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Vampire Savior is one of Capcom's best arcade fighting games. With incredible graphics and animation, great sound, and plenty of depth, it's a game well worth your time and money. Thankfully, it has been faithfully ported over tothe Sega Saturn in arcade-perfect form.

The 4-Meg RAM cart does wonders for the Sega Saturn. Vampire Savior for Saturn is, for all intents and purposes, exact to the arcade version.

The graphics are identical, and it's nice to see that none of the lush animation in the arcade was lost during the transition to the Saturn. It's fun just to watch the game being played, due to the amount of graphical details. The art is traditionally excellent, in Capcom tradition, and the characters are superbly designed. Not to mention that the animation is incredibly smooth and filled with plenty of thoughtful details. The characters aren't all that are animated, though. The backgrounds are filled with the same touches that grace the characters. For example, there is the child that follows Phobos (Huitzil) in the background, and Anita, a young girl that stays at Donovan's side throughout battle.

The sound is pretty good, but nothing really stands out. I, for one, have never really been into video game music, and found the soundtrack to be pretty forgetful. Overall, the sound effects are pretty solid, but they don't really make your jaw drop to the floor, like the graphics. Though not necessarily a stand-out, the sound is tolerable, to say the least.

The control, like in all Capcom games, is pretty spot on. The game responds faithfully to your commands. Moves are all lifted straight from Street Fighter II, so anybody who's touched a fighting game before should feel at home. Vampire Savior's playability is greatly enhanced by the crisp, responsive control and the rock-solid feel it grants the player.

Where Vampire Savior really stands out, though, is in its playability. This game has a lot more depth than the Street Fighter Vs. X-Men series of games. Combos are pretty much tough to pull off, disregarding EX attacks and multi-hit moves. The combo system seems to be well balanced, as opposed to the Vs. series, where you could throw just about any move together and end up with a huge, crushing combo. Needless to say, the depth makes Vampire Savior quite an enjoyable experience. It stands out in overcrowded genre of fighting games due to its play mechanics. You'd be hard pressed to have more fun playing a different fighter.

The other stunning aspect of Vampire Savior, on a lesser note, is the character design. Though it's pretty irrelevant in regards to playability, the stylin' characters actually make the game a lot more fun. Some of the characters are very funny--take, for example, Bulleta, a spoof on Little Red Riding Hood that is actually a bounty hunter in disguise. You'll laugh when you see her innocently skip about the playfield, surrounded by butterflies and slinging a woven basket, wondering how Capcom could've done something so fruity. You'll laugh even harder, though, when she grits her teeth and launches a heat-seeking missle from her innocent-looking basket. One of my favorites moves with her is her throw--she leaps up behind you and whips a huge, gleaming ginsu knife out of nowhere and ruthlessly slits your neck. It's all quite funny considering her big, innocent blue eyes and decidedly cute demeanor.

Overall, Vampire Savior is one of the best fighters Capcom has produced in its long and illustrious career. The characters are insane, the graphics are even better, the sound good, control excellent, and playability unrivaled. Also, being a fighter, you'll probably never tire of pounding your friends in Vs. mode, so the replay value is quite high, too. All in all, Vampire Savior is an ultimately satisfying purchase. It's not the game you buy and desert a few weeks later. And if you're really not into Capcom fighting games (shame on you!), buy Vampire Savior for the art alone.

Graphics--10 Smooth animation, bitchin' character design, and lots of detail!

Sound--8 I don't really care about this one...draw your own conclusions.

Control--10 The Saturn pad has never been more obedient. Pull of combos with ease, assuming you've got the skill.

Play Mechanics--10 You'll spend weeks crafting the ultimate combo...

Replay Value--8 Vs. Mode, plus you'll want to get to see everybody's ending.

Originality--7 2-D fighter fare, but it has a Killer Instinct-style "One Round, Two knockdowns" set-up. Original, quirky moves and characters, though.

Overall score--96 Buy this game as soon as you can! (And don't forget the 4-meg RAM cart, either.)