Feature: Capcom’s Tokyo Art Exhibition Is a Celebration of Gaming Greatness

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If we asked our readers to name their favorite game publishers, we wouldn’t be surprised if Capcom was very high on the list.

I’ve been playing games for years, and I always hear about this company from Osaka. They’ve actually been around since the early 80s – can you believe it? They originally started out as Capsule Computers, way back when gaming was really taking off.

We recently had the chance to visit Capcom Creation, a fascinating art exhibit at Creative Museum Tokyo celebrating the iconic video game company, Capcom, and its impressive history.

The gallery is conveniently located near Ginza, inside the modern Toda Building. You’ll find it on the sixth floor, reached by a series of tall, industrial escalators.

This museum feels open and modern, unlike many traditional galleries. Sony has showcased work here before – a few years ago, their interactive Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba exhibit was a big hit with fans.

This museum aims to fully immerse visitors, engaging all five senses. While the highlight of the Capcom Creation exhibition is the incredible collection of original sketches (we’ll discuss those in more detail soon), there’s much more to experience than just viewing artwork. It’s designed to be an interactive and engaging visit.

Okay, so getting in cost me about ¥2,900, which is around $18.64. It’s not super cheap, but honestly, I spent nearly three hours inside, and I definitely felt like it was worth the price of admission. It was a good time!

The exhibition starts with an introductory message and is then organized into sections called ‘Rounds’, inspired by the video game Street Fighter.

The introduction reads:

Founded in 1983, Capcom has created games across a wide variety of genres. This exhibition celebrates the creativity and dedication of Capcom’s developers, showcasing the innovative games they’ve made that have captivated players worldwide. It’s a testament to the idea that imagination is the key to creation.

The first part shows a variety of Capcom characters walking into the gallery from left to right, all created with a distinctive art style.

The game features well-known characters like Leon S. Kennedy from Resident Evil, and also some lesser-known heroes, such as Regina from Dino Crisis.

The event focuses more on Capcom’s creative innovation than its past, though it begins with a brief overview of the company’s history and its role in the video game world.

The display features an original PlayStation console, representing Sony’s entry into the world of video games. Beside it, a small television screen shows gameplay from the first Resident Evil, a hugely successful game released in 1996.

Across the wall hangs a large collage featuring logos from all of the company’s games, including popular titles like Street Fighter and lesser-known ones like Capcom Sports Club.

The company’s history shows how its popular games are connected, with titles like Devil May Cry and Dino Crisis originating from the development of Resident Evil.

The exhibit also features displays dedicated to famous characters like Ryu from Street Fighter and Morrigan from DarkStalkers. Each character is brought to life through a combination of artwork, sculptures, and props, all chosen to highlight their unique personality and appearance.

We spent several minutes admiring a wall covered in original game artwork – paintings on canvas – and were particularly drawn to pieces from franchises we love, such as Final Fight and Street Fighter. The artwork for Magic Sword has always been a favorite of ours.

Alongside the posters and paintings, there are display cases filled with original game boxes and cartridges. These often show how the artwork and packaging differed between the versions released in the West and in Japan – a well-known example is the original Mega Man game for the NES.

We were especially impressed by how the exhibition clearly explained the process of making a Capcom game.

One section of the game details how Ryu’s famous Hadoken move was created for both the newest Street Fighter 6 and the original Street Fighter 2, using flow charts to illustrate the development process.

Modern games are far more intricate than they used to be, and it’s clear how much the skill and creativity involved in game development have evolved over the last three decades.

The exhibit lets you see the difference between Ryu’s hadoken from different eras by letting you perform the move on two arcade sticks. One stick controls the modern version of Ryu, while the other controls his classic Street Fighter 2 self.

Whenever someone lands a successful Hadoken, the gallery fills with the classic sound effect, instantly giving the space a Capcom vibe – even when you’re viewing other artwork.

This game creation space also features a touch-screen where you can explore sound effects. For example, you’ll discover how large pipes were used to create the unique sounds of Dhalsim’s arms and legs.

The pixel art section details how Capcom created games like Mega Man, cleverly using the Famicom’s limited color palette and tile system to achieve impressive effects like flowing waterfalls and memorable boss battles.

You can even design your own pixel art character by coloring in individual pixels, similar to how you’d play a Picross game. We tried it with Haggar from Final Fight, and it took us a few minutes. Once you’re finished, you can scan a QR code to download your design and save it on your phone.

Capcom isn’t just updating its classic, 2D games; they’re also excited to demonstrate how much their technology has improved with 3D titles.

One display showcases Nero’s jacket from Devil May Cry 5. The actual prop was scanned using modern photography methods to create its in-game appearance.

It’s wild how much of the game’s look comes from the old days! They actually have these design docs from way back in the pixel art era – basically a character creation guide – and they still use it! It lays out everything about character proportions and body types, which is how they make sure all their characters, even in totally different games, have that same recognizable feel. It’s cool to see that consistent style, no matter the genre or what they’re going for.

The exhibition doesn’t feature much related to Resident Evil, but there’s one cool, hands-on experience – a dark hallway you walk through with only a flashlight. Unfortunately, we weren’t permitted to take pictures of it.

This device uses infrared technology to track where you shine the flashlight, activating different screens to create the effect of illuminating your environment. As you explore, you’ll face familiar enemies from the Resident Evil series, like a Licker hanging from the ceiling.

Three TV screens demonstrate how the camera angle in Resident Evil games has changed over time to create different gameplay experiences. Starting with the original game’s fixed perspectives, it evolved to the over-the-shoulder view in Resident Evil 4, and most recently, a first-person perspective.

The most impressive part of the gallery was definitely the display of original materials – design documents, sketches, character ideas, and artwork – from classic games like Street Fighter 2, Darkstalkers, Rival Schools, Final Fight, and Mega Man.

Looking at sketches of classic Final Fight moves, like Cody’s famous walk, surprisingly evoked a strong emotional response. It felt equally strange and amazing to see familiar Street Fighter 2 locations, such as E. Honda’s bathhouse stage, laid out as simple graph paper designs.

The exhibit finishes with a fun, interactive section called ‘Bonus Round’. Here, you can choose a Capcom character and strike a pose using performance capture technology. Earlier in the exhibit, there’s a similar activity that lets you experiment with facial capture – both are really cool experiences.

Before leaving, visitors can leave a message, and some are displayed on a dedicated wall. Many talented artists have already visited the exhibition and created beautiful fan art. Since we’re not much for drawing, we just wrote a short message instead.

Despite being small, the gallery was really well done. The combination of art and hands-on exhibits was perfect, and it clearly showed the evolution of game development.

From squeezing every last bit of performance out of classic consoles like the Famicom to creating stunning visuals on modern systems like the PS5, this showcase is surprisingly informative – even if you already know a lot about how games are made.

Our only minor complaint is that the exhibition doesn’t feature much about Resident Evil – there are no design sketches or artwork from that series. While Resident Evil is popular enough to potentially have its own dedicated event someday, we would have appreciated seeing some behind-the-scenes material included.

Capcom has consistently delivered high-quality games for decades, and this event proved it once again. Seeing a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s history, especially with new titles like Resident Evil Requiem and Pragmata on the horizon, was a great reminder of their continued success since the early 1980s.

Capcom Creation is currently open in Tokyo and will continue until February 22nd. Visit the official website for more details: [link to website].

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2026-02-11 23:09