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When you begin a new game, you can choose to play as Vergil either if you've previously finished the game as Dante or if the game detects save data from the original version of DMC3 on your memory card. This is a little odd, since it hypothetically means DMC3 players who've never finished the game could start playing as Vergil and breeze through an adventure that they'll remember being much tougher before. Also, Vergil just isn't as fleshed out as Dante from a gameplay standpoint. He starts with all his weapons and has only the one "dark slayer" fighting style, which is like Dante's trickster style only cooler sounding. You can still unlock some new fighting abilities as you go, but you don't feel as though you're growing stronger and stronger like you do with Dante.
The Yamato battle sword makes Vergil even deadlier than his twin brother, but he's not quite as deep as Dante from a gameplay standpoint.
What's more, you'll surely notice there's no story continuity when playing from Vergil's perspective. Cinematic cutscenes are simply stripped out, so there's no context for any of the fighting, which can be pretty jarring since Vergil does get his own introductory cutscene--as if what's about to transpire is a whole separate story taking place from his perspective. But it turns out to be the same content as what Dante has to go through, right down to the showdowns against Vergil himself. In one particularly confusing moment, you see a blue-clad Vergil standing atop a tower in anticipation of a battle against...himself? It would have been great if the tables were turned for this sequence and you battled against a computer-controlled Dante, but as it turns out, you just end up fighting your clone...who's dressed in red, not blue. For what it's worth, the game does have a new boss battle, in which Dante or Vergil must take on the enigmatic and patently annoying Jester. It's a decent fight, but Jester's practically a pushover who's nowhere near as difficult as some of the notoriously tough bosses elsewhere in the game. In any case, think of Vergil's mode as a bonus feature rather than a separate adventure. It would have been great to get a whole separate adventure from Vergil's perspective, but DMC3: Special Edition doesn't go nearly that far.
There are a few other added extras. The Bloody Palace is a pretty good bonus that's functionally equivalent to a survival mode. As with Vergil's mode, the Bloody Palace is accessible as a starting option if you've either finished DMC3: Special Edition once or if you've got save data from the original version. This mode strips away all semblance of plot--instead focusing purely on DMC3's exciting combat system--as it throws you into one battle after another. The Bloody Palace actually consists of 9,999 levels, but after each fight, you can choose to advance by one, 10, or 100 levels by entering one of three elemental portals. Occasional health power-ups can keep you alive over the long haul, but occasional run-ins with DMC3's bosses might just end your Bloody Palace run prematurely. You can't save your progress in this mode, and it pits you against lots of familiar foes, so it's mostly best suited for hardcore DMC3 fans looking to hone their skills and squeeze as much out of the game as they can. For good measure, you also have the option to enable a new "turbo mode," which speeds up the gameplay by 20 percent--enough to make the action maybe a little more manic than usual. You can also watch the game's fantastically choreographed cinematic cutscenes in a theater mode, as well as unlock gallery images and multiple costumes for both characters.
We wouldn't call this version the game Devil May Cry 3 should have been, but the changes made to this Special Edition make it suitable for fans and new players alike.
DMC3's smooth 3D graphics still look great, and the heavy metal soundtrack matches the combat as well as ever. Yet even though the new Special Edition superficially seems to be nearly the same exact game as the original--down to the identical box cover and instruction manual--the experience itself has changed quite a bit due to the difficulty readjustment. Sure, you can still experience a very tough game by unlocking the harder settings and opting for the original continue system, but the way in which the original version threw you headlong into such tough battles straightaway was part of what contributed to a fantastic experience, if you had the wherewithal for it. So between the more-conventional challenge and the passage of time, this Special Edition isn't quite as impressive as the original. But it's still a great action game on its own terms, and it packs a lot of added content for those 20 bucks--enough for DMC3 fans to justify getting it again.
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Where to buy
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition (PlayStation 2):
$18.99 - $19.99
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