A little while ago, we asked you what your favourite Devil May Cry game is to coincide with the series’ fifteenth birthday, a crazy figure that we still can’t wrap our heads around. You’ve been kind enough to vote in your droves, so let’s take a look at which game came out on top.
Let’s start off with the obvious pick for last place.
5. Devil May Cry 2 – 3%
Way at the back of the pecking order, Devil May Cry 2 was never going to capture the same magic that made the original so successful. It didn’t help that the original creator wasn’t involved and that there were awkward marketing tie-ins with Diesel (because nothing screams hack and slash like a pair of jeans, right?).
The reception at the time of its release was tepid and it’s still the same case today. Devil May Cry 2 was too easy, uninspired and just generally lacking. It isn’t an awful game by any means, rather an example to other developers not to change things up too soon from a winning formula. If you’re curious, feel free to pick it up, but the gulf in quality is obvious.
4. DmC: Devil May Cry – 7%
Some might be surprised to see this not in last place considering the furore surrounding it. More a reboot than a sequel, Dante’s new appearance and attitude lost a lot of fans and led calls for a boycott. Judging by how relatively poorly it sold and how little we’ve heard anything about the series since, it worked.
Objectively speaking, DmC is a fun, fluid combat game that might have fared better if it didn’t have the expectations of a devout fanbase watching its every move. It hardly helped itself, however, what with that pretty insulting scene with the wig…
3. Devil May Cry – 15%
It’s amazing to think that this game was meant to be a new Resident Evil. Gamers everywhere might want to thank Capcom for seeing potential in a crazy idea and letting Hideki Kamiya run with it as Devil May Cry set the stage for many imitators and its own solid series for the next decade.
Featuring a cocky protagonist, hard as nails combat, RPG-lite elements and a killer soundtrack (for the time), Devil May Cry was the first essential game for the PlayStation 2 and arguably one of the most important games ever made. Still can’t handle that bastard spider Phantom, though.
2. Devil May Cry 4 – 24%
The biggest-selling game in the series and the first on the PS3 and 360 generation, a new main character by the name of Nero and a relative lack of Dante did nothing to put off people from picking up Devil May Cry 4. It’s lucky they did as they would have otherwise missed out on a satisfying slice of hack and slash excellence.
A complex plot and tight gameplay has helped Devil May Cry 4 to become a soft spot for plenty of series veterans and it’s easy to see why once you play it yourself. It’s out on next-gen consoles as a remaster, so if you aren’t familiar with it, you should probably get acquainted.
1. Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening – 51%
The runaway winner with over half the vote, Devil May Cry 3 very quickly put unease amongst fans to bed after the disappointing Devil May Cry 2 and showed that Dante still had a lot to say. Well, more than ever before as it turned out – the demon slayer is the version of him DmC should have had.
Buoyed by a wise-cracking younger Dante and one of the most rewardingly difficult experiences of any hack and slash game, completing Devil May Cry 3 is immensely gratifying, showing that no matter how many times a big dog makes small work of your or how Vergil continues to beat you with such ease, it’s all worth it in the end.
The best in the series and an example of how others should do it for the years to come.
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