Devil May Cry Celebrates 25 Years: How Capcom’s PS2 Hit Changed Combat
Twenty-five years after it first arrived in Japanese arcades of attention, Devil May Cry remains one of PlayStation 2’s defining moments—an action game that didn’t just look different, but made combat feel newly possible. Released in 2001 across Japan, North America, and Europe, Capcom’s stylish demon-hunting debut turned a tough new genre focus into a lasting influence on how players expect “hack and slash” action to play, look, and challenge them.
PlayStation 2’s shaky start, and the moment it clicked
To understand why Devil May Cry mattered, it helps to remember how complicated early PlayStation 2 was. Sony’s console launched in Japan on March 4, 2000, followed by a US release on October 26 and Europe on November 24. The early lineup didn’t convince many players in the way the first PlayStation’s catalog had—Namco’s Tekken Tag Tournament and Ridge Racer V, TimeSplitters’ early entry, Dead or Alive Hardcore, and Fantavision were all part of a launch run that lacked a clear “must-buy” punch.
That uncertainty carried into late 2000 and the beginning of 2001 as well. SquareSoft and Konami didn’t deliver the blockbuster bursts promised by The Bouncer and Shadow of Destiny. Kojima’s Zone of the Enders also didn’t fully land, while Capcom’s Onimusha was the standout of sorts—but it didn’t reach the same kind of household recognition other Capcom franchises enjoyed. Even with limited system-defining software, PlayStation 2 still moved units at a price of 74,900 pesetas (about 450 euros at the time), though rumors about the difficulty of programming for the console’s much-discussed Emotion Engine didn’t help the outlook.
Then, between summer 2001 and the end of that year, PlayStation 2’s momentum improved dramatically. Devil May Cry’s arrival sits in the middle of that surge: Gran Turismo 3, Ico, Silent Hill 2, Grand Theft Auto III, Metal Gear 2: Sons of Liberty, Jak and Daxter, and Final Fantasy X, plus conversions of Max Payne, Half-Life, and Resident Evil Code Veronica. In that context, it’s hard to argue Devil May Cry rose to prominence from lack of competition—if anything, it had to earn attention in a crowded late-2001 window.
With Devil May Cry’s release dates—August 23, 2001 in Japan; October 17 in North America; and December 7 in Europe—the game quickly established itself as more than a flashy launch-era experiment. The camera motion, environmental detail, and character animation were presented as a major leap that translated directly into gameplay: furious swordplay and gunfire that previous hardware generations couldn’t support in the same way. For many players, it didn’t just advance graphics; it changed how action combat could feel.
From a cancelled Resident Evil idea to a new kind of action
Devil May Cry’s origin story traces back to Shinji Mikami’s involvement behind the scenes. Mikami—who previously directed the first Resident Evil and produced the second while also creating Vanquish—tasked Hideki Kamiya with overseeing development direction for Resident Evil 4. Kamiya, however, was pulled toward a more brutal, action-first approach. With Noboru Sugimura, the writer from Resident Evil 2, Kamiya developed a plot built around a man with superhuman powers who was immortal and also an effective killing machine, framed with Umbrella as a shadowy organization stretching back centuries to the Spencer family and an ancient “super virus” zombie mythology.
Kamiya’s stated aim emphasized a break from Resident Evil’s terror focus: in the Resident Evil series, the goal is to escape overpowering enemies and survive. For this new project, the goal would be, in his own words, “molar”—with “the more the better.” The plan leaned into fighting hard enemies using superpowers, wrapped in a heavily gothic setting inspired by the grandeur of castles from that era, and—importantly—moving away from the franchise’s fixed camera approach toward a dynamic camera system that could follow the action fluidly.
When Mikami reviewed the proposal, he felt the idea—immortal beings battling ancient zombies in gothic castles with a giant sword—had gone too far, even by his own standards. Kamiya had already experienced a similar setback earlier: his initial Resident Evil 2 concept, known as Resident Evil 1.5, was discarded around 60–80% into development and rewritten by Sugimura. This time, though, Mikami saw potential in the material, just not as a new Resident Evil. The result was a split: a single development effort branched into two major, influential games.
Capcom formed a new team of roughly 40 people, with Kamiya leading them as Team Little Devils, and the project became its own standalone title rather than a continuation of Resident Evil. While Mikami ultimately went on to direct Resident Evil 4, Kamiya’s team began shaping Devil May Cry into something distinct.
Kamiya’s creative direction drew from Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, building a demonic world and a protagonist capable of transforming into a demon. The character’s inspiration was tied to the manga Cobra, created by Buichi Terasawa between 1978 and 1984. Kamiya described Cobra as a character who never shows fear, holds an extreme confidence pose, speaks with ironic swagger even in maximum danger, and meets death with a cynical smile. Kamiya also explained that the protagonist’s outward composure hides inner rage—beauty, he said, was in keeping feelings inside, a “very Japanese” idea.
Dante’s visual concept was defined with three clear pillars: a stylish man in a long coat with a British air, and a refusal to smoke—because, as the development intent put it, “smoking isn’t cool.” The coat was red to fit the heroic association of the color in Japan, and the design aimed for balance between realistic and heroic rather than leaning too heavily into exaggerated manga-style tropes.
Even the move set had roots in unexpected places. A bug discovered during Onimusha: Warlords development allowed the team to keep an enemy airborne indefinitely while attacking. That programming error inspired Devil May Cry’s juggle-style mechanic. Meanwhile, Kamiya initially refused to give Dante the ability to jump—an insistence that shifted only after character animation leads Yuichiro Hiraki and Tomoya Ohtsubo pushed back. Their insistence forced changes: many levels had to be rebuilt around jumping, and the team treated that addition as essential to the visceral feel players associate with the game.
Style also guided weapon handling. Dante was not allowed to grip a cut-down shotgun with both hands because the team felt it didn’t “ooze style.” They looked to the way Mel Gibson’s character in Mad Max carried and used the weapon—primarily one-handed—and then adjusted the reload method to fit the intended presentation. For Dante’s iconic Ebony and Ivory pistols, the design took cues from the real Colt M1911, while customizing the in-game versions for demon-hunting performance.
Difficulty was another core pillar. Kamiya argued that early-2000s game culture focused too much on attracting a wider audience and ignored hardcore players who had supported the industry for years. With Devil May Cry, the goal was to restore the idea that games should be fun but challenging, aiming to create a demanding experience rather than one that underestimated players. The director framed Devil May Cry as a challenge to modern players who had become accustomed to too many easy games, and credited that philosophy for helping the title stand out—something he described as personally something he felt proud of.
The story begins with Dante in his demon-hunting office right before Trish, a very well-regarded waitress, arrives with an entrance meant to be impressive. After a quick struggle, Trish explains that she was testing Dante’s strength and that her true mission is to recruit his help against a threat looming over Earth. Mundus, described as the relentless emperor of demons, plans to return to the human world after being sealed away for centuries.
Action shifts to Mallet Island and a looming castle where Mundus prepares for his return. The plot may not be treated as a masterpiece of writing, but it functions as a setup for countless encounters with demonic enemies: assassins on strings, shadow wolves, anthropomorphic lizard-like foes, and insect demons. The game also features a full roster of bosses fought multiple times under different circumstances, including Phantom—a hybrid of tarantula and fire scorpion—Griffon, Nightmare, and Angelo, a mysterious knight later revealed as something unexpected. The final confrontation with Mundus comes through multiple transformations.
Beyond the narrative setup, Devil May Cry’s biggest legacy is the combat structure. The genre transition from 2D to 3D had been difficult for beat ’em ups, which had dominated arcades and home consoles in the 16-bit era before the industry shifted toward new fighting styles such as Street Fighter II. As the 32-bit era arrived, the beat ’em up style largely struggled to translate into 3D, since the slower movement and traditional 2D timing didn’t always carry over well. Devil May Cry is credited with adapting the leftover energy of beat ’em ups into a successful 3D format, and—according to the account of the game’s influence—helped popularize the idea that “hack and slash” specifically meant 3D action games with deep close-quarters combat systems.
To make that system work, Devil May Cry offered a fast, expressive combat loop combining melee weapons and firearms. Players could collect red orbs dropped by defeated enemies to learn new moves and build custom combos, effectively letting them tailor combat choices to their own preferences. The development team treated the game’s moves as something players should discover and combine creatively rather than follow one rigid path.
Kamiya specifically wanted each player to enjoy creating original, “molar” sequences, and to watch Dante perform them in a way that embodied his character. He emphasized that Dante shouldn’t be a typical hero who only slices or only shoots, and pointed to juggling enemies with the sword and manipulating them with pistols as a representative expression of Dante’s style. The game also introduced Devil Trigger transformations and a range of signature weapon concepts, including swords powered by lightning and flame-themed gauntlets that transform into Ifrit, along with a varied set of firearms such as pistols, shotguns, and grenade launchers plus an energy-based demon weapon. Combat is further amplified by the presentation—especially the game’s real-time performance ranking during battles.
During combat, the screen displays a style rating. If players keep attacking effectively, switching between weapons and avoiding damage, the ranking moves through “Dull” into progressively higher tiers such as “Cool,” “Bravo,” “Absolute/Awesome,” and finally “Stylish,” all in real time. If players rely too heavily on one attack or fail to land hits for a stretch—especially if enemies damage the player—the meter resets back to “Dull.” Ending each mission can also reward players with a final performance grade, pushing mastery beyond simply finishing stages.
That mission structure matters too. Instead of the continuous, cut-free “adventure” flow associated with Resident Evil’s style, Devil May Cry uses independent missions with clear beginnings and endings that can be replayed. The combination of in-mission style grading and end-of-mission evaluation creates a feedback loop designed to reward players for learning patterns, adapting quickly, and pushing for the highest rank.
In the years that followed, Devil May Cry became a franchise with multiple entries across generations. Devil May Cry 2 released in 2003, and the account of its development frames it as a difficult follow-up whose design, gameplay, staging, and especially Dante’s personality suffered under a chaotic production. Roughly six months before the game’s completion date, the director was replaced by Hideaki Itsuno, who had worked on Street Fighter Alpha, Power Stone, Rival Schools, and Capcom vs SNK 2. Itsuno later returned to redemption with Devil May Cry 3 in 2005, described as a major refinement of the first game’s strengths and one of the best games in the series.
On PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Devil May Cry 4 is described as excellent, though the account criticizes the way it leaned on decisions that didn’t resonate with players—especially shifting emphasis toward Nero and requiring repeated sections involving Dante. The story is described as reaching historical lows in quality, but the gameplay is praised for new ideas that work well and a massive arsenal for Dante.
The Devil May Cry reboot by Ninja Theory is presented as a more divisive entry, described as aiming for broader audiences and featuring an “emo” Dante that raised suspicions. Still, the combat is credited as satisfying, with multiple interesting ideas that keep it from being dismissed entirely. Devil May Cry V follows with Itsuno again at the helm, portrayed as another standout entry featuring three playable characters, with V highlighted for a distinctive playstyle involving commanding creatures through music-like destructive control. The account places Devil May Cry V among the best action games of recent years while still arguing Devil May Cry 3 delivers a better overall experience across the series.
Today, the game’s legacy is positioned as lasting and accessible through the Devil May Cry HD Collection, available on modern digital storefronts. The account also notes that the bundle covering the first three entries often drops to roughly 6–7 euros during sales, making it an easy entry point for players who want to experience the original foundation of the series’ style and combat design. For fans, the closing sentiment remains the same: Dante’s place in action game history isn’t going anywhere.
