Devil May Cry 4

Overview

Devil May Cry 4 is a 2008 action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It is the fourth installment in the Devil May Cry series, written by Bingo Morihashi and directed by Hideaki Itsuno. The story follows Nero, a young man with demonic powers, who sets out to stop the series hero Dante after he assassinates the leader of the Order of the Sword. The player takes the role of both Nero and Dante.

The game is a linear run of missions, graded from D up to SSS on items used, Red Orbs gathered, time taken and Style Points. Stylish combat is the focus: unbroken combos of varied attacks while avoiding damage. Nero uses the Red Queen sword, the Blue Rose revolver and his Devil Bringer arm, which can pull him toward enemies or pull enemies toward him. Dante takes over for seven missions halfway through and can switch between his fighting styles at will. A new currency, Proud Souls, buys abilities, while Red Orbs buy items and some upgrades.

Nero is a demon hunter on the island of Fortuna and a member of the Order of the Sword, which worships the legendary dark knight Sparda as a god. After Dante kills the Order's High Priest Sanctus in front of the congregation, a demon army invades the city. Nero is sent after Dante, and learns on the way that he is himself a descendant of Sparda.

Development began shortly after the success of Devil May Cry 3, with a team of about eighty people. It was the first Devil May Cry not to appear on PlayStation 2, and the first in the series released at the same time on several consoles. Nero was introduced so the team could try new mechanics and attract new players. The game runs on Capcom's MT Framework engine. The PlayStation 3 version asks for a 5GB install that takes about 20 minutes and shortens the loading screens.

A collector's edition came out at the same time as the regular version. The North American one has a bonus disc with the making of the game and a disc with the first four episodes of Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, while the European and Australian ones include a signed artbook called Art of the Devil instead. Both came in a steelbook case. The Japanese version shipped with the rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel's single Drink It Down as its opening theme.

Reviews were positive. The game was praised for its difficulty, its visuals and Nero as a new protagonist, and criticised for backtracking in Dante's stages and a troublesome camera. In its first week in Japan the PlayStation 3 version sold 140,000 units against 28,000 for the Xbox 360 version. Capcom announced two million copies shipped in the first month, and the game passed three million units by the end of 2014.

A two-volume graphic novel, Devil May Cry 4: Deadly Fortune, followed in 2009. A remastered Special Edition arrived in June 2015 with Vergil, Lady and Trish as playable characters, and Devil May Cry 5 was released on March 8, 2019.

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Action-adventure, Hack and slash

Developer

Capcom

Publisher

Capcom

Series

Devil May Cry

Engine

MT Framework

Writers

Bingo Morihashi

Producers

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Directors

Hideaki Itsuno

Composers

• Tetsuya Shibata
• Shusaku Uchiyama
• Kento Hasegawa
• Akihiko Narita
• Kota Suzuki
• Rei Kondoh
• Masayoshi Ishi
• Masami Ueda
• Shinichiro Sato

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Subscription history

Trophies

Platinum

0

Gold

0

Silver

0

Bronze

0

Total

0

Points

0

Space and patches

Space neededabout 5 GB

Mandatory

Yes

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

The PS3 version is single player only and has no online services.

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale	Reviews
Metacritic	PS3	84	100	63

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
Famitsu	35	40
IGN	8.7	10
GameSpot	8	10
Game Informer	9	10
GameTrailers	8.6	10
GameZone	9	10
GameSpy	4	5
Hardcore Gamer	4.25	5
Edge	8	10

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Hideaki Itsuno
Producer	Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Writer	Bingo Morihashi
Character designer	Tatsuya Yoshikawa
Composer	Tetsuya Shibata

Cast

Character	Actor
Nero	Johnny Yong Bosch
Dante	Reuben Langdon

Notes for collectors

• Japan got the game first, on January 31, 2008, five days before North America. The Japanese opening theme is L'Arc-en-Ciel's Drink It Down.
• A very small number of Collector's Edition copies were signed by producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi on the back of the metal tin, reported to be as few as 100 per console.
• The PlayStation 3 disc wants a 5GB install of about 20 minutes before play.
• Famitsu gave the game a Platinum rank, and the PlayStation 3 version outsold the Xbox 360 version in Japan in its first week.
• The later PS4 Special Edition has a trophy list with a Platinum. The 2008 PS3 disc does not.
• Sony's patch server lists no update package for the North American, European or Japanese disc IDs, so the game runs as shipped.

Credits

Region

US

Time to beat

about 11.5 hours