Returning to this game after many years... Its a game apart!

[MundusSeething]

It's insane how good DMC1 is for its time. It's better than it had any right or obligation to be. Graphics wise,
the way the castle and cameras twist, the vistas in the game, and the way the lighting of the game create atmosphere,
it's hard to imagine this is only a little ahead of the dreamcast era. In all honesty, I don't think even DMC 3 looks as good.

The horror theme of the game is much stronger than the later sequels, and Dante's remarkable abilities and
general coolness are the only thing that stops the sombre atmosphere from setting in. It's weird in the sense of it has
all the isolation of Resident Evil remake, but it's not oppressive because the hero is so capable.

The game keeps dealing you out new combat options and guns to take down bosses with, and I forgot how weighty some of the
weapons are. Taking out skulls with the shot-gun is satisfying.

The combat is not as varied as later games, but in a way this makes the game feel more grounded. When DMC1 came out, there
was a ranking system to your attacks, and you could do combos, but at the same time it wasn't like Tony Hawks or something
where the systems intricacies were apparent. A lot of the experience for players would have actually been survival horror-esque
as in rationing vital stars and other helpful items.

Virgil looks like MR freeze. I forgot how epic the later boss fight is, and it would be pretty weird to play this game in order, as in after DMC3.

Dante is probably the best incarnation of his own character in this game. Yeah he says cheesy lines. Kind of. But a lot of it is actually restrained.
His character is as cool because of the aforementioned walking round horrific places, saying little, then not fearing the formidable bosses.
It makes me think it's all a bit over the top in later games. But anyway.

DMC1, was actually better than I remembered. I had thought 3 or 4 was the best but returning to 1 after not doing a full playthrough for a long
time, makes me appreciate just how game changing it was. There's nothing else like it on PS2, even in it's own series arguably.

 

[berto]

This has become a more and more common opinion lately. I have a theory on that but I'll hold off on it for now.

 

[LordOfDarkness]

Devil May Cry 1 is and always has been my personal favourite within the series.

And yeah I agree with a lot of what you've said here. Especially the castle setting and just the overall horror/gothic theme of it all.

Absolute classic gem of a game!

 

[MundusSeething]

I forgot how imposing Mundus is as a final boss. I've had the DMC collection for a few years but I'd usually put it on and do a few missions, then start over, it's been ages since I got to the end of the game, not because it's too hard but I think you need to play it in a sitting or too to really get the experience of how the game is paced. Even after you beat the game it reboots straight to the first mission again on hard mode. This creates a loop that is constantly having you gradually get better at the game. The game I replayed the most was this when it first came out, and DMC4. And oddly a lot of DMC2 which also has it's own qualities (and flaws). It's surprising how much you forget after just a couple of years, though DMC1 came out around 19 years ago so I've been through getting good at it, fandom, and also forgetting. I'm pretty excited to play DMC3 again now.

I have to say, in a strange way the translation of the game actually gives it more heart.

 

[Foxtrot94]

DMC1 always feels like a game that doesn't know what it wants to be to me. Understandable considering it's a bioproduct of a RE concept, but still, it never fails to strike me as a game with an identity crisis. You got the eerie ambient design and music but then as soon as the combat starts it goes "Oh wait, I wanna be a kick-ass action stylish action game now!". Whenever a game does that it feels so jarring to me. Doesn't feel like there's a smooth transition, it just goes from creepy to rock and the other way around just like that.
And then you got those weird underwater and space sections as well which are completely out of place and contribute to the whole "what is this game trying to be" feeling even further.

And yeah, mixing genres is something that goes on even today but usually it's genres that are somewhat compatible with each other (for example Borderlands is the series that, imo, has mastered the blend of RPG and FPS), and when it's not, well... I can only think of maybe a couple of games that I've played that pulled off a somewhat seemless fusion, and DMC1 ain't one of em.

This is something that the whole series will suffer from (although in 3 to a lesser extent) up until 4. Few times I've tried to replay this game, and every time I put it away before long because it just feels so awkward to me. And because by now I'm used to the way more varied combat of the sequels but that's another story.

I'm not saying it's a bad game, especially for the time, and it did revolutionize the action game landscape by laying the foundation of the free form combat system the series is known for but I also think it's not as great as many fans make it out to be, even less so when looking at it with today's eyes. When I first played I enjoyed it but if I had to rate it now in the franchise I'd put it second last (y'all know what the last one is). Yeah you heard me, don't @ me.

So rather than a game apart, I'd say it's more like, two games apart. That got stitched together to try and create one whole. DMC's own kinda Frankenstein creature, if you will.

 

[V]

Spawned it's own (awkward) genre