Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers 3)

Introduction

Vampire Savior(aka Darkstalkers 3 in the US) is the third incarnation of the Vampire series. It was released in 97, and much of the game mechanics of its roots are what many of Capcom's later Versus games have borrowed from. On higher levels, the game is fast paced, and in its now 8 years of being out, has still been relatively balanced in competative play.

Theres more to say, but I'm sure someone will be kind enough to add more filler, and maybe an image. (i'm a wiki scrub) What's important though, is the knowledge to play the game right, not all this silly background information.

also...

I(gbursine) truely believe one person cannont know everything; mainly because I know I don't. So to further make this whole thing useful, it's necessary that other people contribute, or there will be many holes within this guide due to the simple fact that things are viewed by the eyes of one person.

edit: god bless this mysterious entity known as ponder.

Legend & Notation

Attack Notation Attacks are represented with the following notation:

Punches

• lp(jp) - jab punch(light punch)
• mp(sp) - strong punc (medium punch)
• hp(fp) - fierce punch (heavy punch)

PP - two punch buttons pressed simultaneously PPP - three punch buttons pressed simultaneously

Kicks

• lk(sk) - short kick (light kick)
• mk(fk) - forward kick (medium kick)
• hk(rk) - roundhouse kick (heavy kick)

KK - two kick buttons pressed simultaneously KKK - three kick buttons pressed simultaneously

I(gbursine) mix and match sometimes, but in all cases, whats stated above will hold true.

Frame Data Notation

I'm a bit new at this, but slowly am understanding the pen & paper of Frame Data. From what I have, I'll slowly be putting a table in each corresponding section per character. The column Header is as follows:

Name State Startup Hit adv Blk adv Buff Blk pos

Listed from left to right:

• Name: the name or command of the Attack being described
• State: Whether the character is close or far to the opponent, or if it is irrelevant.
• Startup: Amount of frames that it takes for the move to execute into active(hitting) frames
• Hit Advantage: Amount of frames which you recover ahead of your opponent after a successful hit
• Block(or Guard) Advantage: Amount of frames which you recover ahead of your opponent after having them block your attack
• Bufferability: Whether or not the move may be canceled into an ES or EX move.
• Blocking Position: Whether the move should be blocked High(H), Low(L), both High and Low(H/L), or Is just unblockable(UB)

Motions

Motions Are notated as follows:

shorthand name- actual name- command input

• QCF - quarter circle forward - down, down-forward, forward+attack input
• QCB - quarter circle back - down, down-back, back+attack input
• HCF - halfcircle forward - back, down=back, down, down-forward, forward+attack input
• HCB - halfcircle back - forward, down-forward, down, down-back, back+attack input
• DP - dragon punch [motion] - forward, down, down-forward+attack input
• RDP - reverse dragon punch [motion] - back, down, down-back+attack input
• 360 - a 360º motion- 6 consecutive inputs with an attack input pressed simultaneously on the last input

Prefixes

Prefixes in this guide are notated as follows… just incase bitchy people come accusing me of writing it all down as a;slkjdfa;slkdjfasdf+super

• s. = standing ____
• j. = jumping ____
• c. = crouching ____
• d. = dashing ____
• f. = flying ____
• sh = shorthop ____

D,F,B,U+_ =press that direction simultaneously with the attack (is a direction, as oppose to a character state(crouching, jumping, etc…))

(i.e, s.F+hp for bb hood tells you to stand, and press forward and heavy (or fierce)punch at the same time)

Shorthand Abreviations/Acronyms

GC - Guard Cancel
KD - Knock Down
TK - Tiger knee motion- see glossary
UBK - Unblockable
RTSD - rush that shit down
BC - Beast Cannon [See Gallon(talbain)]

Miscellaneous

anything ment to be repeated over and over again(even things that arent infinities) are now in this notation: <combo>xN

where xN means the combo can be done infinitly(for those unfamiliar)

• AttackA/attackB/attackC= you have the choice between these attacks while doing the combo

• representation of a link within a combo is represented by a "+" placed before the prefix of the attack. i.e. comboing two c.mp's with bb hood would look like this:

c.mp, +c.mp

• representation of a cancel within a combo is notated by "XX" placed between the moves that are transitioning from one to another. i.e. comboing Dance flash EX with Felicia would look like this:

c.mpXXQCF+PP

or

c.mpXX(DanceFlash EX)

The Game Engine

====== Life Bars====== :

The Life Bar works quite differently from your average 1 on 1Capcom-Style'd Lifebar. The Normal nature of the lifebar is, you get hit, and the damage stays. Vampire Savior doesn't follow this trend. Rather, damage is delt in Red(permanent damege), and White(recoverable damage). While there's not much to talk about as far as red damage goes, there's a bit to know about white damage.

I'm 99% sure that every damaging move in Vampire Savior causes white damage. The ratio of white to red damage increases with the length of the combo being done(big combos equal lots of white damage). But white damage, is still damage. You can lose a round, if the white damage reaches the end of your life bar

Reducing your white damage [to just red damage] is quite simple; stay out of hit or blockstun. Being in blockstun(blocking in lamens terms) halts the reduction of your white damage. This can be best done by either: a. running away b. rushing down.

so simpo right?... it is, tho quite a few players opt for option a, which isn't always easy in higher leveled play.

Capcom has followed two trends as far as life points are concerened. In their past [and later] games, characters within their [Capcom's] games have had two main ways of varying life bars:

• -uniform life points, with varying defences, where characters took a percentage of damage, and delt fixed damage with attacks.

• -uniform defence and offence stats for attacks, but varying life points.

As of now, I believe characters have varying defences, with uniform life points. It has been stated from a source, that [all] character in the game have 144 units of life, which supports my initial notion.

====== Round System====== :

Following in suite with life bars, Vampire Savior strays away from the generic round system of generic Capcom fighters [and rightfully so]. Your standard match gives each character "bats," which are essentially stocks of life. When you fill a lifebar with full damage, the match pauses briefly, a bat is taken away, then the match resumes.

The opponent who didn't lose a bat[there are cases where traded hits cause both opponents to lose bats simultaneously] is free to run about to setup wakeup mindgames, and heal white damage in this [very] brief intermission.

And of course, the match is 100% over when a character loses both bats. Double KO can happen.

====== Meter System====== :

Every character in Vampire Savior has up to 99 levels of meter. Despite this fact, except in special cases, you should really have no more than 3 levels of meter in a higher leveled match(it's somewhat of a sign that you don't know how to use your meter).

Generally, ES and EX moves require one level of meter. Some EX moves require two. Dark forces also require one level of meter.

The Meter bar is made up of 144 units. (actually maybe 145, but having 144 units of meter does not equal one level. you must go a bit beyond 144 units.)

====== Combo Rules ====== :

There are three forms of doing combos in Vampire Savior:

• two-in-ones
• linking
• chaining

-Two-in-ones require a move to be bufferable [refer to glossary on the term bufferable]. It is the action of doing a special move during the animation of a normal move. The recovery of the normal move will cancel into the special move, allowing for it to combo. hence two-in-one

-Linking is a play on the startup and recovery of normal and special moves. It is performed by a character doing an attack, recovering before the opponent recovers from hit stun, and performing another attack [all before the opponent recovers from hitstun].

-Chaining is performed by canceling the recovery of one normal move into another. It is done from weaker to stronger buttons, going from start to kick. You can google an image of how it works, or one day someone(me?) will put an image of the general pattern up.

You CANNOT cancel a normal move during a chain into a special or super move. You CAN link from a chain combo into a normal [or special] move, thus allowing you to cancel that normal(provided it is bufferable) into a special move.

Another special case with canceling chain combos are command input supers(EX moves). These Supers are done by inputting odd commands in sequence. As such, characters such as Gallon(Talbain), Demitri, Morrigan, and other characters can cancel a chain combo into one of their EX moves.

Universal Abilities

====== Blocking====== :

Vampire Savior allows for ground and air blocking. Blocking while on the ground follows normal trends: Block Standing for high hitting attacks, and crouching for low hitting attacks.

Air blocking is a bit different. Much Like Street Fighter Alpha 3, an airborn character cannot block a normal attack from an opponent who has their feet on the ground. But, normal moves, such as Aubath's(Rikuo) s.fp, or BB Hood's(Bulleta) s.F+mp may be blocked in the air; as well as all ES and EX movesmoves. Airblocking also has virtually no blockstun, allowing for characters to retaliate instantly.

====== ES & EX moves====== :

Both ES and EX moves require meter. Some EX moves require two or more.

ES moves are special moves to a higher degree. They are generally the special move enhanced in some sort of way. ES moves are performed by doing the motion of the special move normally, except with two buttons of whatever type it requires. (i.e. Morrigan's Soul Flash, qcf+P, can be used in an ES form by doing qcf+PP)

EX moves are the "Supers" of Vampire Savior. But unlike all other Capcom games, the Supers of Vampire Savior are meerly unique special moves. They have no invincibility, and may not necessarily have high priority. Normal EX moves are performed with thier own motions, and two punches or Kicks. Command input[or Sequential input] EX moves require their own combinations of directions and attack inputs.

====== Guard Canceling====== :

Guard Canceling is the Alpha Counter(refer to glossary) of Vampire Savior. It is performed while in blockstun, and only on the ground. The command motion for a Guard cancel is:

forward, down, down-forward+attack

while in blockstun. All guard cancels have frames of invincibility. The attack button (punch or kick) varies with the character, and is listed in each character's respectable guide.

A guard cancel can be buffered in to, if a player can properly predict the need to block a move correctly within a 14 frame window. This is done by performing the motion, blocking, then immediately pressing the attack button to finish the guard cancel input.

*All guard cancels have ES forms(some only have ES forms) * Also important to know, is that guard cancels do not always guarantee a clean hit (they can be baited 0_0).

====== Tech hitting====== :

Also known as pushblocking, Tech hitting is performed by inputting anywhere from 3 to 6+ attack inputs during block stun within a 12 frame window. It can only be done on the ground.

It pushes the opponent away a distance, depending on your last input of the tech hit. A strong button will push them far away, and a weak button will do the opposite, pushing them far away enough for you to dash at them and retaliate. There is a random success in executing a successful tech hit.

• 6 or more inputs will guarantee a pushblock.
• 5 inputs allows for 75% rate of success.
• 4 inputs allows for 50% rate of succes.
• 3 inputs allows for 25% rate of success.

Tech hitting gives the person teching frame advantage. This trait of tech hitting makes it more desireable in some cases over guard canceling.

also worth noting, is that buttons pressed simultaneously count as only one (1) input toward a tech hit.

====== Throwing & Throw Tech Hitting====== :

Throws are performed by pressing the direction forward or back and P or K. Only medium and strong punches or kicks may perform normal throws.

Throw Tech Hits counter throws. In this case, they are performed in the exact same manner as the throws: press the direction forward or back and P or K. Only medium and strong punches or kicks may counter normal throws.

I also do not have the frame data for these either currently, but from experience, the Vampire Savior engine allows for much leeway in performing a tech hit to counter throws. Very much like Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

All normal throws have a 1 frame startup.

All characters also have an unblockable command throw of some sort. All of which have their own respective command input, and frame data. These command throws are un-techable(with few exceptions)

====== Pursuits ====== :

Upon knocking down your opponent, you have the option to add an extra hit to your opponent with a pursuit. Pursuits deal strictly white damage, but even white damage may be all that is necessary to apply damage to maintain pressure.

To perform a pursuit, simultaneously press up and a punch or kick(U+P, or U+K).

Pursuits can be ES'd, by performing the command with two punches or kicks. They can also be avoided by strategic wakeups. This should not deter players from using pursuits though, since a missed pursuit will still keep you near your opponent, which may be desireable for many characters.

Pursuit Frame data will be listed with their respective characters.

====== Strategic Wake-Up====== :

Upon being knocked down, press left or right, and an attack input. your character will then move left or right(depending on which direction you held).

This allows for you to evade pursuits, keep on [or away from] your enemy, or just throw off their mind game.

Many say this takes away from wakeup games in Vampire Savior, but with the mobility given to each character, I wholley diagree.

====== Dashing ====== :

Dashing is performed by tapping forward [or backward] twice in in consecutive succession. Doing so, makes your character dash, hop, or glide (depending on your character). This is a necessity to the game of every character in Vampire Savior, as is discussed further.

Frame data for dashing is located with each respective character.

Reversals

See glossary for best explination ^_^;.... Reversals

Advanced General Strategies

====== Variable BlockStun Pressure====== :

Yes, VARIABLE, as in different, or changing, blockstun. At first, the conventional Street Fighter Player will say wtf, this does not help my game. BUT it does in Vampire Savior; which has the ever looming guard cancel and tech hit waiting behind each blocked hit.

As such, when rushing down, you actually want to leave holes small enough to allow your opponent to faulter in GCing(guard canceling) or Teching(pushblocking). All done, while keeping holes from being big enough for them to knowingly retaliate and thus possibly changing momentum of the game to their fancy.

Some characters thrive on these holes, for landing hits, while others meerly have variable pressure as just an addition to augment their rushdown.

====== Chicken Guard====== :

Most people in the fighting game community know chicken guard is jumping at the opponent, and blocking midair. In Vampire Savior the jumps are quite flexible, so you can chicken guard an attack, and if theres sufficient space between that first hit you blocked and the next one coming(i.e. lei lei's j.hp, which doesnt give you much time as opposed to random air chain by qbee) you can cancel the (air)block stun, and hit them w/ something... OR, if they've stopped all together(i.e. air blocking victors bigass headbutt special move), characters with an air dash (i.e. q-bee) STILL have the option to airdash & retaliate. VERY handy. Countered by being thrown of course, and fast airchain I think.

This strategy takes advantage of the absence of blockstun in the air.

====== Empty Air Chaining====== :

empty air chaining... I really dont know what to call it, so I'm gunna call it this till someone gives me a proper term. I dont see many other fighters that can use it the way this game does. Its basically, jumping and doing an early move i.e. talbain's j.mk. as the j.mk ends(even if you wiff), you throw a j.hp/j.rk on. So essentially, you have some attack out for most of your jump. Also, if the second hit hits, its more than likely going to be a deep hit; allowing for a followed up ground combo. for some characters, this becomes a useful added method for them to build meter when not much is happening(i.e. aubath)

**I cant stress enough how important empty chaining is.

====== Instant Air Dashing====== : Instant air dashing (iad) is just as it says, dashing so that you're skirting the ground. Tho, not all characters have an air dash to utilized(i.e. felicia, lilith), and not all of the ones who do can utilize it(mainly jedah).

How to iad: a dash is inputted by two consectutive forward motions.

-Up/toward->toward

this is the most obvious shortcut. very efficient when done correctly consistently.. what sux tho, is that its hard as fuck to iad on an american stick... The vampire engine is really bitchy w/ the "forward" inputs. Doing the inputs quickly is going against what seems to be a natural habit/motion of the hands(from what i've seen). b-izm remedies this with an up/toward->down/toward motion.(vid to be accessible soon). tho, this is still more jap-stick based... this is all i can give as far as iading goes... if none of these methods work, stick with up, toward, toward. ghetto, and not nearly as fast as iading

characters with effective iad's: lei lei, zabel, qbee, jedah*

• jedah's iad is useful via iad->fireball, significantly cutting the recovery on the blade... otherwise, dont be too reliant on it for rtsd.

====== Offensive Ground Dashing====== :

Theres two different types of offensive ground dashing(ogd's..i'm makin acronyms up on the fly): ground ogd's, and air ogd's.

just about all ground dashes add to the momentum of your rtsd(rushing that shit down)[there are a couple of exemptions]. Implementing them is character specific of course, but just about every character looks to either a. apply pressure b. connect a ground combo off of a dashed hit

its so simpo(<--stolen, I just forgot where from)

There are exceptions though:

-Leilei's teleport ground dash has a somewhat obvious & significant startup. Going into dash->throw is viable, but leilei maintains more momentum with an iad or just simple walking. -Demitri's dash is much like lei lei's(a teleport)... But, since(from the assorted vids I've watched) demitri wasnt designed for the rtsd shit that other characters were capable of, his dash serves more as a means of use for running away, horizontal uppercut setups/combos(ya, its comboable), random unblockable super setups(risky imo tho... but doable).

-Victor. I'm still somewhat unsure of whether or not he fits the "out of the ordinary" category. b/c he's the cast's main grappler(:p to sasquatch), his dash allows for throw setups in addition to getting in the opponents face.

Many of the characters w/ ground ogd's can just use normals(w/ little recovery) and rtsd.

Following characters with ground ogd's:

• anakaris
• aubath
• bbhood
• bishamon(forward dash)
• demitri
• lilith
• qbee
• victor
• zabel*lei lei
• *pyron
• *phobos
• *donovan

*not really from vampire savior but still applicable(ya, I know they're in the home versions).

Air ogd's will actually propel the character into the air, giving the character the ability too add quick overheads to their rtds mixup. this leads to some crazy shit from some characters(i.e. sas). Theres also two types of air ogd characters. most of them do a hop that propels them, Jedah and Morrigan outright fly(ya, common knowledge to all of you likely, but w/e.. i might as well sight(cite?) every tidbit) Air ogd characters:

• Bishamon(backward dash)
• felicia
• gallon/talbain
• Sasquatch
• *Morrigan
• *Jedah

* a nice thing to remember w/ these characters is not to dash for too long. they both lose the ability to block once they get too high, they're likely just a flying target(think xism) Also, a unique property about each of them is that jedah can air dash once he's airborn, & morrigan has 4 different versions of her ground dash(forward, back, upforward, & backforward).

*Another thing to note about the hopping characters(except bishamon) is that they each have a shortened dash by simply pressing back after the [forward, forward] command. the state is abreviated "sh" and is used in the same manner as jump, crouch, and standing states.(i.e. a shorthopped roundhouse is "sh.rk" ). The ground dash significantly shortened.

fly-dashing aircombo note:

-The rule for non-chained air attacks is that you cannot use the same move twice in one jump. If you've done an air chain, however, only the first hit counts toward this rule. It's possible to do forward, chain into fierce, then fierce, but not forward, chain into fierce, then forward.

====== Advanced Sequential Input EX's ====== :

Sequential Input(SI) EX's, are the EX movies that require a combination of attack and directional inputs in a sequenced manner. These are not your conventional EX supers, since they do not contain any consecutive directional inputs(no QCF's, or HCB's).

So what is it that makes them so important to have a strategy allowable all to their own?... Well, take for example Talbain's(gallon) SI EX, Moment Slice(lp, mp, toward, lk, mk). During the execution of this move, talbain flails attacks(lp, and likely lk), but when the final mk is pressed, his lk animation is canceled, and Talbains Moment Slice is Activated.

This canceling can be used outside of just the basic input. You can hit with a fierce, and quickly cancel into Moment Slice. SII EX's are the only exception to the chain combo rule; and are the only thing that a chain combo can cancel into.

having this in mind, Talbain can do:

j.mk, c,lk, c.mpXXMoment Slice.

Being able to cancel chains into SI EX's allows for chains ending in normally vulnerable normals to be canceled, allowing baiting, or safety(depending on the character).

====== Wave Dashing ====== :

Actually more so pseudo-wave dashing(this is from my exprience with strictly Marvel vs. Capcom 2), wave dashing, usually used by ground dashers, is performed by performing a ground dash, and cancelling its recovery with a fast recoverying normal move. The general normal of choice is dashing jab or dashing short; since both normals have the tendancy of having the fastest startup and recovery of all normal moves in the cast.

Wave dashing allows characters to traverse the screen to reach the opponent. Because of their controllability, wavedashing may or may not be more desireable over a fullscreen pursuit(which will generally miss, but allow you to keep on your opponent).

====== Chain & Unchain State====== :

this is kinda obvious, but odd w/ some characters. so simpo... but worth taking note for pple trying to do shit but are saying wtf. when you jump, or walk, you're in a chain comboing state. you can start a combo(provided the hit connects/is blocked) and chain away. any form of dashing takes that ability away... also, you lose the ability to block, which may or may not be a fair tradeoff, depending on how well your offensive game is.

an oddity is with leilei, relative to the other air dashers(qbee, zabel, jedah... i cant think of the others...). after an air dash, leilei for some unknown reason or another cant do special moves.... minor, but jedah's blade/command throw, qbee's jaguar kick, or zabel's down-up move(i'm so bad w/ names -_-) are viable for use after an airdash. leilei would've taken great use out of airdashXXgong... but i guess its a shoulda woulda coulda thing on the part of capcom

====== Building Meter====== :

-Like many other games, its more advantageous of you to be building meter at the other side of the screen, as opposed to just doing nothing while waiting for them to come at you. If you and your opponent are being asses, and arent rushing down. so, here are my best suggestions w/ each character for building meter:

• Aubath: j.mp->j.hp, & lp waves/dusts
• anakaris: j.D+hk(you should be rushing down thogh)
• Bishamon: s.rk
• BB hood: light missles, & j.mp>j.mk
• Demitri: ham and fried eggs!... just fireball -_-(boring fucker)
• Felicia: manual charge(in pulses... or as I like to call cookieeee), or j.mk, j.rk(which is safer)
• Jedah: wheels, c.mk
• Gallon(talbain): j.mk, j.rk
• leilei(hsien Ko): tk gong
• Lilith: tk soul flash
• Morrigan: j.mk->j.rk
• Qbee: j.mp->j.rk
• Victor: lp spins
• Zabel: j.hp-> j.rk

a note: Jedah doesn't get meter from Dashing back & wiffing normals

Miscellaneous Information

Vitality/defense Rankings

Tier 1 (60 Damage, Highest Defense)

Victor

Tier 2 (64 Damage)

Bishamon
Sasquatch

Tier 3 (65 Damage - Average Defense)

Demitri
Anakaris
Felicia (wtf)
B.B Hood
Jedah
Rikuo

Tier 4 (67 Damage)

Q. Bee
J. Talbain
Lord Raptor

Tier 5 (72 damage, Lowest Defense)

Hsien Ko
Lilith
Morrigan

Character Heights

Tall

Victor
Anakaris
Bishamon
Jedah

Normal

Demitri
B.B. Hood
Q. Bee
Lilith
Lord Raptor/Zabel
Sasquatch
Morrigan

Short Felicia
Hsien Ko/Lei Lei
J. Talbain/Gallon
Rikuo/Aubath

Foot Speed Comparisons

Fastest

Zabel(Lord Raptor)
Q-Bee
Talbain
Lilith
Morrigan
Felicia

Average

Sasquatch
Demitri
Aubath(Rikuo)
BB Hood(Bulleta)
Bishamon
Jedah

Slowest

Lei lei(Hsien-ko)
Anakaris
Victor

*Note footspeeds can be tiered further, but the necessary means to research so are currently noy at hand

Generally Accepted Tier List

(No particular order within each category. Done as unbiased as possible, & taken from varying sources can be further divided, but resources currently not at hand)

Top

Sasquatch
Zabel(Lord Raptor)
Q-Bee
Talbain

Mid

Lei lei(Hsien-ko)
Demitri
Aubath(Rikuo)
Felicia
BB Hood(Bulleta)
Bishamon
Jedah

Bottom

Anakaris
Lilith
Morrigan
Victor

Character Specific Strategies

• Anakaris
• Aubath (Rikuo)
• BB Hood (Bulleta)
• Bishamon
• Demitri
• Felicia
• Gallon (J. Talbain)
• Jedah
• Lei Lei (Hsien Ko)
• Lilith
• Morrigan
• Q-Bee
• Sasquatch
• Victor
• Zabel

**Note: There's no Oboro Bishamon, Donovan, Phobos(Huitzil), nor Phobos. This is due to the fact that they were in the other incarnations of the Vampire Series, and though they appeared in just about all of the console ports; this section maintains arcade purity. Also to boot, none of the 4 characters are used in tournament play, since they are not available in the arcade versions of Vampire Savior.

Credit/Ender/Legal stuff(?)

many tidbits & just about all of frame data was found from this site:

http://www.geocities.jp/shu180sx/

if someone would be so kind as to translate the name of it, that would be nice.

Relevant Discussions

http://www.shoryuken.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54122

Past Vampire Savior videos

http://www.shoryuken.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85637

Updates/other notes

Available characters

Anakaris - CURRENTLY in the works

Lilith - in research ^_^;

Jedah - info (frame data to be transposed)

Sasquatch - info (finished?)

Lei lei(hsien ko)-info (finished?)

Aubath(Rikuo)-info & frame data(finished?)