Inspired by The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Aliens and helmed by the great Shinji Mikami, Dino Crisis, a property once dubbed as the “spiritual successor” of Resident Evil, now finds itself fossilized – trapped in time with no signs of life.
But recent rumblings suggest that Capcom is heavily considering diving deep back into the world of dinosaurs. This speculation started when Capcom asked fans if they wanted to see its older properties get new entries or remakes, which included Dino Crisis. Then, Jeff Grubb revealed in one of his recent Games Mess Mornings podcast episodes that Capcom may be working on something related to Dino Crisis.
Unfortunately, neither claims are definitive. Given the success of Resident Evil, a new Dino Crisis is a no-brainer. Thus, this begs the question, why is Capcom not working on a Dino Crisis remake?
Capcom has, so far, been extremely blessed with more hits than duds in recent years. For every Exoprimal – ironically, many thought Exoprimal was a new Dino Crisis game before its official name reveal – Capcom has struck gold consistently with the release of Resident Evil and Resident Evil Village, Monster Hunter: Rise, and so much more.
Still, Capcom owes it to the fans to give them what they’ve been asking for years.
First released for the original PlayStation in 1999, Dino Crisis capitalized on the success of the Resident Evil series in the late 90s. With Mikami at the helm, Dino Crisis incorporated all the best parts of the first three Resident Evil games while separating itself with its combat and enemy design as well as puzzle design that actually requires you to put in real time investigating your surroundings and going back and forth for clues.
Dino Crisis was largely considered an improvement over the first three Resident Evil games at launch and it went on to sell over 2.4 million copies, earning it the distinction as a “Premium Title” within Capcom’s ranks.
Unfortunately, Dino Crisis’ success peaked too early. After Shinji Mikami left the project, the next two games went from “Resident Evil with Dinosaurs” to “Arcade Shooter” and, finally, “Dinosaurs in Space.”
Neither Dino Crisis 2 nor 3 enjoyed the same success as the first game, which might the main reason why Capcom put it on cryofreeze.
Over two decades later, the demand for Dino Crisis remains strong. Unfortunately, there’s no incentive for Capcom to pour in a massive amount of resources to remake a series that never peaked like Resident Evil. They might have shared a similar DNA but their success are on the opposing sides of the spectrum. However, the fact that Capcom risked releasing Exoprimal, which featured a female lead that looked a lot like Regina from Dino Crisis, suggests that it isn’t above experimenting.
With that said, if Capcom is looking for a sure-fire hit, there are worse ideas than remaking the first Dino Crisis game.
Whether or not Capcom will listen to the collective plea of the internet remains to be seen. For now, you can at least make your voice heard by answering the survey.
