Gamer’s Review: Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening

2003 wasn’t a very good year for the “Devil May Cry” series. The second game was rushed without a proper team. They only hired developers who only made arcade games instead of consoles. As a result, poorly designed missions, boss fights and poor balance labeled the second entry as the worst. Two Years Later, Capcom got their act together without Hideki Kamiya’s involvement. His successor, Hidekai Itsuno listened to fan feedback and made a huge improvement.

“Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening or “Devil May Cry 3: How Dante Got His Groove Back” was officially released in 2005 (same year Gorillaz’s second album Demon Days came out) on PlayStation 2. It received praise from critics, fans and gamers alike. Plus it sold enough copies worldwide. A special edition was released a year later updating new content. Devil May Cry 3 along with the previous two games were re-released in as a compilation under, “Devil May Cry HD Collection.” As I’ve mentioned on reviews of the previous two games, I’m playing and reviewing each installment in the series before watch Netflix’s anime adaptation of Devil May Cry.

This review contains no SPOILERS.

Strong & Weak Qualities

Strong: Reuben Langdon reprises his role as Dante. He did a terrific job for his voiceover performance.

Graphics for a PS2 game holds up. The HD version improves the atmosphere.

Cutscenes provides context regarding Dante and his twin brother, Virgil.

Set before the first game, Dante must prevent Virgil from unleashing a portal to hell. He fights his way through opponents inside a tower. He encounters a bazooka wielding woman who’s tied to Virgil’s scheme.

Gameplay/Mechanics

• Core elements are revamped. Capcom really outdone themselves reinvigorating the series.
• Combat’s a big factor. Developers went full throttle swapping melee and ranged weapons in between a battle.
• Devil Arms are melee weapons. My favorite’s Angi & Rudra. A pair of swords which unleashes fire and wind attacks.
• Filling up Devil Trigger to three or more increases your attacks/defenses and heal a little bit of your health. Use it whenever you’re in a sticky situation.
• Toggle the L3 button allows you to lock-on and switch target. Something the last two games lack.
• “Style” acts as a moveset for Dante’s fighting abilities. Trickster, Swordmaster, Royalguard, Quicksilver & Doppelganger. I went with Trickster. Which allows me to dodge attacks.
• Enemy variety of demons are balanced pretty well. Exploit a specific foe’s strength and weakness.
• Boss Fights are also balanced. Thank goodness shooting countless bullets at ’em isn’t present like the second game. They’re really tough. The first one doesn’t hold back. Be wary.
• If you have a hard time, Easy Mode enables you to have a fair fight. Optional to activate if you die three times in Normal Mode. If you wanna challenge yourself on Normal, it’s your call.
• There are 20 main missions and 12 secret missions. Add ’em together, you get 32. Not bad at all.
• Once you beat the game, you unlock “Bloody Palace, Three Difficulty Modes, Hard, Very Hard, “Dante Must Die & “Heaven or Hell.” The latter difficultly is very challenging. you get attacked, you’ll literally drop dead in one hit. All enemies and bosses will also die in one hit. Can you conquer the game without getting hit?

The Special Edition adds additional content.

• Virgil’s a playable character after you beat the game.
• Proper difficulty adjustment.
• Gold Orb Mode encourages you to progress. Whenever you die, you won’t a level all over again. Pick up where you left off.
• “Turbo Mode” increases 20% of the game’s speed. In the words of Turbo Man from “Jingle All the Way.” “It’s Turbo Time!”
• Jester becomes a recurring boss.
• Bloody Palace Mode has a grand total of 9999 levels. Not kidding. Cue this Vegeta’s infamous line. “IT’S OVER 9000!”

It took me 8 and-a-half hours to finish the game on Easy Mode. Don’t judge me. I got a lotta movies, TV shows and other games on my plate. Replay Value carries all upgrades and arsenal. Use ’em to improve grades.

Weak: It can be difficult to navigate. Luckily, we got walkthroughs on YouTube. I’ll let this flaw slide.

I couldn’t find nothin’ wrong. I’m giving Capcom an Extra Point for making a flawless threequel as possible.

The Final Verdict: A, APEX!

I consider Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening as the best entry in the series. I believe Capcom finally found the game’s identity in terms of an awesome combat system. If you’re new to the Devil May Cry series, buy the HD Collection on the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store. If you’re a Nintendo guy, save some bucks on each game. They’re sold separately.