The Future of Devil May Cry - Devil May Cry Series Review

Part 7 - The Future of Devil May Cry

What I would like to see in Devil May Cry 5

While there is nothing currently in production, even though there was a now defunct rumor that Devil May Cry was heading to the PSP, a fifth installment of the Devil May Cry franchise is inevitable. While a lot of people didn't like Devil May Cry 4, the Devil May Cry series has sold nearly 10-million games world-wide, so there is still enough of a demand to make a fifth game. And, with games like God of War III, Ninja Gaiden 2, Dante's Inferno and Bayonetta to compete with, Devil May Cry will need to raise the bar on the extreme-action genre once again.

Here is my personal list of what they would need to do to make the ULTIMATE ass-kicking game:

More characters to play as. I want to play as Dante, Nero, Trish, and Lady whether it's a character select screen, or if it is story based (depending on where I'm at in the game determines the character). This does NOT mean "beat the game, play as new character on your 2nd run through!"

Bring back Vergil (preferably playable). Just pull some sci-fi/soap-opera bullshit that gives us some cheesy reason why he's back all of a sudden. It's not like Devil May Cry would suffer from a cheesy plot-twist because it's done worse. Maybe his soul existed in Yamato and Nero accidentally resurrects him? That would be sweet. Why should Vergil be brought back? Because the relationship between him and his brother, Dante, is one of the best stories in the Devil May Cry universe, as highlighted best in Devil May Cry 3 with the love/hate relationship. Also the fact that Vergil is Dante's only real equal makes him the best possible boss.

For the love of crap, keep the game action-oriented. If you want to drive a nail into the coffin, then bring back the neutered gameplay of Devil May Cry 2. Otherwise, keep the game fast-paced and stylish.

DO NOT have another Dice Game to pad out the game (Devil May Cry 4)
DO NOT do timed button sequences. It's cool in God of War but it's been a make-or-break in every other game since (and it's been mostly 'BREAK').
DO NOT backtrack ANYWHERE. Keep the game moving and the scenery changing.
One or two puzzles are fine, but I want to slaughter enemies in style. Make the ratio of kill/puzzle-solving about 75/25. This should be easy and not repetitive if you add more playable characters.

In addition to the above, it would not hurt Capcom to make a reference or two back to Devil May Cry 2. I am not talking about the shitty story, shitty game play, or shitty everything else, but DO bring back Lucia; she was actually better than Dante in Devil May Cry 2.

Bring back some of the classic Devil Arms. Nevan, Cerberus, Ifrit, Lucifer, and so on. There are two ways to accomplish this without truly interfering with gameplay or story.

The first is putting them in-disk, making these purchasable weapons from, say, Lady. It would be kind of like in Resident Evil 4 with the shrouded merchant.
Second, you could simply make these Downloadable Content, so you spend $10 and you get ALL the old weapons, or pick and choose for $1 each (yeah, pricy for each weapon, but you never see anything on Live or the PSN for $0.50).

No more required puzzles/games that depend solely on chance!! I'm looking at YOU, fucking Devil May Cry 4 Dice-Game! You are a thorn in my ass, and God forbid we ever see anything the likes of you ever again! If you HAVE to have this kind of shit in the game, then make it OPTIONAL and make the reward for fucking around with the player a hidden Devil Arm or something worth while.

Keep backtracking to a minimum. I didn't have a huge problem with the backtracking in Devil May Cry 4 because I loved kicking ass with ultra-Dante. But still, backtracking is BORING. If anything makes you feel like a game is horribly repetitive or is being padded out, it's backtracking.

Co-op. End of story. The coolest, most innovative thing developers could do is make the game 1-4 player (probably outside of story mode). Besides, if Devil May Cry 3 pulled it off (to a lesser extent) then why not be able to perfect it on the ‘next-gen' consoles?

Be able to pick between Dante, Nero, Trish and Lady and play through the game.
Being able to combine attacks would be insanely awesome.
The major hangup would be the camera unless they program it to zoom out to adequately capture players who are fighting in different corners of a room or hallway.
The second potential problem with this idea is ‘lowest common denominator' where either the Xbox or Playstation couldn't render the required number of enemies on the screen, making co-op impossible.
Enemies would also need to be either tougher depending on the number of players, or more plentiful (my guess would be the prior). Boss battles would also need to follow a formula like so: The boss for 1-2 players to fight, and enough baddies for any remaining players to keep at bay.

Character designs are also a key issue I would like to touch up on. Again these are just my opinions:

Dante - While the Devil May Cry 4 look on Dante was interesting, I just don't feel it fits the motif of the other games. Really, Dante came off like an S&M cowboy instead of a demon hunter. I would like to see a return to his classic, gothic appearance in Devil May Cry 5 with the black vest, etc.

Trish - Not much has changed with Trish between Devil May Cry 1 and Devil May Cry 4, which isn't a bad thing solely because it keeps her recognizable. However, in Devil May Cry 4 she also got a 'cowboy' treatment, with the rein stones in a 'ranchero' pattern along her leather pants, but it was much more subtle than Dante's complete K-Mart Cowboy revision. I think if they gave her a more vampire gothic look like Kate Beckensale in the Underworld movies it would be more appropriate. But, if she sticks with black leather pants and an open black shirt, I will stay happy.

Lady - I liked SOME of her Devil May Cry 4 redesign. The glasses and haircut were cool, but the outfit was a little too out there. Granted, it was skimpy enough to put me in a trance, but all the white, fluffiness made her look too much like a skanky Japanese snow-queen, rather than the skanky Japanese mercenary I was hoping to see again. I mean, if they went a little more with the sexy militant route with her design, it would have matched her personality, her original design, and would have matched her goddamned BAZOOKA. Still, I think the school-girl look had a lot going for it, regardless of how absurd it was.

Lucia - IF they bring her back, I would like to see something a little fresher with her design. I like her veil and cloak look, but don't put her in a fucking burka. Her personality also doesn't allow for a ton of skin, so keep it light and tight. Maybe if she had more of a fantasy ranger look with a modern twist, it would work. If she had the look and feel of a female Altair from Assassin's Creed it would make her really badass. Give her retractable wrist blades (ala Wolverine) and she'd kick some demon ass.

Nero - Zippers, belts, and straps apparently make up 90% of the clothing in Japanese video game characters. However, Nero pulls it off pretty well. Keep his 'neo-Goth/punk' look but shake it up a little because he looks too much like the incest bastard son between Dante and Vergil. Also, something that would be nice is if the designers essentially put a fucking electric bark collar on Nero so that every time he says "Kyrie!" he gets 1000 volts to the jugular.

Vergil - Hopefully he will make a return (somehow), and if he does, follow suit with Devil May Cry 3 and make him a polar opposite of Dante. If Dante has his hair down, Vergil has his up. If Dante is more punk, Vergil is more Victorian and Gothic. If Dante looks like a cowboy, make Vergil look like an Indian.

… No, scratch that last part. If Devil May Cry starts looking like Custer in Hell, then I'm out.

Anyways, it's been a long, but fun project to review the current Devil May Cry franchise. Thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading.

- LaughingMan

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