Laying my cards flat, this game very quickly planted itself firmly within my top 10 favorite games ever upon playing it. I first played Devil May Cry 3 at the end of a personal mini-marathon. Playing Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2 beforehand was instrumental in me falling in love with this game nearly instantly. Nowadays, I don't replay games often, let alone ones I'd just completed. However, I was so thoroughly enthralled by this game that I ended up sinking 3 whole playthroughs back-to-back-to-back, with the temptation to dive back in for a fourth until deciding to cut myself off since many big October 2023 games were about to release.

Devil May Cry 3 has one of the richest action game movesets ever made. From the very first moment, the player feels awesome pulling off cool combos and figuring out which moves link into each other. There's a great amount of depth here as each new tool you gain, each new weapon, instantly had me dreaming up all the different moves from different weapons I could link into those. The different style-swapping and weapon-swapping allow for a complex web of potential combos even with a straightforward control scheme. It's intuitive yet deep. Every single weapon in the game is fun to control, with the positional tools of Rebellion, the multi-hit area control of Cerberus, the speedy slashes of Agni/Rudra, Nevan's range/burst options, and Beowulf's slow, deliberate, powerful strikes. Plus, each one has a very engaging and fun upgrade system! (My only nitpick is the need to unlock Air Hike, the double jump, for each weapon)

The story, its associated missions, and boss fights are also very engaging. The cutscenes are filled with over-the-top camp but in the most endearing way possible. Dante and Vergil's dynamic is very well illustrated, shown, and engaged with. An overarching theme of family is very present, with the aforementioned, in addition to Lady's dynamic with the main antagonist. Dante, Vergil, and Lady are always a joy to see on screen. The missions laid out to go through feel so active, with even the puzzle elements feeling action-packed somehow. It's satisfying enough for me to have wanted to replay the same missions over three whole playthroughs, so they don't get old. I don't even really mind the Traditional Capcom Boss Rush at the end. Only the Shadow boss fight felt weak and easy, every other fight had fun moves to learn to dodge and fight around, enough openings to lay in some major combos, and cool designs for all the characters.

I know this is already wordy, but I just wanted to express how much I love this game. It's one of the most unadulterated fun experiences I've ever had playing a game, and even the mere act of writing this is making me want to sink another playthrough in. It's a special game and has me utterly ecstatic to play Devil May Cry 5 since many hold it in a similar regard.

I will give this my highest recommendation, the "Must Play" status. However, I will add a wrinkle. I think playing both Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 2 beforehand truly enhances the experience. Seeing how far they came from the lows of the previous entry, possibly the greatest comeback story from a very impossible and difficult development cycle, is something that needs to be played to be felt.