(LAST UPDATE: 12/8/2009)
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Developer(s): Capcom
Publisher(s): Capcom
Platform(s): Arcade,
Playstation, Sega Saturn
Release Date(s): 1997 (
/
Arcade), April 16th 1998 (
Saturn), November 5th 1998 (
PS1)
Characters:
Demitri, Talbain,
Victor,
Zabel,
Morrigan,
Anakaris,
Felicia,
Bishamon, Rikuo,
Sasquatch,
Pyron,
Donovan, Hsien-Ko,
Phobos,
B.
B. Hood, Q-Bee,
Lilith,
Jedah
Related Games:
Darkstalkers,
Darkstalkers
2, Darkstalkers Chronicle: The
Chaos Tower
Story:
Jedah, one of the high nobles of Makai, is resurrected after a premature death
long ago. Seeing the state of the demon world, he decides that the only way to
save the world is to recreate it. To this end, he conjures a dimension known as
Majigen, to which he summons worthy souls to feed his new world. As luck would
have it, those souls belong to the characters from the first two games, in
addition to three newcomers.
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Review: Definitely
at the top of it's game, the Darkstalkers series hosts the biggest and
most colorful cast yet with Darkstalkers 3. Unfortunately, Donovan and
Huitzil were cut from this version of the game. However, 4 new characters were
added, those being Jedah, Q. Bee, B.B. Hood, and Lilith. With the addition of
new characters, super moves, backgrounds, and a new boss, the series had
certainly seen it's best thus far... The Playstation
versions color-edit mode was also an innovative option for the time.
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Darkstalkers 3 features the "Damage Gauge System" where battles take place during a period of one round, with each fighter having two "life markers" (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. The gameplay was still very close to the originals, as chain combos are the game's most original feature. While not for everyone, the 2D gameplay has it's own unique feel, but overall not quite as solid (or fun) as the Street Fighter 2 or Street Fighter Alpha series. The music, artwork, and character animation is very well done and makes the game stand out among many others.
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There were two simultaneously released updated versions of Vampire Savior that
were distributed in Japanese arcades only a few months after the initial
release: Vampire Hunter 2 - Darkstalkers' Revenge and Vampire Savior 2
- The Lord of Vampire. 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
(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 J. Talbain (as
well as Dark Talbain), Rikuo and Sasquatch.
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- Review is for Playstation version of Darkstalkers 3 - |
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8.5 / 10 |
Closing Comment: Darkstalkers 3 had a stylish presentation from beginning to end, and a straight forward gameplay system that many Street Fighter and 2D fighting game fans could pick up and play rather easily. In my opinion, the gameplay finally started to live up to it's potential in Darkstalkers 3, making for an exceptionally fun fighting game for the time (and some would say still is). No doubt the new characters introduced in this sequel nicely rounded out the roster, and made for a more balanced and enjoyable game overall. ~F.Yagami, Webmaster of TFG
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