Hideki Kamiya is a game designer most prominently known for his many years at Capcom and then for founding PlatinumGames. Outside of his work, he is known for a bombastic Twitter persona.
However, those who know him closely say the real Hideki Kamiya is different than what the Internet would lead you to believe. Regardless of who he is in real life, one fact remains undebatable; he has worked on some of the most celebrated games of the past twenty five years. The scores of the games below show that almost everything he touches is gaming gold. Here’s hoping the years to come bring more goodness from the veteran game designer.
12 The Wonderful 101 (78)
The Wonderful 101 was initially a Wii U exclusive before being remastered for the Nintendo Switch and other platforms. While the lowest scoring game on the list, it earns points for originality. Players control numerous characters at the same time, and recruit more as levels go on. The Wii U version utilizes the system’s unique features for gameplay, but it works just find on PS4 and Switch.
11 Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble (83)
Hideki Kamiya is credited as a writer on this portable Viewtiful Joe spin-off. Gameplay largely resembles the mainline entries, and the 2D brawler style translates well onto the Nintendo DS. Touch screen support is of course included. Even though the Nintendo DS is graphically inferior to its contemporary consoles like the PS2 and GameCube, the cel shaded art still manages to look stunning.
10 Resident Evil 0 (83)
While it does not appear he directly worked on the title, Hideki Kamiya is credited as crafting the original game design. The game had a somewhat turbulent development history, being planned for the Nintendo 64 before transferring to the GameCube. Switching between two protagonists is a novel idea, but its implementation is often frustrating, causing it to age worse than the Resident Evil remake, which came out at a similar time.
9 Viewtiful Joe 2 (86)
Coming off of Devil May Cry, the Viewtiful Joe series has a significantly brighter and joyous aesthetic than the 2001 action game. Viewtiful Joe 2 is the last mainline entry in the series, which is a shame because the series is a critically beloved cult classic. Hideki Kamiya wrote the story, and has stated a desire to continue the story, but this does not seem like it will happen. PS2 owners still have a beef with this game for the demo disc with a glitch that corrupted every file on a memory card.
8 Astral Chain (87)
This Nintendo Switch exclusive screams PlatinumGames. It is a stylish action game with a slight twist. Players explore the real world and solve crimes while traversing to a different dimension where combat takes place.
The protagonists are also accompanied by what is known as a Legion, hence the name Astral Chain. Kamiya was only a supervisor, but one feels his touch on the game when playing.
7 Resident Evil 2 (89)
Resident Evil 2 is Hideki Kamiya’s directorial debut, and what a debut it is. The sequel is often considered one of the greatest games of all time, improving and expanding upon every aspect of the original 1996 classic. Development infamously restarted halfway through production, leading to the early build dubbed Resident Evil 1.5, videos of which can be found on the Internet. The reset was worth it, since Resident Evil 2 still holds up today.
6 Bayonetta (90)
Many may dismiss Bayonetta for its overly-sexualized main character, but they would be fools to do so. For one, the gameplay is based around masterfully crafted combat forcing players to both focus on pulling off combos while reading enemy attacks and dodging at the same time. Additionally, the story is irresistibly charming, filled with laugh out loud comedy. At its best it feels like a late ’60s or early ’70s exploitation film in a fantasy setting.
5 Resident Evil (91)
The game designer joined Capcom in 1994, and the first project he ever worked on while at the company was the original Resident Evil. Coming out of the gate with such a popular title is impressive enough, but Resident Evil defined a genre and influenced numerous other horror games for years to come. Even after the remake on GameCube, the original still plays well and offers something unique.
4 Bayonetta 2 (92)
After the first Bayonetta did not sell up to expectations, the series’ future was in doubt. Fortunately, Nintendo stepped in and the sequel came out as a Wii U exclusive.
Sadly, despite stellar reviews, the console’s tiny install base also doomed the sequel to low sales. Bayonetta 2 is an improvement on the original in every way. Bayonetta 3 was announced in 2017, but new information has been scarce since then.
3 Viewtiful Joe (93)
Viewtiful Joe lets gamers who love movies live out their dream. An avid movie fan is sucked into the world of film and transformed into a superhero. It is a little bit like Last Action Hero. A novel idea is nothing without great gameplay, however, and the side-scrolling action made for one of the finest titles of the generation. The fun aesthetic is what one would come to expect from the creator’s future works, like Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101.
2 Okami (93)
This title stands as an outlier, but also manages to be the second highest-rated game on the list. Okami has more in line with The Legend of Zelda, being an action-adventure game with a focus on puzzle-solving. The art style is also incredibly unique, with every frame looking like a Japanese Ink Wash Painting. Like many games on the list, Okami sold fewer copies than hoped, making it a cult classic. Fortunately, numerous re-releases have made the title accessible to many.
1 Devil May Cry (94)
Playing Devil May Cry today, many aspects of the gameplay either have not aged well or have been improved upon by other stylish action games. However, it is easy to see why the game received such acclaim at release. After all, almost nothing similar had existed beforehand. Never had combat felt so smooth and natural in a video game before Dante’s debut. The engaging puzzles also makes it more engaging than other action games of a similar era.
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