Darkstalkers Resurrection bringing monsters back to life
The newly-announced Darkstalkers Resurrection collection, coming early 2013, marks a return for a series that's been dormant in the West since the 2004 release of Darkstalkers Chronicle. Packaging together Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge--the second game in the series--and Darkstalkers 3, the compilation offers 18 total fighters drawn from the fertile pool of "things that are scary but also cool." Vampires! Sasquatch! Red Riding Hoods! They're all here! Which of the following are you looking forward to playing first?
Anakaris
Anakaris is a much needed part of the roster, because what cast of monsters isn't complete without a mummy? While his homeland doubtlessly hosts no end of devious puzzles and quicksand traps, Anakaris' contributions to the lineup are closer with those of a living god who's been cooped in a coffin since prehistory. That is to say, he's slow, can almost fly, and loves using his bandages to damage enemies in increasingly complicated ways.
Baby Bonnie Hood
According to a Japanese strategy guide for Darkstalkers, BB Hood is the only character not based on existing myth or folklore; instead, the character's intended to personify everything that is dark and self-obsessed in humanity, from violent sociopathy to a relentless thirst for personal gain at the expense of humility or compassion. In the end that means she looks like Red Riding Hood and packs a comically outsized array of human weaponry.
Bishamon
A rudimentary handle on Japanese culture might suggest that a Bishamon would be some combination of a pretty boy and a fighting monster, but in reality he's a demonically-possessed suit of Samurai armor. Equipped with a soul-sucking sword, Bishamon is one of the only Darkstalkers to wield a weapon, which more Darkstalkers should call him out on. Bishamon's alternate form, Oboro Bishamon, is a secret character in Darkstalkers 3.
Demitri Maximoff
The nominal protagonist of the series, Demitri is a vampire cast out from the demon-dimension of Makai into an earth filled with hostile and delicious humans. Apparently the first thing he did on arrival was hole up in his castle for a few weeks with a SNES, because Demitri is livin' like Castlevania's Dracula and fightin' like a supercharged evil version of Ken and Ryu (whose name isn't Akuma).
Donovan Baine
Donovan is a dhampir who has chosen, like other half-vampires like Castlevania's Alucard and Vampire Hunter D's protagonist, to devote his life to the pursuit of vampire-killing. Fighting with moves and weapons inspired by Buddhist and Hindu mythology, the character's physical makeup has led fans to speculate on whether the character could be related to Dan Hibiki. However, GR's pathetic history of Dan Hibiki has little to say on the matter.
Felicia
Furries are some of the most maligned members of the online community, but Felicia's popularity dates back to an earlier, more innocent time. Back then, few were up in arms about a sexy, barely dressed half-cat girl. It was especially forgivable when her in-game style could be summarized as two parts Blanka and one part Sonic the Hedgehog.
Hsien-Ko
The first Darkstalkers focused almost exclusively on Western monsters, but with later sequels came a more global focus on scary things that hopefully aren't real. Thus Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge gave us Hsien-Ko, a jingsh (Hopping Vampire) as seen in cult Chinese flicks like Mr. Vampire. Accordingly, Hsien-Ko is scary but also sort of hilarious, a highly tactical fighter backed up by fellow jingsh Mei-Ling.
Huitzil
First playable in the home version of Darkstalkers 3, Huitzil is a robot guardian for the series' intergalactic superbeing, Pyron. The Huitzil were first sent to Earth for the purpose of killing the dinosaurs, then went into hiding until they were discovered by the Mayan civilization. If you play the fantasy-themed Darkstalkers to avoid fighting robots with lasers and buzzsaws, sorry, but those things are Huitzil's total stock-in-trade.
Jedah Dohma
A high noble of Makai (the Makai being the demon-dimension where many Darkstalkers characters come from), Jedah is one of the series' most powerful fighters. Conceived as an amalgam of Death and a Japanese schoolboy (seriously), the character's one of Darkstalkers' more enigmatic castmembers. His blood-magic super-moves make him best suited to offensive play.
