Speaking purely in terms of gameplay and overarching systems, the first Darkstalkers isn’t anything to write home about. It’s the standard six button affair, each game is first to two rounds with each round having a 99 second timer. It’s far from bad but it isn’t remarkable in any sense. What really sets the game apart are the characters and the visuals.
First and foremost, the character designs in this game are amazing, especially considering it’s the first game in the series. Who doesn’t love a martial artist werewolf, a succubus with jet pack wings, a werecat Vegas dancer who spins like Sonic the Hedgehog, a floating mummy who can blow on opponents to turn them into babies, and a zombie rockstar from Australia that stabs people with his ribcage, just to name a few. Every playable character is brimming with personality often lacking in fighters of the time, and it’s a refreshing change of pace. Every character is distinct both in terms of play style and visuals, making all of them infinitely more recognizable than the average playable character of the time, whether it’s one of the ten starting characters or one of the two secret characters.
A large part of this distinctiveness is due to the visuals, which are stellar. Every is beautiful and memorable in its own right, all being a pleasure to play on, but the sprite work is where the style really shines. The sprites on display in the Dark Stalkers seir are some of the best in any sprite-based fighting game, full stop. The first game is no exception to this, as every animation breathes life into the characters. This helps not only make the game visually interesting and a joy to watch, but helps characterize each of the fighters and give them personality that would typically otherwise be relegated to arcade endings or supplemental material. I can’t help but what to describe them but I just don’t know if I have the words to properly explain how funny it is seeing Morrigan’s body morph into the shape of a seven as her eyes and tongue pop out of her head, for example. I implore anyone reading this to either play the game or at the very least look up a sprite sheet to see what I mean.
Besides the largely unimpressive albeit inoffensive gameplay, the main issues with Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors is that it simply doesn’t really have much of anything to make anyone want to go back to it, simply because its sequels do everything it does but so, so much better. However, this is still a charming, fun experience and one I wouldn’t want to see get lost to the sands of time. Dark Stalkers may for all intents and purposes be dead, but it’ll live in my and in many others minds.
First and foremost, the character designs in this game are amazing, especially considering it’s the first game in the series. Who doesn’t love a martial artist werewolf, a succubus with jet pack wings, a werecat Vegas dancer who spins like Sonic the Hedgehog, a floating mummy who can blow on opponents to turn them into babies, and a zombie rockstar from Australia that stabs people with his ribcage, just to name a few. Every playable character is brimming with personality often lacking in fighters of the time, and it’s a refreshing change of pace. Every character is distinct both in terms of play style and visuals, making all of them infinitely more recognizable than the average playable character of the time, whether it’s one of the ten starting characters or one of the two secret characters.
A large part of this distinctiveness is due to the visuals, which are stellar. Every is beautiful and memorable in its own right, all being a pleasure to play on, but the sprite work is where the style really shines. The sprites on display in the Dark Stalkers seir are some of the best in any sprite-based fighting game, full stop. The first game is no exception to this, as every animation breathes life into the characters. This helps not only make the game visually interesting and a joy to watch, but helps characterize each of the fighters and give them personality that would typically otherwise be relegated to arcade endings or supplemental material. I can’t help but what to describe them but I just don’t know if I have the words to properly explain how funny it is seeing Morrigan’s body morph into the shape of a seven as her eyes and tongue pop out of her head, for example. I implore anyone reading this to either play the game or at the very least look up a sprite sheet to see what I mean.
Besides the largely unimpressive albeit inoffensive gameplay, the main issues with Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors is that it simply doesn’t really have much of anything to make anyone want to go back to it, simply because its sequels do everything it does but so, so much better. However, this is still a charming, fun experience and one I wouldn’t want to see get lost to the sands of time. Dark Stalkers may for all intents and purposes be dead, but it’ll live in my and in many others minds.