Tag: Dante

Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening

There’s 3 things I knew tryin to get into the DMC series: the chronology is all over the place, the reboot missed the whole point, and people opinion on the best and worst are pretty damn unanimous. 3 is the best by a popular majority. After my lukewarm experience with the original Devil May Cry , I skipped 2 (unanimously cited as the worst) and went to see what the series really had. Was I disappointed?

We join a very young, brash, cocky, arrogant Dante on his first foray into demon hunting. When a mysterious tower emerges from the ground near his unnamed business and demons start pouring into the streets, the half human son of legendary demon king Sparda jumps into action with his trusty sword and pistols. However, behind this outpouring of hellish forces is a familiar face- his twin brother, Vergil. Vergil craves his father’s power and wants to smash the barrier between worlds, leading to utter chaos. Can Dante defeat the only one who can match his supernatural skills?

Seriously, I wish I heeded the advice everyone gave me to just stat with 3. These games aren’t really my kind of game but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I didn’t have a blast with the game. Everything is improved dramatically from the first game. Combat is more fluid with plenty of variety. The story is both more engaging with better developed characters and is more fun and over the top in the best ways. Dante has more personality and I love his interactions with Vergil, who’s his total opposite. The cut scenes are impressive as hell, especially given the time period. The camera, which killed the first game for me, was rarely a problem. The game itself has a lot more quality of life improvements that I greatly appreciated like unlimited continues and the ability to quick change weapons without pausing to go to the inventory menu. The highlight howver was the boss battles which were epic, challenging, and rewarding; the fights against Vergil were truly the best of the whole game.

The only real complaint was the the path finding at times. There were a few times the game has you backtrack quite a ways back through a layout that can be super easy to get lost in, especially when you start twisting parts of the tower. The boss gauntlet at the end did feel a bit excessive and felt like padding. Of course too there are few times the platforming annoyed me but thankfully it’s never life or death kinda of platforming.

In the end, I’m on board with the masses. Start with 3, it’s the first game in the series story wise anyway. It’s a fun, fast, over the top hack and slash that was plenty of fun and has has a hell of a lot of value I’d gladly recommend. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Devil May Cry

Just so we’re all clear, I’m talking about cool Dante’s first outing. Emo, Hot Topic, proto Jared Leto Joker Dante won’t hurt you here.

We follow monster hunter/ paranormal PI Dante at his agency named Devil May Cry. A lady named Trish pops in, asking him to kill the dark lord Mundus on the demon infested Mallet island. Dante is no ordinary man: born for a legendary demon and human mother, Dante possess super strength, speed, reflexes, regeneration, with a host of mythical weapons. Can the demon hunter survive the legion of demons and beasts on a island that busts reality and the world beyond?

So many, many friends have pleaded with me to give this series a chance. If I can beat Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and System Shock (2023) I can beat anything dammit. Many, including our mutual friend and cohert, Arragas the Druid, begged me to start with the 3rd game (which is actually the first.) I didn’t because I’m stubborn as hell but I wish I did.

The original Devil May Cry isn’t a terrible game, it just aged like milk in many aspects and small but vital quality of life additions make a tremendous difference. The combat is solid enough. The bosses look cool. Mundus was a pretty good final boss that wasn’t a pushover. The world, settings, and lore are pretty cool. Dante is a fun likeable badass.

Two things murder the game for me. The camera killed me more times than not. The enemies hit hard, platforming can be a pain in the ass, and it can be hard knowing where the hell to go- the tank camera amplifies these issues almost a dozen fold. Their were plenty of times I lost it because the camera obscured a boss attack or I fumbled a jump because I couldn’t see. The other thin is those quality of life additions the game desperately needed. I’m talking simple things like quick weapon selection, attack instructions (why spend the orbs on new attacks when the game doesn’t tell you how to perform them), and the ability to lock onto enemies. Nothing huge on there own but rolled togther with the camera, it becomes aggravating.

In the end, I can’t recommend the first Devil May Cry as your first go into the series. It’s tough at imes for mostly the wrong reasons, the gameplay takes some getting used to, and the story feels mostly like an after thought. I’d say after going through some of the modern entries, check it out, but I can’t really recommend it off the bat. May the gaming gods bring you glory.