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Devil May Cry 4 Q&A Feature
Jon Wilcox
17/01/2008
TVG chats to Devil May Cry's Hiroyuki Kobayashi about the upcoming fourth instalment...
Until just a few months ago, the Devil May Cry franchise could have been considered a quintessentially PlayStation brand, but that's now changed with the upcoming release of Devil May Cry 4. Marking the first time that the series has gone multiplatform on consoles (DMC3 was belatedly launched on PC), the fourth instalment introduces a new devil hunter called Nero together with a more battle-hardened Dante.
TVG caught up with Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi and asked how the latest instalment was shaping up...
TVG: We know that gamers will be able to play as both Dante and Nero, with the two of them duelling it out in the game. What sort of differences in gameplay will there be between the two characters?
While both characters share some similarities - both can attack with a combination of sword and gun - there are a number of differences. The most obvious of these is Nero's Devil Bringer with which he can grab enemies and smash them into the ground, draw them towards him or obtain items that were previously out of reach. Nero's ability to grab enemies really makes a change to the way a player can attack an enemy. When Dante attacks the force of his blow will send the enemy away from Dante, but Nero can attack using his sword or gun and then reel the enemy back in to follow up with another attack. By repeating this process the player can rack up some really impressive combo chains.
Nero's sword - Red Queen - also has a special ability. Thanks to some serious modifications by the new protagonist this sword can be charged by revving the handle as if it were a throttle on a motorbike and once fully charged players will be able to pull off some truly devastating attacks.
As in previous games in the series, Dante will once more be able to select one of the four fighting styles - Swordmaster, Gunslinger, Trickster and Royal Guard - but now, thanks to the power of next-generation hardware players can switch between them on the fly with no let up in the action. For this title we have also given Dante a few new weapons. Lucifer allows Dante to fire out numerous swords in front of him piercing multiple enemies and Gilgamesh adds razor sharp blades to Dante's gauntlets and boots for devastating hand to hand combat. Finally we have Pandora's Box, a seemingly innocuous briefcase that converts into seven different weapons ranging from a boomerang to a mobile missile launcher.
TVG: Dante and Nero appear to be a Yin and Yang of each other in DMC4. Can you tell us anything about Nero's history, why he's fighting with Dante and his part in the story?
Nero is a young knight in the Order of the Sword, a religious order based in the coastal city of Fortuna, that worships the legendary Sparda and whose mission is to protect the city from demonic attack. When Dante bursts in on an important ceremony and kills the High Priest and other members of the Order, Nero fears for the safety of his childhood friend Kyrie and attacks Dante. This is when the player will take control of Nero for the first time.
TVG: Do you have any concerns that because Dante is synonymous with the DMC series, that fans may not take to a new main character in the same way as Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2?
Certainly some people have commented that it was an odd decision, but the introduction of a new main character has a number of positives. Firstly it allows us to introduce a new gameplay mechanic, the Devil Bringer, and this opens up some really interesting combat opportunities. Secondly we are not just introducing Nero, but also the characters that make up his world and a new setting for the series with the town of Fortuna. As the series is moving to a new generation of hardware, and indeed making its first appearance on the Xbox, this is an ideal time to introduce a new character to the DMC universe and new gamers to the series. But Devil May Cry would not be Devil May Cry without Dante so of course we had to include him in the game and as you play and the story unfurls you will see that he has a very important role to play.
TVG: Can you give us a few details on the plot, where it sits in the series timeframe, and how the reappearance of Trish and Lady fit into the storyline?
Chronologically DMC4 is the third game in the DMC timeline. DMC3 was set first, followed by the original DMC, then DMC4 and finally DMC2. As for Trish and Lady I would love to tell you about their parts in the game, but I don't want to spoil the surprises.
TVG: We've heard about the 'Exceed System', which allows gamers to charge up their sword for more damaging attacks. How will that work exactly?
As I mentioned previously Nero charges up his sword using a throttle system, just as if it was a motorbike. In practice, this involves the player pressing L1 or LB, for PS3 and 360 respectively, in order to fill up a total of three sections of the Exceed Gauge. Getting the timing just right will really help as you can fill all three sections with just one press if you get it spot on. This also allows players to charge the exceed system mid-combo for some awesome attacks. Finally the power of specific attacks such as Streak can be greatly increased if the Exceed Gauge is full when they are unleashed.
TVG: There are various features/weapons that will open up a range of combos, such as the integration of the Devil Bringer arm and a system that allows Dante to switch his fighting style on a whim. Can you give us some examples of these combo moves? And what's been done to create an intuitive feel to the combat?
We came up with the idea of Nero's Devil Bringer when thinking of ways to compliment the action of Devil May Cry. There has been a lot of variety possible with the sword and gun gameplay that the series is know for, but the Devil Bringer really adds a whole new layer of diversity to the action. For instance, after swatting an enemy back with the sword, you might blast the demon with your guns. You could then reel it in with the Devil Bringer, blast it up into the air with your sword, and then juggle it in the air with more gunfire. Finally, you could grab the poor demon with the Devil Bringer again, and slam them into the ground with the Buster move. This would be a simple example of using the Devil Bringer to easily link up and sustain a long combo.
TVG: From some of the screens and trailers that we've seen, it's clear that DMC4 is set to unleash a wide range of demonic bosses upon the gamer. In what ways has the DMC4 team changed the boss battles for Dante's first journey onto the next-gens? And will the more complex combo system lend itself to deeper duels with bosses, or has a similar format to DMC3 been retained?
We have a wide range of bosses that are bigger and badder than anything you've seen in a DMC game up until now.
You will have to make split-second decisions on the fly if you are to be successful while fighting the bosses. You will have to use a ton of strategies including air attacks, jumping onto enemies, grabbing them and much more. The boss fights are really designed to make the player think on the spot while fighting.
TVG: How have you approached the difficulty and learning curve in DMC4, are there any fears that making the game more accessible will result in the same criticisms that DMC2 faced?
When you are developing the next title in a successful franchise like Devil May Cry you not only want to appeal to existing fans but also bring in newcomers and this is especially true of DMC4 as the series will be making its debut on the Xbox platform. One of the important factors you have to bear in mind is the difficulty level - you don't want to make the game too easy for existing fans, but you also want to allow new gamers relatively easy entry. To that end there are two difficulty levels available from the outset with players being able to choose between Human or Devil Hunter settings.
In addition when Human is selected players can also add the option of Automatic which allows combos & special attacks to be pulled off with greater ease. For complete newcomers to the series there is a brief tutorial that takes players through Nero's basic moves and attacks. As the game progresses players will learn new techniques and abilities that will provide them with the skills they need to take on even the most foreboding of Bosses. Overall the difficulty level is probably on a par with DMC3, but unlike that game where the player was effectively thrown in at the deep end, DMC4 takes the player from the shallows to the trickier waters.
TVG: Can you please explain how Capcom's adoption of the MT Framework has assisted development of Devil May Cry 4 on multi-formats, and how you ensure the game is tailored to make the most out of each format?
The MT Framework is a PC based development platform. It allows for easy development of games that will work on all target platforms. We started developing DMC4 for the PS3 using this system, and were able to get the Xbox 360 version up and running quickly once we decided to release the title for multiple platforms. I think that titles that are built using this system will take fuller advantage of all the available power than games that are on the shelves now.
TVG: Do you have any plans to support downloadable content through platforms such as Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network?
With DMC4, we feel that we have created a game that has a huge amount of content right out of the box without the need to download extra content.
TVG would like to thank Hiroyuki Kobayashi for taking the time to answer our questions, along with Leo Tan at Capcom Europe. Devil May Cry 4 is due out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on February 8th.
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