Devil May Cry: A Wide Assortment Of Sad Denizens Of Hell

[R.R. Bigman]

Does that work in every game with them in it?

I played through a third time on hard. If I hadn’t gotten almost every blue orb and ability the first time through it probably would have gone way different. As it was, I got through it without too much hassle, minus the Secret Missions.

Nightmare is a lot more of a problem on hard, but the Devil Trigger abilities still do absurd damage, especially Inferno. The last boss was much easier for me this time after I learned you could stand right in face and sword slash him with your DT power instead of only shooting him with rockets and DT beams.

DMC1 was fun times. It could certainly have used some quality of life updates, mainly adding a Mission Select and allowing you the choice to not use a yellow orb on death. I assume later games added those, right?

Should I play DMC2 or awkwardly double jump right into DMC3? I’ve never heard a single good thing about 2, yet I would feel strange ignoring it.

 

[Oathbreaker]

Does that work in every game with them in it?

YEP. IIRC you can also sword-clash the drill move it does to cause the same opening for a bullet, but that's much more difficult and higher risk.

 

[estragon]

Should I play DMC2 or awkwardly double jump right into DMC3? I’ve never heard a single good thing about 2, yet I would feel strange ignoring it.

After playing all these games for the first time recently, I think DMC2 is very ignorable if you'd rather not. They pretty much ignore it narratively, and it's also the least fun. On the other hand, it's short and easy, so if you want to try it, it's not a huge commitment.

 

[Peklo]

Very little from DMC2 was kept going forward, so there's no reason to build context through direct interactions with it if it doesn't seem worth it. The notables are more or less 1) Bloody Palace as the just-give-me-the-combat-mechanics post-credits bonus mode 2) some individual techniques that eventually fostered the Trickster and Gunslinger Styles conceptually, like wall-running and a dedicated dodge button, and the initial iterations of Twosome Time and Rain Storm for gunplay 3) an instant weapon-switch button (for guns only, because that's all DMC2 cares about), as opposed to the first game which allowed in-game switching between Alastor and Ifrit by pressing R3, but there was an uninterruptible animation associated with it so it couldn't be integrated into play as later games would have.

Really the best thing DMC2 gave to the series was Itsuno, whose frustration at having been handed such a mess of a project to salvage at the finish line fueled his motivation to show what he and his team could actually do when starting fresh on a project with clear creative direction from the start. His history and expertise in making fighting games is likely the prime reason why from 3 on, the crossover emphasis with fighting game mechanics and playfeel becomes so inextricable to the series's identity.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I played through the first five missions in DMC2. It‘s very late and I’m tired, so I’ll simply say I am amazed the series survived this one.

 

[estragon]

I played through the first five missions in DMC2. It‘s very late and I’m tired, so I’ll simply say I am amazed the series survived this one.

It's kind of impressive how bad they made it feel for Dante to swing a sword. I went in prepared to just play expressively even though I heard in advance that guns are almost always the best choice. But the problem isn't just that guns are OP, but that melee attacks feel really bad. It feels a little better as Lucia, but still not great. I've read that if you beat it on Hard mode apparently Trish is just DMC1 Dante, so they apparently included one character that feels good to play as, but only as a secret unlockable with no narrative, for some reason.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I audibly gasped the first time I hit an enemy with a sword and it gave almost no feedback. Between that and the large amount of enemies you end up shooting offscreen, I think the developers added enemy lifebars just so the player would know they’re doing damage.

I’m almost done as Dante, and am very excited to play DMC3 ASAP. I hope it’s not too hard!

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I finished DMC2. The Dante half of it, anyway. What a stain on this series. Geez, I’m bummed out.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

DMC3 does not mess around, huh? It’s fun to fight guys, but you have to do it really well from the start to stay alive on the base difficulty. I beat the first big boss, Cerberus, in two tries by the skin of my and Dante’s teeth. I got cool nunchucks, but now I am totally stumped at how to progress in Mission 4. I don’t know how to cross the big gap in the room that tells me to “steel myself”.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

It turned out I had missed a door. Mystery solved.

I “beat” the first Vergil fight, in which he said the line that has become a meme. I know I’m only playing on normal in the revised special edition, but it was the easiest boss fight I’ve had so far. I suppose all Nelo Angelo fights I had in DMC1 prepared me for this.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

The second half of DMC3 is grinding away at my enjoyment. I thought getting the gauntlets would be a good thing, considering how fun the Ifrit one were in DMC1. Dante was a lot more powerful in that game, and enemies were way less aggressive and tanky, which has led to me completely beef it any time I try to use these fists in a group.

The exacting difficulty, along with the PS2 era action game janky camera, is taking a toll on my fun times. I feel like the videogame itself doesn’t want me to play it. Those level rankings are mean!

I hope by virtue of it being a videogame made in 2019, that DMC5 will be easier for me to handle.