Darkstalkers (series)
Encyclopedia
Darkstalkers, known in Japan and Asia
as , is a series of 2D fighting game
s produced by Capcom
during the mid-1990s for the CPS II arcade hardware. There have been games in the series, as well as several other works in the other media.
The series is notable for its cast of characters based on well-known fictional monster
s (hence its Japanese title, Vampire) and introduced many of the concepts used in later Capcom fighting games, including the use of 16-bit color animation sprite
s later employed in the Street Fighter Alpha and Marvel vs. Capcom series.
, Anakaris, Felicia
, Oboro Bishamon, Rikuo and Sasquatch) and two non-playable boss
characters (Huitzil and Pyron) as the final opponents in single-player mode.
The game features the same gameplay system Capcom developed for the Street Fighter II
series, but with several new gameplay features such as Air Blocking, Crouch Walking and Chain Combos. The game featured a Special meter similar to the "Super Combo" gauge from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which the player could fill up to perform a super powered special attack. Unlike the Super Combo gauge in Super Turbo, the Special in Darkstalkers gradually drains unless the player performs their super move, preventing players from preserving their super moves for later use.
The game was ported to the PlayStation in . The conversion was handled by Psygnosis. This version featured a new opening theme titled "Trouble Man" by Eikichi Yazawa
, which was used as the theme music for the American Darkstalkers animated series.
The main change in Night Warriors is the ability for the player to stock up on their special gauge, allowing them to store more than one special gauge and preserve them through the entire match. Two types of Super Moves are featured in the game: "ES Specials", which requires a portion of the Special gauge, and "EX Specials", which require an entire stock of the Special gauge to perform. Players can choose between a "Normal" gameplay style or one that offers Auto-Blocking. This game also introduces "Chain Combos" to the series.
A version for the Sega Saturn
was released in . It features an "Appendix Mode" that allows players to customize the backgrounds, the opponents' colors and background music between the regular ones and the ones used in the original Darkstalkers. Worth noting is that the Classic background colors aren't very faithful to the Darkstalkers originals. For example, Demitri's stage completely lacks the red background elements, and Sasquatch's stage has a completely different hue for the sky.
Vampire Savior eschews the traditional round-based system in favour of what is dubbed the "Damage Gauge System", where battles take place during a period of one round, with each fighter having two "life markers" (equivalent to two life bars) by default, which diminish after one character runs out of vitality. The player can also regain a portion of their life during battle if they manage to avoid taking further hits. The game also introduces the "Dark Force System" which allows players to perform special abilities unique to each character for a limited period.
A Saturn version was released in Japan only in , which required Capcom's 4MB RAM Cartridge. This version contains all 15 characters from the original Vampire Savior as well as the three Night Warriors characters who were left out of the original arcade release and brought back in Vampire Savior 2/Vampire Hunter 2. Thanks to the 4MB RAM cartridge, this version more faithfully reproduces the 2D-animation fluidity of the arcade than either of the earlier console releases. However, while Shadow is available in the Saturn version, Marionette is not.
Also in 1998, an update of the game was released on PlayStation as Vampire Savior: EX Edition in Japan, and Darkstalkers 3 in North America
. Although it is an EX version to the third canon game in the series, it is actually a compilation of Vampire Savior and its two Japan-only arcade updates. This version allows players to use all 18 characters and the two "hidden characters" (Shadow and Marionette; Shadow takes over the body of each opponent you defeat, so that whichever character you defeat in a match will be your player character against your next opponent, while Marionette mirrors whichever opponent you're currently facing) in all three games. It also features Oboro Bishamon, Dark Talbain and alternative versions of Rikuo, Victor and Lilith as playable characters.
. This version was released in North America and Europe in under the title of Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
. The PSP version includes all the features from the Dreamcast original, but the online mode is replaced with an exclusive single-player "Chaos Tower" mode.
in . This compilation features the original arcade versions of the games, as well as hidden arranged versions of the three Vampire Savior games, which introduce an alternative version of Donovan, Dee, as a secret character with his own storyline.
, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, Namco × Capcom, Gunbird 2
, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. Super deformed
variations of the Darkstalkers appear in Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix, SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
and the tongue-in-cheek puzzle game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
. Morrigan has appeared in the North American version of We Love Golf!
.She also appears as a playable character along with Felicia, Lilith and Demitri in Cross Edge
with Jedah appearing as an enemy.
Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-ko have appeared Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
for the PlayStation 3
and the Xbox 360
and in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
.
audiences. It starred a young boy named Harry Grimoire, who was created for the cartoon. Since the series was not drawn in the same anime style used to draw the game sprites, the Darkstalkers characters look noticeably different.
anime
series was released titled Vampire Hunter: The Animated Series. Viz
produced an English adaptation that was released in North America
under the title Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge.
adaptation was authored by Run Ishida and published in Japan by Ascii in 1996. This manga was later adapted by Viz Comics
under the title of Night Warriors: The Comic Series and published as a six-issue comic book
(which were later collected in a single trade paperback
volume).
A five-volume manga series surrounding Vampire Savior was created by Japanese manga artist
Mayumi Azuma
and published by Gangan Comics. It stars Lilith and an original character, John Stutely.
UDON Comics
published a Darkstalkers comic series, consisting of six issues (upon which they stopped production abruptly). They were later collected in a TPB collection, which omitted the backup stories presented at the end of each issue, and included a special Morrigan background story previously only seen in a summer Capcom special. In 2010, UDON revived the series in a three-issue miniseries entitled Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, with the first installment released in late February 2010.
In 2009, UDON and Capcom released a 15th anniversary Darkstalkers tribute book. It consists of submitted artwork from fans of the series, along with artwork from some of Udon and Capcom's own artists and several famous manga artists such as Yasuhiro Nightow
. The book was first available in August 2009 at several large anime conventions, and became available in bookstores the following September.
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
as , is a series of 2D fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
s produced by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
during the mid-1990s for the CPS II arcade hardware. There have been games in the series, as well as several other works in the other media.
The series is notable for its cast of characters based on well-known fictional monster
Monster
A monster is any fictional creature, usually found in legends or horror fiction, that is somewhat hideous and may produce physical harm or mental fear by either its appearance or its actions...
s (hence its Japanese title, Vampire) and introduced many of the concepts used in later Capcom fighting games, including the use of 16-bit color animation sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
s later employed in the Street Fighter Alpha and Marvel vs. Capcom series.
Vampire/Darkstalkers
The first in the series, fully titled Darkstalkers - The Night Warriors or Vampire - The Night Warriors in Japan and released in , features ten playable characters (Demitri Maximoff, Jon Talbain, Victor von Gerdenheim, Lord Raptor, Morrigan AenslandMorrigan Aensland
is a video game character from the Darkstalkers series of fighting games developed by Capcom. She is voiced by Yayoi Jinguji in many of her video game appearances, except in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds where she was voiced by Rie Tanaka....
, Anakaris, Felicia
Felicia (Darkstalkers)
is a fictional character in the Darkstalkers series of fighting game by Capcom She first appeared in the 1994 game Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in other Capcom games outside of the Darkstalkers series and related media and merchandise.-Conception and...
, Oboro Bishamon, Rikuo and Sasquatch) and two non-playable boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
characters (Huitzil and Pyron) as the final opponents in single-player mode.
The game features the same gameplay system Capcom developed for the Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
series, but with several new gameplay features such as Air Blocking, Crouch Walking and Chain Combos. The game featured a Special meter similar to the "Super Combo" gauge from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which the player could fill up to perform a super powered special attack. Unlike the Super Combo gauge in Super Turbo, the Special in Darkstalkers gradually drains unless the player performs their super move, preventing players from preserving their super moves for later use.
The game was ported to the PlayStation in . The conversion was handled by Psygnosis. This version featured a new opening theme titled "Trouble Man" by Eikichi Yazawa
Eikichi Yazawa
is an influential Japanese singer-songwriter, and important figure in Japanese popular music.Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter.-Biography:...
, which was used as the theme music for the American Darkstalkers animated series.
Vampire Hunter/Night Warriors
Fully titled Night Warriors - Darkstalkers' Revenge or in Japan and released in . It is the second game in the original trilogy, and introduces several gameplay changes to the series. The game introduces two new playable characters, Donovan Baine and Hsien-Ko, "Dark Hunters" who were out to hunt the other Darkstalkers in the game (hence the Japanese title, Vampire Hunter). The two bosses from the first game, Huitzil and Pyron, are now playable characters as well.The main change in Night Warriors is the ability for the player to stock up on their special gauge, allowing them to store more than one special gauge and preserve them through the entire match. Two types of Super Moves are featured in the game: "ES Specials", which requires a portion of the Special gauge, and "EX Specials", which require an entire stock of the Special gauge to perform. Players can choose between a "Normal" gameplay style or one that offers Auto-Blocking. This game also introduces "Chain Combos" to the series.
A version for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
was released in . It features an "Appendix Mode" that allows players to customize the backgrounds, the opponents' colors and background music between the regular ones and the ones used in the original Darkstalkers. Worth noting is that the Classic background colors aren't very faithful to the Darkstalkers originals. For example, Demitri's stage completely lacks the red background elements, and Sasquatch's stage has a completely different hue for the sky.
Vampire Savior
The third game in the series, , released in . The game retains the character roster of Night Warriors, omitting Donovan, Huitzil and Pyron from the lineup. Taking their place were four new characters: Jedah, Lilith, Q-Bee and B. B. Hood. It also features a secret character/mode, Shadow, where the player assumes the identity of the defeated character for the next fight (e.g. if Morrigan is defeated, the next fight the player will play as Morrigan).Vampire Savior eschews the traditional round-based system in favour of what is dubbed the "Damage Gauge System", where battles take place during a period of one round, with each fighter having two "life markers" (equivalent to two life bars) by default, which diminish after one character runs out of vitality. The player can also regain a portion of their life during battle if they manage to avoid taking further hits. The game also introduces the "Dark Force System" which allows players to perform special abilities unique to each character for a limited period.
A Saturn version was released in Japan only in , which required Capcom's 4MB RAM Cartridge. This version contains all 15 characters from the original Vampire Savior as well as the three Night Warriors characters who were left out of the original arcade release and brought back in Vampire Savior 2/Vampire Hunter 2. Thanks to the 4MB RAM cartridge, this version more faithfully reproduces the 2D-animation fluidity of the arcade than either of the earlier console releases. However, while Shadow is available in the Saturn version, Marionette is not.
Also in 1998, an update of the game was released on PlayStation as Vampire Savior: EX Edition in Japan, and Darkstalkers 3 in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Although it is an EX version to the third canon game in the series, it is actually a compilation of Vampire Savior and its two Japan-only arcade updates. This version allows players to use all 18 characters and the two "hidden characters" (Shadow and Marionette; Shadow takes over the body of each opponent you defeat, so that whichever character you defeat in a match will be your player character against your next opponent, while Marionette mirrors whichever opponent you're currently facing) in all three games. It also features Oboro Bishamon, Dark Talbain and alternative versions of Rikuo, Victor and Lilith as playable characters.
Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Savior 2
and were two simultaneously-released updated versions of Vampire Savior that were released exclusively in Japan only a few months after the release of the original Vampire Savior. Along with minor tweaks and changes to the characters' move lists, and the combo system (removal of Vampire Savior air chains) the main difference between the two upgrades and the original Vampire Savior are in its character roster. Vampire Hunter 2 features the same character roster and soundtrack as Night Warriors (which was known as Vampire Hunter in Japan), omitting the characters introduced in Vampire Savior, while Vampire Savior 2 features the Vampire Savior cast along with Donovan, Huitzil and Pyron, omitting Jon Talbain (as well as Dark Talbain), Rikuo and Sasquatch. Both versions feature Oboro Bishamon and Shadow as secret characters, as well as Marionette, with which the fights consist of "mirror matches" (e.g. Morrigan vs Morrigan, Demitri vs Demitri).Vampire Chronicle/Darkstalkers Chronicle
In Capcom released Vampire Savior 2/Vampire Hunter 2 for the Sega Dreamcast as a mail-order game via Dreamcast Direct. This version, titled Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service, allows players to select between four fighting styles based on each Darkstalkers game (the original Darkstalkers, Night Warriors, Vampire Savior and Savior 2/Hunter 2). This version also features an online versus mode. In , the game was ported to the PlayStation PortablePlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. This version was released in North America and Europe in under the title of Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower, known as in Japan, is a Capcom fighting game for the PlayStation Portable. It was released on December 12, 2004, alongside the PSP at launch in Japan, and in North America on March 24, 2005, a week before the North American PSP launch.It is a port of the...
. The PSP version includes all the features from the Dreamcast original, but the online mode is replaced with an exclusive single-player "Chaos Tower" mode.
Darkstalkers Collection
Vampire - Darkstalkers Collection is a compilation of all five Darkstalkers arcade games that were released in Japan only for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in . This compilation features the original arcade versions of the games, as well as hidden arranged versions of the three Vampire Savior games, which introduce an alternative version of Donovan, Dee, as a secret character with his own storyline.
Characters
| Character | appears in | Voiced by | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darkstalkers | Night Warriors | Vampire Savior | Vampire Savior 2 | Vampire Hunter 2 | ||
| Anakaris | Kan Tokumaru | |||||
| B.B. Hood | Miyuki Matsushita Miyuki Matsushita ' is a seiyū who is affiliated with Arts Vision.-TV Anime:* Bush Baby, Little Angel of the Grasslands * Saiyuki * The Twelve Kingdoms * Wedding Peach -Game:* Ape Escape... |
|||||
| Bishamon | Kan Tokumaru | |||||
| Demitri | Nobuyuki Hiyama Nobuyuki Hiyama is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as: Shuji Hiyama , Osamuyuki Hiyama * Year Enrolled into the Voice-Acting Industry: 1987... |
|||||
| Donovan | Nobuyuki Hiyama Nobuyuki Hiyama is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as: Shuji Hiyama , Osamuyuki Hiyama * Year Enrolled into the Voice-Acting Industry: 1987... |
|||||
| Felicia Felicia (Darkstalkers) is a fictional character in the Darkstalkers series of fighting game by Capcom She first appeared in the 1994 game Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors and its subsequent sequels, later appearing in other Capcom games outside of the Darkstalkers series and related media and merchandise.-Conception and... |
Kae Araki Kae Araki , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese voice actress. After standing in for Kotono Mitsuishi when Mitsuishi had appendicitis, Araki originated the role of Chibiusa in the same series soon after... |
|||||
| Hsien-Ko | Michiko Neya Michiko Neya is a female Japanese voice actress born in Echizen, Fukui . Neya is a freelancer, although she worked at Arts Vision.-Anime:*Aka-chan to Boku *Cardcaptor Sakura *Chrono Crusade... |
|||||
| Huitzil | Juurouta Kosugi | |||||
| Jedah | Isshin Chiba Isshin Chiba is a Japanese voice actor who currently works for Arts Vision. He is best known for doing the voice of Jin Kazama from the Tekken series.-Anime:*Aoki Densetsu Shoot *.hack//SIGN *Bleach *Chobits... |
|||||
| J. Talbain | Yuji Ueda Yuji Ueda is a popular Japanese seiyū.He is most known for the roles of Sagara Sanosuke , Akito Tenkawa , Takeshi , Horohoro , Johannes Krauser II and Keitaro Urashima .... |
|||||
| Lilith | Hiroko Konishi Hiroko Konishi is a Japanese voice actress. She is currently not affiliated with any production, and has largely retired from voice acting.- Notable voice roles :* Aida Rion in Agent Aika* Nene Romanova in Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040... |
|||||
| Lord Raptor | Yuji Ueda Yuji Ueda is a popular Japanese seiyū.He is most known for the roles of Sagara Sanosuke , Akito Tenkawa , Takeshi , Horohoro , Johannes Krauser II and Keitaro Urashima .... |
|||||
| Marionette | N/A | |||||
| Morrigan Morrigan Aensland is a video game character from the Darkstalkers series of fighting games developed by Capcom. She is voiced by Yayoi Jinguji in many of her video game appearances, except in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds where she was voiced by Rie Tanaka.... |
Yayoi Jinguji Yayoi Jinguji is a Japanese voice actress. She is recognized for her role in voicing Morrigan Aensland from Capcom's Vampire/Darkstalkers franchise. Jinguji currently works for Arts Vision.-External links:* - Yayoi Jinguji page on Arts Vision... |
|||||
| Pyron | Nobuyuki Hiyama Nobuyuki Hiyama is a Japanese voice actor currently affiliated with Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as: Shuji Hiyama , Osamuyuki Hiyama * Year Enrolled into the Voice-Acting Industry: 1987... |
|||||
| Q-Bee | Miyuki Matsushita Miyuki Matsushita ' is a seiyū who is affiliated with Arts Vision.-TV Anime:* Bush Baby, Little Angel of the Grasslands * Saiyuki * The Twelve Kingdoms * Wedding Peach -Game:* Ape Escape... |
|||||
| Rikuo | Yuji Ueda Yuji Ueda is a popular Japanese seiyū.He is most known for the roles of Sagara Sanosuke , Akito Tenkawa , Takeshi , Horohoro , Johannes Krauser II and Keitaro Urashima .... |
|||||
| Sasquatch | Kan Tokumaru | |||||
| Shadow | N/A | |||||
| Victor | Kan Tokumaru |
Other characters
- Dark Talbain - A boss/secret character in Vampire Savior and an evil version of J. Talbain.
- Dee (Evil Donovan) – An exclusive hidden character in the secret arranged modes of Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection, Donovan after his Night Warriors ending. He is a combination of Demitri and Donovan in terms of gameplay and sprite.
- Oboro Bishamon - A boss/secret character in Vampire Savior 2, a variant of Bishamon.
- Anita – A young little girl who exhibits supernatural powers. She is always seen carrying a headless doll while being present during any of Donovan's battles. She appears as a matured woman in Donovan's ending in Night Warriors and in Dees ending in the arranged version of Vampire Savior featured in the Japanese Darkstalkers Collection. She was renamed Amanda in the English version of Night Warriors, although every other game in the series retained her original name.
Cameos in other games
While the Darkstalkers franchise did not see continuation past the third game in the series, several individual characters (usually the females) appeared in later Capcom games. The most well-known of these crossover titles are probably the Marvel vs. Capcom and Capcom vs. SNK series. Cameos were also made in Capcom Fighting EvolutionCapcom Fighting Jam
, released in North America as Capcom Fighting Evolution, is a head-to-head fighting game from Capcom. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Namco System 246 hardware and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox...
, SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, Namco × Capcom, Gunbird 2
Gunbird 2
Gunbird 2 is a 2D scrolling shooter, sequel to the original Gunbird game.-Story: Through gameplay cutscenes it appears that the zany, uproarious humor is considerably increased since the original Gunbird...
, and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars. Super deformed
Super deformed
Super deformed or SD is a specific style of Japanese caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way, typically small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads, to make them resemble small children...
variations of the Darkstalkers appear in Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix, SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium
is a fighting game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It features a total of 26 characters from SNK and Capcom, eight of which are hidden. Play options includes 2-fighter tag teams, 3-fighter queue teams, and of course, one-on-one...
and the tongue-in-cheek puzzle game Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, released in Japan as and commonly referred to as Puzzle Fighter, is a one or two player puzzle game first released in the spring of 1996 by Capcom on the CPS II arcade system...
. Morrigan has appeared in the North American version of We Love Golf!
We Love Golf!
is a sports video game for the Wii video game console, developed by Camelot and published by Capcom. The game was released December 13, 2007 in Japan, July 4, 2008 in Europe, North America on July 15, 2008, and in Australia on August 7, 2008.-Gameplay:...
.She also appears as a playable character along with Felicia, Lilith and Demitri in Cross Edge
Cross Edge
, is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation 3. The game was developed by Idea Factory with characters from games by Capcom, Nippon Ichi Software, Namco Bandai and Gust Corporation...
with Jedah appearing as an enemy.
Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-ko have appeared Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds
is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It features Capcom's own characters and characters from American comic book company Marvel Comics. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel vs...
for the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom. It is an updated version of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. After the events of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami disrupted the development schedule for downloadable content for the original game, the additional content was made into a...
.
Animated series
A Darkstalkers animated series was produced for United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
audiences. It starred a young boy named Harry Grimoire, who was created for the cartoon. Since the series was not drawn in the same anime style used to draw the game sprites, the Darkstalkers characters look noticeably different.
Anime OVA series
A four-episode OVAOriginal video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series was released titled Vampire Hunter: The Animated Series. Viz
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
produced an English adaptation that was released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
under the title Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge.
Manga and comic book series
A mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
adaptation was authored by Run Ishida and published in Japan by Ascii in 1996. This manga was later adapted by Viz Comics
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
under the title of Night Warriors: The Comic Series and published as a six-issue comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
(which were later collected in a single trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
volume).
A five-volume manga series surrounding Vampire Savior was created by Japanese manga artist
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
Mayumi Azuma
Mayumi Azuma
is a Japanese manga artist who is the creator of the now completed manga Elemental Gelade, which finished with eighteen volumes and was adapted into a 26-episode television anime series, and its ongoing spinoff manga Elemental Gelade: Flag of Blue Sky...
and published by Gangan Comics. It stars Lilith and an original character, John Stutely.
UDON Comics
UDON
UDON Entertainment Corporation is a studio of Asian-influenced comic book creators that provides creative services to the entertainment industry. The company is a publisher of comic books, graphic novels, and art books, as well as English editions of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa titles. Erik...
published a Darkstalkers comic series, consisting of six issues (upon which they stopped production abruptly). They were later collected in a TPB collection, which omitted the backup stories presented at the end of each issue, and included a special Morrigan background story previously only seen in a summer Capcom special. In 2010, UDON revived the series in a three-issue miniseries entitled Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, with the first installment released in late February 2010.
Other media
In 2008, UDON also released the Darkstalkers Graphic File, a collection of screenshots, storyboards and concept art from the series.In 2009, UDON and Capcom released a 15th anniversary Darkstalkers tribute book. It consists of submitted artwork from fans of the series, along with artwork from some of Udon and Capcom's own artists and several famous manga artists such as Yasuhiro Nightow
Yasuhiro Nightow
is a Japanese manga artist and game creator who created the anime and manga Trigun. Nightow was born on April 8, 1967 in Yokohama, Japan. He moved to Yokosuka when he was in elementary school, and spent the junior high and high school years in Shizuoka....
. The book was first available in August 2009 at several large anime conventions, and became available in bookstores the following September.
Reception
In 2010, UGO.com ranked Darkstalkers at number 19 on the list of the games that need sequels. In 2011, Complex ranked Darkstalkers as first on the list of The 10 Most Missed Fighting Franchises.External links
- Darkstalkers series at MobyGames
- Hardcore Gaming 101 retrospective
- Comprehensive list of Darkstalkers games and characters
- Interview with Darkstalkers director Masashi Ikeda