Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition: The Book of Vergil: "This is Power"
Devil May Cry made a stylish return last year, with it's fifth installment. The series was in a strange place after a divisive reboot, yet Devil May Cry 5 brought the series back to form and was the highest selling in the franchise. Ever since Devil May Cry 3, Capcom released a “Special Edition” (SE) at least one year later after each subsequent entry, these SEs would add content like playable characters, costumes, and difficulties. So, it was inevitable that the newest game would follow a similar trend.
Since this is a simple upgraded version of an already released game, I will mainly discuss the additions to the game to see if it's worthy enough to hold the moniker of “Special Edition”. In my opinion, the original Devil May Cry 5 was my favorite game of 2019 and arguably my favorite Devil May Cry game of the series. The graphics were gorgeous, despite taking a more grounded tone in the display; The music and sound effects were phenomenal, and the battle themes for the playable characters rocked. The combat system was the best it's ever been, with three fleshed out movesets. I was also happy to see Dante’s larger arsenal of weapons after DMC4's minute selection and excited to see that Nero received new mechanics. With newcomer V, coming to the scene, it was also a fun experimental character to play as well. The DMC 5’s story was a pleasurable love letter to veterans of the series, although there were some weird decisions in its implementation.
Overall, it was a strong comeback for a series on hiatus and the main feature I and many others wanted was the ability to play as Vergil, the brooding twin brother of Dante.
Vergil: The Alpha and the Omega
Vergil
Many players had their wish granted as Vergil, the newest addition to the “Special Edition” was added with some flair. With every previous Special Edition, Vergil still comes with his own campaign (featuring every mission in the game), followed by an exclusive beginning and ending cutscene. He stays true to his three devil arms: Yamato, Beowulf, and the Force Edge (now the Mirage Edge) as they help him rip and roar through the carnage. For long range attacks, he still uses the Phantom Swords (now called Mirage blades) and still utilizes his Concentration Gauge, which powers up his attacks by walking, delivering, and evading hits. When the gauge is built up enough, Vergil can now unleash his all-powerful attack called “World of V”, where he transforms into V for a short time and unleashes all three of V’s familiars that can be used to obtain health orbs.
Instead of the standard Devil Trigger (DT) ability, where he turns into his demon form and gains stronger offense as well as health regeneration, the DT gauge is now used for a doppelganger ability. Vergil summons a spectral doppelganger of his Sin Devil Form, to assist in battle, copying every movement Virgil does. Lastly, Vergil gains the same transformation as Dante with the Sin Devil Trigger. For Vergil, this ability functions more like a standard DT however, he now regains health, a power increase and access to special attacks.
Like previous DMC games, Vergil is still my favorite character to play. This SE overall, is his best iteration yet and I also enjoy some of the new attacks they gave him: An energy slash for Yamato, an air taunt where he shoots phantom blades and an explosion attack for Beowulf. My only complaint is that he should have received new weapons or references to a certain boss in the game (I won't say for spoiler reasons). I do miss Vergil having a standard Devil Trigger, however, the doppelganger does differentiate him further from the other characters. Finally, it's also exciting that the final boss for Vergil is different for him, which is something they've never done for him before.
Been dragging my feet making this video, but here it is. Might be my last DMC5 or Vergil video for awhile, but I guess we'll see. @ Ragiroth
Graphical Enhancements: Keeping It Stylish
Due to DMC 5: Special Edition coming to next gen consoles, it's to be expected that the graphics will be enhanced. One of the large graphical updates is the option for ray tracing. In the context of this game, it improves the visuals such as the reflections from glass surfaces and puddles. There is also an option to enable ray tracing and to prioritize graphics or frame rate too. Also included, is the option to turn on 120 fps (if you're TV can handle it). Even though I have a 4K TV, sadly, I could not take advantage of this feature.
Although Devil May Cry 5 was already a beautiful game that ran great, not to mention it's fast paced action sequences (where reflections and puddles aren't that noticeable), it's hard to say that these “new features” are a huge improvement. While these features are welcomed, all I can say is that the game’s new look and run makes the game move more sharply.
Other Modes and Features
DMC5: SE brings back Turbo Mode and a mode that was introduced in the fourth entry's special edition, Legendary Dark Knight mode. Turbo Mode is exactly as it sounds, it increases the game speed. This felt greatly needed as Devil May Cry 5 felt a bit slower and floatier than DMC4: SE. Legendary Dark Knight mode is a mode about as challenging as the hard difficulty, while also increasing the number of enemies. This feature made the game feel more like Dynasty Warriors. Although the mode is fun and intense, I recommend waiting until at least beating the game on normal mode to gain more health and power ups.
There are also four new songs added that can be selected for battle music such as the Beowulf Battle theme from Devil May Cry 3, and a theme for Vergil's intro cutscene from DMC4: SE, called “Let's Just See”. It's especially great for the latter as I and many others were hoping that it was Vergil's battle theme from that game, and sadly, it was not the case. On the subject of music, Vergil's standard battle theme “Bury the Light”, is possibly one of the coolest songs I've ever heard. Finally, I should also mention that if you missed out on the deluxe edition content from the original version, the special edition has all of it.
Conclusion
It's conflicting how I should feel about this Special Edition. It's a definitive edition of possibly the best Devil May Cry games and one of the best action games I’ve ever played. However, compared to the DMC4:SE, that had more costumes, more playable characters (like Lady and Trish alongside Vergil), it feels somewhat lackluster. It seemed Capcom focused on the graphical enhancements rather than increasing the amount of content. I understand the need for this due to this version being on next gen consoles, but it shouldn't take the place of adding meaningful content to the game. Overall, it makes this game hard to recommend to casual fans or players that have already completed the original version.
With next gen consoles difficult to find, it should be mentioned that owners of the current gen editions can at least gain access to Vergil via DLC. This is refreshing as past special editions always required buying a whole new game to get access to the new content. For hardcore fans, like myself, this is a more affordable option. Despite these drawbacks, I don't regret purchasing the special edition, especially with so little available for the PS5 out right now. While I would've loved for Trish and Lady to be playable, Vergil is a bigger priority and it was the requested feature. Considering this is a unique situation, I'm grading this game for those that have played the original DMC5 and those that haven't. If you haven't played the original Devil May Cry 5, this Special Edition is a must buy for action fans. Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition is out for PS5 and Xbox Series X, retailing at 40 USD.
Final Score
If you played the original: 3/5
If you didn’t play the original: 5/5
