Dmc3 Special Edition Unlockables

[Jenifer Griffard]

Iremember when Wyatt introduced me to Dante, the silver-haired demon hunter protagonist of one of Capcom's cheesier franchises. Here he comes back into our dorm room, overflowing with excitement, brain clearly working faster than his mouth as he rattles off all the amazing things about this character and why I need to get into this game right away. I remembered hearing about the franchise, but as I had never owned a PS2, I had never played one. The one thing I really remembered was hearing a lot of unfulfilled hype about the second title in the franchise. He quickly reassures me that this title is not that game, and definitely worth playing. So, I pop in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening into his PS2 and see what it's all about.

Three things immediately struck me about the game. First, it was some seriously cheesy stuff. Hilariously overdone cheese that makes me think "Man, those developers in Japan must be a bit nuts." Secondly, the game is -hard-. Like, NES era hard. I was used to games kicking my ass up front, that's nothing new; it was just shocking how badly I was getting beaten. I was even briefly worried when the game's second level ended with a fight seemingly against Death himself. I wasn't sure the game had anywhere else to go but down, but wow was I wrong. And thirdly, and this was the big one for me, it was odd how much fun I was having while dying. Learning patterns, dying, playing with new moves, dying again, breaking random stuff in the background, and dying another time. I didn't care, I wanted more. When I beat the first level and found the game was judging me for how long it took me, how stylish my fighting was, etc, all that did was fuel my desire to get better. I was one level in and hooked. This game not disappoint, and years later, I picked it up again to see how well it held up.

Some memories come flooding back when I boot up the HD edition of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. Mostly good, but some less so. Despite all the extra content added in this re-release, I'm actually more a fan of the original version, but I'll talk about that later. Sadly, not every cut scene got the HD treatment, and you can really tell when you're looking at one that didn't get any love. This is mostly troubling because of how extensively the game uses cut scenes; with about forty in total.

It's been a good eight years or so since I last played this game; boss patterns and some secrets come rushing back. At one point, about 5 hours in, I see a hallway and am immediately stuck with a remembered fear. It's not instinct, I remember being in this room and being hurt a lot in the room; it happens again this time. My memories make the game a lot easier than it should be, but it's still a lot of fun.

Taking down bosses and blasting away enemies is no less satisfying. The fact that I'm older than when I first played the game gives me a much better appreciation of the subtleties of game design, but the ridiculous humor still makes me chuckle. A few things haven't changed though: I still think that 4 out of the 6 fighting styles in the game are worthless (and one is fun. but not always effective), the clever and subtle gothic design still gets to me.

My only real gripes come with the changes made from the Japanese release to the US one. With the original game, a core focus was a higher difficulty level outside of Japan than within it, so the overall difficulty and continue system were changed for export, to the result of a much more challenging game. With the special edition re-release (and this HD update of it), the difficulty is toned back down, at least at first. The original US experience can be had, but not until after one completion. Still, it's worth going through to unlock the other content, such as the ability to play as Virgil, Dante's twin brother: both of them are bad-asses in completely different ways, so it's fun to try out a brand new way to play. I also wish some of the bonus content had more weight to it; the extra boss fights are a particular let down, but don't take away too much from the game.

Even a decade later this is an easy title to recommend. If you like action games, a high difficulty curve and aren't squeamish (there are some gory/overly bloody moments), definitely pick this game up. The HD version I got was a $30 digital console download, and that comes with the other 2 Devil May Cry PS2 titles. You could do a lot worse for your money, and Devil May Cry 3 is probably one the reasons so many gamers now have such fond memories of the Playstation 2.

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening[b] is a 2005 action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom. The game is a prequel to the original Devil May Cry, featuring a younger Dante.[4] Set a decade before the events of the first Devil May Cry in an enchanted tower, Temen-ni-gru, the story centers on the dysfunctional relationship between Dante and his brother Vergil. The game introduces combat mechanics with an emphasis on combos and fast-paced action. The story is told primarily in cutscenes using the game's engine, with several pre-rendered full motion videos.

The gameplay in Devil May Cry 3 consists of levels, missions, in which players battle enemies, carry out platforming tasks and solve puzzles to progress through the story. The player's performance in each mission is graded from D through C, B and A, with top marks of S and SS. Grades are based on time taken to complete a mission, the number of red orbs (currency obtained from defeated enemies) gathered, "stylish" combat, item usage and damage received.[7] The games tracks stylish combat by an on-screen gauge, which is the performance of a series of attacks ("combos") while avoiding damage. The longer a player attacks without repetition and evades damage, the higher the score.[7] The gauge registers "Dope" after a few attacks, progressing through "Crazy", "Blast", "Alright", "Sweet", "SShowtime" to peak at "SSStylish". If Dante receives damage, the style rating falls; if the gauge is "Crazy" or below, it will reset. Devil May Cry 3's battle system allows a player to link attacks, with each weapon having a set number of attacks.

Devil Trigger is a mechanic which enables the player's character to assume a demonic form. This alters the character's appearance, increases attack and defense, restores health and enables special attacks. This is a departure from the previous titles, where Dante draws power from weapons and items he procures throughout the game. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is energy in the Devil Trigger gauge; the gauge rises by attacking or taunting enemies in normal mode, and falls when using the Devil Trigger transformation or other abilities using Devil Trigger power.[7] The Devil Trigger mode is not available to Dante until one-third of the way through the game, while Vergil, playable in the special edition, has the ability at the outset.

The other major difference from previous Devil May Cry games is Devil May Cry 3's combat system, which allows a player to choose one of Dante's four combat styles; each style has a different focus and techniques. Dante can switch between all four equipped weapons (two guns, two melees) on the fly, allowing for far greater combat freedom and variety than in previous Devil May Cry games. Style selection is available at checkpoints and at the beginning of each level.[5] The styles are "Trickster", for dodging and agility; "Swordmaster", with abilities for swords and other weapons; "Gunslinger", with firearms techniques; and "Royal Guard", which allows a player to repel attacks with a button press (storing energy for retaliation). Later in the game, two additional styles become unlocked: "Quicksilver", slowing enemies, while the character attacks at normal speed; and "Doppelgnger", which creates a shadow double who fights alongside Dante. A second player may control the shadow double by pressing "Start" on a second controller. A two-player mode, similar to the Doppelgnger style, is accessible while Dante and Vergil battle Arkham.[8] In the special edition Vergil has another style, "Dark Slayer", which is similar to Trickster.

The Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition version of the game makes some changes to the gameplay. Along with making Vergil a playable character, other changes included an additional survival mode called "Bloody Palace" (which originally appeared in the second game) with 9,999 levels; a Jester fight early in the game, with optional fights later; a "Turbo Mode", increasing game speed by 20 percent; an easier GOLD mode "continue" feature, allowing a player to revive a character or restart a lost fight, and rebalanced difficulty levels. Vergil's gameplay differed from Dante's; although Dante was weaker than Vergil in terms of skills and combos, he was easier to control. Because of the game's space limitations, not all of Vergil's moves were included in the special edition.[9]

Vergil has one style, "Dark Slayer" (similar to Dante's "Trickster" style), with evasive maneuvers which can be leveled-up twice like Dante's four styles. He has three weapons: a katana known as Yamato, Beowulf gauntlets and greaves and the Force Edge broadsword. Vergil has two ranges of attack: "Summoned Swords" (creating magical swords for a variety of effects)[10] and "Judgment Cut" (creating spheres of force).[11] The new boss is Jester, a character encountered several times in first-edition cutscenes but not fought. In Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, he is a boss who may be fought three times.

Devil May Cry 3 starts with Dante's yet-unnamed shop in the early 1990s. A mysterious man, Arkham, arrives with an invitation from Dante's brother Vergil in the form of a demonic attack.[13][14] After Dante defeats a group of demons, a huge tower erupts from the ground nearby.[4][15] Sensing that Vergil is on top of the structure, Dante interprets this as a challenge.[16] He begins fighting more demons during his journey, some of which become his weapons once defeated.[17] Dante is attacked by a woman on a motorcycle who turns out to be Mary, Arkham's daughter, who wants revenge on her father for causing her mother's death.[18][19] It is revealed that Arkham works for Vergil; they plan to take Dante's half of their mother's amulet and use its power on the tower to connect the human and demonic worlds.[20]

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