DMC3 is pretty much an example of a game that was molded extensively through fan feedback. Even through the alpha stages the game was put under a microscope because no one wanted a repeat of DMC2. E3 trailer 2k4 trailer and demo while hype inducing also had some issues that had some fans worried and there was a Capcom representative known as Ben Judd who was constantly taking feedback. Since it was a team which wasn't that expert at making DMC, they were sort of lost on some of the more finer details in the game.
Stuff that I pretty much know was changed going from DMC2 to DMC3 thanks to fan feedback/input:
*Floaty physics from DMC2. We hated that shit and wanted Capcom to fix it. The DMC3 demo had floatier physics than it does now and the players on forums constantly wanted it toned down despite the demo still being quite awesome. This includes both the physics of Dante and the enemies plus their interaction when combos/juggles are taking place.
*Guns don't juggle standing enemies. Another thing we wanted reverted back to DMC1 style. Knockback on guns was terribly imbalanced. On top of that when you juggled opponents with the hand guns they shouldn't flop around like and nor should Dante. No one liked the idea of SMGs as it completely overshadows E&I the classical DMC weapon so it was removed from DMC3.
*Stinger and Hightime have the same impact they did in DMC1.
*More weapon classes. DMC2 idea of palette swap swords was awful. The chrono heart crap was bad too, didn't want that back. Fans especially wanted a gauntlet style weapon back so we got Beowulf.
*Removal of DDT. Insanely imbalanced mechanic that took the skill out of the game. People wanted multiple DT forms back as well from DMC1.
*Harder game. Demo was easier than the game we have now and fans still wanted a harder game. Capcom got so many requests to make DMC3 hard that they ramped the NA difficulty to almost unfair levels.
*Focus back on Dante as the main character. I personally liked the IDEA of a secondary character in DMC2 but most people just wanted to play Dante. I was very happy with the addition of Vergil in the SE.
*Dante not a mute and more stylish in personality. A lot of fans had a problem with the grim/mute Dante, people wanted more stylish antics and cheesy lines. We got a handful of those in DMC3.
*Stylish cutscenes and an action storyline. We got that too.
*Style system revamped. The roll/wall run mechanic was shoddy at best and the Rainstorm/Two Some time was pretty much useless but all of them were good ideas that people wanted expanded upon. We got the Style system from this.
*People liked the gun swap in realtime and wanted it for melee weapons too.
*Jump cancel (now known as enemy step cancel) made more useful was a fan request too. It ended up being pivotal to the advancement of DMC's game play in general.
*Close quarter environments. Another very big request from fans as the open areas of DMC2 messed with the balance of the game and the camera angles. Camera angles was also requested to be touched up but the main thing was that people wanted combat in tighter areas and we definitely got that.
*Epic boss fights and especially there were requests for a boss fight like Nelo Angelo as he was a fan favorite. We got Vergil.
*Combo strings style changed to DMC1. No one liked the directional combo style of DMC2, we wanted the timing based combo style of DMC1 back. We also wanted Million Stab to be bad ass again.
I am probably missing a metric ton of other stuff too. Haven't played DMC2 in a while so I am forgetting the more subtle stuff it does wrong which was fixed in DMC3. I was there during the whole process. Most of the DMC fans who were following DMC3 up to its release very closely knew this game was going to be very good just on the impressions of the demo alone but a lot of people were very skeptical about this. I still remember people looked at me weird when I said that DMC3's combat blows DMC1's combat away before the game even came out but I was sure on that shit.
El Shaddai I guess would be on this list too. Demon/Dark Souls I think have lots of good action game sensibilities (enemies operate on a very similar level to you, possible to do no damage runs, etc).
El Shaddai counts for sure and it's a pretty decent pick in fact. Demon/Dark Souls felt more like an RPG to me. Action game traits for sure but still more an RPG than a full on action game IMO. A god tier game IMO, we need more games like it.
