DMC3 is Still Quite Good

The Devil May Cry series is often considered by hardcore gamers as one the greatest action games series of all time. With stylish combat that rewards you through being expressive through combos, having a high difficulty curve and even higher skill ceiling, and stories that are nonsensical but engaging thanks to interesting characters and lore. Starting all the way back in 2001, the original started out as a demo build for Resident Evil 4. The developers at Capcom had gotten tired of the older games’ formula and wanted to switch things up. Their original plan was to make Resident Evil more action focused, but felt this was the wrong move as it strayed too far away from the series core identity. Of managing resources, learning how to take care of enemies properly, navigating mazelike levels, and instilling a constant feeling of dread. Instead they made the revolutionary over the shoulder masterpiece that was the actual Resident Evil 4, but what happened with the second concept they’ve drafted. Rather than scrap the whole thing entirely they instead repurpose it for a new IP. The new console generation was upon and they needed something to stand out. They designed a white haired red coat badass named Dante, and then came the title. A name so slick it would make bad girls fall over in awe: Devil May Cry. 

Devil May Cry did a lot better than Capcom and the development team had hoped for. Enough to kick off a whole series of games, six in total if you decide to include the reboot not made by the team at Capcom. Much like Resident Evil 4 which it initially wanted to be, Devil May Cry was a revolutionary game for the action game genre. Proving you could make a game entirely combat focused and stuff it full of unique mechanics and tricks to keep things interesting, or at least that is how people remember it. I did grow up with the same video games a majority of gamers did. My first console was the Nintendo Wii and it wasn’t until 2017 that I actually started to get into video games more. I didn’t grow up with the same style of action games as a majority of people online. I grew up with the old man Kratos rather than the younger, more angrier version of him. Learned how cool samurais and shinobis were through Ghost of Tsushima and Sekiro rather than Ninja Gaiden or Onimusha. The first Devil May Cry my hands ever picked up was the fifth back in 2019, so most of my perception of the franchise is based on that and Bayonetta. I bring those games up as well, because they were made by the original director who left Capcom.

I don’t remember much from Devil May Cry 5 aside from key plot points, the plot twist, and how the whole thing ended. Looking back at my original review I feel like I kinda dismissed it. The game was excellent in terms of gameplay, but forgettable when it came to story and presentation. Not to say the story was bad, because reading a wiki summary before writing this review I think it’s good. Just nothing that made me look fondly back on the game in the same other releases at the time. However, I knew Devil May Cry was a franchise I needed to dive deeper into someday. With how beloved the characters are and how complex the plot had gotten until Devil May Cry 5. So I had it on my radar and even though I’ve checked out other character action games since like the first two Bayonetta games and Hi-Fi Rush my mind was still eager to try. Earlier this year I purchased the HD collection, which contained the first three Devil May Cry titles. The internet was exciting me for peak combat, excellent game design, and near perfection. Would I give the same amount of praise to Devil May Cry just like it had back when it was released in 2001. Would it be great enough to garnish a review from me? Is the game still a timeless masterpiece!?

It’s okay, and this is where I think my review will generate mixed reactions among some readers. A majority of the time when I cover older titles I try to see them as products of their time. When I do this I usually have more fun playing them. See what they did, how future games would build upon what they did, and gain further appreciation even if there’s some jank or sections that don’t work well from design perspectives. If I just list everything I dislike and my review would just be negative and my mind would shift towards not recommending the game. A path I personally see as disrespectful to older media. Yet, I cannot lie when I say that I personally didn’t enjoy my time with the original Devil May Cry. Recent character action games have gotten me used to their linear level design and pacing. Worming players into each combat challenge and allowing them to enjoy the core focus of the game. I think this is why a majority of fans who got into the series with Devil May Cry 5 are unaware of how exploratory the older games were. Remember, Devil May Cry originally started out as a rough draft for Resident Evil 4. There’s moments where you have to run back and forth collecting keys to open the way forward. My mind wasn’t used to this and it especially wasn’t used to moving around and fighting enemies with a fixed camera.

I eventually finished the game, considered it okay, and moved onto Devil May Cry 2. No, just no. Five missions in and I can already tell you how my opinion was on that game. Ridiculously easy combat if you just spam your somehow rapid fire automatic pistols and circle strafe. Dull levels that are empty in life and bland architecture. Unengaging narrative and terrible voice acting. The second Devil May Cry is considered one of the worst sequels ever, and I experienced first hand as to why. Josh Strife Hayes has a really good video explaining why, so I suggest watching that instead. After the disaster sequel, Capcom had to rebuild the little faith fans had left in the series. How do they bring back Devil May Cry when the story they told up until that point was bad? The easy answer is making a prequel. Devil May Cry 3 was put into the works and serving as main director was Hideaki Itsuno who directed the second. Everyone should’ve been afraid, but what happened instead was a complete turn around. This man created the successor to the original that the second should’ve been. Building upon ideas properly and delivering the best Devil May Cry up until Devil May Cry 5. I beat the game the night before writing this, and man what a game. It’s easy to understand why Devil May Cry 3 is the greatest in the series. I don’t think it’s perfect. I have a fair share of problems, but overall I think it’s aged pretty well like a vast majority of PS2 games. Today we’re talking about Devil May Cry 3 and how the game manages to hold almost 20 years after it's initial release. Let's get this party started.

Story

Taking place years before the first game we follow a younger, slightly less matured Dante. Lore is that Dante is one of the two sons of Sparda. A powerful demon who fought the forces of hell and eventually found love. That is with a human woman in our world named Eva. They had two sons and they were named Dante and Vergil. Doing the best they can to raise the boys despite the ties Sparda had. A roaring fire would come upon their home and this would tear apart the family. Eva died in the house fire protecting the two boys, and Sparda died fighting demons that came to his home before sealing a portal that led them there. Within hell he would reach eternal rest and seal away his powers so no demon nor man could use them for evil. Since then Dante and Vergil grew distant. Dante wanted to live the life of a normal human being, and Vergil pursued the path of his father. Hoping to locate where his power was stored and use it so that not only can he be the most powerful demon being in the universe, but prevent such a scenario like the one from all those years ago happening again. Dante would occasionally fight demons to protect human lives, but he never took his power seriously or for granted. He just did his own thing until one day.

Dante is setting up a private business in the hopes of using his demon slaying powers to make at least some dough. Flow of electricity is poor and the place is a run down wooden office, but he’s still happy with what he has. That isn’t until demons break down his door, he steps outside, and finds a giant stone structure in the middle of the city. Demons have invaded the town, everyone evacuated, and no life is left in the city. The attack is being led by two individuals. Arkham and Vergil. Dante knows his brother is close by and sees this as a challenge, which it is. Vergil wishes to duel Dante to see which of Sparda’s sons is the strongest. See who deserves the power of one of hell’s strongest demons. Dante makes way for the structure. Ready to face the evils that lie deep within. All the while meeting a human woman who journeys to the spire in search of a man she plans to kill. This is foreshadowing towards one of the two antagonist’s and what will occur halfway through the game. Dante will grow, make unlikely allies, and learn to awaken the power that lies deep within him. The raging infernal flames on the one formerly known as Sparda.

Gameplay

Much like the rest of the series, Devil May Cry 3 is a character game driven by combat and the occasional moments of exploration. There’s times where you have to explore a vast castle to find the key needed to open the way forward, but these moments mostly aren’t too confusing and the game will show you doors that open leading forward. It’s much like Resident Evil, but without the puzzle solving or level design that loops back in on itself as most branching paths are linear. There’s also a few sections where you have to do light platforming or avoid hazards, but all of these are straightforward. What’s the real highlight here is the combat, which compared to the last two games is the most complex Devil May Cry had gotten mechanically. If you’re playing on the PlayStation 4 like I did you use the triangle button to attack and the circle button for another action. Square is used to fire your guns, and the x button is to jump. As you defeat enemies or explore the levels you pick up red orbs. These can be spent at shops to unlock new combos, help strengthen ones you have, unlock new abilities, or purchase items and stat upgrades. Your stats can also be improved by finding blue orb fragments hidden throughout each stage. Allowing you to take for damage or allow your ultimate, the Devil Trigger, to last for a longer period of time. This essentially strengthens your physical attack power and restores health upon each hit.

As you progress through the game you’ll fight bosses, and some of these bosses will grant new weapons to use during combat. Each weapon has their own moves and combos, which gives you a lot of room for experimentation. Some weapons like the ice nunchucks and dual blade are fast, but have less range compared to your starting sword. The gauntlets can hit harder, but are much slower and leave you more open for attacks. The weapons aren’t the greatest addition, as what’s the real kicker are the different fighting styles. You have four fighting styles to choose from, and two more are unlocked as you progress. These styles change what type of attacks you use, so not only do you have weapons with different skills and combos but all ways of using them. You can either switch your style of play every so often or pick one and rock the entire game with it. The style I chose was the Trickster style which is fast and gives Dante the ability to dodge easily. You have Swordmaster which allows for stronger attacks with bladed weapons I assume. Gunslinger for those who’d like to incorporate guns with attacks, Royalguard for players with risk-reward parry playstyles, Quicksilver for the special ability to slow time down, and Doppleganger to go create a clone of yourself for help. These styles level up through playtime and experience, so it encourages expert play or replaying Devil May Cry 3 just to see how using a different style may change everything. Aside from that there’s nothing much else for me to say. Just keep on fighting on and don’t forget to look sexy as you do it.

That’s right, I said the word. Smokin 'sexy style.

Thoughts

My time with Devil May Cry 3 was very positive compared to the first and second game. I may not be the biggest Devil May Cry fan, but the third game got me properly back into the franchise and I’m down with playing the forth game at some point. I’d say Devil May Cry 3 is a good point to start at if you’re new to the series. It’s a prequel, it gets you interested in the characters and lore, and the gameplay is exactly when they started refurbishing the combat. I’ll be listing my positives and negatives as I go rather than save the latter for the end, because I do have remarks with this game. The combat overall is really good. It’s easy to play, but hard to master. Pulling off combos isn’t too hard and there’s enough room for expression, but if you just want to use the most basic abilities then that’s fine. The game has good enough enemy variety and arena design to keep you on your toes. You have basic reapers who run up and attack, or these teleporting ones you have to quickly react to when they appear. Flying flaming bats that must be shot at to then be turned to stone, or these chess piece enemies that you must be careful with as they prepare to release a powerful swing. These teched up archer bots which either fire directly at you so you must dodge, or fire above so you have to be wary of the areas their arrows will land. Arenas are designed intricately enough to punish players who play poorly or placing them at a disadvantage they must work back up from. Then you have the bosses which are highlighted at the end of each level. All of which are well designed and none I’d say are bad or frustrating.

The game has amazing combat design and encounters, and for that I’d say it’s good. What I can’t care much about is the ranking meter. Every Devil May Cry game has this where the longer you manage to maintain a combo streak without getting hit you build up a meter. The better you do in combat the higher this combo meter goes. This then adds up with your end of level score, which is also affected by how long you take to beat a level, how many items used, etc. What I do kind of like is how even if you aren’t perfect in combat you can still do well in other areas to reach a high score. My main complaint is that I don’t feel pushed to pursue high scores. I’ve never been a person who pursues high scores in these types of games. It’s either because the combat, while good, doesn't do enough to make me alternate my attacks. That or cuz the end of level reward for reaching a high score isn’t particularly good. You mainly get red orbs to purchase new attacks or items, but what’s the point of new attacks and combos when I don’t use them half the time. This problem is made worse by how you can only have two weapons at a time. You have a lot of room for experimentation, but you can’t have full access to your gear easily when in the field.

My last complaint about combat is that for a series praised for its smooth combat and animation cancelling, I had a hard time transitioning into certain attacks easily. Sometimes the game doesn’t register a dodge, or I want to pull off a cool move during a hectic moment. I don’t know if this is a problem with the HD collection, but moments like those prevent me from seeing Devil May Cry’s combat as good as a lot of folks say it is online. So let me clarify again. Combat is good, but it’s not my favorite in a video game and that’s possibly because of me being conditioned by a lot of action games now. The refinements they’ve made since these older titles. The moments where you have to backtrack to a specific room are often annoying. Usually when the game lets you run around freely with no clear indicator of where to go. It’s Devil May Cry having some of the Resident Evil DNA the first game was trying to go for, and at times it works. You clear a room of enemies, the door opens, and that’s the indicator of where to go. That or the path leading to the door you need to open is straightforward. It’s the long distant backtracks or multiple pathways that confuse me, and during those moments I wasn’t having all that much fun. 

Another complaint I have that’ll upset some people is that I’m not a big fan of the fixed camera angles. Now I did say at the beginning of this review I want to review Devil May Cry 3 and all old games as products of their time. Fixed camera angles are products of their time periods, and I can understand the defense of using them for artistic reasons. Fixed camera angles can be used to present certain moments. Surprises that couldn’t be achieved through having rotational cameras. They can also be used to present spectacle. Moments where it’s zoomed out and you see Dante run through grand hallways or rooms with dazzling architecture. I understand this point, but what I don’t like is how it plays along with the gameplay at times. Devil May Cry 3 does allow you to rotate the camera unlike the first two games, but it’s not zoomed out enough in my opinion to let you know what’s around at all times. It feels unfair when I get hit by something off screen, or run into a trap I could’ve easily avoided if it allowed me to reposition the camera and get a better viewing of. There’s this one section in a late game level that wants you to retrieve an object at the end of a hallway with spinning traps. Getting through the normal way is easy, but going back is hard because you can’t see what’s in front of the first trap you’re hopping over. Fixed camera angles also makes platforming more annoying than it should be, because not only is Dante not built for platforming but I don’t have a good idea of where my character is gonna land.

Last portion I want to talk about is the story. I remember in my Devil May Cry 5 review all those years ago I stated the main plot was good, but nothing I’d look back at years later. That and good chunks of its narrative is built around having prior knowledge of who these characters are and their history with each other. Devil May Cry 3 has a narrative I actually really like. Not because it’s the first in the timeline, but because it has a good structure to it. You’re given the lore of the world, and shown who our protagonist is. He’s foolish, an asshole, and somehow enjoyable all at the same time. I can’t help but enjoy Dante whenever he’s doing something fun on screen. The guy is not the nicest person in the world as he’s always cracking jokes and one liners, but he does care about those around him. There’s a reason why he became a devil hunter aside from making money. He truly does care about life around him. About humanity and the people we grew up with. He’s able to sympathize with other people’s struggle, and this is somewhat built upon with his relationships. Mainly with that of Vergil and Lady. His brother is a rival who pursues Sparda, but when the major plot twist occurs during the halfway point he turns sides. He works with his brother to stop a man they both know is going to use Sparda’s power for selfish needs. Then we get the final confrontation where Vergil not only realizes Dante finally got the best of him, but that he’s matured. He learned to wield his demonic powers.

This is why the game is called Dante’s Awakening. I also like how when you defeat a powerful demon boss they transform into a weapon you use during gameplay. Not only tying the story into the gameplay well, but showing demons can be sympathetic in Devil May Cry. That by proving your strength in battle they will lend you their powers to grow stronger. Then you have Lady, and boy she is an interesting character. She starts off shallow, but as the narrative moves on you get to empathize. The trauma she went for and her goal connected to your own. I’m glad they didn’t make it so that Dante and her hook up by the end and instead work together. Combine the good writing with great cinematography during cutscenes and you get a very entertaining experience. I do recommend Devil May Cry 3 despite some of my criticisms of it. I like the story, the combat is good overall, and it’s just a damn good time. t’s not one of my personal favorite action games, but it’s nice seeing how games have evolved since then, especially future Devil May Cry titles. I say it’s tied with the fifth game for being my favorite. Fifth had the best gameplay, but this one has my favorite story in the series. Can’t wait to eventually check out Devil May Cry 4 as I heard that one’s a favorite among fans. In the end I am going to have to give Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening an 8.5/10 for being pretty good.

8.5/10, Pretty Good