5/5 ★ – Aliliane's review of Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening.

The beginning of the legendary devil hunter’s journey, and the first game where we meet Vergil clearly. DMC3 is a timeless and flawless masterpiece. I adore everything about it and it shaped my opinion around the DMC series as a whole. The gameplay is enjoyable, challenging and creative, but story and the dialogue delivery made worthy of a 10/10. What I loved most about it is the depiction of the twins' relationship. We see them fight to the death yet their bond is deeper and stronger than we might think. We realize that they aren’t simple arch-enemies. Making the hero/protagonist and the villain/antagonist twins is peak fiction. There are two memorable moments that I’ve always loved for years— I could recite them in my sleep. When Dante and Vergil, ruthless brothers, cooperate against a mutual enemy, just before finishing off the monster, Dante asks his big brother “Remember what we used to say?” Vergil smiles, and they point their guns: “Jackpot!”—creating one of the most iconic moments in all of gaming history. Yet, there’s still something left for the twins to finish: each other. Dante says he’ll do whatever it takes to stop Vergil, even if it means killing him. But is it really that easy for Dante to do? They fight once more, with Vergil losing this time. He is backed off to a cliff, and tells Dante to leave him and go if he doesn’t wanna be trapped in the demon world— this was their father’s home. I believe this to be an unnoticed act of affection from Vergil. He gives Dante a chance to live in the human world… a chance to embrace his humanity even more. Vergil falls off the cliff, and knowing that Dante would try to catch him, he draws his sword and cuts the hand of his desperate brother reaching out to him. After failing to save his twin, Dante returns to the human world in tears, though he refuses to admit it, because devils never cry. We hear this also-iconic line from Lady: “Even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one.” Now we know the reason behind Dante’s office name… It’s named after the tears he shed for the loss of his one and only brother, despite being a devil. Came back to this game after years… I still enjoyed it and loved it as much as I did the first time. It means so much to me… super dear to my heart. ABSOLUTE CINEMA!