What can be said about Devil May Cry 3? It took the core tenets of DMC1, scrapped out everything DMC2 did or was, and created the standard of the genre to follow for the rest of time. One of the most confident sequels ever made, re-inventing and innovating on everything the first game did, it took the idea of spectacle combo focused action and just ran with it to space. When you find yourself running on walls to follow it up with a divekick, skating on an enemy while shooting others with your dual pistols, or killing a boss with a fucking electric guitar shredding slide, you know you have a real videogame in your hands.

To further elevate the cockiness and showboating of the combat, the team made the brilliant decision of going back in time and having us play a teenage version of Dante. If DMC1 felt like an awkward early step, and DMC2 a massive false move in the wrong direction, then DMC3 is where the franchise came into it's own and got it's sense of identity, away from it's RE4 prototype roots. Dante is such a fun time to be around with when he's styling on enemies, mocking bosses, or having any sort of dialogue with other characters. To top it off, DMC3 brings back his twin brother Vergil, a stoic and self serious foil to Dante, that creates some of the most memorable and iconic scenes in the franchise.

While the setting this time around can't match the atmosphere and vibe of the castle in DMC1, the demonic tower you explore for the most part in DMC3 still retains the gothic and religious aesthetic that gives the series it's unique downtime between fights, with some somber and creepy background tracks and noises that can be faintly heard as you move around. The latter games in the franchise would distance themselves from this aesthetic more and more, which is disappointing. The pacing of the game is perfect, starting you off from the streets and stripclubs before you enter the tower that you slowly go up and then down and back up again to hell, doling out new enemies, bosses and weapons at the right time. The backtracking never feels dull or inconvenient, as there's always something new and different everytime you pass a previous location.

In retrospect, if you have played DMC4 and DMC5, Devil May Cry 3 might feel dated and restrictive with it's weapon and style system, not allowing you to carry more than 2 weapons and 1 style at a time. But with the advent of PC ports that allow for mods, and the Switch version that allows for unlimited weapon and style switching, DMC3 rises up as the best in the series. Everything just clicks with this one. The combat, the setting, the characters, the story. By the time you defeat Vergil for the third time, and you fight your way through the credits, you will know you have played one of the best action games of all time.

On my first playthrough I didn't like the puzzles at all but on subsequent playthroughs it doesn't matter much because you already know what to do; this along with the level design -the game is just not about killing enemies going from room to room- makes it really entertaining.

While the mechanics for Dante are superior in DMC4 and DMC5, I don't like playing as Nero in DMC4 and I HATE playing as V in DMC5; that's the reason I prefer the gameplay in DMC3.

I still think this game has many issues: some enemies are really badly designed, it has some very boring boss fights and the DMD mode for this game is just meh.

Don't think there have been many cases where I've been entirely sold on a game based on the opening cutscene along but this is absolutely one of them. Kinda crazy too that the first game in the series that really makes me think "alright here's where Devil May Cry truly starts" is the 3rd entry, especially since I do think that the first game is a masterpiece, it just doesn't quite vibe as the kind of game that the series would eventually become. So many rough edges smoothed out while also adding a ton of its own, so many new systems and ideas to play around with while also having a lot of issues that arise from the increased complexity, a constant give and take scenario that ends up being amazing by virtue of just how damn fun it is even when it occasionally just doesn't work properly.

The combat is where this shines the most, really honing into the combo system and making it something that feels actually fun and usable, feeling so badass that you're actually encouraged to string together these massive, flashy combos. A lot of extra tools were added to aid in this process, giving the player the ability to seamlessly switch between weapons with the push of a button while also having the option for a few different styles that change up the playstyle pretty significantly without feeling at odds with the experience at all. Combine this with the far better enemy design that aims to force the player to take better advantage of the tools at their disposal and keep them on their toes and you've got yourself a game that rarely falls flat in terms of being an exhilarating time. Even during sections that are basically just seemingly endless waves of enemies approaching you, it never really feels like a big problem simply because of how fun it is to be messing around with such a robust combat system.

A lot of other changes come into play as well to further improve how this all feels, with the biggest one being the change of the camera to a more mobile one. While this does come with the downside of losing a great deal of the vibe that DMC1 had, the trade-off is being able to fight things without the camera blatantly screwing you over with frequency. This also contributes in ways such as making the dodge roll a more consistent manoeuvre to pull off, and actually letting you more reliably chain attacks together. The only real issue I have with all of this is that I feel it doesn't always translate so smoothly to larger targets, especially those with attacks that cover a lot of ground. This mostly affects the boss fights, where quite a few of them, while still being fun, have certain elements that just absolutely suck to deal with, whether it's attacks that are too big and too quick, the camera being an absolute pain to deal with during them, or just feeling awkward to actually approach properly. Very few of the bosses I'd actually consider outright bad, but there is once again, a certain sense of give and take with them, even if you also have your standout amazing moments like the Vergil fights or the absolute goofiness of the Jester which I just wholeheartedly adore.

I really like the atmosphere this has too, as while I preferred the more gothic, eerie vibes of 1, there's something about the unbridled badass edginess that this game embodies that I cannot get enough of. Balancing these aspects of hacking down waves of demons while metal music blasts in the background is the wonderfully lighthearted dialogue and the ridiculous sense of spectacle from the action sequences in the cutscenes. The massive, stupid grin I got on my face every time Dante said another silly quip or used an entire motorcycle as a weapon, or whenever the Jester did literally anything, is something unmatched from most games to the point where these scenes ended up being the biggest thing I was looking forward to in the game despite the actual gameplay being absolutely top notch as well.

If there was any complaint with the whole vibe and setting of the place, it's that I do wish that depending on the mission, certain areas were just gated off or something, as there were a few too many cases of accidentally getting led down the wrong path and going way too far off course just because there was nothing stopping me or even guiding me from these wrong paths in a game that does ask you to retread your steps at multiple points throughout the game. This wasn't really a dealbreaker I'll admit, and sometimes it ended up being annoying purely because I was a bit stupid or unobservant, but it still undoubtedly felt a bit off to me, especially since there's blatantly just, nothing of value at all on these paths ever. I also felt like certain bits of the mid to late game ended up being a bit much with the amount of reused content, having the player trek through the same areas they already had, sometimes not even adding anything meaningfully new, making bits and pieces of the later few missions feel a bit repetitive, even if it gets amended in the final couple with the bigger focus on some awesome setpieces.

Despite the issues though, this game has absolutely given me some mild brainrot already that I just know will accelerate the moment I go in for my 2nd playthrough, not only better mastering the game, but experimenting with the other tools that I didn't really get much of a chance to use. There's just so much personality in almost everything here and the game is hellbent on utilising all of it to its absolute fullest potential to make for one of the most fun games I've played.

this game does this thing where it's fun for like 45 minutes and then pulls some bullshit room (like the tick tock clock rip-off platforming room) or boss fight (like any of the 3 vergil fights) or something like that that nullifies the entirety of it

also backtracking in an action game is lame

anyways just pull a family guy and watch a funny moments video on youtube, you'll get more out of it

well now I really understand the love for the dmc series. It’s a very cool game and Dante’s wittiness throughout is a pleasure to my ears. Edgelord Vergil with his katana. Lady! Ugly priest dude. Capcom excels once again with their characters. The final mission was driving me crazy, then all of a sudden I became the real Dante and just excelled at everything, all of a sudden I was in complete control of the entire battle. I was aware of 100 kills during credits, of course I get 99, the final enemy was defeated and doing it death animations but never added to the count,,,,oh well. I’ll definitely have to go and replay this game on the harder difficulties sometime. Thanks capcom

Now THIS is the Devil May Cry I’ve heard so much about. Fast paced and full of style, energy and character. The combat sandbox is fluid, satisfying and allows for a fair bit of improvisation. I do think the style system is a bit rigid, I would’ve loved to combo the Trickster’s aerial warp with the Swordmaster’s aerial combos, but even as is the system has a lot of depth, and each style offers something for every playstyle. Against that is a diverse assortment of creative enemies that get more and more challenging as you progress, and not through just reskins with health and damage turned up, they’ll actually behave in more challenging ways, they’ll flank you, they’ll rebound and counter attack, etc. Dante himself is such a goofy, shit-talking, pizza loving frat boy, someone who loves to show off, perfect for a game about kicking everything’s ass in the most stylish way possible. Vergil as well is a great contrast, cold, self serious, he and Dante play off each other well. The story itself isn’t some masterpiece, but it is well structured and implemented in the context of the game, with Vergil, getting strong enough to beat him, hanging there as your ultimate goal through everything.

As great as this game is, I did still have a couple flaws with it. A couple of missions I found really obtuse, #15 in particular I had to look up a guide for after running around like a headless chicken for a half hour. The camera, while a vast improvement on 1 and especially 2 solely for the fact that you can actually adjust it this time, did still sometimes dick me over, sometimes it was in too tight and I couldn’t see all the enemies around me, sometimes it would drift into an awkward spot in the middle of the action, when I couldn’t focus on adjusting it back. I also thought some of the bosses were a touch weaker than others, Arkham was an especially underwhelming runner up to the true final boss.

As a whole, this game was great. I can easily see how it set the standard for this type of game and in many ways still does. I’m looking forward to playing DMC4 and 5 somewhere down the line.