Sheesh. Kind of baffling how badly naysayers want SoS to be wrong. At least, that's the impression I'm getting.
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On the other hand, while I believe SoS, I wouldn't mind it so much if it turned out to be false. I mean, yeah, I'd be bummed as heck, but this whole shebang's made me excited for Devil May Cry again. It feels so good to be this excited about something, especially something I loved very much back in the day.
Long post ahead because, well, I guess I need to write about my feelings for the series somewhere, and seeing as some did in the thread, I thought I'd do so too.
I dug out my copy of DmC and UMVC3 earlier because I don't have 4SE nor the HD Collection and my copy of 4 is a physical PC disc that I can't use due to a lack of a disc drive, but... yeah. I played a Devil May Cry game for the first time in apparently 3.5 years. It feels pretty crazy because I used to be so into the series back in high school. I think I took an hour or a little less to get my bearings and remind my fingers how to quickly switch weapons and do different combos, but damn did it feel
good! I'm still far from how I used to play back then, but I was slowly getting back in the groove of things. It's been so long since I've played a character action game... I've only played three games in the entire franchise, 3, 4, and DmC, and I love them all. I'm not exactly great at them, not really bothering much with the higher level techniques like jump cancelling, parrying, etc. but I can consistently get an S or even SSS, which I'm very proud of even if it's not really impressive by community standards. Just a small personal achievement.
I remember spending several weeks sneaking (my parents were a little strict during my first year of college, if I recall correctly) whatever time I could to play DmC's demo. I kept playing it again and again, never getting tired of it. I'm still surprised I actually poured so much time into a demo. When I finally got the game, I remember being so excited to finally play a new Devil May Cry game, and I was right to be excited. I had a blast with it. Dante's terrible face and hair be damned! Also Vergil's. It was just so much fun. It was also a lot easier than the original series, because I actually managed to beat Dante Must Die! with several S-ranks.
Or maybe I got better. It's probably a combination of both.
Looking back even further, I only just realized it earlier today, but DMC3 (my entry into the series) was pretty instrumental in me being who I am right now. I got a copy of the game because I'd heard a lot about it and wanted to try it out. And it was an action game too, so it was my kind of game. I couldn't get past Cerberus and I chickened out because the Gothic horror design was a little too much for little ol' me at the time.
Okay, I wasn't so little, I was in my first year of high school, I think. Funny enough, this dumb little kid was determined to give the game another try and beat it because he found out his crush was really into the series. It was one of, if not the hardest game I had played at the time, but I somehow managed to beat it. I was so proud of myself. I'm not quite sure if I ever beat it on Son of Sparda, but I think I at least gave it a try. After that, I was so hooked up on DMC hype that I started reading more about the series, checking out the wiki, etc. I was hooked on DMC. It was like my new Naruto.
Eventually, I remembered that I'd seen posts on GameSpot about a fourth game, which was available on PC, in addition to consoles. I didn't have a PS3 then, I wouldn't for another year or so, but I could get it on
a PC. Now, our desktop was
old. All it could play were The Sims, Red Alert and other C&C games. (side note: My dad was awesome at Red Alert and C&C games, I remember him staying up all night playing against 7 AI opponents at the highest difficulty level, always winning somehow) It was old as balls and I wanted a new PC just so I could play DMC4. I was in high school. We need to use computers for stuff, and our old one kind of won't really do anymore. It was perfect. I convinced my parents to get me a new desktop for educational purposes, and so I could play DMC4. It was summer then, and I had classes cause I purposely dropped Chinese Literature and Chinese History. I spent my time in class practicing to play the game. I read that it only had keyboard support, so I practiced that. I'd position my hands and practice doing combos. It was I, J, K, and L that served as the PS face buttons' equivalent, if I recall correctly. I kept practicing that shit whenever I was in class. Then as soon as we got the new desktop set up, I bought a copy of DMC4 and played it all night, then the rest of the weekend. The new PC wasn't actually that strong for the time, it had a 2.6 GHz quad core duo, only 4GB of RAM, and... a GeForce 980? It wasn't strong for a 2009 PC, but it was enough because it could play the game. It was enough. It was bliss. I remember being in the exact same spot I am right now, playing on my then-new computer. I've got a new computer now, much better and stronger, and I'm excited to play DMC4 here again once I've bought the SE. Hopefully, that'll be later this year.
Devil May Cry led me into modern gaming. Before that, all I had was a PS2. My general skill level was either average or below, but the series pushed me to be better and try harder. It made me want to prove to myself that I can handle more difficult games and to keep getting better. More importantly, it pushed me to get that then-new PC, which then led me to get Arkham Asylum. I don't think I'd even be reading comics right now if not for that, and I've read a lot since those days. I love games and comics, and I wouldn't be where I am with them if not for DMC3. I kept looking back only to Arkham Asylum before, when thinking of how I got to where I am now in terms of my passions and hobbies. Somehow, I didn't realize that before that, it was Devil May Cry that put me in the position to be able to play Arkham.
It's a wonderful feeling, being excited for DMC again, to look back on my brief history with the series. I don't think it would have been the same if we just got surprised with the announcement at TGA or PSX or wherever, at least not for me. I wouldn't be thinking about it as much as I am now. I wouldn't be fondly looking back at the series as much. I've said it multiple times now, but it feels so damn good to be excited again. So, thank you so much for sharing this with us, SoS.
Artist seems to be Ffel but doesn't have a pixiv page anymore
Oh, thanks! Yeah, I can't seem to find them, or at least the original post. Found some artist by that name but didn't see anything DMC-related. Still, better than nothing.