Capcom’s recent 2019 Integrated Report has stated that, based on the success ofResident Evil 2 RemakeandDevil May Cry 5, it should “awaken dormant intellectual properties.” In other words, Capcom appears to be looking at further remakes going forward, which would also fit Capcom’s sentiments last year when it told investors it would look more closely at building success onolder game properties and IPs of Capcom.
WithResident Evil 3 Remake’srelease approaching and looking to capture similar success asResident Evil 2 Remakereleased the previous year, andDevil May Cry 5seemingly reviving the series with an impressive 2.1 million copies sold, there are a lot of options on the table for whichCapcomcan build upon by utilizing hit titles from the past.
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Resident Evil 4
Perhaps the safest approach for the time being may be sticking with the tried and tested by making moreResident Evilremakes, and bothCode VeronicaandResident Evil 4would be solid choices.Resident Evil 4is one of the most renownedResident Evilgamesand part of the main series. It would likely be the obvious choice for a remake among consideration of all the Resident Evil games.
Resident Evil 4was also the first in the series to break its traditional mode and switch to a new third-person shooter style gameplay that was considered to be more action-oriented. But unlikeResident Evil 5and6, it still maintained a pace which arguably maintained some of the more slowly simmering tension that Resident Evil and the survival horror genre are iconic for.
Originally released in 2005 on Nintendo’s GameCube,Resident Evil 4is definitely showing its age and allows plenty of room for improvement. Given that theResident Evil 2and3Remake already utilize an over-the-shoulder third person view and engine that would fit in well with the original gameplay elements ofResident Evil 4without having to completely redesign the entire game, it would appear to be a fairly straight forward remake.Resident Evil 4already has the reputation of a classicamong theResident Evilseries and it would surely be a safe bet for driving sales.
Resident Evil Code Veronica
While not part of the main series, technically,Resident Evil: Code Veronicamight as well be considered part of the overall inclusion, given its deep story and fairly strong integration into the main chronology of the series' lore and plot.Code Veronicapresented one of the most unique and complex storylinesin theResident Evilseries, which gave a ton of insight into another one of Umbrella Corporation’s founders, Edward Ashford, and his family lineage.Code Veronicatook players on a grand adventure that spanned Umbrella’s Rockfort Prison island, all the way to their secret Antarctic facility.
Seeing a modern retake ofCode Veronicaand its unique settings and deep storytelling would certainly be a welcome addition to Capcom’sResident Evil Remakes.Capcom may already be testing the waters, consideringCode Veronicawas ported to the PS4.
Dino Crisis
Dino Crisis is already rumored for for a remakeand is another classic survival horror game made by Capcom, often described as being “Resident Evilwith dinosaurs.” First released in 1999 on the original PlayStation,Dino Crisisstarred multiple characters trying to take back control from a deadly outbreak of dinosaurs on an island where research was being conducted into their revival from extinction.
Given the popularity of dinosaurs lately, with theJurassic Parkfranchise fully revived in film, dinosaurs are all the rage in the entertainment industry currently. The originalDino Crisissold an impressive 2.4 million copies on the original PlayStation, and it would appear to be aripe time to revive theDino Crisisfranchise.
Onimusha
Given the recent popularity in Souls-like action-adventure games based in mythological or historical East Asian settings, such asNioh, Sekiroand the upcomingGhost of Tsushima, a remake ofOnimushacould be a smart move by Capcom. It may already be testing the waters, given thatCapcom filed for newOnimushatrademarksin 2018, and a remastered version,Onimusha: Warlords Remastered, was released last year.
In similar fashion toNiohandSekiro, many fans will recall thatOnimushawas a fairly difficult action-adventure game when it first released in the year 2001 and posed a great challenge to players requiring much mastery of its timing-based combat.Onimusha’sstory, similar toNioh, takes place during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. Players took control of the samurai Samanosuke in fighting against many demons in their adventure to save a princess named Yuki from the demons.
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Breath of Fire
ThoughBreath of Firehas mainly been exclusive to the Japanese gaming market in recent times, the originalBreath of Firewas released on Super Nintendo in North America in 1994, though it is considered a sleeper hit by many JRPG enthusiasts, especially in comparison to other SNES classics such asEarthboundandDragon Quest.
However, with the popular recent releases ofDragon Quest 11, Persona 5, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Octopath Travelerand other JRPG classics such asFinal Fantasy 7, Secret of Mana and Trials of Manaobtaining contemporary remakes, it may be a ripe moment worth capitalizing upon for Capcom to stake its claim to a portion of therevived JRPG marketin North America.
Breath of Firewould be a great option for a remake, given it can still revive some much needed 1990’s nostalgia in giving such a remake a necessary jumpstart, while designing it with new fans in mind as well. ThoughBreath of Fire 2was considered to be more polished, either games would be essentially new games under a contemporary repackging, so it may make more sense to just start with remaking the first game.
Devil May Cry 3
ThoughDevil May Crynever really fizzled out, it is safe to say that the recent release of the much acclaimedDevil May Cry 5injected new life into the seriesand not only brought back old fans, but attracted plenty of new fans as well. Given the introduction of new fans to the franchise, a remake of the originalDevil May Crymay be in order.
The firstDevil May Crywas already redone once in the form of a reboot, on Playstation 3, PC and Xbox 360 in 2013, but to many fans, the reboot missed the mark with too much reliance on platforming and the new version of Dante simply was not well received. It may be worth remaking the original iteration of the Devil May Cry once again, but without rebooting the character himself or the story, and maintainingDevil May Cry’sstylish charactersfrom the original. Giving it theResident Evil 2 Remaketreatment by updating the overall gameplay engine and world, but keeping the characters and story intact, may be the better route to initiate a second Remake done right.
Another option is to remakeDevil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, given that it is considered by man fans to be one of the best games in the series and a classic. Additionally,Devil May Cry3 was ported to Switch with new features. As a prequel to the first game, it provides a much needed backstory and would be good way to introduce new fans to the world ofDevils May Cry, especially those fans who only recently jumped into the series withDevil May Cry 5.
Lost Planet
Though theLost Planetseries never really solidified the much needed successof many of Capcom’s other franchises, the firstLost Planetis regarded by many of its fans as the best in terms of overall story.The Lost Planetseries has always been known for its high difficulty and challenge, and timing-based gameplay in learning the movement patterns and attack rhythms of each enemy, even before the term of Souls-like games were coined.
TheLost Planetfranchise offers a lot of potential, providingmech-based combatsimplified in a fast-paced third person action-adventure control scheme set in a vividly colorful frozen planet. Its insect-like enemy designs, which could be jaw dropping in their enormous size at times, are perhaps Lost Planet’s greatest standout.
With high-challenge Souls-like games gaining a foothold and proving to be popular in recent years, rebooting theLost Planetfranchise in such a landscape may prove to be a potential success, and if done right, the mech-theme and frozen alien-planet setting would certainly make it among the most unique in this action-adventure sub-genre.
With many potential options for Capcom to choose from in digging up and revamping its most standout game titles, the current industry trends in gaming offer much potential to any one of these franchises. It is difficult to predict where Capcom will head to next in terms of its remakes, or potential reboots, but based on current successes with theResident Evilseries, anotherResident Evilremake or a remake ofDino Crisisappear to be the most likely choices to go to next.
But Capcom could do well in considering any of these other titles, or plenty of others not listed. The originalStreet Fighterreleased in the 1980’s is all but forgotten, the much acclaimedOkami,Power Stone,Ghosts ‘n Goblins,other zombie games such asDead Risingand others also could arguably be worthy additions for a handful of remakes by Capcom. WithResident Evil 3 Remake’srelease just around the corner, hopefully it will not be long beforeCapcomannounces its next planned remake.
