- Pick from 4 styles of combat, Gunslinger, Swordmaster, Trickster and Royal Guard, all offering greatly improved skills in each area
- Play the role of Dante, 20 years before Devil May Cry was set, let the all new story unfold in this prequel to the original masterpiece
- All new enemies, bosses and characters, that act independently and more realistic than ever
- New range of weapons – Battle your way through enemies in style with the enchanted Electric Guitar, also Nun-Chucks, and (of course) swords and firearms
- New game engine, featuring all new Shadow Effects, weather conditions, graphics and sharper gameplay
Product Description
Brand New and Sealed PS2 Game. Backed by a 45-day guarantee…. More >>
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition
Devil May Cry 3 was one of the best games of 2005. The only thing that kept some people away was the extreme difficulty of the game. Still, if you didn’t wimp out, the game was fantastic. Now there’s a special edition out, and it’s one of the greatest gifts CAPCOM has ever given the Devil May Cry fans.
Since this review assumes you’re all familiar with the universe of Devil May Cry 3, I suppose the only thing I really want to do here is tell you about what’s new. Why should you buy this versin of Devil May Cry 3 over the original?
First things first, this game is easier than the original Devil May Cry 3. This is obvious by the new continue system that’s been introduced. Before you had to get yellow orbs that were particularly expensive, and so they came on a limited basis. And then you’d run out of yellow orbs and have to play through a brutal level all over again. The new continue system pretty much ignores the yellow orbs and lets you continue from check points regardless of how many yellow orbs you have. If you have a gold orb, though, you can start right from where you died. If you did like the original yellow orb system you can still do that, but the average gamer will find the unlimited continues welcome.
The difficulty of the game, as noted above, is easier. If you didn’t know, the original Devil May Cry 3 given to American gamers was much harder on the “normal” difficulty setting than in Japan. This is because “Normal” mode for America was actually the japanese “Hard” mode. It’s fixed here, and it’s fairly noticeable. There’s also an easy mode to unlock (if you die a few times) and a “Very Hard” mode. Don’t be fooled by “Very Hard” mode, though. It’s virtually playing the original Devil May Cry 3. With those unlimited continues, however, I’m sure you’ll note the game is still easier on these harder difficulty levels.
The best new feature is the ability to play as Vergil, Dante’s evil brother. In the original Devil May Cry 3 you’ll note he was lightning fast, and had a few devastating attacks. They’re now all at your disposal!
You have to unlock Vergil, however. Either by completing the game as Dante once, or having a save file from the original Devil May Cry 3 on your memory card.
Playing through the story as Vergil is fun, but not nearly as exciting as Dante’s. For one, all the cutscenes aren’t included. Vergil gets his own introduction which makes you think he’ll actually have a story. He doesn’t. He just plays through Dante’s levels (which was to be expected) but with no real purpose for doing it. At times it feels like it was a thrown in extra (a throwback to the unlockable character Sparda in the first Devil May Cry). So there’s no continuity to his story. And it’s really strange to be fighting Vergil while playing as Vergil. Why not fight Dante? It’s fun to play as Vergil, but it would’ve been really cool if they’d given him his own story. We know CAPCOM can give each character their own scenarios (seen in Mega Man X4 and done especially well in Resident Evil 2).
There’s a hidden boss… a jester, who is, compared to the other bosses, way too easy. Dante or Vergil can fight him, but you’ll scratch your head wondering where the difficulty went against this thing.
The combat system of Devil May Cry 3 was gold. The fans knew it, and obviously CAPCOM knows it too, because there’s a “Bloody Palace” unlockable which is just a fancy way of saying “Survival Mode.” It’s you pitted up against various foes. There are 9999 levels in this place, and you can choose to advance by either ten floors or one-hundred floors. It’s time consuming and fun, although only hardcore fans will make it through the whole thing. You might run into one of the challenging bosses as well. As with Vergil Mode, you have to either complete the game first, or have save data from the original version.
There are some more extras. A turbo mode which allows you to speed up the gameplay (imagine juggling now?), a theater mode which allows you to view all the cutscenes in the game, there’s an art gallery and there are costumes you can unlock for both characters.
Really, this is worth while. Some extras feel a little tacked on at times, but for the most part this isn’t like getting some crappy “director’s cut”. It’s like getting your favorite movie in a special edition DVD. It’s packed full of extras!
The Good
+The graphics are still good
+The music is also still good
+The difficulty level has been fixed
+You can play as Vergil
+Survival Mode for those who love the combat system
+The combat system is just fantastic
+Art galleries, theater modes and other extras
+Turbo Mode is just fun to watch!
+New Boss
The Bad
-New Boss isn’t all that exciting
-For hardcore Devil May Cry 3 gamers, the difficulty may feel like it’s reduced too much
-It would’ve been really cool if Vergil had his own scenario
Rating: 5 / 5
The first DMC was a solid game. The second one took a slight step back. This latest installment takes a giant leap forward.
DMC3 takes the best aspects of the previous two games and molds them all together in an awesome package.
The graphics and movies are beyond stunning, the gameplay is as fast and difficult as ever, the weapons have that cool feel to them, and the music rocks.
The thing i love about about this Special Edition is that it caters to every gamer out there. Theres easy modes, hard modes, cheats, new costumes, new characters, and gameplay ‘styles’ that would satisfy anyone. There is a ton of variety to this game and everything is balanced and solid.
Though the one thing that disappointed me was Vergils story… or lack there of.
Vergils game is basically a carbon copy of Dantes. No new levels or anything. Playing Vergils game is like playing Joachims game in Castlevania Lament of Innoncence. You will know what i mean if youve played that game…
Still, DMC3 is the greatest action/adventure title out there for the PS2. Even God of War cant touch the variety, challenge, and gameplay of this. If you want a thoroughly satisfying action rampage with a ton of replay value and unlockables than look no further.
Rating: 4 / 5
I totally loved this game. The graphics were great, the voice work was outstanding. Dante really cracked me up with his wise cracks and Virgil, well, his voice I just found sexy. Yes, this is a femal writing this review, don’t worry.
Game play is really easy. There is no multi button actions you need to do, just slice and dice your enemies, aquire awesome new weapons, and defeat your own brother.
All I can say is this game is one of my favorites, the only thing I don’t like is that you have to customize your weapons before each mission. And there wasn’t enough red orbs to power up your weapons. Other than that, I’d rate this game almost perfect.
Rating: 4 / 5
Those who played the original Devil May Cry are aware of the fast gameplay and action that brought about a legion of fans. This popularity led to DMC2 which was an utter letdown, and DMC faded away. Years later, DMC3 was announced, and the world could not have been happier. This game is absolutely incredible, nearly flawless.
GRAPHICS: While some of the characters may look a tad bit blocky (fingers look like rectangles), it is an overall pleasing experience. Everything in the game, including animations are done nicely. Although there are a few slowdowns when many objects get on the screen, but it’ll happen rarely.
SOUND: The soundtrack in this game is absoulutely flawless. It ranges from orchestrals to heavy metal, both of which are befitting to this game. And the voice-overs are nicely done as well, that alone really helps the game’s story.
GAMEPLAY: Fast paced is the way to describe it. You’re given almost everything you need to start racking combos, including the ability to switch between weapons in an instant. It really lets you be creative on how you want to destroy demon #2 differently than demon #1. One thing that gets annoying is the camera, it’s gone in bad directoins on several occasions and a few times, will really really annoy you.
PRESENTATION: While the story started off weak I can honestly say that I was surprised and enthralled by the direction the plot goes in later in the game. The voice-overs are an invaluable asset to this story, and their help really shows. They’re also quite a few unlockables, so once you’ve finished your 20+ missions, you can go back and do ‘em all again.
OVERALL: Overall I feel that this may be a major contender for best action game ever. Competing of course with god of war. However all of the elements that merge together to create this game make for an unforgettable experience that must be played.
Rating: 5 / 5
THE GOOD: Prestine Diamond-solid controls PERFECTLY balance skill and fun; gorgeous environments; phenomenal cut-scenes; ridiculously depthful combat system and attacks; very challenging difficulty; intense sound; incredible main character; nice special edition add-ons: insane replay value
THE BAD: Some annoying and vague backtracking; some slowdown during intense fights; camera can get in the way; can be irritatingly difficult about remedial tasks
DIFFICULTY: Hard
The original DMC3 was absolutely notorious for its completely unforgiving checkpoint system and intensified difficulty, therefore Capcom decided that this game needed more; more balance and more fun, so it came out with this special edition. With it, there are great unlockables once you finish the main quest, like getting to play through as his twin brother Vergil, the 9,999 level Bloody Palace mode (level after level of nothing but intense combat), a more humane difficulty, and a couple of new boss fights. Now, even with all these new modes, the gameplay pretty much stays the same.
After everything, DMC3 is really a game about its combat system. You get to choose and select throughout the game a different set of fighting styles; if you like gunplay, choose the Gunslinger style; if you like sword melee, choose the SwordMaster style. You will level up these styles as you play with them, gaining new moves, as well as being able to buy new moves, upgrades, and powerups between missions. The amount of moves available and learned throughout the game will take you roughly 4 playthroughs just to master all the styles and moves. Considering you’re rewarded with more red orbs (or dollars) to upgrade later on, it’s worth learning to play through more and more. And because controls are so precise with all this, and dodging attacks takes quick reflexes and a good eye, it’s enough to make you want to learn more.
Enemies in DMC3 come in all forms, shapes and sizes and won’t hesitate to learn your moves and quickly dish out an asskicking, which is part of what makes this game so hard. Enemies actually FIGHT back. On top of this, the boss fights are some of the most intense in all of videogames. You’ll try again and again to beat these quick and tough guys, eventually doing so, but not after going through about 3 or 5 tries each, if not more. In the old DMC3, you needed to puchase orbs to continue from a checkpoint. What makes this game so fair is that you can restart from a checkpoint no matter what. But once you get to the boss, you have to beat him, because you cannot save mid-level, and going through that tough and long mission again isn’t something you’ll want to do.
Now, though this game offers tremendous replay value, and I did love it a lot more than the original DMC, there still are a few things holding it back. One, is the camera, which can be hard to find a good spot at points, and can sometimes be static in certain areas, making the direction you’re supposed to be moving in feel wrong and imprecise. Also, some backtracking requires you to go through a level without a good clue as to where you’ll have to go next, so you’ll sometimes wander and wander and wonder why the game couldn’t be better at clueing you in. Lastly, though the battles are hard, doesn’t mean that remedial tasks like destroying certain objects to gain a powerup has to be. Some statues need to be destroyed by using a series of creative moves that’ll fill up your style meter. Unfortunatly, you can spend a good 20 minutes at a statue just trying to destroy it, making its reward feel so unnecessary.
did I mention the cut-scenes though? The John Woo/Matrix style scenes are so intense that after FINALLY beating that tough-as-nails boss, you’re rewarded with what could be an ending in itself. there are just too many things to bring you back, like the combat system and great unlockables.
BOTTOM LINE: Incredible replay value, fair checkpoint system, awesome add-ons, etc will keep you coming back again and again. Plus the 20 dollar price tag make it a steal.
Rating: 5 / 5