Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Encyclopedia
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, released in Japan
as simply , is an action game
that was developed
and published
by Capcom
, released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2
(also ported to the PC
in 2006). The game is a prequel
to the original Devil May Cry, and is the first game in the series
storyline's chronological order.
Set in modern times in an enchanted tower named Temen-ni-gru, the story centers on the dysfunctional
relationship between Dante and his brother Vergil. The events of the game take place just as Dante has opened up the Devil May Cry agency, and before Dante's demon
ic heritage has reached its full potential. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscene
s using the game's engine
with several pre-rendered
full motion video
s.
Upon release, Devil May Cry 3 was widely criticized for its high level of difficulty, but was praised for improvements over its predecessor, and a return to the challenging gameplay of Devil May Cry. A manga
prequel to the game was first published in Japan
in 2005.
called "missions", in which 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 graded from D at the bottom, up through C, B, A, with top ranks of S and SS, which have the strictest requirements. 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), "stylish" combat, item usage, and damage taken.
"Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of varied attacks while avoiding damage, and is tracked by an on-screen gauge. The longer the player attacks without repeating techniques and evades damage, the higher the gauge rises. The gauge starts with no grade, becomes "Dope" after a minimum number of attacks, then proceeds with "Crazy", "Blast", "Alright", "Sweet", "SShowtime", and peaks at "SSStylish"; if Dante receives damage, the style rating drops a few levels; if the gauge is on "Crazy" or below, it will reset. The game's battle system allows the player to chain attacks together, with each weapon having a number of unique attacks. Although the game mainly focuses on an aggressive approach to battle, the player must employ some strategy as the enemies have a wide variety of artificial intelligence
tactics, and will respond to a number of events.
The Devil Trigger ability enables the player's character to change into a demonic form. This alters the character's appearance, increases attack and defense, slowly restores health, and enables special attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is energy in the Devil Trigger gauge, which is refilled by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state, and decreases when using the Devil Trigger transformation or other abilities which draw on Devil Trigger power (such as the Quicksilver and Doppelganger styles discussed below). Devil Trigger mode is not available to Dante until one third of the way through the game, while Vergil (who is playable in the Special Edition) has the ability at the outset.
The major difference from previous Devil May Cry titles is the combat system, which allows the player to choose one of Dante's six different combat styles with different special techniques related to the style's focus. Style selection is available at the start of each level, as well as during gameplay at checkpoints. The styles available are: Trickster, for dodging and agility; Swordmaster, with extra abilities for swords and other melee weapons; Gunslinger, which has more techniques for firearms; Royal Guard, which allows the player to repel attacks with a properly-timed button press, and thereby charge energy for retaliation; Quicksilver, which slows down enemies while the character attacks at normal speed; and Doppelgänger
, which creates a shadow double that fights alongside Dante. A second player can also control the shadow double by pressing "Start" on a second controller. A two-player mode, similar to Doppelgänger style, is accessible while fighting against Arkham. In the special edition
of Devil May Cry 3, Vergil has one style called Dark Slayer with techniques similar to Trickster.
Devil May Cry 3 opens in Dante's as-of-yet unnamed shop as a mysterious man named Arkham appears to offer an invitation from Dante's brother Vergil, in the form of a brutal demon attack. After Dante defeats the enemies inside and outside his shop, an immense tower erupts from the ground a short distance away. Sensing Vergil atop the structure, Dante takes the situation as a challenge.
At the tower's entrance Dante encounters Cerberus
, defeats him and claims the monster's soul, which transforms into a new weapon. In what becomes a recurring game mechanic, the souls of some defeated boss
monsters are transformed into new weapons for Dante's arsenal. Dante is then attacked by a woman on a motorcycle, whose name later becomes Lady. It is revealed in subsequent cutscenes that Arkham is working for Vergil and they plan to take Dante's half of the amulet their mother gave them, and use its power to reactivate the tower's ability to connect the human and demon worlds. It is also revealed that Arkham is Lady's father, that he murdered her mother, and that she is pursuing him to seek revenge and to uphold her family's honor.
After numerous battles, an encounter with a being calling itself Jester, and another run-in with Lady, Dante attains the tower's summit and battles Vergil. Vergil soundly defeats Dante, steals his amulet, and departs. Dante's dormant devil powers emerge as a result of this setback, and he takes off in pursuit. He eventually catches up in the control room located in the tower's basement, where Vergil is having no luck reactivating the tower. The brothers battle again and seem evenly matched, until they are interrupted first by Lady and then Jester. Jester reveals that he is in fact Arkham, and has been manipulating them all to reactivate the tower. Arkham's plan is to cross over to the demon world and steal the Force Edge, the dormant form of Sparda's original sword which contains the bulk of Sparda's old power, and use it to rule over a demon-infested Earth. The tower then transforms as the spell is broken, carrying Arkham upwards to the summit, while Vergil vanishes in the confusion.
Dante battles his way back up the tower, and eventually fights Lady for the right to pursue Arkham. Dante wins, and Lady lends him her most powerful weapon. Reaching the summit once again, Dante crosses over to the demon world and catches up with Arkham, who has assumed Sparda's demonic form. Overwhelmed by the power, Arkham transforms again into a blob-like creature and battles Dante. Halfway through the fight, as Arkham is gloating that Dante has no chance against his father's power, Vergil reappears and the brothers work together to bring him down. Arkham is thrown out of the demon world in a weakened state and lands atop the tower where Lady kills him. In the demon world, Dante and Vergil battle over ownership of the Force Edge and the amulet halves. Dante is victorious. Vergil decides to stay behind as the portal closes, and vanishes into the darkness with his half of the amulet.
Dante meets Lady outside the tower where she coins the phrase "devil may cry" while trying to comfort him over the loss of his brother. They form a friendship and the beginnings of a partnership in demon-slaying, and he names his shop "Devil May Cry". A scene after the credits reveals Vergil in the demon world, weakened yet determined, as he charges into battle against his father's old foe, Mundus.
According to a pre-release interview with the game's producer
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the thrust of the game's design was the creation of a new battle system allowing the player to control weapons in new and "stylish" ways. This went along with the design of a new type of in-game camera designed to keep the character in focus to avoid disorienting the player in crowded battle scenes. According to Tanaka, the difficulty of Devil May Cry 2 was toned down to get wider acceptance in the Japanese market, but this move made the game lose support in other markets. To deal with this situation the Japanese release of Devil May Cry 3 had a lower difficulty than the North America
n and Europe
an releases. Dante’s attitude was emphasized to reflect a younger and more arrogant character than in previous installments. Capcom also produced a second version called the "Special Edition", which was released on January 24, 2006 in North America. A personal computer
version of Devil May Cry 3, with slight graphical changes, was developed by SourceNext and published by Ubisoft
on June 28, 2006 in Europe and on October 16, 2006 in North America.
Capcom promoted Devil May Cry 3' s release with a multi-million dollar television
campaign, along with prominent ads in video game magazines. The marketing campaign focused on the game's plot and its multiple fighting styles.
The Devil Trigger forms for Dante and Vergil were designed by Kazuma Kaneko, who previously worked on Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Persona
.
and 84.2% at GameRankings. It was also included in Game Informer's
"Top 50 Games of 2005" list and later received a "Game of the Month" award when the Special Edition was released.
Reviews typically praised the game for avoiding the mistakes of the previous title, as well as for the storyline, options for customization, "over-the-top" gameplay and new combat engine. The style-based combat engine was thought to produce fighting sequences that made those in other games, such as Ninja Gaiden
and Prince of Persia
, appear unimpressive. Other aspects, such as the camera and controls, were also reviewed positively.
However, the first North American and European release was criticized for its difficulty even in reviews that gave it a high score. Reviewers took issue with Capcom's decision to turn the Japanese version's "Hard" mode into the North American and European "Normal" mode.
The Special Edition release (see following section) was ranked 9th in GameSpy's Game of the Year selection for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and was praised for re balancing the difficulty. Other aspects of the game, such as the inclusion of a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" and the addition of Vergil as a playable character, received positive reviews.
The PC version was widely criticized for being inferior to the PlayStation 2 version. Issues included the game engine
, which was considered rough and under worked, the controls, and the inability to save the game
anywhere on a given level and restart from that point in subsequent "loadings", a convenience afforded by most PC games. IGN
's Jeremy Dunham gave the PC version a score of 5.8 (compared to the PS2 version's 9.6), citing the PC version's "awful performance" and "craptacular controls" as major problems.
written by Suguro Chayamachi and published by Tokyopop
in North America, as well as a Dante action figure
made by Revoltech. A source book entitled "Devil May Cry 3 Material Archive - Note of Naught" was released in 2006, containing previously unreleased production and CG artwork
, storyboard
s, and a UMD video disc for the PSP
with trailers and videos (region 2
only). A three-disc Devil May Cry 3 soundtrack was released on March 31, 2005 shortly after the game's release, with Tetsuya Shibata
and Kento Hasegawa credited as the producers. The lyrics for the vocal songs from Devil May Cry 3 were written, and the rough vocals performed, by Shawn McPherson.
, Capcom announced there would be a special edition of Devil May Cry 3. It included a number of gameplay changes and additional content. Most notably, players could now choose to play as Dante's twin brother, Vergil. Other changes included an added survival mode called "Bloody Palace" with a total of 9999 levels; a new boss Jester fight early in the game, with optional fights later; a "Turbo Mode" for 20 percent faster gameplay; and a continue system which can revive the character instantly, or allow the player to restart the fight they just lost as many times as they like. The game also has rebalanced difficulty.
Vergil has only one style, "Dark Slayer" (similar to Dante's "Trickster" style), which includes evasive maneuvers, and can be leveled up
twice, just like Dante's initial four styles. He has three weapons: his O-katana called Yamato, the Beowulf gauntlets
and greave
s, and the Force Edge broadsword
. He has two ranged attacks; "Summoned Swords", which creates magical swords that can be used for a variety of effects, and "Judgment Cut" which creates spheres of damaging force.
The new boss is Jester, a plot-important character who was encountered several times during cutscenes in the first edition of the game but never actually fought. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, he is a semi-optional boss (insofar as the first fight with him is mandatory but the later encounters can be skipped) who can be fought three times.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was released on January 24, 2006 for $
19.99 as part of the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits Collection. It was later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 version of the game would also be released in Europe.
On February 1, 2006, Ubisoft
announced that they would be publishing a PC
version of the game developed by SourceNext. The European PC version was the first to come out, even before the Special Edition was released for the PlayStation 2 in that region, being released on June 28, 2006. The North American version was released on October 16, 2006. The game was published in Japan on June 30, 2006.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as simply , is an action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
that was developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
, released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
(also ported to the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
in 2006). The game is a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
to the original Devil May Cry, and is the first game in the series
Devil May Cry
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...
storyline's chronological order.
Set in modern times in an enchanted tower named Temen-ni-gru, the story centers on the dysfunctional
Abnormality (behavior)
Abnormality, in the vivid sense of something deviating from the normal or differing from the typical , is a subjectively defined behavioral characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions...
relationship between Dante and his brother Vergil. The events of the game take place just as Dante has opened up the Devil May Cry agency, and before Dante's demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic heritage has reached its full potential. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s using the game's engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
with several pre-rendered
Pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputing or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of a footage that was previously rendered on a different equipment...
full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
s.
Upon release, Devil May Cry 3 was widely criticized for its high level of difficulty, but was praised for improvements over its predecessor, and a return to the challenging gameplay of Devil May Cry. A manga
Devil May Cry 3 (manga)
is a manga series based on the best selling video game Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening was released in Japan and later an English translation was released in 2005. The manga is divided into three parts, Code 1: Dante, Code 2: Vergil, and the to-be released Code 3: Lady...
prequel to the game was first published in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 2005.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Devil May Cry 3 consists of levelsLevel (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
called "missions", in which players must fight numerous enemies, perform platforming
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
tasks, and occasionally solve puzzles
Computer puzzle game
Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....
to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is graded from D at the bottom, up through C, B, A, with top ranks of S and SS, which have the strictest requirements. 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), "stylish" combat, item usage, and damage taken.
"Stylish" combat is defined as performing an unbroken series of varied attacks while avoiding damage, and is tracked by an on-screen gauge. The longer the player attacks without repeating techniques and evades damage, the higher the gauge rises. The gauge starts with no grade, becomes "Dope" after a minimum number of attacks, then proceeds with "Crazy", "Blast", "Alright", "Sweet", "SShowtime", and peaks at "SSStylish"; if Dante receives damage, the style rating drops a few levels; if the gauge is on "Crazy" or below, it will reset. The game's battle system allows the player to chain attacks together, with each weapon having a number of unique attacks. Although the game mainly focuses on an aggressive approach to battle, the player must employ some strategy as the enemies have a wide variety of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
tactics, and will respond to a number of events.
The Devil Trigger ability enables the player's character to change into a demonic form. This alters the character's appearance, increases attack and defense, slowly restores health, and enables special attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is energy in the Devil Trigger gauge, which is refilled by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state, and decreases when using the Devil Trigger transformation or other abilities which draw on Devil Trigger power (such as the Quicksilver and Doppelganger styles discussed below). Devil Trigger mode is not available to Dante until one third of the way through the game, while Vergil (who is playable in the Special Edition) has the ability at the outset.
The major difference from previous Devil May Cry titles is the combat system, which allows the player to choose one of Dante's six different combat styles with different special techniques related to the style's focus. Style selection is available at the start of each level, as well as during gameplay at checkpoints. The styles available are: Trickster, for dodging and agility; Swordmaster, with extra abilities for swords and other melee weapons; Gunslinger, which has more techniques for firearms; Royal Guard, which allows the player to repel attacks with a properly-timed button press, and thereby charge energy for retaliation; Quicksilver, which slows down enemies while the character attacks at normal speed; and Doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
, which creates a shadow double that fights alongside Dante. A second player can also control the shadow double by pressing "Start" on a second controller. A two-player mode, similar to Doppelgänger style, is accessible while fighting against Arkham. In the special edition
Special edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
of Devil May Cry 3, Vergil has one style called Dark Slayer with techniques similar to Trickster.
Plot
At the tower's entrance Dante encounters Cerberus
Cerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
, defeats him and claims the monster's soul, which transforms into a new weapon. In what becomes a recurring game mechanic, the souls of some defeated boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
monsters are transformed into new weapons for Dante's arsenal. Dante is then attacked by a woman on a motorcycle, whose name later becomes Lady. It is revealed in subsequent cutscenes that Arkham is working for Vergil and they plan to take Dante's half of the amulet their mother gave them, and use its power to reactivate the tower's ability to connect the human and demon worlds. It is also revealed that Arkham is Lady's father, that he murdered her mother, and that she is pursuing him to seek revenge and to uphold her family's honor.
After numerous battles, an encounter with a being calling itself Jester, and another run-in with Lady, Dante attains the tower's summit and battles Vergil. Vergil soundly defeats Dante, steals his amulet, and departs. Dante's dormant devil powers emerge as a result of this setback, and he takes off in pursuit. He eventually catches up in the control room located in the tower's basement, where Vergil is having no luck reactivating the tower. The brothers battle again and seem evenly matched, until they are interrupted first by Lady and then Jester. Jester reveals that he is in fact Arkham, and has been manipulating them all to reactivate the tower. Arkham's plan is to cross over to the demon world and steal the Force Edge, the dormant form of Sparda's original sword which contains the bulk of Sparda's old power, and use it to rule over a demon-infested Earth. The tower then transforms as the spell is broken, carrying Arkham upwards to the summit, while Vergil vanishes in the confusion.
Dante battles his way back up the tower, and eventually fights Lady for the right to pursue Arkham. Dante wins, and Lady lends him her most powerful weapon. Reaching the summit once again, Dante crosses over to the demon world and catches up with Arkham, who has assumed Sparda's demonic form. Overwhelmed by the power, Arkham transforms again into a blob-like creature and battles Dante. Halfway through the fight, as Arkham is gloating that Dante has no chance against his father's power, Vergil reappears and the brothers work together to bring him down. Arkham is thrown out of the demon world in a weakened state and lands atop the tower where Lady kills him. In the demon world, Dante and Vergil battle over ownership of the Force Edge and the amulet halves. Dante is victorious. Vergil decides to stay behind as the portal closes, and vanishes into the darkness with his half of the amulet.
Dante meets Lady outside the tower where she coins the phrase "devil may cry" while trying to comfort him over the loss of his brother. They form a friendship and the beginnings of a partnership in demon-slaying, and he names his shop "Devil May Cry". A scene after the credits reveals Vergil in the demon world, weakened yet determined, as he charges into battle against his father's old foe, Mundus.
Development
Following the mixed reception that Devil May Cry 2 received, Capcom decided to develop Devil May Cry 3 in a similar manner to the series' successful first entry, Devil May Cry. Gameplay elements such as the size of environments and the game's battle engine were reconsidered. Other criticized aspects of Devil May Cry 2, such as Dante's character and the game’s weak difficulty, were brought back in line with Devil May Cry.According to a pre-release interview with the game's producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the thrust of the game's design was the creation of a new battle system allowing the player to control weapons in new and "stylish" ways. This went along with the design of a new type of in-game camera designed to keep the character in focus to avoid disorienting the player in crowded battle scenes. According to Tanaka, the difficulty of Devil May Cry 2 was toned down to get wider acceptance in the Japanese market, but this move made the game lose support in other markets. To deal with this situation the Japanese release of Devil May Cry 3 had a lower difficulty than the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an releases. Dante’s attitude was emphasized to reflect a younger and more arrogant character than in previous installments. Capcom also produced a second version called the "Special Edition", which was released on January 24, 2006 in North America. A personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
version of Devil May Cry 3, with slight graphical changes, was developed by SourceNext and published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
on June 28, 2006 in Europe and on October 16, 2006 in North America.
Capcom promoted Devil May Cry 3
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
campaign, along with prominent ads in video game magazines. The marketing campaign focused on the game's plot and its multiple fighting styles.
The Devil Trigger forms for Dante and Vergil were designed by Kazuma Kaneko, who previously worked on Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, known in Japan as , is a video game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. The sequel to Zone of the Enders, the game was produced by, and is closely associated with Hideo Kojima. The game is based around mecha combat...
, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Persona
Persona (video game)
Revelations: Persona, released in Japan as , is the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of role-playing video games for PlayStation consoles—one of several spin-off series within the Megami Tensei franchise, developed by Atlus...
.
Reception
Devil May Cry 3 was highly successful commercially, becoming the eighth best-selling game in Japan during the first week after its release. The game sold over 1,300,000 units worldwide, thereby earning Capcom's "Platinum Title" status. Devil May Cry 3 scored 84/100 at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and 84.2% at GameRankings. It was also included in Game Informer's
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
"Top 50 Games of 2005" list and later received a "Game of the Month" award when the Special Edition was released.
Reviews typically praised the game for avoiding the mistakes of the previous title, as well as for the storyline, options for customization, "over-the-top" gameplay and new combat engine. The style-based combat engine was thought to produce fighting sequences that made those in other games, such as Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden (Xbox)
Ninja Gaiden is an action-adventure game developed by Team Ninja for the Xbox video game console. It went through five years of development before its release by Tecmo in 2004, and has been progressively enhanced with a number of expansion packs and two remakes, Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden...
and Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia is a platform game, originally developed by Jordan Mechner and released in 1989 for the Apple II, that represented a great leap forward in the quality of animation seen in video games....
, appear unimpressive. Other aspects, such as the camera and controls, were also reviewed positively.
However, the first North American and European release was criticized for its difficulty even in reviews that gave it a high score. Reviewers took issue with Capcom's decision to turn the Japanese version's "Hard" mode into the North American and European "Normal" mode.
The Special Edition release (see following section) was ranked 9th in GameSpy's Game of the Year selection for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and was praised for re balancing the difficulty. Other aspects of the game, such as the inclusion of a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" and the addition of Vergil as a playable character, received positive reviews.
The PC version was widely criticized for being inferior to the PlayStation 2 version. Issues included the game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, which was considered rough and under worked, the controls, and the inability to save the game
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
anywhere on a given level and restart from that point in subsequent "loadings", a convenience afforded by most PC games. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Jeremy Dunham gave the PC version a score of 5.8 (compared to the PS2 version's 9.6), citing the PC version's "awful performance" and "craptacular controls" as major problems.
Other releases
Following the release of Devil May Cry 3, Capcom released merchandise based on the game, including a mangaDevil May Cry 3 (manga)
is a manga series based on the best selling video game Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening was released in Japan and later an English translation was released in 2005. The manga is divided into three parts, Code 1: Dante, Code 2: Vergil, and the to-be released Code 3: Lady...
written by Suguro Chayamachi and published by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
in North America, as well as a Dante action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
made by Revoltech. A source book entitled "Devil May Cry 3 Material Archive - Note of Naught" was released in 2006, containing previously unreleased production and CG artwork
CG artwork
CG is a term most commonly known in the West for its use in Japanese webpages to denote digital artwork. In traditional Japanese, it is an abbreviation of the Japanese gairaigo , used to refer to any form of digital artwork, from digitally shaded dōjinshi to legitimate cinematic art...
, storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
s, and a UMD video disc for the PSP
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
with trailers and videos (region 2
DVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
only). A three-disc Devil May Cry 3 soundtrack was released on March 31, 2005 shortly after the game's release, with Tetsuya Shibata
Tetsuya Shibata
is a Japanese video game music composer and sound director. He is credited for over twenty musical scores produced for Capcom's video game releases including the Monster Hunter and Devil May Cry series, as well those in the Darkstalkers, Power Stone and Resident Evil Outbreak series...
and Kento Hasegawa credited as the producers. The lyrics for the vocal songs from Devil May Cry 3 were written, and the rough vocals performed, by Shawn McPherson.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition
At the 2005 Tokyo Game ShowTokyo Game Show
The , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association and the Nikkei Business Publications, Inc...
, Capcom announced there would be a special edition of Devil May Cry 3. It included a number of gameplay changes and additional content. Most notably, players could now choose to play as Dante's twin brother, Vergil. Other changes included an added survival mode called "Bloody Palace" with a total of 9999 levels; a new boss Jester fight early in the game, with optional fights later; a "Turbo Mode" for 20 percent faster gameplay; and a continue system which can revive the character instantly, or allow the player to restart the fight they just lost as many times as they like. The game also has rebalanced difficulty.
Vergil has only one style, "Dark Slayer" (similar to Dante's "Trickster" style), which includes evasive maneuvers, and can be leveled up
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
twice, just like Dante's initial four styles. He has three weapons: his O-katana called Yamato, the Beowulf gauntlets
Gauntlet (gloves)
Gauntlet is a name for several different styles of glove, particularly those with an extended cuff covering part of the forearm. Gauntlets exist in many forms, ranging from flexible fabric and leather gloves, to mail and fully articulated plate armour....
and greave
Greave
A greave is a piece of armour that protects the leg.-Description:...
s, and the Force Edge broadsword
Broadsword
Broadsword may refer to:*Broadsword , a military sword used by heavy cavalry during the 17th to early 19th centuriesIn more modern times, it has also been used to refer to:...
. He has two ranged attacks; "Summoned Swords", which creates magical swords that can be used for a variety of effects, and "Judgment Cut" which creates spheres of damaging force.
The new boss is Jester, a plot-important character who was encountered several times during cutscenes in the first edition of the game but never actually fought. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, he is a semi-optional boss (insofar as the first fight with him is mandatory but the later encounters can be skipped) who can be fought three times.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was released on January 24, 2006 for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19.99 as part of the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits Collection. It was later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 version of the game would also be released in Europe.
On February 1, 2006, Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
announced that they would be publishing a PC
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
version of the game developed by SourceNext. The European PC version was the first to come out, even before the Special Edition was released for the PlayStation 2 in that region, being released on June 28, 2006. The North American version was released on October 16, 2006. The game was published in Japan on June 30, 2006.