It's funny how things can turn out. While in the process of making the prototype for Resident Evil 4, the producer Shinji Mikami noticed a strange glitch where enemies kept flying up when they got hit. Rather than try to fix the glitch, Mikami decided to make it an active part of a new game. That idea gave birth to Devil May Cry, and it is both a gorgeous piece of demonic artwork and one of the biggest causes of broken controllers in the Playstation 2's catalog.
The plot is very basic for this game. The hero is Dante, a monster hunter for hire who is part-human, part-demon, and all stylish with his red leather, big-ass sword, and twin pistols. He gets hired by a woman named Trish to hunt down the demon Mundus who is returning after 2000 years. The story really only serves as an excuse for the scenarios the game presents. In fact, the plot only shows up at the very beginning of the game and the very end, complete with all the hammy acting of a lame anime. While weak plots are a common trait for almost all the games of this series, the first one has the weakest in my opinion.
Click For the Full Picture Archive
However, the lack of a compelling narrative doesn't stop the game from being engaging. The visuals still hold up even today. The character designs are, quite simply, cool. Dante's look and movements make him look like a total bad-ass, and the monster designs get very creepy. Even the marionette puppets that attack at the beginning are quite disturbing. The level designs are impressive as well with a wide variety of locales on the island in which to battle the demon hordes. The music is very subdued during the quiet moments and can put you on edge, but the hard rock that picks up when the fighting starts is very cliched and tiresome.
The puzzles are mindless even by Resident Evil standards; they clearly took a back seat in the design meetings to the combat. The combat is both the coolest and most aggravating part of the game. Dante will die a lot if the player doesn't take the time to learn his various moves. Hammering the sword and gun buttons like mad will only result in wasted healing items and broken controllers. When the juggle combos with the sword meld with smart use of the pistols to keep hit streaks going, combat becomes a work of art. Great combos also provide more souls to be used as currency to buy new skills. Dante also has additional powers due to his demon blood that can get him out of a tight spot. The combat is excellent but also unbelievably tough. Even the easy difficulty puts up a real fight; don't even get me started on the toughest setting simply called "Dante Must Die".
Devil May Cry is what happens when a guy who loves psychotically tough games gets a bolt of inspiration. If you can handle its insane difficulty, you will find a gorgeous and rewarding hack-and-slash. If the lack of a compelling narrative makes it hard to stomach that challenge, I totally understand that mindset. If you just want to fight, look cool, and don't care about why you're doing it, load it up and make the devil cry.
