Devil May Cry: Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover

Back in 2010 when the Devil May Cry reboot was first unveiled, Capcom had handed over development duties to Ninja Theory that added another western studio to the list of big named Capcom titles receiving the western touch.

Anyone that has followed video games knows of some examples when fan hit back at a company or studio for taking a beloved series in an unfamiliar direction, but the backlash Ninja Theory received for their new take on Devil May Cry was unprecedented and I was afraid they might bow to the whim of the fan base.

Nearly a year later and they are staying true to their original vision and props to them for sticking through with it, whether fans want to admit it or not Devil May Cry needed a new lease of life, the formula was wearing thin come Devil May Cry 4. It felt like Capcom wanted to try something new with the franchise with the introduction of Nero as the main protagonist and even that met its own share of hate directed towards it.

This reboot deserves the benefit of the doubt, Ninja Theory have a proven track record so I'm confident that the series is in safe hands, the criticism they have received is unjustified.


Ninja Theory Knows How to Craft a Great Story

Enslaved Odyssey to the West

If you are unfamiliar with the developer Ninja Theory, I ask you to check out and play the 2010 release, Enslaved Odyssey to the West. Not only is it a fantastic game, it is one of the best examples of character development in gaming with high production values, when a character speaks you are sold on that character 100%. If you want to prove to someone games can have a great story and characters this is a perfect example.

Ninja Theory’s games have a strong focus on character development and story and for a character like Dante offers huge amounts of potential especially Dante at a younger age. The studio creates stories that are interesting from start to with an emphasis of emotional engaging characters.

If you watch the trailers for the game, pay attention to some of the writing on the walls and the themes, it it is trying to put across not only for Dante but also of the world he is trapped in.
So think about that for a minute, a unique take on Dante mixed with these high production values and the potential for a story that takes things in a new direction, people complain this isn’t the Dante they know. Well that is obvious, look at some of the great characters in literature film or gaming, Luke Skywalker for example starts of whining and complaining and by the third film, and he is saving the Galaxy. Give the character a chance to grow and I guarantee the Dante you will see by the end of the game will be different from the one at the beginning.

The game is still a long way away with no fixed release date, they are not revealing much so far but they are giving people a taste of what is to come, with the intention of fully show casing it when it is ready.


Yes, Dante Looks Different 

A young Dante

This is where a lot of the hate towards this game is derived from as our white haired hero has a little colour on top now.
I never really understood why people were so taken aback at first; it seemed obvious they would be telling the origin of Dante, which bar from Devil May Cry hasn’t really been touched upon since.
So a game following the growth of one of the sons of Sparda is an interesting tale and given this is a reboot you never know who might show up.

The thing is this is still Dante but a much younger version he hasn’t found himself yet or his place in the world so of course his attitude is going to be different. A good test is if you watch a trailer or any of the gameplay videos, look at his actions and body language and it is totally Dante. For those worrying he won't have the white hair, he will by the end of the game in the videos shown you can see a white spot of hair at the back. And in demon form his hair changes to white.

The older Dante is something we have already seen in four other games. So if they went down the route of introducing Dante fully powered as he appears in the likes of Devil May Cry 4 you would lose any character development and it would just be another hack and slash game with Dante in the middle of it, at least with this change to the character the team gets to explore new depths to the character, which have rarely seen the light of day.


To Early to Judge the Gameplay

Yeah, this looks like a
Devil May Cry Game

Although the gameplay is a huge importance to any game it is impossible to really judge whether or not it is good or not as not a lot has been shown but what has been revealed looks like well…Devil May Cry.
You can still hoist a demon in the air while unloading rounds of ammunition so at least on first impression it at least resembles the Devil May Cry gameplay, Hiroyuki Kobayashi is onboard helping out with the gameplay even going into details of key frames of moves.
With that kind of time and investment from a man who has worked on 2,3 and 4 in the series, you can’t doubt that the gameplay will at least be on par with previous entries.

While I will say I havn’t been impressed by the gameplay so far it seems like more of the same from Devil May Cry which isn’t inherently a bad thing but I would like to see some new stuff. But as I said it is way to earlier to judge.


Final Thoughts
As a last few things I will say check out these two video interviews from Gamescom that should help the mob in lowering their pitchforks.


Fans can be merciless in their devotion to a character and a franchise they hold an investment towards, this connection to a franchise can also be to the detriment to the evolution of a product. In an industry that is moving so fast with bars being raised constantly across the board playing it safe is not always an option, if no one took risk we would never see anything new.

Gametrailers Interviews
Creative Direction Interview
Capcom & Ninja Theory Interview