Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry (デビルメイクライ) is a PlayStation 2 video game created by Capcom. It is a third person hack and slash type game with some exploration elements. The game has a dark gothic tone to it, but is contrasted with its heavy metal music and the trash-talking, full of attitude, protagonist Dante, a laid back devil hunter who is unsurprisingly half devil himself. There are three released games.

Gameplay focuses primarily on fast and 'stylish' combat; gaining a high Style ranking (from worst to best, D to A, plus S) requires chaining Dante's normal and special attacks together in long strings while avoiding damage. Dante's signature weapons are his dual pistols (named Ebony & Ivory) and a large broadsword (named Force Edge in DMC 1 {nicknamed Woozie in the manual for DMC1}, Rebellion in DMC 2 and DMC3). He finds other firearms in the games, as well as devil arms (weapons infused with the power of devils). Dante is also capable of unleashing the power of his devil blood, called Devil Trigger, making him faster, stronger, and able to heal his wounds, as well as enabling him to use special Devil Trigger exclusive attacks. The game also features some puzzle solving and exploration elements evident in the survival horror genre. Finally, orbs of different color (red being the most common, representing the blood of the slain) are collected by exploration, killing enemies, or by purchase from Statues of Time, and are used to learn gain new combat powers and abilities.

The original developed quite a powerful fan-base, and although not the only one, it became an important killer game for the PlayStation 2; this was because it was released in an early stage of the console's lifetime. This led to disappointment when the second installment failed to be as different from the first as the first was from existing action games. The third was billed as a return to the formula of the original and, thus far, has been well received.

History

In mid 2000, after the completion of Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Capcom began preliminary work on Resident Evil 4. However, in prototype status, it proved to be too different from the Resident Evil series and the survival horror genre in general. Rather than abandon the project entirely, the premise was changed and it eventually became Devil May Cry. Although, the characters in the Resident Evil 4 prototype were all new, some of the enemies were actually enhanced version of previous Resident Evil creatures. Most notably are the armored reptilian creatures "Blades", which were originally meant to be Hunters and the Marionettes, which were zombies constructed from various body parts. Dante is simlar to Resident Evil 4's protagonist, Leon S. Kennedy and Trish is similar to the charater Ada Wong.

Devil May Cry became a popular hit with players because the game represented a return to the gameplay of frantic 2D action games of the late 1980s and early 1990s, arguably the first game of its generation to reach this level of intensity. In this sense, it paved the way for the recent entries of the Ninja Gaiden franchise on Xbox.

Story

The story revolves around Dante and his one-man devil hunting agency, named "Devil May Cry", which he runs in the hopes of finding and killing the demons who killed his mother. Dante also has a brother named Vergil, who we learn very little about during the course of the game. The story alludes to The Divine Comedy in the game's areas (roughly resembling and representing purgatory, hell, and heaven) as well as in some of the character names: however it is purely an aesthetic similarity, and indeed the game borrows from a very wide range of sources for inspiration. After a less than proper introduction, a woman named Trish, who bears a striking resemblance to Dante's mother, convinces him to hunt and kill a devil named Mundus.

Gameplay

The game uses red orbs to "purchase" new moves for Dante, increasing the variety in his fighting style, as well as other orbs to make him more powerful. The firearms of the game include the default pistols, a double-barreled shotgun, and a grenade launcher, as well as an automatic needlegun for underwater use and an energy cannon of demonic origin, the Nightmare Beta. Devil arms include his default Force Edge (a memento broadsword from his devil father, Sparda), the lightning broadsword Alastor, and the fire gauntlets Ifrit, as well as the true form of the Force Edge: A demonic-looking transformable blade, named Sparda, the same name as of its original wielder.

The Devil Trigger enables Dante to transform into the elemental devil infused in his weapon, changing his appearance, increasing his strength and defense, gaining minor healing, and enabling him to use special Devil Trigger-only attacks. Alastor's Devil Trigger gives Dante increased power and speed (both in movement and attacks) and enables him to fly. Ifrit's Devil Trigger gives Dante increased attack power, as well as access to devestating fire-based attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is power in his Devil Trigger Gauge, which increases by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state and decreases by attacking in the Devil Trigger state and using Devil Trigger-only attacks.

Difficulty modes

The game has four difficulty modes. Initially players must play "Normal" mode. Completion of a particular difficulty unlocks a harder difficulty. An easy mode can be unlocked by being defeated enough times on normal mode. As each difficulty progresses, Dante's power-ups become more expensive, tougher enemies appear earlier in the game, bosses have more health, and enemy attacks damage Dante more. Also, he regains less health with Devil Triggers.

"Dante Must Die!" mode is the game's ultimate challenge. In addition to all of the other handicaps Dante faces on harder modes enemies can execute a Devil Trigger of their own after a while, the effects of which differ for each enemy. Bosses do not gain a Devil Trigger. Some rooms have a "Do or Die!" timer in which if they do not destroy all of the enemies in a room before time runs out, they will simultaneously enter Devil Trigger.

Players are awarded a bonus of red orbs for completing a level, and this is increased on harder difficulties.

Trivia

The English voice track is used in all releases of Devil May Cry, including the original Japanese release.