Review - Devil May Cry

 “Devil May Cry” is the first of a long series of action-adventure games. Released in 2001 and originally conceived as a Resident Evil game, it took concepts of Resident Evil and pushed them in a more action-oriented direction. Add in some interesting new characters, and you have the humble beginnings of a very successful franchise. Over two decades later, how does it hold up?

My first exposure to Devil May Cry was soon after it originally came out, at least before the sequel came out in 2003. I was far too young to be playing M-rated games, but that’s neither here nor there. Whoever decided it was a good idea that I have the game won out, and I obviously had to get my fill of it.

At the time, I was vehemently opposed to playing hard games or playing games on any difficulty harder than the absolute lowest option. Devil May Cry starts you out on normal mode by default. After you beat the first mission, you unlock easy mode. Beating the game on normal unlocks hard mode, and beating hard mode unlocks Dante Must Die mode. I was so terrified by the prospect of being challenged that I beat the first mission on normal mode and immediately restarted the game on easy mode. Ten year old me was kind of a weird kid.

I played through easy mode and mostly enjoyed the game. I don’t know if I ever played through normal mode with the original release, but I definitely didn’t try anything harder. The PS2 had a pretty huge library of games, and I owned quite a few. Devil May Cry was fun enough, but I had other things to play as well. When Devil May Cry 2 came out, I played through it. The third game released and I played part of it, but never finished. After that, the series fell off the radar for a few years.

When the remastered collection came out on PS3, I had to get it. Between upscaled graphics and trophy support, I would get the opportunity to experience an old favorite in a new light. I started with the original and played through pretty quickly on normal mode. After normal mode, I advanced similarly through hard mode. At some point during the hard mode run, I decided I would get the platinum trophy. Besides various specific tasks, the only really hard trophy would be completing the game on Dante Must Die. I cleaned up any remaining tasks and left nothing but the hardest difficulty to finish.

I started a new run on Dante Must Die and immediately reconsidered my stance on the platinum trophy. It was fun, but this mode was hard, really hard. With some hard work and determination, I got through boss after boss. The final Griffon fight was brutal, but I eventually pulled it off. I was pretty confident that I could finish until I reached the third fight with Nelo Angelo.

Nelo has a reputation for being absurdly difficult. His attacks are punishing, he doesn’t leave many openings, and a small mistake often stuns you for a sequence of large hits. I tried the fight over and over and over again. There were a few times I thought about giving up, but I was invested. After probably a week or more of doing nothing but the same fight on repeat, I finally managed to beat him.

Once the Nelo fight was behind me, I finished the rest of the game in probably a day or two. No other bosses are nearly as punishing, and that single fight is effectively the fulcrum of the game. Past that point, you can be more liberal with item usage, since there aren’t all that many fights remaining. Having completed the hardest difficulty, I scored the platinum trophy on PS3 on August 24, 2013.

Having finished the game completely, I put it down for another few years. In July 2024, I noticed that the collection was on sale on PS4 for under $10. I used some wallet funds I had left to pick it up. I was looking for a break from Hogwarts Legacy and that seemed like something quick to distract me.

I started once again on Mallet Island. This time, I had no intention of getting the platinum trophy. I just wanted to experience the story and gameplay again. The plan would be to play through once, on normal mode, without going out of my way for every last thing. I would grab the secrets that I could remember, but I didn’t want to look up a guide or anything. It was almost a test to see how much I could recall from previous runs.

The game went pretty quickly. It wasn’t exactly muscle memory, but I was certainly familiar. Where I normally used the lightning sword Alastor, I decided to try out the fire gauntlets Ifrit for once. It was an interesting change of pace and a novel way to experience the game for me. As I played through the final few bosses, notably the third Nelo fight, I reminisced on those last few levels on Dante Must Die before I got the platinum trophy. It was refreshing to cut through them with such ease.

After I reached the end and saw my results screen, I had a sort of nostalgic spring bubble up in me. This was the same game that I had finished multiple times across the previous 23 years. Amazingly, it still hasn’t gotten old. It’s certainly dated, I won’t deny that, but at the core it is still a tremendously fun game and proves to be worth revisiting again and again.

Story - 6/10

The creator started originally as a Resident Evil game, but with more action. During development, the game had deviated so far from Resident Evil that it became an entirely new intellectual property. This sort of identity crisis is pretty evident, and Devil May Cry doesn’t do much to tell an interesting or compelling story. But honestly, that’s fine; I don’t think it ever intended to.

It’s very clear from the beginning that story isn’t the main focus of Devil May Cry. Demon hunter edgelord Dante accepts a job from hot chick in tight leather Trish. We ain’t here for a feel-good tale or allegorical account like the namesake Dante’s Divine Comedy. We’re here to kill some demons and look flashy.

As you progress through the game, there is a little more depth. It turns out that demon slaying is a bit of a family business. There aren’t exactly twists, but a few reveals are neat if you’re paying attention. If you aren’t paying attention, or if you’re a kid playing a game far younger than you should be, those finer story points might miss you entirely. No harm, no foul; we’re still here to kill some demons.

If anything, the story is actually entertaining in how cheesy it is. The voice acting is absolutely terrible, and the lines are just so cliche. In much the same way that the Titus laugh from Final Fantasy X lives on in infamy, Dante’s voice cracks in the funniest way at the end of “I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light.” It’s supposed to be dramatic and emotional, but I chuckle every single time.

All in all, you can blow through the story with no help or extras in maybe five hours or so. It isn’t a long game, but it doesn’t have to be. Again, we’re not here for an elaborate exegesis or some commentary on life. We’re here to, say it with me, kill some demons. Kill them for the first time. Play it again to kill them faster. Play it on a harder difficulty to struggle killing them. Try up different weapon combinations to kill them in a different style.

General Gameplay - 8/10

One thing that Devil May Cry does better than Resident Evil in focusing on action is streamlining the gameplay. There are puzzles, sort of. But typically these puzzles just involve taking an item from one place to another. No codes, no weird sequences you have to remember, you’re just on the way to kill the next thing that gets in your way. This keeps the pace pretty consistent without bombarding you with fight after fight after fight.

There are hidden secret levels that give you an optional challenge for a blue orb fragment (think heart piece from Zelda). Beyond that, there aren’t any collectibles or anything, and there are only 10 of those secret levels in the whole game. Again, they could add more and squeeze a little more content in, but I think that would do more harm than good. The brevity really does work well for Devil May Cry.

Combat - 7/10

Every series has to start somewhere, and this is where Devil May Cry starts. Just like any other series, there are elements that get drastically improved with later entries. Combat is a big one. There isn’t a lot of opportunity for combos, and the unlockable abilities are limited in their utility. It’s really cool, just stilted sometimes. And a lot of fights boil down to spamming the attack button and dodging at the appropriate times.

Later Devil May Cry games improved the number of weapons available and different ways to engage with enemies. They certainly raise the bar, but they wouldn’t exist without the original. I think it’s important to remember that if you go back and play the first Devil May Cry again. It’s a little rough around the edges and not as polished as subsequent games, but it’s also the first one ever and it came out in 2001. I’m just glad they took the chance on a new IP and made something good enough to warrant creating sequels.

Difficulty - 6/10

Default normal difficulty is very moderate. I wouldn’t call this an easy game, but even a novice can come in and beat it on normal without getting hung up on many spots. The third Nelo fight really is the hardest point, but you’ll know well before then if it’s too hard for you. If you’re struggling at the beginning, unlocking easy mode by finishing the first level is a good gate to make people think twice before going straight to easy mode. You certainly can start over on easy, but you do have to replay the first level. Maybe that’s worth it, but maybe it isn’t.

Dante Must Die mode, though? It’s probably one of the hardest gaming feats I have ever accomplished. I’m not saying it’s the hardest thing in gaming. And I would admit I’m not amazing at video games, so maybe someone better than me wouldn’t struggle very much. But I’ve played a whole lot of games in my time and this one still probably the hardest I’ve ever done. It was hard enough that I don’t ever want to do it again, and that rarely happens.

Graphics - 7/10

It’s hard to judge a 2001 release without comparing it to the more than two decades that came after. This was a Playstation 2 release, so there are lots of polygons and the resolution isn’t great. Cinematics and close up views do show a lot of those imperfections. Standard playing views, though, do a really good job of running smoothly while they look pretty darn good.

The castle textures are detailed enough to look good during combat. Enemy models are detailed enough to look interesting, but certain angles do showcase the limitations. If you aren’t immediately turned off by the aged visuals, the theming is genuinely good. Just be careful going back many years in the past with higher expectations than what an older game can live up to.

Music - 9/10

There isn’t a lot of variety in the music, but the tracks you have are bangers. Combat music is the same combat music everywhere except for boss battles. That’s fine, it still gets you pumped. The boss themes are all good, but that first Nelo fight theme “Ultra Violet” is just incredible. Nothing else in the game holds up to that same measure, but it’s easily in my top five tracks from any video game soundtrack ever.

My Take

The Good

Gameplay is really engaging and the game is short enough that you can enjoy it without getting bored before the end.

The Bad

The combat is fun, but it only has so much variety and it can get old pretty quickly.

The Ugly

The story and voice acting are super cheesy and kinda terrible, but it isn’t that bad if you approach it from a comedic perspective.

Overall - 8/10

For a first game in a series, and one to be as old as it is, Devil May Cry is really fun and stands out as probably one of the best Playstation 2 titles. You get to kill demons in some really fun and stylish ways. The fiftieth time you pull off a stinger with Alastor isn’t near as fun as the first, but you’re still ramming a huge lightning sword straight into a bad guy. If that sounds fun, this game is absolutely for you.