Devil May Cry Wiki
Register
Advertisement
This article is about the game. You may be looking for the shop from which the game takes its name.
For information on the DMC series as a whole, see Devil May Cry (series).

Devil May Cry is the first game in the Devil May Cry series, Created and directed by Hideki Kamiya featuring the main playable character, Dante, a son of Sparda, as the main protagonist.

The game opens with a cutscene where a woman named Trish bursts into Dante's shop and asks for help. The game is set entirely in and around a castle where both Trish and Dante go to on Mallet Island.

Development[]

Devil May Cry started life as the first version of Resident Evil 4.[3] Game director Hideki Kamiya's goal for this new Resident Evil game was to be on fast, stylish combat. However, during development, the combat system strayed too far from the survival horror concept, and series producer Shinji Mikami convinced Hideki Kamiya and the rest of the development team to make the project into an entirely new game.

The original story, while still known as a Resident Evil game, was based on unravelling the mystery surrounding the body of the protagonist named 'Tony', an invincible man with skills and an intellect exceeding that of normal people, with his superhuman abilities explained with biotechnology. The cast of characters remained largely identical to that in Sugimura's scenario,[4] although the hero's mother[5] and his father,[6] the latter an early version of Umbrella's founder Lord Spencer,[7][8] were written out of the story and 'Tony' became 'Dante', with it still staying engraved upon Ebony & Ivory and Luce & Ombra in the game. Before the game became Devil May Cry, the working title was "Karnival." Kamiya was adamant about it being spelled with a K. The name was used for the biplane that appears in the game.

Gameplay[]

Being the first of the series, Devil May Cry introduced a host of new elements to the gaming community. Chief among them is the Stylish Rank, which grades the player's performance in combat. The game itself is split into Missions, which are individually scored according to various factors, such as Orbs gathered and damage taken. Additionally, Devil May Cry did away with the pre-rendered backgrounds of prior Resident Evil games in order to allow for a dynamic camera system.

Other innovations include the Devil Trigger, which increases Dante's combat effectiveness; the Orb system, where killing enemies with a high style rank yields higher amounts of Orbs; Red Orbs in general, which act as the game's currency to buy abilities and items.

Plot[]

Devil May Cry begins when Dante is attacked in his office by a mysterious woman named Trish. He impresses her by easily brushing off her assault, and tells her that he hunts demons while in pursuit of those who killed his mother and brother. She says her attack was a test, and that the demon emperor Mundus, whom Dante holds responsible for murdering his family, is planning to return. The scene jumps to their arrival at an immense castle, whereupon Trish abruptly leaps and vanishes over a high wall.

Dante explores the castle and encounters the game's stock enemies, the demonic Marionettes. He also finds a new sword called Alastor, and battles the first boss, a giant spider demon named Phantom. Dante wins the battle, but in what becomes a recurring theme, the defeated boss monster reappears a short time later in a corridor, impelling the player to choose a narrow escape or to fight in the tight confines. After further exploration and combat, Dante battles a demon named Nelo Angelo, who impresses Dante with his confidence. The demon wins, but suddenly flees upon seeing the half of an amulet Dante wears. The demon attacks two times more in later missions, and is eventually revealed to be Dante's identical twin brother, Vergil. After Vergil's final defeat, his amulet joins with his brother's half, and Force Edge, the game's default sword which belonged to the twins' father, becomes the powerful Sparda sword.

When Dante next meets Trish, she betrays him and reveals that she too is working for Mundus. When her life is endangered in the aftermath of his fight, Dante chooses to save her. When she begs him to explain why, he says that he only did it because she looks like his mother. He tells Trish though she has his mother's face, Trish is still just a demon and will never have his mother's fire. Dante leaves Trish behind, and Mundus appears to her to tell her she has failed him.

Dante then finally confronts Mundus in statue form. He then directs Dante's attention to Trish, who Mundus has crucified on the wall, warning Dante that if he does anything, Trish will die. Dante turns to look at her, a transgression for which Mundus attacks him. As Mundus prepares to finish Dante off, Trish escapes her shackles and shoves Dante aside to take the attack for him. Dante becomes enraged and unleashes the full power he has inherited from Sparda. The statue starts to crack and shatter, glowing and shooting light in all directions before releasing the trapped Mundus from inside of it. Once freed, Mundus spreads his wings to shape the background into a dimension that he transports Dante into. Dante questions the reason of creating Trish while Mundus rhetorically answers that he could create anything, just like he created Trish for his plot to weaken Dante. With a mighty imperative word to silence the Demon Emperor, Mundus flies up to the clouds just to lure Dante. He transforms into Sparda´s form as the epic battle begins.

Devil Never Cry Shop

Devil Never Cry (shop)

Dante is victorious, and leaves the amulet and sword with Trish's immobile body before departing. Later Mundus returns and corners Dante, who is now greatly weakened, before he can flee the island; but Trish comes in time and lends Dante her power. Dante defeats Mundus, who vows to return and rule the human world. When Trish tries to apologize she begins to cry, and Dante tells her it means she has become human and not just a devil, because "devils never cry". Dante and Trish escape on a plane as the island collapses. After the credits, it is revealed that Dante and Trish are working together as partners, and have renamed the shop "Devil Never Cry".

Difficulty Modes[]

Main article: Difficulty Mode

Devil May Cry is known for its unforgiving difficulty. There are four modes in total: Easy, Normal, Hard and Dante Must Die, with each one increasing in difficulty. Players start on Normal mode, and can unlock the others after playing the game.

Costumes[]

Main article: Costumes

Dante[]

This is the default costume used in the game.

The Legendary Dark Knight Sparda[]

D Sparda

Legendary Dark Knight in Devil Trigger

Unlocked after finishing Hard Mode. The player assumes the role of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, replacing Dante with his father in every cutscene as well. Unlike Dante, this costume starts out with a Devil Arm, Yamato, and thus, can even activate Devil Trigger at the beginning of the game and the character´s shadow shows Sparda´s demonic form. Yamato operates exactly like Alastor, however, so it appears to be more of a model swap than a new weapon. The same goes for Ebony & Ivory, which have been changed to Luce & Ombra, respectively. In Devil Trigger mode, this costume will always take on the demonic form of Sparda. Attacks for Alastor and Ifrit remain the same. Yamato however transforms into his namesake weapon. For balancing reasons, this version of the Sparda sword behaves just like the standard non-devil trigger version that the player gets later. The enhanced damage from the sword and the devil trigger's resistance to knockdown make it a bit stronger than the standard Sparda sword however. The save portrait used is Sparda wielding his namesake weapon. This costume also features unique battle music for the first and second portions of the game that replaces the original battle tracks. Boss themes and the castle battles at night remain unchanged.

Super Dante[]

Unlocked after clearing Dante Must Die mode. This costume is identical to Dante in appearance, but the player now has unlimited Devil Trigger, enabling indefinite time periods in Devil Trigger. The Nightmare-β will also not drain the DT gauge as well. His portrait is the same as Dante's but with an electrical aura surrounding his body.

See also[]

Awards[]

In the edition packaged with the Devil May Cry HD Collection, players can unlock PS3 or PS4 Trophies and Xbox 360 or Xbox One Achievements for their exploits.

Releases[]

PlayStation 2[]

Devil May Cry / デビル メイ クライ (SLPM-65038)[9]
NTSC-J, Japan, Capcom Co., Ltd.
Release date: August 23, 2001
Languages: English (menus, voices), Japanese (text, subtitles)
Price: 6,800¥
Barcode: 4 976219 554602
Devil May Cry (SLUS-20216)
NTSC-U/C, North America, Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Release date: October 17, 2001
Languages: English
Rating: ESRB: M (17+)
Barcode: 0 13388 26004 1
Devil May Cry (SLES-50358)
PAL, Europe, Capcom Eurosoft Ltd.
Release date: December 7, 2001
Languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Rating: ELSPA: 15+, USK: 16+, SELL: 16+, aDeSe: +18
Devil May Cry / 데빌 메이 크라이 (SLPM-67502)[10]
NTSC-J, Korea, Koko Capcom Co., Ltd.
Release date: February 22, 2002
Languages: English, ?
Barcode: 8 809082 340002
Devil May Cry (MEGA HITS!) (SLPM-66502)[11]
NTSC-J, Japan, Capcom Co., Ltd.
Release date: July 25, 2002
Languages: English (menus), Japanese (text, subtitles)
Barcode: 4 976219 754576
Notes:
  • Discount re-release in MEGA HITS! (golden label) range.
  • Same DVD as in original release (SLPM-65038).
  • Letters The 2 million copies worldwide man. (全世界200万本の男。, 'The 2 million copies worldwide man.'?) on the front cover.
  • Ad for upcoming Devil May Cry 2 on the back.
Devil May Cry (Greatest Hits) (SLUS-20216GH)
NTSC-U/C, North America, Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Release date: 2002
Languages: English
Rating: ESRB: M (17+)
Barcode: 0 13388 26004 1
Notes:
  • Discount re-release in Greatest Hits (red label) range.
  • Quotes from the Spin Magazine and PSM added on back cover, Capcom Edge and Capcom.com logos removed.
Devil May Cry (Platinum) (SLES-50358-P)
PAL, Europe, Capcom Eurosoft Ltd.
Release date: 2002
Languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Rating: ELSPA: 15+, USK: 16+, SELL: 16+, aDeSe: +18, VET/SFB: 15
Devil May Cry (PlayStation 2 the Best) (SLPM-74230)[12]
NTSC-J, Japan, Capcom Co., Ltd.
Release date: August 24, 2006
Languages: English (menus), Japanese (text, subtitles)
Rating: CERO: C (15+)
Barcode: 4 976219 020206
Notes:
  • Series' 5th anniversary discount re-release in PlayStation 2 the Best (yellow label) range.
  • New cover artwork by Daigo Ikeno.
  • Packaged with Devil May Cry O.S.T Audio CD containing selected tracks from the game.
  • Was bundled with Anniversary Special DVD.
Devil May Cry (5th Anniversary Collection) (SLUS-20216P3)
NTSC-U/C, North America, Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Release date: October 24, 2006
Languages: English
Rating: ESRB: M (17+)
Barcode: 0 13388 26067 6 (set only)
Notes: Part of the Devil May Cry 5th Anniversary Collection (SLUS-27004) boxset.
Devil May Cry (SLES-50358#)
PAL, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, CE Europe Ltd.
Release date: 2010
Languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Rating: PEGI: 16, ACB: MA (15+)
Barcode: 5 055060 920114 (IS92010-X1EXP)
Notes: Re-release with black label.
Devil May Cry (Capcom Classics) (SLES-50358)
PAL, Europe, CE Europe Ltd.
Release date: 2010
Languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
Rating: PEGI: 16
Barcode: 5 055060 924280 (SC92901-X1EXP), 5 055060 924297 (SC92901-05ITA) (sets only)
Notes: Re-release. Part of the Capcom Classics double pack with Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition

Advertising slogans[]

  • Japan – 悪魔が恐れる男がいた。 (, Akuma ga osoreru Otoko ga ita.?, lit. There was a man whom demons feared.)
  • North America, Korea – Half Man. Half Demon. Pure Vengeance.

Trivia[]

  • Devil May Cry has 23 main missions, making it the game with the most main missions in the entire series.
    • It is also the only game to feature gameplay segments between missions.
  • Devil May Cry is the only game in which there is no game mode "Bloody Palace".
  • In a recent interview, Drew Coombs revealed in the original sample script for the video game, Dante's age is cited as being 23.[13]

Gallery[]

External links[]

References[]

Advertisement