from the sky.
It wasn’t tied to their other big dinosaur game, Dino Crisis, which could have helped it a bit. While the road map for updates was thin and the player base wasn’t full, for what it was, Exoprimal was fun as an oddity.
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