Vampire Savior

"A solid game in itself, that sets itself apart from Street Fighter"

I was on of the people that got into the DarkStalkers series quite late, when the 1st 2 games were already out. But when I did finally get into the series, I was glad I did…

Vampire Saviour is a brilliant arcade game. Period!

The first things that players will notice are the sexy graphics. This game’s graphics are just damn sexy. Many people even thought that the game was running on CPS-3 (the powerful 2D arcade hardware which runs Street Fighter III) and not CPS-2 (the arcade hardware which runs almost all of Capcom’s 2D games such as Alien VS Predator, Marvel VS Capcom and the Street Fighter Alpha series). The games’ graphics really are something special. The stages themselves are also breath taking, so it’s a real shame that there are only a few of them and that many of the characters share the same stages. One in particular that really is impressive to look at is “Felicia’s stage” called “The tower of arrogance.” The perspective is very unusual and takes a long while to grasp. When fighting you think that you are beneath a tall building, or on top of a building, but in fact you are on the ‘side’ of a building. It’s very surreal, but very unusual and refreshing and great to look at. There are many eye opening stages and this is but one of them. The only negative thing I have to say about the graphics is the form of inconsistency in the character sprites. Some characters have bold black outlines and others don’t. You can have 2 characters fighting on screen and yet it looks like the 2 of them are from completely different games. It’s very strange and feels very inconsistent, but isn’t something many will notice.

The character roster is impressive. Some of the characters however don’t seem to fit into the game as well as others. Morrigan (a succubus; an eternal female demon who seduces men in their sleep and steals their souls) and Demitri (a male vampire) are 2 of some of the most popular characters within the DarkStalkers games amongst others. Then there are those that seem to have been flung in the game during late night sessions at Capcom HQ when staff was smoking some head-tripping pot. The game features a Sasquatch named…wait for it….Sasquatch. A Sasquatch (or Yeti if you prefer) would have suited the game, but the only problem is that Capcom’s Sasquatch comes off too small, cute and cuddly as opposed to large, menacing and brute. The worst character in the game (for those who have the Saturn or Dreamcast version of the game) has to be a robot. I’m not even gonna tell you name of the robot, ‘cos it’s irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that a robot should not be in a game that is supposed to be about a slugfest between characters from the Dark realm. It’s like having tits and bum in a Mario game. It just doesn’t fit. Another character is an Inferno (Soul Calibur) / Cinder (Killer Instinct) type character that is made up of pure energy named ‘Pyron’ (who was the last boss in DarkStalkers 1 and Vampire Hunter). Once again, he just doesn’t fit into the game. He could have been done in a fashion with coincides with the games style, but he was done badly. These robot and fire atrocities however are only in the Saturn and Dreamcast versions of the game, so obviously Capcom realised that these characters were crap and didn’t want to grace the arcade version with these pieces of doo-doo.

I didn’t have to start a new paragraph, but I had to give Jedah that respect. This guy truly does deserve his own paragraph. He is easily one of the best characters created within a beat ‘em up game. He is evil, menacing and one sick mutha-f**ka. His attacks are BRUTAL and highly embarrassing to get caught in. However, even I had to sit in awe and give the guy (or creature rather) respect as he kicked my ass, cos he looked good while doin’ it and did it with style and in a way that wasn’t cheap. Jedah is one of the best characters in the game and is selectable from the start. He is the last boss for most characters, but like Street Fighter Alpha some characters fight other characters as their last boss, instead of all fighting the same final boss. Jedah is just straight up cool and has some of the best super attacks I’ve ever seen. If anybody has seen a super attack as cool as watching Jedah throw his opponent on their own death certificate and steal their soul whilst doing so, I’d like to know. (My e-mail address is jc8701@aol.com).

The fighting engine has more in common with the Marvel VS Capcom series, than Street Fighter. The moves are very over the top and the combo system also works in the same way the Marvel VS Capcom series’ works. (The ability to do Light > Medium > Fierce combos and the “zig-zag” effect combos). The only difference though is that you can’t super jump. Also, the round system is different and works in a similar fashion to Killer Instinct, where when a player is K.O’d, they fall over and are given a new energy gauge, where as the victorious player keeps their energy gauge from the previous round. This can be advantageous if you are in the lead, but can be a real pain if you are the one who loses the 1st round. The attacks in the game are basically the same as Street Fighter and many of the other 2D beat ‘em ups out there besides. You get 3 punches and 3 kicks, each varying in strength and range, which ascend in order from left to right. All the specials are executed via circular movements on the joystick. So performing the same movement you would to pull off a fireball, dragon punch or hurricane kick in Street Fighter is guaranteed to get out a special move in this game. The game also contains super attacks which are done the way you perform a them in the Street Fighter Alpha series, which is a case of doing a fireball motion on the joystick twice and them pressing an attack button ‘OR’ the Marvel VS Capcom way, where you do one fireball motion on the joystick and press 2 punch or 2 kick. The only problem with these attacks in this game is that there is no indication that the super is about to be unleashed. In the Street Fighter Alpha series or Marvel VS Capcom series, the screen blacks out temporarily and the move charges for a split second. In Vampire Saviour the super just unleashes itself, in a similar fashion to X-Men: Children of the atom. The only indication you have that the attack is a super is ‘A’ if the move connects (TRUST ME. You’ll know when you have been hit by a Super) and “B” because the character will flash multi-coloured as the super is in motion. The super attacks in this game are MAD; I won’t describe them all to you, but know that these super’s aren’t just your average souped up fireball or combo. One super which I HAVE to describe is Lilith’s, where she throws a top hat at her opponent and if it catches them they are put on a podium which says “GAME SHOW” on it and the opponent is dressed in a top hat and a black cane. A diagram shows up on the left with the punch buttons and 3 kick buttons and the player controlling Lilith can press and of the attack buttons which causes the opponent to dance and pose and the she rates their performance. The damage is extremely weak, but the move will cause some laughs. I have no idea how this super works exactly, but it seems to be a “Dance, Dance Revolution” type game you have to play. (!) Another cool attack feature in this game is the ES attacks (Enhanced Specials). These are done by performing your characters special attack, but by pressing 2 of the punch or kick buttons instead of one. Every character has an ES attack for each of their special attacks. You know when one of these has been pulled off ‘cos your character will turn blue and their voice will echo as the move is executed. The coolest feature however is the Dark Force mode. Every character has a Dark Force and pressing any 2 punch and kick buttons of the same strength simultaneously will execute this. The character will be transported to the Dark realm and be given a unique power temporarily and these vary from character to character. (For example; Morrigan attacks with a mirror image, Jedah can fly and Felicia attacks with a little sidekick). *Like all Capcom’s beat ‘em ups these attacks consume a level on your Super Gauge, which can be maxed out all the way up to Level 99. Though no match will ever go on long enough for a stock to reach this level*

A mention has to go the music also. The sound in this game is amazing! The second you put in you money you are greeted with an extremely dark, loud sound which let’s you know you’re in for a treat. The music in the game is well composed and suits the style of the game. Those who have played DarkStalkers games in the pass won’t experience anything new, but those who have only played Street Fighter should expect a different kind of sound when it comes to the music, which is all funky and very up tempo. The character select screen has one of the best tracks I’ve heard in a game. (Hear it for yourself and you’ll find out why). The character voices are well-done and very unique to each individual.

So, what you have here is a fantastic game. No sequel has been done to this game yet, but I do hope Capcom will consider doing one, as this is one of the few franchises & series that Capcom has created which deserves one and hasn't been given one. Street Fighter is getting a bit stale now and it would be nice to see the DarkStalkers series evolve and get another worthy sequel. A great game worth your pennies and quarters if you see it in your local arcade and worth gettin if you manage to see it cheap on PlaySatation, Saturn or Dreamcast.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/17/03, Updated 01/17/03