Devil May Cry 4

Gameplay in Devil May Cry 4 is like previous games in the series. The player must fight through a linear sequence of levels called "missions", occasionally solving puzzles or gathering items. Performance in a mission is graded from "D", the lowest grade, to "A" then "S", "SS", and "SSS", the highest grade. Grades are based on items used, Red Orbs gathered, time taken, and the number of Style Points accumulated. Each Style Point grade has its own tag-word. The stylish grade shows up on the side of the screen and begins at "Deadly" (D); progresses through "Carnage" (C), "Brutal" (B), and "Atomic" (A); then, advances through one last bar of grades containing the phrases "Smokin'" (S), "Smokin' Style" (SS), and lastly "Smokin' Sick Style" (SSS). Stylish combat is the focus of the game, conveyed through unbroken combos of varied attacks while avoiding damage. The player must avoid enemy attacks to continue performing combos, often by memorizing attack patterns. The player can perform taunts in combat, with different animations for the character based on the current stylish grade. Taunting enemies without being hit rewards the player with a slight increase in Style Points and the energy in the Devil Trigger gauge. The Devil Trigger is a temporary super-powered state that changes the animations of some of the player character´s attacks and increases damage done, while adding a slow but steady health regeneration. Devil Trigger can be activated by pressing the corresponding button when the gauge is filled. Dante also gains the Dark Slayer style near the end of his appearance, which only has one style level. Styles do not level up through experience as in the previous game, but instead must be upgraded like other skills in the shop screen in between missions or at statues. Dante can also enter Devil Trigger where he gains most of the benefits that Nero's Devil Trigger has. Since he does not have the Devil Bringer, the animations and properties of some of his normal attacks change instead. ==Plot==

Nero is a young demon hunter who lives on the isolated island of Fortuna and is also a member of the Order of the Sword: a religious sect of knights who worship the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda as a God. Dante arrives, and murders The Order's leader, the High Priest Sanctus, in front of the entire congregation. At the same time, an army of demons invades the city, putting everyone, including Nero's love interest Kyrie, in danger. Tasked with stopping Dante by Kyrie's brother Credo, the Captain of the Holy Knights, Nero's journey leads him to discover that he is in fact a descendant of Sparda himself, and Dante is not his enemy. Under orders from Sanctus, Agnus has been siphoning the power of the long lost Devil Arm Yamato, the sword of Dante's brother Vergil, to create a demonic army and imbue high-ranking members of the Order with demonic power. To Agnus' shock, the shattered Yamato restores itself in Nero's presence and flies to Nero's aid. With The Order's plans revealed, Agnus flees to inform the newly resurrected Sanctus. As Nero sets his sights on The Order, he discovers to his dismay that Credo is part of the conspiracy, until he ends up being deceived as well when they witness Kyrie being kidnapped by Sanctus. He intends to use a gargantuan statue-like creature known as the Savior to defeat the demon army he's created, as a means of strengthening the people's worship of Sparda. With the Sparda Sword already in his possession and needing the blood of a descendant of Sparda along with the Yamato, Sanctus captures Nero to power the Savior's core. Dante arrives with Trish, who was revealed to be a spy within The Order, and makes a promise to the dying Credo to save Nero and Kyrie. Splitting up, Trish evacuates Fortuna's human residents, while Dante destroys all the Hell Gates scattered over Fortuna and defeats Agnus, reclaiming the Yamato sword for the last time. Confronting the Savior in a sky battle above Fortuna, Dante drives the Yamato through the Savior's chest, where Nero recovers it inside, freeing himself and Kyrie as well as defeating Sanctus. Nero is able to make peace with the demonic power he possesses, resolving to use it to protect those he cares about. Before Dante leaves, he decides to entrust Nero with the Yamato, and Kyrie and Nero share their first kiss in the ruins of Fortuna. Meanwhile, back at Dante's shop, Lady pays Dante and Trish for a job well done. Trish answers Dante's phone and lets him know it's a customer with a password. Sharing in the excitement, Trish and Lady tag along with Dante on another mission. ==Development==

Development of Devil May Cry 4 began shortly after its predecessor was a success. A total of eighty people formed the development team. The first teaser was that of Dante on a snowy peak shown at E3 2005, while the Tokyo Game Show 2005 trailer showed Dante doing multiple moves in front of a camera, both containing elements that were not included in the finished product. Capcom only made the E3 2005 video to confirm their staff had begun work on the game. Since they had just finished Devil May Cry 3 and Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, the developers initially were confused in regards to what they had to do in order to innovate the gameplay mechanics they developed previously. The team wanted to introduce new gameplay elements and a new character allowed them to do this. This was the first Devil May Cry not to be released for PlayStation 2, because it was designed for the next generation of hardware. This allowed the team to try new play mechanics and expand the series' plot. While not intending to send a religious message, members from the Capcom team did research in Vatican City and Istanbul. The use of a new protagonist was discussed many times at Capcom but was not approved until producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said that the Dante character had to be in the game. Two of the game's PC exclusive features are Turbo Mode (previously used only in Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition) giving the game a twenty percent speed boost, and a new difficulty mode called Legendary Dark Knight Mode which can display over 100 enemies in some missions at once. The PC version also has both DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 mode. It is labeled Games for Windows and runs on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. It assumes a gamepad is present and only uses the mouse in the menus, providing the same interface as the Xbox 360 version. Engine Hiroyuki Kobayashi noted the production team began working with the game using a PC-based engine. He said that this was the first PlayStation 3 game developed by Capcom, and making this transition was a "hard step", particularly because no member of the production team was familiar with the console's capabilities. Capcom justified the game's multi-platform crossover by emphasizing the Xbox 360's success in the North American and European markets, labeling the move as "natural". The final version of Devil May Cry 4 uses Capcom's internally developed MT Framework engine. He also claimed that the contents would be identical, except that "the feel of the controller" may cause a slight difference. The visuals satisfied the Capcom staff to the point where they called them a "miracle". Itsuno said in the Famitsu article that the visuals attempt to deliver a satisfying feel of being in the air. The actions of Nero's Devil Bringer could not be done on second generation consoles, but they could be done on the new generation of consoles such as the PlayStation 3. Kobayashi confirmed the PC version "would be great, because the same team is working on both". The PlayStation 3 version requires the user to install 5GB of game data which takes 20 minutes and shortens the length of the loading screens throughout the game. During production, new gameplay options were implemented to "keep up with fresh action games"; among these is the Devil Bringer's ability to bring enemies towards the characters. Unlike Dante's progress in Devil May Cry 3, Nero was designed to become stronger by upgrading his Devil Bringer ability instead of receiving new weapons after defeating boss characters. During development the production team decided that Nero would be one of two main characters and that Dante was not going to be the only character from previous entries to appear in the series. Unlike Devil May Cry 3, the game's difficulty would be the same in both the Japanese and European versions as the version released in North America. Scenario and cast For the first time in the series Bingo Morihashi was the game's writer. He collaborated with film director Yuji Shimomura who worked on the earlier games. Morihashi had many issues with the making of the game to the point he quit Capcom. However, after Itsuno's asked him to return, he did so. He finished writing the game's events, which took a year. Morihashi had difficulties with the characterization of Nero, the new protagonist. Dante returned as a supporting character. Itsuno was responsible for most of Kyrie's elements. She was envisioned as an "ordinary, cute heroine" who had a big impact on Nero despite not being a fighter. Her role was to motivate Nero and the player as the story progresses. The Capcom staff created Nero as a new protagonist who would develop across the Devil May Cry series because Dante had become stronger with each game. Nero was created as a weaker character who develops new powers as the story progresses until he reaches Dante's level. This was done mostly through his "Devil Bringer" ability, which makes him stand out. Another reason for Nero's introduction was to attract new gamers to the franchise. Before commencing the designs for the characters in Devil May Cry 4, character designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa consulted with several members of the staff who had worked on the series before to become familiar with previous elements. The characters were designed to emphasize their moves, which made the staff controlling their motions vital to the design. Yoshikawa also created another devil transformation, the Devil Trigger, for Nero. Unlike Dante's transformation that makes him look like a devil, Nero's Devil Trigger generates a creature situated behind his back. One that did not appear in the game turned Nero into a demon like Dante. Nero's hood covers one eye as a symbol whose interpretation is left up to the fans. Yoshikawa wanted to incorporate this into the game and hoped to make it into a figurine, but this was not possible. Both main voice and motion capture actors, Reuben Langdon and Bosch, expressed pleasure working as Dante and Nero, respectively with the former noting he made Dante like his younger Devil May Cry 3 persona but more mature. Langdon's inspiration for the character was Roy Focker of the anime series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Music The soundtrack for Devil May Cry 4 was composed by Tetsuya Shibata, Shusaku Uchiyama, Kento Hasegawa, Akihiko Narita, Kota Suzuki, Rei Kondoh, Masayoshi "Chamy" Ishi, Masami Ueda and Shinichiro Sato. Shibata said that since the release of Devil May Cry 3 he had wanted to emphasized lyrics in the fourth title. The game is noted for its use of heavy metal songs. Devil May Cry 4 Original Soundtrack is a three-disc, 104 track soundtrack. It was released in Japan on February 27, 2008. Female vocals are handled by Aubrey Ashburn (1-02) while male vocals are handled by Shawn "Shootie HG" McPherson of Hostile Groove (1-20 and 3-03) and Jason "ShyBoy" Arnold of Hypnogaja (1-13 and 3-38). Tetsuya Shibata is credited as the primary composer, with tracks composed by Shusaku Uchiyama, Kota Suzuki, Akihiko Narita, Rei Kondoh, Chamy Ishikawa and Shinichiro Satoh. The soundtrack was released in the US on November 25, 2008, with new artwork. ==Marketing and release==

The first teaser trailer was shown at E3 2005, depicting Dante traveling through a snow-covered environment. A more substantial trailer was released at that year's Tokyo Game Show, with a more rugged and older Dante in a city-like setting. Both teasers show very little detail of the game itself. At the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, a more complete trailer debuted, along with a playable demo, featuring the character Nero. A fourth trailer, released on December 17, 2007, revealed more gameplay and story detail, as well as information on new songs for the game. These included a new version of "Lock and Load", Dante's theme music from the first Devil May Cry, with new lyrics written and performed by Shawn "Shootie HG" McPherson, the lyricist and lead vocalist on the soundtrack of ''Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Released with the Japanese version of the game is Japanese rock band, L'Arc-en-Ciel'', and their new single, "Drink It Down", which is used as the Japanese opening for the game. The company presented the game's first demo at an event titled "Capcom's Gamer's Day", where Kobayashi highlighted several of the game's features. With the team focused on completing the game, a new demo was not produced in time for the 2007 E3 Media and Business Summit. while the European and Australian versions include a signed artbook instead, titled Art of the Devil A very small number of Collector's Edition packages were signed by the game's producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, on the back of the metal tin on Dante's left shoulder. This number was reported to be as low as only 100 signed copies for each console, for a total of 200 signed copies. Both versions were packaged in a steelbook case. An iOS version called Devil May Cry 4: Refrain was announced January 11, 2011. It was released on February 3, 2011. == Reception ==

Critical reception Devil May Cry 4 received favorable reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu gave the game a "Platinum" rank as part of its review. It praised the difficulty balance and gameplay options. PSM3 rated the game's degree of difficulty positively based on how the system ranks the player and the challenges the game offers. 1UP.com praised the gameplay and "predictably slick" looks. However, sites often criticized the game's backtracking elements, a big issue found within the level design. Some criticized the theme songs. Despite the similarities between Nero and Dante, IGN still found the new protagonist appealing based on how different his gameplay is from the returning hero's. The PC version received mixed reviews. 1UP.com appreciated the port's exclusive Legendary Dark Knight mode where the character is cornered by multiple enemies in a single battle. However, they felt that Capcom could have made a more comfortable controller as it had similar issues as the one from Resident Evil 4. They expected the developers to have put in more features. While also appreciating Dark Knight and the Turbo mode that increased the game's speed, IGN said this port was only for hardcore fans of the series since it was not too different from the original console versions. Nevertheless, GameZone said that Capcom did not rush the port and praised it for being as enjoyable as the original game in contrast to other PC ports. Sales Capcom expected Devil May Cry 4 to ship 1.8 Million Units by the end of its fiscal year. Upon its release week in Japan, the PlayStation 3 version outsold the Xbox 360 version—140,000 units to 28,000. On February 20, 2008, Capcom's president Haruhiro Tsujimoto announced in a press release that the game shipped two million copies in its first month, making it the fastest selling title in the series. By the end of the title's launch year, it had sold 2.32 million copies and would eventually reach the milestone of three million units sold by December 31, 2014. Capcom's Christian Svensson noted the PC retail version's sales in the US did not meet his expectations. A digital download version was only available in pirated form as Capcom Japan did not allow the game to be sold online. A PC digital distribution release was made available over a year later. Legacy A two-volume graphic novel adaptation of the game titled Devil May Cry 4: Deadly Fortune was released in 2009 by Capcom. It is written by Bingo Morihashi and his assistant writer Yasui Kentarou. In the afterword, Morihashi wrote that some of the novel's scenes were intended to be included in the game but were removed due to production issues. Director Hideaki Itsuno noted the action system implemented in the game was expanded further in his next title ''Dragon's Dogma. Kobayashi said fans of Devil May Cry 4'' might enjoy this new RPG game. The series' original creator, Hideki Kamiya, said he used this game for research while developing Bayonetta, an action game that would use a similar style and which borrowed elements from the Devil May Cry series. In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die. In the fighting game Street Fighter V, Dante and Nero's original appearance serve as alternate costumes. A sequel, Devil May Cry 5, was announced by Capcom in June 2018. It released on 8 March 2019 and featured the return of Nero, Dante and introduced a new playable character known as "V". Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition ==See also==