Why Hasn’t Darkstalkers Been Resurrected? 

Morrigan is single-handedly responsible for defining the design of succubi and sex-demons in general in anime and manga. If nothing else, that deserves some respect!

I hope it comes back with a sequel, i love the character designs of darkstalkers

Calling Darkstalkers a Street Fighter clone is a bit disingenuous theres a ot mechanically that sets darkstalkers apart. Darkstalkers was essentially the first airdasher. A lot of anime fighting games can trace their DNA back to Darkstalkers.

We’ve seen a glimpse of what a 3D fighting game would look like for Darkstalkers thanks to MVC3 and it’s a shame we may never see that spooky style be fully realized with new technology like RE Engine

Man, the artstyle- the animations, the charm, the pure unique identity, I wish this franchise had gotten to spread it's wings

A new Darkstalkers and a new Bloody Roar would be nice.

Yeah Darkstalkers needs a revival. I just wish Capcom would stop acting like they’re old franchises don’t matter as much as their current, longer running, popular franchises. We need a Darkstalkers revival, a Dino Crisis remake, an Onimusha remake, and a reboot of Rival Schools.

It’s a shame Darkstalkers never took off and its cast are just regulated into filling rosters for the Capcom vs series. They have such cool characters.

5:23 That's footage is not from the OVA, that's from the western cartoon from the people who made the bad street fighter cartoon.

The way this video contextualizes Darkstalkers financial success makes it sound like it flopped, but we have interviews of devs saying it was very successful for arcade standards of the time, the reason Capcom didn't follow up with it, again according to interviews, was that "it didn't sell as much as Street Fighter", essentially Capcom higher ups had unrealistic expectations of it's fighting games after SF2's success

One thing to note, when you talked about the Darkstalkers OVA you showed footage from the very bad Darkstalkers american cartoon which is the complete opposite of the OVA because the OVA is one of the best made video games adaptations ever and one of the OVAs ever in my opinion.

Never played the game that much but always LOVED the aesthetic of it. Would love to see it come back some day!

I hope we get a new Darkstalkers game. It has just as much potential as other Capcom games

This is incredible timing, I was literally just thinking about Darkstalkers and wondering what happened to it. I’m glad that the originals were recently released on Capcom Fighting Collection (which I just learned about)

I remember watching a series of videos called “Meet the Darkstalkers” that talked about the character lore, and I was obsessed. The world is so cool, I’d love for them to actually revisit it. It’s been so long, surely they can do a lot with it now.

best characters EVER! everyone is so cleverly unique and their moves are iconic! best fighting game ever

Id love to see darkstalkers come back in the RE engine. If they can revive resident evil with 7, revive sf with 6, revive monster hunter with world, and devil may cry with 5, they can definitely pull off darkstalkers.

As a collector and fan of darkstalkers its unfortunate that many people still don't know about it, even in the anime convention I would rarely find anyone that do know about from young adults to middle age adults or even elders. Its nice that Udon are still continuing the Darkstalkers legacy today in comics and merch ;) .

Absolutely not..... I'm 42 now, if Darkstalkers 4 ever gets announced, I'll be dead.

Same thing I could say about Rival Schools or TechRomancer, Capcom makes up this idea that it's not being asked for by the fans and when the fans ask for it they make up an excuse of it not being financially doable.

the "Darkstalkers are not dead" rugpull was one of the filthiest things Capcom's ever, EVER done.

Morrigan and Lilith are so iconic

Ah, 5:20 ... talking about the high quality Vampire Hunter OVA series, but showing clips of the uhh ... not such high quality Darkstalkers TV series. Oh well, if Capcom doesn't want to invest in a 3D Darkstalkers game, I'd still love to see them make an old school 2D game using mostly old pixel art. Like, Vampire Savior vs JJBA could be cool.

The only way I can see Darkstalkers ever coming back from the grave is if Capcom adds Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-Ko as DLC guest fighters in Street Fighter 6. That way, it will not only promote the possibility of a Darkstalkers reboot but also get the die-hard fans excited for it. Plus, newcomers who are playing Street Fighter 6 as their first entry in the series will be surprised and curious about Capcom's other fighting game series. Therefore, it will not just get fans of the arcade cult classic interested in SF6 but also get newcomers interested in a possible Darkstalkers reboot as well. As long as the same director of SF6 is in charge of the new Darkstalkers and Capcom makes good decisions with the game such as bringing back the entire roster from Darkstalkers 3/Vampire Savior Lord of the Vampire, then everything should be in good hands. 🧛‍♀️🐈‍⬛

Hope we get a character-focused, story-driven triple A, high action 'Darkstalkers' game where you play as fan favorite Morrigan! It could play similar to Devil May Cry & Bayonetta, exploring her & Lilith's story. Demitri could be the main antagonist.

Bring Back Darkstalkers!

We want a new Darkstalkers!

Well, the only close 3D Dark Stalkers like games are Omen of Sorrow, Terrordrome 2, and Killer Instincts (especially they added more supernatural fighters, an Onryo, a vengeful ghost, a vampire, a mummy, a golem, a spider woman, a robot chick, a demon shadow etc.)

If you're into Darkstalkers make sure to come hang out with us tomorrow at 3:30pm PST! Our producer and resident streamer Spencer will be live streaming here on RU-vid, Twitch, Facebook, and TikTok! Twitch: www.twitch.tv/nerdstalgicgaming FB: facebook.com/rankertotalnerd TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@rankerstudios

Minus calling a succubus sexy, thank you for sharing. I continue to wait until Capcom remembers their others games in their library as Darkstalkers deserve to have the story completed.

Don't worry, Capcom always has time for Darkstalkers.... when they're making a "Vs Capcom" game. That being said, should they bring back Darkstalkers I'd love to see them do what Street Fighter did with Final Fight and merge the universes of Darkstalkers together with Devil May Cry. We've already trial run it in Marvel vs Capcom and it works pretty brilliantly, I think, so why not just have Dante or Nero pop in as a playable character in Darkstalkers. Oh... and Amingo. Give the cactus a home, Capcom.

Sometimes, it is just better to move on. Darkstalkers was great but that doesn't guarantee the people now working there would treat it with the respect, creativity and, perhaps most importantly, the funding needed to bring it back. Just look at how they have handled the MvC franchise to see what happens to a series if it is left in the wrong hands. That said, resources should be used towards new IPs. While they are riskier, it is usually better than trying to force an old franchise to be something entirely different. Make no mistake about it, given the current state of game development, a new Darkstalkers game would either be completely different or a pale imitation of the originals.

Darkstalkers and Project Justice/Rival Schools deserved better

Would've been cool to see more ideas from this series.

Because Capcom fans would rather have another Resident Evil game. God forbid you go one year without a new resident evil game

I'm glad more and more people are talking about darkstalkers because it needs to come back.

Sure shot way to bring Darkstalkers back as a Bestselling franchise is a crossover fighter: Devil May Cry Vs Darkstalkers or a Streetfighter vs Darkstalkers game built from the engine & assets of SF6.

All I can think is give up probably won't ever happen

We need a darkstalkers 4

Video idea (BTW, I love these), Mechwarrior (BattleTech) franchise. Oh boy, is there a lot to talk about. How a popular tabletop game became a videogame franchise, died and then was resurrected. Twice. Keep doing the good work!

The 'Capcom Maneuver' wasn't a bad thing as these were arcade games. They werent selling to individual consumers, they were selling new cabs to arcades that want to provide players with the newest version of a game. It was a great way to reuse sprites while also giving players what they wanted, which was more characters and stages, and because its an arcade game the players dont have to spend any more than they did before to play

Rumor also has it that Darkstalkers 4 was in development at one time, and it would have been the traditional 2D visuals like its predecessors. Three characters were created for it, but the project was scrapped. Those three new characters, however, wound up in another game: Marvel vs Capcom 2 - Ruby Heart, Sonson, and Amingo. Is this true? We may never know, but those three characters would absolutely fit within a 2D Darkstalkers game.

To be honest I think it's better if we got a remake of the first darkstalkers game because it's been a long time since we got a darkstalkers game and I would like to see a remake of the first game in the near future

I suspect the internal politics at Capcom keeping Darkstalkers shelved is because someone doesn't want Street Fighter to not be the face of Capcom which I also suspect receives a financial bonus due to this.

What Evidence exactly Do you have to support the statement that morgan is a mix of Ryu and chun li? She is literally a brand new archetype that didn't exist in Street fighter 2 so I have no idea where your coming from with that. Also the criticism that the individual game releases weren't that much different than each other it's an extremely reductive take and honestly just stems from being ignorant on the differences from each version it's just straight up incorrect to say that these weren't actual sequels.

Because Capcom is scared. They just have to make Morrigan and Lilith ultra hot. It’s not that hard. RE engine is perfect. It worked for Lady Dimistrec.

I was a big fan of Darkstalkers since it came out. It saddens me that there was so little hype after Vampire Savior in 1997. I hope it brings in other characters like Ozom, Voshtahl, Belial, and so on as playable characters. And also, maybe also include Dante from Devil May Cry or create a similar character. Of course, there are other creatures that they have not tried out, like Leprechaun, Gremlin, IT (the Clown). Oh, instead of Donovan, they should bring back D (Donovan after he failed to retain his humanity). They could brainstorm some kind of character which pays homage to Voldemort in Harry Potter. There are inspirations everywhere if they want to make a new game. Not wanting to make a new game and not enough hype, is just an excuse. They had a base and they didn't use it. If they did what they did to make Night Warriors so awesome, they could easily replicate they success. One stage per character, hot music, engaging storyline, cool last boss (while playable too).

The Darkstalkers fandom is small but dedicated, and there’s so many resources featuring how great the series is, from the game elements introduced by the franchise (EX moves, air dashes & air blocking, chain combos, button-sequence super moves) cross-pollinated with other Capcom series, to the gorgeous artwork that still holds up today. I want a new Darkstalkers, but it can’t be a sequel by committee, done for the sake of a new game. The people behind the new game have to have the same passion and talent as the original team who want it to be the most unique-looking, gorgeously-animated and fun game out there. Otherwise, I’m fine for waiting until we can get that new game.

Hopefully we get one of the characters as SF6 DLC like Akira was for SFV

Despite the fact that Capcom "lent out" certain Darkstalkers characters for appearances in other games (Morrigan, Felicia & Hsien-Ko), they're reluctant to go & create an entirely new Darkstalkers game, especially with the new graphics engine used on Street Fighter 6. They don't know what they're missing. ☹️

I feel like now that making games takes MUCH LONGER than before (aka you can't pull the Capcom Maneuver anymore without going bankrupt) Capcom decided to stick with what works and just do Street Fighter. I mean, come on. Other than collections and re-releases, Mega Man hasn't seen a new addition since MM11, and DMC5 was PHENOMENAL, but where is any news on that? Capcom has 3 things on it's frontline now: Street Fighter, Monster Hunter and Resident Evil. Anything else is either a new thing like Exoprimal (which isn't a bad thing!) that may or may not hit or too risky. Which sucks because I LOVED the Darkstalkers Comics and the Street Fighter Crossover! These monsters don't get to OCCASIONALLY guest star in MvC (which might also be dead, but at least it reminded the world Jedah exists) and NOT get their own game again!

We definitely need a new game ….. dark stalkers vs street Fighter

I did not know the Capcom Maneuver(4:09) existed back then. Looks like somebody at Blizzard was playing Darkstalker's Revenge when they were making Overwatch 2.

Man, you did a good job on this video.

Having played all three games in the Capcom Fighting Collection recently, I would pre-order the Deluxe edition of a new Darkstalkers game; if only for the updated graphics.

If capcom does decide to bring darkstalkers back. They should start from scratch completely. And call it darkstalkers: reborn. I would also like them to add folk monsters from around the world. Not just movie mons. It would give the "international" vibe that street fighter already has.

Great analysis mate! You didn't talk about Vampire Hunter 2 and Vampire Saviour 2 though.

Every year i've wished for a new game

Imagine a new Darkstalkers game but with the look of Street fighter 6!🛐

They say anytime someone says to bring back darkstalkers, it gets delayed another 10 years.

Unless Capcom outsources the graphics to Arc System Works I don't think a new Darkstalkers game would be very profitable. Darkstalkers was cutting edge 2d graphics for it's time and the cult following would shun a 3d game much like the trailer that came out in 2012.

Do they know those weren't clips from the OVA? Was that a comment bait or joke? We may never know.

Enjoyed the video, but - yes, there's always a *but* - there are three _misses_ in the video: *1) The "Capcom Maneuver"* is releasing multiple iterations of the same game as non-numerical sequels. You know: Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, etc. Nerd-to-nerd, I appreciate you trying to come up with a good, catch-all term for what happened with Darkstalkers, but isn't it the exception to the rule? Yes, *many* fighting games work this way, but not so much Capcom's fighting games. *2) While you were talking about the OVA, most (all?) of the footage appears to have been from _Darkstalkers: The Animated Series_ (1995). This was a children's animated series by Graz Entertainment that aired in syndication. *3) Capcom's treatment of former flagship franchises like Street Fighter and Mega Man.* _Former?_ The infuriating thing about Capcom is they'll milk a franchise dry, _killing_ it in the process... or at least, _seem_ to leave it mortally wounded as interest plummets. The _Street Fighter_ was _never_ as poor off as _Darkstalkers_ *but* things were looking bad for it. *_Street Fighter_** was "dead" for about a decade.* that's how long there was between the last major iteration of Street Fighter III ( _Street Fighter III: Third Strike_ ) and the first release of _Street Fighter IV_ . *Mega Man had it about as bad,* going from a time where (due to the multiple subseries) we'd be getting multiple _Mega Man_ titles in a year, and I'm talking full sequels in their respective subseries, to *nothing* for several years. *Darkstalkers has had it worse, of course!* I enjoyed the video, so hopefully this doesn't sound too harsh. ;) Lots of Capcom fighting game franchises that were big in the 90s sadly seem lost to time, lucky to get a nod as an alternate costume, show up in the backgrounds, or (rarely) show up as a playable character in a Street Fighter title. At this point, I wonder if Capcom ought to go back to their old bread-and-butter, crossover titles. One of Capcom's past failures was _Capcom Fighting Jam_ a.k.a. _Capcom Fighting Evolution_ and it was a solid idea with _terrible_ execution. A _Street Fighter X Darkstalkers_ game could be fun. Alternatively, try releasing DLC waves that are based on dormant fighting game franchises. The third option is similar; do crossover with outside companies, but not with Street Fighter or general Capcom. For example, Darkstalkers X Skullgirls, or maybe Darkstalvers VS Marvel's Midnight Sons? ... Yeah, this comment got out of control. Anyone who read it all, thanks. XP

The pixel smoothing filters are giving me cancer

I understand Capcom wants to be play it safe but they’ve been relying on street fighter and resident evil for far too long. It won’t be good for them in the long run if they continue to rely on only two franchises. And it’s not just dark stalkers I mean, where is MegaMan? Bionic Cammando, Dino crises or Strider???? Capcom has way too many good franchises that just sit around gathering dust.

Never actually played Darkstalkers but always loved the idea of it. The aesthetics too are great (and not just the boobies)

Well if anybodies interested, I’m currently writing a story that heavily based as a spiritual successor to Darkstalkers and Lunar the Silver Star Story. It based on a plot where the demonic vampire Lord Alucard has caused the cataclysm, an event the ended the world as we know it, by returning to our world via portal that can only be opened during a lunar eclipse, and kept it open by enslaving and binding the Lunar Goddess Selene and allowing hordes of demonic monsters to come through. A small band of heroes fought together but failed to kill him only allowing the goddess time to end her own life and bind herself to human form to hide her powers from him. He now has great reign of the world and threatens to fully takeover should he recover the lost goddess. The story is centered around an original plot while allowing classic Universal Monsters and fairytales to intertwine with it.

I'd love to see Dark Stalkers return, especially with a 4th installment & 3D animation. (Along with some new characters) & since Video Game movies are becoming successful, maybe the franchise can take a shot at it as well.

Street Fighter x Tekken failing and costing Capcom a ton of money was what killed this series from coming back.

If Capcom won't make a new game, the obvious thing to do is make all the characters DLC for Street Fighter.

Can't wait for it

We're never going to get a new Darkstalkers game. The few fg devs out arent really trying to self compete by putting out more fgs. Most theyll do is 2 games on opposite ends of each other. Like Namco with Tekken and Soul Calibur or ArcSys with Guilty Gear and BlazBlue (even though BB is probably dead at this point). No devs want to risk it anymore with more fgs. We'll never see a 3rd Capcom fighter. I can honestly bank we'll see a new VS game from them over any of their other fg franchises.

Maybe if they Stopped Repackaging the same game they would of had success with it. Just make a new story with a new game. They make good stories for Resident Evil they can do the same with Darkstalkers.

I love the spookiness, sexiness, and silliness of Darkstalkers as a franchise. I'd love to see a revival of it in a good anime style, like Guilty Gear. Capcom is sitting on a pile of money if they actually put in a decent effort towards a new game. The FGC and Darkstalkers fans will buy a new good fighting game from them.

Kinda surprised nobody hasn’t just made their own

2 words Street Fighter

They should at least release Darkstalkers chronichles chaos tower for console and give it a permanent server for all platforms. I would be happy with that alone. Favorite fighting game hands down.

I want this series so freaking bad

They live on in my fanfictions.

I get why street fighter is more successful and popular, but part of me wishes it was the other way around. The fantasy/horror aesthetic and the wild character designs appeal so much more to my sensibilities.

Capcom never really did much with this series. Like, the second and third games mostly just added extra characters, while taking away others, and did very little in terms of adding moves or updating graphics. Couldn't even settle on a consistent naming convention. Thesedays the only way someone can get a modern Darkstalkers is going to play Guilty Gear. And even then, that's more for the supernatural aesthetic.

I have been asking myself that same question for a LONG time now.

i can only hope that the characters can be kept alive as cameo's or playable characters. I think Jon Taliban would fit in great in a Resident Evil game.

It’s ironic that Capcom is always undercutting Darkstalkers potential. According to Yoshiki Okamoto, the sales of the first Darkstalkers game was beyond expectations for a new fighting game IP in 1994, when there was an undeniable glut in the genre by then, but the accountants said it failed because it didn’t make the same numbers as SF2 did in 1991, which literally had nothing else to compete against it. Even worse, in 2013, the way Capcom handled Darkstalkers Resurrection, which had definable sales charting the month it was released but in that same month, Capcom publicly deemed it a failure and their European Twitter account blamed the fans for demanding it but not supporting it. Seems like a sales person of any merit could have used the charting and possible tournament features to boost sales for the future, but that bridge was irreparably burned and only recently did Capcom release a decent collection just to have the games on modern platforms. Street Fighter 3, in all its editions, was an abysmal sales failure, and yet it was given a chance to find its audience which eventually led to a renaissance for the franchise in SF4. Darkstalkers, Rival Schools, Power Stone, and so many other gems deserve new entries. I’m loving Street Fighter 6, but if all it does is lead to more Street Fighter content, it’s honestly not a good thing.

If anyone sees this, there’s a survey that’s Capcom is doing to get an good idea of what people want. I’m not saying it would lead anywhere but there’s a chance

I think the video undersells how different DS3 actually is

They will make one eventually. Morrigan is just too popular

Fans of Svengoolie might know this but like most of the characters, the fishman Rikou's name came from the movie he parodied "The Creature From the Black Lagoon." Specifically, that was the last name the actor who played the creature in the underwater scenes. I always thought that was kinda cool.

Still waiting for Darkstlalkers 4 in 2024!

Any new game in the series would have to be a budget title. No way a $60 Darkstalkers sequel would be successful enough for Capcom to bother. It's just the reality of it.

Well with the new RE Engine never say never . . who knows! 🙏🤔

Morrigan is by far the best and most interesting character of this franchise and it's a damn shame Capcom didn't capitalize on this. She is the core of the Darkstalkers universe and instead of making a new fighting game, Capcom should have made a Devil May Cry type of game with Morrigan as the playable character. She already has lots of lore established abilities that are similar to Dante's and she could also have/gain new abilities after beating bosses (characters from the fighting game) or collecting items. The potential was there and Capcom should have done this when Morrigan was at the peak of her popularity thanks to Chris G winning tournaments with her. Now it's all downhill and it's genuinely sad.

Loved that game!

They should do a Dark Stalkers VS Killer Instinct game and blend the horror game fighting characters. Can call it Dark Instincts.

I Think The Main Reason Why Capcom hasn’t made a Resurrection is because Darkstalkers just didn’t do well In Sales to others plus They’ve been more focus on their Other Games to the Point where they don’t really have time for a New Darkstalkers Game

Btw, that's the wrong Darkstalkers cartoon you put in the video. That's the animated series that aired in the US.

They way they treat darkstalkers is literally why I dont buy from capcom at all. I can play street fighter at a friends house lol

Let me put it this way folks...We have a better chance of a new Rival Schools game, especially with them adding Akira as a playable character in SF5 as well as Hinata and Tiffany showing up in the background of the beach stage, than we have of getting a new Darkstalkers...and we have a better chance of a new Darkstalkers than anything other than costumes for the Star Gladiators games.....the last time I saw the characters for THAT outside of costumes...was Project X Zone 2 where June was looking for Hayato to save him from the Dark Hayato personality that had taken him over thanks to the main villain of Star Gladiator's machinations. She was on a solo unit, you could team her up with the 2 person unit of Chun-li and Xiaoyu for a "Team Chinese Women" team that had some conversations they would have with each other.

Also you got remember is before dlc or patches so the only way to update game is to make a new one. People keep leaving that out just so they can bash Capcom.

I have one thing to say you: popularity of SF6