Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is an action-adventure game released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. It was created and published by Capcom. The game is a story that happens before the original Devil May Cry, showing a younger version of Dante. The story takes place 10 years before the first game, in an enchanted tower named Temen-ni-gru. Dante tries to stop his twin brother, Vergil, from opening a portal to the Demon World. The game includes combat that focuses on combining moves quickly and exciting action. The story is shown mainly through cutscenes using the game's engine, along with some pre-made videos.
Devil May Cry 3 was released in February and March 2005 for the PlayStation 2. It was later released for Windows in June and October 2006. Critics gave the game very positive reviews, calling it a return to the series' best qualities and praising its combat, level design, music, and characters. Some reviewers noted that the North American version was very difficult. In 2006, a special version of the game was released, called Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. This version included easier difficulty settings, mid-mission checkpoints, a new game mode called "GOLD," and allowed players to control Vergil. Both versions of the game sold more than 2.3 million copies combined. The game is often listed as one of the greatest video games ever made.
A manga that tells a story before the events of Devil May Cry 3 was published in Japan in 2005 and later released in the United States.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Devil May Cry 3 includes levels and missions where players fight enemies, complete platforming tasks, and solve puzzles to advance in the story. Each mission is graded from D to C, B, A, and top scores of S and SS. Grades depend on how quickly a mission is completed, the number of red orbs (a type of in-game currency collected from defeating enemies), stylish combat, use of items, and damage taken. Stylish combat is tracked by an on-screen gauge that measures how well a player performs a series of attacks ("combos") while avoiding damage. The longer a player attacks without repeating moves and avoids taking damage, the higher the score. The gauge shows levels like "Dope," "Crazy," "Blast," "Alright," "Sweet," "SShowtime," and peaks at "SSStylish." If Dante takes damage, the style rating decreases; if the gauge is at "Crazy" or lower, it resets. The battle system allows players to link attacks, with each weapon having a set number of attacks.
Devil Trigger is a feature that lets the player’s character transform into a demonic form. This changes the character’s appearance, increases attack and defense power, restores health, and unlocks special attacks. This is different from earlier games, where Dante relied on weapons and items to gain power. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is energy in the Devil Trigger gauge. The gauge fills by attacking or taunting enemies in normal mode and decreases when using Devil Trigger or other abilities that require its power. Devil Trigger is not available until one-third of the game is completed, while Vergil, who is playable in the special edition, can use it from the beginning.
A major change in Devil May Cry 3 is the combat system, which lets players choose one of Dante’s four combat styles. Each style has unique techniques and focuses. Players can switch between all four equipped weapons (two guns and two melee weapons) during combat, offering more variety and freedom than earlier games. Style selection is available at checkpoints and the start of each level. The styles are: "Trickster" (focuses on dodging and agility), "Swordmaster" (uses sword and weapon abilities), "Gunslinger" (uses firearm techniques), and "Royal Guard" (allows players to block attacks and store energy for retaliation). Later in the game, two additional styles are unlocked: "Quicksilver" (slows enemies while attacking at normal speed) and "Doppelgänger" (creates a shadow double that fights alongside Dante). A second player can control the shadow double by pressing "Start" on a second controller. A two-player mode, similar to the Doppelgänger style, is available during battles between Dante and Vergil against Arkham. In the special edition, Vergil has an additional style called "Dark Slayer," which is similar to Dante’s "Trickster" style.
The Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition version includes changes to gameplay. It adds Vergil as a playable character, an extra survival mode called "Bloody Palace" (originally from the second game) with 9,999 levels, a Jester fight early in the game, optional fights later, a "Turbo Mode" that increases game speed by 20 percent, an easier "GOLD" mode with a "continue" feature that lets players revive characters or restart lost fights, and rebalanced difficulty levels. Vergil’s gameplay differs from Dante’s; although Vergil has stronger skills and combos, he is harder to control. Due to space limits, not all of Vergil’s moves were included in the special edition.
Vergil has one style, "Dark Slayer" (similar to Dante’s "Trickster" style), with evasive moves that can be upgraded twice, like Dante’s four styles. He uses three weapons: a katana named Yamato, Beowulf gauntlets and greaves, and the Force Edge broadsword. Vergil has two attack ranges: "Summoned Swords" (creates magical swords for different effects) and "Judgment Cut" (creates force spheres). A new boss, Jester, appears in the special edition. Jester was shown in earlier game cutscenes but was not fought until the special edition, where he can be fought three times.
The Nintendo Switch version of Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition added the ability to switch between combat styles at any time during combat.
Plot
Devil May Cry 3 begins with Dante's unnamed shop in the early 1990s. A mysterious man named Arkham arrives with an invitation from Dante's brother, Vergil, in the form of a demonic attack. After Dante defeats a group of demons, a large tower appears from the ground nearby. He believes Vergil is on top of the tower and sees this as a challenge. During his journey, Dante fights more demons, some of which become his weapons after he defeats them. Dante is attacked by a woman on a motorcycle who is revealed to be Mary, Arkham's daughter. She seeks revenge on her father for causing her mother's death. It is later shown that Arkham works for Vergil. Together, they plan to take Dante's half of their mother's amulet and use its power on the tower to connect the human and demonic worlds.
After several battles and a meeting with a being named Jester, Dante reaches the tower's top and fights Vergil. Vergil defeats Dante by stabbing him with his sword, Rebellion, takes Dante's amulet, and leaves. Dante's blood breaks a seal on Rebellion, awakening his dormant demonic powers. He pursues Vergil but is swallowed by Leviathan, a giant whale-like demon. After escaping, Dante finds Vergil in a control room in the tower's basement. There, Vergil cannot reactivate the tower. The brothers fight again until they are interrupted by Mary and Jester. Jester reveals himself as Arkham, who has manipulated them to reactivate the tower and reach the demonic world. There, Arkham plans to steal the Force Edge, the dormant form of Sparda's sword, using it to rule a demon-infested Earth. The tower changes as the spell is broken. Arkham is carried to the tower's summit, and Vergil disappears during the chaos.
Dante fights his way back up the tower, battling Mary to pursue Arkham. He wins, and Mary gives him her most powerful weapon. Reaching the summit, Dante enters the demonic world and finds Arkham, who has transformed into Sparda's demonic form. Arkham becomes a blob-like creature and attacks Dante. During the fight, Vergil returns, and the brothers team up to expel Arkham from the demonic world. Weakened, Arkham lands on the tower, where Mary finds him. She renounces her name and calls herself Lady, a nickname Dante gave her because she refused to tell him her name. She kills Arkham. In the demonic world, Dante and Vergil fight over ownership of the Force Edge and the amulet halves. After Vergil's defeat, he remains as the portal closes, vanishing with his half of the amulet.
Dante meets Lady outside the tower. They become friends and start working together as demon-slayers. Dante names his shop "Devil May Cry." A scene after the credits shows Vergil in the demonic world, weak but determined, as he fights Mundus, a foe from Sparda's past. This scene serves as a prequel to the first game.
Development
After the mixed reception of Devil May Cry 2, Capcom developed Devil May Cry 3 in a way similar to the first game in the series, Devil May Cry, which was more critically praised. Elements of gameplay, such as the size of environments and the battle system, were reviewed and adjusted. Other aspects of Devil May Cry 2, like making Dante less confident and reducing the game’s difficulty, were changed to match the style of the first game. According to a pre-release interview with the game’s producer, Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the focus was on creating a battle system that let players control weapons in new, "stylish" ways. This change matched the design of a new camera system that kept the player’s character in view, helping players see clearly during crowded battles. Devil May Cry 2 had lower difficulty to appeal to the Japanese market, but this decision hurt its popularity elsewhere. To fix this, the Japanese version of Devil May Cry 3 had less difficulty than the North American and European versions, and Dante was made younger and more arrogant than in previous games.
The game was officially announced in the June issue of PSM Magazine #85 and showed a trailer at E3 on May 12, 2004, with a playable demo at the event. The magazine also included an interview with Tsuyoshi Tanaka, who said the game had been in development for over a year, meaning it started shortly after Devil May Cry 2 was released. Devil May Cry 3 was originally planned for a December 2004 release but was delayed until February 2005 in Japan and March 2005 in other regions.
Capcom promoted Devil May Cry 3 with a large television campaign and many advertisements in video game magazines, highlighting the game’s story and variety of fighting styles. A "special" edition was released in North America on January 24, 2006. A Windows version, with minor graphic changes, was developed by SourceNext and released by Ubisoft in Europe on June 28, 2006, and in North America on October 16, 2006. The Devil Trigger versions of Dante and Vergil were designed by Kazuma Kaneko from Atlus, who had previously worked on games like Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner and the Persona series. Capcom’s staff was impressed with Kaneko’s work, and Ikeno said it was easy to model the designs.
In the original Devil May Cry, Vergil was said to have died early in the story, leaving his soul under the control of Mundus. To create an alternate story, Hideki Kamiya allowed Bingo Morihashi to change Vergil’s backstory, making him alive for Devil May Cry 3. A key theme of the game is family conflict, as Dante struggles with his brother, Vergil. Itsuno disliked the idea of Lady killing Arkham, believing a child should never harm a parent. Morihashi wanted this scene and Dante defeating Vergil to be part of the game. To balance this, Morihashi added a scene where Lady said Arkham was her responsibility. While Daigo Ikeno designed the characters for Devil May Cry 3, Kaneko created the Devil Trigger versions of Dante and Vergil. Since no existing design for Vergil existed except for his possessed form, Nelo Angelo, Morihashi was in charge of designing his appearance. Most of Capcom’s staff believed Vergil was Morihashi’s favorite character because he became popular. Morihashi said Vergil’s idea of wielding a Japanese sword, the Yamato, existed in an earlier design. Unlike Dante, Vergil does not use guns, and Morihashi said creating his character was challenging because, as the older twin, he was meant to be more likable. Jester’s design was meant to contrast his human form, Arkham, with Nara and Ikeno believing the clown’s look worked well because it surprised players with the twist that they are the same person. Jester’s final form, powered by Sparda, resembled the previous villain Arius because he became so inhuman after turning into a demon.
Dante appears bare-chested under his coat, a choice that surprised players. This design was meant to match his young personality and contrast with Vergil’s fully clothed look. Vergil wields a Japanese katana and wears blue clothing, unlike Dante’s longsword Rebellion and red outfit. Ikeno said that since Vergil and Dante are twins, they share the same hairstyle at the start of the game, making it harder for new players to tell them apart. Vergil’s clothing was designed to contrast with Dante’s, and Nelo Angelo’s design was prominently blue, while Dante’s was red. The staff had trouble making Vergil’s outfit move naturally in 3D graphics and joked that he should remove his coat during fights.
Reuben Langdon provided the voice and motion capture for Dante. Though he was directed in his portrayal, Langdon played his own version of the character and auditioned four times before being chosen. He was unaware of the game’s popularity before Devil May Cry 3 was released but later said fans enjoyed the new teenage look of Dante. Langdon found the role challenging but rewarding and felt he could have enjoyed it even more in Devil May Cry 4. When cast as Vergil, Southworth knew the character’s history and had knowledge of samurai culture, which helped him deliver a strong performance. The development team said Southworth’s understanding of samurai culture helped him match Vergil’s voice and movements. Southworth said Vergil often appears calm but shows signs of anger, and he found motion-capturing action scenes challenging but his favorite part of the work.
Vergil became playable in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition because the team had extra time after completing the game. Capcom had to remove some of his moves due to space limits but kept moves he used as a boss in Dante’s story. His move set reflected his calm personality, contrasting with Dante’s bold confidence. When creating the characters, Vergil was made stronger than Dante but harder to control because players had to learn more moves. Vergil was popular among the development team, and Itsuno said he was well received in the United States because many Hollywood characters also use katanas.
Release
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening was released in Japan on February 17, 2005, for the PlayStation 2. It was later released in North America and other parts of the world in 2005. The game sold 1.3 million copies, making it a commercial success.
After the game's release, Capcom created merchandise based on it. This included a manga written by Suguro Chayamachi and published by Tokyopop in North America, as well as a Dante action figure made by Revoltech. In 2006, an artbook titled Devil May Cry 3 Material Archive – Note of Naught was released. It included unreleased artwork, storyboards, and a UMD video disc for the PSP with trailers and videos (available only in region 2). A three-disc soundtrack for the game was released on March 31, 2005, produced by Tetsuya Shibata and Kento Hasegawa. The soundtrack featured lyrics and vocals by Shawn McPherson.
At the 2005 Tokyo Game Show, Capcom announced a special edition of Devil May Cry 3 with gameplay changes and added content. This version was released on January 24, 2006, as part of the PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits collection. It was later confirmed that the PlayStation 2 version of the game would be released in Europe. The special edition sold 1 million units.
On February 1, 2006, Ubisoft announced a Windows version of the game developed by SourceNext. The European PC version was released first on June 28, 2006, before the special edition PlayStation 2 version in that region. The Japanese version followed two days later, and the North American version was released on October 16.
Devil May Cry 3, along with Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2, was re-released in the Devil May Cry HD Collection for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 3, 2012. The HD Collection was later released on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 13, 2018. This version included improvements over the original PC release, such as support for XInput controllers.
In 2020, Capcom re-released the game for the Nintendo Switch. This version was based on the Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition from the HD Collection. It included new features, such as the ability for Dante to switch between all weapons and styles, similar to Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 5. It also added local co-op play in Bloody Palace mode with Dante and Vergil. Matt Walker helped the developers create this version, offering ideas to improve the game.
Reception
The review website Metacritic gave the original PlayStation 2 version of the game a score of 84 out of 100, and the Special Edition version a score of 87 out of 100. It was listed on Game Informer’s top 50 games of 2005, and the Special Edition received a "Game of the Month" award. In 2010, IGN ranked it 18th on its list of the top 100 PlayStation 2 games, and a GamePro review from that year placed it 28th among the best PlayStation 2 games.
Most reviews praised the game for fixing problems from its earlier version, as well as its customization options, gameplay, combat system, and music. However, some critics noted issues with the story and character development. The combat system was compared favorably to games like Ninja Gaiden and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, and the camera and controls were also praised. The game was included in the 2010 book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
Some reviews criticized the high difficulty level of the North American version of the game. Critics disagreed with Capcom’s choice to make the "hard" mode from the Japanese version the default "normal" mode for North America. The European version used the same "normal" mode as the Japanese version but kept the yellow orb continue system from the North American version.
The PC version of the game was considered much worse than the PlayStation 2 version because of poor porting. Problems included a weak game engine, poor controls, and the inability to save and exit the game, which is common in most PC games. Jeremy Dunham of IGN scored the PC version 5.8 out of 10, compared to the PlayStation 2 version’s 9.6, calling its performance "awful" and its controls "craptacular." In 2021, PC Gamer listed the PC version as one of the worst PC ports.
The Special Edition PlayStation 2 version ranked ninth on GameSpy’s 2006 "Game of the Year" list. It was praised for adjusting its difficulty, including a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" from a previous game, and adding Vergil as a playable character. Playing as Vergil was highlighted because he is different from Dante, but some critics disliked the reuse of Dante’s bosses and the lack of cutscenes.