The eighth generation of consoles has been something of a revival for Capcom. The old game developer began revitalizing some of its finest franchises in the past five years, starting on Resident Evil with 2017's excellent Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Monster Hunter World came next in 2018, and it finally succeeded in bringing the popular franchise to worldwide acclaim. Mega Man 11 shocked the fandom when it came out later that same year, and Devil May Cry 5 followed it in the next. With the recent announcement of Street Fighter 6, there’s a chance that all of Capcom’s core franchises will once again set the standard for their respective genres, and fans can rest easy knowing that their beloved games are in good hands.
But as the Capcom Fighting Collection just reminded everyone, Capcom has a lot of other properties gathering dust. Old fans have been clamoring for a new Final Fight or Dino Crisis for years, and the Dead Rising and Ghosts ‘n Goblins communities would love to see their franchises come back in a big way. Even those who believe the rumors that the new Dragon’s Dogma and Mega Man X games are in development are getting a little impatient. Many other small Capcom brands have completely slipped through the cracks, leaving little hope for things like a new Breath of Fire or Strider. In the midst of all this, one franchise that really ought to come back, at least as a remaster, is Asura’s Wrath.
Asura’s Wrath Is One of Capcom’s Unique Games
Asura’s Wrath was released on PS3 and Xbox 360 on February 21, 2012, meaning it just celebrated its tenth anniversary. It was an action game developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Capcom, though that meant it wasn’t like any of Capcom’s other action games. Instead, Asura’s Wrath was designed to be an interactive anime that plays out over a season’s worth of episodes. Gameplay frequently alternates between grounded hack-and-slash segments, flying or running rail shooters, and pure cutscenes with quick-time events layered over them. It is essentially the cinematic boss fights from CyberConnect2’s Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series expanded into a full game.
That paints a very strange picture of a game, but Asura’s Wrath smooths over its eccentricities with bombastic confidence. Its world took elements from Hindu and Buddhist mythologies and blended them with science fiction to create a uniquely compelling setting. The character writing and voice acting were pulled off with aplomb, and the game’s climactic boss fights are all extremely memorable. The soundtrack, composed by Chikayo Fukuda, is also a frequently cited high point. Combine all of that with CyberConnect2’s stylized models and animations that still hold up today, and little doubt is left that Asura’s Wrath deserves to be a cult classic.
Some Missteps Were Made With Asura’s Wrath
Unfortunately, that doubt persists for several reasons. The first that players ran into was the game’s genre and formatting. Before its launch, Asura’s Wrath was advertised like any other action game, with its heavy reliance on quick-time events only being revealed at launch. Still, it was clear that the opening level was a cinematic rail shooter, so it was only after players got their hands on the game that they discovered how ubiquitous QTEs were in all modes of play. The mechanic was in vogue during that console generation, but many players found it annoying due to how often it appeared. CyberConnect2 is up there with Platinum Games as one of the best QTE designers in the game industry, but expectations for Asura’s Wrath were too divorced from the real game to appreciate it.
Aside from some controversy over the game’s constant action climaxes unbalancing the story’s pace, there’s also the matter of DLC. This was and still is a divisive part of gaming, though Asura’s Wrath tried to do it right. Two DLC episodes were rendered in hand-drawn anime style and depicted a couple of scenes implied in the base game. Two more episodes featured fights against Street Fighter’s Ryu and Akuma and were celebrated for merging Street Fighter 4’s gameplay with Asura’s Wrath’s over-the-top action. The last DLC was the most problematic as it was the true ending of the game, and was not available on disc. This infuriated some people to the point that the game lost sales and a lot of its reputation. It didn’t help that Capcom’s DLC and new-version-at-full-price practices at the time already didn't sit well with many.
Asura’s Wrath Needs a New Release of Some Kind
All of that is just more reason to bring the game back. To start, Asura’s Wrath deserves a remaster. The visuals already look excellent, and a higher resolution and possibly in-game framerate would make them timeless. The Xbox One backward-compatible version gives a glimpse of this, and it should be followed up on for all platforms. The controversial ending DLC would be included with the rest of the game like it always should have been, and the interesting bonus DLC could tag along. Improvements to the core combat may be too much to ask for, but the implementation of the PS5’s adaptive triggers and HD rumble could make it feel more satisfying. And above all else, a new release could raise awareness of the franchise and spark a true revival.
The prospect of an Asura’s Wrath sequel is an odd one, considering that the game ends on a very definitive note. There is still room for it, but something set during the years omitted in Asura’s Wrath or a wholly original spiritual successor may be more fitting. It’s also not clear who would develop this new game, as CyberConnect2 could be expected to make a similar title, but Capcom’s internal teams could produce an action game with more universal appeal. The fact remains that Asura’s Wrath is ripe for a revival, and in this era of Capcom icons returning to prominence, Asura deserves to be among them.
Asura’s Wrath is available on PS3 and Xbox 360.