Devil May Cry would be amongst my favorite game IPs, such that I have a retail copy of every release on the shelf. Earlier this year we saw and enjoyed Devil May Cry 5, but some sixteen years ago was the release of the misaligned Devil May Cry 2 (DMC2). The weakest link in an otherwise superb franchise, Devil May Cry 2 has been re-released a time or two over the years, but it just recently made its way to Nintendo’s Switch for $20 on the eShop.
Let me just get this out at the top: if you enjoy Devil May Cry, or third person action games, DMC2 is worth playing through. While being the worst in the series, it’s still canon and still fun. It’s also not very hard nor will it take more than probably about ten hours to play through both campaigns. You see, in DMC2, you can play as Dante, but you can also play as Lucia, who offers an appreciable different combat style and a different play-through. Lucia’s playthrough is a little bit shorter, and you will encounter actually less bosses, but it compliments Dante’s story really well in that you’re often playing through the same areas but with a different angle of approach. Cutscenes are different too, giving you a more complete telling of the story. All that said, I would argue that DMC2 is not only worth playing through, but it’s worth playing through as Lucia as well.
On the Switch, DMC2 plays smoothly and looks fine. From what I can tell, this is just a direct port, probably from the HD version that came out in a Trilogy on the PS3 and PS4. I didn’t experience any bugs, but I will say that the camera (which you cannot adjust) can be a pain sometimes when it rapidly changes its orientation as you cross through some unseen threshold (not uncommon for games made in the early 2000s). Level design is pretty bland, the opening ‘rooftops’ level is still one I loathe every time I revisit it (which, is not often, but it’s always a blah experience to start off the game). Weapon upgrades and skill unlocks, Devil Triggers, etc., are all here and if you can get passed the so-so level design and tepid enemy AI, you’ll have a lot of fun upgrading your character and laying waste to the variety of creative demons.
For $20, DMC2 on the Switch is worth it if you don’t have another way to play it, or, if you’re routinely playing on the go.
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