Dark Masters of the Night II: The Ringing Bell

Dark Masters of the Night II: The Ringing Bell is a Fighting/Adventure, Hack and slash videogame made by In-Verse Productions. The sequel of Re: Vengeance ~ Dark Masters of the Night. A spin off series based on the Re: Vengeance Novellas. It will be released in Arcades, as a Physical Copy in Playstation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Wii U (Alongside the first game). And digital in Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The first platform that will be recieve the game will be the Nintendo Wii U and Arcade in October 31, 2014 in NA, December 9 in EU, while the other platforms was released in December 17, 2014 in NA, December 20 in EU. With the arcade version omitting the Adventure Mode.

This is the first game in the Re: Vengeance series to get a Japanese cast (also the returning english cast), but the combat narrator is still in english.

The game got Teen rating. Unlike the Mature rating that the other future games got: The Distant Last Battle, Mark of the Bloody Soul (Only Digital, were as Physical got Teen) and possibly Dark Sonata.

A sequel named Dark Masters of the Night III: Of the End is in the works and closes the franchise as a whole.

Gameplay
It plays basically the same, but there are new additions.

A system that is similar to the Slash/Bust system from Samurai Shodown 3-4 (64 series too), called Dark/Light, personalities and some of the characters' moves will be altered of the original.

There are three Examples:

-Victoria in Light mode is more or less free spirited and less educated, Roxana in Dark mode is an "Alpha beetch", Shiroi in Dark mode is a literal monster without morals, Keith in Light mode is more or less sane. (Like his incarnation in Mark of the Bloody Soul.)

Story
The Story will be divided in two sections, Arcade Mode and Adventure Mode.

Plot (Arcade)
Many Events are altering the history of the world, even when the time comes fast, however, there's a disturbing thing that affects someone, Michael, once a kind and respected angel, "went nuts" and now wants to "purify" the Earthrealm from the Dark ones, indiscriminately. But in his road will be interrupted by the Humanoid Demons Keith and Alessandro, alongside Victoria the Vampiress, and by extension, Melanie the young and naïve huntress and many others.

Plot (Adventure Mode)
The story is Centered in year 2006, when the technology advances quickly, there's an invasion who comes from the heaven, but for mysterious reasons, a mysterious woman from the past named Melanie Scarlet Blood, searches for the responsible to bring her to the present time and she will find numerous allies and enemies in her travel, with the help of Ciel, a rainbow winged fairy and Gabriel, an angel turned messenger due to Michael's insanity. Melanie will try to save the world and maturing by herself.

Story Chapters - Present Time Saga. Main Player: Melanie.

 * 1) Melanie - The avid huntress of the Past. (Prologue of the Saga)
 * 2) Roxana - The Light Princess Vampire.
 * 3) Zima - The Humanoid wise Wolf.
 * 4) Rock - The kind-hearted Experiment.
 * 5) Francoise - The Undead Killer for Hire.
 * 6) Noon - The Knight who serves Cold.
 * 7) Antonio - The Swordsman of Terror.
 * 8) Vlad - The Shady Vampire Prince. (Epilogue of the Saga)

Story Chapters - Dark Masters Saga. Main Player: Keith

 * 1) Keith - The almost Ascended. (Prologue of the Saga)
 * 2) Victoria - The messiah Vampiress.
 * 3) Ray - The Dark Hunter
 * 4) Lilly - The Friendly Catgirl.
 * 5) Tate and Nina - The serious werewolf and the Superhuman in chains.
 * 6) Vivi - The Proud Homunculus.
 * 7) Shiroi - The Mystic Samurai (Bonus Chapter)
 * 8) Lydia - The White witch.
 * 9) Alessandro - The new ruler of Inferno (Epilogue of the Saga)

Story Chapters - Tragic Conclusions. Main Player: Melanie/Keith/Victoria/Alessandro.

 * 1) Awakening, Trascending the Realms. (Prologue)
 * 2) Death nearby you.
 * 3) Hell and Heaven, united?
 * 4) Is that you, Lucifer?!
 * 5) Angels and Demons are one of the same.
 * 6) Feast of the destruction.
 * 7) Like Humans, Dark ones have emotions. (Epilogue)

Characters

 * See also: List of Re: Vengeance Characters

Returning
(*)Means Secret character

(**)Means Character unlocked by DLC or completing the invitation.
 * Victoria Arcos (Vampire) [Romania]
 * Keith Laurent/Nero (Demon) [Inferno/Europe]
 * Tate Moon (Werewolf) [U.S.A.]
 * Nina Ironside (Super-Human) [U.S.A.]
 * Angerona Lilly (Humanoid Beast - Cat) [Italy]
 * Rayne "Ray" D. Heinrich (Dark Hunter) [Germany]
 * Vivi (Homunculus) [England]
 * Lydia Gardenias (Witch) [France]
 * Shiroi (Samurai) [Japan]*
 * Alessandro Quattrini/Bianco (Demon) [Inferno/Europe]
 * Luka (Succubus) [Hell/Scotland]*

Newcomers

 * Vladimir "Vlad" Arcos (Vampire) [Romania]
 * Victoria and Roxana's older brother, he has a calm and playful demeanor, but he's really dominant towards his sisters and anything about his beloved clan, moreso than Victoria.
 * Roxana "Rosa" Arcos (Vampire) [Romania]
 * Vladimir's younger sister and Victoria's older sister, she has a nice yet trigger-happy demeanor, unlike Vlad and Vicky, she cares less about the clan, and likes having human friends.
 * Ralf "Zima" F. Richter (Humanoid Beast - Wolf) [Germany]
 * Zima is a Humanoid Beast (Humanoids with animal traits), and a Scientist, he's well respected despite his heritage unlike others from his type because of his collaboration with science.
 * Françoise Girard (Undead/Killer for hire) [France]
 * Françoise is a greedy Killer for hire, she destroys for paying her services, she's far worse than anyone thinks, she claims to have killed her family and at least thousand other people.
 * Antonio (Swordsman) [Latin America]
 * Antonio is a mysterious man who has the sword of his fallen rival Shiroi who died at honorable hands of Bianco when Shiroi was too weak. He lost an eye and seeks nothing but vengeance.
 * Rock (Frankenstein Monster) [U.K.]
 * Rock is the codename of a big failed project made by Dr. Law whose name is unknown, but unlike his creator who's mad and crazy, he's serious but loves the nature and playing with kids.
 * Melanie Scarlet Blood (Huntress) [U.S.A., Possibly]
 * Melanie is a professional yet young huntress, she doesn't like any rules, and has a eyepatch who covers her left eye and a diamond shaped face tattoo in her front. She's the main protagonist in the Adventure mode.
 * Nue/Noon (Paladin) [U.K. Possibly]
 * Nue is a woman who is a result of several experiments, she's a clad knight with a mission. Kill the Dark ones for the sake of the "good". She speaks really cordial even to her targets.
 * Lakia of Dio (Artificial Humanoid) [Italy]*
 * A Character from The FEAST Saga series, Lakia is an androgynous artificial humanoid being created by an entity known only as the "Watcher", unlike its sibling Ophelia, its friendly. (Sub-boss)
 * Ophelia of Dio (Artificial Humanoid) [Italy]*
 * A Character from The FEAST Saga series, Ophelia is an androgynous artificial humanoid being created by an entity known only as the "Watcher", unlike its sibling Lakia, its Ambitious. (Sub-boss)
 * "Michael"/Lucifer (Angel) [Heaven Realm]*
 * "Michael" is an ambitious and cruel Archangel who cares for nothing but himself, he thinks that his actions are for the good of the humanity, however, he's exceding his own "morality" and close to become a fallen angel himself. He's revealed to be Lucifer. (Final Boss)
 * Asura (Spirit) [Unknown]**
 * Asura is a spirit, a warrior who pleads to Melanie to save him from the Dark Ones, however, it is revealed that He's a Fallen Angel and a Vagant Spirit, he's still in the good side. And even helps the Anti-Hero team to keep an eye on Lucifer.

NPC

 * Joe - Lydia's Ally who was turned into a cat by Lydia's family.
 * Nia Tremaine - Keith's informant.
 * Blanc Gardenias - Lydia's mother.
 * Karin Gardenias - Lydia's grandmother.
 * Gabriel - An angel, Melanie's boss and guide.
 * Ciel -  A Fairy who has rainbow colored wings, Melanie's ally.
 * Victoria's servants.
 * Vlad T. Arcos - The Arcos' bros. father.
 * "The Watcher" - None. The Creator of the Dio Siblings.
 * Mad Clown: A messenger from "Heaven Realm" (Possible DLC Character)
 * Éclair Masters: Keith's human friend. An expert mage.
 * Felix: Lilly's Cat
 * Father Krauser and Sister Adele: Ray's friends and members of the church.
 * Dr. Law - A mad scientist who created Rock.

Themes

 * Dark Masters into the Battlefield - Original (Arcade OP)
 * Warrior of Wars - Original (Arcade ED)
 * Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath (Console Opening theme)
 * Get Away - VAMPS (Japanese theme/JP CS OP)
 * Show no Mercy - Slayer (Arcade Console Ending theme)
 * Nightmare Rondo - BABYMETAL (Arcade Console ED theme JP)
 * Strangers in the Night - Bert Kaempfert (Adventure Mode ending theme)

Stages

 * Victoria flying manor (Victoria, Vlad, Rosa)
 * Midnight City (Keith, Alessandro, Zima)
 * Bar Restaurant Lumiere (Lydia, Lilly, Françoise)
 * Desert (Ray, Nina, Tate)
 * Laboratory of Law (Vivi, Rock, Antonio)
 * Grandmother's house (Melanie, Nue, Shiroi [Asura])
 * Sanctuary's Alley (Lakia, Ophelia, Luka)
 * Heaven's Gate (Michael Phase 1)
 * Inferno (Michael Phase 2)

Game modes

 * Arcade Mode
 * Adventure mode
 * Free Mode
 * Versus
 * Survival
 * Training
 * Customize
 * Minigame: Card Collection (Featured in Wii U release, Free DLC for XOne, PS4, PS3 and X360)
 * Options
 * Screen
 * Volume
 * Language voice Customization
 * Voice per character (After Completing Arcade for the First time)
 * Controls
 * Black Strings Carnival: Last Song - Demo (Featuring Sienna and Type-Cosmos Ragnarok in a Daylight mission with the Mysterious Mecha 1 as a boss).
 * Gallery
 * Music
 * Opening and Ending themes
 * Illustration
 * Videos
 * The Arcade and Endings
 * Arcade Opening and EndingS
 * Console Openings and Endings
 * Adventure Mode Opening
 * Melanie's Dance - Strangers in the Night, 3:30 minutes of duration - Adventure Mode Ending.
 * A Special videoclip with Keith's image song featuring Keith himself, Alessandro, Sachiel, Michael, Lilly, Éclair, Ciel, Victoria and Melanie. (In Both JP and ENG vers, althrough the latter is Engrish.) The song is about to deal with himself and his relationships with his friends, is a Rock and Jazz song. Narrated by a woman in english with a mini monologue, the song is 6:53 mins long without the monolgue and 7:24 with the monolgue.
 * Invitation: Complete the card minigame, buy the illustrations in-game, play arcade mode, the adventure and the survival and complete the invitation. (This is also another way to unlock Asura)

Reception
The game in the Wii U version got 85% of approvation, saying that the only complains were that the story isn't relevant as gameplay, the AI often gets "crazy", minor glitches that makes the game unbalanced. However; it is praised by its original style in the cutscenes, noting that the noir scenes are well detailed, and the Adventure mode was surprisingly a good experience despite some annoying characters that tried to get attention, and the fair amount of fanservice for the two sides were also approved. The voice acting was also a great, marvelous experience, and the japanese voices were a grateful surprise for everyone.

Dark Masters of the Night II: Chronicles of the Shadow Prince/Rondo of Vengeance
After completing the Adventure mode, a special episode is unlocked, the setting is different of the usual Heaven and Hell battle. Based in a short novel.

The kingdom of Aeidith is a pacific Kingdom in a mysterious era that is known by its high level of magic, however, a mysterious Sorceror named Ruiz takes Princess Isabella of Aeidith in hostage in exchange of taking the kingdom by himself, but he doesn't know that there's also a Prince and the younger brother of Isabella, called Lionel who was exiled for his own good, and helped by his guild, as he doesn't want to be weak, he will try to fight. Melanie Blood, now in her timeline she will adopt the namesake of Tusk to fight Ruiz in her own right, but there's some surprises here, the Vampiress Victoria, the Daemon Keith and other fighters as well as Countess Éclair Masters, Duchess Aidan Spencer, Agent Eirian Gallagher and others will help them to fight the man who wants to conquer the kingdom in their own means.

Playable character since this update: (***) Character unlockable with this update.
 * Prince Lionel of Aeidith (Lord) [Aeidith/England]***
 * The 18-year old Prince of Aeidith, and exiled from the castle in order to protect himself from the harm that could make Ruiz in him, who doesn't know that he even exists. He's a reckless, cocky, a little spoiled, but otherwise kind and even wise than he looks. He acts before thinking, he doesn't know even fight because he's a pacifist and doesn't want to harm anyone, who made his dad the king, really dissappointed even before his death. However, he will train his inner powers and swordsmanship to defeat his inner devils and Ruiz.
 * Tasia (Swordswoman) [Unknown]***
 * Tasia is an avid swordswoman and Vlad's confident and advisor, she's merciless, often killing for orders without any question, She holds two swords in battle, has green hair who brights like flame when activating her powers, she apparently is a specter.

Trivia

 * The game resuses basically the same music as its predecesor, with new themes for the new characters.
 * Some of the cutscenes in the Adventure mode will be in Black and White, resembling Noir films and comic book style.
 * However, the major cutscenes, are full in color and fluid.
 * The two Chapters. Present Era and Dark Masters of the Night are unlocked since the start, and they follow differents points of view but canonically the order is
 * Present Time -> Dark Masters -> Grand Finale
 * When Lydia and Noon are defeated, the first gets her jacket broken, and the second gets her armor destroyed, Lilly in her case destroyed her suit but quickly transforms into her cat form, and when Francoise is hit with a special or EX attack, breaks her shirt, as a gratuitous fanservice. Other of the reasons of the M rating, also a shout out to Art of Fighting and Early KOF's, then KOF XIII.
 * The cutscenes in the other hand, shows a scene featuring Éclair and Nia and their reactions when they saw their master (Keith) Shirtless and they end with nosebleeds, Alessandro and Keith's fight in the halfway, Roxana's, Vivi's and Ciel's reaction when they see Asura, and when Lydia's mother and grandmother see "Michael", they said: Hot as hell...
 * The covers varies per version.