Devil May Cry (video game)
Devil May Cry | |
---|---|
Windows | |
Release | |
Single-player |
Devil May Cry
The game was originally conceived by Capcom developers as Resident Evil 4. Due to the staff feeling it would not fit the Resident Evil franchise, the project became its own title. Several gameplay elements were also inspired by a bug found in Onimusha: Warlords. Devil May Cry received prominent coverage in the video game media due to the impact it had in the action-adventure genre, its high difficulty, and the high overall scores given to it by professional reviewers. The game has sold more than three million copies,[6] spawned multiple sequels and a prequel, and is considered among the greatest video games of all time.
Gameplay
The gameplay consists of levels called "missions", where players must fight numerous enemies, perform
"Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of varied attacks while avoiding damage, with player performance tracked by an on-screen gauge. The more hits the player makes, the higher the gauge rises. The gauge starts at "Dull"; progresses through "Cool", "Bravo", and "Absolute"; and peaks at "Stylish". Repeatedly using the same moves causes the gauge to stop rising, encouraging the player to use every move in their arsenal. The gauge terms are similar to the grades given at the end of the missions. When Dante receives damage, the style rating resets back to "Dull". Players can also maintain their style grade by taunting enemies at close range.[7]
The player can temporarily transform Dante into a more powerful demonic creature by using the "Devil Trigger" ability. Doing so adds powers based on the current weapon and changes Dante's appearance. The transformations typically increase strength and defense, slowly restore health, and grant special attacks. The ability is governed by the Devil Trigger gauge, which depletes as the ability is used, and is refilled by attacking enemies or taunting in normal form.[7]
Devil May Cry contains puzzles and other challenges besides regular combat gameplay. The main storyline often requires the player to find key items to advance, in a manner similar to puzzles in the
Plot
Devil May Cry begins with Dante being attacked in his office by a mysterious woman named Trish. He impresses her by easily brushing off her assault, and explains that for years, he has hunted demons in pursuit of the ones who killed his mother and brother.[8] Trish explains that her attack was a test, and that the demon emperor Mundus, whom Dante holds responsible for the deaths of his family, is planning to cross over into the human world after centuries of imprisonment.[9] The scene jumps to their arrival at an immense castle on the mysterious Mallet Island, where Mundus has steadily grown his power and influence over the years in preparation for his ascension. Trish quickly abandons Dante, who is forced to continue on his own.
Dante explores the castle, fighting off demons summoned by Mundus to attack him and overcoming all sorts of devious puzzles, traps, and tricks. He also obtains two magical weapons, a sword called Alastor and a pair of gauntlets known as Ifrit, and encounters the first of
When Dante tries to save Trish from Nightmare, she betrays him and reveals that she is a spy for Mundus, but when her life is endangered, Dante chooses to save her. Claiming he did so only because of her resemblance to his
Despite Mundus' overwhelming power, Dante is victorious, and, believing her to be dead, leaves his amulet and sword with Trish's body before departing.[13] Returning to the island, Dante finds that the castle is collapsing, and is cornered by the injured Mundus, having used the last of his power to cross over into the human world. Dante fights Mundus, but is unable to defeat him until Trish suddenly appears and infuses Dante's guns with her magic. Dante banishes Mundus back to the demon world, and the emperor vows to one day return and finish his conquest.[14] When Trish tries to apologize, she begins to cry, and Dante tells her it means she has become human and not just a devil, because "devils never cry".[15] Dante and Trish escape on an old biplane as the island falls into the sea. After the credits, it is revealed that Dante and Trish are working together as partners, and have renamed Dante's business "Devil Never Cry".
Development
First hinted at in early December 1999,[16] Devil May Cry started out as the earliest incarnation of Resident Evil 4.[17] Initially developed for the PlayStation 2, the game was directed by Hideki Kamiya after producer Shinji Mikami requested him to create a new entry in the Resident Evil series.[18] Around the turn of the millennium,[3] regular series writer Noboru Sugimura[4] created a scenario for the title, based on Kamiya's idea to make a very cool and stylized action-adventure game.[19] The story was based on unraveling the mystery surrounding the body of protagonist Tony,[20] an invincible man with skills and an intellect exceeding that of normal people, his superhuman abilities explained with biotechnology.[3] As Kamiya felt the playable character did not look brave and heroic enough in battles from a fixed angle, he decided to drop the prerendered backgrounds from previous Resident Evil installments and instead opted for a dynamic camera system.[18] This new direction required the team to make a trip to Europe where they spent eleven days in the United Kingdom and Spain photographing things like Gothic statues, bricks, and stone pavements for use in textures.[21][22]
Though the developers tried to make the "coolness" theme fit into the world of Resident Evil, Mikami felt it strayed too far from the series' survival horror roots and gradually convinced all of the staff members to make the game independent from it.[23] Kamiya eventually rewrote the story to be set in a world full of demons, taking it from the Italian epic poem Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri;[24] he changed the hero's name to "Dante".[3] The title character from Buichi Terasawa's manga series Cobra served as the basis for Dante's personality.[25][26] Kamiya based his idea of Dante on what he perceived as stylish: wearing a long coat to make the character "showy" and a non-smoker, as Kamiya saw that as "cool".[25] The character wears red because, in Japan, it is a traditional color for a heroic figure.[26] Kamiya has also stated he perceives Dante as "a character that you would want to go out drinking with", someone who was not a show-off but would instead "pull some ridiculous, mischievous joke" to endear people to him. He added that this aspect was intended to make the character feel familiar to audiences.[27] The cast of characters remained largely identical to that in Sugimura's scenario,[28] although appearances of the hero's mother and father were written out of the story.[29][30] The game's new title was revealed as Devil May Cry in November 2000.[31]
The game was developed by Team Little Devils, a group of staff members within Capcom Production Studio 4.[32][33] Some of the major gameplay elements were partially inspired by a bug found in Onimusha: Warlords. During a test-play, Kamiya discovered that enemies could be kept in the air by slashing them repeatedly, which led to the inclusion of juggles by gunfire and sword strikes in Devil May Cry.[34] According to the director, Devil May Cry was designed from the ground up around Dante's acrobatics and combat abilities.[35] The decision was made late in the development process to change the game to a more mission-based advancement, instead of the more open-ended structure of the Resident Evil games.[36] Devil May Cry's difficulty was intentional, according to Kamiya, who called it his "challenge to those who played light, casual games".[37]
According to Eurogamer, an earlier Capcom arcade video game, Strider (1989), was a vital influence on Devil May Cry.[38] According to Retro Gamer, the over-the-top action of Devil May Cry draws from Strider.[39]
Reception
Devil May Cry received a "Gold" sales award from the
The game received critical acclaim, with reviews from video game news websites typically praising its gameplay innovations, action, visuals, camera control, and gothic ambience.[43][47][48][49][50][52][53] The game also received positive reviews from video game print publications for similar reasons.[40][57] Game Informer summarized their review by saying the game "makes Resident Evil look like a slow zombie".[46] It was nominated for GameSpot's annual "Best Action/Adventure Game" prize among console games, which went to Grand Theft Auto III.[58] Devil May Cry also frequents several Top Video Games of All Time lists. Gamefury, for instance, listed Devil May Cry at #31 in their Top 40 Console Games of All Time feature.[59] In 2010, IGN listed it at #42 in their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games".[60] Dante also received noteworthy praise to the point of becoming one of the most famous characters in gaming.[61][62][63]
The game was also subject to criticism, however. Next Generation objected to the difficulty level, wondering if the challenge was added to prolong the gameplay.[51] The Electric Playground pointed to the unusual control scheme and lack of configuration options.[52] GameSpy cited the camera's behavior, the learning curve for the controls, and graphical shortcomings such as flickering and jagginess.[49] GameSpot criticized the game's conclusion for its dramatic change in gameplay to a rail shooter-like style at the story's climax, as well as a leveling-off of the difficulty.[48] Lastly, Gamecritics felt that the story was overly short and the characters were underdeveloped.[53]
Legacy
Devil May Cry has spawned a sequel,
Devil May Cry has been cited as the beginning of a subgenre of
See also
- Bayonetta
- Dante's Inferno, another game based on Inferno by Dante Alighieri
- Devil May Cry
Notes
References
- ^ Capcom (December 7, 2017). "Devil May Cry HD Collection coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One on March 13, 2018". Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
- Capcom Co., Ltd. Archived from the originalon February 6, 2005.
- ^ a b c d Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "シナリオの話". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ a b Minoru Funatsu (11 April 2001). "カプコン、深作欣二監督を招き「クロックタワー3」を制作". Game Watch. Impress Watch Corporation. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ Mielke, James. "Postmortem on DMC3:SE". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- ^ Matt Keller (2006-06-09). "Matt's Somewhat Serious Bit". Palgn. Archived from the original on 2008-05-13. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b c Devil May Cry Instruction Booklet. Capcom. 2001.
- ^ Dante: Well the way I figure it, in this business a lot of your kind come along, and if I kill each one that comes, eventually I should hit the jackpot sooner or later. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Trish: Yes, his powers were sealed by Sparda, he's attempting to take control of the human world again. He has been preparing to open the gate on... Mallet Island. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Dante: This stinking hole was the last place that I thought I'd find anyone with some guts. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Trish: Uh ... Dante! Dante, why did you save my life? Dante: Because you look like my mother ... Now get out of my sight! The next time we meet it won't be like this. Trish: Dante! Dante: Don't come any closer, you Devil! You may look like my mother but you're nowhere close to her. You have no soul! You have the face but you'll never have her fire! (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Dante: How much longer are you going to keep zapping? Come out and show yourself, Mundus! (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Dante: This was my mother's. Now I'm giving it to you. My father's also here now. Rest ... in Peace. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Trish: Dante, use my power! Dante: Trish! Okay! (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Dante: Trish...devils never cry ... These tears, tears are a gift only humans have. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
- ^ Douglass C. Perry (3 December 1999). "Resident Evil Series to Haunt PlayStation 2". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on 13 December 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Kevin Gifford, Mark MacDonald (April 2005). "Afterthoughts: Resident Evil 4". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 190. Ziff Davis Media Inc. pp. 51–52.
- ^ a b Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "新しいバイオ". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ISBN 978-4-04-707071-4.
- ^ Hideki Kamiya [@PG_kamiya] (November 4, 2010). "But in the 1st plot the hero's name was Tony" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-07-13 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "背景". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom. Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- 1UP.com. UGO Entertainment, Inc. Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
- ^ Douglass C. Perry (17 May 2001). "E3 2001: Interview with Shinji Mikami". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Archived from the original on 29 December 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
- ^ Mielke, James. "Postmortem on DMC3:SE". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ a b "Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya Interview: Translated from Devil May Cry: Graphic Edition". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ^ a b "PS2 News: CVG goes straight to hell with Devil May Cry director". Computer and Video Games. Archived from the original on 13 January 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
- ^ Kamiya, Hideki (1 April 2009). "Greetings". PlatinumGames, Inc. Archived from the original on 21 July 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ Hideki Kamiya [@PG_kamiya] (November 4, 2010). "No, almost the same RT @ashukan_san: @PG_kamiya DMC had a few characters. I wonder were there more characters in your first plot Biohazard4?" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-07-13 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hideki Kamiya [@PG_kamiya] (November 4, 2010). "Hero's father in a 1st plot,I think. RT @ashukan_san @PG_kamiya who is this guy in yourBiohazard4" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-07-13 – via Twitter.
- ^ Hideki Kamiya [@PG_kamiya] (November 4, 2010). "She was a hero's mother only in the first plot. RT @ashukan_san @PG_kamiya If she's not Eva, who is she then? what's her name?" (Tweet). Retrieved 2015-07-13 – via Twitter.
- ^ "New From Capcom: Devil May Cry". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. 15 November 2000. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Capcom (October 17, 2011). Devil May Cry. Capcom Entertainment, Inc. Scene: staff credits.
- ^ "Production Studio 4" (in Japanese). Capcom. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005.
- ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, December 2001 issue, p. 56.
- ^ Mielke, James (2006-08-18). "The Kamiya Touch". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Ike Sato, Yukiyoshi (2001-05-24). "Capcom changes Devil May Cry gameplay". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "Greatest 200". 1UP. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Fahey, Rob (2007-01-01). "Strider 1/2 •". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
- ^ Jones, Darran (24 Apr 2010). "The Making of... Strider". Retro Gamer (76). pp. 48-53.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
- CBS Interactive. Archivedfrom the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- AllGame. Archived from the originalon November 15, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
- ^ a b John Bye (2001-08-12). "Devil May Cry Review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ プレイステーション2 - Devil May Cry. Weekly Famitsu. No. 915 Pt. 2. P. 63. 30 June 2006.
- ^ IGN staff (2001-08-09). "Devil May Cry Scores Big in Famitsu". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b Andrew Reiner (October 2001). "Devil May Cry Review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b Major Mike (2001-10-16). "Devil May Cry review". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2008-07-04. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b c d Ahmed, Shahed (2001-10-17). "Gamespot Devil May Cry review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2007-03-18. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b c Russell Garbutt (2001-10-15). "Devil May Cry Review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b Perry, Doug (2001-10-16). "Devil May Cry review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2007-03-23. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b Lundrigan, Jeff (November 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 11. Imagine Media. pp. 96–97.
- ^ a b c James Tapia. "Devil May Cry Review". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ a b c Mike Doolittle (2001-11-28). "Devil May Cry review". Gamecritics.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the originalon March 19, 2009.
- Gamasutra. Archived from the originalon September 18, 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Colin; Keiser, Joe (July 29, 2006). "The Top 100 Games of the 21st Century". Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007.
- ^ Game Rankings staff. "Devil May Cry Reviews". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 2009-03-07. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ GameSpot VG Staff (February 23, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst Video Games of 2001". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
- ^ "GAMEFURY's Top 40 Console Games of All Time (#40 – #31)". GAMEFURY. Archived from the original on 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
- ^ "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games". IGN. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2012.
- ^ Vore, Bryan (December 3, 2010). "Readers' Top 30 Characters Results Revealed". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- GamesRadar. 2009-12-29. Archivedfrom the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- 1UP.com. Archived from the originalon July 16, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ISBN 1598164503.
- ISBN 1598164511.
- ^ "Devil May Cry PSP - PlayStation Portable". IGN. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ Niizumi, Hirohiko (June 1, 2005). "Capcom hopes for handheld hits". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ Brian Linder (June 3, 2003). "Games-to-Film: Devil May Cry". IGN. Archived from the original on December 6, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
- ^ IGN Staff (April 15, 2009). "Devil May Cry Canned". IGN. Archived from the original on April 19, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ "Capcom Giving Ninja Theory Frame By Frame Guidance On DmC Devil May Cry". Siliconera. April 16, 2012. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ Ramsay, Randolph (April 8, 2009). "Q&A: Hideki Kamiya on Bayonetta". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 28, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ "Hideki Kamiya Wants To Do A Viewtiful Joe Or DMC Remake, And A Dante x Bayonetta Crossover". Siliconera. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
- ^ Yuri Araujo (10 June 2018). "E3 2018: Announcing Devil May Cry 5 for Xbox One, an Insane, Over- the-top, Stylish Action Game Like No Other". Xbox Wire. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ Romano, Sal (June 19, 2019). "Devil May Cry for Switch launches June 25 in the west, June 27 in Japan". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
- ^ Hovermale, Chris (2019-03-10). "How Devil May Cry's arcade inspirations shaped character action games". Destructoid. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-58450-429-0.
- ^ "God of War". IGN. Archived from the original on 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ "God of War Review". Playstation World. 2005-06-16. Archived from the original on 2008-06-29. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Varanini, Giancarlo (2003-08-04). "Chaos Legion review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- ^ Bedigian, Louis (2004-09-29). "Blood Will Tell review". Gamezone. Archived from the original on 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-07-20.