Devil May Cry: Hacking and Slashing Through The Media
Hyper-violent, comically campy, and ultra-badass -- There's much to say about Devil May Cry.
Yet these terms arguably cut to the chase. Launched in 2001, Capcom's goth-inspired venture into the hack-and-slash cosmos entirely revolutionized the genre, eventually laying the bedrock for the God of War series. Amusing when considering that it was initially conceived as Resident Evil 4.
After completing Resident Evil 3 in 1998, Capcom enlisted Hideki Kamiya to direct a preliminary PS2 installment for the series' successor. Yet, along the process, the director's vision significantly departed from the formula of survival horror due to its fast-paced combat system. Luckily, he was given the green light to develop his idea instead of having to abandon the project entirely.
While the premise was reconsidered, similarities to its original purpose remained: the gothic environment, inspired by Spanish castles, grotesque adversaries, tricky puzzles, as well as the infamous "This Game Contains Scenes Of Violence And Gore," amongst other elements.
Even though playing in a modern setting, the universe is far-off reality: a binary world split into a human and a demon part. There's a hellgate, a demon king, a legendary dark knight, and his half-human twin offspring, Dante and Vergil [as well as the grandson Nero]. Legendary weapons, family issues, treachery, rituals, and a lot of mellow-dramatic stuff -- The world of Devil May Cry is extensive, and so are its media outlets to share a plot that's deeper than it might seem.
Expanding a world through leveraging diverse media channels is common practice for most franchises. Sadly, they're often conceived as commercial material, running parallel to the main story's canon. Hence, even if executed well, they are more or less useless to the larger narrative that fans are keen to experience. Opposed to that, Devil May Cry, even if not all its collateral releases feed the canon, crafted a story involving video games, mangas, light novels, and an anime series. Accordingly, it created space for a large fandom, putting together the puzzle's pieces.
