Ninja Theory Defends Dante Redesign [UPDATED]

[Josh Kurber]

I had a think about this, and after watching the trailer a couple of times I'm warming up to the idea- just so long as they change a few things.
First of all, where the fuck are Ebony and Ivory? Yes, revolvers are cool, but twin revolvers aren't Dante's weapons. Dante wields two extended barrel pistols with the impact force of a Barett 50 Cal., not some measly little six shooters. I know they're going for a wild west theme, but what the hell guys?
Next, white hair please. The new clothes are fine, but Dante without white hair isn't Dante.
Seriously Ninja Theory, what are you doing here?
Also, smoking? Dante. Doesn't. Smoke.
That's one of the things in the original design pitch- they decided not to make him smoke because Dante thought himself too cool for cigs. He was so egotistical he got his highs from lopping off heads with a sword the size of the Empire States Building; not narcotics.
The music and new settings are alright, I mean, the whole 70s vibe thing is pretty cool.
Will we see more characters? Trish? Lady? Even Nero? Oh wait, this is a bloody prequel. Thanks, Ninja Theory. Like we haven't had enough DMC (Notice the capital M) prequels.
What is with Dante's voice, too? The thing about Dante is that he isn't some gravelly voiced testosterone sack. I'm glad Ninja Theory weren't retarded enough to make him a testosterone sack, but I think I'd rather have testosterone than whiny emo looks.
To be fair, I'm judging this game on the aesthetics- and so should I! If your game looks shit, I'll assume it's shit.
If the destruction and platforming and swinging cars and shizzle makes an appearance, I'll be happy. Well, I won't actually, because I'm a DMC fanboy and because Dante looks worse than Nu-Cole. There, I got it out of my system. Notify when Ninja Theory graduate primary school.

I think this may help a little, maybe not.
1. According to the comics which I'm pretty sure are canon, he gets Ebony and Ivory not too long before the events of DMC3. He had them made because he pulls the trigger so fast he breaks most guns.
2. The white hair could be a manifestation of his demon powers. He may not have actually gotten the white hair until the first time he ever used his demon form. It's in Japanese mythology that people with special, often demonic powers have white hair.
3. Smoking? Yeah that's retarded but maybe they make a big deal out of him quitting. If not, it's a small issue.
4. The emo looks? Um... Oh look, a dog riding a unicycle!
[bolts down an alley]

Speaking of white hair... well...

I, for one, thinks the black hair looks better on this new Dante...

Just saying.

That's a terrible recolor, but I'll say I still think they're going to have him metamorphose. Theyy hinted as such.

My friend had done it, but either way, the new Dante does not look all that good with whitish hair. And he just may morph into the Dante we all love, or he could just be part of the remake. Apparently Ninja Theory can't make up their mind because they keep switching from prequel to reboot.

 

[Nicarus]

I'll buy into the redesign if DmC is an origins story, but that be one hell of a transition for Dante.

Badass devil hunter swinging a sword that rips anything in half starting from...that. ...and smokes. ...and is mentally crazy.

Oh yeah, this is one hell of a stretch.

EDIT: Actually, I'd never buy into the redesign. I remembered a critical part of the story that can't make this a plausible origins story: Where does Virgil play in all this?!

Remember, they are twins, and both have silver hair. Are you telling me both had brown hair and they both decided to dye their hair silver? Virgil didn't want to look like Dante whatsoever (as noted in DMC3).

So yeah. This can't be an origins story because it is too far from the REAL Dante!

Actually, Dante could have dyed his hair black in reference to always denying his Demon heritage, even going so far as to saying "Father? I have no father." When Vergil brought up Sparda in DMC3. He only accepted it around the time of DMC1.

EDIT: If you look closely in the trailer and pictures you can see a bit of his silver roots showing.

Also, Vergil, as a kid, was supposedly "killed" along with Eva, Dante's mom. No one knows what happened to him. DMC3 was the first time Dante saw Vergil since they were eight and he "died".

You bring up a pretty good point there. This is starting to sound more plausible. Not by much though; I'm still gonna wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Josh Kurber]

I'll buy into the redesign if DmC is an origins story, but that be one hell of a transition for Dante.

Badass devil hunter swinging a sword that rips anything in half starting from...that. ...and smokes. ...and is mentally crazy.

Oh yeah, this is one hell of a stretch.

EDIT: Actually, I'd never buy into the redesign. I remembered a critical part of the story that can't make this a plausible origins story: Where does Virgil play in all this?!

Remember, they are twins, and both have silver hair. Are you telling me both had brown hair and they both decided to dye their hair silver? Virgil didn't want to look like Dante whatsoever (as noted in DMC3).

So yeah. This can't be an origins story because it is too far from the REAL Dante!

Actually, Dante could have dyed his hair black in reference to always denying his Demon heritage, even going so far as to saying "Father? I have no father." When Vergil brought up Sparda in DMC3. He only accepted it around the time of DMC1.

EDIT: If you look closely in the trailer and pictures you can see a bit of his silver roots showing.

Also, Vergil, as a kid, was supposedly "killed" along with Eva, Dante's mom. No one knows what happened to him. DMC3 was the first time Dante saw Vergil since they were eight and he "died".

You bring up a pretty good point there. This is starting to sound more plausible. Not by much though; I'm still gonna wait to see how it turns out.

I believe that's how most people bashing this game should feel, instead of just mainly basing the entire game on his look. We've seen no gameplay nor do we know anything of the story.

Plus, Ninja Theory can't make up their fuggin' minds on whether it's a pre-prequel (Prequel of a prequel lol) or if it is a complete wiping of the original slate.

I rather enjoy the new look. It's different. And he is actually wearing stuff people would wear/look like. Considering his other outfits were pretty gothic (DMC 1 and 2), a model (DMC3) and a cowboy (DMC4). And by Gothic I don't mean the stereotypical "goth kid".

 

[faceless chick]

Well he looks like less of a transvestite now, so i'm gonna chalk that up as a plus.

no, if anything, he looks MORE like a transvestite now.
and to support this i have a completely neutral opinion. i went to my sources that never knew or cared about DMC or anything japanese/western/game-related (my parents) and they both agree new dante looks like shit compared to the old one, to quote "the old one looks like he can actually fight"

new dante looks too busy cutting himself to linkin park to care about the game's plot.

 

[Nicarus]

I'll buy into the redesign if DmC is an origins story, but that be one hell of a transition for Dante.

Badass devil hunter swinging a sword that rips anything in half starting from...that. ...and smokes. ...and is mentally crazy.

Oh yeah, this is one hell of a stretch.

EDIT: Actually, I'd never buy into the redesign. I remembered a critical part of the story that can't make this a plausible origins story: Where does Virgil play in all this?!

Remember, they are twins, and both have silver hair. Are you telling me both had brown hair and they both decided to dye their hair silver? Virgil didn't want to look like Dante whatsoever (as noted in DMC3).

So yeah. This can't be an origins story because it is too far from the REAL Dante!

Actually, Dante could have dyed his hair black in reference to always denying his Demon heritage, even going so far as to saying "Father? I have no father." When Vergil brought up Sparda in DMC3. He only accepted it around the time of DMC1.

EDIT: If you look closely in the trailer and pictures you can see a bit of his silver roots showing.

Also, Vergil, as a kid, was supposedly "killed" along with Eva, Dante's mom. No one knows what happened to him. DMC3 was the first time Dante saw Vergil since they were eight and he "died".

You bring up a pretty good point there. This is starting to sound more plausible. Not by much though; I'm still gonna wait to see how it turns out.

I believe that's how most people bashing this game should feel, instead of just mainly basing the entire game on his look. We've seen no gameplay nor do we know anything of the story.

Plus, Ninja Theory can't make up their fuggin' minds on whether it's a pre-prequel (Prequel of a prequel lol) or if it is a complete wiping of the original slate.

I rather enjoy the new look. It's different. And he is actually wearing stuff people would wear/look like. Considering his other outfits were pretty gothic (DMC 1 and 2), a model (DMC3) and a cowboy (DMC4). And by Gothic I don't mean the stereotypical "goth kid".

I'm not doubting that it could be a good game (Ninja Theory just brought out a good game recently with Enslaved). I'm just a bit reluctant at the moment with how Dante looks to believe this to be proper tribute.

By all means, it could be awesome. I'm just not going to believe it's Dante without good reason.

 

[TOGSolid]

I'm not doubting that it could be a good game (Ninja Theory just brought out a good game recently with Enslaved).

Problem: Enslaved is everything DMC is not. While it's being lauded for story and atmosphere, everyone agrees that the fighting mechanics are just bad. The draw of Devil May Cry is the mechanics. The stories have always been kind of a joke. DMC 3 is hailed as the best for a reason, and the story ain't it.

Both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved have terrible fighting engines and that doesn't bode well for DMC.

 

[SelectivelyEvil13]

I'm not doubting that it could be a good game (Ninja Theory just brought out a good game recently with Enslaved).

Problem: Enslaved is everything DMC is not. While it's being lauded for story and atmosphere, everyone agrees that the fighting mechanics are just bad. The draw of Devil May Cry is the mechanics. The stories have always been kind of a joke. DMC 3 is hailed as the best for a reason, and the story ain't it.

Both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved have terrible fighting engines and that doesn't bode well for DMC.

One of its worst case scenarios is that it's like the Bomberman 360 remake: bad design + bad gameplay. Looks aside, there is a lot more at stake, and a lot of it comes down to the mechanics as you said.

 

[spartan773]

What's wrong with dante's redesign? it's supposed to be a younger dante.

 

[Josh Kurber]

I'll buy into the redesign if DmC is an origins story, but that be one hell of a transition for Dante.

Badass devil hunter swinging a sword that rips anything in half starting from...that. ...and smokes. ...and is mentally crazy.

Oh yeah, this is one hell of a stretch.

EDIT: Actually, I'd never buy into the redesign. I remembered a critical part of the story that can't make this a plausible origins story: Where does Virgil play in all this?!

Remember, they are twins, and both have silver hair. Are you telling me both had brown hair and they both decided to dye their hair silver? Virgil didn't want to look like Dante whatsoever (as noted in DMC3).

So yeah. This can't be an origins story because it is too far from the REAL Dante!

Actually, Dante could have dyed his hair black in reference to always denying his Demon heritage, even going so far as to saying "Father? I have no father." When Vergil brought up Sparda in DMC3. He only accepted it around the time of DMC1.

EDIT: If you look closely in the trailer and pictures you can see a bit of his silver roots showing.

Also, Vergil, as a kid, was supposedly "killed" along with Eva, Dante's mom. No one knows what happened to him. DMC3 was the first time Dante saw Vergil since they were eight and he "died".

You bring up a pretty good point there. This is starting to sound more plausible. Not by much though; I'm still gonna wait to see how it turns out.

I believe that's how most people bashing this game should feel, instead of just mainly basing the entire game on his look. We've seen no gameplay nor do we know anything of the story.

Plus, Ninja Theory can't make up their fuggin' minds on whether it's a pre-prequel (Prequel of a prequel lol) or if it is a complete wiping of the original slate.

I rather enjoy the new look. It's different. And he is actually wearing stuff people would wear/look like. Considering his other outfits were pretty gothic (DMC 1 and 2), a model (DMC3) and a cowboy (DMC4). And by Gothic I don't mean the stereotypical "goth kid".

I'm not doubting that it could be a good game (Ninja Theory just brought out a good game recently with Enslaved). I'm just a bit reluctant at the moment with how Dante looks to believe this to be proper tribute.

By all means, it could be awesome. I'm just not going to believe it's Dante without good reason.

I haven't played Enslaved yet, but I rather enjoyed Heavenly Sword. It was really good in my opinion. I just hope they stick to the gameplay of the original DMC games, with maybe a few GOOD tweaks here and there.

 

[chinomareno]

I didn't think giant red trench coats, massive swords and white hair were in fashion for the last 8 years. Dantes character didn't walk into Tokyo bars to impress people or smoke like a tool the last time I saw him.

I pick the guy fighting Dead Pool in the MvsC3 trailers over this redesign any day.

 

[joemu362]

The new look isn't bad, per se. Admittedly, I was pretty shocked at seeing it, but being a DMC fan, I think I'm more concerned about whether or not the classic Dante 'tude will still be there. If he's just some angry angst-driven character anymore, THEN that's when I'd feel like the new take on him turned pear-shaped. All in all though, I'm holding onto my judgments until it's out.

 

[Icynoodles]

I'm not a fan of the new look Dante, he looks like a crack addict but that isn't my highest concern. My highest concern is the fact that it is a reboot of the franchise
Granted rebooting works well in a lot of occasions, but it also means there is nothing stopping the game developers making the story line nothing like the originals.

In short, the backstory should stay fairly close to the original (i.e Dante is the son of Sparda etc), and by the end of the game he should be awesome enough to make strawberry sundaes look butch
Other than that, do whatever.

 

[Joeman121]

Since when was emo cooler than badass?

I think it's less "emo" and more "druggie".


"If Dante, dressed as he was, walked into any bar outside of Tokyo, he'd get laughed out,"
-And this Dante looks like a drug addicted male prostitute, "skinny little ****" is not the same as thing as "cool".

"Ninja Theory creative director Tameem Antoniades, who some have pointed out looks like the new Dante (which he claims wasn't intentional)".

-This explains a so much.

"What Devil May Cry did when it launched was it brought everything that was great about action cinema like the fashion, music -- it was like a cultural melting pot -- and I feel like now, for Devil May Cry to have that same impact, it needs to draw on new things. New music, new ways of cinematography, new fashion."

-The entire point of Devil May Cry is going around killing demons and spouting one liners, yes, that is the point, Devil May Cry isn't about being serious and gritty, it's about a man (who's also half-demon, because demons are cool) killing demons and being a badass non-smoker (because smoking is a "gritty" character trait, and Devil May Cry is about being the OPPOSITE of gritty).


And for everyone saying his old design was bad, it reflected his personality, everything about it said he was a calm, cool ladies man, he was not a macho man, not a brooding pretty boy, but a manly man. And new design just says "dark and gritty drug addict", something that isn't exactly new.

Bump, but Dante is the opposite of manly, Kirby is more masculine compare to that kurt kobain edge head.

 

[Joeman121]

Since when was emo cooler than badass?

>implying that Dante was ever badass to begin with

Both Deadpool and Dante IMO come off as Spider-Man wannbes with a edgy quota. Literally there wise cracking nature comes from Peter Parker in terms of tone and being playful about it as well.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

I wonder if anyone's even played DmC because it didn't exactly take itself that seriously either.

People really got on Ninja Theory's ass for this but you know what?

1. It's not the original devs and they know they're not the original devs so they're doing their own thing.
2. Speaking as a heavy NGII and NGB fan, I liked the gameplay.
3. Dante in this new one still has a pretty uncaring attitude (within limits) so I have no idea what some of you are talking about.
4. He's SUPPOSED to look and act kinda young because he IS young. He's not supposed to be Zorro here, guys.