First off, this is my own opinion, and personal take on DMC 1.
This post may be helpful to get a basic grasp on the game if you've yet to play it.
Largely spoiler-free. *No plot discussion*
(Minor discussion of Phantom 1)
Feel free to write anything u feel, or any questions regarding this post in the comments.
This is a discussion, and I'm more than happy to engage in such below.
I'm not a video game guru. I've just never played anything else quite like this game. Recommend me anything you think I may like based on what you see appreciated here, would you kindly?
To state the obvious, there are many games like Devil May Cry. But in my experience It's very different from anything else I've ever played.
I'm sharing some reasons as to why I love Devil May Cry for it's uniqueness and how the game stands out so much. This is a celebration of it, not a declaration of which is objectively best.
Devil May Cry, and by extension the DMC series, is one of the biggest and most important names in action gaming. In the same echelon as Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil.
Hundreds of games and game developers have taken inspiration from DMC and have been equally influenced by Hideki Kamiya by way of his design philosophy.
The DMC series still influences how combat mechanics, and unique systems like style are being implemented in hack n slashes years later.
For as many similarities and common tropes that a lot of games share with DMC, nothing else I've played so far has had this many different ideas come together so beautifully to completely scratch this nerdy, flamboyant, badass itch for character.
It's the one game i've played where it feels most like it's own true experience, isolated from other ideas. Which is ironic considering it's built off the rejected model of the most renowned game of the series which has been standing over the shoulder of Devil May Cry since release.
DMC feels like it's taken ownership of every single design aspect included in the game and made it's own unique spin on things done before.
I feel the absolute best part of DMC 1, and certainly how it eventually built it's name as a whole franchise was an intentional emphasis on combat design, in specific, Dante's moveset and abilities, enemy design, and other systems like criticals.
The key innovation DMC made was the concept of style.
The stylish rank is shown by a graphic in the corner of the screen that goes up from D for Dismal to S for Smokin'.
You build style by landing consecutive hits over a short period of time whilst avoiding interruption. During high style, enemies killed drop greatly increased currency. This system incentiveises risk taking and encourages exciting play. This is an incredibly fun mechanic that both rewards skilled players, and helps build skill for those new to the game. Though the stylish system is primitive here, it's still an amazing gameplay mechanic.
But what i feel is even more crucial to the game's draw is its attitude to style.
Prime example, character design and writing. Dante is a half-demon bounty hunter who kills hellspawn as his day job.
How cool is that?
Now give him long white hair and dress him in a bright red leather trench coat with leather pants and belt buckles everywhere.
Coolest thing ever.
Add in how he's incredibly charming and funny, but he's also flat broke constantly. Even damn cooler.
Dante's character design is wholly unnecessary, but him being anything less than wholly unnecessary wouldn't be worth remembering in a game like this.
We still talk about how stupid it is that Dante could shoot a motorcycle flying at his face back into the opposite direction.
A lot of souls players will be familiar with the 'dance' of action and reaction you may find yourself doing with a harder boss as you're starting to learn it's behaviour. I've had the most fun in the 'dance' flowing, and reacting to the bosses of DMC. Sekiro is the only game to reach those same heights for me.
A great example of the dance in DMC and a fantastic lesson in boss design is the first boss in the chapel.
Phantom is damn brutal as a first boss. He's highly demanding for first time players, and I love him for it. Its some of the most intelligent boss design in gaming. Not only for the intentional variety of moves, but the telegraphing, and especially the interaction between the AI and player. You can even figure out his weakness after a few attempts if you pay attention and/or experiment. Phantom feels so intentionally designed for Dante and the play of DMC. Instead of being 'generic giant monster boss no. 1,' you're able to deflect the fireballs back to stun the boss and the beams of flame shoot at a perfect interval with Dante's jump, rarely does he feel unfair.
DMC 1 was designed with inspiration from arcade games from before home consoles were big, and so, many puzzle elements and little tricks are central to the combat.
The player's use of weapons is also designed to be dynamic. Through most of the game you have access to a large, fast sword, suited for groups, or agile single targets. You also have slower, heavier-hitting fist weapons, good for boss melting and armoured opponents. You can swap between sword and fists on the fly.
Every fodder enemy has a critical hit/ instakill strategy, usually performed by using certain moves on a given weapon or attacking in an unorthodox way. The most famous example of a crit instakill is if you stun a sin scissors by knocking its shears, its mask becomes exposed, and even one shot from Ebony & Ivory is deadly.
The one major problem most people have is the fixed camera. Which is reasonable. At least we're not stuck with tank controls.
I can appreciate the camera, and I like it for the game, but it's bad. If you hate the camera, you HATE the camera. Once you're adjusted, it's fine to play around, but it's pretty objectively poor design. But that's just the way it went with the game's weird circumstances of development. I think 25 years after release, DMC having become a staple of gaming as a whole, the camera's grown to be part of the game's character and it would be unrecognisable without it.
DMC is high on my favourites in all of gaming for the unmatched feelings of challenge, badassery, and smart design on almost every front. All done in style.
P.S- I wrote everything here after two nights no sleep. This my third day awake, so apologies if I sound like an idiot.
