Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

"This game not only makes up for the let-down of DMC2..."

Intro
After a looong time of waiting, Devil May Cry 3, the third game of the series, which has been expected after the disappointing 2nd game, has come out. I have been one of those crazy fans who tried to purchase the game as soon as it was available. And my hope for a great redemption of this series has come true : DMC3 doesn't only satisfy most of the fans but gives us players a new style and new life. Although the story is not improved much (as the game is just a prequel), I think those who are DMC fans, or even Action game fans should enjoy the excitements brought by this masterpiece.

Gameplay 9.2/10
The attraction of DMC3 not only comes from the return of the familiar "badass" hero, but also some new systems that Capcom has brought to us. While DMC2 became so sucking with the poorly materialized scenery and backgrounds, again in this game, you'll be able to get through very impressive buildings with elaborate designs and the classic atmosphere of the ancient time. Everything has been improved and nearly renewed : the enemies, the cutscenes, the musics and especially the battle systems, to which I'll give comments later. I don't often give scores which are higher than 9 for the gameplay of a game. But since the gameplay of DMC3 is really great but not enough to receive a 10, I have to use a decimal score. Besides, I assure that you'll be amazed by the cool cutscenes of the game with the characters' awesome lines and actions, and especially Capcom has successfully expressed their own personalities so realistically. Despite some little bugs, this game completely deserves to be one of your best Action games, especially after reading my next lines...

Storyline 8.5/10
Just like its predecessors, DMC3 doesn't have a detailed and improved storyline. But this time, as I said, Capcom has paid more attentions to the episodes of the game via the beautiful cutscenes, although they don't really reveal what you have wanted to know from the first game til this one. By the way, maybe Capcom wants you to expect another DMC game ? However, you can learn many things from the characters' lines, but I guess some of us will be attrated by the performances of the scenes rather than the story (^_^).

Characters 10/10
One (or two) word(s) with good meaning : (Absolutely) Impressive !!!
As I said in my opening words, this time the characters have been designed pretty carefully about both outer images and characteristics inside. Any player of this game will be first "shocked" by the hero : arrogant, jerky and a little childish. He proved his "terrible" personalities via the awesome performances in the first scene of the game, and later, his way of wearing clothes. Maybe you have been so familiar with the type of heroes who are not only almost perfect at everything but also keep claiming justice as the aim of life. But our DMC3 hero is NOT. He has his own life and desires to prove his own self. He plays around by his bad points instead of denying them. He just realizes justice more slowly but much more realistically than the common type of heroes. Nobody is perfect, and that's the kind of characters Capcom has built for you in this game. The other characters, who may be considered less important, are also given chances stage their own characteristics : from the persistent young lady with less training to the merciless villains. Each line, each attitude of them is a sign (or even a side) of their thoughts and emotions. Besides, I insist that the characters' designs in this game are excellent and fashionable that is also able to express the characters and amuses the players. Moreover, they are completely NOT skeletal and clumsy copies of the previous games. In conclusion, if the characters is your most interest in a game, DMC3 is completely worth your try.

Battle System 9.8/10
Firstly, DMC3 gives you a variety of Styles in the new Style system : Swordmaster - give you various and unique weapon techniques, Gunslinger - improves your gunning skills, Royal Guard - more chances of defense and Trickster - helps you achieve various evasion moves. You can only switch the styles (along with other things like items, equipments, etc) during Mission screens and Divinity Statues. You'll have chance to find your most practical ability and improve it to explore more unlockable skills. They all eases your game and during the missions you'll be able to achieve more styles given by major enemies, which I won't spoil here. Is that enough for the styles ?
Secondly, this game gives you more weapons than ever : 10 various weapons including melee weapons and firearms. Unlike DMC2 in which the weapons are nearly and boringly the same, each weapon in DMC3 has unique designs with unique attributes and actions and you acquire them by beating certain bosses. The actions have to be purchased from the Divinity Statues. Plus the "countless" moves of the Style system, just imagine how exciting it is to try and mix up combos with those cool stuffs.
One thing that shouldn't be missed in this game is the enemy. If you have enjoyed the funny puppets or the wicked floating Sins from the first Devil May Cry game, don't miss this game. This time your enemies are low-classed monsters made of sand, coming from the Netherworld. They may not be as clumsy as the Marionettes but at least they can make you laugh in some scenes because of their stupidity. Replacing the floating Sins is the very tough Fallens coming from the sky. I shouldn't spoil more, but the enemies of Devil May Cry 3 are absolutely worth trying especially when you are a hardcore fan, not to mention the bosses are not less fascinating. The bosses also have characteristics and their unique techniques are to challenge our talents.

Difficulty 8.5/10
Urg oh, it's a pain in the ass since Capcom wants to compensate for the unusual ease in DMC2. But this is the reason why DMC3 doesn't receive worthy scores from some gaming organizations. I have been a crazy fan of this series and have ever tasted Dante Must Die difficulty of the first game. But DMC3 difficulties sometimes put me off, not to mention those who are newbies of this game/series. By the way, it's also a reason for some players, who love challenges, to like this game. So it can be considered a unique sign of Devil May Cry among the other games.

Sound & Music 10/10
About the music, I have never imagined such a game could change my opinion about a genre of music as an anti-metal fan, not to mention music is almost everywhere in this game : From the Mission screen to a little cutscene. The main theme of the game, "Devil's Cry", fascinates me from the beginning til the end. Whenever you encounter enemies, no matter what they are, bosses or minions, the melodies rock you. After Devil May Cry 1, this game is the one that has given me the feeling of living among the "accursed" rock melodies which I have ever hated. C'mon !

Graphic 10/10
Before this game was released, I had only hoped to see the old castle theme of DMC1 in its beautiful graphic again after the vulgar city theme of DMC2. However... Capcom has done things much more than I expected. You'll be able to enjoy the castle theme which is even much more beautiful and twilight as the main background of the game. Besides, your character will travel in many other kinds of environments. But the general thing is that they are all built and designed very carefully and elaborate. The greatly improved graphic also takes an important role in the characters' designs : You can see the emotions on their faces, their eyes, their lively lip moves in spite of Realtime cutscenes. You can see details on characters' clothes and ornaments, as well as interactive environments around. Guess that many players have been impressed by the realistically raining scene where the two brothers battling each other with the sword clashes and the painful cry of the loser. So why don't you just play the game to know what I mean ?

Secrets 8.5/10
DMC3 brings back the familiar secret Blue Orb search to increase the character's max lifebar. Other things are not very new either : Secret Missions, secret playable characters. But... Capcom keeps disappointing me again since I can't play as any other characters than the main hero, but his other versions. If only I could play as the main villain or the heroine whose skills make me wonder. However, the way how the scenes announce the ordinal numbers of the mission amuses me a bit.

Conclusion
Hope that my review has helped you have a first overview about Devil May Cry 3 to decide to buy it or not. I know it's really hard for you since the game comes out right simultaneously with some other hot games. But as I said, if you have known this series or if you are an Action game fan, this game is a MUST.

*ADVANTAGES :
- Greatly improved Battle System with Style system
- Variety of performances and weapons
- Excellent graphic and music
- Awesome characters' designs (my most favourite advantage)
- Very cool enemies and bosses

*DISADVANTAGES
- The story is still vague.
- The game is too short !!!

Scores
Gameplay : 9.4
Storyline : 8.5
Characters : 10
Battle System : 9.8
Graphic : 10
Sound and Music : 10
Secrets : 8.5
Replay Value : 9.4 (average of other scores)
Overall Score : 9.5/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/05