Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (2005)
Hideaki Itsuno's PS2 Prequel Masterpiece of Switchable Styles and Sibling Rivalry
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening is a 2005 PlayStation 2 hack-and-slash prequel directed by Hideaki Itsuno and written by Bingo Morihashi at Capcom. Determined to redeem the series after Devil May Cry 2's lukewarm reception, Itsuno introduced four distinct combat Styles, instant weapon switching, and an operatic three-part rivalry between young Dante and his twin brother Vergil atop the demonic tower Temen-ni-gru.
Redeeming the Franchise Atop Temen-ni-gru
Having been brought onto the troubled Devil May Cry 2 only months before shipping, veteran fighting-game director Hideaki Itsuno requested full creative command of a sequel so his team would not be remembered for a disappointment. Set years before the 2001 original just as a brash young Dante opens his unnamed shop, Bingo Morihashi's script erupts when the ancient tower Temen-ni-gru bursts out of the city. Aided and hunted by human demon-slayer Lady—seeking vengeance against her manipulative father Arkham—Dante ascends the monolith across three unforgettable sword duels against his cold, power-hungry twin brother Vergil, punctuated by kinetic live-action stunt choreography directed by Yuji Shimomura.
Combat Styles, On-the-Fly Arsenals, and Special Edition
Drawing on Capcom's arcade fighting heritage, Dante's Awakening introduced selectable combat Styles that fundamentally altered the circle button: Trickster granted air dashes and wall runs, Swordmaster expanded Devil Arm melee techniques, Gunslinger added acrobatic firearm kata, and Royalguard rewarded frame-tight parries with devastating stored counterattacks, later joined by Quicksilver and Doppelganger. Combined with instant L2/R2 toggling between two melee Devil Arms—including Rebellion, Cerberus, Agni and Rudra, and electric-guitar scythe Nevan—and two firearms, players improvised near-limitless combos up to SSStylish rank. After Western launch copies infamously mapped Japan's Hard mode to Normal, Capcom's 2006 Special Edition rebalanced difficulty and made Vergil fully playable.