A new era

Age of the Geek Column: It's been a good year for Capcom so far.
First they came out swinging with the nearly perfect remake of "Resident Evil 2," and now, just weeks later, they've got another hit on their hands.
"Devil May Cry 5" is the much anticipated latest entry in Capcom's landmark spectacle fighter series. The game, as apparent by the title, finally continues the story of the demon hunter Dante, last seen in 2008's "Devil May Cry 4." That is unless you count Capcom's heavily lauded attempt at a reboot in 2013, which most fans would rather not do.
Ten years is a long time to wait between sequels, but "Devil May Cry 5" is just the latest in a string of home runs that developer Capcom has made in recent times.
A heavy hitting player in the games industry since the 80s, Capcom is responsible for some of the most iconic and longest lasting franchises in video games.
However, the last decade or so has not been kind to the company, at least as far as their reputation for producing quality content and being good stewards of their beloved franchises goes.
Most notably with their ongoing neglect of one of their oldest and most iconic properties, Mega Man.
Capcom's neglect of the Mega Man franchise became a running joke as the company inexplicably ceased development on one of their oldest properties. Between 1987 and 2010 Capcom developed more than 50 games for the franchise, including spin-offs, spin-offs of spin-offs, and spin-offs of those spin-offs. Then, for about eight years, there was nothing. The franchise's 25th anniversary came and went without so much as an announcement for a new game. Instead, Capcom licensed and distributed a short little fan-made game, the video game equivalent of asking a stranger on the street to write a love-letter to your wife on your behalf.
If it weren't for Mega Man appearing as a guest fighter in "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS," he would hardly have a presence at all in the gaming world.
It was during this drought that former Capcom developer Keiji Inafune struck out on his own to develop "Mighty No. 9," a new franchise that tried to be a spiritual successor to Mega Man, even if it didn't fully hit its mark.
Finally though, in 2018, Capcom came through with the release of "Mega Man 11." The game didn't set the world on fire, but it was a nice return to form for a franchise that had been MIA for the better part of a decade.
And while the Devil May Cry and Mega Man franchises suffered from neglect over the last several years, other franchises probably could have used fewer games. The Resident Evil series was riding high coming into 2010, but the next seven years would produce the critically panned "Resident Evil 6" and not one but two tragic attempts at making an action heavy team shooter.
It wouldn't be until 2017's "Resident Evil VII" that the franchise got its first unambiguous hit in years. Now, recently followed up by the incredible remake of "Resident Evil 2," the franchise is in the best state it's been since the turn of the century.
I don't know what happened at Capcom in the last couple years, but whatever it was, it worked.
If you were to tell me in 2016, right after the laughable launch of "Street Fighter V" where Capcom released the latest entry in the grandfather of all fighting games without an arcade mode, that within three years there would be solid new entries in the Devil May Cry and Mega Man franchise and two incredible new Resident Evil games, I probably wouldn't believe you.
But here we are, and all the better for it.
In a time where we're used to companies cashing in on our nostalgia and abusing brand loyalty (looking at you, Konami), it's pleasantly refreshing to see that Capcom has pulled themselves out of their long funk and have seemingly entered a new renaissance.
Let's just hope they can keep it up.
Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and wouldn't be surprised to see Lost Planet get a surprise new entry relatively soon.