Doji Grovesai

Devil May Cry 3 Preview

I got Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Having been enchanted with Devil May Cry, and disappointed with Devil May Cry 2, I was nervous and excited all at once for this, the third installment in Dante's adventures.

Short review: the game is good with only one (slight) disappointment. It's double-decker ham sandwich good.

To understand why I feel this way about the game, you have to understand what the first two games had (and didn't have).

Devil May Cry had a great combat system going for it. The action was very smooth, and very much the opposite of the accursed Resident Evil Controls. The combat engine has been the benchmark for games like Castlevania: Lament of Innocence, Ninja Gaiden (XBox), and others. The combo system was a bit wonky sometimes, but generally fair, and it really required some skill to get through the game.

On top of that, DMC had style. Here's this half-human, half-demon son of a demon who revolted against hell and won. Who wouldn't be cocky? But this game took it over the top. Dante was so over the top in his smarmy attitude problem that it almost came across as cheesy. But that was half the fun in watching the cutscenes, or even following the story. For example, when faced by Phantom, the giant magma spider (compare with typical heroes):

Phantom: you are weak. I will eat you. Fear me.
Typical Hero Guy: YOU ARE WRONG! FOR I FIGHT ON THE SIDE OF GOOD!
Typical Antihero Guy: Come on. Go away. Geez, this is so inconvenient *angst**brood*.
Dante: bite me.

No, that's not an exact transcript. But see the difference? The game is full of that. Add to that a devil trigger mode, two cool melee weapons and some cool firearms, and you're set.

But then we got Devil May Cry 2. Many people I know were drooling over this game. All the cool stuff they would add to the gameplay has to make it a better game, right? Well, not really.

On the plus side, they added more acrobatics like running up walls. They also made it so dodges and such acrobatics added to your combo rating when used correctly. Adding "twosome time" (hitting two enemies at once) was brilliant. Where they went wrong was with Dante. Go back and read that "conversation" with Phantom. See the "Typical Antihero Guy?" That's what they turned Dante into. And then they added a second, mostly useless character that didn't really do anything for the plot at all. Commence sucking. This game was supposed to be so technical, and so dripping with style, that it would equate to a game that was cool enough to be awesome, do my physics homework, and make me a ham sandwich.

It wasn't.

Enter this third installment. No more are the stupid weapons and lame upgrades from the 2nd game. No more the over-acted "angst." And no more squealing villains. Devil May Cry 3 is about the style. Once again, you can switch firearms and melee weapons on-the-fly. And on top of that, there is a new "style" system. Choose Trickster (acrobatic stuff), Swordmaster, Gunslinger, or Royal Guard. New and improved moves for Dante depending on your style.

You'll note I wrote an open letter to Capcom about Devil May Cry 3. I'll frame my review in terms of my expectations:

I want seamless transition between fighting styles. I want to use my firearms, switch to a sword combo, and then run up the wall to the next enemy without having to pause the game, switch to a menu, or cycle through options. Use the shoulder buttons, that's what they're there for. Yes, this will force you to constrain the number of fighting styles you may or may not want to add. I prefer a solid game to 400+ different ways to kill a demon.

This is where the disappointment lies. If you want to switch styles, you have to do it before a mission, or at one of the War God statues where you cash in your red orbs. I really would rather do it on-the-fly. Though I can't change my style at will, I was pleased to note that the styles themselves don't change your basic moves (which remain the same always). Just the special stuff. Imagine playing Devil May Cry, but you can add some extra moves here and there. Kind of like that.

I want different weapons that actually make a difference. I want Alastor, Ifrit, and Sparda back (or something like it): three distinct weapons with distinct qualities. All Devil May Cry 2 offered were three swords with different names that behaved almost exactly the same in actual gameplay. On top of that, the switch between weapons should be seamless (again, like the original Devil May Cry) where tapping a button switched between the melee weapon used.

Done. You get "Rebellion" (Dante's sword pre-DMC1 Sparda enhancement), Cerberus (a triple-flail, nunchuku thing), and a whole host of other weapons which are markedly different from each other in form, function and style (additionally, your melee weapon changes your Swordmaster-style special moves). Melee Weapons are switched with a shoulder button.

Whether or not you perfect a "behind the back" camera shot makes no difference to me. I do, however, request that the action be up close, personal, and intense like the first game. Not, as in DMC2, far off and removed, where you can only identify Dante among the fray by his red coat.

Everything is close enough that you can smell the hordes of hell. The only time Dante has been small (so far) was during a combat-less period of running up some stairs.

I want Dante to have an attitude problem. I want his opponents to have attitude problems. I want the banter that occured in the first game with all of its smarmy, sarcastic overtone; not the forced, apathetic whining in the second game.

Like I said: double-decker ham sandwich. Dante has a great big attitude problem dripping with smarm. Note a new comparative conversation with a cerberus 20 times Dante's size...

Cerberus: You are weak! I will eat you! Fear me!
Typical Hero Guy: YOU ARE WRONG! I AM STRONG ENOUGH FOR I AM GOOD/BETTER THAN YOU/AVENGING MY [insert loved one here]!
Typical Antihero Guy (DMC2 Dante): *angst*.
Dante: A talking puppy! How cute! Come on, Fido, I've got a stick, wanna fetch?

Again, paraphrased.

I want the "sidekick" to have a personality. If there is even a sidekick or supporting character at all (playable or not), I want them to be hard-core and solid, like Trish. Lucia, with her muddled Balkan/French/Afrikaans accent and lack of a personality did nothing for DMC2.

No sidekick. Definately the best-case scenario.

Devil May Cry was awesome. Devil May Cry 2 was not. Devil May Cry 3 is exactly what a new installment should be: just like the first game, but better.