That is maybe something that COULD go into a DMC3 remake, though, isn't it? Giving Dante back his sense of purpose?
I kind of feel like some of the fumbling of his character stems from a lack of understanding of Kamiya's original concept. Kamiya once said (and the first games and novels reinforce it) that Dante purposefully acts cocky partially because he really is that confidant and partially because it's just an act intended to throw off his enemies.
I'm partial to the belief that
DMC3 was supposed to be the game explaining Dante's purpose or final sway into becoming the demon hunter we see in the first game....or at least, it appears the plot was intended that way. So him "getting back his sense of purpose" by game's end was supposedly something he
did achieve, albeit in a poorly-presented fashion that directly contradicts everything established in
DMC1. The only way I see of them fixing this in a remake is to do what the novel or
DmC did, where he "forgets" or loses sight of his purpose in some way...anything else would come off as an implication that Eva's death
isn't what motivated him to take up demon hunting, which would dismantle what is arguably Dante's defining trait.
And really, your assessment of the writers having insufficient understanding of Kamiya's perception of the character is something that also can be remedied if
DMC3 was remade. Dante's persona in the game
, like it or not, isn't really consistent with how he acts in
1 or the anime. It's too far over the top and comes off as a transparent and poor attempt of recapturing the cocky elements of Dante's character in the first game
. But the fact that it was the
ONLY character trait they decided to emphasize really makes it seem they only understood that aspect of Kamiya's Dante. They didn't incorporate his honorable or more professional aspects at all, things that, surprisingly, the novels actually did pretty well.
So, really, I think the most effective solution would be to either find someone akin to the novels' author who understands the original Dante better, or get Kamiya to supervise his characterization. That would be the closest we'd get to having an authentic origin story for Dante that's consistent with the first game, and properly achieve what
DMC3 was trying to attempt.
In your case, Wolf, anything and everything that is said about it seems to just be more evidence to you. Just reading a few sentences I very much get the impression that saying one thing is proof and saying the opposite is even more so, and insulting, to boot, but we'll have to agree to disagree and end it with respecting each other's opinions. No one wins, the thread survives.
That's perfectly fine. Really, everything I ranted about is in need of a proper, individual thread anyway. I hope you didn't take any of that as hostility towards you or anyone on this thread.
It was more me vocalizing my frustration with
DMC3's writers, if nothing else.
The game wasn't developed around the manga, but the game specifically references it with "it's been nearly a year since we last met" and the manga was made purposely to fill in the year ago events and explain why the characters are the way they are. Someone else said it earlier, it's supposed to "explain the animosity between the brothers". Until Capcom replaces or contradicts it with more canon material the same way they replaced the novel with 3, it is canon, otherwise people wouldn't be suggesting "Read the manga for more information about the twins". "Read the manga but skip a bunch of the characterization in it" doesn't come across to me as a good suggestion to make, no offense.
See, this is why whenever anyone tries to defend
DMC3's plot with the manga, I never take it seriously. The manga was written several months after the game, and there was no way Bingo Morihashi or the other scenario writers for the game had it in mind when penning the script for
3. It's even worse when people try to defend things like Vergil's non-existent motives or the lack of any illumination of him and Dante's relationship in the game by referncing the manga, when there's so many rampant inconsistencies contained with in it.
In fact, if
DMC3 is ever remade, it should avoid incorporating elements from the manga at all costs. If there's anything vital to the plot that can't fit, whoever writes the plot should provide some kind of companion novel like
DMC4: Deadly Fortune. Then, at least, there'd be a legitimate source to reference.
Alright, getting back to the original topic. I still do maintain my stance that a DMC3 remake would need a better handle on its dialogue to remove cringeworthy redundancies and better signify character development.
This. All of this.
Too much of
DMC3's vital narrative elements are left up to implication, even by admittance of people that try to defend it. Whenever Dante's growth or Vergil's motives are ever called into question, the go-to response from apologists is: "Well, it's
implied because of this" or "You have to read between the lines to understand this."
It shouldn't be the job of fans to dissect a script to find out what the vital propellants of the plot are. That's a fault of in cohesive dialogue and/or poor script planning. One of the common misconceptions people have about me when it comes to
DMC3 is that I hate the story itself, when that couldn't be farther from the truth. It's
HOW the story ended up being told---it has plenty of really good ideas, Vergil's character and the establishment of Dante's development being two of them, and are elements that could benefit from some slight tweaks and a better means of translating that to dialogue.
I think even the people who actually
like the third game's plot would consider this a necessary improvement. There's nothing wrong with revising a script for the sake of better establishing clarity. RPG remakes do this all the time...even Square Enix acknowledged how poorly the script for
Final Fantasy VII had aged when going into the remake, and are employing alterations to it to make it more serious for a modern remake.
With how implicit and frustratingly-vague
DMC's story can sometimes be, I don't think I'm alone in thinking this would be a positive change.
Also depending on just how Canon the Note of Naught art book is to DMC3 I'll revise my statement about Gilver being more evil than Vergil. That book says DMC3 used the same concept as DMC2 in that any humans in the -- lemme copypaste-- "the citizens in the city where Temen-Ni-Gru appeared (and where Dante lives) have transformed into lesser demons (the seven sins) due to being consumed by corruption and darkness. The other reason for citizens not being shown in this game was due to the PS2's technological capabilities."
Really? That's an interesting narrative and technical explanation for the lack of denizens in the city.
I wonder if a
DMC3 Remake would show those citizens transforming or running from the scene of Temen-Ni-Gru's ascension, now that they could develop it for a console more powerful than the PS2.
So, Dante killed people. Possibly kids too. But more importantly, Vergil was complicit in a plot that did the same thing to the citizens that Gilver did in the novel, turning random humans into demons against their will by unsealing the Demon World on them. That sounds... pretty damning.
Yeah, really puts Vergil's whole "being honorable" thing into question, but I'm not opening THAT rotting can of worms again.
Retreading close to topic, though, I think one thing a
DMC3 remake could also benefit from would be a redo of the motion-capture and voice-acting. Not just because Lady's new voice actress could be used, but also because....and I
know I'm gonna get blasted for this...I think Reuben Langdon's performance in
3 kind of sucks.
It just sounds so much more nasally and try-hard in
DMC3 than it does in the anime,
4, OR
Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and clashes with his perfect delivery in those games. I think redoing his lines would actually benefit the game quite a bit. (They can keep Daniel Southworth's clips from
3, though. They sound virtually identical to his delivery in
DMC4 and don't need re-recording).
I also think the addition of some more combat tracks would be welcome. I can't be the only one who finds unbelievable tedium in hearing "Taste the Blood"
every single time you enter combat with every enemy that isn't a Boss.
