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POSTED: Wednesday,
March 2nd, 2022
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(3-3-2022)
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A Look Back at Capcom's Early Mobile Phone Games, Rare Kinu Nishimura Promotional Artwork
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 In
the early 2000's, before the widespread existence of smartphones that most
people have become addicted to these days, Capcom released a variety of charming
Japan-exclusive mobile games for "Java-enabled" cellular phones
— known as
J-Phone / Vodaphone. These affordable "next-gen" phones featured a camera, could send
emails, and
cost $150-$200 when they launched in 2002-2003. (Users could
also upgrade their phones for FREE when new models were released later
on.) The officially-licensed mobile games
available exclusively on these phones featured iconic characters from Street Fighter,
Mega Man, Resident Evil, Final Fight,
Ghosts 'N Goblins, and even Darkstalkers.
Before we get to the games, take a gander at a beautiful and rare Kinu Nishimura
promotional illustration featuring Street
Fighter Zero 3 characters being social on their snazzy early 2000's
flip-phones.
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This
rare Kinu Nishimura
illustration was used exclusively for promoting Capcom's mobile
phone games in 2002-2003. Does a complete "clean"
version exist? We'll keep our eyes out. (In case you
didn't notice, Ryu is actually holding "Ken's phone" and
clearly has no idea what to do with it.)  |
| This
Street Fighter boxing
game has the player battling
first-person against Ryu
and other world warriors(?). As you can tell from the screens, the
graphics differed between the J-Phone and Vodaphone versions and
were improved in updates to the game. |
 
| Next
up, Final
Fight and Ghosts 'N Goblins. *It should be
noted that these
weren't full ports of the original games, but rather spin-offs
featuring a few different enemies and stages. |
The
Toobin-inspired Wild River stars Rikuo
from Darkstalkers. Who would'a thought Rikuo got his own
spin-off game!? 
I heard this one was actually fun. 
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| A
classic card game required for any phone or mobile device... Solitaire
Fighter.
Damn, Capcom... where's the remake?! The logo and
Ryu character artwork look as if it was ripped straight from Super
Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and / or Pocket
Fighter. |
 
| A
Resident Evil 2-inspired zombie shooter game featuring
playable characters Claire Redfield and Leon F. Kennedy. Not as
crispy as the original PS1 graphics... but, y'know. |
| Another
mobile game has the player building Servbots. |
  
Mega
Man Minesweeper seems like a fun way to
kill some time! 
On the far right, another Mega Man mobile
title. (There were quite a few Mega Man games on the
platform, unsurprisingly.) We see you Roll. |
| This
one brings new meaning to the nickname Blue Bomber.
Yes, a Bomberman-inspired Mega Man phone game
existed in the early 2000's. The more you know! |
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A
space-piloting Mega Man game released in
2003.
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| Two
other card games, one featuring Ryu from Capcom's Breath
of Fire series. |
| Inspired
by Capcom's classic 1984 arcade shooter, a compact mobile version
of 1942. |
 
| Other
developers aside from Capcom also created mobile titles for the
J-phone / Vodaphone. Konami even brought their own mobile version
of Castlevania. Some of mobile games also let users
download unique ringtones and standby screens onto their phones. |
PROMO ART BY AKIKO
NISHIZAWA
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Capcom's
partnership venture with J-phone / Vodaphone and mobile game development
was considered a "vital" project at the time, lead by Capcom
President-at-the-time, Haruhiro Tsujimoto. However, the
project turned out to be a financial failure in the long run and a big
loss for Capcom. Capcom designer and director, Yoshiki Okamoto (Final
Fight / SF2 / Onimusha), stated in a video interview that he was
opposed to the project.
Even so, it's worth mentioning that these 2002-2003 phones were actually a
few notches above the technology seen in comparable phones in the West! In
terms of features, speed, graphics, and official licensing... the J-Phone
/ Vodaphone platforms were charmingly ahead of their time, but just
couldn't deliver lasting relevance in the market.
*This
article will be updated with more information and content in the future.
Thanks for reading! Keep it here on
Fighters Generation
for
more.
~TFG Webmaster, Frank Joseph
| @Fighters_Gen
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| Sources:
Capcom, Famitsu
Related
Tweets: @Fighters_Gen,
#2
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A
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