Line #44 YMMV/Darkstalkers


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4	* AmericansHateTingle: Although the Darkstalkers series was a genuine hit in its homeland of Japan, with each of its 3 main games making the top 5 of its respective year's arcade income charts, it was never more than a CultClassic internationally.
5	* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt: The game is extremely stylish, from the varying art style to the top-notch animations and spritework. Capcom really put their guns on it.
6	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: ''[[AwesomeMusic/{{Darkstalkers}} Gonna be trouble, Baby I'm a trouble man....]]''
7	* BestKnownForTheFanservice: Rather [[MsFanservice literally]]. Although this may be because the series remains at best a CultClassic, and of course {{sex sells}}, [[SuccubiAndIncubi Morrigan, Lilith]] and [[CatGirl Felicia]] are the only people anyone seems to remember from the games. It's quite telling that in ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', the three Darkstalkers include Morrigan, Felicia and [[CuteMonsterGirl Hsien]]-[[ChineseVampire Ko]].
8	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Sasquatch's whole story.
9	* CommonKnowledge: It's usually believed that Morrigan sucks people's souls via kissing them to feed herself, and she does in fact drain Pyron in her ending in the first game. While she can drain souls, Morrigan does in fact feed from a special liquid that succubi in Darkstalkers can secrete from their bodies when they are excited, and Capcom has even confirmed that Morrigan hasn't killed any humans in her life. However, most people think that Morrigan just drains people for the sake of being a succubus, and every Darkstalkers media as well crossovers don't even mention the liquid, instead having her feed on souls.
10	* ContestedSequel: Vampire Savior remains the competitive standard to this day owing to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg4mD7ey97o baffling decisions made with the arcade releases of Vampire Savior 2 and Vampire Hunter 2.]] To summarize:
11	** All three games have incomplete rosters to some degree: the original omissions of Donovan, Pyron and Huitzil are brought back in both updates but Savior 2 removes Jon Talbain, Rikuo and Sasquatch while Hunter 2 removes all four newcomers from Savior 1 as if it were an UpdatedRerelease of Vampire Hunter on the rather different Savior engine. The latter means that the character select screen has a conspicuously empty slot, since it's only a recolor of Savior 1's.
12	** Savior 2 and Hunter 2 released almost simultaneously and only a few months after the original Vampire Savior, which must've confused arcade owners and patrons in Japan and made either games' availability rather limited.
13	** The system and balance changes between Savior and the updates are generally considered for the worse, particularly with regards to how the already contentious push block mechanic of Savior became somehow even more difficult/confusing than before.
14	* CultClassic: Outside of Japan, the ''Darkstalkers'' series has never seen the mainstream popularity that ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'', or even its sister series ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' has gotten. But partly thanks to continued exposure of the characters through the ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' series, it has a large, dedicated fanbase who loves its atypical characters and wishes that Capcom would continue the series.
15	* DesignatedHero: Donovan: He's more than a little of a KnightTemplar, and [[spoiler:his vampire side takes him over]] in his ending. To clarify, his quotes in battle paint him as a KnightTemplar, [[VanHelsingHateCrimes seeking out and killing other Darkstalkers, even the nice ones.]] Pitting him against [[AllLovingHero Felicia]], [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire Morrigan]], [[NonMaliciousMonster Lilith]], [[TheGoodKing Anakaris]], [[NobleWolf Jon]], [[TheWoobie Hsien-Ko]], or the like can make him look a lot more like a BoomerangBigot, especially considering most of the listed characters actually like, or in some cases, ''protect'' the humans of his world.
16	* DracoInLeatherPants: Lilith is very well-liked despite being a villain in the series. Mostly because she has a sympathetic backstory.
17	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Anita. Many players wish to see the older and [[DefrostingIceQueen more cheerful]] self (as seen in Dee's story from ''Vampire Savior 2'' and [[WhatCouldHaveBeen planned to be included in the third game]]) as a playable character in future games. She made, however, the jump to playable in some crossovers, such as ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' and ''[[VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfTheSuperheroes Marvel vs. Capcom]]'', where she was a selectable AssistCharacter.
18	* EvenBetterSequel: The first Darkstalker was a decent attempt for Capcom to try to delve into a new series with some new gimmicks like airblocking. The next game is when the franchise starts GrowingtheBeard adding some very obvious features that makes it from the onset unique from StreetFighter. The third game Vampire Savior/Darkstalker 3 basically codified all the tropes and mechanics so associated with the Anime Fighter and to this day remains has a lot of hardcore fans on top of being one of the most viable 2D fighters in the competitive scene.
19	* EvilIsCool:
20	** Demitri (with this character, one may also say "Evil is Cool and Sexy]]"). He is a malevolent vampire who wants to conquer the demon world and sees everyone but himself as inferior, still has his fair share of fans.
21	** Jedah, who plays the "evil" part even more than Demitri.
22	* FandomRivalry: A one-sided variant with ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', as many ''Darkstalkers'' fans are incensed that the former keeps getting more and more promotion and games, while the latter is constantly screwed over and relegated to, if anything, appearances and cameos in crossover games. To put things in perspective, here's what was said at [=SDCC=] 2013 when Capcom [[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/capcom-no-new-darkstalkers-game-planned/1100-6411888/ announced]] that no new ''Darkstalkers'' games were planned...
23	-->'''Matt Dalgren:''' ''Darkstalkers Resurrection'' did not perform as well as we would have liked to hope. You never know what the future may hold, [[YankTheDogsChain but Street Fighter is definitely not dead. There is nothing Darkstalkers on the immediate horizon for sure.]]
24	* {{Fanon}}: Its commonly claimed that WordOfGod stated that a werewolf killed B.B.Hood's grandmother, and this sparked her hatred of monsters. In actuality this isn't found in any source and all that is stated is B.B.Hood visits her grandma's house occasionally. Her Beautiful Memory super move has her get teary-eyed over a vision of her Grandma before attacking, but the meaning of this move hasn't been explained in any official capacity.
25	* FriendlyFandoms:
26	** With ''VideoGame/FZero'' due to both franchises regularly making crossover appearances in other games while being {{Cult Classic}}s by themselves at best. Morrigan is often called "Capcom's Captain Falcon."
27	** Also with ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', a fast paced, colorful anime fighting game that is heavily inspired by ''Darkstalkers'' in terms of mechanics and style.
28	* GameBreaker: In ''Vampire Savior'', the ''Darkstalkers'' game still most played by the competitive fighting community, the uncontested best characters in the game are Lord Raptor, Sasquatch, and Q. Bee in that order.
29	** Lord Raptor is far and away considered the best character in the game, having tools for just about every situation. He has a wide variety of normals for most any range and situation; he has multiple ways to approach the opponent between his air dash, his drill kicks, and his teleports; he has what is considered by many to be the best Guard Cancel in the game because it's one of the only moves in the game that causes an untechable knockdown; and just to add a cherry on top, his jumping light kick has some unblockable frames thanks to a bug in the move's programming. This unblockable is actually banned in many Japanese tournaments, but it's telling that even without his blatantly overpowered move he's still one of the most common characters to see at a high level. The only real weaknesses he has are his slightly-lower-than-average health pool and the fact that having so many potential options also makes him [[DifficultButAwesome one of the hardest characters to really master.]]
30	** Sasquatch may not be considered quite as good as Lord Raptor, but he's picked more often at a high level thanks to him also being one of the easiest characters to be effective with. Sasquatch [[LightningBruiser hits like a truck and can be made deceptively fast]], being one of three characters in the game with a hop dash that gives him access to very fast high/low mixups. And while he might not normally be that effective at far range due to his lack of air mobility options, he has one of the most obnoxious multi-purpose special moves in the game in the form of his ES Big Towers, which covers the whole ground in icicles the size of Sasquatch himself and lets him approach with ease.
31	** Q. Bee boasts one of the game's most unique air approaches in the form of her particular air dash, because unlike every other air dash, hers tracks the opponent's position and angles accordingly. This means if done point blank, she can fly to the ground extremely fast and perform triangle jump shenanigans similar to characters like [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]] or [[Characters/MarvelComicsDoctorDoom Doctor Doom]] in the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' series without having to worry about manually angling her dash. This alone gives her one of the game's best approach options as well as high/low mixup options in one move, only limited by your execution in air dashing. She also has multiple other attributes that make her a particularly pesky bug to fight like her ability to float in midair, good pokes, a good command grab, and a particularly low crouching animation that lets her duck further than any other character.
32	** The ''Capcom Fighting Collection'' version of the first game gives us the ability to toggle Huitzil and Pyron on and off, and the two bosses show us why they aren't playable normally. Huizil's projectile in particular can easily juggle and chip away at the opponent's health with little room to attack.
33	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: For many a year, fans have been clamoring to get Jon Talbain into one of the ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVs Vs.]]'' titles (it works for Americans, who view werewolves and Creator/BruceLee to be awesome things). Point in case: Ryota Niitsuma, the producer of ''Marvel vs. Capcom 3'', [[http://iplaywinner.com/news/2010/10/23/niitsuma-disconfirms-characters-for-mvc3-but-gives-some-hope.html notes that he wanted to add more characters from this series to the game, but couldn't due to time constraints.]] ''[[WhatCouldHaveBeen Jon would have been his pick.]]''
34	* HighTierScrappy: Jon is widely derided by competitive players due to being easy to use and at least high-tier in every entry he's in, often resulting in him being [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome a common pick]] to the point of oversaturation.
35	* HilariousInHindsight:
36	** In the ''Anime/{{Night Warriors\|DarkstalkersRevenge}}'' OVA, Lord Raptor (voiced by Creator/ScottMcNeil) has for a drummer a one-eyed monster that looks like a blue [[VideoGame/MonsterRancher Suezo]]. [=McNeil=] would later go on to voice Suezo in the ''Anime/MonsterRancher'' anime.
37	** Creator/DavidKaye voiced Pyron in the ''Night Warriors'' OVA. Now he's voicing Jedah Doma in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite''.
38	** A robot that crash landed on Earth somehow games amnesia and befriends a boy, sacrificing himself to save him and...wait a minute, are we talking Huitzil and Cecil or [[WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant Hogarth and the Iron Giant?]]
39	* IAmNotShazam: The Bishamon in ''Vampire Savior/Savior 2/Hunter 2'' and one of the Bishamon in ''3'' (as noted on the Characters page) is not the man who was enslaved by the will of his armor, but the armor itself having gained its own sentience.
40	* IconicCharacterForgottenTitle: Morrigan and to a lesser extent Felicia, no thanks to the ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVs Vs.]]'' series. The mainstream knows they exist, but ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' remains a CultClassic. Morrigan is also one of the most popular (if not '''the''' most popular) video game succubus characters on the Internet.
41	* IronWoobie:
42	** Felicia. She suffers constant discrimination, abuse, and misunderstanding throughout the game franchise and the spin-off series, but still manages to keeps her cheerful attitude and hopes of a better future.
43	** Jon Talbain used to be a normal nobleman until one night he turned into a werewolf. From then on, he was treated as an outcast, even as he learned to control his beastly impulses due to TrainingFromHell. Children get along with him, but Jon still lives in fear of brutalizing them with his beast fury. Despite this, he never gives in to dispair and continues to fight for those he cares for, even if they despise him.
44	** Victor. His story may even edge out Donovan's as the most tragic in the series. At first, he believes his deceased creator to be ignoring him for [[WellDoneSonGuy not being strong enough]]. Shortly after the jarring realization that the old man had actually passed on, his sister suddenly ceases to function, leaving him alone once more (which is even more heart-crushing in the [[https://web.archive.org/web/20151106173311/https://www.capcom-unity.com/jonny2x4/blog/2008/11/28/the_night_warriors_epilogues__part_3 text epilogue]] of ''Night Warriors''). Eventually, he realizes that the only way to revive Emily is to give his own life, which he does without hesitation. Worst of all, he is ignorant of the fact that her body, being a "prototype" of sorts, will probably not be able to continuously generate electric "life force" and is thus likely to run out of power before long.
45	* JustHereForGodzilla:
46	** Pretty much the general public's [[IconicCharacterForgottenTitle only link to the series]] is through Morrigan's popularity in her appearances in ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' games, which is why she's upfront and center in ''Resurruction''[='s=] cover. [[FranchiseKiller It was a good effort, but didn't work too well...]] Felicia also arguably qualifies.
47	** Rather humorously, the CompilationRerelease ''Capcom Fighting Collection'' received far more attention when it was revealed that the entire ''Darkstalkers'' series (including the incredibly-obscure alternate versions of ''Vampire Hunter'' and ''Vampire Savior'') would be part of its lineup, to the point where some fans made jokes about how Capcom included a bunch of extra games in their new ''Darkstalkers'' collection.
48	* LowTierLetdown: In ''Vampire Savior'' (he is considered much stronger in the first two games, which are slower-paced and less offensive), Anakaris is infamous for being incredibly handicapped and having no winning (and arguably no ''even'') matchups. He intentionally lacks (or is extremely gimped in) many game systems universal to the rest of the cast: he has no normal throw, can't "Tech-Hit" (aka advancing guard / push block), his Guard Cancel is meter-only and infamously is punishable on ''hit'', and he has all that combined with being very big and slow. This all comes together to him being much easier than any other character in the game to bully and pressure non-stop with him legitimately having no way out. Though he has many unique strengths (his own pressure game is exceptionally strong, and his normal attacks can do a decent job in ensuring the opponent can't get started on him) and is considered playable at a high level, he has possibly the smallest playerbase of the whole cast due to how high-risk and hard to learn he is to learn relative to the reward.
49	* MainstreamObscurity: Has accrued a cult following over the years, but is solely known for Morrigan Aensland, the [[SexGoddess sexier-than-sex]] {{succub\|iAndIncubi}}us who has [[WolverinePublicity appeared in more crossover games than her own]]. Good luck finding someone who can name any other characters besides maybe Lilith, her {{moe}} sister, Jedah, an insane GrimReaper-styled demon who mutilates himself to attack people, or Felicia, a near-nude CatGirl. Possibly Hsien-Ko as well due to her appearance in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3''. They probably won't know anything about the gameplay either. The series is BestKnownForTheFanservice, and not much else.
50	* MemeticLoser: Demitri Maximoff is often mocked by fans for being completely disregarded and nearly forgotten despite being the intended protagonist and title character of the series. Many of his attributes are referenced or alluded to in other games (his theme being used for Morrigan's stage in ''VideoGame/CapcomVsSNKMillenniumFight2000'', his costume and special attacks appearing in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', the Midnight Blissed versions of characters making various cameo appearances) but it's very rare for Demitri himself to be playable or acknowledged. This is actually lampshaded by Morrigan and Jedah in ''VideoGame/CrossEdge'', much to the chagrin of Demitri and his fans.
51	* MemeticMutation:
52	** Yoshinori Ono's '''[[UnCanceled DARKSTALKERS ARE NOT DEAD]]''' announcement seems to be working its way up. In the case of ''[=MvC3=]'' (with the possibility of an all Darkstalkers team of Morrigan, Felicia, and Hsien-Ko being defeated) and ''Resurrection''[='s=] unfortunate commercial failure, this is sometimes twisted into '''DARKSTALKERS ARE DEAD'''.
53	** For the ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'' community, making different forms for characters who are hit by Demitri's [[GenderBender Midnight Bliss]].
54	* {{Moe}}: Felicia and Lilith. B.B. Hood too, if you can look past the more disturbing elements of her personality.
55	* OlderThanTheyThink:
56	** Morrigan's Darkness Illusion super was the ''first'' move to use the button press sequence (LP, LP, F, LK, HP) that is now associated with [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma's]] [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique Shun Goku Satsu]].[[note]]The move itself debuted with Akuma in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which was released a few months before the first Darkstalkers game. The button command itself was later used for the move starting in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha''.[[/note]]
57	** Apparently the Shun Goku Satsu was even nicknamed "Goukiness Illusion" by some Japanese players at the time of its debut.
58	** Despite what some may think, Dee, Donovan's evil form, was actually not something Capcom made just for the [=PS2=] release. He was in fact an abandoned concept from the development of ''Vampire Savior''. Producer Noritaka Funamizu specifically mentions this Demitri-headswap Donovan in the book ''All About Vampire Savior'', and notes that he was "nearly finished."
59	* OnceOriginalNowCommon:
60	** The ''Darkstalkers'' series often comes across as "just another 90s fighting game" to those who first experience it now, likely because so many of the new things it brought to the table such as [[{{Combos}} chain combos]], guard cancels, air blocking, ES specials, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeArt improved]] [[DerangedAnimation animation]], and a cast full of something other than the same old martial arts archetypes have now been copied by so many other fighters (including its own predecessor, ''Franchise/StreetFighter'').
61	** Apparently even some American game reviewers in the 90s didn't notice several of the mechanical differences from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', so to some extent ''Darkstalkers'' was underappreciated in its time, too.
62	** ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'', released in 1998, is oftentimes considered the TropeCodifier of the "Anime Fighter"; Fighting games that put increased emphasis on more aggressive offensive (longer combos and faster charging of the Super Meters) and increased mobility (double jumps, air dashes, air blocking). ''Darkstalkers'' introduced these elements 4 years earlier, but ultimately got overshadowed in the popular zeitgeist due to the lack of new games.
63	* PolishedPort: The Sega Saturn port of ''Vampire Savior'' is not only arcade perfect, it even brings back Donovan, Huitzil, and Pyron from ''Night Warriors'', complete with their own single-player endings. The [=PlayStation=] ''EX Edition'' port, while not as good by comparison, includes all 18 characters as well, plus both upgrades (''Savior 2'' and ''Hunter 2'').
64	* PresumedFlop: The series is often said to have been a perennial underperformer, with no new games since 1997 and Capcom's only interest in it being having its characters make guest appearances in crossover titles and the occasional compilation. And while not the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII''-level monster hit Capcom's management expected from the pedigree of its developers, the games did extremely well for themselves, with all of them ranking in Japan's top 5 arcade game coinage charts the year they were released and the first one in particular having sold between 42 to 48k arcade boards, an outstanding number for any arcade game. For comparison, the original ''VideoGame/MortalKombat1992'' sold 24k boards.
65	* TheScrappy:
66	** Rikuo. It usually has absolutely nothing to do with the actual character or the way he plays, but simply because he's a [[BeastMan fishman]] with transformation abilities. Not helped by the fact he was the eighth opponent (the last before Huitzil and Pyron) in the original game and thus one of the hardest.
67	*** Pat R. (creator of the [[{{Webcomics}} Webcomic series]] ''[[http://www.8easybits.net/comic/latest.php How to Make a Sprite Comic in 8 Easy Bits]]'') [[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/darkstalkers/darkstalkers.htm has this to say in his review of the series:]]
68	---->"Apparently the last member of his disgusting aquatic race, Rikuo (Aulbath in Japan) desperately searches the world in hopes of finding a hideous mate so he can repropagate his loathsome species. Yes, I am biased."
69	*** His status as such is nodded to in the OVA, where [[spoiler:he is ''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown utterly decimated]]'' by Pyron]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paKMJkrUe5Q#t=2m2s at the beginning of the 4th episode]], complete with [[spoiler:receiving a wound that causes blood to come gushing out of him before being consumed in an explosion. [[NightmareFuel A silhouette shot of his flesh being ripped to shreds and his skeleton disintegrating into dust is then shown.]]]]
70	* ScrappyMechanic: In ''Resurrection'', the Website/YouTube upload function, since it only uploads in [=360p=] resolution. Exclusive to the 360 version, however, is the high probability that your replay's audio will desync and a portion of the match will be cut off. And in some cases, the game ''won't let you upload replays at all''. The option is permanently grayed out even after you link your Gamertag to your [=YouTube=] account.
71	* SelfFanservice: A sizable chunk of fanart is prone to upping the bust sizes of Morrigan (who is rather modestly sized in the majority of her official art) and sometimes other female characters.
72	* SpiritualSuccessor:
73	** Since the roster includes [[Film/{{Dracula 1931}} a vampire]], [[Film/TheWolfMan1941 a werewolf]], [[Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}} a pastiche of Frankenstein's monster]], [[Film/TheMummy1932 a mummy]], and [[Film/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon a merman]], this series can easily be considered an unofficial Franchise/UniversalHorror video game adaptation.
74	** With its stylish yet cartoony presentation, fast gameplay and offbeat gothic characters, ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' is considered by most ''Darkstalkers'' fans to do a pretty decent job at carrying on its legacy (as Capcom hasn't made an original Darkstalkers game since ''1997'').
75	* StoicWoobie: Anita. Played straight in both accounts: [[AllThereInTheManual According to her backstory]], her parents were killed by a Darkstalker and the people from the orphanage where she stayed shunned her as a witch. To make things worse, the only person that actually cared for her (in this case Donovan) sacrificed his last remains of humanity to protect her.
76	* TearJerker:
77	** Cecil's [[PleaseWakeUp reaction]] to Huitzil/Phobos being defeated.
78	** Anita's [[BreakTheCutie reaction]] to Donovan's DownerEnding in ''Night Warriors''.
79	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vAIPWiMTRs Lei-Lei/Hsien-Ko and Lin-Lin/Mei-Ling's]] ''Night Warriors'' ending.
80	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07gQlEiG37Y Dee's ending]] in the Japan-exclusive ''Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection'': [[spoiler:After killing Jedah, the game proceeds as though Dee (an evil version of Donovan) is about to fight a young woman who is not named, but is, in truth, an older Anita. The game fades to white before the fight begins, and as the credits roll, Anita is shown at a graveyard, suggesting that she ended the suffering of the man who once saved her soul.]]
81	** Anitas and Donovans relationship in the OVA is this. Anita is even more mentally gone than in the games, showing a clear hatred of humanity and signs of [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior thinking like a Darkstalker.]] She even doubts the point of helping Donovan after he was gravely injured in his fight with Bishamon, because "humans are weak" and will all die anyway. It doesn't help that Donovan shows serious doubts about his ability to fight the Darkstalkers and keep his humanity also. If this is canon with Dees ending as mentioned above, it double as heartbreaking.
82	* ThatOneAttack: Huitzil's "Confusioner", a super that fires a small, fast-moving projectile that, upon hit, essentially turns the opponent into a defenseless punching bag for several seconds. Even the most basic follow-ups can net nearly half a life bars worth of damage, and more advanced follow-up combos can turn it into a full touch of death. On top of that, it has ''extremely'' good frame data; it's quick enough to be combo'ed into from light and medium normals, and to be completely safe on block even at point blank range.
83	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The third game in the series, ''Vampire Savior'', received criticism from existing fans of the series at the time of its release. Complaints were made about many aspects of the game, including the changes to the system mechanics and movesets, the removal of characters from the previous games, and the addition of new characters who many saw as out of place.
84	* TooCoolToLive: [[spoiler:The massive, CreepyGood Victor]] ends up KilledOffForReal after performing a HeroicSacrifice.
85	* UglyCute: Sasquatch. He can be quite of a [[{{Adorkable}} loveable dork]] despite his scary appearance. Just look at some of his poses and mannerisms.
86	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Lilith gained a lot of fans who felt sorry for her, despite being TheDragon to Jedah. She doesn't really know what she's doing for him, simply carrying out his orders to bring powerful Darkstalkers in so he'd give her her body back. Luckily, in two endings, she does get exactly that.
87	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Demitri is not exactly the most sympathetic character, but he was originally meant to be one of the ''heroes''. To clarify, he seeks a powerful position in Makai, and is willing to kill and enslave anyone who gets in his way. Not really the most admirable of traits, and the fact that the woman he's targeting for this power is [[DarkIsNotEvil Morrigan]] didn't really endear him to many people. The fact that Morrigan seems to value humans more than he does might be a reason [[MsFanservice (one of them anyway)]] that she got more popular than him.
88	* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: Despite the bright animation and lack of excessive blood, this series ''is not for children''. The game has a ''huge'' amount of {{Fanservice}}, deep emotional stories, and brutal violence. It's actually a miracle that the series never got an "M" rating at all. Though to be fair, "M" rated games weren't popular yet when the series started out.
89	* TheWoobie: Hsien-Ko and Mei-Ling. Poor girls.
90	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Lilith. Just take a look at her backstory. Played straight in her ending (Morrigan's ending, despite Lilith losing, offers a more satisfactory conclusion [[spoiler:as Morrigan welcomes Lilith back into her body, resulting in a win-win situation for both of them: Morrigan's power gets exponentially multiplied (possibly reaching full level and Lilith's sense of existence is assured]]).
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:The American cartoon]]
94	* BadassDecay: Several of the Darkstalkers were already changed into [[AdaptationalWimp weaker characters]] for the series, but every character would lose once an episode.
95	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
96	** [[https://youtu.be/nbLbl5qSwpY?t=8m21s This scene]], as pointed out by [[WebVideo/RebelTaxi Pan Pizza]].
97	** Jon Talbain's flashback in an episode: he reminisces fondly about a bakery... which suddenly explodes. End of flashback.
98	* BileFascination: Some people only see the cartoon to see how bad it is.
99	* BrokenBase: Literally the only thing fans argue over is if the American cartoon is SoBadItsGood or horrible. Of course, some people just say [[TakeAThirdOption it's plain bad]].
100	* CantUnhearIt: While the entire cast is doing their best with the material they were given, the one who stands out the most is Creator/ScottMcNeil as Lord Raptor, giving him an Australian accent (as Scott himself is also Australian) and managing to make even the dialogue he's given feel very in-character. The fact that he was the only cast member who reprised this role for the OVA has made it so the ''Darkstalkers'' fandom accept him as ''the'' voice of Lord Raptor despite that he's never played the character in games (or that Raptor is not one of the few to still appear and be voiced in later years).
101	* DamselScrappy: Harry. He needs the heroic characters to rescue him ''all the time''. He's not exactly redeemed by [[FlatCharacter his lack of character]] and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally endangering the heroes]] every time.
102	* DesignatedHero: Harry. Although he's not outright villainous, he's allegedly TheChosenOne who'll save the world from Pyron and bring peace between humans and Darkstalkers. However, he spends ''all'' of his screen time [[BrattyHalfPint complaining]] and [[DamselScrappy needing rescue from the heroes]] while [[NiceJobBreakingItHero accidentally getting them into trouble]].
103	* EthnicScrappy:
104	** Morrigan is given a super thick Scottish accent that soon became well known as annoying.
105	** The show's incarnation of Hsien-Ko sadly became this thanks to her exaggerated accent.
106	* HarsherInHindsight:
107	** Several of the show's staff commented how they felt like this show was going to be the next best thing like ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}''. The show proved very unpopular and didn't last [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13 episodes]].
108	** The episode "Donovan's Bane" has Morrigan trick a drifter into coming to her arms so that she can attempt to drain him of his life energy via a kiss. Fortunately, Donovan attacks Morrigan before she can succeed, causing her to break the kiss while the drifter escapes with his life. The UDON comics, which depicts Morrigan as an even more malicious person, would have her trick nice men like a fisherman named Jack and an archaeologist so that she can kiss them as well. Unfortunately for them, nobody came to their aid before Morrigan drains them dry. In some ways, the cartoon's depiction of Morrigan would end up being a recurring thing in future adaptations.
109	* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: The voice acting is considered questionable at best and ridiculously [[{{Narm}} Narmy]] at worst... with one exception. While Creator/ScottMcNeil's skill as a voice actor isn't in question (especially if you've heard his various other roles), his performance as Lord Raptor is considered a highlight and one of the show's legitimately good points, to the point that he was brought back to voice the character again in the English dub of ''Anime/NightWarriorsDarkstalkersRevenge'' and is considered the fan-preferred English voice for Lord Raptor in any media the character appears in.
110	* HilariousInHindsight:
111	** [[Literature/HarryPotter A bespectacled child wizard named Harry.]]
112	** Pyron's ship A.I. is a dead ringer for [[Franchise/{{Halo}} 343 Guilty Spark]], right down to the SmugSnake personality, and they even have extremely similar voices.
113	** Within the franchise, the episode with the CrystalSkull has Demitri using it to banish his enemies to another dimension. Then ''Vampire Savior'' comes and gives us Jedah's Majigen ("Wicked Dimension"), where most of the cast are drawn to.
114	** The "you are curiously attractive for a fishman" line is even funnier after ''Film/TheShapeOfWater'' came out. This also applies for characters like [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Prince Sidon]], [[Manga/BloodBlockadeBattlefront Zed O'Brien]] and [[Film/HellBoy2004 Abe Sapien]]. Seems the trend lately is that fishmen being attractive isn't such a curious thing anymore.
115	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Lord Raptor's voice actor Creator/ScottMcNeil being among one of the only highlights of the series becomes this since his performance earned him a RoleReprise in the much better anime OVA where Lord Raptor's [[EvilIsCool popularity]] [[EnsembleDarkhorse skyrocketed]] thanks to him playing the role more seriously.
116	* MemeticLoser:
117	** Pyron, due to the fact that he tries to conquer Earth because ''[[WellDoneSonGuy he wants to earn his mother's respect]]''.
118	** Harry, who many of his haters classify as a FakeUltimateHero.
119	* MemeticMolester: Morrigan. The most evident scene is when she abducts [[KidHero Harry]] and tucks him into bed after caressing him.
120	* MemeticMutation:
121	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdO-yO-bfrU Lord Raptor's Rap Song.]]
122	** [[EvenTheGuysWantHim Rikuo is curiously attractive for a fishman]]: [[PhraseCatcher An oft-repeated descriptor]] used by male and female Darkstalkers alike to the point that Rikuo eventually has to tiredly [[LampshadeHanging lampshade it]] in the final episode.
123	** Anakaris sure loves his PUDDING!
124	* MisaimedFandom: The series was made for kids... despite being made from an ''adult'' video game series. Unfortunately, neither adults nor children got into the cartoon and it failed.
125	* {{Narm}}: This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiHRLUIZzs4 video]] summarizes it.
126	* NoYay: Anakaris develops a disturbing interest in Felicia after he brainwashes her into becoming his wife.
127	* TheScrappy:
128	** Harry. He was not liked for being added as a KidAppealCharacter in a franchise that was never made for kids to begin with.
129	** Hairball, the Sasquatch/Big Foot's son is equally disliked for being an annoying BrattyHalfPint that pisses off the other characters.
130	* SoBadItsGood: It's to be expected when your cartoon adaptation is made by the same company responsible for such works as ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme'' and the cartoon adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/StreetFighter''.
131	* {{Squick}}: Anakaris, a centuries-old, decaying mummy, brainwashes Felicia into becoming his wife and forces her to make out with him while his prisoners watch. It's as gross as it sounds.
132	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: ''Darkstalkers'' was never a series intended for children. But that didn't stop the ExecutiveMeddling from removing all the NightmareFuel, the {{fanservice}}, the complex character stories, and altering the beautiful character designs to make the show family-friendly.
133	* VideoGameMoviesSuck: Well, video game ''cartoons'' suck. This cartoon was unfortunately one of the many failed attempts to make a show based on a popular videogame. ''Website/ScrewAttack'' has listed it as one of the worst cartoons ever based on a videogame simply for making it unrecognizable to the source material entirely.
134	* WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids: The mere fact that the series is an adaptation of such a raunchy game should speak for itself. [[SoBadItsGood Of course, this isn't inherently a bad thing]].
135	[[/folder]]
136
137	[[folder:Comic Books]]
138	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: During ''Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors'', Felicia is attacked by a witch named Majorette and her own catperson named Thomas, who should not exist due to the fact that Felicia's species is a OneGenderRace. Neither of them are from the games and are seen ever again in the comic or its sequel crossover with ''Street Fighter''. Jon and Felicia even lampshade they have no idea who she is.
139	* CompleteMonster: In ''Darkstalkers'' & ''Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors'', by Ken Siu-Chong, [[BloodKnight Pyron]] is a {{sadist}}ic space deity who enjoys [[PlanetEater devouring planets]] to gain power, [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed having done so to his own home planet]]. Noticing the young planet Earth, Pyron waits for it to ripen and grow before promising to return and eat it. Spending the next millennia feasting on populated planets, Pyron heads back to the populated Earth, deciding to fight Morrigan and Demitri for his own amusement before he tries to devour the world completely.
140	* DesignatedHero: While the story does paint Morrigan in a sympathetic light and gives her some moments of sympathy [[spoiler:like Belial's death]], it falls flat towards fans due to her being depicted as a disgusting and evil monster who sees humans only as food and completely disregards their lives.
141	* HarsherInHindsight: A man associated with the sea (a fisherman instead of a lighthouse keeper) let's a woman or royal descent and with supernatural abilities (a succubus instead of a denizen of Atlantis) stay at his home. If Morrigan were closer to her canon self, making her not interested in stealing Jack's soul, there's a chance this could have resulted in the two having a son, akin to the pre-Crisis origins of ''ComicBook/{{Aquaman}}'' before the ''ComicBook/New52'' and [[Film/Aquaman2018 2018 film]] reintroduced the concept.
142	* MoralEventHorizon: Morrigan's actions in the first issue, where she tricked a nice man into letting her stay at his place, attempt to seduce him into sleeping with her before losing patience and outright forced herself on him before leaving him a soulless corpse, make it clear that she's not the same likable young woman she is in the games.
143	* TheScrappy: Morrigan's [[AdaptationalVillainy villainous depiction]] in the comic is hated by Darkstalkers fans due to how out of character it is compared to her game counterpart. While the game version gets her nourishment from enjoyment and is actually rather friendly for a succubus, this version is an unrepentant murderer and rapist who shows zero empathy to anyone outside her father and two servants, and even then she goes behind their backs to snack on innocent human souls.
144	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: BigLippedAlligatorMoment not withstanding, Majorette and Thomas were Darkstalkers unique to the UDON comics. Much like how the ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' created its own animal characters for their take on a video game's world, this would have been a chance for UDON to create their own Darkstalkers, giving them their own backstories, abilities and connections to other Darkstalkers, and there was the possibility of the two developing a rivalry with Jon and Felicia. Unfortunately, they are exclusive to Jon and Felicia's story and are gone as soon as it ends.
145	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Morrigan is technically the protagonist of the story as the comic mostly revolves around her. While the comic does show her relationship with her adopted father and her struggles to be the queen she is supposed to be, it's hard to root for her when she's depicted as much more evil and dangerous, especially when she drains human souls for the thrill of it. The fact she gets away with everything she does makes it worse.
146	* UncertainAudience: The comic is based on a series of fighting games not very well known. Even then, its changes from the source material proved very unpopular, namely the depiction of Morrigan Aensland as a more villainous character. It does not help that Morrigan is the main character, even though she's committed murder of innocent people even when she had no need to.
147	* TheWoobie: Jack, the fisherman from the first issue. He encountered a young woman named Ann who was homeless due to claiming to have lost her husband, so he let her stay in his place for the night. However, when she offers to sleep with him and he turns her down out of kindness, she reveals herself to be Morrigan Aensland, [[AdaptationalVillainy who is not as nice or fun in this comic]] and decides to go for the direct approach with him, consuming his soul and killing him. By morning, Jack is found as a lifeless husk with blood under his corpse and a look of utter horror on his face. All of this because he thought he was helping someone who needed a bit of human kindness. The kindest thing Morrigan does for him is keeping his soul inside her body, living in eternal bliss and pleasure. Even then, it was more to feed on his soul than anything else.
148	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / Darkstalkers