On October 22nd, 2019, Capcom (under their Udon Entertainment book label) released a new Darkstalkers artbook—Darkstalkers Official Complete Works—to commemorate 25 years of freaky fighting creatures who come out at night. Known in Japan as Vampire, the Darkstalkers is a somewhat gothic, somewhat silly spin on the Street Fighter formula of 2D fighting games. The series is comprised of three main entries and countless cameos. Though the games have never reached the pop culture powerhouse status of its sister series Street Fighter, it’s nonetheless maintained a cult following that has never quite died down since the 1990s. Characters like Morrigan and Felicia have popped up in several Capcom titles since 1994.
On par with Capcom’s Mega Man and Mega Man X Complete Works art books, this 224 page is full of astounding posters, marquee, facade and game box/case art, colorful character concepts and illustrations, as well as behind-the-scenes insight on the development of the series (mainly in terms of character design). The developers address what they consider to be shortcomings in the artwork, but Darkstalkers Official Complete Works is worth a look for any fan of Darkstalkers, Capcom, or of the sublime craft of video game art.
(If you’re offended by partial nudity, you might want to avoid this book)
It’s currently available at the Right Stuff store for $49.99.
