I remember being 11 years old and going over a friend's house a little bit after Devil May Cry came out. He raved about how great this game is, and I think played some of it in front of me. A couple months later, we hung out and I asked if I can borrow the game.

When I first started it, I thought it was pretty cool. I liked the gothic architecture and old castle feel of Mallet Island. I was kinda just mashing against the enemies for a bit while getting used to the controls. Then came the time to fight Phantom, the big scorpion spider thing who serves as the first boss. I lost over and over again, fighting frivolously and not even getting close to clearing out Phantom's health bar. A good hour in of retrying and dying and getting mad, I started to cry. I gave the game back and said "it sucks!" and was on a tirade against this series for a while.

Fast-forward to 2009, Bayonetta is being shown off and my 19 year-old self got pretty horny over her, which was enough to convince me to check the game out. And I adored it. It wasn't until after I beat the game that I took the time look up who Hideki Kamiya is as he was listed as the game's director. "Wait, this is the guy who made Devil May Cry?!"

I haven't thought about the series for years up to that point. But the memories were still there. I was almost scared to go back, despite being competent enough at action games. I grabbed the HD Collection, jumped in . . . and absolutely loved it!

Devil May Cry 1 might not be the most well-designed or engaging game in its series, but I love the style and presentation so damn much. And, as per my little story, I like to think it can teach any gamer discipline if they haven't experienced that yet from a video game. This title won't let you mash and bust your way through its story, you HAVE to understand how it wants you to play it.

Reviewed on Feb 28, 2022


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