(This is my first time playing any of the DMC games. This review is my first impression for each) TLDR: These games are MANDATORY for any Hack n' Slash enthusiast. They are the best on the market, and I only hope 4 and 5 can compare. DMC1 is a literal proof of concept: It was the original Resident Evil 4, but was given the greenlight to be an independent game; its built on the foundation of another, scrapped, game. For the time of its release, it was akin to God of War: A veritable king that has since defined an entire genre. It did a lot of good, for absolute sure, and I do not actively hate the game. I respect what it did. However, more than 20 years later, the gameplay itself does not hold up. The game is incredibly jank, held back by an extremely terrible camera (In a fixed position that swaps during combat and changes directional inputs), an awful save/checkpoint system, a poor lock on system for aiming, few combos and weapons, and overall boring combat. There is no tutorial or introduction to anything (other than the water level controls a quarter of the way through), no ability to replay missions, random one off gimmicks thrown in, poor item management (Game limits your items, despite there not being a cap. You're just not allowed to buy more than one), and no player direction. I did not enjoy actually playing the game and found it very frustrating. I did enjoy the aesthetics, music, enemy design (They have their own movesets rather than single attacks)... Quite literally everything in the game is SSS+ except the combat. It even has NG+ and carries all of your stuff, with new enemy placements. I beat it purely for the sake of getting a better understanding of how far the franchise has come and developed itself as a part of Hack-and-Slash / Action Game Royalty. I would not skip this one, as its more unique than the rest of the franchise. Additionally, it allows you to see where the core of the series originated. However, I do not recommend playing it more than once due to the other games just being better and for most people, the jank will frustration you. Though, despite everything I've said, I think it'd be my favorite if it got a proper Remaster to further flesh this rendition of a Resident-May-Cry. DMC2: Universally acclaimed to be the worst in the series... this is true. From the beginning, it was destined to fail. The director and team behind DMC1 were not called upon to work on the sequel and as such, the game was a total failure. Nobody making the game understood what to do, and they only began working in the final 6 months before release, with a new team. The game fails at too many things to properly list, however, here is a short list of what absolutely ruins this game and makes it unworthy of being a good game: Comically easy enemies (Which often stand still), lack of puzzles and secrets, Dante having no personality, poor map design and layout, fewer weapons than the first game, weapons having no identity or variation (Never call iconic weapons by name, and all melees are identical), every boss in the game is easily exploited (Standing next to some of them renders them unable to hit you) and the bosses themselves are boring, uninspired, or copy/pasted from DMC1 (Despite there being no lore for their return or lack of voices?), overtuned firearms which trivialize the game, and half of your armory isn't usable due to the aforementioned guns taking precedent (You're expected to use guns for almost everything and get punished for melee). I didn't understand what was going on, as Dante doesn't even speak until Chapter 7, which is 45% through the story. There's an absolute disconnect between the player and the characters... HeII, you can't even pick the legacy control scheme from DMC1. Now, the game does do SOME good. I enjoy the advanced mobility via wallrunning, shooting downwards, having extra air attacks, being able to carry more items, as well as chapter select. However, the list of positives is very small, and since the game is so uninteresting, I never attempted to play the game as the other two characters: Lucia and Trish (Which uses DMC1 Dante as a base) There's technically three, with DMC1 Dante if you beat the game on DMD, but you'd have to pay me to open DMC2 after this first impression. I recommend skipping DMC2 in its entirety. You will not lose anything from doing so. DMC3: Wow, "this party's getting crazy!". DMC3 is the absolute definitive triumph and return to form DMC needed and has since given us. While DMC2 was challenged in many places, it had pieces to the ultimate hack and slash game. The team behind DMC2 asked for another chance to develop another DMC, though this time, with proper time and research dedicated to the cast, their personalities, style, and tone for the new game. While they hastily began work for DMC3 almost immediately after DMC2 released and failed, this speed was precise. They knew what they wanted, and had more than a few years of backed up feedback from players. DMC3, and both its Special and HD editions, have done nothing but impress and improve, every iteration. DMC3 has, with no exaggeration, earned its title as 'One of the Best Video Games Ever Made'. The formula is damn near perfect. So much so, that every game after it has basically copy/pasted it, with more and more and more... Dante has SO much character and personality. He's cocky, witty, likes to have fun, and can be very serious. Dante has genuine character growth: Going from not caring about the plot other than fighting Vergil again, to going out of his way to help a stranger with their family issues, and coming to terms with personally witnessing the end to his family, culminating with him crying (Hence where the name of his business and game comes from). Its not the greatest narrative of all time, but its interesting, and compelling. The art style returns to something akin to DMC1, for better or worse with some map tiles (Leviathan was not great), and the gameplay itself is actually similar to DMC2. Specifically the formula and layout of having extra buttons to press for combos, different combo branches, and the addition of specialized movements ala Gunslinger 'Style', such as gun spinning, shooting more enemies, charged shots, etc. Speaking of 'Styles', they are a new addition to the franchise which lets you modify Dante's moveset to accommodate how you like to play. As aforementioned, Gunslinger plays more like a DMC2 Dante, while Swordmaster introduces new combos and attacks for all melee weapons. Trickster gives Dante special dodges on the ground and in the air, as well as a teleport feature. There are 5 to start, and you can unlock 2 more through fighting special bosses. In regards to enemies... I hate to say, but this had some of the weaker enemy design I've seen so far. There are enemies I just found frustrating, or annoying, thought they felt out of place when lined up to other enemy types. The Fallen were worse versions of Death Scissors from DMC1, having armored wings to protect them, long range, multi-hit melee attacks, and could fly through walls. The Enigma is probably the worst, as it is a ranged enemy which knocks you back, stuns you, has multiple dashes it can use while firing at you, and is very evasive. I don't mind a ranged enemy, but when these are present, the entire fight becomes much worse. The Dullahan, Soul Eater, and Leviathan are also fairly weak in design. But other than a few weak links, the enemy/boss design are absolutely 10/10. Vergil II is my favorite, by far. A close second would be Agni and Rudra (Such good weapons too, top 3 so far). The game also lets you play as Vergil and has... CO-OP MODE (Accessible via Doppelganger Style or with DMC3 Crimson Mod). This game truly does do it all... I've actually spent so much time I got through Easy/Normal/Hard/Very Hard and over 1000 floors of the ENDLESS MODE (Bloody Palace)... I have so much to say that I ran out of review space!
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