
Official Box Art
Publisher(s) Capcom
Director(s) Hideaki Itsuno
Producer: Hiroyuki Hobayashi
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS
Release date(s) PlayStation 3 / Xbox 360
JP January 31, 2008
NA February 5, 2008
AUS February 7, 2008
EU February 8, 2008
Microsoft Windows
NA July 8, 2008
AUS July 10, 2008
EU July 11, 2008
JP July 24, 2008
iOS
February 3, 2011
Genre(s): Action, Hack and Slash, Beat ’em up
Rating: Mature
Devil May Cry 3 returned the series to its former glory after the disappointment that was Devil May Cry 2. With the Playstation 3 paving the way for next-generation consoles, the time seemed right to move the series in a new direction. The last thing Capcom wanted was a repeat of the second title. The next game would be built off of Devil May Cry 3, taking what fans loved about the gameplay and enhancing it. Gamers would expect crazier combos, more integration of weapons and over-the-top cutscenes. However, amidst all this, there was the biggest change of all; an aspect of the series that has made it so beloved in the five years before the release of the fourth installment: Dante in the starring role.
At the time, the series that was originally intended to be the next-gen Resident Evil for the Playstation 2 had solidified itself as an outstanding series amongst gamers looking for a good action title. Dante had become a house-hold name in the realm of popular characters. Whatever the reason—his arrogance, his cockiness, his unflappable demeanor—fans embraced the Devil Hunter with the big sword and even bigger attitude so one can imagine the immediate reactions of fans when it was revealed that Dante will not be the star of the next Devil May Cry sequel.

"Stop hogging the spotlight!" Dante is first seen as the antagonist in the game. Nero confronts him.

The Devil Bringer allows Nero to grab enemies for attack.
Remember how Red Orbs bought you new abilities and moves? Well, that has been toned down a bit. You can still collect and use Red Orbs to purchase items from the God of Time statues but new skills are purchased with a new currency in the form of Proud Souls. Proud Souls are awarded when you complete a mission. The amount depends on your performance. Simply put, the better you do, the more you get. Of course, this is not without a small problem. All of Nero’s abilities weren’t unlocked in one play through. Therefore, you had to play the game through again to truly see what the young Devil Hunter is capable of. To add to the challenge, the price of each skill went up with each purchase so refining your devil hunting skills is a needed must if you want to unlock everything. As mentioned before, Nero does not gain any new weapons; instead, the focus is to level up his Devil Bringer which gains new abilities such as increasing the range in which Nero can grab enemies and later on, he can use his demonic arm to hold an enemy and use him as a shield to block attacks.

"It's your show, kid."
Devil May Cry 4 was received well by gaming magazines however there were a couple hiccups that kept it from being as stellar as Devil May Cry 3. Camera work was the issue but not as big as in the series’ second release. It was a definite improvement yet there were a couple minor things that kept it from being great. Xbox World Australia gave the game 90/100, saying “Devil May Cry 4 is everything a hack-and-slash should be and then some. Sadly it falters with repeated level design and a moderately troublesome camera; but in the grand scheme of things, these are only minor flaws.” 1UP.com graded it A-, praising the gameplay and “predictably slick” looks, but criticized the “divisive industrial hard-rock nonsense…. that sullied DMC3 [and] returns here”. Overall, Devil May Cry 4 did well in sales. On February 20, 2008, Capcom’s president Haruhiro Tsujimoto announced in a press release that the game shipped two million copies in its first month, making it the fastest sequel in the series to reach this mark.
The Devil May Cry series has had its ups and downs but it endured to become a beloved series of the action genre. Games such as God of War and Asura’s Wrath have borrowed inspiration from Capcom’s hack and slash series and the character Dante would go on to become a part of pop culture as well as Devil May Cry itself.
Devil May Cry 4 intro
Dante vs. Nero