Vampire Savior 2 : The Lord of Vampire (Japan 970913)

Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire is Capcom’s Japan-only 1997 arcade fighting game for the CP System II hardware, and the specific Japan 970913 revision represents its September 13 arcade build. Part of the Darkstalkers series—known in Japan as Vampire—the game is a revised counterpart to Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire, rather than a separate sequel with a new story. Capcom developed and published this head-to-head 2D fighter, bringing its gothic fantasy cast, detailed sprite animation, and supernatural arenas back to Japanese arcades only a few months after the original Vampire Savior.

The action keeps the rapid six-button fighting format associated with the series. Each player uses an eight-way joystick and light, medium, and heavy punches and kicks to move, attack, jump, crouch, block, throw, and perform character-specific special moves. Matches use the Damage Gauge system instead of conventional best-of-three rounds: fighters have two life stocks, and an emptied gauge resets their positions while the winner retains whatever health remains. Recent damage is partly shown as recoverable white health, encouraging players to press an advantage without taking another hit, while the meter supports powerful attacks and the character-specific Dark Force enhancements.

Jedah Dohma again supplies the central conflict. The demonic nobleman seeks to remake the troubled realm of Makai and draws souls into his artificial world, Majigen. That premise frames confrontations among the series’ monsters, hunters, and otherworldly fighters, from returning regulars such as Morrigan and Felicia to the story’s newer Vampire Savior combatants. The arcade game’s lavish hand-drawn animation, expressive transformations, and varied stages give each fighter a markedly different visual identity, whether the character is an ancient mummy, a succubus, a robot, or a fairy-tale-inspired hunter.

What distinguishes Vampire Savior 2 from the original Vampire Savior is its roster exchange and mechanical revision. It follows the original game’s general gameplay foundation and soundtrack, but removes Jon Talbain, Rikuo, and Sasquatch from that lineup. In their place are Donovan Baine, Huitzil, and Pyron, three fighters associated with the earlier Night Warriors/Vampire Hunter roster. The game also has adjustments to move lists and combo behavior, and it includes special hidden content such as Oboro Bishamon, Shadow, and Marionette. Its simultaneous companion release, Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers’ Revenge, makes a contrasting roster choice by emphasizing the earlier Vampire Hunter cast.

Because Vampire Savior 2 was an arcade release limited to Japan, it should not be confused with the original Vampire Savior, its later console compilations, or the PlayStation release called Vampire Savior: EX Edition in Japan and Darkstalkers 3 elsewhere. Those home releases combine or reorganize material from several Darkstalkers arcade versions, whereas this entry preserves a distinct 1997 arcade ruleset and character selection. The date in this game’s title identifies the Japanese revision, not a new regional edition or a remake.

Vampire Savior 2 remained a notable branch of Capcom’s late-1990s Darkstalkers lineup because it preserves an alternate version of the series’ final arcade-era design. Capcom later made the five arcade Darkstalkers games available together outside Japan through Capcom Fighting Collection, where Vampire Savior 2 appears as its own selection and remains identified as a Japanese-language title. For arcade fighting-game fans, Vampire Savior 2 is therefore best understood as a focused CPS-2 update: the familiar Vampire Savior battle system paired with a deliberately reshuffled cast from across the series.