Retronaissance: The Blog!
Professor Icepick
Posts about devil may cry 3 written by amateurprofessionals and Professor Icepick
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Retronaissance: The Blog!
Considering the fact that Devil May Cry 5 is coming out later this month, I figured I’d write an article celebrating the series’ imminent return to form. You’d expect me to write some kind of a retrospective on the series – a relatively easy feat, as I’ve recently played through all of them for the first time – but fortunately, KI’s got that covered. So, what’s an Icepick to do to show his newfound respect for the series? Why not explore one of the more detested entries in the series, justifying its existence under the pretense of art criticism. But which game should get the nod? There are two obvious picks there, but I’ll be honest: even I’m not crazy enough to try to justify the absolutely mediocre Devil May Cry 2 – which had twice the characters and half the fun of the first one! Instead, let’s discuss what I would consider the most “overhated” of Capcom’s Western ventures, 2013’s DmC: Devil May Cry.

This is something of a departure from the typical formula of the “But Is It Art?” articles. Generally, I try to find a way to justify gameplay-centered issues as intentional choices on the part of the developer to experiment with the medium or to utilize its unique interactivity to achieve something aside from the typical goal of video games: fun. The problem with viewing DmC through this lens is simple: I actually enjoyed the gameplay! In fact, it seems like the most prominent mechanical criticism leveled at Ninja Theory’s take on the series is simply that it’s unlike the previous games.

No, the hatred most gamers levied toward DmC stemmed from something far shallower: the game was a reboot of a beloved series that attempted to appeal to Westerners – or at least, what the Japanese believed would appeal to Westerners. The game’s storyline, aesthetic and even the way it was revealed to the public is what caused the massive backlash against the game, which fell below Capcom’s sales expectations but it’s still the second best-selling game in the series after my personal favorite, DMC4. It’s going to be a change of pace, but that’s what makes this article so interesting to me. I’ll have to be far more inventive when defending DmC compared to previous articles in the series, justifying something far more subjective than mechanical gameplay quirks.

Fortunately, I only recently played the game to cap off a quick primer through the series after streaming the HD Collection late last year got me interested in the remainder of the series. I’m only a couple of months removed from my playthrough of the game, so my memory of the game is still fresh. And if there’s one thing that DmC’s story reminded me of, it was various film adaptations of popular video games. Of course, Capcom themselves are no stranger to branching out into cinema: with the Street Fighter film earning Capcom money through syndication and DVD sales to this day – though the less said about The Legend of Chun-Li, the better – and Sony Pictures’ Resident Evil series, which lasted for six films and is rumored to be in the process of a reboot as we speak. Dead Rising even received a direct-to-video film and it seems that both Monster Hunter and MegaMan are even poised to make their debut on the silver screen sometime soon. In fact, even while watching the game’s various cutscenes (especially those early in the game), I was reminded more of various trashy film adaptations and not strictly those based around video games. With that in mind, I’d like to pose a controversial hypothesis: DmC: Devil May Cry was not an attempt at a reboot, it was “Devil May Cry: The Movie” – or perhaps even “Devil May Cry: The Movie: The Game”!

In that respect, it actually seems to follow many conventions associated with film adaptations of works found in other mediums. The first game’s main antagonist Mundus finally manages to resurface, after only appearing in a single game. And much like in his first appearance, Dante’s hatred for him is established before he is defeated, never to be seen again. Vergil also gets incorporated into this new origin story, a smart move given both the character’s popularity and his relatively short shelf life in the series proper. As for more contemporary references, the name of Vergil’s underground rebellion faction is “The Order”, similar to “The Order of the Sword”, DMC4’s villainous organization that was simply called “The Order” throughout most of the game. Couple that with a brand-new setting and a significantly overhauled mythology, along with a few original characters to keep the audience on their toes and that’s essentially the standard formula for any American film based on a video game made since 1993. I’m honestly surprised that this wasn’t made a bigger point when people criticized DmC.

Much like many other Capcom video game adaptations – their syndicated cartoons from the 1990s spring to mind almost immediately – perhaps the most baffling part about this is just how many simple elements of the core story DmC gets “wrong”. Of course, I’m using scare quotes because this reboot (and by extension, any other adaptation) has no real effect on the main continuity in the first place, so they’re more than free to experiment and change plot points (et al) to their liking with no perceivable consequences felt by the “real” version. What is truly baffling though, is the fact that despite getting simple aspects wrong, they end up almost acknowledging more obscure elements correctly. It’s like when I was rewatching the Darkstalkers cartoon recently and started shaking my head when they called Sasquatch “Bigfoot” or turned Anakaris into a senile nutcase… and then they end up bringing up the fact that Bishamon wasn’t truly evil, he was simply under the control of the cursed armor Hannya and the introduction of Huitzil. It was legitimately more baffling to see a no-budget show that seemed to miss the mark 90% of the time pick up on far more advanced elements of the lore… and yet, I had a similar moment when it came to DmC.

For the entirety of the game, both Dante and Vergil are referred to as “Nephilim”, because they were the product of the relationship between their angelic mother and demonic father. I did a little bit of research and it turns out the most common definition for such a mythological creature is the spawn of “fallen angels” and humans – which is exactly what the sons of Sparda were in the main timeline. Likewise, later in the game, Yamato was used to seal the Hell Gate – exactly as it was in the fourth game in the mainline series. During that moment, I had a feeling of déjà vu, reminding me of those moments in other adaptations I’d already written off as trash surprising me with a lesser-known piece of trivia.

But let’s get to the main attraction, I’ve clearly been stalling long enough. It’s time to address the most controversial aspect of DmC: Dante (or “Donte”, if you prefer) himself. I see no point in lying, given my history with the franchise as a whole: when DmC itself was first revealed to the public, I wasn’t really a fan of the series – so I ended up just laughing uncontrollably at the entire controversy, even deciding to pick up the game out of spite for the fanbase. Even though I ended up coming around on the series itself, I don’t regret my decision in the slightest. However, I don’t think I could ever deny that the way that the game’s producer – Ninja Theory’s Tameem Antoniades – revealed both the game’s existence and the radical departure of the main character from everything associated with Dante since the character’s debut in 2001 was a bold miscalculation. I don’t think it could’ve possibly been more incendiary, even going so far as implying that the classic Dante was more “gay” than awesome – what can I say? It was a different time: 2012! The fact that the new design planned for Dante was simultaneously a hodgepodge of every unpopular element associated with gritty reboots of classic franchises and somehow also resembled a self-insert of the producer himself only served to raise tensions to fever pitch. However, one thing that gets left in the dust is that the producer himself apparently only utilized Brokeback Mountain and Fight Club to illustrate just how little the Dante of yore fit with the aesthetic he was aiming for: that of an American movie, which cements my argument that the game was meant more as an adaptation than as a reboot.

Of course, Nu-Dante’s look changed a fair amount from his initial reveal, opting for a far less sickly and slim appearance for something at least slightly more traditional, but the damage had already been done. Gone was the snarky, lovable, young (or at least, young-at-heart) rogue that was classic Dante, and in his place, we were left with a snide, foul-mouthed punk dressed like an emo teenager. The radical change in appearance wasn’t helped by Dante’s new attitude – at least in the game’s first chapter. He even took a shot at the beloved character after a white wig landed on his head and he tosses it off, dismissing it with a pithy one-liner: “Not in a million years.” Truly a dagger through the heart of any and all DMC faithful and a characterization that would remain constant throughout the entirety of the game’s narrative.

…Except that isn’t how things went down at all. Yes, “Donte” started out as a smart-mouthed jerk with little regard from anything and anyone, but as the story unfolded, repressed memories of his childhood begin to resurface and reflecting on the familial bond he had with his younger twin Vergil – again, never claimed DmC got everything right – and his mother, Eva, causes a bit of character growth. On that note, he slowly finds himself becoming attached to Kat, one of Vergil’s followers with a penchant towards witchcraft. In other words, the new Dante wasn’t a one-dimensional character: he was just written like the shallowest possible action film protagonist. That’s not necessarily a significant improvement, but it’s certainly better than the perception that he’s a mere straw nihilist and sociopath. My editor even brought up that the scene that caused so much controversy was merely a case of dramatic irony: by the end of the game, Dante’s hair goes from a filthy black to its more traditional white – to match this new Dante’s more positive outlook. If anything, the game’s story comes across more like a far-flung prequel in a new continuity, showing us how he became a more heroic character in the first place as opposed to just starting with him fully formed. Even if the story itself wasn’t particularly well-written, I can at least appreciate their effort to flesh out the character, when all of his previous incarnations – even the much younger incarnation in DMC3 – stayed relatively consistent.

And if you think defending the decisions that led to Nu-Dante was a controversial stance, get ready for my next opinion. Frankly, I think DmC handled the characters of Vergil and Mundus substantially better than the mainline continuity. Granted, it’s not exactly a fair comparison in that regard, especially in Mundus’s case: in the original Devil May Cry (his only appearance in DMC proper thus far), he was constrained by a limited storyline altogether, effectively acting as the plot’s mastermind, leaving most of what little character development the game had for antagonists to his minions, especially Trish and Vergil Nelo Angelo. DmC’s Mundus, on the other hand, is significantly more fleshed out and given hints toward an actual motivation besides “hate Sparda, take over world, kill Dante” like his DMC1 incarnation. Sure, he’s a gross crime lord, but he tries to justify his position as de facto ruler of the world. His arguments with Dante end up painting him as the kind of figure every teenager views every single adult as, but if we consider that Ninja Theory was clearly aiming for a cinematic storyline in the first place, that makes Mundus’s motivations average at worst.

Vergil, on the other hand, has significantly less of an excuse to be a flat character. Aside from the slight characterization he received through a flashback in the original DMC, he was the main antagonist of the third game – the first one to really focus on story development in any meaningful way. Despite that, Dante’s older twin comes across like every single edgy 12-year-old’s original character with his spiky hair, aloof personality and broken powers that only seem to activate when he’s a boss and not when he’s a playable character. It’d almost be endearing if he weren’t considered the most prominent villain in one of Capcom’s most popular franchises. DmC’s take on Vergil is much different and (dare I say?) my favorite iteration of the character. Vergil first appears in the game as a benevolent character, fighting for the freedom of humanity from Mundus’s demonic horde and genuinely wants to reconnect with his twin brother. As the game’s narrative continues, it becomes clear that Vergil’s kindness is a façade, as he ends up selling out one of his more loyal agents and eventually reveals that his true plan was to rule humanity alongside Dante all along.

As much as I didn’t like playing the Vergil’s Downfall DLC, the storyline reasoning that led to him taking on a much more familiar form was dying and grappling with his inferiority complex, punctuated by some downright erratic 2D animation. The storyline wasn’t highly cerebral by any means and was about on par with the main game’s storyline, but it’s certainly better than his backstory in the mainline games which boils down to nothing. Suffice it to say, while playing through the DMC series proper eventually made me come around to Dante – though to be honest, it was his depictions in the DMC5 previews that clinched it for me – it took DmC for me to find an iteration of his twin even remotely interesting. That has to count for something.

Speaking of which, another thing I loved about DmC was its setting design. Ninja Theory seemed to take inspiration from both the core Capcom DMC games and their sister series — Platinum Games’ Bayonetta, the creation of DMC1’s director Hideki Kamiya – but seen through a grungier, Westernized filter. In that sense alone, I definitely prefer the look of DmC and I don’t appear to be alone in that assessment. Even Hideaki Itsuno – the man who has been in charge of the series since the tail-end of the second game’s development – seems to have taken a little inspiration from it for DMC5, at least from what I’ve seen of the game so far.

The point is that while the traditional DMC games tended to have the action take place in the real world, DmC had Dante shifting between the real world and “Limbo” for combat, essentially taking a page from the aforementioned Bayonetta. And while calling the game’s setting “Limbo City” is on the nose, the transformation of the landscape when shifting between dimensions is honestly probably my favorite aspect of the game from a design perspective. While Bayonetta’s setting never really changed based on what plane of reality she inhabits, DmC’s Limbo causes the existing structure in the real world to twist and turn into mangled structures. Buildings shatter and their fragments turn into bridges, the twisted metal of a soft drink factory gives way to the demonic flesh-covered structures associated with the later levels of the Capcom games and even Dante’s own mindscape consists of these twisted structures.

My favorite set piece in the entire game is when Dante finally faces off with Mundus’s right-hand man, a demon disguised as a none-too-subtle jab at the pundits on Fox News, Bob Barbas. The boss fight literally takes place on the promotional graphics for the show and he appears as a giant projection of his own head, surrounded by various digital screens, slowly degenerating into a mess of pixels not unlike a weak digital TV signal as he takes damage. Then, between the phases of the boss fight itself, Dante is sent back on a greatest hits tour of events that took place earlier in the game, via some grainy black-and-white footage with camera angles that are both awkward from a gameplay perspective and accurate to what one might expect to see on American cable news. The demented nightclub leading to the fight with Mundus’s lover Lilith (and their unborn child) is another highlight in my mind. The traditional DMC games generally stuck to a recurring aesthetic for the entirety of the game, but DmC just threw random nonsense at the wall to see what stuck and I loved every second of it.

Even the game’s user interface seems to take on a more “in-your-face” attitude compared to previous games. The vast majority of the UI is rendered in a stark, fading white text surrounded by chaotic black borders and what few graphical assets there were are rendered in a similar monochromatic style. As Dante reaches high combo levels, an unseen announcer begins screaming the associated phrases – another element that DMC5 appears to be adopting. It almost comes across like that weird strain of “corporate punk” you’ll generally see in media that’s directly attempting to cater to counter-culture warriors while still coming across as devoid of the substance those types claim to crave. Honestly, considering the game’s subject matter and the reaction to it, it was a match made in heaven with DmC.

Somehow, even the gameplay falls in line with this streamlined cinematic approach. The controls of the game are significantly simpler than previous games, with dedicated buttons for dodge rolls and launching enemies upward for air combos. On top of that, switching between Angelic and Infernal weaponry by holding down the Left and Right Triggers respectively and the simplified combo system from the original iteration of the game make the franchise’s stylish combat even more accessible – a fact that was met with scorn from the most outspoken die-hard DMC fans. But they’re missing the bigger picture. While Capcom’s last attempts at adapting one of their own properties back into a video game led to a chaotic nightmare of an arcade release and a weak knockoff of Super Turbo on home consoles, DmC successfully manages to pare down elements from its inspiration into something easily digestible for a broader audience, including players that aren’t well versed with the unique quirks from previous games. Call it a dumbed-down action game if you must, but I’d say it’s currently my third favorite game in the series.

Of course, I can’t disagree that Ninja Theory put much more of an emphasis on style over substance when it came to DmC. The level aesthetics are significantly more diverse in the 2013 title, compared to the areas in earlier games, which generally stuck to a more uniform theme throughout each title. However, DmC’s stages are much more linear than those found in previous games, to the point where backtracking is impossible more often than not. However, this also plays into the more cinematic nature of the game: with passive media like TV and movies, the audience is expected to simply move forward through the narrative. Rewinding isn’t necessary if the media in question has the viewer’s full attention.

Veering back towards the cinematic elements of the game, there are various points in the game that probably would’ve worked better as cutscenes or better still, within the confines of an actual film. There are a few segments where Dante’s movement is slowed to a crawl and he’s unable to jump or attack while having slow world-building conversations with Kat. Likewise, there were a few levels that simply involved escaping a collapsing set piece, essentially like a more advanced take on the quick-time events I typically hate in action games, except utilizing the game’s standard mechanics as opposed to simply pressing a button at just the right moment. Honestly, it was these moments that cemented the game’s ranking in my eyes – and not in a good way.

In the end, I don’t think that I even intended to write this article to attempt to shift the general consensus on DmC: Devil May Cry. Unlike with Bioshock 2 – which I always considered the best game in the series – I’m sure the general consensus on the game will remain constant for the rest of either my lifespan or the franchise’s, whichever expires first. However, there is one heroic action that can be attributed to DmC that even the game’s most ardent detractors must keep in mind: its failure to meet sales expectations caused Capcom to abandon their strategy of farming games out to outside Western developers. In turn, that shift forced them to refocus on internal development, leading to their current renaissance with games like Monster Hunter World, MegaMan 11, the Resident Evil 2 Remake and even the upcoming Devil May Cry 5. Sure, we still got saddled with Lost Planet 3, Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps before that, but I’m sure those games were so far along in development by the time Capcom came to their decision, they felt it’d be a wiser financial move to finish development and release them. Now that didn’t go according to plan, but as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. In other words, DmC is responsible for Capcom’s return to form and no amount of bile and vitriol can ever erase that.

Itsuno even stated in an interview that he “really wanted” to make a direct sequel to DmC before being tasked with making a new game in the original timeline. So clearly, he saw something in the game like I did. Honestly, considering the death of Capcom Vancouver (which will likely cause a long-term retirement for the Dead Rising series) and Ninja Theory’s acquisition by Microsoft, I’d love to see DmC2 as a next-gen Xbox exclusive… so long as Itsuno is still up for it. But the most important thing to remember is that in every major DMC release since DmC’s release – Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition and even Devil May Cry 5 – Dante has an alternate color palette resembling his unpopular counterpart. Not in a million years, indeed.

Over the years, there were tons of video games that are universally liked by critics and gamers alike, and there were sequels that had much more praise than their predecessors. However, even among the most critically acclaimed game series there are games that other entries can’t come close to. What I’ve decided to do was to make a list and narrow down specific games that meet this criteria. There were ten different choices I have made for this list, and with that, I present to you the ten games that are a Tough Act to Follow.

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior – Arcade (1991)

The original Street Fighter hit the arcades in 1987 with lukewarm responses, but when Street Fighter II was released in 1991, the game became an instant hit. It was so popular that Capcom made an updated version of it a year later, followed by three more subsequent updates ending with Super Street Fighter II Turbo. People were getting tired of the updates, as they were waiting for Street Fighter III. A new game was announced in 1995, but it wasn’t Street Fighter III; it was Street Fighter Alpha. While the game was popular, as were Street Fighter Alpha 2 and 3, they never reached the same success as Street Fighter II. When Street Fighter III was released, it did not catch on due to the lack of classic characters save for Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and Chun-Li (granted, Chun-Li only appeared in Third Strike, while Akuma did not appear in New Generation). While Street Fighter IV (and its subsequent updates) was successful, the original game was criticized for balance issues (mainly with Sagat being overpowered, which was proven to be unfair). Still, its popularity couldn’t match the same type of popularity that Street Fighter II had.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles – Genesis (1994)

After two successful games in the series, Sonic the Hedgehog became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1990’s. To capitalize on the success, Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on what was dubbed as “Hedgehog Day”, which happened on Groundhog Day of 1994. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduced a save feature, a new character, new ways to get into special stages, bonus stages through checkpoint lamp posts, and new power ups. There are greater distinction of levels per zone (including the music), as well as differentiation of characters in regards to their skill (such as Tails being able to fly or swim). While Sonic 1 and 2 had in game cutscenes, it was fleshed out more in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles to show what’s going to happen next. The game’s reception was a lot more critically acclaimed in comparison to its predecessors in spite of the fact that Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles were released separately within a span of eight months.

Super Metroid – SNES (1994)

The original Metroid introduced exploration in a side-scrolling adventure game in a non-linear world. Metroid II introduced save points, which eliminated the need for passwords. Both of those games were popular in their own rights, and were both well received; granted, Metroid II wasn’t as well received as the first one, but was still popular enough. When Super Metroid was released, it introduced many new elements to the series, such as a map, more expansive areas, eight-way directional shooting, and new weapon and item upgrades. It is exponentially better than the original Metroid, and has done a lot more than what the original Metroid has offered. There have been many other Metroid games that came afterwards, but none of them have reached the same critical acclaim that Super Metroid had, although Metroid Prime came close to it. Since Super Metroid is held to a high standard, every Metroid game that came after it would always be judged in comparison.

Super Mario 64 – N64 (1996)/Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii (2010)

After many years of 2D Mario platformers, with the last ones being Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island on Super Nintendo, and Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins for Game Boy, the next step was to bring Mario into a new world: The Third Dimension. The goal was to bring Mario into a 3D World where he can explore new areas like never before, and Super Mario 64 accomplished that. While the Nintendo 64 was not as successful as the Sony Playstation, Super Mario 64 was very popular, and to this day, is still highly regarded as one of, if not, the best platformers of all time. Super Mario Sunshine tried to capitalize on it with more expansive worlds, and a new mechanic, the F.L.U.D.D., specifically made for this game. Unfortunately, it didn’t reach the same critical and commercial success that Super Mario 64 had.

Super Mario Galaxy changed things up, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes it into another level. The gameplay is similar to the original Super Mario Galaxy, where it has a new physics engine, which allows each and every celestial object to have its own gravitational force, which lets players circumnavigate rounded or irregular planetoids, walking upside down, or sideways, for a matter of giving the game a feel of going through galaxies. There are new unique stages with excellent level design, as well as a new Hub World, the Starship Mario. You collect 120 Power Stars, 120 Green Stars, and 2 special Power Stars, bringing it up to a total of 242 Stars. The game received critical praise that matches Super Mario Galaxy, with many of the critics citing that this game is better than the original. There have been debates on the Galaxy games (specifically Galaxy 2) and 64 as to which is the best in the 3D Mario series, and with Super Mario 3D World out now, only time will tell if it will match or surpass the praise of these games.

Final Fantasy VII – PS1 (1997)

While past Final Fantasy games were popular amongst dedicated gamers, Final Fantasy VII was the first Japanese RPG to have a mainstream presence in the western market. The gameplay hasn’t changed much from the previous Final Fantasy games, but it was the first game in the series in 3D. The pre-rendered backgrounds and the breathtaking FMV cutscenes wowed people to the point that an entire market opened up to JRPG’s. Final Fantasy VII for many gamers was an introduction to Japanese RPG’s, and the story was a lot more complex than what gamers had seen, and was a one of the first console based games to have more openly adult themes in western markets.

Final Fantasy VII was well received, and sold really well, and it cemented Sony’s dominance in the fifth generation console wars. While some later Final Fantasy games, such as IX, and in between X and XII, had dedicated fanbases, none of them matched the mainstream impact that VII had. To this day, people still demand a remake of Final Fantasy VII, but all Final Fantasy VII fans received were spinoff games and a movie.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – PS1 (1997)

Castlevania has always been a popular series ever since it made its debut on the NES back in 1987. While it had a lot of hits with games such as Dracula’s Curse, Super Castlevania IV, and even the Japanese TurboGrafx-CD game Rondo of Blood, it wasn’t until the series made the jump on the Playstation with Symphony of the Night. This game was a complete departure from other Castlevania games, and adopted a Metroid-esque style with RPG elements, allowing you to explore Dracula’s Castle in its entirety. The popularity of this game led to more games in the series, as well as other games to adopt this style, dubbed as “Metroidvania” due to their similarities with Super Metroid with the map and structure with the game. There have been other Castlevania sequels to come out after this game, and while some of them couldn’t match the popuarity, others just fell flat. No matter what Castlevania game comes out, people will always make the claim that Symphony of the Night is the best game in the series.

Resident Evil 2 – PS1 (1998)/Resident Evil 4 – GCN (2005)

While Resident Evil 1 and 3 have their respective fanbases, Resident Evil 2 was the most popular game of the original trilogy. The controls were refined, the ammo wasn’t as limited, and when you draw your gun, you face towards the nearest enemy. It made better use of having two playable characters, giving the game continuity between the character’s stories, and having rewards for beating the game with the second character. This game was well received, with fans wanting a remake of this game.

By the time Resident Evil 4 had been released, the initial Resident Evil Formula was considered stale due to the awkward fixed camera and controls, as well as it being a newer generation at the time, so it felt much like an early 3D game. Therefore, Capcom capped Shinji Mikami to reimagine the Survival Horror genre. While many prototypes became other Capcom games, the final product was significantly different from the Resident Evil of old. The game now resembles a Third-Person Shooter, but still stayed true to the series’ Survival Horror roots. You don’t have to find a specific item to save anymore, which removes the limitation of saving. It got really good critical reception, it received good reviews on release and has won Game of the Year on multiple publications. This game is also a fan favorite, with fans claiming that it was arguably the best game in the series. After Resident Evil 4, fans argued that the games in the mainline series focused more on action gameplay, as a detriment to the series. Other games in the series that had the Survival Horror gameplay either didn’t succeed financially, or did not give the Survival Horror experience that longtime fans had hoped for.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – N64 (1998)

Like Super Mario 64, Nintendo wanted to bring The Legend of Zelda to a new world. They did so by changing the top-down overworld seen in past Zelda games into a more dynamic 3D environment. It is the first Zelda game in the series to introduce free-roaming, context-sensitive actions, and Z-targeting. There is a method where you can change the setting to seven years in the future, where Link becomes an adult, and must rescue the rest of the seven sages. While the Ocarina has appeared in past Zelda games, Ocarina of Time lets you learn twelve different melodies for solving puzzles and teleporting to locations you already visited within the game.

When Ocarina of Time was released, the critical acclaim was exceptional, and even to this day, it’s always at least in a close struggle for the highest game in Gamerankings and Metacritic. It is not only claimed by fans and critics to be the best Zelda game of all time, it is also claimed to be the best game of all time. There have been other games in the series that rivaled the popularity, but Ocarina of Time is the last Legend of Zelda you can praise without the fanbase attacking you. It was even remade in 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS, which many people enjoyed just as much as the original, if not, more.

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door – GCN (2004)

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is much like its predecessor, only better in every way. Timed moves and the Partner system were improved: with the partners now having their own Heart Points, as well as having more abilities. The battles are staged and audience participation can have an impact on the battle, and as you level up, it increases the audience size. Save for Game Informer’s infamous 6.75 score, the game was well received, and it sold well for a Gamecube game. The reason that many Paper Mario fans don’t like Super Paper Mario or Sticker Star is because it deviates too much from the formula that The Thousand Year Door perfected. Beta footage of Sticker Star implied that it was going to be a direct sequel, but as development time went on, it changed to a completely different game.

Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening – PS2 (2005)

While Devil May Cry was a genre trendsetter, Devil May Cry 3 felt more like a modern action game. It fixed the problem Devil May Cry 2 had, which was that the game was a lot easier. It added different styles for Dante to use that dramatically changed the gameplay. After gamers grew attached to Dante’s cocky and aggressive attitude in Devil May Cry, his emotionless performance in Devil May Cry 2 disappointed many. Devil May Cry 3 completely reverses this with Dante being even cockier, and the game had more over the top cheese than ever. After the negative reception of Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 3 redeemed the series for many gamers and reviewers. Devil May Cry 4’s reception was lukewarm from fans and reviewers, and DmC had a massive fan backlash.

Honorable Mentions:

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest – SNES (1995)

It gave the series its own identity after the original borrowed elements heavily from Super Mario World. The level design really hit its stride with its cleverly hidden secrets. The game is held at a high regard where arguably not even the other games in the series would match its popularity.

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – Arcade (1995)

While Mortal Kombat 2 may arguably be better, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was ultimately considered to be the last great Mortal Kombat game in the series until Mortal Kombat 9.

Mega Man 2 – NES (1989)

Mega Man 2 was initially well received and even considered to be the best in the series. Even Keiji Inafune considers this game to be his favorite Mega Man game that he has worked on.

And there you have it, ten different games that set the standards of the video game industry, with sequels unable to match the sales success or popularity. These games will always be looked upon as some of the best games of all time, and it shows when you look at retrospectives and top 10 lists. Many fans argue about what happened with these respective series after the specific game gets high praise, and many argue about which game is really better in their series. Regardless, there will always be games that are a Tough Act to Follow.