berto
I Saw the Devil
I've been trying to figure out how to describe my thoughts on this whole thing. Ever since the trailer popped I've had mixed feelings on the game and it's not easy to describe, especially since I'm pretty emotionally invested on this game and how it does what it does and what it is that it does. I might end up rereading and rewriting this a whole over and over the more I think of it but I'll try to be as clear as I can, as much for my benefit as others.
Lord, me and my essay length replies. It's probably long enough to be an bloody article.
As soon as the trailer started I thought Microsoft has scored themselves another Dead Rising exclusive. The soldiers, the style, the characters, and the comically bad driving with cartoon physics along with that song. But the guy kept saying demons and then, inside, I just went 'no no no, not this.' When Nero moved his feet I thought it was DmC2 and even after Nero pulled out his signature gun, revved his sword and Johnny Bosch started talking with his distinctive voice I still thought it was DmC2. It took me a little bit to finally let it sink in that it was DMC5. All this... reacting took place in the span of those few seconds from the the first shot of the van to when Nero shot that bug in the street sign. Rocky ride. But still, through that whole first minute I had no idea what I was looking at. Nico and her van (it's confirmed to be Nero's actually) look like something that fits more with Dead Rising, so when she opened the door and went all, hey, hun, I got a very distinctive impression that that's what I was looking at, even when they have, in Neon, Devil May Cry on the side of the van with a little 5 printed next to it.
Anyway, the trailer continues and I am not sure how to process what I'm seeing. The combat looks the part and it looks the proper, but enemies, the character designs, the world, that song, they just seem misplaced in a DMC game. None of them are conceptually bad but they scream other things. The demons look more like aliens to me, like I said, Nico looks like she came out of the last Dead Rising, the world doesn't really strike me as particularly gothic any definition of the word, and they finally made Dante look like a hobo. Lots of unkempt facial hair, tattered get up, dirty face, long and grey, not white or silver, hair and generally looking scruffy as hell, which actually applies to everyone in general. Everyone looks to be varying degrees of tattered and unkept. Add to it that I'm really feeling the whole 'Grandpa' Dante hashtag on this and the image that leaked earlier. The hair color isn't helping with that, either. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the general description of Dante something else? What was it? It wasn't 'Grandpa' or 'Scruffy.' I can't quite remember it but I think it started with an 'S' and I think it ended with 'tylish'? Well, all unintentional snark aside, I'm not feeling a particularly stylish vibe out of this one. Plus he looks like Clancy Brown.
Odd think I can't put my finger on. I don't know what it is but looking at Dante and Nico's teeth... they look off for some reason. I can't figure out why but they just don't look right. I also get a RE7 feel from some of the scenes which I guess can be expected considering it's the same engine.
Anyway, I've watched the trailer a few more times and Nero's combat seems fine. It's what we'd expect it to be, f' yeah, and I think he might have a dedicated dudge button, which was on my wishlist for this title, but I also had the old combos scrapped from the combat on that same wishlist. No reanimating the old combos to look better, smoother, reorganized, more realistic or simply have slight alterations with a slightly different command input to get basically the same attacks as the previous games. I wanted entirely new animations for the combos. Even the way he shoots in the air is the same as before and that's been my one constant complaint about the combat system from DMC3 to 4 to DmC, these baby steps. I wanted new combos, altogether.
So, even before the trailer is finished, specially the first time I saw it, and I'm tremendously conflicted about this game. I'm glad it exists but at the same time I had this feeling, this thought in my head that says 'damn it, they did it to us, again' where they insist on giving DMC a more western style. I know it's a Japanese staff and designer but so much of this has such a western feel to it, especially in the design of Nico, the writing (that line about kicking demon ass) and the world, that I can't imagine there being no western staff or a note to appeal in their agenda for this game. Nero looks really DmC, too, but that might just be coincidental. Same for the city but I can't say exactly why since the architecture is so different but there is just something about the world that reminds me of DmC. Anyway. You know, there is such a thing as Japanese charm and it was a huge part of the original DMC games appeal. I know a lot of people think DMC is 'anime' and obviously can't tell 'anime' from a general 'Japanese' style. Resident Evil is blatantly Japanese, no way around it, and both it and DMC share a style and atmosphere so DMC1 is as anime as REmake is. Everyone knows why that's the comparison I always make so no point in going in to it.
As conflicted as I was at first I didn't want to say anything or mention any of my concerns because it felt like Capcom might've been holding the franchise hostage. Last time a game didn't sell well enough they almost buried the franchise, and if this one doesn't perform they just might. But at the same time, as the series progresses I recognize it less and less. And I get that things change but the alterations from the last two games from the original concept have been rather dramatic. I complain about DMC4's drastic changes in appearance, designs, motifs and, just, general approach because it feels so distant from what DMC used to be, but DmC and DMC5? If you showed me a trailer of the original game and then one from each of those games with the names removed I wouldn't associate them with each other. Yeah, with DMC3 in between you can see the progression, the sort of missing link, but when you see the things that got you interested in a franchise start to disappear from it then, you know?
Usually I can look passed these things. I try to enjoy the new settings, I can probably get passed the alien insectoid looking 'demons' (did with the completely inoffensive scarecrows from 4), I can try to enjoy the completely different aesthetics, how the only constant in this series is the inconsistencies from one title to the next and even the fact that they keep recycling combos since DMC3. All that I can usually go along with. I'll bitch and moan all the way to grandma's house about it but I'll get the game, just the same. All of that as long as Dante is there. As long as I can look forward to seeing him again I can still try to find some enjoyment out of the games. He is the main draw of the series, his presence and attitude is what I look forward to. Kicking ass and taking names. That's why it bothers me so much that they made him look old as hell (no pun intended). How old is he? Pushing 40? That's not that old at all. Jason Momoa is 38. Jared Padalecki is 35. Jensen Ackles is 40. Ben Affleck is 45. the Rock, 46. Hugh Jackman is pushing 50, and so are Gerard Butler and Mark Wahlberg. Jason Statham is 50 and none of them look anywhere near as old as Dante does here and they don't have the benefit of demonic blood to keep them looking good. The idea was to have a young man with white hair, which gave him an ethereal aura about him. Well, he's not that old, yet. I also get the feeling in the back of my head that maybe they did this to make Nero look good.
I'm hoping I'm wrong, that time will prove me so and that I'm just being dramatic, that maybe DmC left me traumatized and paranoid, that that's just a tragic angle for Dante. I don't know how things will change from here to release, but I do know this, in the end I was left less excited about this game than before I saw it. You could argue that 10 years of build up could never be met, but all I would've been content with would be them getting Dante right, and as it stands, I don't know if they managed that. I'm still going to buy it, day 1, that was never in question, I still want to see if they did right by us, but, honestly, I never thought I'd see the day I'd be more excited over Tetris than Devil May Cry.
Lord, me and my essay length replies. It's probably long enough to be an bloody article.
As soon as the trailer started I thought Microsoft has scored themselves another Dead Rising exclusive. The soldiers, the style, the characters, and the comically bad driving with cartoon physics along with that song. But the guy kept saying demons and then, inside, I just went 'no no no, not this.' When Nero moved his feet I thought it was DmC2 and even after Nero pulled out his signature gun, revved his sword and Johnny Bosch started talking with his distinctive voice I still thought it was DmC2. It took me a little bit to finally let it sink in that it was DMC5. All this... reacting took place in the span of those few seconds from the the first shot of the van to when Nero shot that bug in the street sign. Rocky ride. But still, through that whole first minute I had no idea what I was looking at. Nico and her van (it's confirmed to be Nero's actually) look like something that fits more with Dead Rising, so when she opened the door and went all, hey, hun, I got a very distinctive impression that that's what I was looking at, even when they have, in Neon, Devil May Cry on the side of the van with a little 5 printed next to it.
Anyway, the trailer continues and I am not sure how to process what I'm seeing. The combat looks the part and it looks the proper, but enemies, the character designs, the world, that song, they just seem misplaced in a DMC game. None of them are conceptually bad but they scream other things. The demons look more like aliens to me, like I said, Nico looks like she came out of the last Dead Rising, the world doesn't really strike me as particularly gothic any definition of the word, and they finally made Dante look like a hobo. Lots of unkempt facial hair, tattered get up, dirty face, long and grey, not white or silver, hair and generally looking scruffy as hell, which actually applies to everyone in general. Everyone looks to be varying degrees of tattered and unkept. Add to it that I'm really feeling the whole 'Grandpa' Dante hashtag on this and the image that leaked earlier. The hair color isn't helping with that, either. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't the general description of Dante something else? What was it? It wasn't 'Grandpa' or 'Scruffy.' I can't quite remember it but I think it started with an 'S' and I think it ended with 'tylish'? Well, all unintentional snark aside, I'm not feeling a particularly stylish vibe out of this one. Plus he looks like Clancy Brown.
Odd think I can't put my finger on. I don't know what it is but looking at Dante and Nico's teeth... they look off for some reason. I can't figure out why but they just don't look right. I also get a RE7 feel from some of the scenes which I guess can be expected considering it's the same engine.
Anyway, I've watched the trailer a few more times and Nero's combat seems fine. It's what we'd expect it to be, f' yeah, and I think he might have a dedicated dudge button, which was on my wishlist for this title, but I also had the old combos scrapped from the combat on that same wishlist. No reanimating the old combos to look better, smoother, reorganized, more realistic or simply have slight alterations with a slightly different command input to get basically the same attacks as the previous games. I wanted entirely new animations for the combos. Even the way he shoots in the air is the same as before and that's been my one constant complaint about the combat system from DMC3 to 4 to DmC, these baby steps. I wanted new combos, altogether.
So, even before the trailer is finished, specially the first time I saw it, and I'm tremendously conflicted about this game. I'm glad it exists but at the same time I had this feeling, this thought in my head that says 'damn it, they did it to us, again' where they insist on giving DMC a more western style. I know it's a Japanese staff and designer but so much of this has such a western feel to it, especially in the design of Nico, the writing (that line about kicking demon ass) and the world, that I can't imagine there being no western staff or a note to appeal in their agenda for this game. Nero looks really DmC, too, but that might just be coincidental. Same for the city but I can't say exactly why since the architecture is so different but there is just something about the world that reminds me of DmC. Anyway. You know, there is such a thing as Japanese charm and it was a huge part of the original DMC games appeal. I know a lot of people think DMC is 'anime' and obviously can't tell 'anime' from a general 'Japanese' style. Resident Evil is blatantly Japanese, no way around it, and both it and DMC share a style and atmosphere so DMC1 is as anime as REmake is. Everyone knows why that's the comparison I always make so no point in going in to it.
As conflicted as I was at first I didn't want to say anything or mention any of my concerns because it felt like Capcom might've been holding the franchise hostage. Last time a game didn't sell well enough they almost buried the franchise, and if this one doesn't perform they just might. But at the same time, as the series progresses I recognize it less and less. And I get that things change but the alterations from the last two games from the original concept have been rather dramatic. I complain about DMC4's drastic changes in appearance, designs, motifs and, just, general approach because it feels so distant from what DMC used to be, but DmC and DMC5? If you showed me a trailer of the original game and then one from each of those games with the names removed I wouldn't associate them with each other. Yeah, with DMC3 in between you can see the progression, the sort of missing link, but when you see the things that got you interested in a franchise start to disappear from it then, you know?
Usually I can look passed these things. I try to enjoy the new settings, I can probably get passed the alien insectoid looking 'demons' (did with the completely inoffensive scarecrows from 4), I can try to enjoy the completely different aesthetics, how the only constant in this series is the inconsistencies from one title to the next and even the fact that they keep recycling combos since DMC3. All that I can usually go along with. I'll bitch and moan all the way to grandma's house about it but I'll get the game, just the same. All of that as long as Dante is there. As long as I can look forward to seeing him again I can still try to find some enjoyment out of the games. He is the main draw of the series, his presence and attitude is what I look forward to. Kicking ass and taking names. That's why it bothers me so much that they made him look old as hell (no pun intended). How old is he? Pushing 40? That's not that old at all. Jason Momoa is 38. Jared Padalecki is 35. Jensen Ackles is 40. Ben Affleck is 45. the Rock, 46. Hugh Jackman is pushing 50, and so are Gerard Butler and Mark Wahlberg. Jason Statham is 50 and none of them look anywhere near as old as Dante does here and they don't have the benefit of demonic blood to keep them looking good. The idea was to have a young man with white hair, which gave him an ethereal aura about him. Well, he's not that old, yet. I also get the feeling in the back of my head that maybe they did this to make Nero look good.
I'm hoping I'm wrong, that time will prove me so and that I'm just being dramatic, that maybe DmC left me traumatized and paranoid, that that's just a tragic angle for Dante. I don't know how things will change from here to release, but I do know this, in the end I was left less excited about this game than before I saw it. You could argue that 10 years of build up could never be met, but all I would've been content with would be them getting Dante right, and as it stands, I don't know if they managed that. I'm still going to buy it, day 1, that was never in question, I still want to see if they did right by us, but, honestly, I never thought I'd see the day I'd be more excited over Tetris than Devil May Cry.
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