Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge

• Release Date: 1996
• Genre: Fighting
• Style: 2D Fighting
• Similar Games: Marvel Super Heroes (Sega Saturn), Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams (Sega Saturn), X-Men: Children of the Atom (Sega Saturn), Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (PlayStation)

Game Description

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge is the sequel to the moderately successful Darkstalkers, Capcom's alternative fighting game featuring parodies of well-known movie monsters. Known as Vampire Hunter in Japan, Night Warriors saw an extremely small release in the arcades of the United States, and has been brought home exclusively to the Sega Saturn.

Night Warriors brings back all of the characters found in the original Darkstalkers, including the vampire Dimitri, the succubus Morrigan, cat-girl Felicia, along with nine others, including the bosses, who are now playable. Along with the returning cast are two new faces to the Darkstalkers series; Donovan, the vampire hunter who is hot on Dimitri's trail, and Lei-Lei, a Chinese ghost with a number of tricks literally up her sleeve.

Along with the added characters, some significant changes have been made to the original Darkstalkers engine in order to bring the game more up to date with it's Street Fighter Alpha contemporaries. Night Warriors allows players to power up and retain several levels with their special gauge. One level of the gauge can activate a more powerful version of each character's special move. In addition, characters can activate a state in which they can chain together highly damaging combos. Also, with enough levels of the gauge filled up, players can use devastating super attacks unique to every character.

Review: Overall

The Darkstalkers series has always been far less popular than the Street Fighter cadre of games in Capcom's catalogue, and in a sense, that fact is disappointing. It has been much more difficult to find credible home versions of the Darkstalkers games, especially since the arcade titles boast colorful, highly animated sprites that aren't easily represented on modern, polygon-focused consoles. Thankfully, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge has been brought to the Saturn, a console that handles 2D graphics better than the rest. The result is a port that isn't quite arcade perfect, but should impress fighting fans and will go down as one of the best examples of the genre on the Saturn.

Night Warriors overall theme of comically wicked characters is one that is welcome to fighting games, as it blends the serious aspects of those games with a whimsical feeling that adds to the title's fun factor. Darkstalkers has always been patterned in this way, and Night Warriors enhances the tragi-comic aura (just check out Lord Raptor's "basketball slam-dunk" super special.) It would certainly appeal to those who are fans of the old monster films, as well as anyone who enjoys a good laugh with their fight.

Night Warriors fighting system is very fast, and the game seemed to be designed with offense in mind, as players can release a flurry of attacks in a relatively short time. Occasionally, that adds to the title's detriment, since it seems that button mashing might be the key to victory. Yet, once players become more familiar with the system, they'll be able to mix it up with more skill and refinement, even with the slippery pace.

This is possible because Night Warriors features typical control from Capcom: razor precise and extremely tight. The buttons are set up identically to the Street Fighter series, and anyone familiar with that game won't find it too difficult to dive into this title. Many characters control comparably to characters from that series, but there's enough of a difference that they do not feel like retreads. The game also features unique aspects, including air blocks, guard reversals, and tech throws.

The new gauge system, updated from Darkstalkers, is a welcome change. No longer are players regulated to one super meter. Now they can save up several, and instead of having a few options, a wealth of choices are available. The chain combos, a controversial addition to the Street Fighter Alpha series, seem more at home here, and the super attacks are clever, funny, and quite appropriate to the overall game theme.

The cast of characters in Night Warriors is very entertaining, and it seems as if every possible genre of horror film has been well represented. There are only two new characters in this sequel, but the rest of the crazy monsters have been given new moves and special updates of their own, assuring that this title is both fresh and storied in fighting history.

Graphically, Night Warriors is perhaps unrivaled for 2D games on home systems. The animation is thick and rich, and while there are some frames missing from the arcade version, it's doubtful that any but the most nit-picky players will ever notice. Characters move with fluidity, and the lushness of their attacks is difficult to describe. The sound, likewise, is nearly flawless, with creepy, hectic, and catchy music brimming over in this title. Each character has a distinct set of sounds that truly helps define them.

Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge is one of the finest fighting games available at home, and fans of the series in the arcade shouldn't pass up an opportunity to get this nearly perfect port in their own homes.

Review: Enjoyment

While some might believe that this game is all about button-mashing and cheese, there's a suprising amount of depth to be found here, and 2D fighting fans should not hesitate to give it a try before deciding if it's really that inferior to the Street Fighter series.

Review: Graphics

While not exactly arcade perfect, you'd be hard-pressed to find the clean, flowing animations and bright, crisp graphics that fill this game on any other home fighter.

Review: Sound

The music can occasionally become a little silly, but it more or less adds to the strange mix that forms this title. Sound effects are nearly spot-on perfect.

Review: Replay Value

While the game does not boast many extras, it is a solid and entertaining enough experience, chock-full of special moves and tricks to discover, that it will more than likely have a long shelf life in your {!Saturn} collection.

Review: Documentation

The instruction manual is above average, and has some nice trivial details of each character, but it won't help you become an expert.

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