Document: VS/VS2/VH2/DS3/VC/DSC/VR/DSR System Guide

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Document: VS/VS2/VH2/DS3/VC/DSC/VR/DSR System Guide
Games: Vampire Savior
Vampire Savior 2
Vampire Hunter 2
Darkstalkers 3
Vampire Chronicle
Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Vampire Resurrection
Darkstalkers Resurrection
Platform: Arcade
Sega Dreamcast
Sega Saturn
Microsoft Xbox360
Sony Playstation 1
Sony Playstation 2
Sony Playstation 3
Sony PSP
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

Author: Slateman ([email protected])
Version: 1.0
Date: December 24th, 2012
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Table Of Contents
-----------------

1: About
1a: About The Author
1b: Vampire / Darkstalkers Series History
1c: Vampire Savior Releases

2: Vampire Savior History
2a: Vampire Savior
2b: Changes Found In Vampire Hunter 2 & Vampire Savior 2
2c: Changes Found In Vampire Hunter 2
2d: Changes Found In Vampire Savior 2
2e: Final Contrasts

3: Characters & Regional Differences
3a: Regional Name Differences
3b: Character Roster
3c: Alternate & Bonus Characters
3d: Bonus Characters
3e: Alternate Characters
3f: Bosses & Mid-Bosses
3g: Special Intros
3h: Special Finishes

4: Console Comparisons
4a: Sega Saturn
4b: Sony Playstation 1
4c: Sega Dreamcast
4d: Sony PSP
4e: Sony Playstation 2
4f: Sony Playstation 3 / Xbox 360

5: Features Comparison
5a: Bonus Features Comparison
5b: Final Comprison Verdict

6: Credits

7: Legal Stuff

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Revision Notes
--------------
1.0 First document
1.1 Fixed some PS1 details (EX System Set & BGM Info)

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1: About
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Vampire Savior was an arcade game who, with its quasi-sequels Vampire Hunter 2
and Vampire Savior 2 were all both melted down into an international release of
Darkstalkers 3. The gameplay of all four games differs in some fundamental
ways. There were five other ports to home consoles, each of which function
in completely different ways both in additional features and gameplay itself.

Hmm...Well, it turns out there's quite a lot to talk about. This document will
serve to explain the differences between VS, VS2, VH2, DS3, VC as well as
desribing what all these acronyms mean.

From here on out I'll be discussing the Japanese versions using the Japanese
titles primarily. Seeing as how many titles referenced here were never
released outside of Japan, it is more consistent this way.

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1a: About The Author
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I'm a huge Street Fighter fan and have been running an artwork page on the
series for over a decade. I've always admired the Vampire / Darkstalkers
series but recently have returned to it to do some research for the upcoming
Vampire Resurrection and impending fourth entry into the series.

However, I've always been a bit confused at how VS differed from VS2, why VH2
even existed and what the difference between VC and the Darkstalkers collection
was. In searching, I found some information was easier to come by than other
information and all felt rather incomplete. Thus, this FAQ.

In writing this, I am without the Dreamcast entry into the series. I own
a copy of both the Japanese and US releases of VS and DS3. I imported the
Saturn game the day it came out. I've got the PS2 collection and both the
Japanese and US versions of Chronicle for the PSP. As you can see, I have
the resources to do the research required to write a document such as this.

I've written many FAQs and guides including four on the Street Fighter
series. I love Capcom fighting games. If you want to see more of my
creations, feel free to check out:

SFGalleries.net (Street Fighter & Vampire galleries)
slateman.net (For sprites, GIFs & other FAQs)

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1b: Vampire / Darkstalkers Series History
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This document exists to clarify the bizarre history of the third entry into the
Vampire/Darkstarkers game. In addition, I'd like to compare all the individual
releases to see how they relate and which is the "best".

To really paint a good picture, however, we should start in the beginning. In
1994 Capcom released the first game in a new series, following the success of
the Street Fighter franchise. Vampire: The Night Warriors was issued in Japan
and upon sending it west, the name was changed to Darkstalkers. Here it
carried the same The Night Warriors suffix. The sequel was released a year
later and also had a different name inside/outside of Japan, as you can see
by this chart.

Japanese Name International Title
------------- -------------------
Vampire: The Night Warriors Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge

These releases were rather straightforward, with arcade versions and console
translations to follow. However, the best game in the series (IMO) was the
third. Now, after the first release of this game, a pair of alternate 'sequels'
came out as well as numerous ports. Each differs somewhat from the others, so
let's break down the release history of this great game, once again with the
Japanese name listed on the left and the international version on the right.

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1c: Vampire Savior Releases
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Arcade Titles
-------------
Vampire Savior [Darkstalkers: Jedah's Damnation]
Vampire Savior 2
Vampire Hunter 2 [Night Warriors 2: Darkstalkers Revenge]

Saturn Titles
-------------
Vampire Savior

PS1 Titles
-----------
Vampire Savior: EX Edition Darkstalkers 3

PS2 Titles
----------
Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection

Dreamcast Titles
----------------
Vampire Chronicle: For Matching Service

PSP Titles
----------
Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower

PS3/Xbox360 Titles
------------------
Vampire Resurrection Darkstalkers Resurrection

Those listed [in brackets] are unused titles. These are alternate titles
that were planned for release in different regions but sadly, they were never
released.

All of these games are based on the same fighting engine, that of Vampire
Savior. For example, Vampire Hunter 2 features tweaks to make it more
similar to Vampire Hunter. Ultimately though, Vampire Savior is the
root of it all.

Acronyms
--------
Because you'll be subjected to these throughout this guide, you should know what
these all mean.

DS Darkstalkers
VS Vampire Savior
VS2 Vampire Savior 2
VH Vampire Hunter
VH2 Vampire Hunter 2
VC Vampire Chronicle

SS Sega Saturn
DC Sega Dreamcast
PS1 Playstation 1 (2/3)
PSP Sony Playstation Portable

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2: Vampire Savior History
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The third entry into the Vampire (Japan) / Darkstalkers (U.S.) series of games
has an entirely convoluted and long history. Appearing on 7 different consoles
(not including arcades), each game differs somewhat from all the others. In
addition, there are alternate titles, minor tweaks and even some unreleased
titles to muddy up the entire chronology. Here is a very detailed history of
all versions of Vampire Savior (and its alternates).

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2a: Vampire Savior
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Released in May of 1997, Vampire Savior: The Lord Of Vampire succeeded
Vampire/Darkstalkers and Vampire Hunter/Night Warriors as the third entry into
the series. An international version was planned with the title Darkstalkers:
Jedah's Damnation but it was never realized. In fact, GameFan magazine put out
a strategy guide for Jedah's Damnation - a game that never even hit shelves!
International versions of Vampire Savior did exist but the title was the same.
Some arcade marquees have a different subtitle: Vampire Savior: World Of
Darkness.

Vampire Savior added a few gameplay tweaks to differentiate it from its
predecessors, namely Dark Force moves, the loss of the traditional 'round'
system, and added four new characters. However, since VS is the basis of this
document, I won't spend much time on discussing how it compares to those
titles.

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2b: Changes To Vampire Hunter 2 & Vampire Savior 2
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On the 13th of September, 1997 a pair of slightly different versions of Vampire
Savior hit arcades throughout Japan. Titled Vampire Hunter 2 (a sequel to
Vampire Hunter, game #2 in the series) and Vampire Savior 2 (which really
isn't a sequel as VS came out only four months earlier!), each has a small set
of changes. Two weeks later, Vampire Hunter 2 had an update (version 070929)
likely fixing small problems found in the original rom.

Each title fixed some glitches in Vampire Savior but both contain gameplay
changes. The following changes were made to both VH2 and VS2.

Level Backgrounds
The level backgrounds had color swaps to give them a new look. Red Thirst
now featured a blue moon rather than a red one. In addition, there was one
additional background included (Revenger's Roost, essentially just a third
background swap) as well.

Default Speed
After choosing a fighter in VS, normal speed was the default option. In
VS2 & VH2, the default choice is set to turbo. Nice.

Aerial Chains
Chain combos have been in every Vampire game but Aerial Chains were only
added to VS and were removed for VS2 and VH2.

Dark Force
The biggest change to the game system has to do with Dark Force (DF) and
its moves. There are several major changes here.

First off, using any character's Dark Force now consumes two levels of your
S.S. gauge rather than one.

When a character initiated a DF move in VS, each character would have a
specific move associated with it (i.e. Bulleta would fire rockets for any
punch attacks and Lilith had a mirror image attacking.) Most of those
attacks have been made into their own EX moves. When in DF mode now, the
background still changes like it did in VS but fighters have a standard set
of moves.

However, all moves performed now are much more powerful. Any normal, ES
or EX move will inflict more damage than when not in DF mode.

You have added defense as well during DF mode. You will take less damage
from all attacks and that damage will heal more quickly than normal. Your
recoverable health (flashing white) from before entering DF mode will be
immediately recovered upon initiating DF mode.

In addition, enemies will not be able to recover energy lost to attacks
made while in DF mode. This contrasts to the standard VS system where you
will recover energy by avoiding damage. Any attacks now inflict permanent
damage.

All ES moves will have your character flash red rather than blue while
in DF mode. This appears to just be a cosmetic change.

As you can see, the biggest difference between VS and VS2/VH2 has to do with
Dark Force mode. While character movesets were changed somewhat, it is this
that makes VS2/VH2 play differently from VS.

Once again, these are the changes that can be found in both VH2 and VS2. These
next sections talk about differences specific to each title.

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2c: Changes To Vampire Hunter 2
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As this is a sequel to Vampire Hunter, this game removed the four new VS
characters and replaces them with the VH characters that weren't in VS.

Char Removed Char Added
------------ ----------
Bulleta Donovan
Jedah Phobos
Lilith Pyron
Q-Bee

The background music was changed also to play that of the original Vampire
Hunter.

The background when you enter Dark Force has changed color here. VS and VS2 are
the same.

The final boss was changed for all characters to Pyron. There are two endings
to the game; the first was for any normal character and the second was for
when the game was completed with Pyron.

The HUD surrounding the life bars is now green in color rather than yellow
as it was in VS. The center area & S.S. gague border is now purple rather than
silver as it was in VS.

The intro movie is new for VS2/VH2 and is almost identical. This game's opening
movie contains a blue moon and there is a picture of Donovan holding Morrigan
by the head. This is followed by the Demitri scene from the opening of VH.

The arcade ROM of Vampire Hunter 2 has an alternate, unused title screen for
Night Warriors 2, likely intended for an international release that never
happened.

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2d: Changes To Vampire Savior 2
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Released the same day as VH2, this game features everything VH2 had with the
exception of the background music and character roster.

Char Removed Char Added
------------ ----------
Aulbath Donovan
Gallon Phobos
Sasquatch Pyron

The final boss was changed for all characters to Jedah. There are two endings
to the game; the first was for any normal character and the second was for
when the game was completed with Jedah.

The HUD surrounding the life bars is now blue in color rather than yellow
as it was in VS. The center area & S.S. gague border is now blue rather than
silver as it was in VS.

The game's intro movie contains a red moon and there is a picture of Bulleta
holding Lilith by the head. This is followed by the Demitri scene from the
opening of VH.

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2e: Final Contrasts
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In summation, VH2 and VS2 both featured the same fighting engine as VS,
however it was tweaked in some significant ways. Many of the changes were
just visual though.

VS VH2 VS2
-- --- ---
Aerial Chains Yes No No
DF Enemy Recovery Yes No No
DF S.S. Gauge Cost 1 2 2
Final Boss Varies Pyron Jedah
HUD Yellow Green Blue
HUD Border Silver Purple Blue
Intro Movie Moon n/a Blue Red
Intro Movie Char n/a Donovan/Morrigan Bulleta/Lilith
Final Boss Char Specific Pyron Jedah

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3: Characters & Regional Changes
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18 characters were playable across all three versions of VS and this tally
includes every fighter in the Vampire series. Here we'll talk about these
characters, their names in Japan vs. the rest of the world, and who appears in
which games. Bonus and alternate characters are here as well as boss matchups
and special intros/finales as well.

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3a: Regional Name Differences
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Someone always gives me a hard time for using Japanese names in my FAQs.
However, as the Japanese versions are the games I typically play, and due to
the fact that many of these titles were never released outside of Japan, I will
use those names first and foremost. Like the Street Fighter line of games,
several characters underwent name changes. Here is the full list of names in
the original Japanese and the international versions.

Japanese Name International Name
------------- ------------------
Anakaris
Aulbath Rikuo
Bishamon
Bulleta BB Hood
Demitri
Felicia
Gallon John Talbain
Jedah
Lei-Lei Hsien-Ko
Lilith
Morrigan
Phobos Huitzil
Pyron
Q-Bee
Sasquatch
Victor
Zabel Lord Raptor

IMO names like Lei-Lei and Gallon are so much better than their English-
language counterparts.

Japanese Level International Level
-------------- -------------------

Fetus Of God Creator's Fetus

One level underwent a name change. Fetus Of God was a bit too much for the
English-speaking territories and so the level's name was changed to Creator's
Fetus.

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3b: Character Roster
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Here I've listed all five Vampire/Darkstalkers games. As certain characters
were dropped from the arcade upgrades of VS, here you can see which fighters
were present in which game. Only Anakaris, Bishamon, Demitri, Felicia,
Morrigan, Victor and Zabel were in all five iterations.

V VH VS VH2 VS2
Anakaris * * * * *
Aulbath * * * *
Bishamon * * * * *
Bulleta * *
Demitri * * * * *
Donovan * * * *
Felicia * * * * *
Gallon * * * *
Jedah * *
Lei-Lei * * * *
Lilith * *
Morrigan * * * * *
Phobos # * * *
Pyron # * * *
Q-Bee * *
Sasquatch * * * *
Victor * * * * *
Zabel * * * * *

# Phobos and Pyron were non-playable characters in the original Vampire.

There is a total of 18 characters in all. While the arcade games maxed out due
to memory issues on Capcom's CPS2 board, every home version features every
character.

The PS2 game (Vampire: Darkstalkers Resurrection) contains arcade versions of
VS/VH2/VS2 - which are each limited to their roster numbers above. However,
upon completing each game with Marionette, the remaining characters are
playable in each game. More on this in section 4e.

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3c: Alternate & Bonus Characters
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The main cast of Vampire is a strong and diverse one, but there are several
other characters in the games. In researching for this FAQ, I was confused
as many guides and cheat listings are unclear. Since many of these characters
are just slightly different versions, unclear information is not good. I'll
try to make this all a bit less confusing...if I can.

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3d: Bonus Characters
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The first set of characters is pretty straight forward.

VS VH2 VS2 Method
Shadow * * * Random + Start 5x
Marionette * * Random + Start 7x
Oboro Bishamon * * * Start +3P
Dark Gallon * * Start +3P

Shadow
Featured in all three games (sometimes this is referred to as Soul Mode),
Shadow allows you to fight as the character you just beat. An alternate
method of choosing Shadow will allow you to choose your first character,
and then the same rules apply. Highlight the random select box, hit start
5 times and then a punch or a kick.

Marionette
Here you fight as the same character as your enemy. She was only available
in VH2 and VS2. Highlight the random select box, hit start 7 times and
then a punch or a kick.

Oboro Bishamon
Oboro is only selectable after you have beaten him (on all versions, I
believe). He is somewhat like Shin Gouki to Gouki, but not quite as powered
up. Highlight Bishamon and hold start and hit all three punches
simultaneously.

Dark Gallon
Sometimes listed as Shadow Gallon, Dark Gallon has the same moveset as
Gallon but his Dragon Cannon move has slightly different properties. You
can recognize Dark Gallon by his flashing colors. Hold start and hit all
three punches simultaneously to choose him.

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3e: Alternate Characters
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As for alternate characters, these are only available on the PS1 and Saturn
versions (as the PS2 game are arcade versions and the DC/PSP games were
compilations). I have read that Phobos and Donovan are available on all three
arcade versions on the PS2, but I can't verify this.

In order to select these characters (most of whom differ only in their move
properties), highlight the character, hold down (Select (PS1), L (SS) or
Start (PS2)) and hit any attack button. On the PS1, you can turn on the
shortcut option in the options menu. Then, when choosing your fighter here,
the name will change color. In fact, this is the only method I could get to
work to choose Alternate Lilith (sometimes referred to as True Lilith).

PS1 SS PS2
Alternate Lilith *
VH Aulbath *
VH Donovan * *?
VH Phobos * * *?
VH Victor *

Alternate Lilith has Morrigan's voice but Lilith's sprites.

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3f: Bosses & Mid-Bosses
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This list compiles all the final bosses and mid-bosses found in VS, VS2 and VH2.
Note that in VH2, the end boss for all characters is Pyron. Jedah is the final
boss for all characters in VS2.

Characters listed in (parentheses) are impossible combinations in the arcade
versions of each game. The VS2 and VH2 mid-boss information was taken from
Senio "Akuma" Rotondi's PS1 DS3 FAQ. I have not tested this against the
PS2 arranged versions of each title.

---------------Mid Bosses---------------
VS VS2 VH2 VS Final Boss
-- --- --- -------------
Anakaris Q-Bee Q-Bee Sasquatch Jedah
Aulbath Felicia (Felicia) Felicia Jedah
Bishamon Victor Victor Victor Jedah
Bulleta Gallon Gallon (Donovan) Zabel
Demitri Bishamon Bishamon Bishamon Morrigan
Donovan (Phobos) Bulleta Demitri (Jedah)
Felicia Morrigan Morrigan Morrigan Lilith
Gallon Bulleta (Anakaris) Anakaris Dark Gallon
Dark Gallon Bulleta (Bulleta) Bulleta Gallon
Jedah Jedah Demitri (Jedah) Demitri
Lei-Lei Zabel Zabel Zabel Jedah
Lilith Jedah Morrigan (Jedah) Morrigan
Morrigan Demitri Demitri Demitri Lilith
Phobos (Pyron) Felicia Morrigan (Jedah)
Pyron (Donovan) Phobos Donovan (Jedah)
Q-Bee Anakaris Anakaris (Anakaris) Jedah
Sasquatch Aulbath (Aulbath) Aulbath Jedah
Victor Lilith Lilith Gallon Jedah
Zabel Lei-Lei Lei-Lei Lei-Lei Jedah

Oboro's boss/mid-boss enemies are the same as Bishamon.

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3g: Special Intros
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When two characters face off in a specific pair, you will get an alternate
intro. You don't need to do anything special to get these alternate intros.
Either arrangement works as well (i.e. you can control Anakaris and fight
Felicia or control Felicia and fight Anakaris to get the same result).

Anakaris Felicia
Aulbath Aulbath?
Bishamon Oboro Bishamon
Gallon Bulleta
Zabel Bulleta
Zabel Lei-Lei

Bishamon can face Oboro if you face him as the last character. I'm unsure if
this will work by playing as Oboro and facing Bishamon. I imagine it would.

Apparently Lilith has an alternate that can be done against any foe. An
alternate method is to hold Start/Select (consoles?) as the game is loading the
next match.

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3h: Special Finishes
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By beating a specific enemy with a specific character, while performing a
specific move, you will get a special finish! It may seem excessive but it
is just another way Capcom has given proper attention to this remarkable game.

You Enemy Finish With
--- ----- -----------
Demitri Anakaris Midnight Bliss
Lilith CPU Morrigan Just defeat her
Anakaris [Any] Any Pharaoh EX move
Bishamon [Any] Togakubi Sarashi / Soul Torment
Bishamon [Any] ES Hi En Zan
Gallon [Any] Moment Slice/Razor Slice
Jedah [Any] Prova = Del = Servo
Jedah [Any] Sangue = Passare

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4: Console Comparisons
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Now to the ports. We've covered Vampire Savior and its arcade brethren but the
console ports are varied and rather interesting. Each has its own pros and cons
and none are really perfect. We'll discuss how each differs here and ultimately
which of these is the best. Let's start, shall we?

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4a: Sega Saturn Vampire Savior (JPN Only) 1998.04.16
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This was the first home version available and was a spectacular port of
the arcade game. Vampire Savior was only released in Japan and required
the 4-Meg RAM cart like Capcom's other efforts on the platform (X-Men Vs.
Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter, Street Fighter
Zero 3, Pocket Fighters & Cyberbots were the others IIRC.) This allowed
Capcom to make a fairly perfect translation. All 18 characters were included
but they all function in the VS system of play. This means the changes made
to Dark Force moves in VH2 are not present here. Alternate backgrounds from
VH2/VS2 are also present.

The game is also very limited on options. Only Arcade, Versus and
Training modes are present. Upon completing the game (without losing a
round) the EX Options menu opens up. This allows you to change your
special meter stock, move the HUD around, view all the game's endings
and even change the language to English, if you so desire! This
changes the names to match the international title.

EX Options Breakdown:
VS Mode Players: (Set CPU as Vs. enemy for p1 or p2)
S.S. Gauge: (00-99 super stock)
VS. Mode ID Gauge (Moves HUD location)
Cockpit Position (Moves HUD location)
Ending (All VS endings)
Language (Changes all text & char names)
Clear Data
AV Output (For RGB users)

Among all the ports, this EX Options is one of the weaker ones. The
endings galleries are nice, of course you have to beat the game first
to unlock each.

While all 18 fighters are here, the game is ultimately Vampire Savior and
little else.

Pros: Perfect arcade translation (Superior to the PS1 game)
All 18 characters, all backgrounds
Change language
Ending gallery

Cons: Arcade, Versus & Training Modes Only
No mixed modes (VH2 vs VS2, etc)

Verdict: 7.5/10

This is a perfect arcade translation and for that it should rate higher.
However, as it was so limited on game options and didn't offer mixed modes like
later games (i.e. including VH2 and VS2 options), it falls short of an
illustrious 9 rating or even a solid 8. The 4Mb RAM cart made sure it had
everything the arcade title had; sadly it didn't offer much more. The EX
Options menu gave a cool tweak or two, but only the ending gallery was truly
worthwhile. How does perfection only get a 7.5? When that's all there is to
it!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
4b: Sony Playstation Vampire Savior EX (JPN) 1998.11.05 | 2011.02.09 (PSN)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Darkstalkers 3 (US) 1998.11.30 | 2012.04.24 (PSN)

The PS1 version of the game shipped in November of 1998 in Japan, Europe and
the United States. Titled Darkstalkers 3 in the west, it carried the name
Vampire Savior: EX Edition in the east and continued the tradition of EX
versions on Sony's PS1. The suffix was appended as the system's meager memory
required frames of animations to be cut. These animations don't seem
to affect gameplay at all. Both the Japanese and international games were made
available on the PSN nearly a decade and a half later.

As a package, this game was remarkably complete and had more features than
the Saturn game including an expanded EX options menu and a DX options menu,
together which allow you to tweak the game system to match VS/VH2/VS2. In
addition, upon selecting a character, you have the option of fighting in DF
Change or DF Force styles which is akin to the basic changes between the VS
and VS2 modes of play (see section 2b)

D.F. Change: Dark Force uses 1 level of your S.S. gauge.
Air chain combos are present.

D.F. Power: Dark Force uses 2 levels of your S.S. gauge.
You inflict more damage with attacks while using DF.
Damage caused during Dark Force cannot be recovered.
You receive less damage while using DF.
Any recoverable damage is regained when initiating DF.
EX attacks are tweaked and are more powerful.

Original Character Mode allows you to craft a color scheme for your fighter and
gain experience to level up. By leveling up, you will unlock collection mode
artwork as well as the EX and DX Options menus. It's like Street Fighter Zero
3's World Tour mode with a little less customizability. However, you can
edit and change the colors of your characters which is pretty cool. This editor
gives you a lot of freedom to customize too.

There is an art gallery containing 32 pieces of artwork. These are stored as
BMP files which you could peruse by inserting the game CD into any computer.

The EX and DX Options menus are quite nice. These really allow you to tweak
the game in many profound ways and is wonderful for those looking to change.
The first, the EX Options, has a great music and ending gallery, the latter
featuring all VS endings, including Oboro, Anita, staff rolls as well as the
VS2 and VH2 endings. The music gallery is wonderful and allows you to listen
to all BGM tracks. It's strange, this feature is only avilable in the
Japanese options menu. In the west, this was replaced with BGM and SE volume
settings in the west. The BGM menu is in the DX Options Menu in the west.

This is not the only difference between the Japanese release and Darkstalkers
3; in the latter, blood was changed to the color white.

The EX Options allows you to change the system setting to match VS / VH2 / VS2.
I think this only affects the game's HUD, again, those details were covered in
section 2c & 2d. You're also given the option to set the game to default to DF
Change or DF Power, but this isn't quite as useful.

As for the DX Options, this has two cool tweaks. The first is called DX
Cancel and gives you freedom to cancel moves into ES/EX moves that would
normally not cancel. It's definitely fun though it removes some of the
challenge of the normal fighting techniques. It's somewhat similar to custom
combos in SFZ2 or V-Ism supers in SFZ3.

The second is called Second Jump and gives all fighters the ability to double
jump. Not sure how useful it is, but I love games that give the player
options like these.

EX Options Breakdown:
System Set (Play using VS / VH2 / VS2 settings)
Music (Default / VS / VH2 / Darkstalkers)
Music Test (Listen to all tracks - Japan Only!)
Ending (All VS endings + Oboro, Anita, All Staff,
VS2, VH2, Pyron, Jedah, Marionette)
Game Type (DF Change or DF Power)

DX Options Breakdown:
DX Cancel (Allows some moves to cancel into ES/EX moves)
Second Jump (Allows for double jumping)

Each character loses some frames of animation to account for the PS1 only having
2Mb of memory. For example, when facing Jedah as a final boss, he no longer
descends from the sky like he does in the arcade game. It appears when two of
the same characters are facing off, many, if not all, of these frames are
returned.

While the visuals suffered and load times were annoying, the number of options
found in this title make it a better all-around title than the Saturn game and
a solid representation with plenty of replayability.

Pros: All 18 characters, all backgrounds
System change to play VS/VH2/VS2 modes
Ending gallery, Background music test (JPN Only)
DX Options Menu
Change music in game.
Character editor
Released outside of Japan!

Cons: Loss of frames of animation
Longer load times

Verdict: 9/10

In some ways, this is the best version of the game. It is the only port to
feature the DX Options, it contains every bit of everything, it was released
internationally and it is still easy to obtain. The game was made available
on the Playstation Store and is playable on the PS3, PSP and PS Vita. The
biggest selling point is that it really is VS, VH2 and VS2 all wrapped in one
perfect package with the ability to play the game as any version at any time.

The loss of frames is a big detraction however and it really holds this back
from being stellar. While not viable for tournament play, it is ultimately a
fun and comprehensive package.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
4c: Sega Dreamcast Vampire Chronicle: For Matching Service 2000.08.10 (JPN)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I do not own the DC game but by researching guides online and the gameplay of
the PSP game, I have a good view of this title. Most details here therefore
will be identical to the PSP game with the exception of:

PSP title was released outside of Japan
PSP title contains Chronicle Mode
PSP title contains Tower Mode

Those three details will be discussed in the PSP section below.

Now, while we had seen several releases of VS before the DC game hit in the
summer of 2000, this game was unique in one very important way. VC allowed
gamers the ability to choose different versions of each character. The idea
behind this title was the same as Hyper Street Fighter II. Here, you could
match a VH-style Morrigan vs. a VS2 Morrigan. This worked in two ways:

Mode & Character Selection
--------------------------

Upon choosing to play this game you will be presented with two choices. These
will change just about everything about the game!

Mode Select
-----------

As you enter Arcade Mode, you will be prompted to choose a game mode. This
choice will affect the game's system. Here is a quick overview of what these
choices mean.

Vampire Hunter Savior
------- ------ ------
Damage Recoverable
Rounds 2 2 Bats/Carries Over
Supers 1 Bar 99 Bars 99 Bars
Super Meter Decreases/Resets No Reset No Reset
HUD Color Blue Green Yellow

Damage: In Savior mode, when you are hurt, your health meter will have a
darker red hue. Over time, this damage can be recovered unless
you are hurt again.

Rounds: Vampire and VH had a standard 2-round system while VS2 has a
bat system. If you lose half your health and defeat your
opponent, you start the next round with only half of your health.

Supers: The original Vampire worked a lot like Super Street Fighter II X.
You had only one bar of super and after each round it reset.
As the games progressed, you could build more than just one
meter and these would not reset after each round. In addition,
the original Vampire also had your meter start decrease after it was
filled up. This gave a sense of urgency to use an ES or EX move
quickly.

HUD Color: This is just cosmetic but the HUD area surrounding your character's
life bar changes color based on which system you chose. Vampire
has a blue surrounding while VH has green and VS has yellow. This
was covered in sections 2c, 2d and 2e.

Character Select
----------------

The second choice will be made after you pick a character. This choice will
affect how your character plays. Remember, this has nothing to do with the
first choice of mode.

What is great about Vampire Chronicle is that you can pit a VH Q-Bee against
a VS2 Donovan. This is noteworthy for two reasons. The first is that like the
PS1 game, you can fight mixed modes (VH vs VS2), but here you have more options
than in the PS1 game. Second, Q-Bee wasn't in VH and Donovan wasn't in VS
thereby making this an impossible combination. That's kind of cool.

Here's a breakdown of what these choices mean:

Vampire Hunter Savior Savior 2
------- ------ ------ --------
Pursuit * * *
Dark Force * (changed)
Ground Chains (basic) * * *
Air Chains *
Taunt * *

Pursuit: Introduced in VH, Pursuit attacks allow you to attack a downed
character by pressing up+attack. Not available in the first title,
this is available in all subsequent releases.

Dark Force: The biggest addition to VS, this is not available in the first two
games. How it functions in VS and VS2 differs. We went over all
the specific changes way up in section 2b. To surmise, aerial
chains were removed and dark force mode underwent massive tweaks.

Chains: There are two types of chains: Air and Ground. In Vampire, you
can perform a limited weak-to-strong chain but this was expanded
in the later games. Air chains are only available in Savior mode.

Taunt: Also known as 'Friendships', taunts were first introduced in VS
and were limited to 15 uses per round (match?)

ES/EX Moves: Not included above, the way ES moves were enhanced slightly in
Savior 2.

There is no Hunter 2 character mode here but that's ok. Since VS2 and VH2 have
identical gameplay options (the only changes were with characters and visual
tweaks), Savior 2 emcompasses both games.

Ultimately, you can play this game like an arcade-perfect Vampire Savior if you
so desire. However, the real fun is mixing characters and modes. The gameplay
of this title is therefore the most varied and fun of all the VS home ports.

Other Items
-----------

The gameplay changes are the largest focus of VC but other things are noteworthy
as well. Since you can fight as different versions of different characters,
their individual background music is also present here. A Vampire Victor will
have his music from Vampire. VH Lei-Lei will have her music from that game and
so forth.

Continuing the tradition of EX Options menus, we have one here, albeit
somewhat limited.

EX Options Breakdown:
VS Mode (1P or 2P is CPU)
S.S. Gauge (00-99 super stock)
Command Times (Short / Normal / Long)
Time Lag (None - 7 Frames)
Credits (Savior / Savior 2 / Hunter 2 / Chronicle)
Opening Demo (All 3 titles + Chronicle)

S.S. Gauge: Note the S.S. gauge will not work for Vampire mode. Even if
you set this to 99, you still must charge your gauge up and
it will decrease if you chose Vampire mode.

Command Times: This option allows you to change the duration the game will
accept a command for a move, i.e. the number of milliseconds
allowed to perform a QCF+P.

Time Lag: This sets lag for online play.

Credits/Opening: Both of these allow you to watch the openings and credits
of the games via this menu. They do not set these movies
as the default movies.

Pros: All 18 characters, all backgrounds, mixed modes
Online play
Ending/Opening galleries
All BGM

Cons: Very limited, Japan-only release.
Online play was still in its infancy.
No artwork or music galleries

Verdict: ?

Like the Saturn game before it, VC does not feature too many gameplay modes
and options.

However, if this game is the same as the PSP game below, it is a great
compendium of Vampire gameplay. It has everything!!! The limited nature of its
release is both a curiosity and an unfortunate situation. I'd love to get a
hold of this to test it out, but with only 5,000 copies in existence and very
high prices on the used market, I can't say it's a high priority.

If I do get a chance to try this out, I'll post my thoughts in a subsequent
update.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
4d: Sony PSP Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower 2004.12.12 (JPN)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower 2005.03.24 (US)

This title is the same as the aforementioned Vampire Chronicle but differs in
some key ways. All details pertaining to the DC game above carry over here
with the exception of a Versus Mode option in the EX Options menu.

Vampire Chronicle: The Chaos Tower was issued under the Darkstalkers brand in
the west and was the first new Darkstalkers release in more than six years.
This brought the limited Dreamcast title back to life with a spectacular
conversion on Sony's handheld and its screen made the game look gorgeous. Of
course, it *is* a handheld and therefore the controls will never match the
glory of an arcade stick. Hardware aside, this was in some ways the ultimate
version of Vampire Savior and the PSP game featured a better network mode than
the Dreamcast, a wide-screen option (or letterboxed with cool animated
backgrounds), the same EX option mode as the DC and an easy-command input
option.

This title had a network mode that was more readily used than the DC game.
Online play was available via WiFi.

As the game was finally released outside of Japan, the mode and character
select options were localized. Here are the name differences:

Mode Select
-----------

JPN: Vampire / Hunter / Savior
US: Darkstalkers / Night Warriors / Darkstalkers 3

Character Select
----------------

JPN: Vampire / Hunter / Savior / Savior 2
US: Darkstalkers / Night Warriors / Darkstalkers 3 / DS3 (SP)

A new Tower Mode was included which gave a cool and unique single-player
experience and gave players different scenarios to fight with.

One of the PSP game's biggest features is the Chronicle option which is
the most complete image, music and movie gallery of all the ports. Here, we
have 96 images (less than the PS2), the complete soundtrack (Vampire, VH and
VS releases totaling 93 songs) plus sound effects and voice tracks, as well as
an exhaustive movie gallery. This has all 22 VS endings, a pair from both VH2
and VS2, the 10 endings from Vampire, 14 from VH and opening movies from all
five games plus Chronicle. While some of these were available in other games,
none have as many as this collection has. Spectacular!

As there was no VS2 and VH2 releases outside of Japan, these were given the
title DarkStalkers 3 (SP) and Night Warriors (SP) throughout the game.

The EX Options menu is identical to that of the DC VC with the exception of the
Versus Mode setting and the Opening Demo. Since this is included in the
Chronicle feature on the PSP game, it was not needed in this menu.

Finally, VC contains one bonus background that other releases do not. Chaos
Tower was made specifically for this release.

Pros: Same as DC version plus the following:

Expanded Image gallery
Sound Test with all songs and character voices
Complete ending gallery (all games, all endings)
One new background
Still easily available
Crisp visuals on the handheld screen

Cons: It *is* a handheld
Network mode no longer relevant.

Verdict: 9/10

This game has it all. It is a super collection / remix of all the Vampire
games and it allows for a near infinite number of battle combinations. Things
look great, the unlockables are vast and it's a whole lot of fun. VC on the
PSP really has everything you could possibly want.

If only this weren't a handheld. For that reason alone it'll never be
considered perfect.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
4e: Sony Playstation 2 Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection 2005.05.19 (JPN)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Almost five years after the Dreamcast game shipped, another ultimate
compendium was issued. Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection is a spectacular
Japanese-only collection of all five Vampire games. Here we have full arcade
versions of Vampire, Night Hunter, Vampire Savior, Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire
Savior 2. This is the only place to get Vampire Hunter 2 on consoles. These
are all arcade-based games and for this, they lack some of the extra features
available in prior releases. However, this has its own set of cool additions
as well.

By completing VS, VH2 and VS2, bonus versions of each game was available,
allowing you to play with all 18 characters (and bonus characters) on each
title, using each game's system as a base. All five games (well, 8) mimic
what Capcom did with Street Fighter Zero: Fighter's Generation (SF Alpha
Anthology in the west) by allowing you to set specific arcade tweaks via stars.
By turning on/off stars in the options menu, you could tweak very specific
portions of the game. Sadly, Capcom never told anyone what each star did.
However, all arcade upgrades were made available; a perk only the truest of
hardcore fans could appreciate. Most of these updates were made to fix items
that required fixing. More on this below.

One benefit of this game that trumps others is that you get a chance to play
Vampire and Vampire Hunter using its original interface, character selection
screens, etc.

The illustration gallery is the best of the bunch featuring almost 200 pieces
of artwork. These are unlocked by fulfilling several requirements and all
are pretty cool. It covers just about everything that has been drawn for the
series.

The bonus character Dee isn't a great addition, as he is really just a mix of
Donovan and Demitri, but his ending is cool (an unrealized fight between him
and Anita, and a special ending where Anita has grown up). However, even
though he's nothing too special, it's cool having someone new to fight as.

Sadly, the music gallery is a shoddy thrown-together sound test. They really
could've taken a cue from the PSP collection. In addition, there is no
ending or opening gallery. This would have all been an easy thing to put in
the game, as all the movies are here. It's unfortunate this wasn't organized
in a better fashion.

Bonus Characters
----------------
VS VS' VH2 VH' VS2 VS2' Method

Shadow * * * * * * Start 5x
Marionette * * * * Start 7x
Dee * * * Start 9x
Oboro Bishamon * * * * * * Start+3P
Dark Gallon * * ? * * Start+3P
</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
You must defeat Oboro before you can select him.

Shadow, Marionette & Dee are selected by highlighting the random box, hitting
start the number of times listed (5, 7, 9) and pressing any button.

For all three secret games, go into the secret options menu (hold R1 while
hitting game options) and highlighting the 14th star on the 2nd row. This will
replace the random box with Dee. Speaking of the secret options menu...

Secret Options Menu
-------------------

When Capcom releases a game in the arcades, the date is listed upon booting it
up. After getting feedback from the community, the developer will go back and
tweak the game, removing glitches, balancing characters, etc. This ROM will
be released with a new date. Since all five games in the PS2 collection are
arcade-based, you can go back and select different versions of each game.

In order to access this section, you must go into the options mode of any game,
then hold L1 + R1 and press circle. Here will be the secret options menu and
now you can enable/disable stars to change settings in the games.

The problem with this is that no one knows for certain what each star does.
Some people have made an effort to categorize and list all these changes. You
can read two such documents here:

http://www.reocities.com/shadowjin_gpow/upload/vampirecollectionfaq.txt

(paste as one line)
http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?11987-VS-Gaming-Online-Information
-Console-Differences-Dipswitches/page2&p=1243044&viewfull=1#post1243044

This had the potential of being an outrageously cool addition to the game, but
with little documented information (the second link above has a LOT of info!),
it remains not as useful as it could have been.

Though a small thing, the arranged versions of the game are cool in that they
allow you to use the characters missing from each game. In VS, you can now
play as Donovan, Pyron or Phobos, and in VH2, Q-Bee, Lilith, etc. This does
make VS2 and VH2 very similar to one another, however.

Pros: Arcade-perfect translations of all 5 arcade games
Arranged versions of VS / VH2 / VS2
Star system allows you to tweak a ton of elements of the game
Hidden character Dee
Massive art gallery

Cons: Arcade, Versus & Training Modes Only
No mixed modes (VH2 vs VS2, etc)
No movie or proper sound gallery
Star system not explained to know what each does
Not released outside of Japan

Final Verdict: 9.5/10

Five arcade-perfect ports in one package, what more can you ask for? Well,
after VC and the tweaks found in the PS1 game, it would have been nice to be
able to do more here, but ultimately this is an incredible package. The art
gallery is the best in the series and while there is a music/sound effect option
it's cumbersome to navigate through.

In the end, the gameplay is top notch and is featured on a platform where
arcade sticks are easily available. Extras aside, this proves to be the
strongest port of them alll.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
4f: Sony Playstation 3 Vampire Resurrection 2013.03.14 (JPN)
Microsoft Xbox360 Darkstalkers Resurrection 2013.??.?? (US)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Nearly eight years later, Vampire is getting some love from Capcom. A
compilation of Vampire Hunter and Vampire Savior will be getting the HD
treatment for a PSN and XBL release. This version will have arcade versions
of these two games and feature online play, tournament brackets, YouTube
uploads, unlockable galleries and a challenge mode like the recent SF3:3S and
Marvel Vs. Capcom Origins titles had.

As of writing, this has yet to be released, but I'm curious how Vampire Savior
will be handled. In the west it'll be titled Darkstalkers 3 and I expect it
will come with the option to choose DF Charge and DF Force like the PS1 game
before it. Considering the differences between VS and VH2/VS2 and the lack of
attention this got in the west, this should suffice for most gamers.

I also expect a decent art gallery, nowhere near the PS2 collection's but
better than the original PS1 game. The same will go for a movie gallery. Will
this have the VS2 and VH2 endings? How about their intros? I doubt this is
meant to be a serious collection (we have those on the PSP and PS2) but more of
an online-focused title. I look forward to it.

Pros: The best online play in the series' history

Cons: We'll see!

Final Verdict: ?/10

I'm psyched!!!

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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
5: Features Comparisons
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Though the game is essentially the same on all platforms, the title of 'Best'
would be tied with extras, features and remixes. Let's break it down, shall we?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
5a: Bonus Features Comparison
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

ARC SS PS1 DC PSP PS2 PS3/X360
All 18 Chars * * * * * *
Bonus Chars * * * * +Dee *
Mixed Modes * * * *
Online * * *
Sound Test JPN * * ?
Image Gallery 32 96 192 ?
Movie Gallery * * * * * ?

All 18 Chars
------------
No arcade game features all 18 characters, all home versions do.

Bonus Chars
-----------
The Saturn game has Phobos, the PS1 game has several VH characters. Shadow
was available in the arcade game and Marionette was later, but they don't
really count.

Mixed Modes
-----------
By this I mean VS Gallon vs. VH2 Aulbath. The Saturn & PS2 games are arcade
translations and do not feature these. The PS1 has it through D.F. Change and
D.F. Power and also through the EX Menu.

The PSP and DC games have this as they were designed to be that way.

Winner: PSP/DC

Sound Test
----------
For some reason only the Japanese version of the PS1 has this, but it is
complete and features music from all 3 Vampire games, sound effects, etc.

The PSP game has all the tracks too, but with a better interface.

The PS2 game has the tracks in each individual game, thus, a more cumbersome
presentation.

Winner: PSP

Image Gallery
-------------
The PS1 has 32, the PSP tripled that to 96 but since the PS2 game is a
compilation of all Vampire/Darkstalkers games, it contains 192 pieces of
art to win this category.

Winner: PS2

Movie Galleries
---------------
You can view the endings as you beat them on the Saturn and PS1 games though
the latter features the VH2 and VS2 endings as well. Once again, the PSP
game has the upper hand, featuring movies from every game in an easy-to-use
interface.

Sadly, the PS2 game has no interface to watch opening/ending movies.

Winner: PSP

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
5b: Final Comparison Verdict
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

----------- -------- -------- -------- --------------
Sega Saturn vs. Sony PS1 vs. Sony PS2 vs. Sony PSP vs. Sega Dreamcast
----------- -------- -------- -------- --------------

Well, this comes down to Gameplay Vs. Extras.

The first is easy. The PSP game was packed with extras and has every character
and every version of everything. It's glorious. So, if your interest lies in
artwork, options and tweaks, this is the way to go.

Gameplay should be the most important and I can discount the Saturn version
right off for not having any mixed modes, and only being an arcade translation
of VS with all 18 characters (something the PS2 game has and more). The DC game
is likely spectacular but you can't buy the thing and online play is no longer
a selling point. The PSP game is perfect but I cannot consider a handheld the
best just due to the controls.

We're left with the PS1 and PS2 games. While the PS2 game won't let you tweak
settings and play VH2 Jedah vs. VS2 Gallon (an impossible combination), the loss
of animation frames and longer load times make the PS1 title an inferior
product.

Therefore, the PS2 game is the victor here. It's got everything (but a movie
gallery), quick load times, unlockables, Dee, alternate versions of VS, VS2 and
VH2 and impeccable gameplay. The only real downside is that it was never made
available outside of Japan.

If you love VS, this is the way to go. It's still somewhat expensive and many
don't have the ability to play Japanese games though. If you just need a quick
fix or a cheap alternative, the PS1 game is pretty good.

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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
6: Credits
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Of all the FAQs I've written (over two dozen), this has been the longest labor
of love. What started as a basic guide to cover the differences and consoles
grew to encompass quite a lot of material. I spent weeks playing whenever I
could, comparing every aspect of every game. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey
in learning Vampire Savior and discovered far more than I ever imagined. In
fact, the only downside was having to wait so long to finish it. That was
excruciating!

I poing this out because this much work and dedication requires credit. While
I did most of this myself, I'm going to link to a bunch of other resources from
which I culled some useful information. Credit goes to them and to me, and if
you decide to use this info anywhere, give credit where it's due, please.

GameFAQs and its FAQs
I launched my first site in 1995 and GameFAQs was in its infancy too. I've
appreciated all the site has offered and have used it incessantly since
then. I'm not going to credit every single FAQ, but I referenced most of
them in searching.

Other Links:
http://tcrf.net/Vampire_Savior
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/darkstalkers/darkstalkers3.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkstalkers_3
http://capcom.wikia.com/wiki/Vampire_Hunter_2/Vampire_Savior_2
http://darkstalkers.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://wiki.mizuumi.net/w/Vampire_Savior/FAQ
http://thenipponblues.tumblr.com/#826090120
http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Vampire_Chronicle
http://darkstalkers.wordpress.com/category/vampire-the-night-warriors/
http://clientes.netvisao.pt/anpedror/
http://wiki.mizuumi.net/w/Vampire_Savior

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=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
7: Legal Stuff
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This FAQ is copyright (c) 2012, Trevor Esposito ([email protected])
Vampire Savior is copyright (c) 1998-2013, Capcom
Vampire Savior is trademark of Capcom.

You may not distribute this for profit. You may not edit or alter the contents
herein without the permission of the author.

Currently, this FAQ may only be hosted at GameFAQs.com.

The most current version of this FAQ can always be found here:

http://www.slateman.net/faqs/

Hope the FAQ was useful in some form.

Good luck and have fun!

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