By NICK McCOY
Tiger Media Network
Having just recently finished “Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening,” I cannot get enough of Capcom’s “Devil May Cry” series. From its stylish, difficult and insanely satisfying gameplay, crazy stories, phenomenal characters and goofy charm, it has quickly turned into one of my favorite series. The characters of Dante and Vergil are some of the all-time greats, if you ask me.
As such, it was interesting and sad to discover how troubled some of the games in the series were. It’s no secret that “Devil May Cry 2” turned out to be an absolute disaster, in no small part due to a very troubled production that saw Capcom make some questionable business decisions. Although it was to a lesser extent, a similarly troubled production plagued the series’ fourth entry, “Devil May Cry 4.”
“Devil May Cry 4” is an odd entry in the series. Once again directed by Capcom’s Hideaki Itsuno, the production of the game was marred by frustration and a lack of passion from developers, who felt their tenure with series protagonist Dante had gotten stale. As such, the decision was made to create a new protagonist. Upon release, the game was praised for continuing the series tradition of difficult and stylish combat and entertaining story and characters, and still holds a special place with many “DMC” fans. However, it also had a myriad of problems that kept it from reaching the heights of “Devil May Cry 3”, as well as “Devil May Cry 5,” released in 2019.
As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in “Devil May Cry 4.” Its hack-and-slash combat was as fun as ever, its characters were beyond entertaining, and its story, while not as strong as “DMC 3’s” story, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. The new protagonist, Nero, also proved to be a worthwhile new addition to the series. At the same time, “Devil May Cry 4” is far from a perfect game, and its flaws become even more apparent as you progress.
- Released in 2008 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCs.
- The first entry in the series to be released cross-platform.
- “Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition” featuring some re-balancing and additional content, was released in 2015.
- Officially followed by “Devil May Cry 5” in 2019.
A first for the series, “Devil May Cry 4” does not initially have players controlling long-time protagonist Dante; instead, players take control of a brand new character, Nero. A human-demon hybrid possessing several abilities much like Dante, Nero is a member of the religious group the Order of the Sword, who worships Dante’s father, the demon Sparda, who protected humanity from demonic forces centuries ago. During a congregation, Dante assassinates Sanctus, the Order’s leader, and Nero is tasked with hunting him down. However, as he does so, he discovers the dark truth surrounding the order and must work alongside Dante to stop them from activating a powerful being known as the Savior. Players ultimately take control of both Nero and Dante as they battle various demons and members of the Order.
I don’t think the story in “Devil May Cry 4” is as good as the one in “DMC 3,” but I still think it holds up. It keeps the game’s tradition of focusing on stylish action set pieces and goofy character moments, and as such, the cutscenes here are great across the board. Nero is a great addition to the series, having Dante’s tendency for sarcastic quips while also maintaining his own distinctive personality. Nero is definitely a more serious character than Dante, being a quiet loner who can’t always keep his emotions in check. However, he’s still thoroughly enjoyable to watch, and only gets better in “Devil May Cry 5”. And then, there’s Dante, who has some of his greatest moments in this game. After following the more serious and angry Nero, seeing Dante come in and just clown on literally everyone is beyond amazing. “Devil May Cry 4” also has some of the funniest moments of the entire series. So, even if its narrative is a bit weaker, the characters and tone presented here are absolutely gold.
Gameplay-wise, “Devil May Cry 4” expands upon what was present in “Devil May Cry 3;” Players are ranked on their combat performance through a letter grading system, going from D to SSS, encouraging players to perform as stylish combos as possible. There is also light exploration, with red orbs being collected, allowing players to buy various items, while a new currency, proud souls, allows players to buy new skills for both Nero and Dante. There are also secret missions scattered throughout each level, which, when completed, give players blue orb fragments which will increase their maximum health. For the most part, the combat has stayed pretty much the same, but the biggest difference comes with the individual styles of Nero and Dante.
Nero has various aspects that make him distinct from Dante; he only has one sword and one gun, the Red Queen and the Blue Rose, throughout the entire game, and only has a select few different combos to choose from. This choice was made as a way for newer players to become better acquainted with “DMC”’s combat system, while also still providing longtime fans with a fun and challenging experience. While I would be lying if I said Nero’s gameplay didn’t get stale after a while, he’s still a very fun character to play. This is in large part due to his standout feature: the devil bringer, Nero’s demonic right arm, which allows him to snatch enemies towards him, send him flying to enemies, or grab them to end combos. This one mechanic adds so much to Nero’s gameplay, is endlessly fun to use, and more than makes up for his limited toolset. Nero also has two other features that make him stand out:
- Exceed: Nero’s sword, the Red Queen, can be revved up in order to deal more damage and change the properties of some of his attacks. Players can rev it up manually in between combat sections, although it takes a long time. Alternatively, by hitting the Exceed button right after an attack, Nero instantly gets the maximum Exceed gauge. The timing is incredibly strict on this and takes a lot of practice, but is more than worth it if you have the patience.
- Charge shot: The Blue Rose, Nero’s gun, can be charged up to deal additional damage by holding down the fire button. You can also charge up the gun in the middle of combos, which is why it’s a good idea to change the fire button to one of the triggers. Level 3 charge shot is a delayed explosion which does ridiculous amounts of damage to enemies and bosses.
As I mentioned before, Dante also becomes playable during the latter half of the story. For those who may have gotten bored with Nero’s playstyle, Dante has you covered. Seriously, the number of moves and options Dante has at his disposal is staggering, and may even be overwhelming for some. Dante still has the basic moves he did in “DMC 3,” using his sword Rebellion and his dual pistols, Ebony and Ivory, along with other weapons he picks up during missions. What makes Dante so versatile in “DMC 4” is how his styles work.
Unlike in “Dante’s Awakening,” where his four styles of Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royal Guard could only be used one at a time, players can now switch Dante’s styles on the fly. This adds so much to his combo potential; it’s amazing. Players can avoid enemy attacks using Trickster, then switch to Swordmaster and do some truly ridiculous combos. It’s genuinely phenomenal how much fun Dante is to play, even if it may seem intimidating.
Keep in mind, this is just for Nero and Dante: the Special Edition of “Devil May Cry 4” includes the ability to play as Dante’s brother Vergil, and his fellow demon hunters Trish and Lady. This is a big reason why I recommend the Special Edition because it adds so much more. Just know that the other characters’ playstyles are all unique in their own way and add yet another layer to the whole experience.
Now, while I do have a lot of positive things to say about “Devil May Cry 4”, it has one glaring flaw which I have to address: the game isn’t finished. Not in the sense that it’s full of game-breaking bugs or has numerous technical issues, but it just isn’t a full game. Here’s how that is. When you begin playing as Dante in Mission 12, he doesn’t get his own series of levels. Instead, you are forced to backtrack through Nero’s levels you had just played through. This includes the same exact areas, enemies, and even the exact same boss fights. While it is interesting fighting these bosses as Dante due to his different playstyles, it’s abundantly clear how limited the levels are in this game. It gets even worse when you choose the other characters, Vergil especially. While you switch between Nero and Dante and Lady and Trish, when you play as Vergil, you go through the same levels and bosses TWICE with no change in character. If there was just a bit more time put into this game, and Dante at least got his own stages, I would easily put this game next to “DMC 3”. But unfortunately, that’s not the game we got.
Other issues:
- Probably has the worst selection of enemies in the entire series
- The majority of the enemies are only tailored to Nero’s playstyle, so fighting them as Dante is so much harder than it needs to be.
- A lot of the bosses in “DMC 4” pale in comparison to “DMC 3.”
- Platforming is, once again, pretty janky.
Despite how flawed “Devil May Cry 4” is, I had a lot of fun with it. I still can’t put it up there with “DMC 3” and “DMC 5,” but it is still a phenomenal action game with really fun combat, characters with distinctive and interesting playstyles, and some truly amazing character moments and cutscenes. Even though I still wish this game was given more time in the oven, “Devil May Cry 4” still provides a great experience that will please any “Devil May Cry” fan, and just fans of hack and slash games in general.
Nick McCoy is a senior at Fort Hays State University, studying digital media and journalism. An avid gamer and music listener, he reviews video games and songs and hosts the radio show “The Understanding of Nick” for KFHS.
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