Capcom is a Japanese video game developer that made its name off the back of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil franchises. Over the years, Capcom has created a total of 15 multi-million-selling game series, with Resident Evil leading the way and Street Fighter only a short distance behind.
The company was huge in the arcade years, with Street Fighter arriving in 1987. They have also developed games for consoles since the early years of the home console units, with titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System and Commodore 64. That gives them a massive library of games -- both good and bad. Here is a look at the five best Capcom games, and the five worst, based on Metacritic scores.
10 WORST: FINAL FIGHT: STREETWISE (43)
Final Fight: Streetwise is an action beat 'em up game that puts the player in control of Kyle Travers. He is a street fighter and the brother of Cody from the original Final Fight series. The story has Kyle trying to find Cody while building "respect" and learning different fighting skills.
While the arcade version of Final Fight is beloved by many, the home console version leaves a lot to be desired. A different company programmed the emulation of the game. The quality is lower than previous versions, and the controls are not adjustable, making this game more frustrating than fun.
9 BEST: OKAMI (93)
Okami is a Colver Studio game that Capcom released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. With Clover shutting down a few months after its release, Capcom kept it alive and even ported it over to the Nintendo Wii. The game combines various Japanese myths and legends into an action-adventure fantasy where players control a wolf that can save the world.
Okami ended up as one of the most original games of 2006. It had a beautiful design and engaging gameplay that the majority of critics called flawless, although the difficulty level made it hard for some to really get into.
8 WORST: RESIDENT EVIL: SURVIVOR (39)
Released in 2000 for the original PlayStation, Resident Evil: Survivor was a first-person shooter based in the world of Resident Evil. Instead of being part of the mainline franchise, it was a spin-off and was also compatible with the light gun on the PlayStation.
The player controls an amnesiac protagonist who wants to learn who he is and stay alive in the process, with monsters ported over from Resident Evil 2. While most Resident Evil fans hated it due to the departure from the basic RE gameplay, it was still a decent enough shooter. However, the fun is short-lived, and the game was quickly forgotten.
7 BEST: STREET FIGHTER IV (94)
Street Fighter is the video game that made Capcom a massive success early on. However, when it comes to critical ratings, nothing matches up to Street Fighter IV, a console game released in 2009 -- a full 11 years after the last game hit stores.
The game brings back classic favorites like Ken, Ryu, and Chun-Li and adds in some new exclusive fightable characters. Released on the PlayStation 3, this game brings back the franchise in a big way with the best release since Street Fighter II, named the third-best PS3 game of 2009 by Metacritic.
6 WORST: STEEL BATTALION: HEAVY ARMOR (38)
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor was a game released by Capcom for the Xbox 360 in 2012. This is a sequel to Steel Battalion and Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, both of which came out on the Xbox. The game requires a combination of both the controller and Kinect for gameplay action.
The player plays inside a tank-like robot that has to complete missions including destroying targets and clearing areas of enemies. The reviews indicate the Kinect controls make it almost impossible to accurately control the tank. Gamers were just as angry, giving it a low 2.5 user score on Metacritic.
5 BEST: DEVIL MAY CRY (94)
Capcom had another big hit on its hands with Devil May Cry but it as the 2001 release on the PlayStation 2 that really hit its stride with critics. This original entry is an action-adventure game where Dante seeks vengeance for the death of his loved ones and heads to the demon realm for revenge.
Compared to Onimusha, critics called Devil May Cry the evolution of survivalist horror videogames and one of the best games of 2001. Metacritic reviewers agreed, giving the game a 94 rating and naming it the fifth-best PS2 game of that year.
4 WORST: CHAOS LEGION (37)
Chaos Legion wasn't that bad in its PlayStation 2 release. However, Metacritic reviewers hated the PC version of this Capcom release. Players took on the role of Sieg Wahrheit, a young knight, who faces off with an old friend in an action-adventure fantasy game.
Critics complained that most players won't care if they ever finish the game. Few, if any, will ever revisit it if they do make it to the end. Downfalls include poor graphics, boring gameplay, long loading time, and terrible camera angles making accurate movement impossible.
3 BEST: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST (95)
When looking at The Legend of Zelda, the games often rise to the top of any list when it comes to Nintendo consoles. Nintendo may be the company Mario built, but it was Link that kept it alive and thriving. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past hit in 1991 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and is one of the highest-rated games in the franchise.
Move way ahead to 2002 and Capcom teamed with Nintendo to release The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords, which made small changes when porting it to the Game Boy Advance. The re-release remains one of the top-rated games on Metacritic for Capcom.
2 WORST: UMBRELLA CORPS (38)
Released by Capcom in 2016, Umbrella Corps was a spin-off from the Resident Evil series for the PlayStation 4. While critics seemed to love most RE games, they bashed this one. The game is a multiplayer shooter where players team up to try to eliminate players on other teams.
The game was ripped to shreds by both critics and users on Metacritic. A competitive shooter, the game has been called one of the worst in the entire franchise with great ideas marred by technical flaws.
1 BEST: RESIDENT EVIL 4 (96)
While Umbrella Corps was called the worst Resident Evil game of all-time, Resident Evil 4 for the PlayStation 2 was called one of the best games that Capcom ever made. The game was named the best PS2 game of 2005.
Resident Evil 4 puts players in the character of the rookie cop from Resident Evil 2, Leon S. Kennedy. It has been six years since Raccoon City was destroyed. Leon is now a special agent for the government on a top-secret mission to rescue the President's daughter. The story is great, and the gameplay is possibly the best of the franchise.