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Darkstalkers, known in Japan as ヴァンパイア, is a fighting game series and media franchise created by Capcom. The series is set in a pastiche gothic fiction universe with characters based on monsters from international folklore, and features a stylized 2D graphic style. Its first game, , was released in arcades in 1994 and its third and final main game is Darkstalkers 3, released in 1997. Darkstalkers introduced gameplay concepts used in later Capcom fighting games, including the Street Fighter Alpha and Marvel vs. Capcom series.
Besides video games, the Darkstalkers media franchise also includes an , an American animated series, a Canadian comic book series, and many books of various kinds and other media released only in Japan. Some individual characters, such as Morrigan Aensland and Felicia, appeared in later Capcom games, as well as in a few crossover games released by other companies.
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| 1994 | • Vampire: The Night WarriorsJP | Arcade, PlayStation | |
| 1995 | • Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' RevengeJP | Arcade, Sega Saturn | |
| 1997 | • Vampire Savior: The Lord of VampireJP • Darkstalkers 3 (PS) • Vampire Savior: EX Edition (PS)JP | Arcade, Sega SaturnJP, PlayStation | Sega Saturn port includes additional characters from Vampire Savior 2. PlayStation port includes all characters from Vampire Savior, Vampire Savior 2, and Vampire Hunter 2 (all characters in the franchise). |
| JP | ArcadeJP | Modified version of Vampire Savior which uses the character roster from Vampire Hunter | |
| JP | ArcadeJP | Modified version of Vampire Savior that removes J. Talbain, Sasquatch, and Rikuo and replaces them with Donovan, Huitzil, and Pyron. |
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| 2000 | Vampire Chronicle for Matching ServiceJP • (PSP) • Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (PSP)JP | DreamcastJP, PSP | Modified version of Vampire Savior that includes all franchise characters and allows the player to select game-specific variants of each character like the character version selection in Hyper Street Fighter II. Dreamcast version included online play. PSP port includes additional game modes. |
| 2005 | JP | PlayStation 2JP | Compilation of all five arcade releases. |
| 2013 | Darkstalkers Resurrection • Vampire ResurrectionJP | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | High-definition update of Vampire Hunter and Vampire Savior with online play. |
| 2022 | Capcom Fighting Collection | PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows | Includes ten Capcom fighting games, including all five Darkstalkers arcade games. Includes online play, and is the first time that Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Savior 2 are released outside Japan. Secret endings were not included. |
At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, Ono revealed during the Street Fighter X Tekken panel that while a new Darkstalkers title had not been approved, he reassured the series' fans that " Darkstalkers is not dead". He then proceeded to take a photo of the attendees at the panel holding up their money to send to decision makers at Capcom to show support for the game. Later the following year in June, a message "Darkstalkers are not dead" appeared in a trailer for the PlayStation Vita version of Street Fighter X Tekken; when asked about it, Ono wrote on his Twitter: "I can't announce about Darkstalkers yet". Ono later teased the presence of Darkstalkers at a panel for Street Fighter's 25th Anniversary Celebration at San Diego Comic-Con in July. Instead of taking a photo to send proof of demand to Capcom's upper management like he had done in the past, he stated: "This year, you don't have to do that, and it's not necessarily bad news!", but refrained himself from saying anything else.
Following the announcement of Darkstalkers Resurrection at 2012 New York Comic Con in October, a concept trailer was shown during Capcom's Street Fighter 25th Anniversary panel. Darkstalkers Resurrection producer Derek Neal and Yoshinori Ono told interviewers that the re-release bundle was the first step towards revitalizing the franchise. Neal also claimed that Capcom is using Darkstalkers Resurrection as a test to gauge audience interest in a new Darkstalkers installment. In April 2013, Capcom senior vice president Christian Svensson wrote: "We've not given up. But I'm disappointed in the opening sales response relative to any other fighting title we've put out on the same platforms given the frequency and urgency of requests we've had here over the last several years and the quality of the execution. It is the most fully featured and probably best project of this type we've done. And before people jump to the wrong conclusions, I'm not blaming fans who did buy it and supported the brand. I'm very thankful for those guys (thank you, to all of you). I'm more disappointed by my misread of the information in this particular case". There was no "Darkstalkers are not dead" line at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013. Matt Dahlgren, Capcom's new fighting game manager, said that because " Darkstalkers Resurrection did not perform as well as we would have liked. You never know what the future may hold, but Street Fighter is definitely not dead. There is nothing Darkstalkers on the immediate horizon for sure".
In the original game and the sequel, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, an alien overlord named Pyron returns to Earth after being away for many years. His quest to conquer the world using an army of robots brings the Darkstalkers out of hiding to oppose his rule over humanity and the supernatural. A second sequel, Darkstalkers 3, saw the debut of Jedah, previously one of the nobles of Makai, who decides that the only way to save the realm is to take control of it by force. Accordingly, he lures the Darkstalkers into a trap to use their collective souls to remake the realm and control both humanity and the supernatural.
Darkstalkers characters are either based on various iconic literary and cinematic monsters, or inspired by international mythology and . The 1997 anime miniseries , which was based on the first two titles, was faithful to the characters' in-game personalities. The 1995 American-produced cartoon series, simply titled Darkstalkers, dropped the backstory of the games altogether in favor of a standard good-versus-evil plot, altering certain characters' storylines in the process.
| Anakaris | Kan Tokumaru | Anakarisu was once the pharaoh of a powerful empire. After being revived by Pyron as a mummy, he seeks to regain his rule. At the end of Darkstalkers, he travels back in time to restore his empire, and later after he learns its destruction is unavoidable, he transports his kingdom to a new dimension to keep it safe. | Marvel vs Capcom 2 Capcom Fighting Evolution |
| Bishamon | Kan Tokumaru | Bishamon is a ghostly samurai inhabiting a cursed suit of armor called "Hannya", which drives him into a blood frenzy. After Pyron's defeat, the curse is broken, and the freed Bishamon and his wife become priests. In Darkstalkers 3, the armor revives itself by gathering souls, but is sealed again by Bishamon. An alternate version of Bishamon, "Oboro Bishamon", is a playable secret character in certain iterations of Darkstalkers 3, depicted as Bishamon dominating the cursed armor and sword tandem Hannya and Kien, instead of being enslaved by it. | |
| Demitri | Nobuyuki Hiyama | Demitori Makishimofu is often considered the series' protagonist, and organized the first fighting tournament between the character. A vampire lord formerly living in the demon world Makai, he was banished after attempting a coup. After defeating and consuming Pyron, he seeks to subjugate his rival Morrigan. | Capcom Fighting Evolution Namco × Capcom Cross Edge Project X Zone Project X Zone 2 |
| Felicia | Kae Araki (1994–2008) Kana Asumi (2009–present) | The catgirl Ferishia dreams of being a famous singer and dancer in Las Vegas. She eventually runs an orphanage, as a nun. She has since appeared in a multitude of games developed by Capcom. Felicia was originally envisioned by Alex Jimenez to be a woman from Africa with short hair that could transform into a panther. | |
| Huitzil | Juurouta Kosugi | Huitzil, called Fobosu in Japan, are a series of robots meant to serve Pyron. After causing the extinction of the dinosaurs, they remained dormant until unearthed by Mayans who utilized them as guardians. When Pyron returns to conquer earth centuries later, he revives them to serve him again, where they act as an unplayable boss in the first Darkstalkers game. In Darkstalker 3, a Huitzil becomes the guardian of a young boy, Cecil, after he falls into the ruins where they lie dormant. | Namco × Capcom |
| Jon Talbain | Yūji Ueda | Jon Talbain, called Garon in Japan, is a British people werewolf and karate master seeking to escape his curse. He utilizes Nunchaku-based martial arts. An alternate version of Talbain, "Dark Talbain", is a playable secret character in certain iterations of Darkstalkers 3, depicted as his malevolent doppelganger. Talbain proved significantly more popular in the West than in Japan. | |
| Lord Raptor | Yūji Ueda | Lord Raptor, called Zaberu Zarokku in Japan, is an Australians rock and roll musician revived as a zombie by his lord Ozumu after sacrificing himself and his audience. He travels with La Malta, a creature assigned by Ozumu to spy on the overly-ambitious Raptor. | Namco × Capcom Project X Zone Project X Zone 2 |
| Morrigan | Yayoi Jinguji (1994–2010) Rie Tanaka (2011–present) | Morigan Ānsurando, considered the most popular Darkstalkers character amongst fans of the series, is Demitri Maximoff's rival. A powerful succubus, she is the adopted daughter of Belial Aensland, ruler of the demon world Makai. She has little interest in assuming responsibility however, and is instead a carefree layabout. She merges with her sister self, Lilith, at the end of Darkstalkers 3 and gains more power. Morrigan has since gone on to appear in many Capcom titles. | |
| Pyron | Nobuyuki Hiyama | Pairon is an alien that resembles living fire, seeking to conquer Earth as a prize. He acts as the main antagonist, and is an unplayable boss in the first Darkstalkers title. | Capcom Fighting Evolution Project X Zone 2 |
| Rikuo | Yūji Ueda | Rikuo, called Orubasu in Japan, is a merman who believes himself the sole survivor of his race after an Earthquake in the Amazon caused by Pyron devastates his kingdom. After discovering survivors, he has a son, who he rescues in Darkstalkers 3 only to discover another race of merfolk. The name Rikuo is derived from actor Ricou Browning, who played the titular creature in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. | |
| Sasquatch | Kan Tokumaru | Sasukatchi is a rotund Yeti who travels from Canada to investigate Pyron after the alien's arrival. Upon returning home in Darkstalkers 3, he discovers his people have been kidnapped, and tries to rescue them. | |
| Victor | Kan Tokumaru | Bikutoru fon Gerudenhaimu is a large Germans humanoid modeled after Frankenstein's Monster. Seeking to fight Pyron to prove to his creator that he is the strongest in the world, he returns home, where his is informed by his "sister", a homonculus named Emily, that their creator was already dead. In Darkstalkers 3, after Emily starts to malfunction, he sacrifices himself to revive her. |
| Anita | Kyoko Hikami | Anita is a small, young girl that travels with Donovan, emotionless and mute after a tragedy befell her family. After Donovan is consumed by the evil of those he's killed, she recovers, and as an adult wonders what became of him. | Marvel Super Heroes |
| Donovan | Nobuyuki Hiyama Jurota Kosugi ( Darkstalkers 3) | Donovan Bain is a dhampir monster hunter with a massive sword with a curved end. Acting as a buddhist monk, he does so to atone for his own "cursed" blood. However the evil of those he kills infects him and drives him insane. | Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo |
| Hsien-Ko | Hsien-Ko, called Rei-Rei in Japan, is a jiangshi, with her sister Mei-Ling (known in Japan as Rin-Rin) acting as a seal to help keep her powers in check. Seeking to free their mother's soul from a powerful curse, they succeed, and are reincarnated as a pair of young girls. They are pulled into Jedah's domain during the events of Darkstalkers 3, where they can assume their previous forms, and eventually return home. |
| Baby Bonnie Hood | Miyuki Matsushita | Baby Bonnie Hood, known as Baretta in Japan, is a young girl armed with an uzi and several explosives. Dressed similarly to Little Red Riding Hood, she travels with her dog Harry and hunts monsters for money. She is intended to personify everything dark and depraved in the human spirit. | |
| Dee | Jurota Kosugi | A corrupted version of Donovan, wearing an outfit that resembles Dimitri's while using his original sword. Originally intended to appear in Darkstalkers 3, Dee suffers from short-term memory loss, and will rapidly forget events as they transpire. In his ending, he is put to rest finally by a now-adult Anita. | |
| Jedah Dohma | Isshin Chiba David Kaye ( MvC Infinite) Travis Willingham ( Cross Edge) | Jeda Dōma is the main antagonist of Darkstalkers 3. A nobleman demon in Makai, he was originally destroyed, but was later resurrected. Finding that Makai has devolved into chaos, he seeks to combine all the souls into one singular being, luring the other character to his domain.Jody Seltzer, et al. Darkstalkers: Jedah's Damnation Strategy Guide (p. 96). GameFan Books (1997), ASIN B000CPSCBW Jedah's body is able to shapeshift and recover quickly from self-maiming, allowing him to weaponize his own blood. Vampire Resurrection: Jedah —capcom.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved November 27, 2015. In early drafts of the game, he was originally intended to be Morrigan's brother.Capcom, Darkstalkers Graphic File. Udon Entertainment Corp, 2008, p. 112. | Capcom Fighting Evolution Cross Edge Project X Zone |
| Lilith | Ririsu is a fragment of Morrigan's soul separated from her as an infant to keep her power in check. Jedah later discovers this fragment, and after giving it a form resembling a younger Morrigan with pink short hair, tasks her with luring worthy souls to his domain. Meanwhile, Lilith seeks to reunite and take control of Morrigan's body, which she sees as rightfully hers. Lilith was originally designed to be androgynous, with her gender officially listed as "Unknown". | ||
| Marionette | None | A secret character, Marionette can be played in some versions of Darkstalkers 3 by inputting a special code at the character select screen. When chosen, it will take the form of its opponent, causing a mirror match. | |
| Q-Bee | Miyuki Matsushita Arisa Nishiguchi ( Project X Zone) | Kyū Bī, short for "Queen Bee", is from a race of humanoid insects called Soul Bees that at one time served Jedah. Driven near extinction after his initial death, they now seek to consume and breed rapidly. | Namco x Capcom Project X Zone Project X Zone 2 |
| Shadow | None | A secret character, Shadow can be played in some versions of Darkstalkers 3 by inputting a special code at the character select screen. When chosen, the player will be assigned a random character, and will play as the character they last defeated as they progress through the game's story mode. |
The cast of characters for the franchise has been credited with making the games "a standout among the fighting games of the era", as instead of "conventional cast of martial artists with the occasional odd creature, Darkstalkers was a gallery of monsters". Hardcore Gaming 101 stated that the game's colorful cast earned the game a cult following, despite its relative lack of recognition.
GamesRadar's Lucas Sullivan ranked Darkstalkers first on his 2012 list of "obscure" fighting games deserving an HD remake, opining it "offers just as much 2D fighting goodness as the venerable Street Fighter series, but it's never gotten the same kind of respect ... and that just ain't right". UGO.com included Darkstalkers on their 2010 list of the games that need sequels. Complex writers put Darkstalkers at number 40 in their 2012 ranking of best video game franchises, adding that they would "love to see a modern incarnation", and listed a hypothetical Darkstalkers 4 among the 15 games they wished would be announced at E3 2011. The magazine's Andrew Hayward ranked Darkstalkers first on his 2011 list of most missed fighting franchises, stating that "every time Capcom announces a new fighting game, the hardcore community gets whipped up about Darkstalkers continual absence, and demands a modern iteration. The supernatural 2D franchise wasn't a big hit, but fervent fans have kept its name alive and seem unwilling to let it fade away".
One attack from the game's cast, "Midnight Bliss", has also received significant praise on its own. A move where Demitri will charge forward and temporarily transform the opponent into a girl before draining their blood, it has been described by Chris Hoffman of GamesRadar+ as one of Capcom's greatest contributions to gaming history. Writer Zoran Iovanovici in an article for Game Developer observed how fans took to the concept, citing it as a mini-genre of a "gender swap" genre among fan artists, crossplayers, and custom fighting game communities such as those built around M.U.G.E.N. The transformed state of The King of Fighters character Goenitz, a priest serving the villain Orochi, proved extremely popular. Appearing as a nun, the fandom dubbed the character "Goeniko" and fleshed her out as a full character for M.U.G.E.N, albeit with a more sexualized design. This later resulted in her appearing in commercial mobile game title The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Battle OL, as well as in The King of Fighters All Star as "Lady Goenitz" and with a different appearance.
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