Devil May Cry Series

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, Missions 11 and 12 may just go down as two of my all-time favorite DMC levels ever. For Misson 11 the level design is very creative with lots of secrets to uncover, and it's topped off with a fucking rad boss fight. Mission 12 is insanely cool in terms of easter eggs, homages, and series lore for long-time fans, it has one of the best story beats of the game so far. It also contains one of the coolest power-ups in a video game ever. They really went all-out on Dante, here. He appropriately feels like the veteran character who's been playing demons for decades, especially compared to V and Nero, which is what it should feel like to play as him.

What a fucking great game for fans who have waited so patiently for over a decade. Thank you, Itsuno.

[Foggle]

Also, Balrog for Dante in this game is the best version of his staple gauntlet weapon-set in any DMC game. Having both a classic style and a boxing-style with which he can wield it us fucking genius.

Apparently its animations and general moveset are almost exactly the same as God Hand... I don't usually go for the gauntlets in these games but I will have to use them for that alone.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Brother, Gauntlets have consistently been the objective most powerful weapons for Dante in literally every DMC game except for 2 (which doesn't have them, and is yet another reason why that game sucks). How you didn't abuse the hell out of attacks like Meteor (DMC1), Rising Dragon (DMC3), and Real Impact (DMC4) genuinely blows my mind.

For real, though, you should definitely give the gauntlets a try in this game (and in any DMC game that has them, really). They really are super useful and interesting to use. In general, Dante's combat is ultra fun when you mix and match his arsenal of weapons.

Also, I'll warn you now that Kalina Ann is in Mission 11 and is VERY EASY TO MISS. For some reason they don't just give it to you after you beat a boss or clear a mission. You find it in a somewhat hidden area in that mission which again, is full of easy to miss hidden areas. And it's not on display in the room you find it in, either. I just broke some destructible items that happened to be covering it up, then a series of question marks indicated like "? ? ? ?" on my screen, followed by the classic item acquired screen which displayed the weapon. It was awesome in how it was video-game as shit to just find an important weapon simply lying around like that (and I just happened to find it on my first playthrough since I like to explore), but it does seem weird that Lady didn't just give it to Dante again as part of the story; also, what was it even doing in such a random spot in the first place?

Oh, and Cavalier is also a really bad-ass weapon. It's actually kind of nuts how well it fits Dante's combat style given how slow and cumbersome it is compared to his other weapons, but it's absolutely perfect for crowd control or stun-locking bigger enemies. And yes, you even have attacks where he rides it straight into enemies.

::EDIT::

Apparently you do get the Kalina Ann later in the game's story, or rather the Kalina Ann II. The one I found was the original and as I mentioned, is a hidden item. However, having both allows you to freaking dual-wield them. Holy shit I love video games!

[Foggle]

Thanks for that, I'll hopefully find it too since I also love exploring levels! To be honest, I'm probably gonna go back to the beginning for DMC and play them all again before getting into 5. I played the first 30 minutes or so and was performing horribly. I used to be able to get S+ battle ratings all the time in DMC 3 on Turbo mode, but I'm having a lot of trouble getting into the combat now for some reason. Personally, I blame games like Dark Souls for softening me while having very few new stylish action games to enjoy over the past half-decade.

[Rynnec]

Finished the game. Easy GOTY contender and possibly the best DMC game to date! And the final two missions are absolutely INCREDIBLE! Can't wait for Bloody Palace next month. More than that I really need a DLC campaign with Trish, Lady, and come-on-you-know-who-who-else-I'm-talking-about. Lucia too, if only to have every single playable character in the franchise in one game.

Brother, Gauntlets have consistently been the objective most powerful weapons for Dante in literally every DMC game except for 2 (which doesn't have them, and is yet another reason why that game sucks). How you didn't abuse the hell out of attacks like Meteor (DMC1), Rising Dragon (DMC3), and Real Impact (DMC4) genuinely blows my mind.

Gotta say I'm not feeling the gauntlets just yet. I guess the stance switching mechanic is throwing me off a bit, but ignition is satisfying as fuck to reach. The nunchaku, however, I'm really having a blast with. Switching between 3 different modes mid combo is sick as hell and I've already  found some decent combos and combinations with them.

Oh, and Cavalier is also a really bad-ass weapon. It's actually kind of nuts how well it fits Dante's combat style given how slow and cumbersome it is compared to his other weapons, but it's absolutely perfect for crowd control or stun-locking bigger enemies. And yes, you even have attacks where he rides it straight into enemies.

I love how they're basically less cheap versions of the chainsaw weapons from Bayo 2. It's kinda hard to get  the hang of it and adjust to its speed but the payoff is worth it. Still gotta learn how to incorporate it with other weapons though.

Also; the final sword and power up you get for Dante has got to be my favorite in the entire series. I've waited a long time to see that design and mechanic incorporated into a DMC game proper.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, my initial thoughts on DMC5 after beating it....honestly, I'm kind of at a loss for words. I mean, was it a good game? Fuck yeah it was. It was better than good. It had nearly a decade of anticipation going behind it and it still managed to both live up to and in some cases even exceed the hype. That said, there's just so much to this game that it's impossible for me to even begin to judge it's true value after only one playthrough, which is the mark of a truly great game for any genre, but it is especially heartwarming to get that feeling again from a Devil May Cry game.

This is easily Game of the Year for me, and if I'm being honest, it's pretty much Game of the Generation as well. I'm so fucking happy that in this modern age of pretentious Oscar-wannabe pandering cinematic "experiences" that call themselves games, along with another extreme of people who feel that being a Souls-clone for the hardcore elite is what makes a great game (nothing against the Souls franchise itself, though, which has earned it's own prestige), that there can still exist an action game like this. This game feels right out of a nearly forgotten era of action games where games could have a straightforward focus and progress with tight pacing but tons of depth and nuance to elevate it's replay value and keep you coming back for multiple more playthroughs (and you can bet your ass that I've only just started this game after my first run though it).

Spoiler

Also, from a story perspective, while DMC has never been particularly good at story-telling, hardcore fans like myself have come to appreciate it's cobbled together lore and plot elements if only because of how likable it's cast of characters are as well as the overall themes that tie the franchise together. This game was said by Itsuno to be the end of the "Sons of Sparda Saga" starting from DMC1, and it definitely feels like that, while also being a great passing of the torch to Nero, and unlike DMC4, this time it feels like he's earned it. Those last few missions in general had a surprisingly somber tone for a DMC game, and I won't lie in that I did get an emotional response from the final act leading up to that final epic confrontation between Dante and Vergil. It particularly works because of their long history together throughout the games both story and gameplay-wise. Dante and Vergil, in one form or another, have constantly been duking it out for dominance, and yet neither could completely prevail over the other. It's easily the greatest video game rivalry of all time, in my book.

[close]

[Mustang]

Happy to hear/see the reviews are good for DMC5. I was worried that many people wouldn't care for this style of action in games anymore considering the amount of Souls/Borne people harp on about.

Even though I bought this day 1 I've yet to start it (same will happen for Sekiro as well) due to work and then some friends I grew up with and family are coming into town within the next couple of months to play a lot of 3rd Strike and probably a little bit of Guilty Gear as well.

That being said, I still want to beat Nioh before moving on though (my backlog is brutal. Small but brutal)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Nioh may take quite some time for you to clear based on where you're at right now (or at least from the last time you gave an update on your progress in the game). It's a long as fuck game, and while I love it, I actually felt that there was a decent amount of fat that could have been trimmed to keep it feeling a tad less bloated. Even so, if you skip a lot of the side-quests you could clear the game in roughly 40-hours or less. While there are definitely some side missions that I would recommend, I would also advise skipping a good chunk of them and maybe coming back to them later. Trying to do all of them can make the game drag out way longer than it needs to, and trust me when I say that you aren't missing much if you mainly stick to the main story. I enjoyed the side quests as a diversion, but even I have to admit that it was a mistake trying to do all of them right away since it really started to feel tedious after a while. It's really only worth it for some of the rewards, like getting Guardian Spirits or getting a certain kind of weapon that you want to use a specific ability from.

If you can, I'd recommend playing DMC5 in short bursts if you don't have a lot of time on your hands. The game is old-school in it's design philosophy and mission-based structure, so you can play for as little as half an hour and still make significant progress. That way you can play it along with any other games you are playing, without losing anything from the experience or feeling as though you are progressing through the game at a snail's pace. Keep in mind that even in my limited time to play, I still cleared my first run of the game in one weekend, and I'm already half-way through my second playthrough on Son of Sparda difficulty.

[Mustang]

Outside of the time I was playing Persona 5, I usually handle most non fighting games in short bursts. Problem is sometimes I get too hooked to put down the controller, especially if I have to work the following day which is why I try to wait until the weekend to play games.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Goddamn, watching XLHGladiator videos like this one make me painfully aware of how poorly I'm really playing the game compared to it's true potential: https://youtu.be/6SoohlaSSpI

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Devil May Cry 5 has already passed 2 million in sales: https://www.gamespot.com/amp-articles/devil-may-cry-5-hits-big-sales-milestone-in-first-/1100-6465773/

And that's not even including digital sales, which as I see it could easily account for about another few hundred thousand in numbers.

So glad to see this game doing well. By today's standards those numbers may not seem like much, but it's pretty big for what is essentially a niche game.

[Mustang]

Happy to see that. CapGod status? I want to say yes but I want to say drop the fighting game division and then yes. I don't want Street Fighter, Marvel, or CvS to go away at all, but I feel like the fighting games are holding Capcom back big time.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, this is an interesting video topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1ZSLfvZdzA

I think that there are a few points here that I agree with. For one thing, putting my pre-conceived biases aside and judging them on their own merits, DmC is definitely a more than competent action game than most other Western character action titles. There actually is a fair bit of room for experimentation and some of the design concepts were inspired enough to actually be brought all the way into DMC5 as new staples of the franchise. Likewise, MGRR which released a mere few months apart from DmC got heaped a bunch of praise for it's gameplay by much of the character action fan community that were unhappy with the idea of rebooting a classic series. Though, looking back on it, while still undeniably fun, there is clearly a lot of signs of this being a rushed product with the really abrupt pacing of the last three missions as well as the severe lack of more weapons and nuanced combat mechanics, not to mention how poorly implemented guns and item usage was sloppily pasted into the overall game.

That said, I'm not quite sure that DmC holds up as the more replayable title than Rising. Yes, it is considerably more polished for what it tries to do, but as TGBS points out himself, it is still based heavily on the core combat concepts of DMC3 and 4, so it can't help but pale in comparison to what it's trying to imitate. I get that he is trying to isolate these games into a vacuum for these comparisons to make that point, and in that regard also points out how MGRR got a pass on many of it's set-backs based on how novel much of it was compared to anything else that had come out. That's completely true, and it is heavily flawed in it's design, yet being able to compare games in a genre to what came before and after them is kind of an unavoidable pre-requisite of how we perceive quality. Had I never played other DMC games I may likely find myself also thinking of DmC as the more replayable game. However, I have played every other DMC game so when I play DmC, for as good of a job as Ninja Theory does at making the best combat system that they can by their standards, I have already experienced far higher standards. In this regard, no matter what, DmC's combat, and thus the majority of it's gameplay, will always feel like it comes up short to me. Not unplayable, mind you, as if I were to ever do a replay of the entire franchise, I would have no issues re-visiting this game whatsoever (whereas I certainly couldn't the same for DMC2). In contrast, while a lot of what MGRR does with it's gameplay is novel with the potential to be expanded upon, but still overall shallow nonetheless, the fact still remains that it has yet to really be attempted by other games in the genre. It still feels wholly unique to any other character action games, and gives me a sense of something that I can't find anywhere else but in that game. So while it definitely does have major flaws holding it back from greatness, it is still a game that I can go back to every now and then because it's a game that I need to go back to if I ever want to experience those mechanics. I can certainly go back to DmC without a problem, but I can also experience a far better version of most of what it attempts to do with it's combat in at least three other DMC games.

Still, it's an interesting look back at those two games and their place in their respective franchises.

[Foggle]

He makes fair points, but much like his Resident Evil 6 and Ratchet & Clank Future videos, I can't help but disagree with him thoroughly. Metal Gear Rising is far from a perfect game, but to me it's incredibly replayable because the gameplay just feels really good and unique to me, not to mention the amazing soundtrack and entertaining story. DmC is definitely better than people say it is, but the gameplay just isn't quite on the same level as MGR IMO, let alone DMC 3-5 or Bayonetta, and the less said about its soundtrack and story the better. I do like the bosses in both games a lot at least, but once again MGR has a pretty sharp edge for me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Devil May Cry 5 has sold nearly 3 million copies to date and will surpass that number soon: https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2019/07/26/capcom-sales-soar-as-devil-may-cry-5-and-resident-evil-2-sell-millions/amp/

This essentially makes it the highest selling DMC game to date, which is VERY good news for the franchise, even if Itsuno isn't all gung-ho on a sequel right away. Granted, by today's standards that still qualifies it only as a niche title (it's nowhere near the 13 million of Monster Hunter World, or other big franchises that sell similar kinds of numbers), but it's a pretty big niche at that, and clearly the game turned a profit for Capcom.