History EarlyInstallmentWeirdness / DevilMayCry1

** The Force Edge itself is much weaker than a Devil May Cry 3 or 4: Special Edition newcomer will expect after witnessing Vergil's use. Before becoming the Sparda, it lacks many moves like Round Trip and Stinger which Vergil can use with the Force Edge, which Dante had no problem using with any other melee sword weapon. As even Arkham's use demonstrated the Force Edge has immense power even without becoming the Devil Sword Sparda, it's jarring how quickly the player's expected to bench the Force Edge once they get the Alastor.

** The Force Edge itself is much weaker than a Devil May Cry 3 or 4: Special Edition newcomer will expect after witnessing Vergil's use. Before becoming the Sparda, it lacks many moves like Round Trip and Stinger which Vergil can use with the Force Edge, which Dante had no problem using with any other melee sword weapon.

* There are a total of 23 missions[[note]]From ''Devil May Cry 2'' to ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'', the mission count goes up to 20 or less[[/note]], though some of the levels are very short. A few missions also have an intermission period between them.

* The platforming sections don't mix well with the movement physics or static camera. Unfortunately, the movement mechanics and controls are also too sluggish (you could only "dodge" by jumping or rolling sideways, whereas later games from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' onwards give Dante more evasive options other than those), or not that expansive (two of the face buttons do the same attacks).

* Ifrit's LauncherMove, Magma Drive, is a typical uppercut done on the ground. From ''3'' onwards, the launchers of the later gauntlet-type weapons rise up like {{Shoryuken}}s as a part of ''Devil May Cry'' paying {{homage}} to its fellow Creator/{{Capcom}} franchise, ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. The grounded version are similar to Magma Drive, so it's not completely gone.

* Ifrit's LauncherMove, Magma Drive, is a typical uppercut done on the ground. From ''3'' onwards, the launchers of the later gauntlet-type weapons are straight-up {{Shoryuken}}s as a part of ''Devil May Cry'' paying {{homage}} to its fellow Creator/{{Capcom}} franchise, ''Franchise/StreetFighter''.

* The GameOver text of ''[=DMC1=]'' is "You Are Dead", which is based from the recurring "You Died" game-over texts of the early ''Resident Evil'' games. Ironically enough, most ''RE'' games released since 2002 also use "You Are Dead", while the next ''DMC'' games have their own distinct phrases that separate them from the ''RE'' origins of the first; there's "Your soul is doomed." for ''[=DMC2=]'', "Rest in peace" for ''[=DMC3=]'', "Abandon all hope..." for ''[=DMC4=]'', "The last judgment draweth nigh..." from ''[=DMC5=]'', and "Game Over..." for ''[=DmC=]''.

* This game contains elaborate monster descriptions (called "Enemy Files") which grow more detailed as you fight them, recording every attack they use against you. The sequels also have Enemy Files, but they only have short descriptions, paragraphs or FlavorText, and by nature, are static text without the gimmick of recording every attack information.

* This game contains elaborate monster descriptions (called [[MonsterCompendium "Enemy Files"]]) which grow more detailed as you fight them, recording every attack they use against you. The sequels also have Enemy Files, but they only have short descriptions or FlavorText, and without the gimmick of recording every attack information.

* The bosses' health bars are located on top of the HUD above Dante's health bar. Later installments moved it below the HUD. This is also the only ''DMC'' game that makes the enemy health bar display exclusive to bosses, unlike most of the next games that display the health bar of any enemy you're locked-on to.

* Another element of ''Resident Evil'' that made the transition was its [[GoshDangitToHeck surprising reluctance to using coarse language]]. Dante's "Flock off, feather face!" is seen as a clever {{pun}} of the F-word because he's talking to a giant bird, even though ''[=DmC=]: Devil may Cry'' and ''Devil May Cry 5'' [[RuderAndCruder outright mention]] the word "fuck". The Demon World is also named "Hell" in the rest of the series, but is instead referred to as just "the Underworld" in the first game.

* In NewGamePlus playthroughs, previously-collected Blue Orbs are replaced with Yellow Orbs, unlike in later games where they are replaced by either Red Orbs or nothing at all in subsequent playthroughs.
* The only RealTimeWeaponChange is between Alastor and Ifrit; you must go into the pause menu to select anything else, particularly guns. Switching between the two weapons also triggers a lengthy animation in-between.

* Within the original continuity, this is the only game where Dante mostly remains in his human form while in [[SuperMode Devil Trigger]] state; he gains a BattleAura but temporarily shifts into a demonic appearance only when attacking or performing weapon-specific moves, and then shifts back to his human form when idle. In later games, Dante's Devil Trigger state persistently shifts him into his demonic appearance for its entire duration.

As the very first installment in the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, there are many aspects that would be changed, reworked or phased out in the future games.

* This and ''2'' are the only games in the series that don't have any meter or gauge near the [[AwesomenessMeter Stylish Rank]] displayed on the HUD.

* This is the only ''DMC'' game where you cannot upgrade your guns or buy any new skills for them.
* The platforming sections don't mix well with the movement physics or static camera. Unfortunately, the movement mechanics and controls are also too sluggish (you could only "dodge" by jumping or rolling sideways, whereas later games from ''3'' onwards give Dante more evasive options other than those), or not that expansive (two of the face buttons do the same attacks).

* There are a total of 23 missions[[note]]From ''[=DMC2=]'' to ''[=DmC=]'', the mission count goes up to 20 or less[[/note]], though some of the levels are very short. A few missions also have an intermission period between them.

* The revival item in this game is called a "Yellow Orb", while its counterpart in the sequels is called a "Gold Orb" instead. ''[=DMC1=]'' also handles its game over options differently than its sequels. The lack of a convenient level select and a non-restrictive checkpoint system means that you either have to reload a previous file or return to the title screen if you died without a Yellow Orb in hand, unlike later games where you can easily retry by continuing from a checkpoint if you don't have a revival item. You are also forced to use any available Yellow Orb upon death, unlike later games (from ''3'' onwards) where you can choose not to use a revival item. Reviving with a Yellow Orb also takes you back to the previous room, checkpoint, or the beginning of a mission, unlike the Gold Orb in later games that revives you on-the-spot.

* Some red sealed doors have to be unlocked by [[CashGate spending red orbs]], while doors that require [[KillEnemiesToOpen enemies to be defeated to open]] are white/gray instead. The games from ''3'' onwards would consistently use red doors or barriers for their "kill enemies to open" encounters, and would completely drop the CashGate requirements.

* When Devil Trigger is active, gun attacks are replaced with elemental projectiles depending on what melee weapon is equipped. None of the later games retain this exact mechanic (''2'' has a similar feature, but it's determined by what's equipped on the Amulet instead of a weapon).
* ''1'' is the only game in the series that has unique fatalities performed on Dante when at critical health.
* ''[=DMC1=]'' has a gimmick wherein the enemies' attack at the end of their MookDebutCutscene actually transitions into an immediate attack in-game that damages Dante if he doesn't dodge. Although this is a neat cutscene-to-gameplay transition technique, it is no longer present in later games.
* This and ''2'' are the only ones to have no camera control. ''3'' and ''4'' allowed some control of the camera while ''[=DmC=]'' and ''5'' allowed full control of it.
* The jump button (X) being switched in the US and EU version of the game. This was later fixed in the [[UpdatedReRelease HD Collection]].

* The game doesn't have a Bloody Palace mode[[note]]Introduced in ''2'', missing in ''3'', returned in the Special Edition of the latter, and continued to show up for the rest of the series.[[/note]].
* This and ''2'' placed heavy emphasis on gunplay; guns are much stronger in this game and ''2'' than in the later games, and the wide variety of guns available to the player creates incentive for them to use it. ''3'' made gunplay less important by giving the player more tools to close the gaps between Dante and his enemies and the style system made melee combat more important to maintaining a high rank.

* With the vanilla version of ''3'', this is one of the only two games where Dante is the sole playable character.

* Another element of ''Resident Evil'' that made the transition was its [[GoshDangitToHeck surprising reluctance to using coarse language]]. Dante's "Flock off, feather face!" is seen as a clever {{pun}} of the F-word because he's talking to a giant bird, even though ''[=DmC=]'' and ''5'' [[RuderAndCruder outright mention]] the word "fuck". The Demon World is also named "Hell" in the rest of the series, but is instead referred to as just "the Underworld" in the first game.