Devil May Cry HD Collection Analysis

After beating Devil May Cry 1, I'm gonna go grab a BIIIIIIITE!!!

So, before Capcom goes through with the polemic, high risk bet that is the DmC reboot, it decided to give the established fanbase a little treat for the franchise's 10th anniversary with a HD collection of the first 3 games which were all on the PS2. Hoping that this collection will be a good remasterization (Not a real word, I know) of some genre defining oldies, I am certain of one thing: It's definitely going to be better than the piece of shit that is the Silent Hill HD Collection.





It's sort of a mix bag, actually. They obviously improved on certain areas, left a few just the way they were and according to the sound director of DMC 1 (Now working at Platinum Games), they slightly off synched the audio of DMC 1, although it's very hard to notice. Graphics wise, they cleaned all games and it looks much smoother and detailed while looking less blurry now.

Devil May Cry 1 : Graphics in HD. The cutscenes are still in SD. (The guys over at Platinum Games are not surprised since that apparently would have a been a complete nightmare to do, something about the specific development kit or something). DMC 1's old control scheme was standardized, meaning that it has the same button scheme of every other game, no more jumping with Triangle and attacking with X. Exclusive new artwork released.

Devil May Cry 2: Graphics in HD. Cutscenes also in HD. Exclusive new artwork released. Unfortunately, games are not wine thus do not get better with time meaning it's still pretty shitty.

Devil May Cry 3: Graphics in HD. About 1/3 of the cutscenes are in SD. 2 new unused taunts were added. Added the difficulty of the normal edition in the HD collection's version which is the special edition with all the extra crap including Vergil, Blood Palace, etc...and, you've guessed it, new art like the others.

It's not the best HD collection out there but it's definitely not the worst. It's good enough to warrant a purchase considering the added content and fixes, you'll just have to consider the flaws. Some people have been noting some overall off synch for the entire game but it seems that's only for a certain batch of the game so go trade your copy if you note any audio acting strange. One thing of note is that the HD collection outsold Ninja Gaiden 3 in Japan since both games came out on the same day there. Maybe Capcom will notice that there's definitely still a fanbase for the old series.