Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
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is the third installment of the Devil May Cry series (though fans often consider it only the second 'proper' Devil May Cry), starring the hero Dante. It is a prequel to the first game.Capcom, stating that they had learned much from the flop of the second installment, announced Devil May Cry 3 at E³ 2004. Its first trailer promised a return to the hallmarks of the original, such as spooky, gothic stylings and Dante's flippant personality, and was well received by fans. The development team consisted of staff from both of the previous two games. Yuji Shimomura, who was the action director in Ryuhei Kitamura's cult action movie Versus, serves the same role for this game. Upon release, it was widely lamented for its high level of difficulty, but was praised for its return to the engaging gameplay of Devil May Cry and various improvements. Most fans and critics agree that it is equal, if not superior, to the first game.
Devil May Cry 3 takes place before the establishment of the Devil May Cry agency and before Dante has awakened the majority of his devil lineage. The game focuses heavily on the dysfunctional relationship between Dante and his twin brother Vergil.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition
At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, it was confirmed that Capcom would be releasing a Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3. It added a new survival mode, the "Bloody Palace", which contains a total of 9999 levels; a new boss fight early in the game; a "Turbo Mode" for 20% faster gameplay; and a new Continue system. The previous Continue system was based on Yellow Orbs: if the player had one, they could begin the room over again, resetting Dante's inventory and HP but, just as significantly, resetting any enemies (I.E. bosses) in the area. The new Gold Orbs, which must be enabled at the start of the game, remove Yellow Orbs and allow infinite Continues; the Gold Orbs themselves, which must be found or purchased, revive the player instantly without resetting bosses or enemies, thus allowing the player to continue fighting in the middle of a battle. Finally, it added a new difficulty level and—perhaps more importantly—rebalanced the existing difficulties. Special Edition features also allow players to play as Dante's twin brother, Vergil.
The new boss is a character from the first version, Jester. In DMC3, Jester is a plot-important character who is encountered several times during cutscenes, but never actually fought. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Jester is an "optional" boss (insofar as the first fight with him is mandatory but the second and third are optional) who can be fought several times throughout the game. The first fight is fairly simple, and Jester does not have very many attacks. However, the last few times that he can be fought, he does get slightly more powerful. It may be noted that the Jester fights seem like rushed add-ins; the sounds used by him are recycled from cutscenes, and no rewards are presented for beating him in any of the fights but for a relatively small amount of red orbs.
Most notably for owners of the original copy, the new version allows players to take the role of Vergil, Dante's brother and one of the game's main antagonists. New cinematics have been added in support (Unfortunately, there are only 2, and the whole experience is basically Vergil in place of Dante, with a 'red' Vergil boss). Vergil has only one Style, Dark Slayer, which includes many evasive maneuvers, and can be leveled up twice, just like Dante's initial four styles. He has three weapons: his Yamato katana, Dante's Beowulf gauntlets, and the Force Edge broadsword from the first game. He has only one ranged attack, "Summoned Swords," which does not automatically hit a target, but deals more damage than Dante's guns.
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition was released on January 24th, 2006 for USD $19.99 as part of the Playstation 2 Greatest Hits Collection. The United Kingdom division of Official Playstation Magazine announced that it will not be released in Europe, dismaying fans there. Though previously there were certain reports from Capcom's official website suggest that this information was inaccurate, it was later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 version of the game will released in Europe this fall. Finally, on February 1, 2006, Ubisoft announced that they would be publishing the game on the PC ([link]). Based on a news release at the Devil May Cry Neoseeker Portal, the computer specs required for playing have been made public. Supposedly, the American release was scheduled to come out on May 23rd, 2006. This date, however, has been pushed back to sometime between September 1st and Septmeber 30th, 2006. The European PC version was scheduled to be released on June 2nd, 2006, however, it was then pushed back to June 30th, 2006 [link]. According to GameFAQs, GameSpot and Play.com, a PS2 European release date is scheduled for September 29th, 2006. An official press release from Capcom of Europe, available at Sons of Sparda [link], also confirms the September 29th release date of the game, and additionally states that Vergil will be playable from the start of the game, without the need for a clear save data, completion of the game with Dante, or Bloody Palace Mode, setting it apart slightly from the American release of the game. ([link]) ([link])([link]) ([link])
Allusions in the Devil May Cry series
Exactly like the first game in the series, this part has allusions to The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri. Dante is the main protagonist of the game, whilst the author Dante is the lead character in his own book. Vergil is a good example of how Dante in the book is close to the Roman poet Virgil; whereas in the game, he is his rival twin brother. In the book, Virgil was not evil, but his soul guided Dante through Hell, which can be seen as an aesthetic metaphor with the game, where Vergil chooses to live in Hell, and later confronts Dante in battle there. Cerberus being the gatekeeper of the Temen-ni-gru (in the game) in the third mission, is also an example wherein comparison, Dante meets Cerberus in the third circle in of Inferno. Although briefly mentioned in the book, Mary is a character called by Dante Lady. Not to mention the character Lucia who, in Devil May Cry 2, aids Dante. In The Divine Comedy, it was St. Lucia who told Beatrice about Dante, and subsequently Beatrice asked Virgil to aid him. The three women in Devil May Cry: Trish, Lucia and Lady (Mary), are all based on the three women who watched over Dante in The Divine Comedy. All these characters are not based in an accurate way on their historical counterparts. The seven deadly sins are mentioned in the game as well. There are allusions to many other sources, but The Divine Comedy stands as the most prominent one. Other examples are Agni and Rudra, Beowulf Ambrosia, Devils, Ifrit, and Alastor.Arguably, the Devil May Cry series has many connections to Christianity, but they are not in a strict and canonical way. The complete absence of God and Jesus (as well as crucifixes) is an example of that, and it is more likely that the Devil May Cry series will be further based on The Divine Comedy and religious jargon. Beatrice is also included in the DMC series (metaphorically speaking). In Devil May Cry, a female character named Trish is present in the game. She guides Dante to a castle in Mallet Island, and later on, in the Underworld. In the game, Trish is basically short for Beatrice, because in Italian, the trice part is almost pronounced Trish (Bay-ah-treech-ey).
Weapons
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Devil May Cry 3 features a large arsenal, comprised of both guns and melee weapons.
Guns
- Ebony & Ivory - Dante's two handmade semi-automatic .45 caliber handguns. Their rate of fire is dependent on how quickly the player can press the fire button. The guns seem to be based loosely on the Colt 1911 handgun.
- Shotgun - A powerful 12-gauge double-barreled sawn-off shotgun with a large spread. Good at knocking enemies back but has a fairly slow rate of fire.
- Artemis - A demonic laser weapon that can target several enemies at once.
- Spiral - A very powerful sniper rifle with a slow rate of fire.
- Kalina Ann - A huge rocket launcher with a large blade attached to a chain on front, which is used like a grappling hook and a bayonet in conjunction with the Hysteric attack.
- Summoned Swords - Swords made out of energy which Vergil can summon and hurl at his enemies at will.
Devil arms
- Rebellion - Dante's massive sword (a longsword, but stylized for effect). It was a memento from his father; its power remains dormant until awakened by Dante's blood. Dante begins the game with this weapon.
- Cerberus - Ice elemental, three-pieced flail weapon, like a nunchaku (or a holy water sprinkler but with three sides. The essence of an ice guardian, which Dante must defeat.
- Agni & Rudra - Two living (and talkative) swords Dante wields at once. They are two scimitars with serrated edges. Agni is fire elemental and Rudra is wind elemental. Dante earns these weapons after defeating the pair, who had each taken control of headless demons' bodies.
- Nevan - A demonic electric guitar that summons bats engulfed in electricity when Dante plays it; it can also be swung as a scythe. It is the weapon formed from the demon Nevan's acceptance of Dante's cause.
- Beowulf - A powerful set of gauntlets and greaves blessed with the sacred power of light. Obtained after you beat Vergil the second time (he obtained them by killing a weakened and blinded Beowulf).
- Beowulf - Vergil can obtain these as well.
- Yamato - A katana with dark powers, a memento from Sparda. Vergil is trained in the iaido style and sometimes fights with it still in its scabbard (sheath), drawing it only to deliver a lightning-fast flurry of cuts.
- Force Edge & Yamato - The sword which Sparda, Vergil and Dante's father, used to fight off the demonic invasion, and seal off the Demon World. It is a broadsword with a distinct European style to it. Vergil fights with it and Yamato at the same time, when the Force Edge is selected. It is also Dante's first weapon in the original Devil May Cry.
Styles
The biggest change is the new combat system, which allows Dante to choose one of six different styles of combat in each mission, which enable him to use special techniques related to the style's focus. The four default styles, with moves, are:Trickster
Focuses on dodging and agility.- Dash - A quick dash in any direction. At higher Trickster levels, this can be done several times in a row.
- Wall Hike - Run up the wall, then kick off.
- Sky Star - A mid-air dash.
- Air Trick - Disappear and reappear above an enemy's head, ready to strike.
Swordmaster
Focuses on techniques for the Devil Arms.- Rebellion Abilities
- * Prop Shredder - Spins the sword, repeatedly striking whatever's in front of Dante.
- * Aerial Rave - Slashes an enemy in mid-air, during a jump.
- * Sword Pierce - Throws the sword at an enemy; without the sword, Dante fights hand-to-hand.
- * Dance Macabre - Unleash a massive number of slashes at breakneck speeds.
- * Crazy Dance - Stick your sword into the ground during Dance Macabre and spin around it, kicking all enemies near you.
- Cerberus Abilities
- * Flicker - Whirl the flail around, hitting enemies in the immediate vicinity. Can be used in mid-air.
- * Crystal - Thrust the flail into the ground to create huge ice pillars.
- * Million Carats - Thrust the flail into the ground to creat a huge ice glacier surrounding Dante.
- * Ice Age - Encases Dante in a thick shield of ice, protecting him from all attacks.
- Agni & Rudra Abilities
- * Crossed Swords - Destroy enemies with an X-style sword slash.
- * Sky Dance - Swing both swords in mid air, then descend to the ground, spinning like a saw blade.
- * Crawler - Plunge your swords into the ground, unleashing a carpet of flame in the enemy's direction.
- * Twister - Spin your swords to create a vortex of fire and wind.
- * Tempest - Generate a flame vortex that burns everything in its path.
- Nevan Abilities
- * Slash - Attack enemies with the bladed section of your guitar.
- * Air Slash - Attack enemies with your guitar's blade while in mid-air.
- * Feedback - Whirl your guitar around your body, hitting nearby enemies.
- * Crazy Roll - Generate electricity while slashing enemies with your guitar.
- * Distortion - Attack enemies with a barrage of bats and blasts of lightning.
- Beowulf Abilities
- * Zodiac - Emit a charged ball of energy from your fingertips.
- * The Hammer - While in mid-air, smash your enemies to the ground.
- * Volcano - Slam the ground with your fist to create a small super-nova.
- * Real Impact - A highly focused, incredibly powerful uppercut that obliterates enemies.
- * Tornado - Knock the enemy into the air, then follow them, kicking hundreds of times at lightning speeds.
Gunslinger
Focuses on techniques for firearms.- Ebony & Ivory Abilities
- * Twosome Time - Fires pistols in two different directions.
- * Wild Stomp - Fires pistols at a downed enemy, then kicks it away.
- * Rain Storm - Jumps into the air, blasting pistols down in circular motion, knocking down all enemies.
- * Charge Shot - Charges weapon, then fires off a magically imbued burst.
- * Rapid Shot - Quickly clicks off a large number of shots in a short period of time.
- Shotgun Abilities
- * Fireworks - Swings the shotgun around like nunchaku, firing in different directions.
- * Charge Shot - Charges weapon, then fires off a magically imbued burst.
- * Rapid Shot - Quickly click off a large number of shots in a short period of time.
- * Gun Stinger - Rams the shotgun into an enemy and fires a concentrated burst of buckshot.
- * Point Blank - Fires the shotgun while standing right next to the enemy, doing massive damage.
- Artemis Abilities
- * Multi-lock - Locks on to a single enemy and fires several lasers at them.
- * Sphere - Fires a giant orb of laser energy.
- * Acid Rain - Shoots multiple laser beams into the air which come raining down on enemies.
- Spiral Abilities
- * Trick Shot - Ricochets bullets off walls to hit multiple enemies.
- * Sniper - Targets an enemy's weak point and fires a high-damage shot.
- * Reflector - Fires a bullet that ricochets off nearby surfaces, then hits the enemy for massive damage.
- Kalina Ann Abilities
- * Hysteric - Fires a barrage of mini-missiles at the enemy.
- * Grapple - Fires the bayonet at an enemy, impaling them, then pulls them towards you.
NB: By using Hysteric immediately after Grapple'', the enemy drawn close will be stabbed by Kalina Ann's bayonet.
Royal Guard
Focuses on absorbing enemy strikes and projecting the energy back. Considered one of the strongest styles, but also challenging to master.- Block & Charge - Block enemy attacks, building up anger and adrenaline.
- Just Guard - By blocking at the precise instant just before an enemy's attack hits, Dante suffers no damage and gains more rage for release.
- Release - Release pent-up anger charged from blocked enemy attacks, dealing great damage.
- Just Release - By releasing at the precise instant just before an enemy's attack hits, Dante executes a counter attack that deals approximately three times more damage than a normal release.
- Air Block - Block in mid-air.
- Air Release - Release in mid-air.
- Ultimate - Block enemy attacks and convert the energy into health for yourself.
Quicksilver
Allows Dante to slow down time while attacking at normal speed.- Time Lag - Slows down time for enemies while you will still be able to move in real time. Devil Trigger consumptive. Ideal for taking down harder enemies, when surrounded or for earning extra Style Points. Also you can transform into the demon.
- Quicksilver can be used after receiving it from Geryon, the boss of level 12.
Doppelganger
Allows Dante to utilize a shadow to double attacks.- After image - Spawns a second shadow version of Dante who will mimic your attacks as you perform them. Also Devil Trigger consumptive. When active, this also allows a second player to control the shadow version of Dante for as long as the effect lasts, if desired. Inserting a second controller and pressing Start will enable two-player mode.
- Doppelganger can be used after receiving it from Doppelganger (the boss) of level 17.
Difficulty modes
The U.S. version of DMC3 differs in terms of Difficulty with the original Japanese game, making it quite a bit tougher to complete. "Easy" Mode was scrapped and replaced with "Normal" Mode. "Normal" Mode was replaced with the "Hard" Mode, and "Hard" Mode was replaced with the U.S. exclusive "Very Hard" Mode (later added to all versions of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition)."Dante Must Die!" is the hardest difficulty mode in Devil May Cry 3. In this difficulty setting, the demons increase in number, gain boosts to attack and defense (and sometimes an AI boost), and are able to activate their own Devil Trigger. When one enemy is killed, every other enemy in the room Devil Triggers, which causes health regeneration and an extra increase to attack and defense. Consequently, this is the mode where Devil Trigger Flux shines for its ability to kill many enemies at once. Bosses gain defense, attack, and speed, though they lack the Devil Trigger. While Heaven and Hell mode is unlocked after beating the game on Dante Must Die!, it is made far easier due to the fact that, while Dante dies in one hit, the enemies do as well. This allows the player to kill enemies effortlessly using rapid-fire weapons such as Ebony & Ivory. This method even works on most, if not all bosses.
"Heaven or Hell" is an extra difficulty level in Devil May Cry 3. This is a special difficulty mode where demons, bosses and Dante himself die with only one hit. This difficulty mode is thus best played with either of these styles: Trickster or Royal Guard. It should be added that it is very easy to defeat more than 100 demons at the end of the game when the credits roll (this will show an extra cutscene at the end of the game) in this difficulty mode. Also, obtaining the Blue Orb fragment received when defeating all bosses in level 18 is a lot easier when playing this difficulty: nearly all bosses (with the exceptions of Cerbrerus, Levithian's Heartcore, Nevan and Doppelganger, who are not immediately vulnerable to attacks) die when hitting them just once.
Manga
The DMC3 manga is to be released in 3 parts, Code 1: Dante, Code 2: Vergil and Code 3: Lady, each supposedly putting the focus on the title character and their story. The manga is known to be a true part of the DMC story and serves to flesh out the background of the Devil May Cry series and fill a few of its plot holes and is not a remake of DMC3 but an all new prequel story. Most speculate that the mangas events are set 1 year before the events of Devil May Cry 3 based on a comment made by Dante in the game that the last time he and Vergil met was one year ago.Code 1 has recently been released in Japan and America so we now know some of the basic story behind the manga. When Code 1 starts Dante has recently purchased his demon hunting "shop" but has yet to name it, and Vergil is meeting with Arkham for the first time, all setting up the characters for Devil May Cry 3. Dante is forced into a missing persons case promising a 4 million reward by his business partner Enzo and sets off to find a young girl called Alice, but the "boring" case takes a disturbing twist when Dante discovers that Alice isn't all that she seems and he ends up a guest in a warped parody of the mad hatters tea party hosted by a pair of demons. The story teaches us some all new things about the story of Devil May Cry but most importantly gives us the first ever insight into Evas death through a flashback to Dante as a child of around 10. As well as giving that event a place in the timeline we also learn Dante went into hiding during the demon attack and when it was over believed both Eva and Vergil to be dead, only realizing his brother is alive during Code 1. How Vergil survived is unknown but Japanese scans of Code 2 reveal we might get that answer also through Vergil's own rather nightmaric flashback.
Trivia
- The English voice track is used in all releases of Devil May Cry 3, including the original Japanese release.
- In mission 19, during a fight with Arkham's demonic form, Vergil temporarily lends his help. During this, a second player can command Vergil, similar to the ability take command of the duplicate created using the Doppelganger style.
- During the opening cinematics of each mission, you can see the number of the mission hidden in the cinematic. For instance, in mission 1, the pool ball Dante shoots has a 1 on it, also the pizza box has the number 1 on it(Official hidden number in mission). In mission 2, there is a two on the billboard next to Dante's ruined shop. In mission 3, Lady burns several enemies with the bike and they fall down to make a flaming "3". Mission 5 starts with Dante killing a "Bloodgoyle", and as it falls of the wall it leaves a 5 shaped blood stain. In the mission 6 intro, after Lady ends the fight with a blast, there is a flaming 6 etched into the ground. On mission 7, when Dante wipes the blood from his head on a wall, the blood trickles into a 7. Mission 8 has the number on the moon right before Dante jumps of the Temen-ni-gru. On mission 10, the blood spilled on Arkham's book forms a 10. On mission 11, the number 11 is formed by blood trails from Arkham's legs. In mission 12, the rig Jester rides up on is shaped like a 12. In mission 13, the number is on a wall in the background when Virgil is talking to himself. In Mission 14, the number is on the inside of a newly formed cliff towards the end of the scene. In Mission 17, the number is made up of two pillars in the bottom left of the screen. In Mission 18, as Dante rides the steam of light to the Demon world, a newspaper flys across the screen bearing the number 18 for a split second. In mission 20, just as the cutscene ends, the number is formed in the clouds.
- Vergil's voice actor is Daniel Southworth, who is also known for the role in Power Rangers Time Force as Eric Myers the Quantum Ranger.
- Around May 20, 2006, Planet Xbox 360 originally reported that Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition would be making its way to Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the PAL territories sometime in September. The site quickly pulled the article as a mistake on their part. Capcom had confirmed that particular version for the PS2 for PAL territories on that date, and the site seemingly had mistaken it for Xbox 360.
- In the intro sequence to mission 1, Dante tells Arkham that he is not open for business but points out that the bathroom is "in the back". In the original Devil May Cry, Dante has a similar conversation with Trish in which he tells her the bathroom is "in the back".
- In Mission 1, There are two Gibson's Les Paul guitars and a Fender Stratocaster. There's also a Drum Set which is indistinguishable.
Awards
- Included on Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list. Later received a game of the month award when the special edition was released.
See also
- For Nevan of Irish Mythology see Nevan (mythology).
- Dante Alighieri
- The Divine Comedy
- Relativity (M. C. Escher)
External links
- [Devil May Cry 3 at devilmaycry.org]
- [Capcom's Official Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening website]
- [Devil May Cry 3 at Capcom Japan]
- [Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition at Capcom Japan]
- [NTSC-uk's guide to Royal Guard Style]
- [NTSC-uk's guide to Swordmaster style]
- [Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening at MobyGames]
- [Devil May Cry 3 GameRankings.com Review Database]
- [Devil May Cry 3 at devils-lair.org]
- [UbiSoft's page for the PC Version of the Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition]
- [Devil May Cry 3 at capcom-central.com]
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