Devil May Cry was a flawed, but overall enjoyable experience. It laid a good template for future games in the genre to expand and improve upon. However, with it being the first of its kind, there’s bound to be problems, this is where a sequel would come into play. Expand upon and further refine what made the positives of the original, while fixing the problems that held it back. You’d think Devil May Cry 2 would do this, however it has quite an infamous reputation since its release in 2003. What do I think of DMC2? That’s what this review is for. Keep this in mind, I’m a newcomer to the Devil May Cry series. This review isn’t written by some guy who is a DMC connoisseur, this is just my perspective on these games as a newcomer to this franchise, as well as this genre. With that said, time to dive into Devil May Cry 2.
I guess I might as well start off with the level design, a lot of it consists of running through giant areas where your goal is to go from point A to point B while fighting enemies in combat. I really don't like how massive these areas are, there's nothing interesting going on and as a result makes this game feel like a slog. DMC1 also had this issue in some ways where a lot of the time was spent going through hallways, but those areas were a lot smaller and more confined so it wasn't as big of a deal as it is here, plus there was a lot more to them as you were always discovering new things. You can speed things up going through these environments by pressing Circle, it’s a dedicated dodge button, this was something I really wanted in DMC1 and I'm glad 2 has it… until I realized the dodge in this game sucks. It's really slow, it's faster than running, so I'll give it that, but it also could've been a hell of a lot better. It’s not really the best when it comes to combat since trying to avoid attacks is harder than it should be due to the slowness of the maneuver.
Next up, the meat of the game, the combat. So what has changed since DMC1 in the combat system? Well, to put it bluntly, everything fucking sucks now. The combat has been significantly downgraded from DMC1. Sword combat isn't fun to play with at all as it's really slow and floaty, with what's supposed to be a fast paced action game that's not going to mesh very well together. Alastor in DMC1 was great, it felt tight, combos were satisfying to pull off, and there were moments where it was better to use it over Ifrit. The combos themselves are also a massive step down. In DMC1, delaying your inputs with the Triangle button, as well as mixing things up with the Square button for your guns felt satisfying because there’s a lot of different choices and mix-ups you can make and there’s a lot of variety on the table. In DMC2, the only way to really mix things up with your sword is moving the control stick in a certain direction, which is the lamest possible thing they could’ve done. Not to mention, there is a VERY high emphasis on gun combat. You can beat a majority of the game by just spamming guns, including the bosses, but I'll get to that in just a bit. The extremely high emphasis on gun combat strips away the strategy and fun of using your Sword in DMC1, as well as Ifrit, but that’s besides the point. Not to mention, a majority of the enemy AI in this game is so insanely braindead. A lot of the time you can just shoot them to death or swing your sword at them until they die and you’ll hardly get punished, the Infested Tanks are the most notable example of this. You can just swing your sword over and over until they’re dead, at max you’ll get hit like maybe once or twice, but other than that, you can easily swing your sword and get free S rank combos. Another thing I don’t like about DMC2’s combat is the leveling up system. In DMC1, red orbs were used to give you new abilities for Sparda and Ifrit, as well as power-ups like Purple, Yellow, and Blue Orbs, Vital and Devil Stars, etc. It was a good leveling up system and in a way encouraged skillful play, since the higher your rank, the more red orbs you’ll collect, and with the more red orbs you collect, the more of a chance you’ll be able to unlock different moves for Sparda and Ifrit. In DMC2, items are still here, which is good, but leveling up just increases the strength of the weapon, which is the most boring way you could possibly upgrade a weapon. Gone is the excitement of trying to unlock new moves and improving your playstyle, instead you just only get stronger by leveling up, not by unlocking extra moves that can help you and your playstyle get stronger. Unlocking moves was part of what made me want to keep playing DMC1, I wanted to keep unlocking new abilities so I could utilize the game’s mechanics more, in DMC2, I feel the complete opposite as not only is there not much to the combat, but also it just isn’t fun to play with unlike the flawed, but fun combat of DMC1. There’s also not really much strategy for which guns you should use outside of Ebony & Ivory, and later in the game the Submachine Guns. In DMC1, Ebony & Ivory, Shotgun, and Grenade Gun all had different moments and times to use them regarding the situation, in DMC2, none of that is here since you can easily just use your starting pistols or go with a really similar gun that’s only faster and call it a day.
One of the most annoying parts about DMC2’s combat is the lock-on system. The lock-on in DMC1 could get in the way here and there, but it didn’t get in the way too often and you could see what enemies you were fighting for the most part, so this was only really a minor annoyance if you ask me, although the camera in that game could get really annoying with all the switching angles. DMC2, instead of getting rid of these problems, doubles down and makes them even more significant. A big problem with this is that sometimes you don’t even know what enemy you’re fighting as the camera doesn’t give you a clear view on all the enemies you’re facing off and it’s not like this is an issue that happens every now and then, no, this happens, a lot of the time. DMC2 has a lock-on reticle letting you know what enemy you’re attacking, which is good, however that’s all kind of nullified because of how much the lock-on system in this game has been so much worse in comparison to DMC1.
Now for the bosses, dear god, these are some of the worst bosses I’ve ever played in a game period. Infested Chopper is well… Infested Chopper, you shoot down a helicopter for what feels like an eternity, but that isn’t even the worst one if you ask me. Trismagia is the worst in my opinion, it’s a cheap piece of shit that camps you outside of your range and you have no choice but to spam your guns, not to mention the face that is the real one isn’t really clear to the player, leaving you no choice but to fuck around and shooting your guns until you start hitting their face and they start dealing damage, not to mention this 3-faced nuisance has several different attacks to try avoid, while the automatic lock-on makes it nightmare to try find out which is the real one. Also, the arenas in which you fight the bosses more often than not tend to be pretty open, allowing for a lot of space, which can then let you cheese the bosses by spamming guns at them and winning. Gone is the challenge and strategy that DMC1 brought. In DMC1, sure some of the bosses weren’t particularly great, especially the Nightmare demon slob, but at the very least with the DMC1 bosses, a majority of the time they were in small confined areas that you couldn’t just easily cheese with the space given and you had to play strategically since while you could just go into Devil Trigger and spam lightning, trying to do that on certain bosses isn’t gonna get you anywhere as you had to use melee attacks with Sparda and Ifrit in certain occasions, as well as utilizing your guns. In DMC2, with this game’s awkward sword combat and high emphasis on guns already being an issue, the massive space for the arenas allows you to just easily cheese the bosses with your guns. At this point, DMC2 is practically Gun Simulator 2003.
Overall, Devil May Cry 2 isn’t just a disappointing sequel to a flawed, but very promising and enjoyable game, it’s a terrible sequel that fails to do everything a sequel should. Instead of refining and making the combat even better, it’s extremely braindead, floaty, awkward, and just overall not well executed. While the issues that could get in the way every now and then in DMC1, are doubled down and worsened here in this sequel.
I guess I might as well start off with the level design, a lot of it consists of running through giant areas where your goal is to go from point A to point B while fighting enemies in combat. I really don't like how massive these areas are, there's nothing interesting going on and as a result makes this game feel like a slog. DMC1 also had this issue in some ways where a lot of the time was spent going through hallways, but those areas were a lot smaller and more confined so it wasn't as big of a deal as it is here, plus there was a lot more to them as you were always discovering new things. You can speed things up going through these environments by pressing Circle, it’s a dedicated dodge button, this was something I really wanted in DMC1 and I'm glad 2 has it… until I realized the dodge in this game sucks. It's really slow, it's faster than running, so I'll give it that, but it also could've been a hell of a lot better. It’s not really the best when it comes to combat since trying to avoid attacks is harder than it should be due to the slowness of the maneuver.
Next up, the meat of the game, the combat. So what has changed since DMC1 in the combat system? Well, to put it bluntly, everything fucking sucks now. The combat has been significantly downgraded from DMC1. Sword combat isn't fun to play with at all as it's really slow and floaty, with what's supposed to be a fast paced action game that's not going to mesh very well together. Alastor in DMC1 was great, it felt tight, combos were satisfying to pull off, and there were moments where it was better to use it over Ifrit. The combos themselves are also a massive step down. In DMC1, delaying your inputs with the Triangle button, as well as mixing things up with the Square button for your guns felt satisfying because there’s a lot of different choices and mix-ups you can make and there’s a lot of variety on the table. In DMC2, the only way to really mix things up with your sword is moving the control stick in a certain direction, which is the lamest possible thing they could’ve done. Not to mention, there is a VERY high emphasis on gun combat. You can beat a majority of the game by just spamming guns, including the bosses, but I'll get to that in just a bit. The extremely high emphasis on gun combat strips away the strategy and fun of using your Sword in DMC1, as well as Ifrit, but that’s besides the point. Not to mention, a majority of the enemy AI in this game is so insanely braindead. A lot of the time you can just shoot them to death or swing your sword at them until they die and you’ll hardly get punished, the Infested Tanks are the most notable example of this. You can just swing your sword over and over until they’re dead, at max you’ll get hit like maybe once or twice, but other than that, you can easily swing your sword and get free S rank combos. Another thing I don’t like about DMC2’s combat is the leveling up system. In DMC1, red orbs were used to give you new abilities for Sparda and Ifrit, as well as power-ups like Purple, Yellow, and Blue Orbs, Vital and Devil Stars, etc. It was a good leveling up system and in a way encouraged skillful play, since the higher your rank, the more red orbs you’ll collect, and with the more red orbs you collect, the more of a chance you’ll be able to unlock different moves for Sparda and Ifrit. In DMC2, items are still here, which is good, but leveling up just increases the strength of the weapon, which is the most boring way you could possibly upgrade a weapon. Gone is the excitement of trying to unlock new moves and improving your playstyle, instead you just only get stronger by leveling up, not by unlocking extra moves that can help you and your playstyle get stronger. Unlocking moves was part of what made me want to keep playing DMC1, I wanted to keep unlocking new abilities so I could utilize the game’s mechanics more, in DMC2, I feel the complete opposite as not only is there not much to the combat, but also it just isn’t fun to play with unlike the flawed, but fun combat of DMC1. There’s also not really much strategy for which guns you should use outside of Ebony & Ivory, and later in the game the Submachine Guns. In DMC1, Ebony & Ivory, Shotgun, and Grenade Gun all had different moments and times to use them regarding the situation, in DMC2, none of that is here since you can easily just use your starting pistols or go with a really similar gun that’s only faster and call it a day.
One of the most annoying parts about DMC2’s combat is the lock-on system. The lock-on in DMC1 could get in the way here and there, but it didn’t get in the way too often and you could see what enemies you were fighting for the most part, so this was only really a minor annoyance if you ask me, although the camera in that game could get really annoying with all the switching angles. DMC2, instead of getting rid of these problems, doubles down and makes them even more significant. A big problem with this is that sometimes you don’t even know what enemy you’re fighting as the camera doesn’t give you a clear view on all the enemies you’re facing off and it’s not like this is an issue that happens every now and then, no, this happens, a lot of the time. DMC2 has a lock-on reticle letting you know what enemy you’re attacking, which is good, however that’s all kind of nullified because of how much the lock-on system in this game has been so much worse in comparison to DMC1.
Now for the bosses, dear god, these are some of the worst bosses I’ve ever played in a game period. Infested Chopper is well… Infested Chopper, you shoot down a helicopter for what feels like an eternity, but that isn’t even the worst one if you ask me. Trismagia is the worst in my opinion, it’s a cheap piece of shit that camps you outside of your range and you have no choice but to spam your guns, not to mention the face that is the real one isn’t really clear to the player, leaving you no choice but to fuck around and shooting your guns until you start hitting their face and they start dealing damage, not to mention this 3-faced nuisance has several different attacks to try avoid, while the automatic lock-on makes it nightmare to try find out which is the real one. Also, the arenas in which you fight the bosses more often than not tend to be pretty open, allowing for a lot of space, which can then let you cheese the bosses by spamming guns at them and winning. Gone is the challenge and strategy that DMC1 brought. In DMC1, sure some of the bosses weren’t particularly great, especially the Nightmare demon slob, but at the very least with the DMC1 bosses, a majority of the time they were in small confined areas that you couldn’t just easily cheese with the space given and you had to play strategically since while you could just go into Devil Trigger and spam lightning, trying to do that on certain bosses isn’t gonna get you anywhere as you had to use melee attacks with Sparda and Ifrit in certain occasions, as well as utilizing your guns. In DMC2, with this game’s awkward sword combat and high emphasis on guns already being an issue, the massive space for the arenas allows you to just easily cheese the bosses with your guns. At this point, DMC2 is practically Gun Simulator 2003.
Overall, Devil May Cry 2 isn’t just a disappointing sequel to a flawed, but very promising and enjoyable game, it’s a terrible sequel that fails to do everything a sequel should. Instead of refining and making the combat even better, it’s extremely braindead, floaty, awkward, and just overall not well executed. While the issues that could get in the way every now and then in DMC1, are doubled down and worsened here in this sequel.
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LoneSpeedsterDX
1 year ago