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Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
  PS1FightingUC  
  opened by paleface at 04:00:29 06/13/05  
  last modified by paleface at 12:27:18 03/05/24  
  paleface [sys=PS1; cat=Fighting; reg=NA]
           
Download added: vs.gif (103890 bytes)
  "They did a pretty good job of scaling/redrawing the graphics to fit NTSC resolution."
 
Port of the first game in the Vampire/Darkstalkers series, and not a really great one at that. They took the time to redraw the characters to fit home console resolution, and did a pretty decent job as far as that goes, but cut so much animation that the characters look pretty spasmodic, having lost a great deal of the flowing, organic movement of the original.
 
There's also no Training mode, just two, actually: Arcade and Vs.
 
You're really better off getting the PS2 port (see entry 824) or, if you need a US or PS1 game, the Darkstalkers 3 port.
 
  paleface 20:14:21 09/15/20
           
This version doesn't have a red screen flash on KO (or match end? whichever) like the arcade version, and later console ports (the PS2 collection)--and the later Vampire/Darkstalkers games in general--have. So I can play this version! (Ditto with the PS1 Darkstalkers 3. : ) Go PS1!)
 
  paleface 19:02:15 10/21/20
           
Download added: 01_morr_feli.jpg (81317 bytes)
  "Each character only has a single win quote. : P"
 

 
Some of the stages--Bishamon's, particularly--have pretty regular, light-to-moderate periods of slowdown. Anakaris feels like a slowdown mummy; he isn't really moving much slower than he usually does, I don't think, but they had to cut his animation--maybe because his sprite is so big?--so much that it's kind of like claymation in his bigger motions.
 
But the rest of the game works rather well; it still feels very animated and colorful, the controls feel sharp and just as responsive as you could want, and most importantly, it's fun to play!
 
Not sure why Rikuo and Sasquatch don't fight you randomly as you play through Arcade Mode. Do they only come in at the end? I guess I'll have to get better to find out. ; )
 
This PS1 port of DS was handled by British game maker Psygnosis--originally planned for '95, it didn't make it out until '96, at which point the sequel had already appeared on the Saturn.
 
  paleface 20:45:52 12/01/20
           

 
- Darkstalkers came out in 1994 in the arcade--that's only four months after Super Street Fighter II Turbo!
- Rikuo is called "Aulbath" in Japan, and prior to the PS1 version, most of my Darkstalkers play was on the Japanese PS2 version, so that's the name that kept coming into my head for him--and dang is he a ridiculous attack spamming jerk in this! : oo
- Start button on character select picks the character's alternate color--at least, it did for Morrigan; less sure about when I tried it with Sasquatch
- Kinda tough! Except that against many CPU characters I was able to find a pretty simple tactic that worked really well against them: with Raptor it was staying mobile and airborne, with Sasquatch it forcing him to block by shooting a fireball at him, then jumping in and sweeping, with Huitzil it was jump-ins, with Pyron it was Heavy Punch.
- Supers are sort of unusual in this game, and technically don't even really exist: there's just the "Special" bar that fills up as you attack (and take damage?), and then activates and times down. While Special is active, you can press two attack buttons to super-charge a special move--a bigger fireball or uppercut for Morrigan, for instance--and you also gain access to some special moves that can only be done when Special is active; Morrigan has two: one that's hcb+K, I think, which I flailed with and don't think I got working (inputs can be tricky in this game, not sure if that's because of the irregular slowdown, my exceptional clumsiness, or what), and one that's LP,LP,f,LK,HP, I think, and it looks like a short-range dashing command throw or something--but the one time I activated it, I was way out of range of the opponent. : P
- Pyron's name is momentarily visible while his portrait is still blacked out on the character select screen, at least when you've reached the boss stage--the selector flickers over him briefly, and his name appears during that split-second in the 2P name slot. ; )
 
  paleface 11:57:03 07/14/22
           
Re: my earlier comment about no red screen flash: no version of Darkstalkers (1) had red screen flashes, they didn't come up with that method of torture until the second game.
    
 
references:
· Capcom Fighting Collection (PS4)
· Darkstalkers 3 (PS1)
· Darkstalkers Resurrection (PS3)
· Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection (PS2)

 
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