Devil May Cry: The Origin

Everything has an origin. Most video games come from brainstorming sessions or sometimes they're a work of inspiration. Then there are games like Devil May Cry: games that were originally intended to be something completely different. Games that evolved into a whole new world. In honor of the 20th anniversary of this title, here is the story of how Devil May Cry came to be.

If you're a fan of the Resident Evil series, you may be familiar with Resident Evil 1.5, the original version of Resident Evil 2 which was so flat-out boring that it was completely scrapped. What does this have to do with Devil May Cry? That's because something very similar to Resident Evil 1.5 happened again later in the series, but this time, it created an entirely new franchise. You see, Devil May Cry was originally known as Resident Evil 4.

It was December of 1999 when work on Resident Evil 4 began. The story was originally completely different from what we were eventually given. It was going to focus on a character named Tony, an invincible man who had extraordinary abilities and intelligence. Tony was an entirely new character, and his superhuman abilities would somehow be connected to biotechnology or experimentation. This would most likely have been explained through the use of a virus, probably saying he had been exposed to one of the many in the game's world or even been tested on.

So why didn't we get this version of Resident Evil 4? What derailed the project? According to the director, Hideki Kamiya, Tony just wasn't right. Reportedly, he wasn't brave or heroic enough, especially on the fixed-angle camera system the game was being developed in. To remedy this, the team started to explore parts of Europe for a new world to set the game, having originally been using pre-existing assets from other games. In addition, they also changed to a dynamic-camera system. As the game grew, though, it started to take on a life of its own. It no longer fully fit into the Resident Evil world. It needed a world of its own. So Tony became Dante, and was even allowed to keep the name Tony as an alias he would use from time to time. Dante was given a world of demons and darkness, and Leon S. Kennedy was brought back and into the game we all know and love as Resident Evil 4.

Dante as Tony Redgrave by Shirow Miwa

Dante was much like the original character that had been created, but he was no longer bioengineered or changed by biotechnology. Dante became part human, part demon, and a force to be reckoned with. He was sarcastic, playful, deadly, allergic to shirts, and addicted to pizza. He hunted demons for a living, and no job was too big or too small as long as he was getting paid. He kept his impressive strength, extraordinary abilities, and forged a world of his own that now consists of five titles and one re-imagining.

It's amazing to think that, had Kamiya not wanted to explore other options for Resident Evil 4, we may never have gotten the world of Devil May Cry. It's a world that is home to one of my favorite characters of all time, Dante's twin brother and antagonist, Vergil. It's a world that's funny, dark, and full of incredible-looking creatures as well as badass heroes and villains. I'm so glad that Devil May Cry didn't end up going the way of Resident Evil 1.5, that it was given a chance to live. It's funny how Resident Evil 4 is my hands-down favorite of the Resident Evil series. A part of me loves it a little bit more knowing that it also gave me one of my favorite game series in Devil May Cry.

So thank you, Capcom, for giving Devil May Cry a chance and giving it its own weird-ass, over-the-top, world. If you've never tried the series, definitely give it a look. The games were released out of chronological order, so if you want to follow it by storyline and not release date, play Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening first, then Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2, Devil May Cry 4, and Devil May Cry 5. You can then play Ninja Theory's reimagining of the series: DmC: Devil May Cry, after the others if you're interested. It's not bad as a reimagining and deserves some recognition in its own right. Happy Anniversary, Devil May Cry, and thanks for all the insane fun you've given us along the way.