Every Devil May Cry Game Ranked

It’s kind of amazing that the Devil May Cry franchise has lasted this long. The original 2001 game began as a concept for Resident Evil 4, meaning that it was a tad derivative from the beginning. And the concept of a stoic protagonist in a long coat carrying a small armory made it seem like someone dropped The Matrix in a vat of Mountain Dew.

Nonetheless, that first game was more than the sum of its parts. The action was fast and unforgettable, and the story was pretty captivating (despite being held back by that terrible dialogue). And it turns out that there was real audience demand for this new genre of “stylish action.”

Now, we’ve got more Devil May Cry games than you can shake a red duster at. But which ones are worth playing again and which ones are best left in the used game bargain bin?

Without further ado, here is our ranked list of every Devil May Cry game, from worst to best.

6) Devil May Cry 2

It’s an open secret that sequels usually suck. While you can name a few interesting exceptions to this rule (such as The Empire Strikes Back and Halo 2), audiences generally find the second entry in a franchise pretty disappointing.

Devil May Cry 2 is no exception to that rule. Whereas some sequels fail because they are overly ambitious, this is the rare sequel that sputters on just about every level.

If you enjoyed the wacky and wise-cracking character of Dante, the 2003 sequel finds him mellow and, frankly, boring. If you enjoyed the eye-popping color palette of the first game, this game is dark and dim throughout. And if you enjoyed the frenetic action of the first game (arguably its biggest draw), the sequel’s combat feels sluggish and repetitive by comparison.

Some completists may feel the need to play this when making their way through the series. For everyone else, it’s worth it to skip this game altogether.

5) DmC: Devil May Cry

Remember that bit about sequels that failed due to vaulting ambition? DmC: Devil May Cry is a great example of this.

This 2013 game is different from the top-down, and it both looks and feels like nothing else in the franchise. One big reason for this is that Ninja Theory handled DmC instead of Capcom.

So, what did Ninja Theory do to the franchise? Character redesign, for starters. Dante now looks like a goth slacker instead of an escapee from an anime series. And in a really on-the-nose metaphor, the Demon King Mundus is now a generic evil businessman.

The action and humor are more on par with the first game. The redesigns and poor story leave this entry near the back of the pack.