Capcom Game Reviews
Review Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (New 3DS / SNES)
Super solo fighter
The New Nintendo 3DS is a nifty device with a number of great games available, but as everyone knows something cannot be considered a true games machine unless you can play Street Fighter II on it. Thankfully Capcom has stepped in to save New 3DS owners from the taunts of ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and CD32 gamers by bringing the game...
Review Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (New 3DS / SNES)
Speedy fighting on the go
Ever since SNES games were announced as coming to the New Nintendo 3DS it seemed inevitable that Capcom would jump at the chance to flog us Street Fighter II again and - sure enough - here it is. In a surprise move they've skipped the World Warrior port and moved straight to Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, released...
Review Mega Man X (New 3DS / SNES)
Mega Xcitement
The Mega Man games provided people with enjoyable action-platforming and Capcom was happy to keep producing more and more of them to be purchased and played. 1993 (at least in Japan) saw the release of the sixth NES game in the series, but also the start of something new. Following Virtual Console releases (and a compilation) of the...
Review Monster Hunter Generations (3DS)
One to sink your teeth into
Monster Hunter Generations is, at its core, a celebratory release. With the franchise now past a decade old and starting to make notable sales progress in the West, this entry combines areas and characters from across those ten years with some new ideas. Nintendo gamers that have been following the series since Monster...
Review Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (New 3DS / SNES)
Move over, Maximo
These days, it's in vogue to bemoan Mega Man's absence from the gaming scene. Mega Man, however, is not the only franchise Capcom has forgotten; one of its more egregious crimes is leaving the mighty Knight Arthur himself by the wayside. Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts is a classic SNES title and one of the hardest games on the platform...
Review Mega Man 7 (New 3DS / SNES)
The worst Mega Man is still good
Mega Man 7 is a game that came at the wrong time. By the time of its original 1995 release fans were a bit beleaguered by continued rapid-fire releases, and interest had shifted from the portly robot that could to his slimmer, cooler younger brother - Mega Man X. If you've played one Mega Man game, you'll be...
Review Mega Man Legacy Collection (3DS)
In the year 20XX...
In the year 20XX, the robot hero Mega Man is in a strange place. For whatever reason, Capcom seems to think of the storied series as something of a relic of the past - something that inspires nostalgia and reverence, sure, but not a franchise that could compete in today's world of gritty shooters and action titles. Mega Man...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar / Gregar (Wii U eShop / GBA)
One last network battle
Mega Man Battle Network 5 changed a few things around for this series, but was mostly quite similar to its predecessor. Deciding to go for one last hurrah on the Game Boy Advance, Capcom created a sixth Battle Network game. Don't expect any big surprises though; it's still quite similar to its peers. After spending the...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel & Protoman (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Playing it safe once more
While many would argue that Mega Man Battle Network 4 brought with it some unwelcome changes, Capcom did not seem to pay much heed to fan complaints. Indeed, the fifth (!) entry is a fairly by-the-numbers sequel, featuring little in the way of changes or additions and is mostly similar to its predecessor. Mega Man villains...
Review Onimusha Tactics (Wii U eShop / GBA)
The Oni put the feud in feudal Japan
Onimusha Tactics was originally released 12 years ago, in 2003, for the Game Boy Advance. Developed and produced by Capcom, the same company that made the Onimusha series on the PS2, Tactics's gameplay and individual story deviates from the originals but retains a similar plot (involving the Onimusha and battling...
Review Final Fight One (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Still the One?
It's fair to say Capcom was on a roll in the late '80s and early '90s. During this period it pushed out some bona-fide classic pieces of software, including 1989's seminal coin-op brawler, Final Fight. Indisputably one of the finest side-scrolling beat-'em-ups ever created, it joined a rush of similar coin-guzzling titles including...
Review Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Ryu on Wii U (again)
1991's Street Fighter II is a game that got people very excited and led to a surge of interest in the fighting genre. It's also a game that got updated a lot — new moves, new characters, new speeds... — while being ported to numerous home consoles and computers. Several of those ports have seen a Virtual Console release...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 4 Red Sun & Blue Moon (Wii U eShop / Game Boy Advance)
Nothin' but net
In every long running game series, there's always "that" one game which greatly splits the fanbase. Usually due to a major overhaul of an aspect that flies in the face of series tradition, these black sheep games typically are wrongfully seen as a bad or disappointing release simply because they did something different. Mega Man...
Review Mega Man Zero 4 (Wii U eShop / Game Boy Advance)
The battle for Neo Arcadia
After three enjoyable Mega Man Zero entries, Capcom just had to sneak in one more. Released extremely late into the Game Boy Advance's life - after the Nintendo DS had already been released, in fact - Mega Man Zero 4 is the final game in the series and mostly follows along with the previous three titles. Once again...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue & White (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Gotta bust 'em all
The Mega Man Battle Network series was a brilliant idea from Capcom to offer a refreshing and unique departure from the classic action platformer, while still delivering a colourful and engaging gameplay experience. Though it wasn't the first time the Mega Man series flirted with becoming an RPG, it was by far the most...
Review Mega Man & Bass (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Here comes the bass
A brief bit of history on Mega Man & Bass. A few years after Mega Man 8 notoriously became a Playstation and Sega Saturn game, Keiji Inafune - the series' creator - felt that he still owed one more game to children that had not yet upgraded to next gen hardware and still owned only the Super Famicom. Technically a spin-off...
Review Mega Man Zero 3 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
(Mostly) Zero changes
After releasing the previous two Mega Man Zero titles and having them almost universally liked, it would've been crazy to end the series there; so, naturally, Capcom produced Mega Man Zero 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Just as before, the game follows the events of the previous instalments pretty directly. Picking up two months...
Review Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Slightly less than super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
Once upon a time when arcades were vibrant and 2D platform games were all the rage, Capcom struck gold with the original Ghosts 'N Goblins. The legendary tale of Sir Arthur and his quest to save Princess Prin Prin from demons was a huge success, but also notoriously difficult. Super tough from the off, in...
Review Mega Man Battle Network 2 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Casting a wider net
The world as portrayed in the Mega Man Battle Network series is so ridiculous and yet so outlandishly awesome that it's hard not to adore. In our boring reality, if your toaster doesn't work it means you're pretty much out of luck. In the Battle Network world, it more likely means you need to upload your virtual companion into...
Review Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS)
Digging its claws in
Monster Hunter is a pivotal franchise for Capcom, consistently delivering the company's biggest sales and securing its profits; it's a phenomenon in Japan. Elsewhere, however, it's a respectable success without truly flourishing, succeeding in capturing a relatively small, dedicated audience but struggling for mainstream...
Review Mega Man Zero 2 (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Zero times two
Just one year after Mega Man Zero, Inti Creates released a sequel for the Game Boy Advance spin-off. That might sound a bit quick, but Mega Man Zero 2 is no mindless cash-in. It took the sturdy foundation set by its predecessor and built upon it in impressive ways, while also smoothing out the rough edges. On top of that it wove an...
Review Breath of Fire (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Dragon its heels behind the competition
The age of the 16-bit RPG is well-remembered, and many iconic titles from the time are still cherished by fans to this day. From Final Fantasy III to Chrono Trigger, the genre showed genuine growth through some shining examples of emotive storytelling mixed with addictive gameplay. Not one to miss out on all...
Review Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight (Wii U eShop / NES)
Planet Hopper 1990
Capcom's Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight is an interesting game, arriving on the NES after the release of the first Street Fighter, but before its sequel hit arcades and caused an explosion of interest in one-on-one brawlers. The game's story was changed for the western release to at least try and justify the use of the name...
Review Mega Man Zero (Wii U eShop / GBA)
A side character gets a great spotlight
The Classic Mega Man Series was popular enough to warrant its own spin-off series, Mega Man X. That, in turn, proved strong enough for a spin-off series of its own, and in 2002 it arrived in the form of Mega Man Zero The Zero series spans four titles — all released exclusively for the Game Boy Advance —...
Review Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy (3DS eShop)
No appeal needed
The Ace Attorney franchise is well known but, when considered in isolation, it's a bit of an oddity. With its exaggerated characters, stilted animations and a tendency to be as wordy as a Tolstoy novel — not really, but there's a lot of reading — we'd have perhaps expected it to be a one off release in the West before being...
Review Mighty Final Fight (Wii U eShop / NES)
Looks can be deceiving
At first glance, it would be easy to mistake Capcom's Mighty Final Fight as a cheap cash-in of a superior arcade beat 'em up, with its chibi-styled characters and its seemingly limited 8-bit presentation. But while Mighty Final Fight may appear simpler than other entries in the series — game history buffs would be interested...
Review Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (3DS eShop / NES)
Little monsters
It might not be too off kilter to think that, in some alternate universe, things could have shaken out differently in Capcom’s stable and Firebrand the Red Arremer/Gargoyle would have become a bigger star. The company could have been associated more with crimson than true blue, and fans today could be crying out over the absence of...
Review Demon's Crest (Wii U eShop / SNES)
Fire-grand
Fans of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series should be familiar with the rather annoying little demon Firebrand; he would be the main reason Arthur would spend his time walking around the many levels of the games in his underwear. Capcom obviously thought enough of the guy to give him a series of his own, which began life on the Game Boy systems...
Review Mighty Final Fight (3DS eShop / NES)
Haggard by time or as mighty as ever?
Originally released for the NES in 1993, Mighty Final Fight is a home console spin-off of the original arcade classic, Final Fight. Interestingly, it came out a year after the technically superior home console port that appeared on the SNES and, furthermore, is quite a departure from the other games in the...
Review Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness (Wii U eShop / NES)
It's good to be bad
Although many people are familiar with the Red Arremers, the notoriously persistent enemies from the Ghosts 'n Goblins games, not many seem to be aware that one particular Arremer also starred in several games of his own. The first Gargoyle's Quest was released on the 3DS Virtual Console a while back, and now we've finally...
