A revamp of the original Dead Rising is currently in the works and is set for release this September. Though the obvious connection it has to fighting games is that Frank West, the protagonist of Dead Rising, has been a playable character in multiple Marvel vs. Capcom games, the upcoming remaster actually has some direct fighting game content within it.
It was revealed early last month that Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster would feature 17 additional DLC costumes that we were quick to deduce includes several characters from franchises like Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, Cyberbots, and even Resident Evil — which isn’t a fighter, but shares the same connection to fighting games that Frank does. Just recently, Famitsu shared our first look at what was obviously a costume from Darkstalkers, which we can now confirm is indeed Rikuo.
The gaming publication shared some footage from a recent preview of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster that they got. In it, we see some of the gameplay from the upcoming title, as well as a handful of the DLC costumes that are coming alongside it.
As far as the outfits shown go, we get to see what appears to be Resident Evil 2 Leon Kennedy, Mega Man.EXE, and what is unmistakably Rikuo from the Darkstalkers series. The gameplay preview begins with a very close up shot of Frank West during a cutscene who happens to be wearing the Darkstalkers DLC costume.
The Darkstalkers series is a classic IP from Capcom that essentially started with the theme of “Street Fighter, but monsters.” It’s a 2D fighting title that features a wide array of different Horror genre tropes like Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, a samurai ghost, and even the Gill Man (who happens to be Rikuo).
Rikuo is definitely Capcom’s own take on Universal’s Creature from the Black Lagoon, being a fish man with green skin and fins.
It’s interesting to see Capcom choose Rikuo as a DLC costume for their upcoming Dead Rising game as the slimy combatant tends not be on the more popular end of characters from Darkstalkers. Among the most popular we see the succubus Morrigan, cat girl Felicia, and the series’ Dracula equivalent, Demitri, who have all seen cameos in various ways throughout different Capcom media.
That having been said, the Rikuo costume in Dead Rising looks great, though much like the zombie bashing game series itself it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
In the footage, we see Frank/Rikuo go through his quick cutscene where he’s talking with a couple of other survivors, then a brief instance of him running around in a hallway before taking out an enemy.
What’s also interesting here is that, as far as I can remember, this is one of the first 3D rendered versions of Rikuo we’ve ever seen. Even in the now infamous “Darkstalkers Are Not Dead” cinematic trailer Capcom showed at New York Comic-Con 2012, only Lord Raptor and Demitri were showcased throughout.
At this point in time, we’ve seen several of the Darkstalkers make their jump out of the sprite world and into 3D, including Morrigan, Felicia, Hsien-Ko, and even Jedah with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite. And now Rikuo seems to have joined that club.
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is slated for launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. It will be available on September 19.
『デッドライジング デラックスリマスター』閉鎖されたショッピングモールで、大量のゾンビをぶっ…しまくる！https://t.co/WPfyjEzEtA
「もしいまゾンビが現れたらあの工具で…して、あの器具で…して生き残るぞ！」という妄想を実現。部位欠損表現もバッチリ。DLC衣装にも注目！#デッドラ #DRDR pic.twitter.com/mNV5TR3JNI
— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) August 13, 2024