Missed Opportunities: Devil May Rage

Developer Ninja Theory probably should have chosen their words more carefully.

Close to the end of the first mission of DmC: Devil May Cry – which I talked about here – there was a cutscene where a white wig flew onto the new Dante’s head. For a brief moment, he had the hairstyle of the original Dante, which I imagine was meant to be a tribute to the fans of the original Devil May Cry. But a lot of fans were not happy with this joke, all because of five little words.

“Not in a million years.”

When Dante finished checking out his reflection and his “new” hairstyle, he muttered, “Not in a million years,” and threw the wig away. With that choice of words, Ninja Theory failed to deliver their intended joke.

Ninja Theory wanted to poke fun at Dante’s new, unpopular design. They wanted to be on the side of the fans that were unhappy with the redesign. The problem was how they handled the joke. By having Dante say that line and discard the wig, they sent the wrong message. They sent a message of, “The old Dante is dead. Deal with it.”

I saw a lot of angry comments when that cutscene hit YouTube.

Most DmC videos I found had a good number of comments like these.

Unless it was Ninja Theory’s intention to tell-off the angry fans, they should have thought about how Dante’s words would be received. If they wanted to get their joke across the way I think they meant to, then Dante should have simply looked at his reflection and smiled. If he had shown interest in the hairstyle, and the wind blew it off, it might send a better message while still being funny.

It may seem like a small, insignificant thing to think about, but when your game has been hated from the very start, a poor choice of words can only make things worse.

A Look Ahead: “DmC: Devil May Cry”

Because its launch is only a few days away – and because I am somewhat of a masochist – I’ll be taking a look at the game whose teaser trailer sparked a thousand angry videos: DmC (AKA Devil May Cry).

For those who don’t know of the game – or have somehow managed to avoid hearing about the fan outcry – DmC is a reboot to Capcom’s popular Devil May Cry series. After four games, Capcom handed over the license to British developer Ninja Theory. When DmC’s teaser trailer hit the web, fans were – to say the least – unhappy with the new design of Dante (the lead character of the series). His dark hair and junkie appearance were both bashed by fans.

Ninja Theory stated that their original concepts for Dante were similar to his previous designs, with the trademark red coat and white hair. But Capcom, who has been overseeing the game’s production, sent the concepts back. They wanted a reboot, not the same old Dante. And despite this news, along with the numerous trailers that show that Devil May Cry’s signature over-the-top combat will return, fans continue to slander the game in forums and video comments.

It’s interesting how a simple change in design can be met with such powerful anger.

But is this game worthy of all the hate? It’s impossible to tell when the game hasn’t come out yet, but let’s take a look at the trailers to get an idea.

Another aspect of the original Devil May Cry series that seemed in danger was its cheesy sense of humor. Dante usually carried himself and spoke like a gothic Johnny Bravo, a lady’s man with corny lines and a somehow endearing narcissism. His script, especially in Devil May Cry 3, was filled with lines such as “it’s showtime” and “let’s rock,” accompanied by plenty of “woohoos” and “oh yeahs.” These games were never meant to be taken seriously, and were always similar to summer blockbuster movies; fun, cheesy goodness.

So far, DmC shows signs of staying true to this tone, at least with Dante. The “My Name is Dante” trailer presents Dante as his familiar snarky self, insulting demons a hundred times his size and acting like he’s too cool to be dealing with them. He even makes jokes in the middle of combat, saying, “Nice nails. Let me cut them for you,” while he slices at a long-fingered boss. The sense of humor seems intact, especially with one outrageous cutscene of a naked Dante getting dressed in mid-air while the debris of his demolished trailer flies around him.

But from what I’ve seen, DmC’s script has a lot of needless swearing, with characters snapping, “Fuck you” back and forth for little reason. The original series didn’t have much swearing. It was able to deliver its story without it. While this is far from a deal breaker, this curse-happy dialogue feels out of place and may be a sign of a weak script.

The combat system, on the other hand, appears solid. Trailers show Dante switching weapons at lightning-fast speeds, cycling through his trademark sword and twin guns, to a scythe, axe, shotgun, whip, gauntlets, and much more. Fluid animations and long, wild combos show promise that the combat of DmC will live up to its predecessors.*

It’s hard to say much else about the game without playing it firsthand, but for now, I see potential. I’m holding on hope that DmC will be a good game.

*Due to complications of my PS3, and my lack of an Xbox, I was unable to play the demo myself, so my opinions on the combat system are entirely based on the trailers and the feedback of those who have played the demo.