Due to potential limited memory issues, only the classic characters Huitzil, Pyron, and Donovan Baine were excluded from this game. However they would be included in the later upgraded dual release of Vampire Hunter 2: Darkstalkers' Revenge (1997) and Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (1997) (though Baby Bonnie Hood, Lilith Aensland, Q-Bee, and Jedah Doma were absent from the former and J. Talbain, Sasquatch, and Rikuo were absent from the latter) as well as the later home console release versions of both this game and Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (2004) that would use all 18 characters.
Originally released as "Vampire Savior: World of Darkness" in the United States for the arcade release. However, this title was never used again as it was renamed as Darkstalkers 3 for the home console version which was also referenced in Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (2004) as a playing option in the US version, as well as the title for the Vampire Savior HD version that was used in Darkstalkers Resurrection (2013), before returning for its original title as "Vampire Savior: The Lord of Vampire" in the collection set Capcom Fighting Collection (2022)
Similar to the format used in fellow Capcom fighting games Street Fighter Alpha: Warrior's Dreams (1995) and Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996), story based battles also occur for the final opponent the players' chosen character must fight. While some of these characters has Jedah as their final opponent, others do not and instead for their match line-ups Jedah would instead be the second to last opponent. However, for the later updated version Vampire Savior 2: The Lord of Vampire (1997), this was changed where Jedah would always be the final opponent.
Only the PS1 port for Darkstalkers 3 aka Vampire Savior and Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (2004) allows the player to use all 18 characters of the series. This is due to both Vampire Savior games lacking three characters in each (Pyron, Huitzil, and Donovan Baine in the former, and J. Talbain, Sasquatch, and Rikuo in the latter) and Vampire Hunter 2 lacking the four characters introduced in Vampire Savior (Baby Bonnie Hood, Lilith Aensland, Q-Bee, and Jedah Doma). Also the secret unlockable mode for these three games in the PS2 Japanese exclusive Vampire: Darkstalkers Collection made the missing characters available for use similar to both of these aformentioned home release version
Only version where like its predecessors each character has their own ending. For Savior 2 and Hunter 2, it instead had the same ending regardless of character. It should be noted that while Donovan, Huitzil, and Pyron were not part of the original release, endings for them were created in the home release port of this game.