Darkstalkers
3 / Vampire Savior

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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Jedah... the
badass new boss of
Darkstalkers. Don't argue with him.
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REVIEW:
The third installment of the Darkstalkers series,
Darkstalkers 3 (known as Vampire Savior
in Japan)
presents the biggest and
most colorful cast yet. Four brand new characters
join the roster: Jedah, Q-Bee, B.B. Hood, & Lilith. Unfortunately, Pyron, Donovan &
Huitzil were cut from the original arcade version of the game (but do make an
appearance in the console versions of the game). There were actually
two simultaneously released
"updated versions" of Vampire Savior that debuted in Japanese arcades only a few months after the original release: Vampire Hunter 2 - Darkstalkers' Revenge and Vampire Savior 2
- The Lord of Vampire.
The key difference between the two upgrades and the
original Vampire Savior is the 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 & Pyron, omitting J. Talbain (as
well as Dark Talbain), Rikuo & Sasquatch. But thankfully, all
characters appeared in the console ports of Darkstalkers 3 / Vampire
Savior.
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Darkstalkers
3's selection screen is particularly catchy.
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Darkstalkers 3
introduces the
"Damage Gauge System". 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. Basically, this enables
faster bouts than the typical "best 2 out of 3" round system
previously used. The player can also regain a
portion of their life during battle if they manage to avoid taking further hits.
Darkstalkers 3 also introduces the "Dark Force System" which allows players
to perform special abilities unique to each character for a limited time period.
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Fighting on the side of a
skyscraper... FTW.
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Following suit with previous
installments, the music, artwork,
and character animation of Darkstalkers all stand out as 100% original. The
new stages are intricately designed, creepy, and are really effective at getting
you into the unique setting of Darkstalkers. Following suit with past
installments, the interesting new Darkstalkers character designs offer
diversity and present some awesome new play styles. No doubt a 2D fighting game
player of any level can find a character in Darkstalkers 3 that they
enjoy using (if they take the time to properly learn the character, that is).
Even if the gameplay doesn't suit your fancy, any artwork enthusiast can
appreciate the amazing art direction of Darkstalkers (thanks to Capcom's
team of master artists).
Darkstalkers 3
was visual and artistic masterpiece when it released in arcades and on consoles. It looked like to other fighting game that came before it! The console version of Darkstalkers 3 was the definitive version of Darkstalkers to play (until
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower released on PSP at least). The PlayStation version of Darkstalkers
3 also includes a cool Color Edit Mode where you can customize each character's
color scheme to your liking. I believe this was the first Color Edit Mode to
ever appear in a console fighting game, and for the time was a fun and innovative fighting game
bonus mode.
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Page Updated: |
September 10th, 2020 |
Developer(s): |
Capcom |
Publisher(s): |
Capcom |
Artwork
by: |
Bengus,
Edayan, Daigo Ikeno, Dai-Chan
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Platform(s): |
Arcade, PlayStation, PSN, Sega Saturn
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Release Date(s): |
1997
Arcade
Apr. 16th, 1998 Sega Saturn
Nov. 5th, 1998 PS1
Nov. 18th, 1998 PS1
Nov. 30th, 1998
PS1
Apr. 24th, 2012 PlayStation Network |
Characters: |
Demitri Maximoff, Jon Talbain,
Victor,
Zabel,
Morrigan Aensland,
Anakaris,
Felicia,
Bishamon, Rikuo,
Sasquatch, Hsien-Ko,
B.
B. Hood, Q-Bee,
Lilith,
Jedah, Huitzil
(console),
Pyron
(console),
Donovan
(console),
Anita, Dee
( Darkstalkers
Collection) |
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Featured Video:
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Related Games: |
Darkstalkers,
Darkstalkers
2, Darkstalkers Chronicle: The
Chaos Tower, Darkstalkers:
Resurrection, Warzard, Bloody
Roar, Mace: The Dark Age, Pocket
Fighter, Street Fighter III: New Generation, Capcom
VS SNK, Capcom VS SNK 2, Capcom
Fighting Evolution, SNK VS Capcom: Match
of the Millennium, SNK VS Capcom Chaos,
Marvel VS Capcom, Marvel VS Capcom
2, Marvel VS Capcom 3 |
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Gameplay
Engine
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8.0 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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8.5 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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8.5 / 10
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Animation
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8.5 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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8.5 / 10
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Innovation
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8.5 / 10
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Art Direction
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10 / 10
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Customization
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8.5 / 10
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Options / Extras
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8.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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9.5 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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7.5 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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7.5 / 10
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Characters
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9.0 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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8.7
/
10
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Review based on Arcade / PS1
version
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Final
Words: |
Darkstalkers 3 is a stylish fighting game all around. What a presentation! The
intro movie is still one of my all time favorites, right along with the character select screen (and the catchy BGM). Darkstalkers 3 debuted two of my favorite characters in the entire franchise, B.B. Hood & Jedah! These incredible character designs are instant classics, pure Capcom 90's brilliance, and are even charismatic enough to star in their own
spin-off games (if Capcom ever took the opportunity to do such a thing).
The gameplay of
the series also shows its full maturity in Darkstalkers 3, with impressive evolution and perhaps the best balance to date. Considering the time period in which Darkstalkers 3
was released, the gameplay system was starting to show its age in some areas. However, Darkstalkers 3 is definitely the
fastest and most frantic installment of the series to date. It's definitely worth playing and enjoyable for all levels of 2D fighting game players!
Darkstalkers 3 made an impactful statement with its vivid art style, insane animation quality, and loveable character designs. Over the years, it was amazing seeing many Darkstalkers characters cross over to other fighting
game series, including: Capcom VS SNK, SNK VS Capcom Chaos,
Capcom Fighting Evolution, Match of the Millennium, and Marvel
VS Capcom. I only wish more characters from Darkstalkers made guest appearances in other Capcom games.
~TFG
Webmaster |
@FIGHTERS_GEN
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