Devil in the Dark: Difference between revisions

Ever since I was a young child, I’veI've always had an interest in Capcom fighting games, as did my older brother Greg. We always used to spend time together playing Street Fighter 3 and Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on our Sega Dreamcast.

My brother told me that since the series was rather old, the best chance of finding a copy of the game would be at a store in our local mall called “We"We Got Games”Games", this store accordingly selling games for all kinds of systems, even NES and SNES. If I was going to find anything anywhere regarding the game, it’dit'd be at this store.

Other than that, the game looked in great condition for a used copy, so I decided to purchase for the cheap price of $10.00. Taking it to the checkout counter, the clerk looked at the game strangely for a few seconds before scanning it and handing it to me. I asked him what he was looking at but he didn’tdidn't reply, giving me back my change as I left the store to head home. On the bus, I tried to think over what he could’vecould've seen, but I didn’tdidn't let it get to me.

Arriving home, I pulled out my old PS1 from out under my bed and blew off the dust it had collected over the years I hadn’thadn't used it. It was still in a good condition and was more than capable of still playing games. I pulled out the Darkstalkers 3 box from the bag and opened it up to look at the disc, seeing a design that looked like a promotional poster for the game, but instead of looking fearsome and ready to fight, the characters on the disc looked…frightenedlooked...frightened, all of them wary and almost looking self-aware of their surroundings. Near the top of the group was a pair of large eyes with red pupils looking down on them, threatening them.

I didn’tdidn't think too much of it, thinking it was just the design of the disc as I opened up the disc drive to the PS1 and placed the game inside. The game started up as the Capcom logo came up on the TV screen, the colors of the logo strangely being colored red and black instead of the usual blue and yellow. Usually the game would also show production companies that assisted in making the game, but there was nothing but the distorted logo. Within a couple of seconds, the logo faded out into a black screen which lasted for quite a while. Being impatient, I'm not sure how long it took, but it felt like it took minutes.

The screen then cut to a woman with long green hair, Morrigan, sitting on the floor, curled up in a fetal position on the floor, wearing no clothes. She was crying softly as a girl with short purple hair tried to comfort and support her, all as strange images flashed in and out of the video, all flashing in and out seconds at a time. I could barely make out the images, but the images looked like some of the other characters I’dI'd seen on the cover of the disc. With

The first picture was that of the Werewolf, Jon Talbain, being stabbed through the neck by a little girl wearing a red hood, her face wearing a twisted smile as blood poured out of Jon’sJon's neck, also holding a gun in her other hand. All of a sudden, a sound came from the TV, almost sounding like a young girl laughing. I was horrified to see this kind of picture from a video game like this, but my brother had told me that the series was rather dark compared to other fighting games, so I didn’tdidn't put it past the game that it could have been real,

The screen then showed Morrigan for the last time as her eyes opened, looking up as she murmured something in Japanese, the subtitles on the bottom of the screen reading “I"I won’twon't lose you…notyou...not again…dearagain...dear sister”sister". With that, the title screen finally appeared, reading “Darkstalkers"Darkstalkers 3”3" in large letters.

For a moment, I just stared at the letters, trying to contemplate what I’dI'd just seen, and what kind of sick bastard would ever put such images in a game like this. It had to have been edited or hacked by the previous owner, there was no doubt in my mind. Pressing the start button, I was sent to the main menu, and everything looked normal, giving the option for arcade mode, 2P mode, customize mode, and options. Clicking on Arcade mode, I was taken to the character select screen, and I could already tell that something was off.

I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted to end this horror show, and I wanted to be free of the madness. I got up and ran over to my television, unplugging the PS1 and pulling open the disc drive by force to get the disc, only to see in my horror that the cover of the disc had changed. The cover was now almost completely black with the Darkstalkers title seemingly dripping down the disc as the eyes that were in the background now looked up, almost feeling as if they were looking directly at me. The disc also read on the bottom in small red letters “You’re"You're next”next", an evil smile then forming on the disc, in the facial shape of that of Morrigan, the character I had to watch die a brutal death.

I screamed as I threw the disc across my room huddled up in the corner of my room, too terrified to even move. It wasn’twasn't long before my brother barged into my room in a panic, asking me what was wrong. I tried to open my mouth to talk, but fear had entangled my throat, nothing coming out. All I could do was point over to the disc on the floor near my brother, shaking my head violently as I stood up and went over to my bed.

My brother looked at my disc for a few seconds then chuckled, saying he was amazed that I managed to find a copy. I wanted to tell him, I wanted to show him the horrors I’dI'd seen…butseen...but I didn’tdidn't even want to bear the thought of having to put him through the same experience. Since I couldn’tcouldn't catch my voice, I had no choice but to use force, finally getting up and swiping the disc from my brother’sbrother's hand, slamming it down on the ground and crushing it with my foot until it was in pieces.

My brother looked at me with confusion, asking me why I would do such a thing to a game series I wanted to play so badly. I finally was able to regain my voice, only replying with the phrase “Devil"Devil in the Dark”Dark". I couldn't say anything else, I didn't want to tell him for I knew he wouldn't believe me. With that, my brother slowly backed out of my room, closing the door behind him. I couldn't sleep, for I knew for sure those screams would follow me there, all I could do was stare at the shattered pieces of the disc, trying to lament the images in which I'd seen.