Timely bump. I've owned the DMC games for many years, and in as far as I've repeatedly dabbled with DMC1, 3, and 4, I've never really sat down with them and given them a chance to shine.
This changed once I finished Bayonetta, which I loved so much that I decided to follow it up with a complete DMC series run through. I was going to make a LTTP DMC Franchise thread, but I can't muster up the energy to do so.
I finished DMC1 with Dante only, and absolutely loved it. The gameplay sure is dated when compared to 3, 4, or Bayonetta, but the atmosphere is so fantastic. Probably the best of the series. I find the game to still be replayable today, and plan on revisiting it as Sparda eventually.
I finished both Lucia's and Dante's quests in DMC2, and thought that the game was a shattering disappointment. It's like someone modeled a sequel after only reading through a bullet listing of features, instead out of any kind of serious exposure to the original. I will never play this game again. Fuck Trish.
I just finished DMC3 SE on Saturday, and was thoroughly blown away. I know that Kamiya worked on DMC1 and Bayonetta, but despite not being involved in DMC3, he clearly grabbed a lot of inspiration from it for Bayonetta. So much so that Bayonetta feels more of a followup to DMC3 than his own DMC1. At least from a gameplay perspective. The game plays so fucking good, it's still quite relevant today I think. The characterization wasn't all that interesting when compared to DMC1, but the setting was way better than 1's, and the atmosphere almost as good. Another game that's incredibly replayable, and I fully intend on revisiting as Virgil in the near future. I loved that you could replay stages for orbs and continue powering yourself up, Bayonetta style. I did not appreciate the single-track natures of DMC1 and 2.
This leads me to DMC4, which I just started. It seems a bit toned down when compared to DMC3, but still plays and feels like an authentic DMC experience... unlike the 2nd game. I'm still only in the early missions, but I'm having a good time, and as much as I resisted Nero's character, I'm starting to appreciate the tweaked gameplay he offers. If things keep up, I expect that this will still wind up ranking pretty high on my action game list, right up there with Bayonetta, DMC3, and to a lesser extent, DMC1.
Really a fantastic series. I can't wait to see what Capcom whips up for DMC5.
Now, more than ever, I'm aching for the vaporware PSP release.