Software:Vampire Hunter D (video game)

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Vampire Hunter D
Developer(s)Victor Interactive Software
Publisher(s)
  • JP: Victor Interactive Software
  • NA: Jaleco
  • EU: JVC Music Europe
Platform(s)PlayStation
Release
  • JP: December 9, 1999
  • PAL: 2000
  • NA: September 28, 2000[1]
Genre(s)Survival horror, metroidvania
Mode(s)Single-player

Vampire Hunter D (バンパイアハンターD, Banpaia Hantā D) is a PlayStation video game based on the series of books and movies of the same name. Along with Countdown Vampires, it is one of the few survival horror games to revolve around vampires.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to the earlier games in the Resident Evil series; because characters are fully polygonal, whereas the backgrounds are pre-rendered, and to 3D Castlevania games (Castlevania 64, Castlevania, Castlevania).

Comparable to Resident Evil, the gameplay consists of thoroughly exploring a castle, collecting items, keys, and solving puzzles to progress.

The player character, D, has the ability to walk or run, and can switch between two modes of basic function. "Battle mode" and "search mode." The former mode has D unsheathing his sword, with the ability to use an enemy lock-on mechanic, as well as performing basic attack combos and jump attacks with his sword. The latter mode has D's sword sheathed and allows the player to more easily pick up items and search environmental assets, since D is incapable of attacking with his sword outside of "battle mode." D also has the ability to perform a dash attack by running toward an enemy and unsheathing his sword, immediately initiating a powerful sword strike.

There are also defensive maneuvers D can employ. The game features the ability to block, as well as the ability to dodge enemy attacks in three different directions by double tapping D-pad inputs.

D can also use the Left Hand character to absorb enemies after they've been damaged to a certain degree, unleash a powerful magic attack, and use a healing ability. D's Left Hand works on a meter that drains over time, and absorbing enemies fills the meter that allows D to use these specific powers, which can be toggled in the inventory screen, or by cycling through them with the Select button during gameplay. D can also earn an extra life once the hand's meter is filled, indicated by a hat and cape icon next to the Left Hand's meter. Upon death, D's hand will revive him, as long as this icon was earned.

There are two additional meters tied to D's status. An HP (hit points) meter and a VP (vampire power) meter. The HP meter is his basic health status, while the VP meter governs how strong D's attack power is, and how much health D will recover when he uses blood pills - a healing item found fairly commonly throughout the game.

Vampire Hunter D also employs the aforementioned inventory system. Along with environmental objects, maps, and keys, D can collect sub-weapons to use, such as wooden darts, flash bangs, and hand grenades. D can also collect potions and the aforementioned blood pills. The potions will raise D's HP, but drains his VP. Blood pills will raise both meters. Alternatively, D can raise his VP meter by standing close to enemies and attacking, allowing D to absorb their blood.

Throughout the game, D faces a number of different monsters and boss characters, and can use his sword and sub-weapons to defeat them. There are also seldom, simple platforming segments.

Vampire Hunter D features three separate endings which can be earned respectively by visiting certain areas, collecting certain items, and making certain decisions throughout the game when prompted to do so. There are also three difficulty modes to choose from, that all vary in the number of healing items D starts with, as well as enemy damage output and enemy health.[2]

Story

The story of the game is similar to that of the second movie, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (which, in turn, is based on the third novel). Essentially, D, a Dhampir (transliterated as Dunpeal) vampire hunter is hired by an old man named Elbourne to save his daughter Charlotte, who was kidnapped by a vampire, Meier Link. If his daughter was already mutated into a vampiress, then D should kill her humanely. Also, Elbourne's son hired a team of human vampire hunters known as the Marcus Brothers to serve as backup. There are a fairly large number of differences between the film and the game, however. The game's story is more streamlined and the whole of the story largely takes place inside of Camila's castle.

Only two of the Barbarois mutants (Benge and Mashira) appear as enemies, Caroline being not featured. Borgoff and Leila were the only members of the Marcus brothers which were notably featured, with Leila actually becoming a playable character at one point; Kyle, Nolt, and Grove make few cameos in cutscenes, and later are found dead. There are 3 possible endings based on the player's actions in-game, 1 of which is similar to the end of the film.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic32/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStar[4]
EGM4.33/10[5]
Famitsu26/40[6][lower-alpha 1]
Game Informer5.25/10[7]
GameFan67%[8][lower-alpha 2]
GameSpot5.5/10[9]
Jeuxvideo.com14/20[10]
Next GenerationStar[11]
OPM (US)StarStar[12]
PSMStar[13]

The game received "unfavorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[3]

Yoshiyuki Ike Sato of GameSpot criticized the control of the Japanese import, stating that "One of the main problems with the game is the control. The addition of jump, guard, and strafe functions may sound like a good idea, but it's actually the cause of the problem." In the same review, the game's visuals and animations were also criticized, with the reviewer stating, "The motion of D drawing and putting away his sword is good, but many other animations are poor."[9] Chet Barber of NextGen said, "Being fans of the anime, we really wanted to like the game. But even fans should avoid this at all costs."[11] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ In Electronic Gaming Monthly's review of the game, one critic gave it a score of 4/10, and the rest gave it each a score of 4.5/10.
  2. ↑ Three critics of GameFan gave the game each a score of 78, 72, and 51.

References

  1. ↑ "EBWorld.com - New Releases". 2000-10-19. http://www.ebworld.com/ebx/categories/newReleases/morenr-PS.asp. 
  2. ↑ "Vampite Hunter D Manual". https://www.gamesdatabase.org//Media/SYSTEM/Sony_Playstation/Manual/formated/Vampire_Hunter_D_-_2000_-_Jaleco_Ltd..pdf. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Vampire Hunter D for PlayStation". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/vampire-hunter-d/critic-reviews/?platform=playstation. 
  4. ↑ Barnes, J.C.. "Vampire Hunter D - Review". All Media Network. http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=25929&tab=review. 
  5. ↑ MacDonald, Mark; Johnston, Chris; Mielke, James "Milkman" (October 2000). "Vampire Hunter D". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (135): 186. https://retrocdn.net/images/2/21/EGM_US_135.pdf. Retrieved December 22, 2021. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "バンパイアハンターD [PS"] (in ja). Famitsu (Enterbrain). https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=18962&redirect=no. Retrieved January 19, 2021. 
  7. ↑ "Vampire Hunter D". Game Informer (FuncoLand) (89). September 2000. 
  8. ↑ Ngo, George "Eggo"; Weitzner, Jason "Fury"; Van Stone, Matt "Kodomo" (October 2000). "Vampire Hunter D". GameFan (Shinno Media) 8 (10): 18. https://archive.org/details/Gamefan_Vol_8_Issue_10/page/n19/mode/2up. Retrieved January 19, 2021. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sato, Yoshiyuki Ike (February 11, 2000). "Vampire Hunter D Review [date mislabeled as "September 27, 2000""]. Red Ventures. https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/vampire-hunter-d-review/1900-2550073/. 
  10. ↑ Kornifex (April 18, 2000). "Test: Vampire Hunter D" (in fr). Webedia. https://www.jeuxvideo.com/articles/0000/00000608_test.htm. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Barber, Chet (November 2000). "Vampire Hunter D". NextGen (Imagine Media) (71): 131. https://archive.org/details/NextGen71Nov2000/page/n131/mode/2up. Retrieved January 19, 2021. 
  12. ↑ "Vampire Hunter D". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (Ziff Davis) (37). October 2000. 
  13. ↑ "Review: Vampire Hunter D". PSM (Imagine Media) (38). October 2000. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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