Video Game Vintage Title: Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry is a series of five action-adventure hack and slash video games with a modern dark fantasy and gothic setting. The series was developed by Capcom and created by Hideki Kamiya. Originally intended to be a sequel in Capcom's Resident Evil series, Devil May Cry was such a radical departure from the series' style that it was developed into a new property entirely. The series centers on the main character Dante's goal of avenging his mother's murder by exterminating demons. The gameplay consists of heavy combat scenes in which the player must attempt to extend long chains of attacks while avoiding damage in order to exhibit stylized combat; this element along with time and the amount of items collected and used are taken under consideration when grading the player's performance.

The series has been a success with the first three games selling multiple million copies and being awarded the "Platinum Title" award by Capcom. The success of the video game series has led to the creation of comic books, novelizations, an anime series, guides, collectibles, publications, and a variety of action figures. A high-definition remaster of the three PlayStation 2 titles was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2012. The collection features trophies/achievements and high definition graphics.

During the 2010 edition of the Tokyo Game Show, Capcom revealed a new game, named DmC: Devil May Cry. The new game is developed by Ninja Theory and is a reboot of the series that explores similar themes and also satirizes certain social themes.

Devil May Cry Gameplay

The gameplay of the series focuses primarily on fast, highly stylized combat; gaining a high style ranking requires long attack and evasion strings while avoiding damage. The game also features some puzzle-solving and exploration elements retained from its survival horror origins, but these are downplayed; Devil May Cry games place the emphasis on action. In later games, the system was slightly modified so players had to actively vary the attacks used, so as to maintain the style rank. The style rank is tracked during combat with letter grades, from worst to best: D, C, B, A, S. They are also represented by words that start with the first letter of the class, "Dull" for D for example. The third game introduced "SS" and "SSS" ranks, which continues in the fourth and fifth game in the series. The player's performance on each level is also ranked using these letters.

The "Devil Trigger" ability enables the player's character to transform into a devil-like form with additional powers based on their current weapon, while the character's strength and speed increase and health is slowly restored. Notable weapons in the series include the swords Force Edge/Sparda in Devil May Cry, Rebellion in Devil May Cry 2, and Yamato in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Ammunition for the players guns (semi automatic pistols named Ebony & Ivory throughout most of the series) is infinite due to the 'style!' meter and ranking encouraging players to attack continuously while avoiding damage.

Dante is generally the lead character in the games, although most of the games do offer another character; Devil May Cry 2 featured Lucia, the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3 allowed the player to use Vergil, and Devil May Cry 4 featured a new protagonist named Nero. Devil May Cry 2 also allowed the player to play Trish once they had completed the game with either Dante or Lucia.

Devil May Cry 2 introduced the ability to perform combination attacks in mid-air and an evasion button. It also introduced a weapon-change button, so the player could cycle through ranged weapons without switching to the inventory screen.

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening added a selection of gameplay styles, allowing the player to focus on their favorite techniques or weapons, whether it be swords, guns, evasion or defense. Each of the four basic styles gain experience points, which unlock more techniques and abilities without costing 'red orbs', the common currency of the series. A second weapon-change button was added, allowing the player to cycle through the character's melee weaponry, specifically known as Devil Arms, as well.

Devil May Cry 4 brought one major innovation in the form of the main character Nero's "Devil Bringer" arm, which gives players the ability to pull distant enemies in to be attacked, or smash them into the ground. Nero is also armed with a sword that can be "reved" up via a throttle handle, allowing players to precharge the sword for extra damage on the next hit, or with precise timing it can be charged after each attack, for extra damage and style. As Dante, players can also seamlessly switch fighting styles in mid-combat.

DmC Devil May Cry introduced the concept of changing environments to the gameplay. Players would be able reach hidden areas through the use of the "Ophion" whip and grappling-hook, in addition to the weapon having similar functions to the "Devil Bringer" from Devil May Cry 4. Additionally the environment itself would often "attack" Dante by changing its architecture and infrastructure to a much more hostile form, often prompting fast-paced chase sequences and platforming scenarios.

Reception
The Devil May Cry series has sold over ten million copies world wide, with each release becoming a Platinum title. Devil May Cry 4 stands as the franchise' top-selling title with 2.6 millon units sold. On the other hand, the reboot was met with poor sales that forced Capcom to reduce their expectations.

The Devil May Cry series has received overall positive reviews. In 2010, IGN placed Devil May Cry at #42 and Devil May Cry 3 at #18 in their "Top 100 Playstation 2 Games". Devil May Cry has been cited as the beginning of a sub-genre of action games called "Extreme Combat", which concentrate on powerful heroes fighting hordes of foes with a focus on stylized action. The game has also been described as being the first game that "successfully captured the twitch-based, relentlessly free-flowing gameplay style of so many classic 2D action games". The series has become the standard against which other 3D hack and slash action games are measured, with comparisons in reviews of games including God of War, Chaos Legion, and Blood Will Tell.

Dante's confident and fearless attitude have gained him widespread popularity. He was ranked as the seventh of GameCrush's "Top 10: Most Badass Video Game Characters" list, and third among ScrewAttack's "Top ten coolest video game characters" list. The popularity of the Devil May Cry series led to a line of Devil May Cry action figures produced by Toycom. Japanese company Kaiyodo produced a similar line for Devil May Cry 2 and a Devil May Cry 3 Dante action figure.