Shout out to @Omega Chad 's review for inspiring this
(you can read it here https://retrogametalk.com/threads/players-may-cry-a-devil-may-cry-2001-review.3334/)
With all the memorable bosses from the Devil May Cry series, let alone action games, I find myself being very fond of this guy
Maybe if you've only played this game once, or only played 3 it may seem random, but the thing is Phantom is like a distillation of everything I want from an action game and he's the perfect example of something that's sadly almost gone from modern titles The N00b Killer
You start this new game you know nothing about, you look around the big ps2 castle, you look around taking in the atmosphere marvelling at the textures; there's a certain magic to 00s japanese games doing european locations...
You get the gist of the combat system and the movement with those spooky marionettes, man the flying wooden limbs are satisfying; it's like an old timey cartoon skeleton breaking apart
So far it's only been 3 levels, the only thing that migth've caused some damage were those annoying gun enemies that take half your hp, guess now you know sound cue = enemy's about to attack.
You also get the shotgun which makes quick work of bloody maris, ghosts and bugs, good stuff. Wo-hoa did you hear that CRUNCH when you kill the bugs? I didn't know something so gross could be so satisfying hehe
You just acquired your sword, this game is so hardcore something as simple as getting your weapon is turned into a ludicrosly bloody event.
So as you enter this demonic church to get anohter puzzle piece you're probably still thinking you're into the tutorial stage right? Think again.
Most players will die a horrible death on their first time they fight phantom, and probably game over since the game has limited continues you have to buy or you're booted back to the main screen, and they're expensive! And you need the money to buy moves man! And grinding takes forever!
Be a bitch and give up, or become a Real Devil Hunter
(a thousand modern game devs just had a heart attack reading that sentence)
Trial By Fire (literally)
Let's say you survive the first couple hits
You fight the biggest enemy you've seen so far in a cramped space, the pillars are in your way and the camera is fixed, if you try to run away he'll fire at you from off screen; I hope you learned sound cue=incoming pain. Don't have the movement system figured out yet? *try again theme*
Have you been spamming guns? Too bad, he's armored and even shooting the face does little to no damage; said armor also teaches you swinging your sword blindly will get you nowhere.
You learned to dodge the fireballs? Great! Now learn to dodge two more ranged attacks with different timings all of which take out half yuour hp, you didn't think he was just gonna use one move right? Hope you explored and found some blue orbs, or this fight will be even harder! (I know you haven't)
By the way when you jump you have invincibility frames, you'll be forced to learn that because despite his size he can jump 30 meters in the air only and crush you like an ant, and also he's gonna counter if you figure out the face isnt armored.
How many times have you died I wonder..
Good thing the first 2 levels arent that long, by now that *try again theme* must've been drilled into your brain, but you can do it.
After enough ass kickings the determined player will either go for the face or realize they can air attack his back, and with enough hit run jumps they will get overcome this, possibly with one hp left
*phew*
Next level
But wait!
Hope you saved after the chapter ended, cause as soon as you take a couple steps into this narrow corridor level phantom will ambush you, he's a sore loser
Most players will panic, get hit and take another game over, then they'll figure out you can just ender the first door you find and you're safe. But if you wanna get ballsy..you can just let him chase you and finish him off in the corridor for a fat reward, he has like a third of his hp now!
After another pretty epic boss that will teach you how to parry and that pipe organs make everything more epic (much like rain), phantom chases you again in the sewers, this fucker really wants you dead. Same as before but the game is kind enough to toss a few hp orbs your way, players with big bouncy yarblockos know what to do.
Recess time is over, BOY!
It's mission 8, by now you've faced several bastard minibosses, learned to DODGE, how much friggin damage helm breaker does if you jump against the wall, how to manage devil trigger, and that Kamiya definelt has a thing for bosses coming down from big round stained glass ceiling windows because Biohazard 2, Viewtiful Jow 2 and this game all do it.
The sore loser is back one final time to tell you he's not holding back this time, he was already hinting at Dante's power when he first saw him, saying he "sensed something bigger"
You know the drill by now, dodge and helm break. Maybe by now you've noticed you can actually reflect the fireballs back to him or make him swallow his own attack with a stinger to the face as he's charging up..
He goes down easy , this obstactle that seemed so Impossible at first has been overcome. Phantom is melting away in disbelief as he realizes who he was fighting, and by now the player will feel as confident as Dante, and the game has been introduced. Sweet Dreams.
This is only the beginning
During future runs, core players will realise there's actually so many ways you can defeat that impossible boss. You can stunlock him over and over with air hike helm breaker, or a well timed wall jum helm breaker. If you're on normal difficulty, air raid completly makes him a joke; you can humiliate him by deflecting his big balls alls over and over or you can win his second fight by simply making him jump 5 times on the stained glass window which will make him fall to hisn death. He's still teaching you new things, how every enemy in this games has multiple ways they can be defeated, and you're encouraged to express yourself and choose your approach. Not bad for a game that looks so simplistic at the surface.
So much of makes this game tick is encapsuled into this fight. The Dante's character, the intimidating enemies, how every battle has multiple solutions and hidden mechanics, how to know when to takes risks, how you gotta facture in the time for each swing, how different the gme is on hard and dante must die because now you're gonna have to make up an entire new strategy since he's more aggressive and resistant, how much money there is in secret fights if you're willing to risk a yellow orb, to not give up...
It will take you quite a while to figure out everything and master it, now I can do it in my sleep, and That is the best part of action games
Going from this
To this
I can tell ol' Kamiya-san has a soft spot for him too cause he sorta re-did him with Fortitudo in Bayonetta (lava monster that chases you throughout the first portion of the game) and then straight put him in the game as summon in 1&3 and as a boss in 2
Viewtiful Jow also has a similar n00b killer 1st boss with the helicopter by the way...
By the way little tangent, have you noticed how Devil May Cry and Biohazard 2 end the same way? Spoilers for a 23 year old game I guess:
(you can read it here https://retrogametalk.com/threads/players-may-cry-a-devil-may-cry-2001-review.3334/)
With all the memorable bosses from the Devil May Cry series, let alone action games, I find myself being very fond of this guy
What a big surprise. I hope for youe sake you have something inside that Big Body of yours *controller vibrates with the knock knock*Maybe if you've only played this game once, or only played 3 it may seem random, but the thing is Phantom is like a distillation of everything I want from an action game and he's the perfect example of something that's sadly almost gone from modern titles The N00b Killer
You start this new game you know nothing about, you look around the big ps2 castle, you look around taking in the atmosphere marvelling at the textures; there's a certain magic to 00s japanese games doing european locations...
You get the gist of the combat system and the movement with those spooky marionettes, man the flying wooden limbs are satisfying; it's like an old timey cartoon skeleton breaking apart
So far it's only been 3 levels, the only thing that migth've caused some damage were those annoying gun enemies that take half your hp, guess now you know sound cue = enemy's about to attack.
You also get the shotgun which makes quick work of bloody maris, ghosts and bugs, good stuff. Wo-hoa did you hear that CRUNCH when you kill the bugs? I didn't know something so gross could be so satisfying hehe
You just acquired your sword, this game is so hardcore something as simple as getting your weapon is turned into a ludicrosly bloody event.
So as you enter this demonic church to get anohter puzzle piece you're probably still thinking you're into the tutorial stage right? Think again.
Most players will die a horrible death on their first time they fight phantom, and probably game over since the game has limited continues you have to buy or you're booted back to the main screen, and they're expensive! And you need the money to buy moves man! And grinding takes forever!
Be a bitch and give up, or become a Real Devil Hunter
(a thousand modern game devs just had a heart attack reading that sentence)
Trial By Fire (literally)
Let's say you survive the first couple hits
You fight the biggest enemy you've seen so far in a cramped space, the pillars are in your way and the camera is fixed, if you try to run away he'll fire at you from off screen; I hope you learned sound cue=incoming pain. Don't have the movement system figured out yet? *try again theme*
Have you been spamming guns? Too bad, he's armored and even shooting the face does little to no damage; said armor also teaches you swinging your sword blindly will get you nowhere.
You learned to dodge the fireballs? Great! Now learn to dodge two more ranged attacks with different timings all of which take out half yuour hp, you didn't think he was just gonna use one move right? Hope you explored and found some blue orbs, or this fight will be even harder! (I know you haven't)
By the way when you jump you have invincibility frames, you'll be forced to learn that because despite his size he can jump 30 meters in the air only and crush you like an ant, and also he's gonna counter if you figure out the face isnt armored.
How many times have you died I wonder..
Good thing the first 2 levels arent that long, by now that *try again theme* must've been drilled into your brain, but you can do it.
After enough ass kickings the determined player will either go for the face or realize they can air attack his back, and with enough hit run jumps they will get overcome this, possibly with one hp left
*phew*
Next level
But wait!
Hope you saved after the chapter ended, cause as soon as you take a couple steps into this narrow corridor level phantom will ambush you, he's a sore loser
Most players will panic, get hit and take another game over, then they'll figure out you can just ender the first door you find and you're safe. But if you wanna get ballsy..you can just let him chase you and finish him off in the corridor for a fat reward, he has like a third of his hp now!
After another pretty epic boss that will teach you how to parry and that pipe organs make everything more epic (much like rain), phantom chases you again in the sewers, this fucker really wants you dead. Same as before but the game is kind enough to toss a few hp orbs your way, players with big bouncy yarblockos know what to do.
Recess time is over, BOY!
It's mission 8, by now you've faced several bastard minibosses, learned to DODGE, how much friggin damage helm breaker does if you jump against the wall, how to manage devil trigger, and that Kamiya definelt has a thing for bosses coming down from big round stained glass ceiling windows because Biohazard 2, Viewtiful Jow 2 and this game all do it.
The sore loser is back one final time to tell you he's not holding back this time, he was already hinting at Dante's power when he first saw him, saying he "sensed something bigger"
You know the drill by now, dodge and helm break. Maybe by now you've noticed you can actually reflect the fireballs back to him or make him swallow his own attack with a stinger to the face as he's charging up..
He goes down easy , this obstactle that seemed so Impossible at first has been overcome. Phantom is melting away in disbelief as he realizes who he was fighting, and by now the player will feel as confident as Dante, and the game has been introduced. Sweet Dreams.
This is only the beginning
During future runs, core players will realise there's actually so many ways you can defeat that impossible boss. You can stunlock him over and over with air hike helm breaker, or a well timed wall jum helm breaker. If you're on normal difficulty, air raid completly makes him a joke; you can humiliate him by deflecting his big balls alls over and over or you can win his second fight by simply making him jump 5 times on the stained glass window which will make him fall to hisn death. He's still teaching you new things, how every enemy in this games has multiple ways they can be defeated, and you're encouraged to express yourself and choose your approach. Not bad for a game that looks so simplistic at the surface.
So much of makes this game tick is encapsuled into this fight. The Dante's character, the intimidating enemies, how every battle has multiple solutions and hidden mechanics, how to know when to takes risks, how you gotta facture in the time for each swing, how different the gme is on hard and dante must die because now you're gonna have to make up an entire new strategy since he's more aggressive and resistant, how much money there is in secret fights if you're willing to risk a yellow orb, to not give up...
It will take you quite a while to figure out everything and master it, now I can do it in my sleep, and That is the best part of action games
Going from this
To this
I can tell ol' Kamiya-san has a soft spot for him too cause he sorta re-did him with Fortitudo in Bayonetta (lava monster that chases you throughout the first portion of the game) and then straight put him in the game as summon in 1&3 and as a boss in 2
Viewtiful Jow also has a similar n00b killer 1st boss with the helicopter by the way...
By the way little tangent, have you noticed how Devil May Cry and Biohazard 2 end the same way? Spoilers for a 23 year old game I guess:
- A mysterious sexy lady comes up to our handsome main character with beautiful hair
- She shows up sparingly throughout the game and watches him from the shadows
- She trurns out to be a spy who ended up taking a liking to the hero
- In the end she sacrifices herself for him
- The hero screams at the sky dramatically with sad music in the backround holding her in his arms
- Everything is about to blow up, the hero bids the girl farewell
- But wait! The final boss is still alive! Theres no way out!
- But wait! The girl is alive and assists you in dealing the final blow!
- The hero escapes using a vehicle that you previously walked past
- Cool one liner
- Rocking credits theme
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. All that buildup leading to an anticlimactic victory. Well atleast i did get the chance to get better in the game before beating him. I bet itll come in handy if i ever want to replay the game on higher difficulties.
