Devil May Cry (video game)

Devil May Cry
North American box art
Developer(s)	Team Little Devils
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Hideki Kamiya
Producer(s)	Hiroyuki Kobayashi (producer) Shinji Mikami (executive producer)
Writer(s)	Hideki Kamiya[1] Noboru Sugimura[2]
Composer(s)	Masami Ueda Masato Kohda Misao Senbongi
Series	Devil May Cry
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	JP August 23, 2001 NA October 17, 2001 EU December 7, 2001
Genre(s)	Action, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ACB: MA15+ CERO: C ELSPA: 15+ ESRB: M PEGI: 16+

Devil May Cry (デビル メイ クライ, Debiru Mei Kurai^?, frequently abbreviated as DMC) is an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and before Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 4. Set in modern times on the fictional Mallet Island, the story centers on the characters Dante and Trish and their quest to confront the demon lord Mundus. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscenes, which use the game's engine and several pre-rendered full motion videos. Devil May Cry received prominent coverage in the video game media, high overall scores from professional reviewers, and has sold more than two million copies.^[3]

Gameplay

The gameplay consists of levels called "missions", where players must fight numerous enemies, perform platforming tasks, and occasionally solve puzzles to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is given a letter grade of A, B, C, or D, with an additional top grade of S. Grades are based on the time taken to complete the mission, the amount of "red orbs" gathered (the in-game currency obtained from defeated enemies), how "stylish" their combat was, item usage, and damage taken.^[4]

"Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of 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 "Awesome"; and peaks at "Stylish". The gauge terms are similar to the grades given at the end of the missions. When the character receives damage, the style rating resets back to "Dull". Players can also maintain their style grade by taunting enemies at close range.^[4]

The player can temporarily transform the character into a more powerful demonic creature by using the "Devil Trigger" ability. Doing so adds powers based on the current weapon and changes the character's appearance. The transformations typically increase strength and defense, slowly restore health, and grant special attacks. It 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.^[4]

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 Resident Evil games, as well as optional platforming and exploration tasks to find hidden caches of "orbs". Side quests, called "Secret Missions" in the game, are located in hidden or out-of-the-way areas and are not required for completion, but provide permanent power-ups. They typically challenge the player to defeat a group of enemies in a specific manner or within a time limit. Rewards for all optional puzzles and challenges come in different types of "orbs" which give bonuses such as extra lives (yellow orbs), extending the length of the Devil Trigger ability (purple orbs), increasing the capacity of Dante's life bar (blue orbs), and allowing the player to purchase power-ups (red orbs).^{[citation needed]}

Plot

See also: Characters in Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry series fictional chronology
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Devil May Cry The Animated Series Devil May Cry 4 Devil May Cry 2

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 tells her that he hunts demons in pursuit of those who killed his mother and brother.^[5] She says the attack was a test, and that the demon emperor Mundus, whom Dante holds responsible for the deaths of his family, is planning a return.^[6] The scene jumps to their arrival at an immense castle, whereupon Trish abruptly leaps and vanishes over a high wall.

Dante explores the castle and encounters the game's stock enemies, demonic marionettes. He also finds a new sword called Alastor, and battles the first boss, a giant spider/scorpion demon named Phantom. Dante wins the battle, but in what becomes a recurring theme, the defeated boss monster reappears a short time later in a corridor, forcing the player to choose a narrow escape or to fight in the tight confines. After further exploration and combat, Dante battles a demon named Nelo Angelo who impresses Dante with his confidence.^[7] The demon wins, but suddenly flees upon seeing the half-amulet Dante wears. The demon attacks twice more in later missions, and is eventually revealed to be Dante's identical twin brother, Vergil. After Vergil's death, his amulet joins with his brother's half, and "Force Edge", the game's default sword which belonged to the twins' father, changes into its true form and becomes the Sparda sword.

Dante encounters Phantom

When Dante next meets Trish, she betrays him and reveals that she too is working for Mundus, but when her life is endangered, Dante chooses to save her. Claiming he only did so because of her resemblance to his mother, he warns her to stay away.^[8] Yet when he finally confronts Mundus, who is about to kill Trish, Dante again chooses to save her and is injured. Mundus tries to finish him off, but Trish takes the attack instead. This unleashes Dante's full power thus allowing him to take on the form of Sparda.^[9] Dante and Mundus then battle on another plane of existence.

Dante is victorious, and leaves the amulet and sword with Trish's immobile body before departing.^[10] Mundus returns and corners Dante, who is now back to his regular strength, before he can flee the island; Trish also returns and lends Dante her power. Dante defeats Mundus, who vows to return and rule the human world.^[11] 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".^[12] Dante and Trish escape on a plane as the island collapses. After the credits, it is revealed that Dante and Trish are working together as partners, and have renamed the shop "Devil Never Cry".

Development

First hinted at in early December 1999,^[13] Devil May Cry started out as the earliest incarnation of Resident Evil 4.^[14] 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.^[15] Around the turn of the millennium,^[1] regular series writer Noboru Sugimura^[2] created a scenario for the title, based on Kamiya's idea to make a very cool and stylized action game.^[16] The story was based on unraveling the mystery surrounding the body of protagonist Tony,^[17] an invincible man with skills and an intellect exceeding that of normal people, his superhuman abilities explained with biotechnology.^[1] 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.^[15] 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.^[18][19] 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.^[20] Kamiya eventually rewrote the story to be set in a world full of demons and changed the hero's name to "Dante".^[1] The cast of characters remained largely identical to that in Sugimura's scenario,^[21] although appearances of the hero's mother and father were written out of the story.^[22][23] The game's new title was revealed as Devil May Cry in November 2000.^[24]

The game was developed by Team Little Devils, a group of staff members within Capcom Production Studio 4.^[25][26] 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 lead to the inclusion of juggles by gunfire and sword strikes in Devil May Cry.^[27] According to the director, Devil May Cry was designed from the ground up around Dante's acrobatics and combat abilities.^[28] 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.^[29] Devil May Cry's difficulty was intentional, according to Kamiya, who called it his "challenge to those who played light, casual games."^[30]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	92.60% (based on 69 reviews)[31]
Metacritic	94% (based on 37 reviews)[32]
Review scores
Publication	Score
Eurogamer	9/10[33]
Famitsu	8/10, 8/10, 9/10, 9/10[34]
Game Informer	9.5/10[35]
GamePro	5/5[36]
GameSpot	9.1/10[37]
GameSpy	4.5/5[38]
IGN	9.6/10[39]
The Electric Playground	9/10[40]
GameCritics.com	9/10[41]

Reviews from video game news websites typically praised the Devil May Cry's gameplay innovations, action, visuals, camera control, and gothic ambience.^{[33][36][37][38][39][40][41]} The game also received positive reviews from video game print publications for similar reasons. Game Informer summarized their review by saying the game "makes Resident Evil look like a slow zombie".^[35] The average review score at GameRankings, based on input from 69 publications, was 92.60%^[31]

The game was also subject to criticism. Next Generation Magazine objected to the difficulty level, wondering if the challenge was added to prolong the gameplay.^[42] The Electric Playground pointed to the unusual control scheme and lack of configuration options.^[40] GameSpy cited the camera's behavior, the learning curve for the controls, and graphical shortcomings such as flickering and jagginess.^[38] 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.^[37] Lastly, Gamecritics felt that the story was overly short and the characters were underdeveloped. 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.^[43]

Legacy

Devil May Cry has spawned a sequel Devil May Cry 2 and a prequel Devil May Cry 3; both of which have sold more than one million copies. A fourth game, Devil May Cry 4, was released on February 5, 2008 in the United States for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Total sales for both versions as of February 10, 2009 is approximately 2.48 million copies. The game has likewise resulted in the release of two novels by Shinya Goikeda,^[44][45] and an anime series. On October 15, 2004, three years after the game's release, a soundtrack containing the game's music was released alongside the soundtrack to Devil May Cry 2. Plans for a PlayStation Portable installment,^[46] tentatively titled Devil May Cry Series, and a live action movie adaptation^[47] have been announced, although it was later confirmed in 2009 that the PSP adaptation of Devil May Cry was officially cancelled in a 1UP.com article.

Devil May Cry has been cited as the beginning of a sub-genre of action games called "Extreme Combat", which focus on powerful heroes fighting hordes of foes with a focus on stylish action.^[48] 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".^[37] The series has become the standard against which other 3D action games are measured, with comparisons in reviews of games including God of War,^[49][50] Chaos Legion,^[51] and Blood Will Tell.^[52]

See also

The other games of the Devil May Cry series

• Devil May Cry 2
• Devil May Cry 3
• Devil May Cry 4
• DmC

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "シナリオの話". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom Co., Ltd.. http://www.capcom.co.jp/devil/column/vol010.html. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
2. ^ ^{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. http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20010411/capcom.htm. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
3. ^ Matt Keller (2006-06-09). "Matt’s Somewhat Serious Bit". Palgn. http://palgn.com.au/article.php?id=4737. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Devil May Cry Instruction Booklet. Capcom. 2001. 
5. ^ 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
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Dante: This stinking hole was the last place that I thought I’d find anyone with some guts. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Dante: How much longer are you going to keep zapping? Come out and show yourself, Mundus! (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Trish: Dante, use my power! Dante: Trish! Okay! (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
12. ^ Dante: Trish...devils never cry ... These tears, tears are a gift only humans have. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
13. ^ Douglass C. Perry (3 December 1999). "Resident Evil Series to Haunt PlayStation 2". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc.. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/072/072895p1.html. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
14. ^ Kevin Gifford, Mark MacDonald (April 2005). "Afterthoughts: Resident Evil 4". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis Media Inc.) (190): 51–52. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "新しいバイオ". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom Co., Ltd.. http://www.capcom.co.jp/devil/column/vol002.html. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
16. ^ Devil May Cry Graphic Edition. Kadokawa Shoten. December 2001. ISBN 978-4-04-707071-4. 
17. ^ Hideki Kamiya (19 September 2010). "Twitter". Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5tbHdx65h. 
18. ^ Hideki Kamiya (July 2001). "背景". Devil May Cry Column. Capcom Co., Ltd.. http://www.capcom.co.jp/devil/column/vol009.html. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
19. ^ James Mielke (18 August 2006). "Retro/Active: Hideki Kamiya -- The Okami Family Tree". 1UP.com. UGO Entertainment, Inc.. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3152913. Retrieved 20 July 2008. 
20. ^ Douglass C. Perry (17 May 2001). "E3 2001: Interview with Shinji Mikami". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc.. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/094/094860p1.html. Retrieved 20 July 2008. 
21. ^ Hideki Kamiya (22 September 2010). "Twitter". Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5tbJ8ld9e. 
22. ^ Hideki Kamiya (19 September 2010). "Twitter". Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5tbJGKbw7. 
23. ^ Hideki Kamiya (20 September 2010). "Twitter". Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5tbJZ1OSS. 
24. ^ "New From Capcom: Devil May Cry". IGN.com. IGN Entertainment, Inc.. 15 November 2000. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/087/087835p1.html. Retrieved 17 July 2010. 
25. ^ Capcom Co., Ltd. Devil May Cry. (Capcom Entertainment, Inc.). Scene: staff credits. (October 17, 2011)
26. ^ "Production Studio 4" (in Japanese). Capcom Co., Ltd. Archived from the original on February 6, 2005. http://replay.web.archive.org/20050206023353/http://www.capcom.co.jp/studio4/index.html. 
27. ^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, December 2001 issue, pg. 56
28. ^ Mielke, James (2006-08-18). "The Kamiya Touch". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3152880. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
29. ^ Ike Sato, Yukiyoshi (2001-05-24). "Capcom changes Devil May Cry gameplay". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/devilmaycry/news.html?sid=2765132. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
30. ^ "Greatest 200". 1UP. http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3147448. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
31. ^ ^{a b} Game Rankings staff. "Devil May Cry Reviews". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/445101.asp. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
32. ^ Metacritic staff. "Devil May Cry Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/devilmaycry. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
33. ^ ^{a b} John Bye (2001-08-12). "Devil May Cry Review". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=2281. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
34. ^ IGN staff (2001-08-09). "Devil May Cry Scores Big in Famitsu". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/097/097284p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
35. ^ ^{a b} Andrew Reiner (2001–10). "Devil May Cry Review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 9, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080209182230/http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200110/R03.0805.1448.29918.htm?CS_pid=280142. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
36. ^ ^{a b} Major Mike (2001-10-16). "Devil May Cry review". GamePro. http://www.gamepro.com/sony/ps2/games/reviews/17343.shtml. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
37. ^ ^{a b c d} Ahmed, Shahed (2001-10-17). "Gamespot Devil May Cry review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/devilmaycry/review.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
38. ^ ^{a b c} Russell Garbutt (2001-10-15). "Devil May Cry Review". GameSpy. http://ps2.gamespy.com/playstation-2/devil-may-cry/557968p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
39. ^ ^{a b} Perry, Doug (2001-10-16). "Devil May Cry review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/165/165620p1.html. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
40. ^ ^{a b c} James Tapia. "Devil May Cry Review". The Electric Playground. http://www.elecplay.com/reviews_article.php?article=7180. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
41. ^ ^{a b} Mike Doolittle (2001-11-28). "Devil May Cry review". Gamecritics.com. http://www.gamecritics.com/review/devilmaycry/main.php. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
42. ^ Next Generation Magazine, November 2001 issue
43. ^ "GAMEFURY’s Top 40 Console Games of All Time (#40 – #31)". GAMEFURY. http://gamefury.net/headline/top-40-console-games-of-all-time-40-31. 
44. ^ Goikeda, Shinya. "Amazon.com listing for Devil May Cry Volume 1". http://www.amazon.com/Devil-May-Cry/dp/1598164503. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
45. ^ Goikeda, Shinya. "Amazon.com listing for Devil May Cry Volume 2". ASIN 1598164511. 
46. ^ http://psp.ign.com/objects/683/683105.html IGN.com: Devil May Cry Series. Retrieved on November 24, 2007.
47. ^ http://movies.ign.com/articles/422/422228p1.html IGN.com: Games-to-Film: Devil May Cry. Retrieved on November 24, 2007.
48. ^ Bateman, Chris; Richard Boon (2005-08-29). 21st Century Game Design. Charles River Media. pp. 246–247. ISBN 978-1-58450-429-0. 
49. ^ "God of War". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/objects/661/661321.html#previews. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
50. ^ "God of War Review". Playstation World. 2005-06-16. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=120641&site=psw&skip=yes. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
51. ^ Varanini, Giancarlo (2003-08-04). "Chaos Legion review". Gamespot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/chaoslegion/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 
52. ^ Bedigian, Louis (2004-09-29). "Blood Will Tell review". Gamezone. http://ps2.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r22035.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-20. 

External links

Video games portal

• Devil May Cry at Capcom Japan
• Devil May Cry, an external wiki
• Devil May Cry (video game) at MobyGames