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Review: Vampire Savior |
*picks jaw off floor*
I can barely muster the strength to describe my complete and utter shock. Vampire Savior, the third game in the Vampire (Darkstalkers in the US) series has finally been released on Saturn, and its sheer beauty has knocked this jaded gamer for a loop. I played VS in the arcade off and on, and I can easily say that Capcom has truly outdone themselves.
This game is BEAUTIFUL. Not only do all the characters animate like a dream come true (Thank you, 4 Meg RAM Cart for an arcade perfect translation), but the backgrounds come alive like few other games. From fighting on the side of a skyscraper, to fighting in front of a giant evil fetus, the backgrounds go from the strange to the downright bizarre. The one complaint I have about the game (and all other Capcom games for that matter) are the severely lackluster endings. The same ol’ picture with 2 or 3 frames of animation bit. GRRRR. Other than that, the whole look of VS makes me wanna cry it’s so beautiful.
The sounds and music are all straight from the CPS2 board. The fx aren’t quite as crisp as the XSF port, but the dark, brooding tunes easily make up for it.
The game plays very similarly to past Vampire titles, with a few new additions. First, the Guard Cancel (think Alpha/Zero Counter) has become a universal motion (Shoryuken and P or K). The Dark Force, activated by pressing a punch and kick button of the same strength at the same time, adds power to your character for a limited amount of time in one of several ways (including a clone, super armor, a compatriot that helps beat on your opponent, or sometimes just more power). Finally, VS sports some Marvel-esque chaining, which mars the gameplay a little for me. That’s personal opinion, though.
The character select screen for the newest Vampire shows some old and new faces. Back from the first two installments are the original ten (Demitri, Morrigan, Talbain/Gallon, Raptor/Zabel, Victor, Anakaris, Bishamon, Felicia, Rikuo/Aulbath, and Sasquatch) plus Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter’s Lei Lei/Hsien Ko. In addition, Vampire Savior in the arcade added Jedah, the dark messiah, Lilith, the lost soul, Q-Bee, the Queen of the Soul Bees, and B.B. Hood/Bulleta, well, ummm… she’s Little Red Riding Hood with a sadistic twist. The Saturn version of VS adds three more characters: Donovan, Pyron, and Phobos/Huitzil from NightWarriors/Vampire Hunter and Vampire Savior 2. All in all, this version has 18 immediately selectable characters, plus a few secrets (Shadow, Image Gallon/Talbain, Hannya (Oboro Bishamon), making for a pantload of possibilities.
With all the characters, and all the backgrounds, and all the secrets (of which there are several), Vampire Savior still impresses me most with the attention to detail. i.e. The different transformations (Demitri’s Midnight Bliss EX for instance), the oodles of hyper-cute win poses (Felicia + Lilith come to mind first), the taunts, etc. The whole presentation of this game is so gothic, eerie, and mildly perverted, one cannot even catch most of the mannerisms in one or two sittings. This whole atmosphere the game projects only adds to its appeal.
In the end, the translation from the arcade is disgustingly accurate (loading time is, no exaggeration, non-existant… never more than 2 secs. between matches) and the additions made for the console version make this one of the best buys in ages. Hell, there’s even a Language option so us ignorant Americans can play it in English! (Though it’s a secret) Capcom…. you get a cookie. It’s just a shame Sega’s too ignorant to bring over quality products like this. *sigh* The only things I can say bad about this game are the lack of modes (Where’s my Training + Survival??), the silly chaining, and the absence of Marionette (a secret character from Vampire Savior 2 who plays somewhat like Shadow).
Bottom Line: Yet ANOTHER reason to find a Saturn and convert it. This game is pure beauty, and pure art. Revel in it, 2-D fiends.
- Dark Schneider
