DarkStalkers was already quite uncommon, making the sequel even moreso. Street Fighter was established, and X-Men was taking off. As such, I never actually saw and/or played Night Warriors in the wild (until many, many years later in Japanese arcades). When the game was actually current in the USA, I didn't hear of a single place in my state that had it. Maybe one of the chain arcades had it at one time, but never during any of my visits. I didn't hear of anywhere having it from anyone, either. My complete and utter disappointment in arcade management didn't start here, but it sure didn't restore my faith. I did, however, hear of a Night Warriors machine in California. Disneyland, to be exact. You might wonder how this was even possible, since I wasn't even in California at that time.

I'd leave that friend's house (often in disappointment) and return home the same path as always, through a once-quaint industry town marred by condemned properties and residence covered in graffiti. Once a thriving city of commerce when the state was considered a "boom town", it came to border on poverty wrought by bad economic policies. As per usual, bad economic policies sold by the usual suspects in government who promoted Marxism (and still do) through great "new" Socialist ideas like the North American Free Trade Agreement (and others before it, I'm sure). The town didn't quite reach poverty, but poor citizen morale, lack of sidewalks, questionable drinking water, gang activity, murmurs of being built atop a landfill, and rumblings from the (nuclear waste) underground sure didn't help its poor reputation. It was the kind of place that didn't enjoy positive remarks from state locals, with jabs and jokes toward it even on the radio (back then). I am told its poor reputation has survived into the present (despite gentrification efforts). It was through my traversal of this ghost town on my journeys home that I would imagine what it would be like to play Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter: DarkStalkers' Revenge. With only a few arcades in town (and one closing), I knew that the chances of the game coming to my town were slim to none (just like everything else). If we played it, it wouldn't be in our town and likely (if at all) in one of the surrounding cities, but the odds favored the impossible. This fact compounded my disappointment. That summer had come and gone, but the disappointment of it all remained.

My body walked amongst decay and ruin in the hot summer sun of those dilapidated small town streets in reality, but my imagination took me on a parallel journey to the Disneyland arcade in the hot summer sun of California. My mind can still see it even now. The palm trees, the outside shining sun visible from the inside shade of open archways in seemingly-rustic, villa architecture. I was never blessed with the chance to visit the iconic locale when I lived in California (and still haven't even as an adult), but my image of it was formed from my own experience combined with media coverage of it and its events from throughout the years. I (still) cannot speak to the accuracy of the architecture in my daydreams, but I can say that a lot of the arcades on the USA West coast seem to have that style. Accurate to real life or not, it was the backdrop to the ethereal experience of my dream to play Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter: DarkStalkers' Revenge for myself. It was a sort of correction (for lack of a better description) to my friend's exercise in poor judgment when he was blessed with the opportunity to experience it in real life. Oh, how I wanted to play this game that seemed so far away, so badly. The exotic shores of Japan from which the game was designed, made, and shipped, to the shores of the USA where it arrived in limitation, all made the game seem like it was eons away. Indeed, the vast expanse between those turbulent times as a teenager and my surreal later life seems like eons. That surreal life would have me obtaining Vampire Hunter at long last in its very country of origin; a place that always seemed as far away as the game itself. Disappointment and pain would have to take place before that would ever happen, though...

Perhaps in an attempt to redeem himself, that friend would come to own Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter upon its release for the Saturn. Of course, it was short lived, but it was so awesome being able to experience this fabled game I had only seen and heard about in media, but never actually got to see or play for myself. You see, this friend was willing to put in the work necessary for learning Special Moves and all that, but he was the type of person who couldn't handle being beaten. As you can expect, he would get rid of his games as soon as others would get better at it. Sometimes, I thought he did it on purpose just to punish whoever beat him. Bound by foolish pride, he would eventually part with this masterpiece, as well. This would solidify his reputation for trading timeless classics for only a few bucks toward vastly-inferior titles nobody would remember. I would finally get to witness Capcom's mysterious masterpiece for myself, but the experience would be fleeting. It was painful, and it one of the few experiences in my life where I could feel a part of me ripped from the fabric of my soul. Would I have felt better if I had gotten a Saturn while I was in high school (with Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter, Street Fighter Alpha/Street Fighter Zero, and X-Men: Children Of The Atom)? Or would I have still felt hollow by that time I had saved enough for it?

Years later, my soul would finally be at rest. I would eventually obtain Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter on two separate occasions later in life. One, ironically-enough in a sunny, coastal place with palm trees and heat. The other, in the very land in which the game was made. Although seemingly-unrecognizable after my making the necessary sacrifices to rise like a phoenix from the ashes of that bespoke past, I never forgot where I was from and what my dreams were. I chased those dreams to the ends of the Earth; all of them. Literally. Days would become nights, and nights would become days from frequent flying, subway cadence, and the constant hum of bus engines. My feet seemed like they were never touching the ground in what seemed like permanent jetlag. Despite that, the vivid memories of Night Warriors would remain, shining through the rain with hope that got me through despair and not being able to experience the game throughout my travels. You see, my awesome Capcom Sega Saturn and its Capcom 4MB RAM cartridge would still be under safe keeping in an undisclosed location. I would also find a second skeleton-colored controller to complete my Capcom Saturn, but would not be able to experience Night Warriors with it until my next trip to that undisclosed location. I always held onto hope, though, and was able to experience Night Warriors in all of its glory. I don't play it all of the time, but every time I do, it still stands as a reminder of why that era in time was Capcom's Golden Age. Like Street Fighter Alpha and X-Men: Children Of The Atom, there could have been no better match for Night Warriors than the Saturn. Through the years, Night Warriors would always stand as a masterpiece to me, and time has proven that it could have only happened on Sega's Saturn.

But, why the Sega Saturn? Well, from a technical point-of-view, if Capcom's 3-D efforts were designed around home conversion to the PlayStation, then their 2-D efforts were designed around conversions to the Saturn. Bits and pieces from various interviews would indicate that in the same way Sony would visit developers for input on what they desired in PlayStation as a 3-D development platform, to some degree Sega is said to have taken a similar approach to Saturn as a 2-D development machine. I believe these accounts, as truth in both can be seen in their libraries. I don't believe that Sega just got lucky with the Saturn being made for 2-D development by chance or coincidence. I believe that Sega is truthful about the Saturn being designed primarily for 2-D with input from developers (before adding 3-D components afterward). From Pyron's fluid flames to Demitri's luxurious background ladies, the VDP1 handles the animation of the characters while the VDP2 handles the backgrounds, combining to power all 2-D demands of Night Warriors with the greatest of ease. Every attack in this game has so much personality, and the Saturn's GPUs and CPUs work in tandem to bring each character's moves to life. It's just amazing to see the Saturn's VDP1 and VDP2 GPUs work with its twin SH-2 CPUs to generate the beautiful 2-D visuals and animation in Night Warriors. You can look at a character or background and immediately know which part of the hardware is actually processing it to appear on the screen. It really does feel like the Saturn was made for Night Warriors (just like Street Fighter Alpha and X-Men: Children Of The Atom)! That being said, I don't see how GameFan's Nick Rox came to the conclusion that there was somehow more animation in PlayStation DarkStalkers than Saturn Night Warriors. I just don't see the Saturn's VDP1 and VDP2 GPUs being outdone at 2-D by the PlayStation's single, undedicated processor (even with a coprocessor). Perhaps instead of VDP2 standing for "Video Display Processor 2", Capcom could have playfully marketed it as "Vampire Display Processor 2", since the chip did the 2-D processing for the number "2" game in the "Vampire" series!

As explained in the Street Fighter Alpha and X-Men: Children Of The Atom articles, the architecture of the Saturn delivered these titles to homes of the consumer market with a degree of fidelity indistinguishable from the arcades. Night Warriors was no different, establishing a tradition of quick conversions from CPS-II arcade hardware to Saturn. That tradition would span several CPS-II titles, many of which I consider to be timeless works of art. The tradition would encompass a variety of genres, and would see some of Capcom's most iconic titles, but would have an untimely end with Street Fighter Alpha 3. Later in life, I would come to understand rare sentiment of why Marvel VS. Capcom should have had a Saturn conversion, and lament the fact that it didn't. The Saturn did get Night Warriors, though, and for that I am forever grateful. I hold it in high regards amongst my most coveted Capcom games of all-time. Everything about Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter: DarkStalkers Revenge is perfect. This is the peak of the DarkStalkers series. Anything that was flawed in the original DarkStalkers was corrected and made perfect in its Night Warriors sequel.

Like X-Men: Children Of The Atom, the charm of Night Warriors ultimately lies in its adaptation of American characters into the Japanese style. Capcom literally made a monster fighting game by combining a motley crew of iconic characters synonymous with the Western Halloween holiday, classic American horror, and even urban legends! What makes Night Warriors and the DarkStalkers series so special, though, is how Capcom took all of these characters and revitalized them by presenting them through the Japanese style of animation and design. If you look back at their black & white cinematic origins, you'll see that Capcom's renditions of them in Night Warriors (and the DarkStalkers series) makes them equally timeless, but in animated form. Primitive in the black & white of their classic cinema format, Capcom's versions of the same characters in video game format are bursting with vivid color and vibrance that is unmistakably modern. Capcom's amazing producers and artists must have went through a lot of the painstaking trial and error to depict each of the spooky creatures in DarkStalkers with such accuracy. The degree of faithfulness on display with every single attack, movement, and background is simply spectacular. Night Warriors is truly a sight to behold, and even the imagery from merely seeing it in magazines resides forever in my mind. It's a colorful, splashy depiction of a once dim cast of misfits that could only be made by Capcom. Their unique brand of "East Meets West" design is essentially what put them on the map, and only they could bring folklore from cultures around the world together for a fighting game!

In a lot of fighting games, the analysis of characters and their stages can be separate. The backdrops they fight in aren't necessarily an extension of their persona. The characters in Night Warriors, however, are connected to their fighting locales inherently through their cinematic origins. I cannot imagine the cast of Night Warriors without the stages connected to them. Historically, Capcom has been known to re-color backgrounds in follow-up entries of their games, and we've seen this in other CPS-II games. Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and Hyper Street Fighter II's backgrounds were the same, but were essentially re-colored and updated versions of those in Street Fighter II - Champion Edition and Street Fighter II Turbo, which were re-colored and updated versions of the originals in Street Fighter II. That tradition continues with the backgrounds from the first DarkStalkers into Night Warriors; all of which were re-colored and updated with Japanese sensibilities in mind. Where the focus of the first DarkStalkers was just for the backgrounds to set the corresponding theme of the character they were designed to support, the focus of Night Warriors as an established sequel is more about setting the mood. For me, the vibrance of the re-coloring to set that mood was always something that set the game apart from a lot of other Capcom fighters of the time. To me, only Marvel Super Heroes VS. Street Fighter would ever approach that vibrance.

The Merman Rikuo's habitat wasn't depicted as just the dark, eerie swamp in the night from its origins in cinema, but as a thriving green rainforest bustling with wildlife. With the stirring of tropical birds and aquatic life alike, his Brazil locale really did look like the Amazon. In Night Warriors, it's even more lush and colorful than before, colored in a purple hue so fitting that your lungs could almost feel the humid mist of the rainforest when you breathe. Rikuo's flapping gills demonstrate this during his win pose. Harmony is an important aspect of Japanese culture, and we also see this on display when Rikuo is at harmony with his environment during his win poses, or when leveraging it against threats with the Sea Rage tidal wave EX Special Move. Also not present in the classic, Western depiction of the Merman (or fish man) is a Japanese elegance that Capcom designed and animated Rikuo with. Contrary to the American portrayal of the Merman as a hideous villain in classic cinematic horror, perhaps the Japanese saw this character as more connected to their island culture and consequently portrayed him as a Hero Of The Deep. Of all the non-Japanese and/or non-Asian characters in the game, Rikuo seems to be the closest.

Something that always stood out to me about the first DarkStalkers was the bright-white glow of Bishamon's snowy Japanese village under the moonlight. It was always one of the stages I saw less than the others, but it always stood out as an interesting view of Japanese culture I'd someday learn about. The blanket of thick snow over the nestled village painted a portrait of northern Japan that I would eventually learn about. Artwork is usually a mirror of a country, its land, and culture, which Capcom's artists certainly succeeded with in appealing to the West. In this sequel, time has lapsed and the glowing warmth of the sunrise washes over the cascading snowy village in a soft orange gradient that makes it look a little less freezing and a little more inviting. That is, of course, until Bishamon's thirsty blade spills blood in the snow of its sadistic wake. Not quite as sweet as honey, and not quite as sour as lemon, the chaos of Bishamon's silent suffering and his locale in Night Warriors bring a feeling somewhere in between.

Capcom's Japanese touch can be seen with their inclusion of Bishamon, a possessed samurai from Japanese folklore. The samurai is biggest and baddest in Night Warriors compared to any other game in the series, with his overwhelming technical advantages resulting at a designation of #2 in the Character Ranking Chart of GameFan's Official Night Warriors Guide as hard proof. The EX Special Move Tsurane Giri makes Bishamon five times more threatening than before, allowing him to split himself into five sequentially downward-slashing replicas. We get to see a little more of the Accursed Samurai in Night Warriors, but never too much to lift the darkness of his mystique. The Japanese belief of dual destinies brings us to an impasse where we still feel for this terrifying character as he is tormented by living in the world of a normal life he can never return to. Bishamon's ending is the most impactful ending in the game, going far beyond the game and its theme and venturing into Japanese culture and psyche. The melancholy tone of the traditional Japanese music in his ending is amongst Capcom's best, and video games in general. The music in his ending drives a Japanese theme of patriotism conflicted by perceived failure. The Japanese belief of Buddhist death and rebirth is also strong in his bittersweet defeat of the cursed sword only to return to it in order fight more evil. The music that really drives this all conveys the Japanese spirit perfectly. It's unbelievable, and could easily be used outside of the video game realm. The undying loyalty and conviction that lies beneath the surface of Bishamon's tortured, demonic exterior is quite possibly one of the most authentic portrayals of the Japanese psyche in video games.

Lord Raptor (Zabel) is another character who Capcom really fleshed-out from DarkStalkers to Night Warriors (pun intended). The ingenuity of the designers at Capcom knows no bounds, and the mechanically-inclined Death Rocker known as Lord Raptor is a perfect example of this. Right before Resident Evil made zombies trendy in all their rotting, shuffling g(l)ory, they made one for DarkStalkers. They weren't content with adding a slow, nondescript pile of flesh and bone to the ro(s)t(er), however. They made the zombie for DarkStalkers the coolest one ever seen, complete with anamorphic abilities that allowed him to turn his legs into the very chainsaws American movies are known for! He was even designed to expel the electricity used to power his tool(s). Of course, being a zombie, the emphasis of his grotesque design is literally on flesh and bone normal attacks, Special Moves, ES Special Moves, and EX Special Moves that involve razor-sharp, painful-looking protrusions that extend far beyond his body. Both of his visceral Fierce Punch attacks (the crouching one where his ribs protrude upward from his body into the air, and the standing one where his elbow extends across the screen with a monster face emerging from the dangling flesh) return to Night Warriors and continue to beg the question of who the attacks are more of a detriment to!

I like how Capcom portrayed an interesting piece of American culture not often seen in video games with the addition of Lord Raptor's unpredictable Hell Dunk EX Special Move. The British rocker commands his little buddy Le Malta to swallow them whole while he awaits in a basketball jersey and shorts. Yes, basketball gear. Le Malta spits the opponent out as a basketball passed to the zombie, then turns into a makeshift backboard. Yes, basketball in a 2-D Capcom fighter; a Halloween-themed 2-D fighter, at that! Lord Raptor catches the pass, dribbles and takes the ball to the hole, then slams his opponent with earth-shattering dunk! Yes, you heard right, and this is not a section mistakenly meant for another article. No, this is actually in Night Warriors. This is cool not only because it's the type of thing you'd never expect to see in a game like this, but also because it's a snippet of an underrepresented part of American culture known by few. That part of American culture is the American East Coast brand of death metal fans crossed-over into basketball. In the wild, they are known for a distinct look; basketball shorts and athletic sneakers combined with an unexpected black-colored death metal T-shirt. His stage music isn't fast or abrasive-enough to qualify as death metal, and the Union Jack isn't synonymous with that scene, but Lord Raptor himself surely has the gore part down, and his Super Move definitely represents that niche death metal scene well-enough for me to have noticed it!

Werewolf J. Talbain (Gallon) returns from DarkStalkers as an even better example of Japanese influence in Night Warriors. A half-man, half-canine monster struggling to keep control of himself in black & white movies, Capcom re-imagined the monster as a calculating martial artist in full-control for DarkStalkers. The Whirlwind Wolfman comes from DarkStalkers into Night Warriors with a degree of focus and control that allows him to harness his affliction to perform a new Million Flicker Special Move and new Dragon Cannon EX Special Move. Both of these new moves really drive home the Japanese theme, since J. Talbain performs both of them while wielding nunchuks. Wait, nunchuks? As in, martial arts weapons?! In yet another demonstration of unparalleled ingenuity, Capcom gave the wolf man a confident makeover complete with nunchuks to go with his martial arts outfit. A werewolf with nunchuks?! How cool is that?! J. Talbain certainly lives up to being The Whirlwind Wolfman with his spin kick and and other martial arts attacks. It's cool seeing characters like Fei Long do these moves, but there's something so much cooler about seeing a werewolf do them!

As for his condition, Capcom didn't totally do away with what makes the werewolf character what he is. They just decided instead to shift the focus from the character's affliction to his strength, and the intrinsic ability to use that strength to overcome the affliction. The only time we ever even hear of J. Talbain suffering from his affliction is in his ending, but even then there's a Japanese theme of exceeding limits that diminishes that. The idea of the wolf man overcoming obstacles to reverse his affliction is more Japanese than it is Western. There are times when we feel a little bad for J. Talbain, but it is more because of how sad he sounds in defeat than being defeated by his affliction. His rustic British pub stage is upbeat with cheeky pianos and jazzy brass amidst fellow werewolves prowling about cobblestone streets. The time of day in J. Talbain's stage would change from night time brawls in DarkStalkers to sunset wine in Night Warriors. Major Mike praised this stage (in particular) in his review for GamePro.

Anakaris may be inspired by the black & white mummy of old, but it's in stark contrast to Capcom's extravagant rendition of the character. Capcom made Anakaris slow-moving and covered in bandages like his original counterpart, but the difference is how Capcom's version doesn't look frail and about to fall apart into dust at any moment. Anakaris was outfitted with the grand appearance of a Pharaoh, and his huge moves are just as grand. Good luck getting away from him; he can still get you from virtually anywhere on the screen, and he has even more tricks to do it. Anakaris is still hulking and ominous, applying curses and shapeshifting while implementing a wide range of supernatural tricks into his evil assaults. His attacks were made to cover even more of the screen in Night Warriors (if that was even possible), making even Dhalsim jealous. Some of his hack combos are surprising. His tomb stage is one of the ones I always remember seeing on screen at the one DarkStalkers machine in my home town. The stage isn't much different from its DarkStalkers counterpart in Night Warriors, and its colors change so much that I can't even tell how they changed the hues! Either way, the stage is still one with the character, and the "Nile music" is part and parcel to it. The music for his stage is probably more memorable with the character than the stage itself. It all really brings out the myth of the Pharaoh's curse.

The stoic, yet humorous robotic reject returns! Capcom's more conscious take on the Frankenstein monster is even more polarizing in Night Warriors, with destructive and playful animations alike putting that on full display. It never ceases to make me laugh when he celebrates a tough round with flushing red cheeks and toots from his ears like a steam engine locomotive. Candid instances like this are what make the game Japanese! Victor's moves became more pronounced than ever, becoming larger than life on the screen. The Frankenstein would experience growth beyond epic proportions in Night Warriors, with even more exaggerated moves and strength that often fill the screen. This electrifying character would live up to its tragic legacy with a shocking array of attacks that remind me of Super Street Fighter II Turbo boxer Balrog (M. Bison). His "Frankenstein's Monster" backdrop still features all of the spooky lighting and ghost activity it had in DarkStalkers. Perhaps changes were made far in the background with the sunrise, but it's difficult to tell. Like Anakaris, the changes in Victor's stage (if any), are minimal at best.

Mayan protector Huitzil (Phobos) returns from his unplayable sub-boss status in DarkStalkers to playable sub-boss status in Night Warriors. Think Sagat from Street Fighter II to Street Fighter II Champion Edition. The Killer Robot still has his Low Plasma Beam and Normal Plasma Beam Special Moves, along with a new Vertical Plasma Beam to catch jumpers off-guard. GameFan's Official Night Warriors Guide recommends the ES Vertical Plasma Beam for optimum efficiency against problem jumpers like Lord Raptor and Pyron. His added Final Guardian firing squad EX Special Attack is arguably one of the coolest in the game. The amount of fireworks on the screen during this EX Special is sure to light-up any room. Of course, the Saturn handles the splashy CPS-II and pyrotechnics with the greatest of ease, blanketing the opponent in a hail of muzzle flash and explosions that leaves them charred in their descension to the ground. If in his home turf, that floor is the cold tile of the factory in Mexico which he and the other robot guardians are assembled at. The massive robot and its eerie hands are still housed in Huitzil's factory front and center, turned purple in Night Warriors from brown in DarkStalkers. The sounds of industry and buzz of electricity still remind me of this stage, particularly when the giant robot begins to malfunction and explode after a match. Though Huitzil ventures outside of its factory in Night Warriors (after being contained to it in DarkStalkers), I still imagine the factory when I think of this character. Huitzil and its factory stage always reminded me of Sentinel's factory stage in X-Men: Children of the Atom.

I always thought robot Huitzil (Phobos) from Latin America was one of the coolest, most unique characters in DarkStalkers, so I was excited to finally try the mechanical menace out when they made it playable in Night Warriors. Huitzil is another one of the characters we have the opportunity to know a little better in Night Warriors. The cold, calculating killing machine from DarkStalkers lightens up in the transition to Night Warriors, where we see it interact with wildlife (such as squirrels) and an aboriginal child (who tags along) during his win poses. Huitzil's little buddy is like Anita (who follows Donovan around during battle), but not emotionally bankrupt. When Donovan is defeated, Anita isn't very outwardly worried, but Huitzil's little buddy (who I don't know the name of) is devastated when Huitzil is defeated. It's tough to watch! The dichotomy between the treatment everyone else receives from Huitzil (a persistent hovering death from above and below), and the the treatment the boy receives (protective, playful, and gentle), is quite the spectacle to behold. It's nuances like this that make Night Warriors timeless.

Pyron is another character that we learn more about from DarkStalkers to Night Warriors. The previously unplayable endboss of DarkStalkers was made playable in Night Warriors for players to unleash mayhem with, and in barely decreased capacity. He was given a bar for EX Special Moves, and was toned-down a little, but is still quite a force to be reckoned with. Such a force, in fact, that he is at the top of a character ranking chart featured in the GameFan Official Night Warriors Guide. The chart was used with permission from Japanese publication Gamest Magazine (one the best video game magazines of all-time, and would later become known as Arcadia).

The voluptuous aspiring actress Felicia wasn't changed much from the first game, save for the new Help Me EX Special. In Night Warriors, Felicia can call on feral f(r)iends to jump you. It's probably one of the more humorous EX Special Moves in the game, leaving you bruised and battered with complementary lacerations after the dust settles. The Dancing Flash is still there, too (if you can land it in a combo). Like in DarkStalkers, Felicia stays agile with her leaps and deadly with her claws. Hidden beneath that irresistible, playful exterior are razor-sharp claws that might even extract more blood in Night Warriors than its predecessor! She is still a polarizing character, though. Her adorable, fun-loving nature was magnified in Night Warriors with animation that involves chasing butterflies and other cat-related activities. Of course, this was before animal worship became trendy (again). Whether you see her as the Chun-Li or Cammy of the DarkStalkers series, she is certainly one of its most appealing. Neon still washes over the Catwoman and her opponent in the bright lights of her showbiz battleground in Night Warriors (construction and all), just with a few differences between green and pink hues.

Hsien-Ko (Lei-Lei) the Chinese Ghost also plays a part in the Asian approach to the primarily Western cast of this game. Despite its Western theme, Japanese culture exists very strongly beneath the surface. Capcom's depiction of a Japanese image of the Chinese Ghost Hsien-Ko always intrigued me, and this game was her debut. I wasn't surprised when I saw her, and that was simply because her unbelievably cool design was the type we had come to expect from Capcom. She was eerie as she hopped about (instead of walking), lugging an armory under dragging, long sleeves of traditional Eastern clothing. Adding to her cool design was the mystique of an apparent arsenal of assorted weapons made at her disposal. It's really surprising the first time you see chrome blaze out of her sleeves and at the opponent. Knives, swords, Akuma statues, bombs, rocks...you name it, it's there (aside from firearms). Perhaps as a sort-of nod to old Street Fighter II rumors, she even throws Chun-Li's spiked bracelets! Her most visceral Special Move (and probably the most brutal in the game) has her swinging back and forth from an anchored chain, spinning with blades that spill gallons of blood in their wake. The horrific sound effects for this move fit the carnage seen through the enduring character animation unfolding on-screen. From her high voice and cute appearance, such moves are not what you'd expect out of such a character. You wouldn't expect her tragic story, either, in which her appearance is based on the untimely death of both her and her sister (of whom she was trying to protect). The complexity of such a character is yet another aspect of the game which I believe is highly Japanese in nature. It's just not a theme you'd see in a Western video game back then, and to see it now would feel contrived.

Did I talk about Donovan, yet? Quite possibly one of the coolest characters in the Capcom universe, this dude has been shrouded in mystery for as long as I can remember. A hardened Vampire Hunter with a giant sword, crazy eyes, a cool hat, and...a little girl who follow him around? Little Anita only adds to the mystery of Donovan and his past, and his (their) ending even alludes to her being Rose. While this has said to have been debunked, I believe there is a reason why fans thought this. The evidence is there, and it's quite compelling. There are already so many things Anita and Rose have in common, and the ending for Donovan makes it almost impossible not to seriously consider the possibilities. Donovan really is the face of Night Warriors, and I couldn't imagine the game without him. He really does define the game. He summons help from beyond that ranges from a Herculean foot to stomp unsuspecting foes, electrifying lightning, snowy frost, and incinerating flames. He can even toss his sword like a boomerang, adding to the confusion of his unorthodox arsenal of attacks. He is probably the most technical warrior in the game, and not as easy to use for newcomers as characters like Lord Raptor. Retrieving his sword can leave him at a great disadvantage in some scenarios. There really isn't a character quite like him, and his origins don't seem to be aligned with the little orange monster books of which his peers originated from. Although he may look more stoic than horror, little Anita certainly makes up for any lost horror value with the headless doll she carries around. That doll would later be used to show her "Love For You" with a Super Move she unleashes in Marvel Super Heroes.

Capcom is the best at designing female characters, with the polarizing Morrigan and her lonely-yet-lively castle estate being no exception. Her Night Warriors stage sees sexually-frustrated purples and deeper reds illuminate the cove glimpse of her castle estate to bring the mood to life amidst the hope of a moonlit canopy with bursting fireworks. The decision to go blonde makes her stand-out even amongst the festivities. The contrast in moods really brings the sweet and sour experience of dealing with her to life. Morrigan really is high-maintenance, and she was at her worst in Night Warriors. Not just any brand of heels would fit, and no amount of travel would satiate her appetite. The charm of her Darkness Illusion EX Special Move is still there, but she couldn't resist the urge to create an "Astral Vision" EX Special mirror of herself. Korn song "Getting Off" from album "See You On The Other Side" coincidentally describes Morrigan perfectly here with the line, "And more could never be enough".

The most gorgeous rendition of Morrigan (and her stage) is arguably in Night Warriors. Her portraits in Night Warriors are, in a single word, irresistible. Her shape and form cement her the rightful title of "Ass Queen", bearing an uncanny resemblance to some of my favorite women and girlfriends. Her sultry versus screen picture is to die for (literally), and her fleshy win screen portrait will see your body temperature rise. Morrigan's in-game poses and outfits range from classy to slutty, both of which bear so much to love. What's not to love? The destructive mood swings she suffers from in her CPU form are enough to put out the fire in anyone's heart. Though not quite as difficult as her DarkStalkers counterpart, she's still a terror in Night Warriors, and can easily strip you of your vitality (and any dignity you came with). Working my way to the end of the game to see ending(s) or achieve high scores, Morrigan is the one character who will almost dash my streak with mean controller-reading and high damage combos. Deftones song "Poltergeist" from album Koi No Yokan (Premonition Of Love) perfectly illustrates the affect Morrigan's passionate destruction has on the player, echoing how "I think I had enough, I think you keep playing to play, knowing that I feel sick, come on show me, just say you like to play, this game, just to drive me wild...I love you to death, but you know that you've been bad".

In fact, the only flaw Night Warriors really even has would be Morrigan's cheap AI that was carried over from the previous installment, but most of the cheap AI from Super Street Fighter II Turbo was fixed. In DarkStalkers, any character could become a major problem by about the 4th or 5th match, but in Night Warriors this happens far less (if it happens at all). Huitzil and Pyron were also balanced for player use, with their CPU versions being a lot less oppressive as a result. Overall, Night Warriors CPU is not nearly as tough as the DarkStalkers CPU, but it's still up there with a few characters. Tug-of-war projectiles were an interesting twist in this series that return in Night Warriors. This aspect of the series doesn't really get talked-about much, and I can understand why; it really didn't even come to mind until I saw something about it online. It really is more funny than anything, though, watching projectiles struggle against each other to reach their target. Morrigan's bats crack me up as the frantic flapping of their wings show the strain. This really sets the DarkStalkers series apart from Street Fighter, where projectiles are nullified as they cancel each other out. Some may consider this a flaw, but it's just an aspect of the series I came to expect. Although, there is one thing that might not have necessarily been a flaw, but was a little disappointing to find...

It wasn't noticeable right off the bat, but after numerous failed attempts to combo Special Moves and EX Special Moves into normal attack chains, I came to realize that it was no longer possible. Putting Special Moves and EX Special Moves at the end of a chain combo was one of the things that made DarkStalkers so much fun, and I was a little sad to see that it was taken out in the transition to Night Warriors. Two-In-One EX Special Move combos are still possible, but still. To some degree, the newly-added Pursuit Attack compensates for that. It's equally thrilling trying to land the move as the attacker as it is trying to avoid it as the defender. Trying to catch opponent with the Pursuit Attack as soon as their back hits the ground is challenging for the attacker, with the recovery of "Getting Up" with "Strategic Wake-Up" conversely challenging for the defender. It gives Night Warriors a sense of speed faster than Street Fighter Alpha and different than X-Men: Children Of The Atom. GameFan's Official Strategy Guide points out that there is the option of stronger, more intimidating ES Pursuit Attacks, but warns that an unsuccessful attempt results in wasted Special Gauge. As a whole in any of its forms, the Pursuit Attack is just as much a mental tool as it is a weapon for extending attack damage. Simple things like leading sweeps into it are useful because just the imagery and sequence of attacks can shut opponents down before the fight has barely even progressed. A seemingly-insignificant knockdown can be used as a major psychological opportunity against a weak-willed opponent. Adding it to the end of long combos, even moreso. The Pursuit Attack in Night Warriors is rarely acknowledged, let alone the importance of its mental effects on opponents during competitive play. I'd consider it to be the most important technique in the game next to Chain/Link Combos and Guard Reversals.

Despite the elitist mentality of the "Fighting Game Community" (and gatekeepers like them), I was always happy to see Auto Mode in Street Fighter Alpha and X-Men: Children Of The Atom as an added option to attract new players. It really helps new players enjoy these awesome games, too, and that's what it's all about! Like those games, Night Warriors also features Auto Blocking, which illuminates characters in blue when utilized. Now, some would argue why Auto Blocking is even necessary if Air Blocking was carried over from DarkStalkers into Night Warriors, but the reason is because there are more than just those situations in the game. Auto Blocking really does help beginners play the game without being caught in endless sweeps. Air Blocking eventually becomes second-nature, though, and I came to hold back to Air Block with almost every jump that didn't use a priority attack. Blocking in the air was yet another aspect of Night Warriors that I always loved. It's just such a cool feature, and definitely one that defined Capcom's CPS-II Golden Era. It's in a lot of the Capcom fighters of the time, and each one of them was better for it!

Even in the year 2024, I am continuously-amazed at Capcom's craft with Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter. Though popular opinion places Vampire Savior above Night Warriors, I do not subscribe to it. Vampire Savior uses the 4MB RAM cart, and although Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter does not, it feels more animated. Some of the coolest moves in Night Warriors were either downgraded (J. Talbain/Gallon's fiery Dragon Blaze) for Vampire Savior or outright replaced (Bishamon's Tsurane Giri replica attack). Both were screen-filling summon moves. Bishamon's Tsurane Giri samurai line slash from Night Warriors for the block-dropping EX Special in Vampire Savior was not a good trade. J. Talbain's Dragon Blaze design looked a lot cooler in Night Warriors than in VS, too. One could say that the older characters feel like they lost their personality in Vampire Savior from Night Warriors. The stages in Night Warriors were also better; a LOT better. If you remembered the jungle stage in Night Warriors, the one in Vampire Savior felt soulless in comparison. Vampire Savior did have some cool stages (like the one where you fight on the side of a building), but they seemed few and far between compared to the frequency of its predecessor. The story of Night Warriors was a lot more straightforward than the story in Vampire Savior, which felt like it was being pulled into every direction. On one hand, it revolves around Jedah, but then it seems like it revolves around Lilith, but then Demitri..? I've always thought that Night Warriors had some amazing music. No shitty, soggy reggae rhythms like what was so popular at the time; just awesome synthesized music by Capcom's legendary arcade composer(s). The story about how they used synthesized ran drop sample sounds in some of the music truly is memorable. It's so, so good. The music in Vampire Savior is intriguing, but the moody soundtrack of Night Warriors is on a whole other level. It's not just better than Vampire Savior; it's some of the best in a long list of excellent CPS-II game soundtracks.

Just like with Street Fighter Alpha and X-Men: Children Of The Atom, there couldn't have a hardware more fitting for a home conversion of Night Warriors than the Sega Saturn. The machine handles everything in Night Warriors with the greatest of ease. The transition of Night Warriors from a massive CPS-II arcade version to an to a Saturn consumer version is nothing short of incredible. Capcom utilized every ounce of the Saturn's 2-D power to make it happen. The Saturn's twin SH-2 chips and twin VDP chips were all made for this in a configuration designed specifically for 2-D processing. All of the vibrant backgrounds, exaggerated animation, and flashy effects from the arcade CPS-II version made it into the consumer Saturn version with little-to-no concessions. It is truly remarkable, both from a hardware and software point-of-view. I considered Night Warriors to be a masterpiece either way (arcade or home). I always wanted the arcade game in my home, and with the Saturn I got that. It is my favorite out of all of the DarkStalkers games, striking that perfect medium with all the right moves, characters, sounds, and sites. Vampire Savior (DarkStalkers: Jedah's Damnation) gets close, but they made so many sweeping changes that it made it almost unrecognizable. To me, nearly everything that made Night Warriors so special was lost going into Vampire Savior. There were definitely some cool things about Vampire Savior, as well, but Night Warriors really is the coolest. It's always held a special place in my heart for Capcom games, and always will.

Copyright BAD'S COMMENTARY PAGE 2025. Any copyrighted materials on this site are property of their respective owners.