Top reasons why DmC is going in the wrong direction.

It's been a while since the new Devil May Cry named "DmC" has been announced and trailers, interviews and all kinds of articles have been fairly abundant this year. It's been quite the topic of discussion for fans of the established franchise, with the majority being against the work that Ninja Theory has been doing with CAPCOM.

While the game slowly nears its release next year, it can still be said that the community does not like what they've done to the franchise, for the most part. Some fans are supporting the DmC project for whatever reasons, but what does that mean for players who weren't fans? You could go virtually anywhere on the internet right now with DmC as its subject and people who actually like the new Dante, both in aesthetics and personality. They like the new soundtrack. They like the enemies and the graphics and gameplay they see. But it's still a highly controversial project not because it's different, but because certain things should never be changed. I will therefore list all the reasons why DmC is going the wrong direction.

1. Dante curses far too much.
Regardless of your age, I'm sure any Devil May Cry fan that's been following the series since the first game knows that Dante is not one to curse. Not heavily, anyway. The worst possible word he's ever uttered in the games is "Damn!" and that's pretty much it. By now everyone should know of his habit of saying "Fuck you" everywhere he goes, and that right there goes against the original Dante's personality. It's out of character. Just like flipping anyone -- including the viewer -- off. Nero did it but he was an emo brat that shouted and cried all the time. This new Dante is more like a filthy bum. I hate to say it but he actually manages to make Nero look and sound good. A tiny bit.

2. Half angel?
One of the things that's been thoroughly avoided in the DMCverse is the utter lack of angelic beings, though there's been enough heavenly motif. Devil May Cry had beings such as Mundus, The Fallen, Angelo Credo and multiple areas in the games that seemed to suggest a heavenly design, but actually Heaven and anything that entails the afterlife has never been mentioned, except of course for the depths of Hell, Underworld or Demon World.
But even if it all exists in the DMCverse, one thing has always been very clear: Dante is half-human and half-devil, and values his human blood greatly, to which he knows to not be a flaw, but a form of strength.
If the new Dante is half-angel half-demon, then why does he resemble neither? Furthermore, what does that mean for his parents, Sparda and Eva? Is Sparda still a demon and Eva has been promoted to angel? Or is that the other way around now?

3. Naked Dante
This is probably the biggest sign. NT said in the beginning that they were intending to make DmC's plot more serious and adult. Forgetting for a second that Dante is supposedly a teenager in this new game who curses liberally, one can only take a brief look at the cutscene shown in trailers that it's nowhere near something a writer would want to have in a serious plot. Adding the ludicrous and cheesy for comedic effect is something that isn't lacking in Devil May Cry, but this is going a bit too far. It's not light-hearted or goofy, it's just plain childish.

4. No lock-on button
Not being able to lock-on to a single enemy within a crowd is usually a big problem, especially when you have ranged means to attack the enemy, such as handguns and a whip used to pull enemies, or pull yourself closer to them. This means Dante will be unable to change targets as freely as he could in previous games, where you had a button to lock-on to enemies, and another to switch targets. This was only first introduced in Devil May Cry 2 but it was implemented in the games that followed. Removing it is a bad idea in the long run. Furthermore, it also means that forward and back inputs such as Stinger and High Time will be accessed differently, which is unnecessary and may in fact hinder the flexbility and variety of combat.
Oh right, and there's no taunt, though they said they've thought about putting it in. Yay?

5. Two "Evade" buttons...
This one is of course tied in with the previous point; removing the ability to lock-on for the sake of having two buttons for the exact same action is stupid. And Devil Trigger requires you to press both buttons at the same time. What if you press them accidentally at the same time out of old habit? Maybe it's just me who would end up in that dilemma but I prefer the established control scheme. One button for lock-on and a single button for Devil Trigger, and one button for jumping & dodging. By removing the lock-on button they effectively removed the ability to side-roll which was present in DMC1, 3 and 4, only missing in DMC2 which also had a button dedicated for evasive maneuvers, but otherwise it had basically the same controls. The point is, you do not need two buttons to do a single action, and removing one of those actions for the sake of it is, as I said, stupid. For some people it might not matter, but for someone who knows their stuff in Devil May Cry 2, 3 and 4 knows that locking-on to enemies is crucial in the middle of crowds.

6. It's a reboot.
NT and/or CAPCOM have gone back and forth over time trying to define what exactly is DmC in relation to the established franchise. It's been called a reboot and a prequel and so forth, but it seems the term they've settled with is "a retelling of Dante's origin story," supposedly set in an "alternate universe." For better or for worse this means that you could stop caring about the whole thing right now because it's completely irrelevant to the rest of the franchise. Seriously. You could go to sleep tonight being sure that DmC will have absolutely nothing to do with the Dante you've loved for (over 10) years.
I don't know about you but I would rather have an origin story of the real Dante instead. Devil May Cry 3 showed him the youngest thus far, as well as his mysterious twin brother Vergil, but who were they before DMC3? What was their childhood like? What were Sparda and Eva like? That's what we truly care about. This whole reboot or alternate shit or whatever is absolutely useless. You understand that, right? DmC technically has nothing to do with Devil May Cry. It just loosely bases its characters and setting on it, like bad fanfiction.

7. Licensed soundtrack.
http://soundcloud.com/noisi...

This isn't the only track available, you can hear others around the internet, but -- let's face it. It's pretty bad on its own, but that's not the main reason. Devil May Cry 2 and 3 in particular had bad enough tracks at times but at still you could say the BGMs fit their games very well. Developers should always create the game and the music in it at about the same time, rather than just pick up a random album and slap it into their game, like you can do on Newgrounds.com. Ultimately the songs being used are too gutteral, noisy and annoying to be playing during combat, much like Taste The Blood and Lock & Load Blackened Angel Mix, just slightly worse. If this keeps up they should at least put the option to disable the music like DMC4 had the decency of having (even if the soundtrack wasn't bad overall).

[Godmars290]

Why this is happening:
1) The original DMC creator left Capcom.
2) The EU game maker they hired in attempt to replace him put an EU spin to the character. Also has a bit of an ego which naturally makes him want to make a statement. Make the character his own.

Why I and others aren't happy with it:
1) The announcement in general was just handled badly.
2) Again the ego of the new EU DMC dev shows as he only an attitude towards fans concerns.

Also believe at one point in his arrogance he promised a 60 fps game but its coming in at 30. Not that such is a sticking point to me, its really more Capcom's general attitude and dismissal of fans as they make changes - mostly - to get new fans.

[ABizzel1]

1. Dante curses far too much.

We haven't seen enough of the game to know if he curses too much. From what was shown in the trailers, I agree it seems a bit weird to hear Dante like this, and I'm 100% against useless profanity whether it's games, movies, music, etc... We still need to see more to know if it drops out as he matures / progress through the game.

2. Half angel?

This is probably the least concerning thing to me. I have no problem with it. For one it's an alternate reality, and if you're into comics or anything sci-fi then you know your character can be completely changed depending on the writer. Most of the time it's a bad idea, sometimes it's decent / equal to the original (such as aesthetic changes only), but every once in a while it's a complete upgrade.

The Half Angel concept, is there for gameplay, but I hope influences story even more. DMC isn't known for it amazing stories, and this is the first chance it has at creating a compelling story.

3. Naked Dante

This is nitpicking. It's one scene from a trailer. You're not naked Dante the entire game, and I'm sure that's not going to be DLC or an alternate costume. They know they're targeting a majority male audience, so having Dante swinging things besides his sword (is it still Rebellion?), isn't going to fly.

4. No lock-on button

This I agree with. It's fine when you're doing crown control with melee attacks, but when you need to use a projectile like Dante's guns (are they still Ebony & Ivory) you need to be able to lock-on. Hopefully this is something they fix before launch.

5. Two "Evade" buttons...

As you said earlier, this is stupid. The right stick should be evade, and pushing the left and right stick should activate Devil Trigger. Simple, and free's up a button for lock-on.

6. It's a reboot.

Simply saying because it's a reboot isn't a good response. Look at Tomb Raider. That reboot looks like it's truly evolving the franchise, and looks like the best Tomb Raider game ever. It too is an origin story.

I think this was suppose to be an origin story for Dante as well. But all the negative backlash from fans, over the character design (I must say he was ugly compared to the previous Dante & current model) had NT/Capcom jumping all over the place about what this game is. I think they want this to be a reboot, but are waiting to see what it sells like. If it hits the 2+ million they expect it's going to be back to reboot. If not they're hightailing it back to original Dante.

7. Licensed soundtrack.

Again Nitpicking. Devil May Cry has NEVER had a good soundtrack as far as I'm concerned. I don't like Death Rock, and Dub step isn't much better.

Overall

I truly hope NT/Capcom do justice to the franchise, and I hope fans of the sereis pick it up to at least support it. At the end of the day this is a franchise you enjoyed, and they're trying to improve on it. At least rent it to determine whether you can deal with the changes. Disowning a beloved franchise, because you don't agree with some design changes is shallow. So at least try it, and start a petition recommending changes that should be made if a sequel comes about, so you can get the game you want. And with that petition don't just state turn it back to DMC. State exactly what gameplay changes you feel should be reimplemented or reworked etc...

[DragonKnight]

I have to disagree with you. DmC is a blatent attempt at using a popular franchise to create a new game. It's laziness. DmC is not part of the Devil May Cry franchise. It can't be called a reboot, or an origin story, as it doesn't mesh with what Devil May Cry is or would become. They call it a reimagining which I suppose is an accurate term.

People aren't disagreeing with "some" design changes, they're disagreeing with all of it. Slowed down combat, lower framerate, a degenerate Dante, complete change of multiple iconic figures (iconic means exempt from change, that's why they're iconic), the complete lack of respect for the original franchise, it's creator and fans. There is so much to dislike about this game from every single trailer and announcement ever shown or made.

To think (and I'm not saying that's what you're saying) that there are still people dismissing legitimate complaints by claiming people are still only upset with how ugly Dante looks (he looks worse in-game).

I really hope this game tanks. Not because I like seeing people fail, or want people to lose their job, but because it will then hopefully and finally wipe the smug arrogance off the faces of each and every collective Ninja Theory a$$hat that opened their mouth to blame all of their failures on everyone else but themselves, insult the original Devil May Cry game and its creator, and just piss everyone off. Hopefully it will show Crapcom that when the majority speak out against something, you damn well better listen. We don't mind change, but it has to be the RIGHT change.

You want to reboot Devil May Cry and still call it by its name? Then you have to keep some things. Dante's look and personality is one. The style of combat is another. There are a few other small things, but all-in-all a reboot done RIGHT will succeed. One done with the express intention of pissing people off (as was admitted by Capcom) will succeed in that.

[ABizzel1]

@DragonKnight

I'm responding to you one paragraph at a time, to make it easier.

Para. 1: I have to disagree...

A "reimagining" is looser. It takes a similar premise as the original but does it in a very different way (Tomb Raider).

A "reboot" only comes into play when you're dealing with an ongoing series that doesn't acknowledge any of its previous incarnations (DmC).

Does it really matter which it is. At the end of the Day it's still based off of DMC, and titled DmC by NT/Capcom.

Para 2: People aren't disagreeing...

And that's sad that people aren't willing to accept change. There is no fictional being alive that will make me this resentful of a property that I enjoyed being altered. If the game is bad when it comes out, there will be change (most likely back to the original). But at least give it a chance. How many of the people who complain about the game have actually played it? But those who have enjoyed it, while acknowledging the differences. That's the difference between a worried fan (myself) and a bigot (most others).

Para 3: I really hope....

If this game fails, then that's exactly what's going to happen. People are going to lose their jobs, and it's going to be the people who had no say in the game, because they don't have enough seniority / power within the company to change anything. And again it's sad for people to wish that on a product most of the world hasn't had to chance to use or in this case play.

Para 4: You want to reboot...

Based on the definition of reboot, that's exactly what they've done reboot the series. A reboot is a retelling of the series, it's a completely different take.

I really think you and those who share similar feelings need to just wait and see what's it's going to be like. I wish the combat was faster and the game was at 60fps, and not running on Unreal Engine, but it is. And I can't say anything bad about it until I play it for myself.

[INehalemEXI]

I think it's gona be good... If it was gona suck I think it would of been released already.

[WeskerChildReborned]

It's obvious that this next DMC is going in the wrong direction cause if it wasn't, then people really wouldn't be complaining.

I just dislike the how they changed how fast the combat is and how they changed how Dante looks. I'm hoping that this will stay true to the series but idk, i want a demo to come out just so i can see.

[Bimkoblerutso]

People complain when developers piss them off as well. It's sad, too, because in it's own right the game is looking pretty impressive.

If you want to get down to the nitty gritty of it all, the only two things the developers did wrong with this game are:

1. They opened their mouths

and

2. They called it Devil May Cry

Personally, I feel like it's become more a matter of hurt feelings and bruised egos at this point (both developers and fans alike), and it's obscuring the fact that the game actually has a TON of potential.

[Kratoscar2008]

Its a reboot just like Tomb Raider is a reboot, both games arent really fit in the canon of both series and as such i dont mind the changes, in fact im eager to play it i was never a fan of Dante personality wise is his ass kickering that i like so i dont care how much of a Douche Dante is here as long as he has the abilities to back it up.

[Godmars290]

Thing is that Tomb Raider has been nothing but reboots since the 3rd or 4th game when they tried to change her over from being a treasure hunter to a spy.

Meanwhile DMC4 was nothing more than a falter. It was short, recycled maps, bosses and introduced a new character. Nothing was wrong with it that warranted the radical changes which have now happened.

The only thing that did happen, as I said before, is that they fired the original dev and didn't have the in house talent to continue the old storyline.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

"Meanwhile DMC4 was nothing more than a falter"

Hang on lets not forget DMC2, that game was horrible it was like a cheap boring copy of the original.
The great DMC games are 1 and 3.
DMC 4 was just meh been there done that and it felt like it should of been made last gen.

[Omnislash]

The biggest reason why this game will tank is because they are not listening to the fans and they have announced that they don't care what the fans want. Nobody should buy this game. I sure as hell arent...

[smashman98]

why would they listen to fans if the fans aren't even giving them a chance.

They never said they dont care what the fans want they said that buy the end of this the fans will be impressed
this is why I'm against games being shown off way ahead of time because gamers can never be pleased

you would think the fans would understand that capcom has an idea of what theyre doing after 4 dmc games but no the fans remain as stubborn as ever

[Omnislash]

They have to listen to the fans because we are the ones buying and playing this game.

I cant find the link to the article but they clearly stated that they were making this game entirely on their view of DMC. They basically said, this is gonna be good because we think it will be and they completely disregard anything the fans have to say.

There was nothing wrong with the old DMC, if it aint broke dont fix it.

[AtomicGerbil]

Resident Evil proves Capcom haven't got a clue, so how is this case going to be different?

[TheBlackSmoke]

Absolutely completely bored of debating with whiners about character design ,art direction and nitpicking every minor
detail to death with this game.

Just wanted to say you missed the point of having 2 evade buttons. there are two for the purpose of comfort when using the demon and angel powers. Most people only use their pointing finger to press the triggers and bumpers so having an evade on each side means you don't have to force your middle finger to hold the trigger whilst your point finger presses the bumper.

[user5467007]

"Absolutely completely bored of debating with whiners about character design "

and you miss the other dozen points at why people are upset

Come back when you know what your talking about

[Magic_Spatula]

One (of several) things that still irks me about the game is the combat grading system. In the previous Devil May Crys, you had to be somewhat creative in combos and mixing up your attacks to get a grade of S. From what I've seen in the demo they showed at Comicon, you don't even have to try anymore to get an S rank. I saw (whoever was playing it) do simple attacks, rarely mixing up things, and extended pauses between attacks, and the grade never goes down. It stays where it's at until you do some more attacks, and it still builds. No resetting, nothing. I liked the combat grading system from the previous games. The new grading seems like no effort was put into it, and made "accessible".

[Kratoscar2008]

Fans may cry, lol.

[rezzah]

I disagree with you opinion of DMC3 soundtrack!

I think it is the best of all 4 games.

[JoeSchmoh]

Yea, Devil May Cry 3 was the best one in the series. Part 4 was the 2nd best. The part 1 was the best until 3 came out.

[amaguli]

I'm just not into the whole British punk feel that Ninja Theory is using. I am getting the impression that the folks at Ninja Theory weren't fans of the original games and are just doing this for a paycheck. The game might have alright sales, but I would not be surprised if Ninja Theory closes shop after DmC.

[JoeSchmoh]

They should just let the franchise die off like megaman.

[Archmagel]

I believe the game should be given a chance. I can see Dante cursing and such as a teenager, they are playing on the normal rebellious teenager, so what? I do think it is odd having the black hair when Dante and Virgil both had white hair as children, but he could have dyed it, like most teenagers do to be rebellious, or different. I am starting to actually like Dante as a teenager myself, plus, I am starting to miss the Devil May Cry series. It HAS been 4 years, and I am sure that we would rather have this have a chance at being a good change instead of the series just dying.

[SamPao]

Sorry to say this, but I loved NT till they released Enslaved, then I hated them, now I start to love them again, cuz the new DMC looks BADASS!!!!!!!