With the following piece, I will try to avoid making significant spoilers regarding Devil May Cry 5 while also expressing my opinion on it. If you want to avoid said possible plot details, you might consider skipping this read.
I will say it clearly: I am writing this review because I myself am an aficionado of the series. I have played all the games, and while I may not poses an in-depth knowledge regarding lore and minor trivia, I can assure you that I have enjoyed most of them full-heartedly. This article will be a little trip down memory-lane to understand why the series has changed.
First and foremost, this article will assume that DMC (2013) was a stand-alone game and has little to do with the franchise. I actually believe it was a good game considering the playability, music and artwork, but the main character was not my Dante, but we will get back to that concept shortly. In my opinion, it would have been better for the Devil May Cry franchise if this game would have had a different protagonist and possibly even a bit more of a different name; hints and Easter-eggs would have been perfect, but again, not quite what fans wanted.
The my Dante concept
Fans that have been playing the franchise since the beginning surely have a vivid mental representation of this character. Thinking about his laid-back attitude, despite his mysterious and somewhat tormented past, and most of all about his snarky remarks, the aficionado likes Dante for being exactly that. This is especially depicted during most of the cinematics – think of the intro of the third one for instance.
Just for the sake of nostalgia, let’s quote some examples of one-liners or epic moments within the series:
–If I kill each one that comes, eventually I should hit the jackpot sooner or later (DMC 1)
-no data found (DMC 2)
-When he says This party’s getting crazy while having demon blades stuck inside him and his jukebox is not even working properly (DMC 3)
-riding up a falling tower with a motorcycle (DMC 3)
–Wow, I’ve never seen a talking mutt before. You know, in a dog show, you’d definitely take first place (DMC 3 insulting Cerberus)
-the scene where he is mimicking a Shakespearean play (DMC 4)
–Sounds like you’re overcompensating / Don’t look so big from where I’m standing. Now it’s just you and me Mister Saviour! (DMC 4 – against a colossal foe)
–let’s rock! (various instalments)
-his random crave for pizza (later instalments)
When did this character change?
In the fourth instalment, we can see a physically more mature Dante that however keeps his core characteristics; he is still that bigmouthed, occasionally womanizing, arrogant scoundrel that we like so much. While it is true that in the first instalment he was much more sombre, it is more difficult to notice the changes that subsequent games made and the details that were added. It is with the fourth one that a certain discrepancy is perceptible. Since from the beginning of the game you are forced to play as Nero and then go through almost the same missions as Dante, the contrast between young(-er) and old(-er) is emphasised.
Devil may cry 5 presents a similar issue. While not only there is less time to play as what fans perceive as the main character, there is also the problem that Dante becomes a mere shell of his former self. The time for snarky remarks has ended: some of his lines are more on the banal side, saying things like If only it would be that simple when having to deal with a bigger problem or Smells like trash when trying to offend the main antagonist. Not to mention the fact that he fights Cerberus again and uses, more or less, the same insult that he used in the third instalment. Dante, in the fifth game, is more apprehensive (caring for Nero for example), fact that was also present in that other instalments but was much more veiled, because in the end, “a devil never cries”.
This is not my Dante. This is not our Dante.
One last remark concerning the music and the atmosphere
A cornerstone of this franchise was always that mean-sounding metal music that it employed with the addition of growl or scream. This made up for a harsh sound and a frantic rhythm that made the players hearts beat faster. And you know what? It worked perfectly! Because if you are going to kill hordes of blood-crazed demons and abyssal creatures, then you might as well do it with an appropriate soundtrack. The fifth instalment of the series just doesn’t feel right in this particular sense: some of the soundtracks mimic in a way the previous games, but they don’t quite manage to give the same result.
Another thing that gradually changed was how grim the whole franchise was. Not only the story and the character, but also the music and the surroundings helped to build up that interior heaviness that a player experienced. Not to mention the bizarre and horror-like descriptions of objects and that chilling laugh that was prompted by enemies.
All and all I have to admit that while it is true that I have been criticizing the fifth instalment, it makes-up however for an enjoyable playthrough. My problem, as a fan of the character of Dante, much more than the game itself, is his evolution. It is true that the story of the franchise itself, as opposed to other games, has turning points and progression, hence changes. The ones that were made however on what I considered a perfectly round character, made Dante became somewhat flat. There are still other things to say on his counterpart, Vergil, the other interesting protagonist. Vergil has a bigger impact on the series than sometimes even Dante gives him credit for, but I will not discuss this since I would risk making too many spoilers. Suffice to say that I have also a great appreciation for his character as well, but I prefer to stop here and give you my conclusion.
I am not criticizing the fifth instalment itself; I am merely pointing out that it had much more potential and that personally I would have expected much more. To be honest, I would have wanted much more. We, as fans, reminisce on our Dante and refuse to accept the one he has become, but this is mainly because of the impact the character had on us. We will always like the devil that never cries, and appreciate the one that may, and in this case, the devil that should cry – just as an aficionado should. At least out of melancholy and appreciation.