Darkstalkers Resurrection Review

A lot of Capcom's fighters have had the misfortune of living in the shadows of the almighty Street Fighter, but Darkstalkers seems to be one series that really embraces this. Set in a Gothic World full of strange combatants and creepy environments, Darkstalkers truly has its stand out moments, but does it shine as a whole? Let's find out!

Gameplay

Darkstalkers Resurrection is a collection of two classic Darkstalkers games, the original Darkstalkers Night Warriors and Darkstalkers 3, both of which are 2D side on beat em ups. Controls work similar to most games of this type with 3 different degrees of punch and kick attacks and special moves pulled off using directional inputs as well as an attack button. The main game runs at a choice of speed, either normal or turbo. Turbo seems to be the only way I can play, standard just seems a bit too slow for my liking but if you're trying to nail timing with special attacks then normal is the way forward. There's also a few different game modes available, an arcade mode, a training mode and a mission mode where you're instructed in the art of combos and then you have to pull them off with the correct timing.

Ok I don't even know what to say here...

Featuring a host of quirky characters that you've probably seen in other Capcom games such as the Marvel VS Capcom series and a few you may not have, characters range from Frankenstein's monster, to vampires and half naked succubus' and cat ladies, a Pharaoh, a Werewolf, a guitar playing zombie, a sasquatch and back round to straight up demon's. It's a pretty sizeable roster and Darkstalkers 3 adds a few more to the mix so you're not short on options! Characters are all well balanced and depending on the speed you play it will affect how quickly you can win or lose.

A challenge within a challenge..? Inception!!

Carrying on with the Capcom fighter re-releases, both Darkstalkers games have a collection of missions for you to complete, these all appear on the fly during battle at the sides of the screen giving you live progress reports as well as in a separate menu screen so you can view them at your leisure. These include things such as fire 100 projectiles, do a 10 hit combo, make your opponent spill 10 gallons of blood, or set your opponent on fire and so on and so forth. All these assignments when completed earn you EXP which can then be traded to unlock some of the many secrets of the game which include videos and high resolution images of characters, backgrounds and promotional artwork.

Graphics and Sound

Being an HD remaster you'd figure that the updated visuals would really make the things pop but to be honest, the original pixel graphics are still the best looking version. Don't get me wrong, the HD overlays look nice but I personally prefer the original look, guess I'm a sucker for nice pixel artwork. The game has several features to customise the look of the game's visuals, with options to have filters, scan lines (for that arcade cabinet look) or switching between the high and low resolution sprites. There are also options to turn gore effects on and off so if you don't like seeing pixel blood, that can disappear.

Sound is good for the games age, scratches, punches and kicks all sound as they should and special moves like fireballs and wiring blades and the like all sound good. Background music is quite catchy, but ultimately pretty forgettable.

Multiplayer

I've been fearing going online with this, much like I do with every beat em up title. To say I'm not the greatest of fighters is putting it lightly, I can hold my own against a computer through learning a couple of combos or simple button mashing but against another person, my cheap tactics soon get dominated. While going through sessions of having my butt handed to me by people much more skilled than myself, I experienced a pretty solid online connection with no lag which really works well in a game that requires precise timing, although the time I've had to wait to get a match at some points means there's not a huge amount of players out there that want to take on people. As well as the online option, you can also play locally with a friend in versus.

Old school scan lines anyone?

Also included with online options other than the fighting, is the replay function, where you can review the battles you've had and then upload them to YouTube for the world to see your skills. 

Final Verdict

I have vague recollections of playing Darkstalkers in the back corner of the arcade I used to frequent in my wasted youth. It may not be as popular as Street Fighter but it's just as good as it!

Gameplay = 8/10

Graphics/Sound = 7.5/10

Multiplayer = 8/10

Final We Know Gamers Score = 7.8/10