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[Wario64]

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — January 5, 2005— Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, today announced plans to release Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower for the PSP handheld entertainment system. This hard hitting fighting game summons the return of Capcom's greatest monster warriors to once again battle for control of the night. This fierce brawler not only encompasses all 18 menacing characters from the five critically acclaimed installments of the franchise, it is also remastered to include additional content with Wi-Fi functionality. Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower will redefine hand held 2D fighting by delivering the quintessential arcade game to PSP handheld system owners. Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower is set for release throughout North America with the launch of the PSP handheld.


"Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower is the first handheld fighting game to actually exceed its arcade and home console predecessors," said Todd Thorson, director of marketing Capcom Entertainment. "With all new game modes to the franchise and wireless battles, Darkstalkers Chronicles on the PSP is a must have."

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower possesses a compelling cast of monster warriors, each possessing their own unique fighting skills and abilities including Demitri Maximoff, the Vampire; Jonathan Talbain, the English Werewolf; Victor von Gerdenheim, the Frankenstein Monster; Lord Raptor, an Australian undead hard rocker; Anakaris, the Mummy; Rikuo, a Brazilian Merman; Sasquatch, the Canadian Snowman; and Felicia, the Cat Woman.

Featuring cutting-edge technology and superior graphics display performance, the PSP handheld system completely captures the series' trademark visuals and control. With its unparalleled high resolution, 16:9 widescreen display, gamers will have the option of selecting between two different screen settings, wide or normal resolutions. Using normal resolution, it's possible to set the remaining screen space to specific Darkstalkers wallpaper that can be switched according to the player's mood. Widescreens zooms-in on the action so that every corner is filled with the very essence of the legacy. Furthermore, two distinct control configurations will be available to best suite anyone's gaming style.

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower features five different modes of play. Arcade Mode is a seamless conversion where players must defeat numerous CPU-controlled characters. Training Mode gives gamers the option to choose their favorite character and hone their skills. Network Mode allows friends to engage in two different wireless head-to-head networked battles: verses or limit battle. Verses offers true two-player competitive matches. Limit Battle randomly assigns a handicap to both challengers, forcing them to strategize their moves in order to claim victory. In the new Tower Mode, select three characters from the extensive roster and ascend to the pinnacle of a mysterious tower where many opponents await upon each floor. The course taken and fighting conditions will change dynamically based on performance during the multitude of one-on-one battles. Pitting the right competitor against an opponent will be the key to success. Progression through Tower Mode directly affects the new Chronicle Mode which contains a collection of unlockable bonus materials including original artwork, sound and movie galleries.

Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower includes the following features:

* Full roster of Darkstalkers characters – Reunite with all 18 infamous night warriors including: Demitri Maximoff the Vampire whose sharp skills include the dreaded Chaos Flare; Bishamon, the Samurai ghost warrior from Japan who must defend his honor with such moves as the Storm Wind and the Succubus Morrigan Aenslaed, a Scottish renegade who's known to have an array of magical powers, including the Shadow Blade.
* Two selectable screen settings - Change the size ratio of the screen at anytime by choosing either normal or wide resolutions.
* Two distinct control configurations to best suite anyone's gaming style.
* Five modes of gameplay:
o Arcade - Defeat numerous CPU-controlled characters to reach the final boss
o Training – Practice various moves and combos to perfect fighting skills
o Network – Engage in network battle using a wireless LAN and select between two different types of modes
o Verses - Two-player competitive matches where players can adjust the handicap and select different stages
o Limit Battle – Both fighters will be randomly assigned a handicap, forcing them to strategize their moves in order to claim victory
o Tower – A survival-style mode that lets gamers pick a team of three who will journey to the top of a mysterious tower and defeat the enemies they encounter through a multi-path tournament. Advancement and winning conditions will change depending on performance during each clash which in turn affects Chronicle mode
o Chronicle – Progressing through Tower mode will reveal a cache of items in Chronicle Mode which house a collection of unlockable bonus features including original artwork, sound and movie galleries

Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment. Founded in 1983, the company has created world renowned franchises including Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, Devil May Cry and the Onimusha series. Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, the company maintains operations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Tokyo and Hong Kong. More information about Capcom and its products can be found on the company's web site at www.capcom.com .

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Capcom, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. Onimusha, Devil May Cry and Breath of Fire are trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. PSP is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. All other marks are the property of their respective holders.

 

[KiNeSiS]

Darkstalkers are nothing!!!! Well in the grand scheme of Capcom fighters that is.
Give me a portable Street Fighter Alpha, Or Vs Compilation.
These are two signifigant compilations.
Of coarse this being a Japanese launch title it was only a matter of time that we would recieve it

 

[Spiritreaver]

Wow, I thought this was never going to happen, huge surprise here. Of course yes I'm being sarcastic. Awesome news though, I forgot about this earlier, but I'll probably pick this up at launch, if not for me, for my sister, she loves her Felicia. -_-

 

[Lyte Edge]

Darkstalkers are nothing!!!! Well in the grand scheme of Capcom fighters that is.

SHUT UP.

 

[The End]

well duh.

i'll pick this up if MGA or Lumines is delayed.

 

[LukeSmith]

heh i almost posted this from my email.

 

[belgurdo]

Darkstalkers are nothing!!!!

Darkstalkers>>>>>Rehash Fighter III Alpha Gold Plus Giant Strike Revival

 

[Lyte Edge]

Darkstalkers>>>>>Rehash Fighter III Alpha Gold Plus Giant Strike Revival

Don't you mean "Rehash Stalkers 3 Savior Hunter 2 Chronicle Tower?"

It's just as much a rehash as any other 2D fighting game series sequel from Capcom. It's the FIFTH version of Vampire Savior to be released!

 

[SiegfriedFM]

The good thing about this port is that I will get high resolution press artwork of all these characters. Methinks Felicia and Hsien-Ko will look nice on my walls.

 

[Link316]

was hoping for a MSRP

 

[duckroll]

I hope they reduce the loading for the US version. I doubt it'll happen but if they make improvements like that on the US version I'll get it for sure. I'm passing on the JP version simply because of the loading which sounds bad, unless someone who has played it a bunch wants to correct me.

 

[haunts]

Thinking about playing on pad makes me cringe!!

WiFi should be fun though.

 

[Lyte Edge]

I hope they reduce the loading for the US version. I doubt it'll happen but if they make improvements like that on the US version I'll get it for sure. I'm passing on the JP version simply because of the loading which sounds bad, unless someone who has played it a bunch wants to correct me.

Let me correct you. Load times are fine; better than the PSX Capcom fighting games. I'd say about 5-6 seconds between fights (that's just estimating...if I was to time it using a clock, I'm sure it would be a bit longer, but the point is that the load times are more than acceptable and not an issue at all IMO).

 

[duckroll]

Let me correct you. Load times are fine; better than the PSX Capcom fighting games. I'd say about 5-6 seconds between fights (that's just estimating...if I was to time it using a clock, I'm sure it would be a bit longer, but the point is that the load times are more than acceptable and not an issue at all IMO).

Is the loading like Ridge Racers? Because that would be fine. Since you have played it for some time, how are the widescreen/regular view modes? And how's the port overall? In terms of slowdown/deleted frames/etc. Also I would like to know how it controls on the PSP, some insight on the ups and downs of the controls would be nice. Thanks!

 

[Lyte Edge]

Is the loading like Ridge Racers? Because that would be fine. Since you have played it for some time, how are the widescreen/regular view modes?

I'd probably equate it to Ridge Racers, yeah. The difference being that there's going to be a lot more loading since a match will go quicker than a race would.

Graphics are awesome; colors are extremely vibrant and really stand out, and both view modes are great. I prefer the widescreen mode, but the 4:3 mode will definitely please purists. You can choose to put wallpaper-type images on the sides if you wish, some are even animated (such as torches).

And how's the port overall? In terms of slowdown/deleted frames/etc. Also I would like to know how it controls on the PSP, some insight on the ups and downs of the controls would be nice. Thanks!

Vampire Chronicle seems to be a perfect port of the Dreamcast version, with MORE added. So this means you get to select from the three play modes (Vampire, Hunter, and Savior) and all four versions of each character (Vampire, Hunter, Savior, and Savior 2), plus all the music from all three Darkstalkers games is intact, as well as the new Tower (basically survival with a team of three characters and stipulations on matches like no jumping, no blocking, can't punch, can't kick, etc.) mode and Chronicle, which lets you listen to all the music, view unlocked art, and the endings for each character from every Darkstalkers game.

I don't see anything missing and there's no slowdown; if any frames are missing I'm not seeing them, and if there are, perhaps the smaller screen hides it well. There's no reason to suspect anything missing anyway, though, since the PSP is more than capable of running the game and the UMD has enough space to hold most of the CPS2 games on a single disc.

Controls are basically the same as playing a 2D fighting game with the PS2 controller. I don't have a problem with the set-up. I play with the light attacks and hard attacks mapped to the face buttons, and the mediums set to the L and R buttons. You can also wuss out and choose an easier control mode in the options that only uses four buttons and simplifed motions for supers.

Improved load times would be quite welcome for the U.S. release, but as it stands right now, there's no problem with them; the game still loads quicker than the PSX games did and the only reason people are probably complaining is that they are either spoiled by the current console 2D fighters' load times or haven't played a fighting game in some time.

I'll happily accept some load times in exchange for what is the FIRST EVER arcade perfect 2D fighting game on a handheld system. I remember being so impressed with the port of Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the GBA, and in comparison it's like going from Street Fighter II on the SNES to Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the Saturn...the differences are quite clear.

I still need to write a review of the game (unless I just did!) with some screenshots and perhaps a proper timing of load times. There's no question that if you like 2D fighters, don't even hesitate to pick this one up.

 

[Brandon F]

Any new BG's? Does it contain the backdrops from every game in the franchise, or just Part 3?

 

[Lyte Edge]

Any new BG's? Does it contain the backdrops from every game in the franchise, or just Part 3?

You never played the DC version Brandon? For SHAME! :lol

It's just the backgrounds from Vampire Savior; default color schemes are the Vampire Savior 2 versions, and you can still choose the original colors in versus and training modes by holding start when you choose a stage. There's at least one new stage in the game (the Chaos Tower); I read that there were two, but I have yet to see a second new level.

If you never played Vampire Chronicle before, the game is a great upgrade. Think something like the play systems of CvS2 and SFA3 combined together. You choose Vampire (Two rounds per match, no supers [and no dark force IIRC], only ES moves when special meter is full), Hunter (Two rounds per match, supers, dark force, ES moves), or Savior (One round, two lifebars per match, supers, dark force, ES moves) game play modes first. Each mode also gives you the full soundtrack (both stage and victory BGMs) from that particular game.

Then you choose a character and pick from Vampire, Hunter, Savior, or Savior 2. Each of the four modes gives you the character's move set and combo schemes from that particular game. If the character wasn't in one of the first two DS games, such as Bulleta, they get an altered move set; picking the Vampire version of Bulleta gives her FB/DP motions for all moves instead of charge motions, for example.

Vampire Chronicle is definitely the best Darkstalkers game to date, and since it brings togther all the characters and game play from the series, should a sequel be released, YOU BETTER START OVER WITH A BRAND NEW CAST, CAPCOM!!.

 

[duckroll]

Thanks for the impressions.... I think I'll wait for the US release and then decide which one to get. (Depending on price, censorship, improvements, etc) I definitely want it though, I'm a big Vampire/Darkstalkers fan.

 

[NotMSRP]

I'll definitely want this. Don't know if I should part with my Dreamcasat copy. Like Duckroll, I'll wait till the US copy is out and find out which is the better version.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Thanks for the impressions.... I think I'll wait for the US release and then decide which one to get. (Depending on price, censorship, improvements, etc) I definitely want it though, I'm a big Vampire/Darkstalkers fan.

Hmm...didn't even think about possible censorship. No white blood better be in the U.S. version, Capcom!

Being from Capcom, I wouldn't hold my breath for any improvements. :\

 

[COCKLES]

Well that's my 2nd PSP purchase right there.

I ruled Darkstalkers with an iron fist....until they removed Aulbath's cheap corkscrew attack.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Well that's my 2nd PSP purchase right there.

I ruled Darkstalkers with an iron fist....until they removed Aulbath's cheap corkscrew attack.

Well, just pick Aulbath with the moveset from the game he had the corkscrew attack in and you're good to go.

I guess a lot people never got to play the DC version?

 

[Anyanka]

I'll get this, but I'm not exactly excited over it. The last thing Capcom needed to release was yet another one of those thrown together games.

 

[COCKLES]

HAH AHHAAA! I will bring a reign of terror down on London Wi-fi players!

Never played the DC version.

Loved the Saturn Night Warriors - Remember Nix Rox bitching in Gamefan like a little kid that the PSX got Psygnosis crap butchered port while the Saturn was graced with neigh Capcom coded perfection. :lol

 

[etiolate]

Darkstalkers are nothing!!!! Well in the grand scheme of Capcom fighters that is.

WHAT!

 

[Axsider]

Darkstalkers>>>>>Rehash Fighter III Alpha Gold Plus Giant Strike Revival

Finally we agree with something!

 

[Axsider]

Darkstalkers>>>>>Rehash Fighter III Alpha Gold Plus Giant Strike Revival

Woooops, double-post

 

[Takuan]

Think they'll polish load times down to about 10 seconds for the North American release? That's about the max I'll tolerate.

 

[BenT]

Great impressions, Lyte.

I'm wondering about the sprites. Are they crappified (technical term) as on DC, or smooth and beautiful like on Saturn? Basically, are there any scaling artifacts? Widescreen doesn't stretch the sprites out, does it?