Prologue: The Weight of a Coin
1984, Osaka. A company called Capcom stood at a crossroads. Founded in 1979, Capcom had spent its first five years scraping by on a few licensed titles, remaining a second-tier player compared to contemporaries like Namco, Konami, and Taito. No one could have predicted that over the next decade, this company would dominate the global arcade market, creating one historic classic after another.
This is not a story of nostalgia; it is a story of technical innovation, design philosophy, and business vision. Capcom redefined the standards of arcade gaming with two circuit boards: the CPS1 and the CPS2.
I. The Pre-CPS Era (1984–1987): Five Years of Foundation
1.1 The First Hit: "1942"
In 1984, Capcom released the vertical scrolling shooter 1942. While not technically groundbreaking, its commercial success was monumental for Capcom: it proved that original IP could be profitable, allowing the company to break free from its reliance on licensed games. The release of Ghosts 'n Goblins that same year further cemented Capcom's reputation: exquisite pixel art, tight controls, and a maddening difficulty—the requirement to beat the game twice to see the "true ending" was revolutionary in 1985.
1.2 The Prototype of Side-Scrolling Action: "Bionic Commando" and "Strider"
1987's Bionic Commando was a platformer where you "couldn't jump"—the protagonist used a mechanical arm to grapple and swing instead. This counter-intuitive design signaled something important: Capcom's designers dared to break the rules. 1989's Strider went further, combining high-speed action with fluid, parkour-like movement. The sheer frame count of protagonist Strider Hiryu's animations was staggering at the time—this sense of "fluidity" would later become core DNA in Capcom's game design.
But the true revolution had yet to arrive.
II. The CPS1 Era (1988–1993): The Renaissance of Arcade Gaming
In 1988, Capcom released the CP System (later known as CPS1), a hardware platform tailor-made for arcades. Its core specs seem trivial today—a Motorola 68000 main CPU @ 10MHz, a Z80 sub-CPU for audio, and 16-bit color—but in 1988, these specifications gave developers unprecedented creative space.
2.1 "Ghouls 'n Ghosts" and the CPS1 Debut
The first game on the CPS1 was 1988's Ghouls 'n Ghosts. As a sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins, it showcased the new board's power with larger sprites, richer colors, and smoother animations. The mechanic where Arthur turns into a skeleton rather than dying instantly upon the first hit reduced frustration while adding visual humor.
2.2 "Final Fight": The Game That Almost Became a Street Fighter Sequel
In 1989, Final Fight burst onto the scene. Interestingly, the game's original development codename was Street Fighter '89—Capcom had intended it to be a sequel to the original Street Fighter. However, the development team realized the direction was shifting, so they decided to turn it into a new IP.
Final Fight defined all the core elements of the modern beat 'em up:
- Three playable characters (Cody, Guy, Haggar) with balanced attributes
- A combo system (allowing follow-up attacks after launching enemies)
- Special moves that cost health (the prototype of the "panic button")
- Destructible environmental objects (oil drums, phone booths)
- Two-player simultaneous co-op
It is fair to say that every beat 'em up released in the following decade—including Sega's Streets of Rage series, Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men, and Capcom's own Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and The Punisher—was built upon the framework established by Final Fight.
2.3 "Street Fighter II": The Game That Changed Everything
If one game had to represent the Golden Age of arcades, it would be Street Fighter II (February 1991).
First, a reality check: the original Street Fighter (1987) was not actually a success. The cabinet with its two large, pressure-sensitive rubber buttons was prone to failure, and you could only play as Ryu—with the second player also forced to play as Ryu. It was the sequel that changed history.
The list of innovations in Street Fighter II is staggering:
- 8 playable characters, each with completely unique move sets, normal attacks, and special moves
- Six-button control scheme (Light/Medium/Heavy Punch × Light/Medium/Heavy Kick), creating unprecedented depth
- The combo system (though originally a bug—developers noticed that specific timing allowed for unblockable sequences during testing, and they decided to keep this "bug")
- Precise balance—not perfect, but every character had unique strengths and weaknesses
- The social aspect of versus mode: for the first time, the arcade became an "arena"
Street Fighter II sold over 200,000 arcade cabinets worldwide, with arcade revenue alone exceeding $2.3 billion by 1995. For the entire industry, it proved that games could be a "sport"—competition between humans, rather than just man against machine.
2.4 The CPS1 All-Star Lineup
Too many classics were born on the CPS1 platform. Here are some of the most memorable:
| Game | Year | Genre | Historical Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghouls 'n Ghosts | 1988 | Platformer | CPS1 launch title, stunning visuals for the time |
| Final Fight | 1989 | Beat 'em up | Defined the framework for the entire beat 'em up genre |
| Street Fighter II | 1991 | Fighting | The progenitor of modern fighting games, a global phenomenon |
| Captain Commando | 1991 | Beat 'em up | Four-player co-op, a sci-fi classic |
| Warriors of Fate | 1992 | Beat 'em up | Five playable characters, introduced mounted combat |
| Magic Sword | 1990 | Platformer | Unique partner system with NPC collaboration |
| The Punisher | 1993 | Beat 'em up | Marvel license, excellent co-op feel, refined grappling system |
| Dynasty Wars | 1989 | Beat 'em up | One of the most popular beat 'em ups in Asian arcades |
2.5 "Street Fighter II" Iterations: The "Original DLC"
Capcom's strategy for Street Fighter II is an interesting business case. From 1991 to 1994, they released five versions:
- Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991.2) — 8 characters, bosses unplayable
- Street Fighter II': Champion Edition (1992.3) — Bosses playable, mirror matches enabled
- Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting (1992.12) — Increased game speed, new special moves
- Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993.9) — 4 new characters, redrawn graphics
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994.2) — Added Super Combos and hidden character Akuma
This frequent iteration is what we would call "seasonal" or "DLC updates" today, but in the 90s, every update meant a new circuit board. Arcade owners had to pay for new boards, and players had to re-learn the changes. From a business perspective, it was a genius strategy—though at the time, many arcade owners cursed it as the "Capcom Tax."
III. The CPS2 Era (1993–2000): Peak and Twilight
3.1 Technical Leap
In 1993, Capcom launched the CP System II (CPS2). Compared to the CPS1, the CPS2 achieved leaps in multiple dimensions:
- Doubled clock speed (16MHz → equivalent performance boost under more complex architecture)
- Color palette increased from 4,096 to 16.7 million colors
- Added hardware-based graphical scaling and rotation (previously reliant on software)
- Significantly strengthened encryption (which is why the CPS2 remains one of the hardest systems to emulate perfectly to this day)
3.2 CPS2 Representative Works
| Game | Year | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Super Street Fighter II Turbo | 1994 | The peak of CPS2 fighting, introduced the Super Combo system, still recognized for its competitive depth |
| Darkstalkers Series | 1994–1997 | Unique gothic art, fluid chain combo system, character transformation mechanics, still cult-followed |
| Street Fighter Alpha Series | 1995–1998 | Prequel timeline, more anime-inspired art style, three-level gauge system |
| Dungeons & Dragons | 1996–1997 | D&D-licensed action RPG, featuring class systems, gear, and branching story paths |
| Mega Man: The Power Battle | 1995–1996 | Brought the console Mega Man to arcades with enhanced graphics and co-op |
| 19XX War Series | 1996–2000 | Vertical shooters like 19XX and 1944, the technical pinnacle of Capcom shooters |
3.3 The Encryption Legend: The War Against CPS2 Cracking
The CPS2 board contained an incredibly complex encryption system, using battery-backed RAM to store decryption keys. If the battery died (lasting about 5-8 years), the game data on the board would become permanently undecryptable—turning the board into a "brick." Capcom's official solution was for arcade owners to mail the dead boards back to Capcom for a costly re-burn.
This system wasn't cracked until 2007—14 years after the first CPS2 game was released. The cracking team used mathematical methods to reverse-engineer the encryption algorithm (rather than brute-forcing it), allowing all CPS2 game ROMs to be perfectly extracted and emulated. It remains a legend in the emulation community—solving a problem once considered "impossible to crack."
IV. Key Figures: The Designers Who Shaped the Capcom Arcade Empire
4.1 Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto
The core creators of the original Street Fighter. Nishiyama designed the six-button control scheme—inspired by his desire for deeper control in fighting games. Interestingly, Nishiyama and Matsumoto left Capcom shortly after the release of the first Street Fighter to join SNK, where they created the Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series—which later became the fiercest rivals to Street Fighter. This is one of the most famous "master vs. apprentice" rivalries in gaming history.
4.2 Akira Yasuda (AKIMAN)
Capcom's legendary artist who defined the visual identity of all Street Fighter II characters. Guile's flattop, Chun-Li's buns, Blanka's green skin—these designs, which have become global pop culture symbols, came from Yasuda's hand. He followed one principle when designing characters: every character's silhouette must be unique, recognizable at a glance even in black and white.
4.3 Noritaka Funamizu
Producer of Street Fighter II and the discoverer of the "combo system." During testing, he noticed that pressing buttons in specific sequences created unblockable attack strings, so he convinced the team to keep this "happy accident"—a decision that changed the course of fighting game history.
V. The CPS3 and the End of an Arcade Dynasty
In 1996, Capcom released the CP System III (CPS3). It possessed the most powerful 2D graphics capabilities of its time, with the Street Fighter III trilogy (1997–1999) as its masterpiece. Street Fighter III reached the pinnacle of 2D fighting game art and technology—the sheer number of transition frames in every animation has yet to be surpassed by any 2D fighting game.
But times had changed. The rise of the Sony PlayStation, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64 caused the home console market to expand rapidly, and arcade attendance began to decline year by year. Around 2000, Capcom gradually exited the arcade board business, shifting its focus to home consoles.
This was not a failure for Capcom—it was the changing of an era. The age of the arcade as the "cutting-edge gaming experience" had ended. But the legacy Capcom created on the CPS1 and CPS2 continues to influence the design philosophy of every side-scrolling action game and fighting game to this day.
VI. How to Experience the CPS Legacy Today
On Arcade Game Box, you can play almost all the classic games from the CPS1 and CPS2 platforms directly in your browser—all running on the FinalBurn Neo core, which accurately restores the original arcade board experience. No need to download emulators, no need to configure ROMs; just click and play.
If you notice the exquisite multi-layered parallax scrolling in the backgrounds, the fluid transition frames of each character's animation, or the subtle difference in feel between blocking and whiffing an attack while playing—you will understand why these designs were considered miracles 30 years ago.
