[PS2] Devil May Cry 3

Devil May Cry 3
Developer: Capcom
Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: Action

The "stylish crazy action game" has finally been released. Most people were disappointed at Devil May Cry 2 which was released two years ago, due to the huge change of personality with Dante, and the overall atmoshpere. Devil May Cry 2 was good as an action game, but definitely not as a Devil May Cry series.

Devil May Cry 3 has brought the series back to glory. From the start, you will be drawn into the stylish crazy action which the game emphasises so much on. Many of the cutscenes reinforce on that, as well. During the cutscenes, Dante is certainly not afraid to show off in DMC3. The interaction between the bosses and Dante have also come back (think DMC1) (the one thing that was seriously lacking in DMC2). Before initiating the fight, Dante would tease and poke fun at the opponent, and he shows no fear at whatever stands in front of him.

Story
Time-wise, the story took place several years before Devil May cry 1. Dante is still in the process of setting up his shop, and he hasn't even picked a name for it yet.

(All this happened in the first 5 minutes in the gameplay, so I'm not really spoiling anything.)
One day, he gets an invitation from a stranger looking man. It is an invitation to a party that his brother, Vergil, has setup for him. The man disappeared after handing Dante the letter... and a horde of uninvited guests appear before Dante in his shop.

Having finished the business, Dante has planned to go to see his brother. He is expecting a "heart warming" family union since he has not met Vergil for an entire year. Equipped with his Ebony and Ivory, and with Rebellion on his back, Dante heads for the party.

In the first few missions, you will have the basic idea of what is going to happen in the game. Of course, there are surprises here and there, but the general direction is clear.

At the end, the game ties up the loose end in the first DMC about Vergil (Well, at least there is an clear implication). What happened to him, and why did he become Nelo Angelo, and why would this arrogant and powerful half-demon want to work under Mundus?

Gameplay
The gameplay is similar to that of Devil May Cry 1. The control is basically the same, except for the new Style-specfic skills which might need a bit of getting used to. Speaking of styles, there are a total of 6 styles in the game. 4 of the 6 styles will gain experience and level up (Starting at lvl 1, and max out at lvl 3) as you defeat demons. New skills will be available as the style gains level. You can only choose one style at a time, and it can be switched between mission, and at the status of time.

Trickster
Starting with Wall Hike and Dash, this makes Dante a very agile fighter. As the styles level up, (and when it's used right), Dante can easily defeat crowds of demons without taking a scratch.

Wall Hike allows Dante to walk on wall for a fixed period of time, and he can go any direction when he's on the wall. This allows him to reach places where he normally couldn't.

Swordmaster
With swordmaster, Dante can unlease powerful moves with his melee weapons. Each weapons have their own swordmaster moves, and the extra moves and combos from this style are a huge asset for Dante in close combat. For his starting weapon, Rebellion, Dante gains new moves (at level 1) Aerial Wave and Prop Shredder.

Gunslinger
With this style, Dante will pull off different tricks with his guns. Rapid Fire, Charged Shot, Twosome time, and Rainstorm, even the Ebony & Ivory can be a powerful killer in his hands. Again, the new skills vary depending on the firearms Dante uses.

RoyalGuard
This is possibly the hardest style to master... mainly because of the timing. This allows Dante to block, and at the same time charges the energy. Afterward, he can release it back to the enemies for massive damage.

If timed right, Dante can break the enemies guard by blocking. (Don't hold onto the block, instead, block at the second when it hits) By breaking their guards, he can easily release the attack back to them.

QuickSilver
Similar to the Bangle of Time in DMC1, this slows the time near Dante, and at the same time speeds him up. With this, Dante can easily slice the whole group of demons into pieces. There are only 1 level for this style.

I'm not telling you
This style is not mentioned in the Japanese DMC site, so I don't really want to spoil it. One thing is, this uses the Devil Gauge.

Weapons and Firearms
As for weapons and firearms, there are five of each. You can only equip two of each at one time, though. You can switch weapons by pressing R2, and firearms by L2. This eases the control, and if you're good, you can pull off a super stylish combo by using two different weapons. Remember to taunt them at the end if possible, since taunting adds a huge chunk to the combo meter.

What is the combo meter? In DMC3, you will know how far you are to the next combo level. When the meter is full, you will move up one level. For instance, you start with Dope, Crazy...working your way up to SWeet, Showtime, and... I can't remember that last one.

Anyway, it's D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. There are lampstands which require you to use a certain weapon and achieve a certain level of combo... and when you achieve it, you get a reward. (Blue orb fragment)

Bosses
Bosses get a seperate section, because there are so many of them. Actually, not really... there are only 11 bosses, and you fight most of them more than once. By the time you finish Dante Must Die mode (which I haven't yet, working on hard for the moment), you'll know how to counter every single boss, what is the best weapon of choice, what is the best skill to use, and when to use it.

As I've stated at the very beginning, Dante interacts with most of the bosses before the battle takes place. And it is not the ever-so-lame "Don't speak, just die." in DMC2. Many of the conversations are humourous, as Dante will fearlessly make fun of his enemies.

And of course there is one recurring boss. I'm not going to tell you who that is, but he makes an appearance in DMC1 as well, and he was a recurring boss back then. He is probably one of the hardest bosses in the game, just like the old days.

Secret
There are the usual Hard Mode and Dante Must Die Mode. Finishing Normal grants you new costumes for Dante, and that includes the DMC1 outfit. When you trigger Devil Mode in that outfit, you'll look like the good old Devil back in DMC1 instead of the new designs in DMC3.

I personally haven't confirmed the following, but there will be unlockable character as you finish DMD, as well as Super Dante. And there is no playable female character.


Sound
From the beginning you'll hear sound effect resembling the first DMC, which is a good thing. The sound overall is great, but one complain from me is, there is no themed music like DMC1... (Or maybe there is, but I can't tell the difference?) Back in DMC1, you know what enemies await you just by listening to the music. You know a Shadow is lurking somewhere; you know a Sin Scythe is nearby; you know the Frosts are making an appearance. That seems to be lacking in DMC3.

Not a big problem, though.


Overall
Overall? Buy the game as soon as it comes out. If you're not confident, you can also start with Easy. You can choose between Easy Automatic and Easy. Go with just Easy to prepare yourself for Normal. All the items and Red Orbs can carry over to Normal. In fact, you can switch between modes if you want.

During Mission Selection, you can pick Difficulty, and Mission. But of course, in order to play Mission 20 on Normal, you'll have to beat Mission 1-19 for normal first.

This game beats out all other actions games I've played recently. They include Nanobreaker, Project Altered Beast, Death by Degree, A.C.E, and Fu-un Bakumatsu-den. If you've played DMC1 or DMC2, you will love this one. If you love action games, definitely give this one a try.

Score: 10

Nice review. I wanna play this game so bad, my ps2 isnt working anymore and considering my financial situation at the moment I wont have enough cash to spare untill May to buy a ps2 + DMC 3.

That sounds awesome!

Even though I wasn't too keen on either of the first two games, this makes me wanna go out and buy it.

And if that fails...then I can just pester one of my DMC crazy friends to lend it to me...

One thing I forgot to mention.
Difficulty-wise, the normal on DMC3 would seem like Hard on DMC1, but now that I'm on hard, I don't find it to be that difficult. So, it is probably due to the long break between playing a DMC game, and also the fact that most of the missions are longer this time.

Most of the bosses are difficult at the first try, but with practise and patient, they can all be taken down easily.

Most of the demons are equipped with Scythes... and I was sort of bothered by that...

Wow, I had no idea DMC3 was out already. I guess it really has been that long since I took interest in new releases. Once I get over my current Halo 2 binge, which doesn't seem to be very soon, I will have to get that game! Good review.

Well, that was the Japanese version. (The title screen and option menu is in English, voice acting is in English, and you can choose between Japanese and English subtitles, as well as Japanese, English, and Korean in-game text.)

Personally I have no problem whatsoever playing a "Japanese" game like that. The NA version should be out in a few weeks I think. Seriously though, if you like either of the first two, you will like this one.

Good review. I'll be picking it up once it's out.

In England and Europe we don't get it 'till sometime around 25th March...

And according to quite a few sites, it should already be out in America (around 1st Feb...)...

You guys should be used to this by now. And occasionally you get stuff sooner than we do. I'm sure Ubisoft games see an European release before an American one.

Be thankful you're not Australian. Those guys get dicked by the videogame industry worse than anybody.

Occasionally. Very occasionally.

It's said that we should get KH2 before you lot......if we do...then I will eat my english passport...

That sounds pretty sweet, DMC2 sucked IMHO compared to DMC1, but if DMC3 is a lot more liked DMC1 than i'm sold. DMC2 went out of the way of being a DMC game and now that Capcom went back to the DMC1 style, im happy so ima pick me up a copy when it hits store shelves.

After seeing your intense backing up of Dante in Zelaron Melee, I decided I had to at least try this game. I bought DMC1 and 2, and only played 1 so far. I loved it, and had to decide whether to play DMC2 or GTAIII at the time. I heard only bad things about DMC2 (Mainly from Raziel), and I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe I won't either, unless you tell me there is some kind of story line I wouldn't quite get if I didn't.

I was one of the many who told Raziel not to play DMC2, though.
The storyline in DMC2 is set in who-know-how-many-year after the first one, so there is nothing to miss.

DMC2 is just the normal action game that you can get anywhere, but DMC is a real Devil May Cry. And DMC3 has brought that to another level.

I was one of the many who told Raziel not to play DMC2, though.

Everyone I've ever talked to about that game has hated it. I'm intelligent enough to know that when an educated crowd's unanimous response is "that game sucks!", I need to stay away from it.

DMC3, Best playstation game of the year so far? IMO yes, also one of the hardest games to come out in a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time, that and all the replay value with the styles, it will be a loooooooooooong time before you can see all that the game has to offer, but its worth it since its the most bad ass game/thing/anything ever to exsist!

I bet that recurring boss is that fucking gryphon faggot


I wanna rent this game, I loved the first DMC, played the 2nd one for 20mins and decided it was shit.

I've been playing around with the Royal Guard style, and seemingly it can parry/deflect almost every attack in the game, and that includes the traps (random spike-floor, spinning blade pillar etc) and Area of Effect Magic (Nevan's floor lightning!).