The Story Timeline Order of Darkstalkers Games
Darkstalkers is a famous franchise of fighting video games. Darkstalkers games are known for their unique characters, characteristical gothic environments and air dashing mechanics. In fact, Darkstalkers is often credited for starting the air dashing mechanic feature in fighting video games, possibly having inspired the fighting gameplay of future fighting game franchises, such as Guilty Gear and BlazBlue.
Darkstalkers characters typically are inspired after gothic elements and supernatural figures, including vampires, vampire hunters and other supernatural beings. Considering that at the time of release of the first game, most fighting games featured non-supernatural fighters, it should come as no surprise that Darkstalkers captivated fans with its refreshing elements. The first Darkstalkers game, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, was released in 1994. In the 1990s, fighting games were surging in popularity following the successful release of Street Fighter II in 1991. After the release of the first Darkstalkers games, more games were released, affecting the continuity of the series.
Is There an Order in Which to Play the Darkstalkers Games?
While the Darkstalkers video games can be played and enjoyed in any order, for fans who want to experience their story in a logical and reasonable order, there is a chronological story order which can be observed for the best story experience possible.
The Story Timeline Order of the Darkstalkers Video Games
This is the story timeline order of the Darkstalkers games. In other words, this is the chronological order in which the story events of the Darkstalkers games take place. The chronological story order of games is not always necessarily the same as the chronological release order. However, in the specific case of the Darkstalkers video games, it is.
Due to their international releases, the Darkstalkers games are known by different names, and in some cases, there are multiple versions available. For example, the first Darkstalkers game is known as Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, while it is also known as Vampire: The Night Warriors, and these are the same game, under different names. For this reason, I have included the many different names and versions of each game in this chronological story order, considering that people may know these games by different names.
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors | Vampire: The Night Warriors
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge | Vampire Hunter: Darkstalkers' Revenge | Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire
Darkstalkers 3 | Vampire Savior | Vampire Savior: World of Darkness | Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers' Revenge | Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire | Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, released in 1994, was the first Darkstalkers video game to ever be released, featuring many of the characters by whom the series became known for. While Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors featured endings for its characters, the subsequent game in the series, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, features those characters with the addition of new ones, while maintaing the same endings for the characters that appear in both games.
It is worth noting that Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, the second Darkstalkers game, features the same plot as the first Darkstalkers game, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors. Even though this game is often considered to be a sequel, it features the same main plot, though it adds new characters and bosses.
While it is reasonable to consider the second Darkstalkers game, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge to be a retcon of the first Darkstalkers game, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, I can also see how Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge could be considered an expansion to the story of the first Darkstalkers game, as it introduces new characters. On the other hand, it is debatable whether they should be considered in the same continuity, as the same main event is taking place in both games, but in each case, with the addition or exclusion of certain characters. One point of view is that these characters just weren't mentioned in the first game, and for this reason, the second game could be considered a retelling of the same story, but with additional details. Another point of view is that it should be viewed as a completely new continuity, as the same story is being told differently (because now there are more characters involved). At the end, it is not completely clear whether the first and the second Darkstalkers games belong to the same continuity. Considering that it is not completely clear that these games do not belng to the same continuity, I have decided to keep them all together in the same chronological story order, as one game does not contradict the other, story-wise, so I do not see any continuity issues in playing these games in order.
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower features the same endings as Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire, which in turn is an updated version of Darkstalkers 3, also known as Vampire Savior. Considering that the endings are the same as the updated version of Darkstalkers 3, I have considered these different games to tell essentially the same story, in regards to the Darkstalkers continuity, and for this reason they have the same place in my chronological story order of the Darkstalkers games.
Is Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge a Reboot, a Retcon or a Sequel?
As I previously mentioned, the second Darkstalkers game, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge features the same character endings as the first Darkstalkers game, Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, while it also features new characters. Considering that the main plot of both games is the same, it could be argued that they must be different interpretations of the same events, or in other words, that the second game is a retelling of the events of the first one. On the other hand, the addition of new characters in the second game, while maintaining the same main story and the same endings for the characters that were available in the first game, could also mean possibly that the story is now being told by a more comprehensive point of view.
While the different opinions on this matter are reasonable, I'm inclined to say that in the end it doesn't really matter that much whether Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge is a reboot, a retcon or a sequel, because it doesn't really contradict its previous Darkstalkers game. In other words, if one were to start playing the Darkstalkers games with Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, they wouldn't have a completely different beginning to the story of the series. And if one were to start playing the Darkstalkers games with Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, they wouldn't be in complete disagremeent with the story presented in Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge. This consonance of these different games makes it clear to me that it is very difficult to categorize the second Darkstalkers game, Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge, as either a reboot, a retcon or a sequel. Story-wise, I don't think it should be considered a sequel, but rather, a more complete version of the story presented originally in the first game, considering that it maintains the same main plot and adds new characters. However, it also doesn't contradict the events of the first game, and for this reason I don't think it is accurate to say it is a retcon. My conclusion is that it could either be considered a reboot, or a more complete version of the story that was originally presented in the first Darkstalkers game.
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