I remember being 11 years old and going over a friend's house a little bit after Devil May Cry came out. He raved about how great this game is, and I think played some of it in front of me. A couple months later, we hung out and I asked if I can borrow the game.

When I first started it, I thought it was pretty cool. I liked the gothic architecture and old castle feel of Mallet Island. I was kinda just mashing against the enemies for a bit while getting used to the controls. Then came the time to fight Phantom, the big scorpion spider thing who serves as the first boss. I lost over and over again, fighting frivolously and not even getting close to clearing out Phantom's health bar. A good hour in of retrying and dying and getting mad, I started to cry. I gave the game back and said "it sucks!" and was on a tirade against this series for a while.

Fast-forward to 2009, Bayonetta is being shown off and my 19 year-old self got pretty horny over her, which was enough to convince me to check the game out. And I adored it. It wasn't until after I beat the game that I took the time look up who Hideki Kamiya is as he was listed as the game's director. "Wait, this is the guy who made Devil May Cry?!"

I haven't thought about the series for years up to that point. But the memories were still there. I was almost scared to go back, despite being competent enough at action games. I grabbed the HD Collection, jumped in . . . and absolutely loved it!

Devil May Cry 1 might not be the most well-designed or engaging game in its series, but I love the style and presentation so damn much. And, as per my little story, I like to think it can teach any gamer discipline if they haven't experienced that yet from a video game. This title won't let you mash and bust your way through its story, you HAVE to understand how it wants you to play it.