Devil May Cry

Common Gameplay Elements

Gameplay focuses primarily on fast and 'stylish' combat; gaining a high style ranking requires long attack and evasion strings with little to no repetition of techniques, while avoiding damage. 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. Each game section, or "Mission", is also ranked using these letters.

The game also features some puzzle-solving and exploration elements retained from its survival horror beginnings, but these are downplayed; Devil May Cry games put emphasis on action.

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.

Dante is generally the lead character in the games, though Devil May Cry 2 featured two other co-protagonists who could be selected instead of him (Lucia or Trish), the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening allowed the player to use Vergil, and Devil May Cry 4 will feature a new protagonist named Nero.

Series Innovations

Each game in the series has added new elements to the gameplay.

Devil May Cry introduced the 'style' meter and ranking, encouraging players to attack and evade continuously while avoiding damage.

Devil May Cry 2 introduced the ability to perform combination attacks in mid-air and the concept of 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 techiniques 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).

Devil May Cry 4 is bringing at least one known innovation in the form of lead-character Nero's "Devil Bringer" arm, which will give players the ability to pull distant enemies in to be attacked, push them away, or smash them into the ground.

Series Origins

In 1998, after the completion of Resident Evil 2, preliminary work on a PlayStation 2 installment of the Resident Evil series began under the direction of Hideki Kamiya, under the name "Team Little Devil". Capcom continued producing and publishing other titles in the series, both internally (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was originally intended to be a side-story, but was marketed as a true sequel) and externally (Resident Evil Code: Veronica was developed by Nextech Corporation under Capcom Studio 4's supervision). Early R&D work included a trip to Spain to examine various castles as a basis for the game's environments. However, in prototype status, it proved to be a radical departure from the established Resident Evil formula and the survival horror genre in general. Rather than abandon the project entirely, the premise was changed and it eventually became Devil May Cry.

Although the series is substantially different from its original inspiration, its lineage is still apparent, from the recurring boss characters and tendency towards grotesque adversaries, the need to solve elaborate puzzles to proceed, to the "This Game Contains Scenes Of Violence And Gore" warning at the opening sequence and "You Are Dead" game over screens, the violent finishing moves some monsters can perform are also reminiscent of its lineage.

Allusions to "The Divine Comedy"

The series alludes to The Divine Comedy in the structure of many of the series' locations which typically resemble inferno, purgatorio, and paradiso, as well as in some of the character names. Dante is the main protagonist of the games, whilst the author Dante is the lead character in his own book. In the game, Vergil is the name of Dante's rival twin brother. Cerberus is another example, and appears as a gatekeeper boss in the third game's third mission, whereas Dante meets Cerberus in the third circle in Canto VI of Inferno.

However this is mainly an aesthetic similarity, and the series borrows from a very wide range of sources for inspiration.

Other Media

Two "Devil May Cry" novels, both written by Shin-Ya Goikeda, have been published, first in Japan in 2002 and later translated and released in the U.S. in 2006. The first, entitled "Devil May Cry" on its cover and "Devil May Cry Volume 1" inside, was published in Japan in conjunction with the release of the first game, and depicts Dante in an adventure set before the events of the first game. The second novel (entitled "Devil May Cry 2" in the U.S.) was published in Japan to coincide with the release of the second game, and takes place after the events of the first game. Publisher TokyoPop released the books in the U.S. in June and November of 2006, respectively.

File:DMC3 manga 1.jpg

Two volumes of a planned 3-part "Devil May Cry 3" manga series have been published in Japan and the U.S. Taking place about a year before the events of Devil May Cry 3, the manga tells the story of how the characters came to where they were at the start of the game. Whether the events of the manga are considered canon by the game developers is unknown.

An anime series entitled "Devil May Cry" starring Dante is scheduled to debut on the WOWOW TV network in Japan in spring of 2007. The series is scheduled for 12 episodes. The show is being produced by the anime studio Madhouse and is being directed by Shin Itagaki. Bingo Morihashi, one of the writers for the third and fourth games, is on the writing staff. Early artwork features Dante in his garb from the first game, but wielding the Rebellion sword (which wasn't seen in that game, and first appeared in the second).

Devil May Cry movie is devoplment and should be comeing out in 2008 [1] .