Devil May Cry (video game)

Devil May Cry is a 2001 action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 2. Set on a remote island, the story centers on Dante, a demon hunter who uses his business to carry out a lifelong vendetta against all demons. He meets a woman named Trish who takes him on a journey to defeat the demon lord Mundus, who is responsible for the deaths of Dante's brother and mother.

Devil May Cry was conceived by Capcom developers as a possible concept for Resident Evil 4. Due to the staff feeling it would not fit the Resident Evil franchise, the project became its own title. Several gameplay elements were also inspired by a bug found in Onimusha: Warlords. It is very loosely based on the Italian poem Divine Comedy by the use of allusions, including its protagonist Dante (named after Dante Alighieri) and other characters like Trish (Beatrice Portinari) and Vergil or Nelo Angelo (in later games revealed to be a brainwashed Vergil, who represents the Roman poet Virgil).

Devil May Cry received prominent coverage in the video game media due to the impact it had in the action-adventure genre, its high difficulty, and the high overall scores given to it by professional reviewers. It has sold more than three million copies, spawned multiple sequels and a prequel, and is considered among the greatest video games ever made.

Devil May Cry would go on to spawn a franchise, consisting of four sequels and a reboot, and two animated series. It has been cited as the beginning of a subgenre of arcade-style hack and slash melee focused action-adventure games called "character action" or "Extreme Combat", which focus on powerful heroes fighting hordes of foes with a focus on stylish action using a variety of attacks and weapons.