Vampire Saviour
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Without beating around the bush, Vampire Saviour is a superb game. The Saturn version benefits once more from the 4-Meg cart and the extra memory has certainly been used to excellent effect. On a basic Saturn it is possible that a version of this game could have been released, albeit one with drastic animation cuts, frequent slow-down and horrendous loading-times between bouts. However, with the actual cart in place, Vampire Saviour is a very tasty proposition indeed. The front-end is typically polished, very professional looking. A word of warning, however. This game isn't quite as accessible as it's predecessor, X-Men Versus Streetfighter, in the short-term. The overall mood of these two games is very different. Vampire Saviour has a somewhat darker and sombre feeling, which I personally appreciate, but others may be slightly put-off to begin with. I urge you to persevere with this game though, once you've played it for a while and become accustomed to the different combo-system and methods of activating special-moves, you'll seen realise that Capcom have come up trumps once more and produced arguably the best beat-em-up on the Saturn. Staunch fans of Virtua Fighter 2 will doubtlessly disagree with me on this one, but this is a title that will not disappoint the vast majority, I'm sure. The graphics are absolutely beautiful. Huge, demonic sprites bound around the screen at a very quick rate, producing some of the most weird and wonderful moves ever witnessed in a video game. I would say that these visuals just have the edge over XSF, but that's only personal opinion. After seeing Ryu and the boys for so long over the years, Vampire Saviour's style is a breath of fresh air, and a welcome one at that. If anything, the loading-times here are a shade quicker than those in XSF, barely noticeable at all in fact. Also worth mentioning is the fact that if you complete the game on any difficulty with one credit and go to the options screen and hold both shoulder buttons, an English language option becomes available. This point should pacify those who dislike purchasing import games for fear of the language barrier, fear no more. Although the backgrounds are of an excellent quality, fighting on the side of a skyscraper for example, I would have liked to have seen more animation regarding this area. The music is cool in some places >but others just seem a little lazy, in-game tunes are important and Capcom can certainly improve upon this>effort. No complaints with the sound-effects though, suitably crisp and sharp. As with XSF, Vampire Saviour is virtually timeless in two-player mode. However, the difficulty level appears to have increased in this gothic incarnation over XSF. I, for one, am most pleased by this aspect. The endings are typical Capcom, not brilliant but not too shabby. The English language for end-of-bout quotes certainly adds a little to the overall feeling of the game. In conclusion, I would urge all 2D and Capcom fighting fans to go forth and buy Vampire Saviour in confidence, it fits in nicely alongside Alpha 2 and XSF and would compliment any self-respecting gamers collection. To those who still remain unsure, bear in mind that Triple-A Saturn releases are a little thin on the ground at the moment, I wouldn't want you to miss out...
Review By: Michael West |
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