Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition HD (PS3) Review

Back in Style!

  After the deemed disappointing Devil May Cry 2, fans were wondering what will happen to the series. However, in 2005 that all changed with the release of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, which brought back the classic DMC gameplay and likable protagonist, Dante. The game was also praised for its new additions to gameplay and tough difficulty. A year later, Capcom announced a special edition for the game simply titled Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition and was re-released in 2012 as part of the Devil May Cry HD Collection. This edition included gameplay changes and new content, Dante's twin brother, Vergil, is now a playable character, the difficulty has been balanced, and more. Note I'll be covering the special edition of DMC 3 along with its new features.


STORY- Taking place years before Devil May Cry, the story follows a young Dante currently opening his newly established and soon to be named demon hunting agency. However,a weird man walks in called Arkham, has an invitation from Dante's twin brother Vergil. After taking care of trouble, a large tower appears called Temen-ni-gru . Sensing that his brother is behind this act, Dante steps out and head for the tower. Unlike DMC2's rather edgy Dante, this young Dante is funny, playful, sarcastic, and just plain awesome.

Dante is back in action.

GAMEPLAY- The gameplay in Devil May Cry 3 retains some elements of its predecessors, but adds some of its own. You still have levels (known as missions) in which features some platforming and puzzle solving but a whole lot of ass-kicking. You're performance in missions are graded by ranks, D being the lowest and SSS being the highest. Also, enemy A.I. is brutal at times, thus requiring strategy and skill. Another feature is Devil Trigger, which basically transforms Dante into a demonic form, allowing him to deal fast and powerful attacks to enemies.

 Furthermore, unlike previous Devil May Cry games, DMC3 allows the player to choose one of four styles of combat: "Trickster", focusing on evasiveness and agility; "Swordmaster", emphasis on swords and other melee weapons; "Royal Guard", for repelling enemy attacks. Additionally, "Quicksilver", slows down enemies for Dante to attack them at normal speed; "Doppelganger", creates a double that fights alongside Dante, are both acquired later in-game. 

Absolutely crazy about it!

 Similar to the likes of Ninja Gaiden and many other challenging games at the time, DMC3 is no cake walk and is hellishly brutal. The bosses are still a challenge even on the easiest difficulty in the special edition, requiring quick reflexes and speed. Thankfully, the developers have included an array of weapons besides Dante's signature sword and guns. They can be upgraded to deal even more damage by spending Red Orbs (the game's currency) on them. Weapons won't get you far, you'll have to plan and execute the rest. Also, and a nice feature of the special edition, is having Vergil as a playable character. He also has a fighting style called "Dark Slayer", which is similar to Trickster.

PRESENTATION- DMC3 is looks and sounds great, presentation-wise. Unlike its predecessor, the style of the original DMC is here and looking better. To start, the environments feel large and detailed, allowing for more room to navigate. Also, the visuals are substantial improvement over DMC2's rather bland and muddy visuals, DMC3's visuals were stunning for their time. Running on 60 frames per second, despite some slowdowns, DMC3 is one of the best performing games Capcom have ever made. Additionally, the voice-work is top notch. Reuben Langdon provides a memorable performance as the young and brash Dante, the heavy metal soundtrack is killer and one of the best I've heard, and cutscenes, especially the one's with Dante, are bad-ass. Overall, in terms of presentation, DMC3 excels.



OVERALL- An interesting and engaging plot and characters, deep gameplay system, stunning presentation, Devil May Cry 3 is Devil May Cry at its best. Capcom listened to fan feedback after the disappointing Devil May Cry 2 and delivered one of the best PS2 action titles. If you haven't tried the game then what are you waiting for? It's one hell of a party!

EXCELLENT