Devil May Cry 2
Encyclopedia
is an action game
developed
and published
by Capcom
in 2003 exclusively for the PlayStation 2
. The game serves as a sequel
to Devil May Cry and is, chronologically the fourth and final game in the original Devil May Cry series
with Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
, Devil May Cry, and Devil May Cry 4
taking place before it.
Set in modern times, in the fictional city of Vie de Marli, the story centers on Dante
and Lucia in their fight to stop a businessman named Arius from raising the demon
Argosax and achieving supreme power. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscene
s using the game's engine
with several pre-rendered
full motion video
s.
Devil May Cry 2 received favorable reviews, but has been criticized for a variety of development decisions, which made the game considerably different from its predecessor; chief among these decisions was the lowered difficulty. Nevertheless, it was a commercial success.
In Devil May Cry 2, the player guides either Dante or Lucia through an urban
environment, fighting groups of demons in fast-paced combat. The game itself consists of missions with specific goals in the play area of the game itself. The player's performance in each mission is ranked from D (poor/Don't Worry) to S (excellent/Showtime) based on the time taken to complete the mission, the amount of Red Orbs collected, the overall "style" displayed during fights, item usage, and damage taken. In contrast to the rest of the gameplay, the style judging system used in the game has been cited as being the harshest in terms of how it judges the player's performance.
Combat itself is based on the "style" the player demonstrates during a fight. The rating the player gains for style is improved by hitting enemies continuously while avoiding damage. This ranges from "Don't Worry", progressing to "Come On!", "Bingo", "Are You Ready?" and peaking at "Showtime". If the character takes damage, the style rating falls to "Don't Worry".
The game's controls convert short sequences of button presses into complex on-screen actions. New to the series is an evasion button, which allows Dante or Lucia to roll, dodge enemy attacks, or run along walls. Another new feature is a weapon-change button, which allows the player to cycle through ranged weapon
s without switching to the inventory
screen.
The game also features puzzle-solving
and exploration elements. Gameplay involves the player examining their surroundings to find items and orbs. Red Orbs are used to acquire new combat powers and abilities for the characters. These Red Orbs are "the blood of demons"; enemies drop them when they are defeated. Dante and Lucia can also purchase items, which allow them to restore their damaged health or even instantly revive should they be killed by an enemy's attack.
The Devil Trigger ability enables Dante and Lucia to transform into a devil form. This changes their appearance, increases their strength and defense, slowly restores health, and enables them to use special attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is power in the Devil Trigger Gauge, which increases by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state and decreases by attacking in the Devil Trigger state or using Devil Trigger-only attacks. Unique to this game is the Desperation Devil Trigger — an enhanced form of the Devil Trigger — available to Dante when he is low on health.
where an important item called the Medaglia is stored. After defeating a group of demons in the museum, Lucia invites Dante to follow her to the Dumary Island, where he is introduced to Matier, her mother. Matier explains that she once fought alongside Dante's father, Sparda, to defend the island against demons. She asks Dante to help fight Arius, an international businessman who uses demonic power and seeks to conquer the world. Dante flips a coin
in answer, and decides to help when the coin lands on heads. After Dante leaves Matier and Lucia discuss the Arcana, the items required for Arius to raise Argosax.
Lucia eventually confronts Arius, who reveals that she was his creation. When Lucia moves to strike Arius, he uses his magic to blast her away. Shortly afterward, Dante meets up with Lucia, who gives him the last of the Arcana before leaving. Dante then encounters Matier and tries to pass the Arcana to her. Matier, in turn, asks Dante to take the Arcana to save Lucia, who has gone to fight Arius again. Dante flips the coin again to decide if he will help; it lands on heads, and he departs to aid Lucia. Meanwhile, Lucia enters the Uroboros tower and attacks Arius, who captures her. Dante arrives and trades the Arcana for Lucia, then attacks Arius. To escape, Arius forces Dante to decide between saving Lucia or killing him.
Lucia, worried about the ritual and conflicted about herself, wonders how they will stop Arius. Dante waves her off, stating he will find a way. Dante leaves Lucia to think as he departs to defeat Arius. Matier arrives a short time later, sets Lucia's mind at ease, and decides to rejoin the fight against Arius. Dante arrives to find Arius in the middle of his immortality-inducing ritual. Apparently not at all fazed by the completion of the ceremony due to the fact that he switched one of the Arcana with a false coin, Dante stands confident. Another fight ensues, in which Dante finishes Arius off with his pistols. Outside, Lucia confronts Dante and demands that he kill her because she fears she will become a demon herself. Before the issue can be resolved, a large stream of energy strikes the tower and a portal to the demon world is opened. Dante and Lucia argue over who will enter and close it from the inside; Dante offers to leave the issue up to fate. He flips the coin and it once again lands on heads, leaving Dante to enter the portal to deal with Argosax after leaving the coin with Lucia.
After Dante departs, Arius returns to life bearing demonic power. While Lucia fights Arius, he finds himself injured and attempts to distract her, a tactic which fails; Lucia goes on to defeat him. Within the portal, Dante fights and defeats the partially summoned Argosax. Finding the portal closed, Dante instead drives further into the demon realm on a motorcycle. In the aftermath of the battle, Matier attempts to reassure Lucia about Dante's fate, insisting that Sparda returned from a similar trip. Lucia examines the coin Dante left with her and discovers that both sides are identical. Sometime later in Dante's shop, Lucia muses about Dante. Outside the sound of a motorcycle echoes, and Lucia leaves to investigate.
, the sequel was not created by Hideki Kamiya
or Team Little Devils. The first notice Kamiya's team was given about any sort of sequel occurred during localization of Devil May Cry in North America
and Europe
, a move which greatly surprised Kamiya. Since the game's release, Kamiya has expressed disappointment that he was not called on by his superiors at Capcom to direct
Devil May Cry 2.
Instead, Hideaki Itsuno was appointed as the director of the sequel. According to producer
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the thrust of the design was to make Devil May Cry 2 bigger than its predecessor; Tanaka estimated that the game's environments were approximately nine times as large as the first. The emphasis on puzzles was also downplayed, with the camera system revamped to allow for better action scenes. Changes from the first game were influenced by surveys distributed by the development team, allowing them to patch any areas identified as weak by the people surveyed. The addition of Lucia as a playable character was a response to player complaints that Trish was not playable in the first Devil May Cry.
.
Within the game, Dante features one unlockable costume with the Diesel brand name. Lucia features two separate outfits: one is the costume depicted on the right, and another is a white shirt with a brown coat and blue jeans. The Diesel logo is featured in several screens during the game, and a special edition Devil May Cry 2 bullet featuring the Diesel name was planned for inclusion.
Initially, Capcom was very reluctant to release an officially sanctioned soundtrack for Devil May Cry 2. After a test period during which Capcom sought 1,000 pre-orders as a proof of demand, the Devil May Cry 2 soundtrack was released to the public on October 15, 2004, as a two-disc set, with Masato Kohda, Tetsuya Shibata
and Satoshi Ise credited as producers.
for the first half of 2003. By March 2003 Capcom reported selling 1.4 million copies worldwide, and as of September 2006 has shipped over 1.6 million copies.
The game received generally favorable scores from professional reviewers. Chief among the complaints was that the difficulty was lower than it was in the first game. The combat system is considered less refined, with individual weapons being weaker or stronger variants of the same weapon instead of different weapons with their own advantages and disadvantages. Boss battles
are criticized for requiring less strategy than the original. The environment was also considered less detailed than the environments of the first game, trading detail for open space. Furthermore, Dante received a change in his personality which did not go well with reviewers who enjoyed his trash-talk
ing in the first game. The addition of a second disc was seen as a cheap way for the developers to increase replay value
since Lucia's missions are simply recycled material from Dante's own missions, with only minor variations. GameSpot
chose Devil May Cry 2 as the Most Disappointing Game of 2003.
PSXextreme countered arguments by many critics, stating that the environments only looked worse to reviewers due to the range of environments in the game, and that the only reason Devil May Cry 2 failed to surpass its origins was due to the lack of challenge. Electronic Gaming Monthly
praised the game's control scheme and new ideas, as well as the idea of featuring the two protagonists on separate discs. Play called Lucia's side of the story a "a cruel sonnet
of self-realization wrapped in a story steeped in religious overtones", stating that the story alone was reason to purchase the game.
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
developed
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
and published
Video game publisher
A video game publisher is a company that publishes video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer....
by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
in 2003 exclusively for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. The game serves as a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Devil May Cry and is, chronologically the fourth and final game in the original Devil May Cry series
Devil May Cry
is an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and...
with Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, released in Japan as simply , is an action game that was developed and published by Capcom, released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2...
, Devil May Cry, and Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 4
Devil May Cry 4 is an action game that was published and developed by Capcom in 2008 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows platforms. The game is the fourth installment to the Devil May Cry series....
taking place before it.
Set in modern times, in the fictional city of Vie de Marli, the story centers on Dante
Dante (Devil May Cry)
is the primary fictional protagonist of the Devil May Cry video game series published by Capcom. The character and Devil May Cry are one of Capcom's flagship game franchises, which has sold over nine million copies worldwide as of 2008 and currently spans four video games...
and Lucia in their fight to stop a businessman named Arius from raising the demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
Argosax and achieving supreme power. The story is told primarily through a mixture of cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s using the game's engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
with several pre-rendered
Pre-rendered
Pre-rendering is the process in which video footage is not rendered in real-time by the hardware that is outputing or playing back the video. Instead, the video is a recording of a footage that was previously rendered on a different equipment...
full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
s.
Devil May Cry 2 received favorable reviews, but has been criticized for a variety of development decisions, which made the game considerably different from its predecessor; chief among these decisions was the lowered difficulty. Nevertheless, it was a commercial success.
Gameplay
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
environment, fighting groups of demons in fast-paced combat. The game itself consists of missions with specific goals in the play area of the game itself. The player's performance in each mission is ranked from D (poor/Don't Worry) to S (excellent/Showtime) based on the time taken to complete the mission, the amount of Red Orbs collected, the overall "style" displayed during fights, item usage, and damage taken. In contrast to the rest of the gameplay, the style judging system used in the game has been cited as being the harshest in terms of how it judges the player's performance.
Combat itself is based on the "style" the player demonstrates during a fight. The rating the player gains for style is improved by hitting enemies continuously while avoiding damage. This ranges from "Don't Worry", progressing to "Come On!", "Bingo", "Are You Ready?" and peaking at "Showtime". If the character takes damage, the style rating falls to "Don't Worry".
The game's controls convert short sequences of button presses into complex on-screen actions. New to the series is an evasion button, which allows Dante or Lucia to roll, dodge enemy attacks, or run along walls. Another new feature is a weapon-change button, which allows the player to cycle through ranged weapon
Ranged weapon
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can harm targets at distances greater than hand-to-hand distance. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in man-to-man combat is called a melee weapon....
s without switching to the inventory
Inventory
Inventory means a list compiled for some formal purpose, such as the details of an estate going to probate, or the contents of a house let furnished. This remains the prime meaning in British English...
screen.
The game also features puzzle-solving
Computer puzzle game
Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....
and exploration elements. Gameplay involves the player examining their surroundings to find items and orbs. Red Orbs are used to acquire new combat powers and abilities for the characters. These Red Orbs are "the blood of demons"; enemies drop them when they are defeated. Dante and Lucia can also purchase items, which allow them to restore their damaged health or even instantly revive should they be killed by an enemy's attack.
The Devil Trigger ability enables Dante and Lucia to transform into a devil form. This changes their appearance, increases their strength and defense, slowly restores health, and enables them to use special attacks. The Devil Trigger state lasts as long as there is power in the Devil Trigger Gauge, which increases by attacking or taunting enemies in the normal state and decreases by attacking in the Devil Trigger state or using Devil Trigger-only attacks. Unique to this game is the Desperation Devil Trigger — an enhanced form of the Devil Trigger — available to Dante when he is low on health.
Plot
Devil May Cry 2 begins with Lucia and Dante separately entering a museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
where an important item called the Medaglia is stored. After defeating a group of demons in the museum, Lucia invites Dante to follow her to the Dumary Island, where he is introduced to Matier, her mother. Matier explains that she once fought alongside Dante's father, Sparda, to defend the island against demons. She asks Dante to help fight Arius, an international businessman who uses demonic power and seeks to conquer the world. Dante flips a coin
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
in answer, and decides to help when the coin lands on heads. After Dante leaves Matier and Lucia discuss the Arcana, the items required for Arius to raise Argosax.
Lucia eventually confronts Arius, who reveals that she was his creation. When Lucia moves to strike Arius, he uses his magic to blast her away. Shortly afterward, Dante meets up with Lucia, who gives him the last of the Arcana before leaving. Dante then encounters Matier and tries to pass the Arcana to her. Matier, in turn, asks Dante to take the Arcana to save Lucia, who has gone to fight Arius again. Dante flips the coin again to decide if he will help; it lands on heads, and he departs to aid Lucia. Meanwhile, Lucia enters the Uroboros tower and attacks Arius, who captures her. Dante arrives and trades the Arcana for Lucia, then attacks Arius. To escape, Arius forces Dante to decide between saving Lucia or killing him.
Lucia, worried about the ritual and conflicted about herself, wonders how they will stop Arius. Dante waves her off, stating he will find a way. Dante leaves Lucia to think as he departs to defeat Arius. Matier arrives a short time later, sets Lucia's mind at ease, and decides to rejoin the fight against Arius. Dante arrives to find Arius in the middle of his immortality-inducing ritual. Apparently not at all fazed by the completion of the ceremony due to the fact that he switched one of the Arcana with a false coin, Dante stands confident. Another fight ensues, in which Dante finishes Arius off with his pistols. Outside, Lucia confronts Dante and demands that he kill her because she fears she will become a demon herself. Before the issue can be resolved, a large stream of energy strikes the tower and a portal to the demon world is opened. Dante and Lucia argue over who will enter and close it from the inside; Dante offers to leave the issue up to fate. He flips the coin and it once again lands on heads, leaving Dante to enter the portal to deal with Argosax after leaving the coin with Lucia.
After Dante departs, Arius returns to life bearing demonic power. While Lucia fights Arius, he finds himself injured and attempts to distract her, a tactic which fails; Lucia goes on to defeat him. Within the portal, Dante fights and defeats the partially summoned Argosax. Finding the portal closed, Dante instead drives further into the demon realm on a motorcycle. In the aftermath of the battle, Matier attempts to reassure Lucia about Dante's fate, insisting that Sparda returned from a similar trip. Lucia examines the coin Dante left with her and discovers that both sides are identical. Sometime later in Dante's shop, Lucia muses about Dante. Outside the sound of a motorcycle echoes, and Lucia leaves to investigate.
Development
Despite the success of the original Devil May CryDevil May Cry
is an action game developed and published by Capcom, released in 2001 for the PlayStation 2. Although it is the first game in the series of the same name, the events in Devil May Cry are second in the series storyline's chronological order, taking place after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and...
, the sequel was not created by Hideki Kamiya
Hideki Kamiya
is a video game designer formerly employed by Capcom and Clover Studio. He is currently working with former Clover Studio members at Platinum Games.- Career :...
or Team Little Devils. The first notice Kamiya's team was given about any sort of sequel occurred during localization of Devil May Cry in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, a move which greatly surprised Kamiya. Since the game's release, Kamiya has expressed disappointment that he was not called on by his superiors at Capcom to direct
Game director
Game director may refer to:* Video game producer, the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game* Technical director, usually a senior technical person within creative group...
Devil May Cry 2.
Instead, Hideaki Itsuno was appointed as the director of the sequel. According to producer
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
Tsuyoshi Tanaka, the thrust of the design was to make Devil May Cry 2 bigger than its predecessor; Tanaka estimated that the game's environments were approximately nine times as large as the first. The emphasis on puzzles was also downplayed, with the camera system revamped to allow for better action scenes. Changes from the first game were influenced by surveys distributed by the development team, allowing them to patch any areas identified as weak by the people surveyed. The addition of Lucia as a playable character was a response to player complaints that Trish was not playable in the first Devil May Cry.
Marketing
Due to the focus of Devil May Cry 2s action on style, Capcom decided to partner with the Diesel clothing company, which has a history of working with game developers. Dante and Lucia were modeled with specially designed costumes featuring the Diesel brand name and were featured in promotional material in Diesel stores across JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Within the game, Dante features one unlockable costume with the Diesel brand name. Lucia features two separate outfits: one is the costume depicted on the right, and another is a white shirt with a brown coat and blue jeans. The Diesel logo is featured in several screens during the game, and a special edition Devil May Cry 2 bullet featuring the Diesel name was planned for inclusion.
Initially, Capcom was very reluctant to release an officially sanctioned soundtrack for Devil May Cry 2. After a test period during which Capcom sought 1,000 pre-orders as a proof of demand, the Devil May Cry 2 soundtrack was released to the public on October 15, 2004, as a two-disc set, with Masato Kohda, Tetsuya Shibata
Tetsuya Shibata
is a Japanese video game music composer and sound director. He is credited for over twenty musical scores produced for Capcom's video game releases including the Monster Hunter and Devil May Cry series, as well those in the Darkstalkers, Power Stone and Resident Evil Outbreak series...
and Satoshi Ise credited as producers.
Reception
Devil May Cry 2 sold well, becoming one of the top ten best-selling games in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
for the first half of 2003. By March 2003 Capcom reported selling 1.4 million copies worldwide, and as of September 2006 has shipped over 1.6 million copies.
The game received generally favorable scores from professional reviewers. Chief among the complaints was that the difficulty was lower than it was in the first game. The combat system is considered less refined, with individual weapons being weaker or stronger variants of the same weapon instead of different weapons with their own advantages and disadvantages. Boss battles
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
are criticized for requiring less strategy than the original. The environment was also considered less detailed than the environments of the first game, trading detail for open space. Furthermore, Dante received a change in his personality which did not go well with reviewers who enjoyed his trash-talk
Trash-talk
Trash-talk is a form of boast or insult commonly heard in competitive situations , primarily in the US. It is often used to intimidate the opposition, but can also be used in a humorous spirit...
ing in the first game. The addition of a second disc was seen as a cheap way for the developers to increase replay value
Replay value
Replay value or replayability is a term found in combination with video games, but it may be also used to describe other kinds of games, movies, music, or theater plays. In video games, the term replay value is used to describe the entertainment value of playing a game more than once...
since Lucia's missions are simply recycled material from Dante's own missions, with only minor variations. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
chose Devil May Cry 2 as the Most Disappointing Game of 2003.
PSXextreme countered arguments by many critics, stating that the environments only looked worse to reviewers due to the range of environments in the game, and that the only reason Devil May Cry 2 failed to surpass its origins was due to the lack of challenge. Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
praised the game's control scheme and new ideas, as well as the idea of featuring the two protagonists on separate discs. Play called Lucia's side of the story a "a cruel sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
of self-realization wrapped in a story steeped in religious overtones", stating that the story alone was reason to purchase the game.