This March the prayers of most 2D fighting game fans were answered with the release of Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower for Sony’s newest toy, the PSP. For those who are not familiar with the series, Capcom has collected together a wild assortment of classic horror movie monsters and pit them against each other Street Fighter II style. For fans of Darkstalkers, you can officially rejoice in knowing you will now have a better than arcade port of your very own to carry around in your pocket.
Darkstalkers emerged in the mid 90’s hot on the heels
"...without a doubt the best portable fighting game ever to have graced a mobile gaming system."
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of Capcom’s smash hit Street Fighter II. Since its inception, the series has spawned two sequels, a cartoon series, an anime, a line of action figures, a comic series, and a multitude of fan-based sites. The series has surely garnered its own cult following, but never really reached the same celebrity status that the Street Fighter series attained, which is really quite a shame, since even though the Darkstalkers game itself shares many similarities to it’s older brother, it strives to set itself apart from it. Whether it be art style, animation, combos, over the top special moves or the overall character design, Darkstalkers has always stood head and shoulders above Street Fighter.
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower is a based off its Dreamcast counterpart which is itself a collection of the original Darkstalkers game and it’s sequels. You will now have access to the series’ entire cast of 18 characters and three hidden characters making for a total of 21 playable fighters at your disposal. With a wide variety of fighting styles and distinct character personalities I challenge you not to find several fighters you will instantly connect with. From the main menu you will be given a variety of options to choose from, with these being Arcade, Network, Tower, Chronicle, and Training. Most of these modes are self explanatory... Training allows you to pick one fighter, an opponent and stage for you to hone your pugilistic skills with, and Arcade is the standard mode where you advance against seven different opponents one on one until you reach the conclusion of each character’s story.
The three new modes that you might not have seen before are all welcome additions to this fighting game series. Network allows you to initiate a versus battle via the PSP’s built-in wi-fi connection. Once you link up with a friend you will be able to engage in a standard versus battle, limit battle or league. In the limit battle you can set certain limits on the match itself such as "No Kicks" or "No Punches". The League mode will allow four players to engage in a round robin battle where the order for the fights are determined by the number of wins and losses each player has. To put it simply, anywhere you have four players you can essentially set up your own mini tournament.
Tower mode has you select three different characters to advance through a series of specialized battles. The trick here is that your character’s life will not refill. So, as you proceed up the tower, you must carefully choose which fighter would be best suited for each upcoming battle. Before each match you will be given the special parameters of the upcoming fight, such as "No Kicks" or "No Jumping." Along with the details of the upcoming battle you will also be told what type of victory (such as an EX special move finish or a perfect victory) is required to advance to a certain floor. There are branching paths up the tower, so depending on whether you meet the requirements for that round, you yourself will forge your own unique path up the Chaos Tower. This is helps add variety to the standard one-on-one fighting system and is a welcome addition to any fighting game.
Finally there is Chronicle Mode, which is a where all your goodies and extras are kept hidden away waiting to be unlocked. As you beat the game in arcade mode and progress through the Chaos Tower you will unlock a variety of character art as well as the opening and ending cinematics for the entire collection of Darkstalkers games. This is an amazing treat as the Darkstalkers series boasts some of the best character design and art direction of any Capcom series to date.
"From its fluid animation, sharp picture and vibrant colors, Darkstalkers is not only perfectly captured in this port, but superbly showcased on the PSP."
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When you cut this game to its core, you are still looking at a Capcom 2D fighter. This means that two opponents will face off one on one against each other to pummel one another into submission using any number of kicks, punches, chain combos or specialty moves. Where Darkstalkers really shines is in the transformation of these standard kick, punch and fireball moves into their own unique brand of zany over the top special moves. Every character exudes personality and flare. Every move from Anakaris’s Royal Curse which transforms his opponent into a miniature version of themselves to Donovan calling upon some giant mythical figure to crush his enemy from above are not only fun to execute but perfectly suited for each persona. Of course these days, bigger and crazier has been done to death. However let us not forget, this is where it all began nor since has it been done in such a superb fashion that the characters themselves practically come to life on the screen.
Sadly all is not well on the gameplay front. Darkstalkers Chronicles: The Chaos Tower suffers from two major detractions that directly affect its overall playability. First are the load times. In the time that I played The Chaos Tower, I would average around six to eleven seconds of load time from round to round. This will vary, depending on whether or not you are restarting an old round or advancing to a new stage. But for many fighting game fans, load times can be a rather large thorn in their sides, and be forewarned, it surely awaits you in The Chaos Tower. Do not fret, for I have found by simply turning up the number of wins needed, and turning down the amount of damage done, your rounds can last quite some time. When looking at the whole picture, waiting ten seconds to play an eight minute round is a drop in the bucket. However this will not be fixed in the Chaos Tower mode. There you must have the patience of a saint, as usually most matches are only one round and over in a few seconds. I myself have been fairly intolerant of load times in the past. I can honestly say I have been able to make my peace with The Chaos Tower and now enjoy it despite this hitch.
That leaves us with the last drawback to an otherwise perfect installment of this game, and that would be that the controls: they are unforgiving at best. This does not mean it is impossible to pull off many of the series’ trademark special moves, nor does it mean that there are lag in the controls themselves. What you need to expect when picking up the PSP is a rigid directional pad that requires absolute precision. In past console installments, a lazy slide of the finger resembling a classic fireball motion would cut the mustard but no longer is that tolerated. You can master these harsh moves, but it will take some practice. I have found that the quicker the move is executed combined with a button press a fraction of a second earlier then you would normally press yields satisfying results. This is only a tip, and by no means a rule of thumb as I am sure everyone must find their own way through The Chaos Tower. For those who do not wish to put the time in that is required to master it, take heart, for Capcom has not forsaken you. Included in the control options is the ability to set the control scheme to easy mode. This will reduce once complicated button and directional pad combinations to simple back, forward and button combos. Whichever control set you choose I am sure everyone will find something to suit them. And all will be glad to know that the chain combo system has translated beautifully onto the PSP.
"...the characters themselves practically come to life on the screen."
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Truly a sight to behold, Darkstalkers is a visual feast for all to enjoy. I can almost recommend this game to everyone just for the fact that it’s bright colors and crisp graphics help showcase what a truly amazing screen the PSP has. From its fluid animation, sharp picture and vibrant colors, Darkstalkers is not only perfectly captured in this port, but superbly showcased on the PSP. The game itself is displayed in a 16 X 9 format which stretches the screen somewhat. As nice as it would have been to seen it redrawn to fully take advantage of the PSP’s wide screen, we are at least given the option to return the picture to it’s original 4 X 3 format. There is even a set of eleven wallpapers you are given to choose from to fill in the black bars remaining on each side when not running in stretched mode. Each has its own theme and it is a nice little bonus to customize your screen and fill the void.
The audio has made similar accomplishments as every note, chord and voice has made it over perfectly. It is amazing the sound that can come out of the PSP, and Capcom has made full use of it. Be prepared to be whisked back to the days of standing in the arcade as the announcer chimes in "READY" just as John Talbain lets out a piercing howl before his attack.
Closing Comments
Despite a few crucial flaws, Darkstalkers: The Chaos Tower still delivers that sweet 2D fighting experience. If you can get past the rigid controls and the somewhat lengthy loading times, you are left with a perfect port of an incredible 2D fighter. And despite its drawbacks, it is still without a doubt the best portable fighting game ever to have graced a mobile gaming system. If you are a fighting game fan you owe it to yourself to check this gem of a fighter out, and if you are a Darkstalkers fan it is a must buy for your collection.
