Crisis Moon: The Bloody Symphony

Crisis Moon: The Bloody Symphony is a 2D fighting game developed by Orange Soft and published by ACS. Released in 2011 for Arcades (System 202: ENDYMION), PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable (as Crisis Moon: Portable Edition).

Gameplay
The game uses an interchangeable 5-button system. At the start of the game, the player can choose between two control schemes:


 * Normal Style: Three buttons for light, medium and heavy attacks, one for Edge attacks and one for Reflector.
 * Simple Style: Two buttons for light and heavy attacks, one for special moves, one for throws and one for Reflector Guard. One-button specials. Auto-combo.

By default (in Normal Style), the game uses a system of five buttons. The first three buttons serve as standard light, medium and heavy attack buttons, with the fourth button being the "Edge" button. Each character has a unique Edge ability of their own, as well as a core mechanic that is attached to said Edge ability, which the player has to master in order to unleash the character’s full potential. Some Edge abilities are physical attacks (Kiyo's "Death Sentence"), some are ranged attacks (Barrett's "Break Shot"), while some are fundamental utility moves that are heavily tied to their mechanics and playstyle (Motoko’s "Sanyoso", Terence’s "Shadow Servant").

Aside from the four main attack buttons, Crisis Moon also features a fifth "Reflector" button, which is used for its namesake, the "Reflector", a defensive mechanic that deflects most types of attacks and leaves them open for an extended amount of time, executed by quickly tapping the Reflector button as soon as the opponent's attack connects. While Reflector works against most attacks, it cannot deflect throws, command grabs (e.g. Prisoner #459's "Six Feet Under") and Lunar Requiems. The Reflector button is also tied to several vital gameplay mechanics, as seen below.

The gameplay of Crisis Moon, just like other "airdasher" fighters such as Guilty Gear, BlazBlue and Melty Blood, is fast-paced and kinetic, with a heavy emphasis on both ground and air combat. The combo system of the game primarily hinges upon the "Chain Cycle" system, which allows players to chain together normal attacks of ascending strength (e.g. L,M,H), which can then be followed up with various special moves or Lunar Drives, super moves that cost at least 50% of the Luna meter for massive damage, provided that the player is skilled enough to pull such combos off. Just like in those games, players are also able tp combo their opponents while in midair.

Each player has a Luna meter, a special meter which, when filled to a certain level, allows players to perform Lunar Drives, as well as other powerful attacks, and a Reflector Meter, a three-tiered meter which is used for Reflector Guard and Reflector Dash. Each player also has an Arma meter which decreases as the player blocks attacks, done by holding down the joystick/d-pad to the opposite direction. When the player's Arma meter is depleted, the player will be left in a "Guard Crush" state, which leaves the player temporarily vulnerable to attacks, after which the chip damage a player receives from blocking attacks will also be increased significantly until the Arma meter refills completely. Blocking after suffering a Guard Crush state also stunts the regeneration of the Arma meter, so players have to be careful with their defensive strategy.

Each character also has a Chaos meter, which fills up as the player recieves damage from the opponent. With a full Chaos meter, players are able to activate "Chaos Mode", a special mode that grants the player special abilities that help give the player an advantage during a fight. Each character has a different ability for Chaos Mode, which is usually linked to their Edge abilities. Chaos Mode is activated by pressing L+M+H+E simultaneously. Alternatively, players can perform a "Chaos Break", which allows them to escape from combos using a quick flash attack that blows the opponent away. Chaos Breaks are performed by pressing L+M+H+E while being attacked and automatically deplete the Chaos meter.

At the top of the screen, below the time limit counter, is the Blood Sphere, which fills up as both players take damage. At any point in the match, when the Blood Sphere is full, and the player's Luna meter is at maximum level, the player can perform a "Lunar Requiem" finish to end the round on the spot. When a player hits the Lunar Requiem on any other round besides the match point, the Blood Sphere resets to 0 in the next round. Unlike in other fighting games with similar mechanics, Lunar Requiems can be comboed into, just as long as the requirements to perform it are met.

Pressing the Reflector button alongside a direction toward the opponent would perform a Reflector Dash, a quick dash towards the opponent. Reflector Dash can be used as both a mobility option in order to to close in on the opponent, or as a method of cancelling attacks in order to extend combos. Each use of Reflector Dash costs one stock of the Reflector meter. Reflector Dash can only be performed both on the ground. Meanwhile, blocking while holding down the Reflector button would perform a "Reflector Guard", a special type of guard that averts all chip damage, and drains the Reflector meter instead of the Arma meter, avoiding Guard Crush in the process.

The game also includes "Zero Cancel", a special type of cancel which allows a player to cancel out their move and its aftereffects, resetting the character into neutral state and allowing them to perform other attacks, extending combos further in the process. Zero Cancel is performed by pressing L+M+H at any point during a connected attack and costs 25% of the Luna Meter. Compared to the Reflector Dash, which can only be used to cancel normals, Zero Cancel is able to cancel out specials and Lunar Drives as well. However, Zero Cancel cannot cancel out whiffed attacks.

There are 10 stages in normal gameplay (9 fights with basic characters (matches 4 and 9 are "rival matches" featuring dialogue intros before the match) and the boss fight with Dominus. By default, each match is contested in a 90-second two-out-of-three wins match composed of "strifes" (the announcer says it as: As The Darkness Falls, Strife 1, Revolt!).

Story
The crimson moon. A rare phenomenon in which the moon emits a crimson red glow. To most mortal humans, such an occurrence is but a small curiosity. However, amongst the Otherkind, a collective term that refers to the many otherworldly creatures that lurk in the night, both malevolent and benign, the crimson moon signifies the time when these creatures of the night at their most powerful.

During this peak, vampires, werewolves, wraiths and the rest of the Otherkind would feast on thousands of unsuspecting humans with little regard for their prey's well-being, leading to vairous massacres and mass murders amongst the populace. These attacks would eventually lead to the formation of the Order of Hunters, a holy order of knights specifically created to combat the Otherkind. The Order would later be succeeded by the modern-day Hunter Organization.

Meanwhile, around this time period, the Tepes clan of vampires, heralded by its patriarch, the Dominus, would also begin to orchestrate a civil war between the rest of the Otherkind, using his army of vampires to drive the other clans to extinction, and reach the top of the Otherkind hierarchy with an iron-clad fist. Many have speculated an ulterior motive behind this war, but in the end, only the Dominus knows.

Fast foward to modern-day Japan, Kiyotaka Kamiya, known as "Kiyo" amongst his few friends, is a relatively normal, if rather aloof, high school student, living a somewhat normal life within the small town of Karyudo City. However, all of that would change following his first encounter with the crimson moon, where he was chased by a flock of lesser vampires before ultimately meeting his demise.

Minutes later, Kiyo wakes up in the same alley where he died. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was a mysterious young girl, around his age. Drawn by her piercing red eyes, he asks the girl about her identity, after which she replies with a short and curt "Twilight", before fading away just as quickly, leaving behind a katana with a blade made of silver, as well as an engraving on the hilt: "Keiri".

After a brief encounter with a vampire slayer, or Hunter, by the name of Kagetsu, Kiyo eventually comes to the realization that he has been reborn as a vampire, bearing strength and abilities above that of a normal human, at the cost of an insatiable appetite for blood. Realizing this, he seeks the mysterious girl in order to find her, and make sense of everything.

Eventually, Kiyo encounters Twilight again, who would reveal to him everything he needed to know. She had in fact revived Kiyo because of his hidden heritage as a Kirisaki, a clan once known as formidable vampire slayers or "Hunters", and that he was the only one left in his clan to save the world from the tyranny of the vampires. As an incentive, she promised to find him a cure for his own vampirism, after which he accepts Twilight's offer.

Before making her leave once again, Twilight asked for two promises from Kiyo: to use his vampiric power for the good of humanity rather than the benefit of the vampires, and to never feast on the blood of other humans, two things he would agree to. Thus, with a knife on one hand and the Keiri on the other, Kiyo accepts his fate. However, nothing else could prepare him for the dangers that lie ahead of him.

Characters

 * Kiyo Kamiya

Voice Actors: Hiro Shimono (JP), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN)

A lone and rather aloof young teenager, Kiyotaka "Kiyo" Kamiya, is a high school student who finds himself unwittingly ressurected as a vampire following his untimely demise.

All throughout his life, Kiyo never thought of himself as anything beyond a regular, if socially-awkward, high school student in a small town, seldom making any friends beyond his childhood friend Motoko Tsukagami. That all change when one fateful night, he was brutally killed by a flock of vampires, only to be resurrected into a vampire himself by a mysterious girl named "Twilight", who left behind a silver-bladed sword for him to use. From there, Kiyo is suddenly thrust into the chaos amidst the crimson moon, and must now use his newfound abilities in order to survive.

Kiyo fights using a pocket knife, a prized possession given to him from his late adoptive father, on his left hand, and the Keiri, a sharp, silver-bladed katana that was used by the Kirisaki clan of Hunters to slay vampires, on his right. His vampirism also grants him access to abilities such as superhuman speed and power, as well as blood manipulation, albeit at a rather limited scale due to his lack of experience.

Kiyo's Edge ability is "Death Sentence", an attack in which he stabs the opponent with his knife or sword, which, on a counter hit, would result in a Critical Counter, stunning the opponent for an extended period of time. By performing a special move with the Edge button, he can perform "Killer Specials", which are improved versions of his special moves, which deal stronger damage, can be cancelled from any of his moves and chained into one another, even moreso on Critical Counter, all at the cost of 25% Luna. His Chaos ability is "Fatal Catalyst", which grants his sword a red glow, and allows him to freely cancel into any of his moves, creating devastating custom combos that would otherwise be impossible.

Playstyle-wise, Kiyo is a well-rounded fighter that serves as the game’s designated "shoto" character, armed with a projectile and an anti-air alongside many other multi-purpose tools for both rushdown and zoning. His balanced stats and easy yet damaging combos make him an ideal character to pick for newbies who are still starting out with the game.


 * Twilight

Voice Actresses: Emiri Kato (JP), Erin Fitzgerald (EN)

A raven-haired girl who is surrounded by an aura of mystery, Twilight is a vampire who has devoted herself to slaying her own kind, for mysterious reasons that only she knows.

After encountering Kiyo's corpse, bloodied and battered beyond recognition by the vampires who killed him, she decides to use her own vampire power to revive him as a vampire. Eventually, after her second encounter with Kiyo, she reveals to him various secrets about himself that she had gathered a long time ago, before giving him an offer to slay the vampires alongside her, which he accepts. As the crimson moon sets on Twlight, her goal is made crystal clear: to put a stop to the uprising of her own kind, by any ways necessary.

Twilight fights using a set of crucifix-shaped silver daggers known as "Silver Needles", which she sneaks three of each between her fingers and use as makeshift claws to tear through her opponents, as well as throwing knives when at a distance. As a vampire, she possesses abilites exceeding a normal human being, such as the ability to drain the blood from her opponents, something she appears to dislike vehemently.

Twilight's Edge ability is "Crimson", a powerful close-range attack that decreases her own life, but deals more damage and hitstun than an average normal. Most of her Edge attacks, particularly her Edge normals and specials, cost a small amount of her life per usage, as identified by a greyed-out portion of her life meter which increases after each Edge attack, but she also has the ability to regain health automatically, albeit at a slow pace or instantly using her command grab "Bloodthirst Embrace". Her Chaos ability is "Crimson Outrage", which boosts up her attack and speed, as well as accelerating her life recovery.

Playstyle-wise, Twilight is a very flexible character, with many useful specials for use in combos that make her ideal for rushdown, as well as a solid projectile in the form of her "Silver Needle Throw" special move, giving her an edge in zoning play. She, just like Kiyo, is a rather easy character to pick up and play as, and is best used by newcomers who are searching for their concrete playstyle.


 * Motoko Tsukagami

Voice Actresses: Kana Asumi (JP), Carrie Keranen (EN)

A spunky and headstrong teenage shrine maiden, Motoko Tsukagami is Kiyo’s classmate and childhood friend, who goes out to search for him following his sudden disappearance.

Seemingly a normal high school student and part-time shrine maiden at first glance, Motoko is actually a member of the Tsukagami clan, a clan of Hunters who utilizes their skill in onmyodo exorcism to combat the Otherkind. One day, she was tasked to slay any malevolent Otherkind she could find as the crimson moon comes begins to rise, a task she was initially hesitant to do until she found out about her friend Kiyo's sudden disappearance that same night. Thus, Motoko accepts the task and searches for Kiyo on her own, while vowing to slay any Otherkind that stands across her path.

Motoko fights using her "element seals", paper talismans that contain a sealed elemental spirit controlling either fire, ice or thunder, which, when ignited by the user’s spirit energy, can unleash elemental blasts. She combines her elegant, free-flowing hand-to-hand fighting techniques, with the element seals to create a graceful yet explosive fighting style.

Motoko’s Edge ability is "Sanyoso" (三要素; Three Elements), a utility move which allows her to unlock a "seal" that powers up her special moves. All of her special moves have three variants that are bound to a certain element: fire (火), ice (氷) and thunder (雷), which, when performed while she possesses a seal that corresponds to said element, would result in a move that deals much more damage than its base form, depending on how many seals the player has, with a limit of three seals per element. Her Chaos ability is "Sanyoso Kaiho" (三要素解放; Three Elements Release), which instantly gives her infinite seals for each element for the remainder of the Chaos period, automatically powering up her element specials to their powered state without the need of having to stack up multiple seals.

Playstyle-wise, Motoko is a strictly close-quarters character, making up for her lack of long-range projectiles or far-reaching zoning tools with gut-busting rekka chain attacks and powerful elemental strikes that can be upgraded using her Sanyoso seals. She is a newbie-friendly character that specializes on rushdown tactics, but shines best when used by intermediate players who can effectively utilize and cancel into her seals in order to create devastating combos.


 * Abel of the Light

Voice Actors: Norio Wakamoto (JP), Travis Willingham (EN)

A lawful and pious Hunter whose faith keeps him strong, Abel of the Light is a Catholic priest, who serves as the Pontiff of the Light branch of the Hunter Organization.

Born in Ireland and trained as a Hunter ever since childhood, Abel dedicated his body and soul to the Hunter Organization, eventually rising through the ranks and eventually becoming the Pontiff of the Light branch. As the Light branch’s Pontiff, he continued his long streak of vampire slaying, gaining a reputation as one of the most powerful and formidable Hunters alive, using his faith and his Spirit Energy to vanquish his enemies. This time around, Abel takes it upon himself to eliminate a certain mysterious former Hunter, who had been recently outed as a vampire.

Abel fights using the Spear of Longinus, the spear that pierced Jesus Christ’s side while he was nailed to the cross, now considered a Holy Relic by the Church. Abel does not hold the spear like one would expect, instead using his inner spirit energy to control it in a telepathic way and use it to perform piercing slashes.

Abel’s Edge ability is "Ark’s Rest", a utility move which allows Abel to place his spear on the last position where he is, which could then be used for certain moves. Some of his special moves rely heavily on his spear's position, thus strategic placement of his spear, when combined with his combo abilities, could result in high-damage combos, provided the player is skilled enough to pull such feats off. His Chaos ability is "Ascension", which boosts Abel’s attack power and turns his spear into a holy apparition, giving him access to a new set of moves that make use of this power.

Playstyle-wise, Abel’s most damaging combos rely heavily on a combination of relentless rushdown, as well as strategic set play with his spear for use in certain special moves. He is a character that’s intended for more experienced players of the game, particularly those accustomed to heavy set play.


 * Kagetsu

Voice Actors: Hikaru Midorikawa (JP), David Vincent (EN)

A silent assassin with an obsession toward light novels, Kagetsu is a member of the Karasuno clan of Hunter shinobi, one of the few ninja clans that remain active in modern Japan.

After his clan realized his skill after watching him slay an entire wave of lesser vampires all by himself as a child, Yusaku Kaji, more known by his alias Kagetsu, was trained by his clan to reach his full potential, eventually grew up to become one of the Karasuno clan’s best shinobi. Around that same time, he also developed an obssession with light novels, often reading through them while on-duty to pass the time, and even conducting kills while his eyes are glued to the pages. One day, as the crimson moon continues to rise in Karyudo City, Kagetsu was given what is possibly his most important task yet: to slay the Dominus.

Kagetsu fights using his clan’s self-made style of ninjutsu, a form of ninjutsu that is tailor-made for combat against Otherkinds. He utilizes swift attacks with his silver kunai and lightning-fast movement, which he uses vis-a-vis with his spirit energy-fueled techniques, all while reading through one of his beloved light novels in the middle of the fight.

Kagetsu’s Edge ability is "Kazakiri" (風切り; Wind Cut), a dashing attack that can be performed in 8 directions, allowing him to attack opponents in any trajectory. When performing Kazakiri, the player can press any of the attack buttons to either cancel out of the attack into a neutral state, slide through his opponents, interrupt the Kazakiri with a short hop, or unleash another Kazakiri, respectively, allowing for many options. His Chaos ability is "Kinshi Ninpo: Nijuei" (禁止忍法: 二重影; Forbidden Ninja Arts: Shadow Twin), which allows him to conjures a clone that follows his every move, doubling his attacks and their damage output in the process.

Playstyle-wise, Kagetsu is a rushdown speed demon who relies on his mobility options, such as his exclusive double jump and double airdash, as well as his quick but damaging attacks to overwhelm the enemy. His best combos require heavy amounts of execution and, coupled with his pitiful health, he is best used by intermediate level players who can catch up with his blazing speed.


 * Caren Thornheart

Voice Actresses: Atsuko Tanaka (JP), Tara Platt (EN)

A woman who possesses a frozen heart beneath an alluring appearance, Caren Thornheart is a sorceress who practices Black Alchemia, a dark form of spirit energy.

Caren is a "corrupted" dhampyr, a creature with both the characteristics of a vampire and a human, whose conversion was as a result of her previous romantic relationship with Count Godfried, the Dominus. When she realized that Dominus was simply using her for his personal gain, Caren immediately split herself from Dominus, to which she managed to regain her free will, but not her humanity, as she was now stuck with the curse of bearing vampire blood. Realizing that the only way to regain her humanity is to kill the vampire that converted her, Caren witnesses the rise of the crimson moon, and comes out of her lair, with the intention to kill Dominus, one way or another.

Caren fights solely using Alchemia, a form of spirit energy that possesses magic-like properties, which can be channeled by people for various uses, including combat usage. With her mastery of the dark arcane art of Black Alchemia, she is capable of bestowing malignant curses toward her victims, as well as manifesting objects through Black Alchemia and using them to her advantage.

Caren’s Edge ability is "Web of Thorns", which sets up a "web" that traps the opponent onto that specific location upon contact. With a press of a direction in the joystick/d-pad, she can set up webs in all 8 directions, allowing for multiple options, however, she is limited to only setting two webs at one time. Her Chaos ability is "Darkness Suffering", which increases the range of her webs as well as increasing the maximum amount of webs up to three.

Playstyle-wise, Caren is a character who relies heavily on set play and traps, utilizing her webs to trap her opponents constantly and ensure victory. Her peculiar, set play-heavy playstyle and disjointed hitboxes, as well as her lack of conventional combo tools, make her an advanced type character suited for those with who prefer strategy above aggressive play.


 * Roman Black

Voice Actors: Rikiya Koyama (JP), Patrick Seitz (EN)

A brooding and stoic vagabond, Roman Black is among the last of the werewolves, a race that was thought to be completely wiped off the map by the vampires in the Otherkind War.

Roman was a family man, one who loved and cared deeply about his wife and children, and one who wanted little to do with the Otherkind War and the bad blood between vampires and werewolves. Until everything changed when one day, a flock of vampires, under orders by the Dominus, crashed into their house and went on to murder his family and feast on their blood, something that he only found out upon going home from work. In a fit of both rage and anguish, Roman sets off to the direction of the crimson moon, with a burning desire to kill Dominus with his bare hands, and exact his revenge for the sake of his fallen family.

As a human, Roman fights using a self-thought hand-to-hand combat style that reflects the fighting of a wild beast, primarily consisting of clawing and tearing his opponents to shreds, complimenting the combat style of his wolf form. As soon as he unleashes his true wolf form, he eschews any sense of finesse and fights using pure, unbridled primal fury, utilizing swift attacks with his sharp claws and canine teeth to tear his opponent to shreds.

Roman’s Edge ability is "Wolfwaker", which changes him into his wolf form, gaining him access to an alternate moveset centering around speed attacks. When in wolf mode, his Edge button turns into a fourth attack button that gives him a new set of special moves that consume his Wolf meter, which, when depleted, reverts him back to his human form and disables his wolf form for a while until his Wolf meter is completely refilled. His Chaos ability is "Bark at the Moon", which locks him into Wolf form temporarily and grants him an 8-way dash, which he can cancel into normals and specials, at the cost of losing normal blocking.

Playstyle-wise, Roman is a rushdown monster who relies mainly on his speedy attacks, as well as switching between both his human and wolf forms on the fly, to deal powerful combos. Because of his execution-heavy combos and the added challenge of possessing two interchangeable movesets, he is best suited for intermediate players who can handle long sequences of multiple inputs.


 * Terence F. Reid

Voice Actors: Yuko Sanpei (JP), Bridget Hoffman (EN)

A youth whose free will has been overtaken by the spirit that possess him, Terence F. Reid is a 12-year old boy who serves as the host of a malevolent spirit known as "Burzum".

Having lost both of his parents at an early age, Terence spent most of his life in the orphanage, where his shy, silent demeanor made him a constant target of bullies, secluding him from the rest of society. All of the torment and suffering that he recieved at the hands of the bullies eventually led to his encounter with the malevolent spirit known as "Burzum", who offered him the ablity to control his shadow and use it to kill all of the bullies, in exchange for his free will, a deal that he accepted, not knowing that his true intention was to consume his soul and use his body as a vessel for his plans. With his new host, Burzum uses Terence as a vessel to seek more victims amidst the crimson moon, for a purpose that only he knows.

Terence fights using his shadow, utilizing Burzum’s power to manipulate and shape it into various objects such as spikes, swords, hands that crush the opponent and the Shadow Servant, an inhumane, monstrous-looking entity made entirely of shadow. At first glance, it might seem that Terence is the one in control of Burzum and his abilities, but in fact, the situation is the other way around, with Burzum using Terence as nothing more than a vessel, for him to fight and unleash his power.

Terence’s Edge ability is "Shadow Servant", which allows him to summon an entity made entirely of shadow, that he can command and control in order to attack the enemy. The Shadow Servant has a wide array of moves with various purposes, as well a "Shadow meter" that decreases after each hit he recieves, and, when depleted, disables the use of the Shadow Servant until it refills. His Chaos ability is "Dark Messiah", which upgrades all of the Shadow Servant’s special attacks into their more powerful versions, while also increasing the Shadow meter's recovery rate significantly.

Playstyle-wise, as a puppet fighter, Terence’s core gameplay relies heavily on his Shadow Servant, chaining the Servant’s attacks together with Terence’s in order to create long, damaging combos. He is one of the hardest characters to master in the entire game, and is best reserved for those who can get past his steep learning curve and heavy execution.


 * Prisoner #459

Voice Actors: Akio Ohtsuka (JP), Jamieson Price (EN)

A raging mutated prisoner with a mind full of nothing but revenge, Prisoner #459 is a grotesquely mutated man whose right arm was turned into a living vampiric bioweapon.

Proisoner #459 was once a criminal known as Augustus Caine, a disgraced missionary who, for reasons only clear to him, burned down his former church, an incident that also led to him losing his right arm and most of his face, after they were burned by the same flames that he cast. While sitting alone in his cell one day, he was approached by a shadowy group of doctors, who offered him a chance to regain his right arm, after which he was given a transplant, which turned out to be an insidious living bioweapon created from lesser vampire DNA that grants him overwhelming power at the price of his sanity. With the newfound power that he was given, Prisoner #459 escapes from his cell one cold night, and, after catching a glimpse of the crimson moon, sets his mind on killing one man: "Abel…".

Prisoner #459 fights using his grotesquely deformed right arm, which is actually a man-made bioweapon descended from vampire DNA with its own mind, will and consciousness, constantly hungry and always seeking the nearest prey that it can feed on. The monstrous arm also grants him overwhelming strength above any human being in exchange for its heavy weight and its insidiousness, as it slowly takes over his body and his brain through time, making him lose his sanity day after day.

Prisoner #459’s Edge ability is "Exhumed", a move in which he pulls the opponent closer toward him by sucking the air around them with his mutant arm. The Edge button can be held for a short amount of time, allowing the player to control the opponent's distance, however, each vacuum consumes his Lung meter, which fills up quickly, but drains just as fast, and does not refill until the current combo ends. His Chaos ability is "Hate Eternal", which grants him super armor, allowing him to "absorb" multiple hits from the enemy without flinching, allowing him to withstand enemy attacks and crush their offense.

Playstyle-wise, Prisoner #459 is a heavy, "grappler"-type character who makes up for his sloth, his long, drawn-out attacks and a total lack of mobility options with sheer strength, with his vacuum mechanic adding a futher layer to his game. His slow movement speed and telegraphic attacks, as well as the complexity of some of his commands make him a choice suited for more advanced players.


 * Magical BraveHeart Neko Nia

Voice Actresses: Kanae Ito (JP), Christine Marie Cabanos (EN)

A bubbly and cheerful youth, Nia is a nekomata who possesses the alter ego known as Magical BraveHeart Neko Nia, a magical girl alter ego bestowed by the Brave Heart Crystal.

The nekomata race, a race of split-tailed humanoid cat monsters, was one of the few races that survived after the Otherkind War, and as such, they have to train their new generation in order to defend themselves in case another war breaks out, but Nia wants none of that, instead preferring to live her outlandish fantasies of fighting crime and evil as a magical girl. This all changed when one day, she was chosen by her village to be the bearer of the Brave Heart Crystal, a powerful Holy Relic that can grant the wishes of a pure heart, which she then used to fulfill her inner fantasies, thus giving birth to the warrior of love and justice: Magical BraveHeart Neko Nia. After discovering her abilities and her sworn duty, Nia takes the risk and takes off amidst crimson moon in order to dispose of evildoers with her newfound magical powers.

Nia fights using the powers given to her by the Brave Heart Crystal, which allows her to conjure anything that her heart desires, which she then uses to create her "Neko Gadgets", her main weapon of choice to fight the bad guys. Most of the time, she cycles between four of her Neko Gadgets: the Cat Bombs, the Cat Missiles, the Cat Hammer and the Cat Skillet, all of which she utilizes interchangeably, depending on the situation she's facing currently.

Nia‘s Chaos ability is "Magical Neko Gadget!!", which grants her access to one of her four Neko Gadgets: the Cat Bombs, the Cat Missiles, the Cat Hammer and the Cat Skillet, each with their own strengths and weakness, and each coming out at pure random. Each Neko Gadget is usable for a given number of uses before it's replaced by the next Neko Gadget in line, as identified by the icons located below her Luna meter. Her Chaos ability is "Neko Gadget Power-Upper!!", which powers up her active Neko Gadget, increasing their power and effectiveness, and granting them several souped-up properties (for example, firing three Cat Missiles at a time instead of one).

Playstyle-wise, Nia is an unorthodox fighter with a tricky playstyle that relies heavily on luck to pull out the right Neko Gadget at the right time. While most of her combos can be easily done by beginner-to-intermediate players, her randomized playstyle requires extensive knowledge of her Neko Gadgets in order to perform some of her most damaging combos.


 * Barrett McBride

Voice Actors: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Kazuya Nakai (EN)

A dashing Hunter with a womanizing attitude and a penchant for whiskey, Barrett McBride is a dhampyr who has sworn to spend the rest of his life hunting down the vampires.

Born in a small town located in Texas, Barrett McBride is a "pureblood" dhampyr, the illicit child of a vampire mother and a human father, a curse which eventually led to one fatfeful day in February, where he saw his mother, unable to control her bloodlust, kill her own husband in cold blood, prompting him to kill his mother with his own hands. Many years after this incident, Barrett would later grow up to become a Hunter, hunting down his own kind for bounty, using his trusty revolvers, "Bonnie" and "Clyde" to slay one vampire after the other, while also developing a rather lecherous personality, often saving ladies in distress before offering them a date. Eventually, he sets his sights on the crimson moon, hoping to kill the lord of the vampires himself in order to obtain the million-dollar ransom on his head.

Barret fights using a pair of heavily modified revolvers named "Bonnie" and "Clyde", both of which are modelled after the Smith & Wesson Model 29 six-shot, double-action revolver, and are loaded with special .44 magnum rounds made with a silver alloy. Combined with his heightened basic senses as a result of his dhampyr genetics, he hits all of his targets with dead-on accuracy and rarely misses a shot.

Barrett’s Edge ability is "Break Shot", which allows him to fire a quick gunshot toward his opponent using Bonnie and Clyde, which consumes one bullet per usage. He starts off the match with a total of 12 bullets, which are then consumed by his Edge normals, as well as nearly all of his specials and Lunar Drives, and, when depleted, must be reloaded using his "Re-Rack" special move or else all of his gun moves will be sealed. His Chaos ability is "Maximum Break", which allows him to perform his gun moves and specials infinitely, without the need for reloading, at the price of sealing off his guns for a short amount of time as soon as the Chaos period is over.

Playstyle-wise, Barrett is a pure zoning character who prefers to keep the opponent at bay instead of fighting head-on, utilizing his gun-based attacks and specials to put as much distance between him and his opponent as possible. His reliance on ranged attacks, coupled with a lack of reliable rushdown tools, make him a character best reserved for intermediate-to-advanced players.


 * The Red Knight

Voice Actors: Fumihiko Tachiki (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)

A knight who once served for the Order of Hunters, Hugo Escarlate has been revived into the present age as "The Red Knight", an undead knight who pledges allegiance to the Dominus.

Born in Portugal during the 16th century, Hugo had served for the the Order of Hunters, a precursor of the current Hunter Organization, up until the collapse of the Order, when he was among the many knights that were arrested, tortured, and burned at the stake following accuastions of being vampires themselves, dying with hatred and vengeance filling his heart. Many centuries later, he was revived as a vampiric wraith by Count Godfried, the Dominus through a blood pact ritual, in order to serve as his bodyguard, prompting him to throw away his past and start a new life, offering Dominus his undying loyalty. With the crimson moon about to close in, Dominus bestows Hugo, now rechristened as "The Red Knight", with one task: to eliminate all of the Hunters and Otherkind who dare cross his path.

The Red Knight fights using the gigantic, two-handed montante longsword Escarlate, his former weapon of choice during his time serving for the Order of Hunters. Legend has it that Hugo had cursed the sword in his dying breath following his execution, leading it to be considered a "Cursed Relic" by the Church.

Red Knight's Edge ability is "Assimilação" (Assimilation), which allows him to use one of his three Hearts to enter Raiva (Rage) Mode. At the beginning of each match, he starts in Orgulho (Pride) Mode, but after using a heart or landing his "Garra de Sangue" (Blood Claw) command grab, he changes into Raiva Mode, which boosts his attack power, gives him a run in place of his snadard short dash and grants him access to a couple exclusive moves, at the cost of draining his health. His Chaos ability is "Raiva Vermelho" (Red Rage), which grants him access to an even more powerful Raiva mode with increased attack power.

Playstyle-wise, Red Knight starts off as a slow, plodding tank in Orgulho mode, but upon activating Raiva Mode, gains a monstruous buff which allows him to mow down the opposition with great ease. All of his quirks make him one of the harder characters to effectively use in the game, reserved for seasoned players who are able to make the most out of Raiva Mode.


 * Count Godfried, the Dominus

Voice Actors: Taiten Kusunoki (JP), Crispin Freeman (EN)

The ruthless head of the vampire race, Count Godfried II is the current Dominus, leader of the Tepes clan, whose influence amongst his kind is comparable to that of the Royal Family.

Descended from the Tepes clan of Wallachia, now part of Romania, Count Godfried has served as the Dominus ever since the death of his father by his own hand, and is singlehandedly responsible for the multiple atrocities caused by the vampire race over the past century. He himself has claimed his raison d'etre behind all the atrocities of the vampire race is to gather enough blood sacrifices to awaken the entity known as the "Originator", in order to create a brand new world where the vampires will flourish, after witnessing the humans slowly destroy the Earth for years. For this reason, he observes the crimson moon, seeing it as a way to pit the strongest vampires against the most powerful Hunters in order to collect more sacrifices for the Originator.

Dominus fights using blood, drawn from his victims in the past, and accumulated inside the gigantic Blood Sphere within the Tepes manor, which serves as the main source of the power of the vampires. Dominus typically wears the blood of his victims in the shape of a cape, but when in battle, he is able to shape the blood into various shapes and solidify it into various weapons, which he uses during combat.

Dominus' Edge ability is "Blood Drain", an attack that allows him to sap a fraction of health from her opponent after each hit. All of his Edge attacks, including normals, specials and Lunar Drives, have life draining properties, and comboing them together allows for highly damaging combos with the added benefit of gaining a smatttering of health per each attack. His Chaos ability is "Vile Blood Corruption", which creates an aura around him that saps the opponent's life and adds it onto his own, if the opponent so much as gets in close contact with it, all the while furthering the damage and draining capabilities of his Edge attacks.

Playstyle-wise, Dominus is a direct foil to Twilight in several ways, both featuring flexible tools suited for variable playstyles, though he lacks Twilight's effective projectiles, he more than makes up for it by excelling in several other areas. His ease of usage and universal toolkit makes him a suitable character for beginner-to-intermediate players.

Stages

 * Karyudo in Rain
 * Moonlight Park
 * Sakura Fields
 * Church of Saving Guidance
 * Lakeside
 * Black Altar
 * Asylum
 * Stone's Peak
 * Nekomata Village
 * Carnival of Carnage
 * Hell's Pub
 * Fallen Warriors' Graveyard
 * Blood-Drenched Throne
 * Grid

Game Modes

 * Tutorial (Learn the fundamentals of the game, from the basics to the most advanced techniques! One player only.)
 * Arcade (Enjoy Crisis Moon in this perfect conversion of the arcade to your home! 10 stages with 9 normal fights (matches 4 and 9 are against a "rival") and 1 final boss battle. Two player support.)
 * Versus (Gather your friends and challenge them in a heated battle, or just sit back and engage in a fight against the CPU! Local two player/vs. CPU mode.)
 * Score Attack (Battle against a series of opponents to get the highest score! Results may be uploaded online. One player only.)
 * Tower (See how long you can survive against the ruthless Tower with just one life meter! Survival mode. One player only.)
 * Challenges (Perform a set of exercises exclusive to each character! One player only.)
 * Story (Unfold the story behind the crimson moon! Story mode is set up like a visual novel, with fully-voiced dialogue, multiple endings (a bad ending, a joke ending and the true ending), fights and animated cutscenes by J.C.Staff. One player only.)
 * Online (Challenge players from around the world! Game uses delay-based netcode.)
 * Gallery (Enjoy the music, videos and illustrations! Includes artwork, videos, sound test, medals etc.)
 * Options (Adjust the game's settings to your liking! Includes game options, controller setup and various other settings.)

Sequel
A sequel, Crisis Moon II: The Hollow Eclipse, was released in 2013 for the Arcades (System 202: ENDYMION), PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, Samsung Zeo, PlayStation Vita and PC. It featured new characters as well as new gameplay mechanics and stages.

Trivia

 * Crisis Moon was largely based upon a short story by the game's producer, Katsuyuki Tabata, named "Aka-Tsuki no Yoru" (Nigt of the Red Moon), initially written around 2007, but had since left unpublished. Several characters in the game, such as Kiyo, Twilight and Roman Black, originated from this story.
 * The song in the game's intro is "Still Alive" by the Japanese band Yousei Teikoku. It was included as the second track off their 2010 album "Gothic Lolita Agitator".
 * The game's character designs and illustrations are drawn by freelance illustrator pako, best known for his work on the light novel and anime series Rental Magica.
 * The PSP port of Crisis Moon, known as Crisis Moon: The Bloody Symphony: Portable Edition and released in early 2013, is the very last game that ACS would release for the portable system before the console's discontinuation the following year after.
 * Using Abel's Lunar Requiem "Divine Judgment of God" against antagonists will result in them being sent to burn in Hell, while using it on protagonists will result in them being absolved and sent to Heaven.