\"Darkstalkers Are Not Dead\" - the words of a splash screen shown during Capcom's panel at SDCC 2011 for Street Fighter X Tekken. What would be the primary hype builder and tagline for the release of 2013's Darkstalkers: Resurrection, has become a rallying cry for the small, but incredibly dedicated global community of Vampire Savior (VSAV) players and fans. In our latest installment of Cultural Combos: On-Location, we got to have a long-awaited discussion with one of the cornerstones of VSAV in North America, Zach \"Ailerus\" Marquette. In addition to being one of the strongest Felicia players in the NA region, Zach serves as one of the heads of Vampire Arcadia, or VMP. VMP began as a collective of players and friends in the Cincinnati scene, and has now flourished into a community outfit dedicated to the promotion and production of events for not only VSAV, but retro fighters like 3rd Strike and Super Turbo. If you've tuned into any of those games during major events like Combo Breaker, EVO, or East Coast Throwdown, you've seen the level of detail and reinvigorating visual elements they've brought to breathe new life into these classic games and their players.
We got to chop it up about the origins of Makai World Cup, one of the most competitive VSAV events around, with this year's running featuring international guests from France, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Traditionally a retro and anime-centric event, Zach's inspiration to pivot and make VSAV the sole focus of Makai came after his trip to Vampire Street Battle 2023 in Lyon, France. VSB is just one of the events in the \"Street Battle\" series of tournaments in Lyon, which feature singles and team events for a particular title. Other events in the series include \"X Street Battle\" for Super Street Fighter II Turbo or Super Street Fighter II X, and \"Third Street Battle\" for Street Fighter III: Third Strike, respectively.
\"We have no majors that I would say are only Vampire focused, we're always attached to a larger event because we're a small community. We have main game status at some events, but for the most part it's like a side event.\" Zach remarked, as he's no stranger to doing it himself. From hosting FGC sessions during the SF4 days at previous Arcade Legends, to working at the arcade in Cincinnati Mills Mall, to anchoring tournaments at Arcade Legacy as one of the few surviving businesses in one of America's most famous \"dead malls\". In one of the most preeminent examples of a location frozen-in-time, a community surged forward and maintained their link to the past, now in a space they can truly call home at the new Arcade Legacy location in nearby Sharonville, OH. What started as a cool idea to do with his friends, has now blossomed into a bona-fide production company with an international presence among the retro fighting game community, with no signs of slowing down. While still maintaining his acumen as a competitive player, Zach's goals are to keep streaming more and bigger events both in/outside of retro games and bringing more opportunities to his VMP cohort.
Please enjoy our full conversation about Zach's roots in the Cincy FGC and growth of VMP as a brand, right here on Cultural Combos!
Follow Zach and Vampire Arcadia below:
X (Formerly Twitter) - @AilerusVMP
YouTube - @Vampire Arcadia
Twitch - VampireArcadia