Spoiler warning for Devil May Cry 3 and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.
With Devil May Cry 4 Capcom officially went full circle. There was nowhere left to explore with Dante; there had been the first game, a sequel, a prequel and then a whole new sequel (in that order). The character had nowhere left to grow and the fully adult and somewhat mental Dante in DMC4 is the result of the culmination of experiences from each game. This was also proven with the introduction of Nero as a main character, who while similar in many aspects, had a love interest to pull him through the adventure. Something we could never envision the old Dante associating with. He was far too cool and confident to worry about something as fickle as love. Sure he had the occasional fling with the leading lady of each game, but that was an entirely different affair.
We see proof of this concept much later than Devil May Cry 4 and in the form of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. Ezio is all grown up as a character and this instalment closes off the long, long quest for truth that he followed across three games. In the end he settles down (finally deciding upon a single lady), hangs up his hood and stashes his hidden blades, sealing the Auditore story gamers have been playing passionately for years. And with the imminent release of Assassin’s Creed 3, we’ll finally get the chance to start a whole new circle.
We did see a different side of Dante in his prequel however. In Devil May Cry 3 he was more cocky, more stylish and in a way, cooler than he’d ever been before. But he also showed more emotion. Players could really feel the inner struggle he suffered whenever he had to face Vergil, his brother and only remaining family. After finally defeating Arkham together as brothers, they have to face off one final time in that game as enemies, arch rivals even. In one of the most intense boss fights I’ve ever experienced, Dante and Vergil met on the field of battle for one final time. This was probably the only time Dante ever let his guard down and revealed his true face, ultimately growing as a character.
In the new reboot, DmC Devil May Cry we have an entirely new Dante. Featuring an entirely new world and a with whole new story, one can see that being set in an alternate universe will certainly come with its own set of advantages. This way Dante’s story can be explored all over again and his relationship with the new Vergil can once again be on showcase. It appears that the two even bond over the course of the game, an elegant opposite to their previous conflict.
Whole new experiences can be explored. Entirely new characters introduced and even core gameplay can be altered (though not too far from the stylish hack-and-slash we love please).
With the end of Devil May Cry 4, gamers saw the end to everything we could possibly see from the old Dante. The HD Collection let us relive those old memories once again and that’s great, but now it’s time to see the Ninja Theory and Capcom duo flex their own creative muscles.
I can’t wait to see how it finally turns out.
DmC Devil May Cry releases on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America, Europe and Japan on the 15th of January 2013.
