Folks don’t usually associate the horror genre with fighting games, but the popularity of fan-made creations like TerrorDrome and the success of horror-based licensed characters in titles like Mortal Kombat prove that there is a market for this kind of hybrid experience. In fact, at one point there was a popular series of games that capitalized on monster movie thrills when coming up with its roster of supernatural fighters in what can basically summed up as a goth rendition of Street Fighter.
Naturally, I’m referring to Capcom’s Darkstalkers (also known as Vampire in Japan), a collection of arcade fighting games that were all the rage back in the 90s but slowly faded into obscurity as the pubic became enamored with three-dimensional action. And as other fighting franchises continue to expand their aging legacy well into the 2020s, I thought that this might be the perfect time to look back on the monster movie origins of Darkstalkers and why the series deserves a proper revival.
The story of Darkstalkers begins way back in the early 90s, with Capcom commissioning a monster-based fighting game that was originally meant to star a spooky collection of Yokai (supernatural beings from Japanese folklore) until producer Alex Jimenez stepped in and suggested that the team attempt to make an official Universal Monsters game instead. Unfortunately, Universal Studios refused to license their characters, resulting in Jiminez having to transform these highly recognizable monsters into an assortment of legally distinct fighters.
This is how The Wolfman’s John Talbot became Jon Talbain and Count Dracula was transformed into the de facto male protagonist of the series as Demitri Maximoff. However, some of the character inspirations are a little less obvious, as Capcom’s developers didn’t stop at simply avoiding copyright infringement. The team chose to modify some of these creatures so heavily that they became entirely original (and often bonkers) creations, something that would become a running theme as the series evolved.
I didn’t know Dracula was also a Kung-Fu Master.
For instance, the undead rocker Lord Raptor bears almost no resemblance to his Night of the Living Dead brethren, and the succubus Morrigan is a far cry from the cinematic female vampires that inspired her. The game also presented some other unique flourishes that made these updated incarnations of classic monsters stand out from their established cousins, such as having the Frankenstein-esque Victor von Gerdenheim seek approval from his “father” through combat. Hell, the third game would even go on to feature a serial-killer parody of Little Red Riding Hood that blasts enemies with a machine-gun – what’s not to love?
Notably, some of the story details here were the result of unprecedented collaboration between Capcom’s Japanese branch and an American localization team that happened to be horror fans. That’s why Darkstalkers is one of few fighting games to feature dark and tragic storylines for its characters, with several endings leaving the protagonists feeling even more lost than before in a nod to the mean-spirited nature of classic creature features.
And with no other arcade franchises taking this genre-inspired approach back then, it’s only natural that Darkstalkers would become popular enough to warrant a handful of equally successful sequels and spin-offs throughout the 90s. While the core series only consists of three main games that were later ported to consoles, these titles ended up spawning a series of tie-in books, comics and more.
The franchise was clearly much more successful in Japan than in the west, with Eastern viewers getting everything from a Madhouse-produced Darkstalkers anime to Japan-exclusive crossovers with other fighters, but even America saw a short-lived animated series loosely adapting the games for a younger audience in a bizarre example of cartoon gateway horror.
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I know it’s awesome!
That being said, the series never quite reached the same heights as Capcom’s other iconic horror and fighting game properties, with only Morrigan and Felicia managing to survive as recurring fixtures in Capcom’s recent releases. I think this is a huge shame as those three initial games feature some of the most creative characters in fighting game history, with the refreshingly dark inspirations for the title appealing even to non-horror fans.
And with the fighting game landscape becoming more and more barren as fewer franchises share the spotlight, I’d argue that we need a new Darkstalkers game now more than ever. Hell, maybe Capcom could even negotiate some licensed Universal Monster fighters now that studios are more willing to cooperate for interactive crossovers, though I’d also be satisfied with new playable monsters inspired by unused classics like the Invisible Man and the Phantom of the Opera.
Despite living in Street Fighter’s shadow and dealing with dwindling popularity due to the lack of new releases, Darkstalkers’ legacy can still be felt in gaming to this very day. From introducing characters with non-humanoid proportions to allowing players to form their own impromptu combo chains, these games are far more important to gaming history than fans may initially realize. One might even argue that modern DLC-heavy fighters that include licensed characters from horror films owe a thing or two to the original monster fight simulator.
At the end of the day, Darkstalkers may not be the worldwide phenomenon that it once was, but the series still remains a cult favorite amongst horror fans and fighting game enthusiasts alike. While I’d appreciate a franchise revival with an expanded roster of creatures of the night and updated mechanics, the original games are just as entertaining now as they were back in the 90s, and I’d highly recommend revisiting these interactive creature features if you’re a fan of monster-on-monster violence.
After all, any game that lets you pit the Mummy against the Creature from the Black Lagoon in an all-out brawl is alright in my book.
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