So far nobody has been able to debate what I said earlier...
You're on... >: p
I'll disagree, and I'll tell you why. Totally overpowered characters are boring characters.
I appreciate that the guy who originally designed Dante apparently claims he wanted to create an 'overpowered character' "that 'nobody can hurt', that nobody except the Devil himself can battle", quote, or something like that. But in Devil May Cry 1, Dante was not given overpowered strength, not until his 'Sparda' DT kicked in near the end, when Mundus shot three bolts through him. Dante shows physical vulnerability to wounds in cutscenes. They don't seem to kill him, but he is incapacitated for a while; he bleeds, and apparently feels pain, unlike the DTs of the franchise who neither flinch nor bleed. So we can assume he is not fully immortal or invincible. Also, he seems powerful and practically invincible only when the demonic side overtakes, but not otherwise, and it would not really make for an interesting game if he spent the whole of it in DT. So there's no need to assume he
needs an angel's attributes to survive injuries when the demonic are implied to thrive on pain and grow stronger the longer they remain in a demonic state. It's enough to revive them. And Dante needed Trish's help too, to defeat Mundus. He
is vulnerable, and quite a few fans prefer Dante of 1 because he is, and he shows it, physically and emotionally. "An audience loves a hero is is also vulnerable" is something I've heard from film critics. And I think it's true. It's why everybody loves Indiana Jones... he's believable, he's human, he acts like we would, and he doesn't always win or get it right. And why people get bored when there's no risk of a hero losing or dying. People also love a hero that they can relate to. We relate to the old Dante because he has a human half, because he is in some ways like us. If he were not, how would we relate emotionally, beyond just wanting to smash things up in a game as this badass we wished we were but can't really relate to?
If this new Dante is overpowered and has no weaknesses, there's not much to drive tension, or anticipation with the character or the plot. If the hero is beset, fighting for his life, I find it far more exciting and interesting than if he's just sauntering around blasting a demon here and there, cracking one-liners, because he's the invulnerable son of the holy and unholy. That's a fun idea, sure, but there needs to be risk. We as the player need to feel risk to have a truly satisfying experience.
People say to me some of their favourite moments in the series involving Dante were when he teamed up with his brother to defeat Arkham, because he couldn't alone, or when he was beaten by somebody, and was saved by some deus ex machina, a friend, or some other emotional plot point, like the amulet. Or even when he cries. Nobody much talks about that time Dante just shot Arius out of the window, or killed the Despair Embodied, because there's so little tension or emotion to it.
If they
have to go with this angel/demon thing, they should do themselves a favour and add some risk. Anyone remember Ikaruga? Where white is vulnerable to black and black to white? They could make it more interesting that way by adding that if Dante were using angelic weapons against angelic creatures he would not hurt them as much as demons, and they would not hurt him if he were in an 'angelic' DT, and vice versa. But so far no indication of actual angels as enemies, and such a system...?
I guess NT are basically sealing the deal on this Dante that he is their creation and not much to do with the original Dante at all.