PixlBit

 Vampire Savior, Darkstalkers 3, is slowly becoming one of my favorite fighting games. Having done a retrospective over the whole Darkstalkers series made me realize how amazing the series was especially with Vampire Savior. Of course, falling in love with Vampire Savior leads to the enviable problem everyone who loves the game and Darkstalkers series: the soul crushing longing for a fourth one. Today there are quite a few games that kind of come close to a Vampire 4: Skullgirls, Killer Instinct 2013, and even Street Fighter V. However, if you want a game that comes really close to a Vampire 4 that actually came out around Vampire Savior, your best bet is a little known gem known as Asura Buster.

 

Asura Buster came out in Japanese arcades in 2000 by Fuuki. Asura Buster is a sequel to a previous fighter by Fuuki in 1998, Asura Blade. Blade is good but Buster is the better of the two. The best way to describe Asura Buster is very Vampire Savior like game in both aesthetics and game play. Buster follows Darkstalkers' main design tenants of making every character both expressive and individual. Game play wise, Buster is very similar to Darkstalkers featuring supers, EX moves, and even Dark Force like mode by pressing all three of the attack buttons at the same time. Buster has its own unique touches such as spending a bit of meter to get instant air recovery.

 

Asura Buster unfortunately never made it out of Japanese arcades. It is however very easy to play with MAME and other arcade emulators. If you are hungry for great and obscure 2D fighters, can't strongly recommend enough Asura Buster.