"What? Go to hell!? I just came back from there!!"
Article by: The Coop
Pictured from: Darkstalkers 3
Created by: Capcom
First appearance: 1994
Bio
Born in 1889 somewhere in Australia, Lord Raptor was what one could call "less than friendly." However, his murderous lifestyle enabled him to cheat death some twenty years after he died. Ozomu, one of the Demon Kings of Makai, noticed Raptor and chose to resurrect him. The Demon King gave him dark powers so that he might serve by ridding Makai and any other worlds of Darkstalkers. The zombie took this power and set out to do Ozomu's bidding. As he made his way through the human world, Raptor was introduced to metal music. He took a liking to it, and soon took up an electric guitar to thrash out his own brand of speed metal (an odd trait given he was born in the Victorian era).
But just as he was in life, so Lord Raptor was in death.
Not one to be content spending an eternity serving a master, Raptor had a plan that involved more than just killing for the sake of gaining more power from Ozomu. But for his plan to work, Raptor had to do exactly that. As a result, the undead zombie tore a bloody path through any Darkstalkers he came across, until he finally arrived at Pyron, an energy-based alien of great power. Though seemingly outmatched, the crafty zombie outfought the alien and took Pyron down.
With this victory, Ozomu appeared before Raptor, and granted him more of the power that he sought. But as Ozomu did this, he also reminded the undead rocker that while he would rule the world, it would still be Ozomu that ruled him. Such words did not sit well with Raptor, and the moment the Demon King left, the zombie spoke of his plans... to become the ruler of Makai, starting with taking Ozomu's place. And though Ozomu wasn't there to hear his words, Raptor's plans were far from hidden.
Ozomu had learned of Lord Raptor's plan from Le Malta, a small creature that had been tagging along wherever the zombie went. The creature was in fact a spy for Ozomu, sent to keep an eye on Lord Raptor. But before any action could be taken, Ozomu disappeared. The now empty Doma Castle that Ozomu had ruled from was engulfed in a raven-black rift that was a gateway into Majigen, a dimension created by Jedah Dohma, the self-proclaimed Dark Messiah who sought to bring peace to a troubled dimension by uniting all its souls.
Returning to where Doma Castle had been, Lord Raptor found the gateway into Majigen. He could feel the power coming from this rift, and knew that someone on the other side was waiting for him. Stepping into the rift with Le Malta in tow, Lord Raptor once again battled his way through the other Darkstalkers until he reached the one who had brought him and the others into this strange dimension... Jedah. After a fierce battle, Lord Raptor proved to be the better of the two. With Jedah's death, the power held by the Dark Messiah was unleashed, and Lord Raptor began to absorb it. The zombie could almost taste his plans coming to fruition as his body took in the energy. However, the power was too much for Lord Raptor's rotted form to handle, and the zombie rocker was blown to pieces by the very power he tried to take.
But you can't keep an undead rocker down. Even as Lord Raptor's head fell to the ground, he still managed to mutter, "Damn! Got greedy again."
Selected game appearances
Arcade
- Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors (1994)
- Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1995)
- Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1997)
- Vampire Savior: Jedah's Damnation (1997)
- Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (1997)
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (1998)
Neo Geo Pocket Color
- SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash (1999)
- SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters 2 Expand Edition (2000)
Dreamcast
- Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service (2000)
PlayStation 2
- Namco × Capcom (2005)
- Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection (2005)
References
- GameFan Books - "Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge" guide
- GameFan Books - "Darkstalkers 3: Jedah's Damnation" guide
- Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors instruction manual
- Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge instruction manual
- Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors ending
- Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge ending
- Vampire Savior: Jedah's Damnation ending
- Wikipedia - "List of Darkstalkers characters - Lord Raptor (Zabel Zarock)"
