« Review: Darkstalkers Resurrection »

Capcom’s Darkstalkers (Vampire, in Japan) series might not have been the company’s flagship fighter, it’s certainly one of the more interesting ones. Instead of a more down to Earth approach, Darkstalkers explores the supernatural and fantasy in its own exaggerated form featuring beings such as a self-gratifying succubus, a martial arts werewolf, and a volatile take of Little Red Riding Hood. Add that with a very characteristic art style, short jabs of humor, and fast and balanced gameplay, you get a pretty cool fighting game series.

The recent interest in Darkstalkers have sparked conceptual material for a fourth entry in the series. It also helped bring about a downloadable package, developed by Iron Galaxy Studios, featuring two of the more popular past entries: Night Warriors: Darkstalkers’ Revenge (Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers’ Revenge) and Darkstalkers 3 (Vampire Savior). Packaged with the best fighting game netcode around and other neat, albeit unrefined, features, Darkstalkers Resurrection is a well needed collection.

The series, built upon the existing Street Fighter mechanics, adds much more aspects and tools to differentiate itself from SF while still being representative of a 2D fighter. Additions include fast chain combos as a focus instead of single strikes and harder link combos, air blocking, counter-attacks, ground and air dashing, and expanded versions of special moves. Special to the series are pursuit moves that provide additional damage to a knocked down opponent. The concepts in both the original Darkstalkers (not included in Resurrection) and Night Warriors created an aggressive vibe while still being very traditional for its time. While it’s good to see the second entry, the third one is the main attraction.

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge using one of the two smoothing filters. Challenges make a return which awards points used for the Vault.Darkstalkers 3 ups the aggressive factor with mechanics that emphasizes offensive momentum as well as providing necessary defensive maneuvers. The faster speed shift creates constant intensity in the whole match. Rounds changed to a multi-bar health system in which a player gets knocked down while the match still proceeds; the change creates a new level in okizeme strategies that’s not found in other fighters. In addition to counter-attacks, players gain pushblocking and evasions during wakeup as part of their defensive game. Special to Darkstalkers 3 is the Dark Force system which provides timed special abilities that can turn the tide of battle. All of this together provides an experience significantly distinguishable to its previous entries. Players have to be fast and precise with inputting actions and defending themselves. They also have to be absolutely attentive in the environment and matchups. In a way, the learning curve can be discouraging to less experienced fighting game players who want to get involved in Darkstalkers, especially 3, but dedication and hard work can pay off in both the games and carry onto future fighter. Players such as SAKO, Nuki, and Daigo Umehara have been known for their excellent exploits in Darkstalkers prior to their now recent recognition.

In terms of learning the game, Iron Galaxy provides a set of character-specific tutorials in Darkstalkers 3. They do explain basic and advance offense and defensive aspects as well as special techniques per character; there is also visual aid which is fortunate. It’s a bit disappointing to see that Night Warriors didn’t get the same treatment, as it uses combo trials similar to IGS’ Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition. The core problem with both games’ learning challenges is that it’s easily understandable for experienced fighting game and Darkstalkers players but confusing for new folks unless they have time to look at the in-game glossary or elsewhere. Fortunately, outside resources such as tutorial wikis, forums, and match videos are abound so make use of it!

Aside from that issue, Iron Galaxy is good in making classic fighter present well in the HD realm. Much like 3SOE and Marvel vs. Capcom Origins, Darkstalkers’ graphics aged well as the conversion looks sharp. Visual filters such as smoothing, scanlines, and screen modes (including the rather interesting arcade cabinet views) make a return but both Night Warriors and Darkstalkers 3 looks stunning without them. The CPS-II based soundtracks from both games remain. Even if it does sound a bit ancient, the outstanding compositions overshadow the technical concerns.

Much like 3SOE and MVCO, Darkstalkers Resurrection gets online play powered by the netcode GGPO. While it did have some problems on 3SOE, the netcode is applied well with Darkstalkers as it stays consistently smooth and precise. There is a weird echo effect when the game "rolls back" as it determines which player had the correct save state frame but it isn’t necessarily distracting. It’s good to know that the filtering options make a return from MVCO so for those who are picky in playing low ping opponents can feel comfortable and confident. Upon my experience with Darkstalkers online, I encountered various levels of players with some well deserving of their dedication. In addition to Resurrection's main online content, serious players can also test themselves against the elite in the GGPO PC client which is convenient.

One of the major cabinet view modes on Darkstalkers 3.Prior to release, news about Resurrection was that it it's based on a modified version of the Japanese PlayStation 2 compilation from 2005. There were reports of this compilation carrying one frame of input lag with Resurrection apparently having two. One frame of lag in a optimized setup is definitely playable but two frames can be irritable to some serious players. For a game that requires fast responses and precise execution from the players, it’s unusual for Capcom to declare the claim and release it regardless. While the lag is manageable, there should be a future patch to relieve the issue if it wants to be a proper replacement to arcade.

While they have been prone to certain integral issues, Iron Galaxy have been working hard in making better modern console re-releases of Capcom’s classic fighters. Even if it's not "arcade perfect," Darkstalkers Resurrection is definitely their best one yet. New players might have to look beyond the game to learn and dedicated competitors might feel uncomfortable about the "lag," both sides will still enjoy this collection. In regards to the future of Darkstalkers, Resurrection certainly proves the series’ worth is deserving in the new current era of fighting games.