As of this past May, Capcom has been in business for forty years, starting in the year 1979. They have had a huge impact on the video game industry from computer games to the arcade scene and of course to consoles.
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Today we wanted to celebrate one of their earliest achievements, which in this case are the arcades: a long forgotten tradition from the 80s and 90s. Among all of the developers, they excelled monumentally and were considered amongst the top three, right next to Konami.In this list, we will be exploring ten of the best Arcade Games the Capcom company has to offer.
10 Resident Evil Survivor 2: CODE: Veronica
What would an arcade list be without at least one light gun game? The insanely long named Resident Evil Survivor 2: CODE: Veronica launched in 2001. As the name suggests it is based off of the events of Code: Veronica.
It actually did have a home console release, but only in Japan in 2001 and Europe in 2002. It was co-developed by Namco, the masters of the light gun genre like Time Cop. Not the best in the genre, but still a pretty fun arcade experience.
9 Three Wonders
Three Wonders, as the name might imply, contains three games in one. Wanderers is an action game similar to Ghosts ’n Goblins where getting hit removes clothes. Chariot is a shooter like Gradius and Don’t Pull is a block puzzle game.
Of those three, Wanderers is the one to look at, but the other two have their charms as well. This original released in arcades in 1991, but would eventually find a home on Saturn and the PS1 in 1998.
8 Bionic Commando
Surprisingly there was indeed a Bionic Commando game that was released exclusively for arcades. Just for clarity’s sake, the arcade version hit the scene in 1987 and the NES game launched a year later in 1988.
Both share similar mechanics like the inability to jump, which is then replaced by an emphasized cybernetic arm. Instead of infiltrating bases, the version which was created for the arcade circuit featured more traditional arcade-style mechanics.
7 Progear
Technically this was only published by Capcom in other territories. It was both developed and published by CAVE in Japan. That being said, it is too good not to be on this list.
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It is one of the most recent entries on this list as it was also a 2001 release. Players can choose to be either Ring, or Bolt and can choose to partner up with Chain, Nail, or Rivet. These girls act as add-ons to the planes for different powers. The setting is like a steampunk version of World War II and it looks amazing.
6 Cannon Spike
Cannon Spike is another 2000s era arcade release. Besides the arcade it also launched on Dreamcast, which is probably how more people, played it despite it being a more rare title.Thisgames is styled as a top-down shooter that crosses over various Capcom franchises including Arthur from Ghosts ’n Goblins, Baby Bonnie Hood from Darkstalkers, Cammy and Charlie from Street Fighter, Shiba Shintaro from Three Wonders, and Mega Man.
Of all the Capcom titles to cross over, this was an odd mix, but still a pretty neat shooter.
5 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Any Street Fighter, besides the original, is worthy of a spot on this list. However, Street Fighter II is the game that started it all so we had to pay homage to the classic.
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For those unaware, it launched in 1991 for arcades and a year later for SNES, which started a landslide of other ports even to more obscure consoles like the Amstrad CPC. This game is truly beloved by Capcom and arcade fans alike and has been a staple in hobby based circles since its creation.
4 Strider 2
Of all the Strider games, this is the one to try. And this year, as of March, was the series’ 30th anniversary. Anyway this game in particular released in 1999 and debuted a year later on PS1.
When it released it, the game also contained a bonus disc with the original arcade port, but these two discs were mislabeled. In fact, this error continued into the digital release on PSN fourteen years later.Despite its amusing and confusing history, thepixel perfect sprites and the fast moving action feels at home today as much as it did back in 1999.
3 Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara
This game was originally released 1996, can support up to four players at once, and had six heroes to choose from based on classic jobs from the Dungeons and Dragons universe like the Thief, or Cleric.
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As such each class behaved differently. And like Dungeons and Dragons, the game offered choices that branched the narrative. It is important to note that this type of gameplay is quite popular in modern gaming, but it was still a relatively new concept at the time of its release.
2 Alien vs. Predator
We believe that it is fair to say that this game is, without a doubt, one of the best Capcom game ever made. It had a 1994 launch and was, unfortunately, never re-released due to licensing restraints.
Some fans have questioned whether or not nostalgia has contributed to our love of the game but its mechanics, connection to a beloved film series, and engaging gameplay makes this one of the best games of its kind.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is one of the most beloved Capcom games of all time and is considered a far more ambitious cross over that Infinity War, if we do say so ourselves. It released in 2000 for arcades and was later released for several consoles following said initial release. The best way to play the game outside of an arcade was the Xbox 360 and PS3 version; which was upgraded with HD textures and supported online matches.
No matter how one tracks this down, this is a must-play experience for fans of Marvel, Capcom, or just fighting games in general.
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