Information Thread

[Saint Jimmy]

the latest news on the next installment in the series

Features

- 60 frames per second
- Blend of familiar and new: newcomer Nero clashes with veteran Dante
- New characters and environments
- Signature blend of guns and swordplay
- Deep combo system rewards stylish dispatching of enemies
- Unique "Devil Bringer" arm opens up a range of combo options
- Distinct set of weaponry and moves for Nero and Dante
- Exceed System allows Nero to charge up his sword with a throttle effect, revving up to three levels with powerful attack options
- New active style change system for Dante allows him to switch styles and weapons on the fly, producing crazy combo possibilities

Playable Characters

On September 6, 2006, Japanese video game magazine Famitsu reported that series star Dante will not be playing the main role in Devil May Cry 4. Instead, a new character named Nero, voiced and motion captured by Johnny Yong Bosch, will take the lead role.

Nero resembles both Dante and his twin brother, Vergil, and is part of the Order of the Sword, a group of warriors who worship Sparda.

Nero's attire consists of blue jeans, a long blue coat, and a red vest. He wields a revolver named Blue Rose which has a distinctive under-and-over double barrel and a decorated single-edged sword called the Red Queen. In the trailer, Nero views Dante as a villain after witnessing Dante murdering members of the Order. Recent screenshots reveal Dante to be a boss enemy in the game.

Nero's right arm seems to resemble a demon's and glows supernaturally, and is the source of his "Devil Bringer" power. He apparently was not born with his arm in this state.

Dante, the primary character in the rest of the series, will also be playable and will have updated versions of the core animations used in Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, as well as all four of his now trademark styles: Trickster, Royal Guard, Gunslinger, and Sword Master which can be switched at will. Game Informer reported that he will not just be an unlockable, but will be playable as part of the storyline. A trailer shown at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show reveals the return of Lady and Trish.

Gameplay

Nero's weapons shown in the trailer and gameplay videos are his sword the Red Queen, his revolver the Blue Rose, as well as the powers of his "Devil Bringer" arm.

Red Queen is based on the swords used by the Order of the Sword, and Nero has upgraded his to make it much stronger. When Nero twists the motorcycle-like handgrip, a propellant is released which adds to the force of the sword's impact. Blue Rose's over-and-under double barrel allow it to fire two shots at once, and is strong enough to penetrate armor. The Order normally looks down on guns as dishonorable, and only Nero uses one. His arm's "Devil Bringer" power adds a third element of gameplay (in addition to guns and swords), allowing Nero to grab distant enemies, pull them in to be attacked, push them away, slam them into the ground, as well as allowing him to zoom across areas at certain points. Also, it has context-sensitive uses in certain battles, for example spinning enemies overhead.

Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi indicated that he is focusing his optimizations on gameplay so that controlling characters is less difficult, and accessible to all players. Director Hideaki Itsuno also noted that the game will have a more forgiving learning curve than Devil May Cry 3, but will eventually ramp up to above DMC3's difficulty and that players, "won't be able to go back". He further stated that Devil May Cry 4 will feature more weapons, maneuvers, enemies, locations, music, and cutscenes than all the previous releases combined. DMC4 looks to continue the series' tradition of huge bosses, as the demo features a battle between Nero and a gigantic fire demon called Berial. Kobayashi revealed through Game Informer that Nero will not be gaining new weapons from bosses like Dante did in Devil May Cry 3, but will instead power up the Devil Bringer.

Gameplay with Dante will be similar to DMC3, with screenshots revealing the presence of his Devil Trigger bar, as well as the new Gilgamesh gauntlets and greaves.


Cross-platform move

On March 19, 2007, Capcom announced the game would not be a PS3 exclusive, as had been first announced, and would also be released for the Xbox 360 and the PC. In a thread questioning the move on the official Capcom message board the company's senior director of strategic planning and research, Christian Svensson, responded by saying that they were moved by people's strong feelings about the decision, but that it was the best decision for the company and consumers. Devil May Cry 4 will have no major graphical differences between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions. In fact, Kobayashi claims that the contents will be identical, except that "the feel of the controller may cause a slight difference."