Devil May Cry 3: The PS2 Classic That Perfected Character Action
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening is not just a comeback after the mess of Devil May Cry 2. It is the game where the series fully realizes what it was capable of, turning the solid but more restrained foundation of the original into one of the deepest, most stylish, and most satisfying action games ever made.
Playing it again nearly 20 years later, I was reminded why this was one of the most important games I experienced on the PlayStation 2. Along with God of War, it was one of the games that made me fall in love with hack-and-slash action games in the first place. It showed me what this genre could do when it is not just about beating enemies and reaching the end of a level, but about how you fight, how much you improve, how creative you can get, and how fucking good the combat feels from one moment to the next.
I played Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition through the HD Collection on PC at 4K, with max settings, an HD texture pack, and the DMC3 Crimson mod. Even without those additions, DMC3 is a legendary game. With them, it becomes an even more ridiculous and rewarding version of itself.
A PS2 Classic Enhanced
The PC HD Collection version lets you push the resolution higher, but without mods, many of the original assets still look like exactly what they are: PlayStation 2-era textures stretched onto a higher-resolution screen. The HD texture pack makes a noticeable difference. It doesn’t magically turn Devil May Cry 3 into a modern remake, and the character models still look outdated and blocky, but it makes the in-game environments, UI, and textures much sharper and cleaner. It brings the game closer to a proper remaster treatment it should have received in the first place.
Unfortunately, the pre-rendered cutscenes remain the weak visual point. They still look blurry, pixelated, and noticeably lower quality than the in-engine scenes. Some of the character models in those cinematics look rough, and playing at 4K cannot fix video files that were created for the PlayStation 2. They are a product of their time.
The funny thing is that this barely hurts the game’s biggest cinematic moments, because the direction, animation, and pure insanity still carry them. Some of the in-engine sequences look genuinely great with the texture pack. Dante riding Lady’s motorcycle up the side of Temen-ni-gru, the tower violently erupting from the ground, Dante tearing through demons as he falls down a massive shaft, and all of the ridiculous shit he pulls off throughout the game still have an energy that lots of action games cannot match.
Devil May Cry 3 is not trying to be realistic. It is not interested in whether Dante’s stunts make physical sense. It is interested in one thing: making Dante look as cool as fucking possible.
This is also my favorite Dante design in the entire series. I know some of that comes from nostalgia, because this was the first Devil May Cry game I played as a teenager. At the time, I did not even fully understand that it was a prequel or how it fit into the larger timeline. I just knew this younger Dante was stylish as hell.
The red coat, the longer hair, the cocky attitude, the way he laughs in the face of monsters, the way he casually puts on his coat after demons wreck his shop. This version of Dante feels wild, charismatic, reckless, and completely unfiltered. He has not become the more tired and experienced Dante from later games yet. He is young, powerful, cocky, and having the time of his life killing demons.
Reuben Langdon’s performance as Dante works so well. He first took on Dante’s voice and motion-capture role in Devil May Cry 3, then continued portraying the character in Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 5. For me, this is still the definitive Dante voice. He is loud, charming, sarcastic, and completely committed to the insanity of the game. Whether he is yelling “Jackpot!” or calling out his equipped style, Langdon gives Dante a personality that feels inseparable from the character.
Temen-ni-gru Has Style
The main setting is Temen-ni-gru, the massive demonic tower that erupts beneath the city after Vergil and Arkham begin their plan to access Sparda’s sealed power. It serves as the central location for most of the game, but it does not become visually stale. The tower has libraries, dungeons, exterior areas, strange chambers, demonic architecture, surreal paths, mirror-based rooms, and sections that become increasingly dreamlike and bizarre. Temen-ni-gru is a gateway between the human and demon worlds, originally sealed by Sparda, which gives the whole setting a stronger purpose than simply being a cool-looking gothic tower.
The game is still mostly linear, but it does not completely hold your hand. You move through rooms, find key items, unlock new paths, solve environmental problems, and steadily climb toward Vergil. It retains some of the Devil May Cry 1 flavor, especially in how it asks you to pay attention to your surroundings and work out how to proceed.
For the most part, that works. The backtracking did not bother me much because you are usually returning to an older area only long enough to unlock a new one. The game keeps feeding you fresh environments, enemies, weapons, and boss fights, so it rarely feels like you are simply running in circles.
Still, some puzzle-heavy sections slow the momentum more than they should. The late-game rune puzzles, where you hit objects to rearrange parts of the tower or change the level structure, can become annoying when you do not immediately know what the game wants. The three stone rooms that must be completed in the right order to advance also feel like unnecessary pacing killers, especially since they require you to refight earlier bosses.
That kind of design was more common in PlayStation 2 action games, but it does not always fit a game as fast, stylish, and aggressive as DMC3. When I am deep into the flow of tearing through demons, switching weapons, and throwing out combos, I do not necessarily want to stop and fuck around with environmental puzzles until the next path opens.
The camera is much better than it was in Devil May Cry 1. The game gives you more control over it, while still using fixed angles in certain locations to keep the presentation dramatic and prevent the camera from getting stuck behind walls. For the most part, this balance works well. There are a few moments where the camera can still become awkward, particularly in tighter puzzle rooms or when you attack an object from an odd angle, but it is nowhere near as frustrating as the original game’s worst camera problems.
Platforming is also improved. Dante moves faster, has more mobility, and can dash, jump, and maneuver much more effectively. There is still some PlayStation 2-era jank in spots, but the game rarely leans too hard on platforming, which was the right decision.
The Gameplay Absolutely Rocks
This is where Devil May Cry 3 becomes special. The original Devil May Cry laid down the groundwork for modern character-action games. It had a strong combat foundation, Devil Trigger, swordplay, firearms, enemy encounters, and an identity that helped shape what would come after. But Devil May Cry 3 is where the series shows what that foundation can truly become. The gameplay absolutely fucks.
Dante is fast, responsive, mobile, and loaded with tools. You can jump, dash, launch enemies into the air, juggle them with sword attacks, switch to firearms, continue the air combo, change weapons, activate Devil Trigger, and keep building momentum as the fight becomes more chaotic. You can play defensively when the situation calls for it, but the game is at its best when you are aggressive, creative, and constantly adapting.
The original Special Edition already gave players multiple styles to choose from:
- Trickster emphasizes mobility, dodging, and evasive movement.
- Swordmaster expands Dante’s melee options.
- Gunslinger gives firearms more specialized attacks.
- Royalguard lets you block and counter enemy attacks with precise timing.
- Quicksilver slows time.
- Doppelganger creates a shadow duplicate of Dante.
The DMC3 Crimson mod takes that system to another level. Instead of locking you into one style at a time, it allows style switching on the fly, similar to the Switch version and later Devil May Cry games. It also expands weapon management, allowing quick cycling through up to five melee weapons and five guns without constantly diving into menus. The mod adds new moves, improved cancels, Inertia-based aerial movement, a modernized HUD, and other systems that push the combat further than the original release ever could. That changes the entire feeling of the game.
Get ༺ÐЯΛǤӨИ༻’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
You can use Rebellion to launch an enemy, switch to Cerberus for rapid ice-based attacks, swap to Agni & Rudra, move into Gunslinger for airborne gunplay, switch into Trickster to reposition, then go back into Swordmaster to keep the combo moving. You can bring out Nevan, the electric guitar earned from defeating the vampire-like demon, for a flashy change of pace, even if it is one of the trickier weapons to fully master.
Nevan is cool as hell, but it was probably the weapon I struggled with most. It is great to quickly pull into a combo, unleash some electricity and bats, then move on to something else. Relying on it as a main weapon takes more practice. Still, the fact that you can beat a vampire demon and acquire a fucking electric guitar as a weapon is exactly the kind of thing that makes this game what it is.
The ranged weapon selection is also strong. Ebony and Ivory remain dependable, the shotgun is always satisfying, the Spiral sniper rifle gives you heavier long-range power, Artemis offers demonic energy attacks, and Lady’s Kalina Ann rocket launcher becomes another fun option after her boss encounter. The game rewards you for understanding what each weapon does and experimenting with how it fits your preferred style.
This is not a game where you are supposed to stand around, wait for one safe opening, hit an enemy once, roll away, and repeat until something dies. You can certainly learn enemy patterns, and you need to understand attacks, spacing, timing, and defensive options. But Devil May Cry 3 wants you to create your own openings. It wants you to apply pressure. It wants you to understand the tools in front of you and see how far you can take them.
That is why the game still feels so fucking good. Even when you lose, it is usually obvious what went wrong. You were too greedy. You left yourself open. You did not see an enemy coming from behind. You mistimed a dodge. You did not use the right weapon. You did not read the boss correctly. You pushed too hard without paying attention to what was happening around you. Failure does not usually feel like the game screwed you over. It feels like a challenge to play better.
I played primarily on Normal difficulty, which offers a good standard experience. It is balanced, some bosses can still punish you if you are careless, but it never felt unfair. Cerberus did give me some trouble at first, for example, but once I started understanding the fight, watching its patterns, dodging correctly, and keeping up pressure, it became easy to handle. That is the beauty of the game. You feel yourself improve in real time.
The skill ceiling is fucking ridiculous. I had not played Devil May Cry 3 since my teenage years, so I am not going to pretend I returned as some god-tier combo player. I practiced the first few missions, got used to the controls, tested the styles, and had some fun with the systems before playing the game from beggining to end. I pulled off a few stylish combos and got my rhythm back, but seeing what highly skilled players can do with this game is humbling.
There are players clearing it at insane speeds, taking on higher difficulties without getting hit, chaining together combos that barely look possible, and pushing Dante’s moveset far beyond what an average playthrough will ever show. DMC3 Crimson adds even more depth, including additional difficulty options and expanded movement possibilities.
My full playthrough, including cutscenes, came in at roughly 4 hours and 5 minutes. The game does not drag itself out, and it has enough difficulty settings, replay value, rankings, weapon experimentation, and mechanical depth to support players who want to keep going.
Bosses, Story, and Sound
The boss variety is a massive improvement over Devil May Cry 1. You fight Cerberus, Gigapede, Agni and Rudra, Nevan, Beowulf, Geryon, Lady, Jester, Arkham, and Vergil across three increasingly intense duels. Every major boss gives the game a stronger sense of progression, and many of them reward you with a new weapon that meaningfully expands Dante’s combat options.
The scythe-wielding enemies were some of my favorites because they feel like entertaining mini-boss encounters. The giant stone-statue enemies were probably among my least favorite, not because they were awful, but because they were less interesting than the game’s more aggressive and visually distinctive demon designs. The true standout boss fights are Vergil’s.
All three duels are incredible, but the final battle is one of my favorite boss fights in gaming, period. It is fast, intense, technical, cinematic, and personal. You and Vergil clash swords, trade attacks, find openings, transform with Devil Trigger, and push each other harder as the fight evolves. It is not merely a final test of everything you have learned. It feels like a battle between two brothers who understand each other’s abilities better than anyone else.
Vergil is challenging, but the fight has a rhythm to it. You learn from your mistakes. You understand when you were too reckless, where you hesitated, when you failed to react, and when you could have pressed harder. It is hard without becoming miserable. It is fast without becoming unreadable. It is cinematic without taking control away from the player. That is a hard balance to pull off, and DMC3 fucking nails it.
The Arkham fight is fine. It is not as memorable or mechanically interesting as the strongest bosses, and I would not put it anywhere near the level of the final Vergil battle. But I beat it relatively quickly using Holy Water, and it never became a major frustration for me. The later Vergil team-up also helps make the encounter feel like a story moment rather than the ultimate climax. Arkham was never the boss that truly mattered most. The real ending was always going to be Dante versus Vergil.
The story starts out simple. Vergil and Arkham raise Temen-ni-gru and seek the power sealed away by Sparda. Vergil wants Dante’s half of their amulet, while Arkham has his own plan to manipulate everyone involved. Dante makes his way up the tower, battles demons, encounters Lady, and repeatedly clashes with his twin brother. The game is set roughly a decade before the original Devil May Cry, making it the key origin story for Dante, Vergil, and the series itself.
Lady’s personal story is tied directly to Arkham, her father. He murdered her mother, Kalina Ann, in pursuit of power, and Lady spends the game trying to stop him. Arkham also hides behind the Jester persona, manipulating Dante and Vergil while quietly moving everyone into place for his betrayal.
Jester is a frinking dickhead, but he is a great one. He is creepy, annoying, funny, and mysterious in a way Arkham himself is not. Arkham is a power-hungry, sadistic asshole. Jester is the character who makes you wonder what the hell he is actually after. The reveal that they are the same person works because Jester’s manic personality contrasts so sharply with Arkham’s more controlled and serious presence.
The final stretch gives the story more emotion. Dante and Vergil briefly set aside their conflict to deal with Arkham, but their ideological divide is too deep to fix. Vergil wants his father’s power. Dante gradually comes to understand the humanity and emotional connection that Vergil keeps rejecting. After Dante wins their final duel, he cannot bring himself to kill his brother. Vergil chooses to remain in the demon world, while Dante returns to the human world with Lady.
Dante spends much of the game joking, taunting enemies, and acting like he does not care about anything. But that ending reveals there is more going on beneath the sarcasm and chaos. He does care about Vergil. He just cannot reach him. That gives the final fight meaning beyond the fact that it is mechanically incredible.
The game’s sound design is also fantastic. Devil May Cry 3 takes the rock and gothic energy of the first game and cranks it up. The combat music is high-energy, aggressive, and full of that distinct Devil May Cry identity. Some tracks feel like dark techno mixed with rock and metal, while the cinematic music becomes more dramatic and brooding when the story calls for it.
Every weapon has its own sound and feel. Cerberus attacks sound different from Rebellion. Guns have their own weight. Enemy noises make encounters more distinct. The sword clashes during Dante and Vergil’s fights are fun and satisfying, with that dramatic metal-on-metal impact that makes every exchange feel more intense.
The voice cast is excellent across the board. Reuben Langdon gives Dante tons of cocky and reckless energy the role calls for. Dan Southworth makes Vergil controlled, serious, and intimidating. Adam D. Clark does a great job shifting between the eerie Jester and Arkham’s more sinister personality.
Why It Still Matters
I have always preferred this kind of character-action design to the modern persuit of making lots action games into Soulslike. That does not mean Souls games cannot be rewarding, or well made. Some games in that space, including Nioh, have real mechanical depth and satisfying systems. But a lot modern action games mistake frustration, delayed attacks, limited stamina, repeated dodge rolls, and memorizing enemy patterns for true depth.
Devil May Cry 3 proves that you can make an action game challenging while also making it fun in the exact moment you are playing it. You do not have to wait until a boss is dead to finally feel relief and call that enjoyment. The enjoyment is in the movement, the combos, the counterattacks, the weapon switches, the ridiculous style rankings, the aggressive pressure, and the feeling that you are always becoming a better player. The game gives you a huge toolset, then challenges you to see what you can do with it.
That is harder to design than creating an enemy with a delayed attack pattern and asking the player to roll through it. DMC3 has to account for Dante’s mobility, weapons, styles, Devil Trigger, air combos, cancels, defensive options, and the countless ways skilled players can approach the same encounter. It does not just ask whether you can survive. It asks whether you can develop skill, expression, creativity, and control. And that is why it remains one of the best action games ever made.
Verdict
Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening is an absolute masterpiece of character-action design. Its pre-rendered cutscenes have aged poorly, a few late-game puzzle sections and boss refights drag down the pacing, and Temen-ni-gru can occasionally become a little too confusing for its own good. But those flaws do not come close to overshadowing the insane combat depth, incredible boss fights, fantastic soundtrack, stylish presentation, memorable characters, and emotionally satisfying rivalry between Dante and Vergil.
The original Devil May Cry created the foundation. Devil May Cry 3 took that foundation, gave it more speed, more style, more weapons, more personality, and more mechanical depth than almost anyone could have expected. It is still fast, precise, creative, challenging, and fun. Jackpot!
