History YMMV / DevilMayCry4

* WeWantOurJerkBack: Some fans prefer Lady's [[{{Tsundere}} original]] [[StraightMan characterisation]] in ''3'' to her showing here, feeling that her new personality (essentially "female Dante") was a bit uninspired and did the character a disservice.

* UnnecessaryMakeover: Lady's new design in this game can be seen as this depending on the fan, considering she wasn't unattractive to begin with and appealed to many players in ''3''.

* TaintedByThePreview: "NERO!" For context, Nero's mere existence as a love-struck, foul-mouthed replacement for Dante got many people up in arms. And as noted in ReplacementScrappy on [[YMMV/DevilMayCry the main YMMV page]], even though [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap most fans warmed up to him]] [[VindicatedByHistory over time]], that negative first impression still remains for some.

** Nero is eventually revealed to [[spoiler:"have the blood of Sparda."]] '''Nobody cares.''' Dante just ignores it, Kyrie and Nero never learn it. All anyone gets out of it is Nero acquiring Yamato and accessing his Devil Trigger.
*** Subverted, Dante does in fact care, and fully knows the truth. That's why he let Nero keep the Yamato. even saying that it should be "kept in the family". FreezeFrameBonus shows that Dante had been keeping an eye on Nero during the prologue, before he [[BoomHeadshot shot Sanctus]].
** Not only that, but TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter to fight against in Bloody Palace mode. When playing as Nero or Dante in the Bloody Palace, the final boss... is Dante/[[PaletteSwap Shadow]] [[MirrorMatch Dante]] respectively. You never get to fight an A.I.-controlled Nero as the last boss when playing as Dante.

* GoodBadBugs: There are a ton of exploits in the game that are considered advanced tech, and raise the game's skill ceiling massively while making high level play incredibly spectacular. There's a reason why this game is considered by some to be the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Melee'' of the franchise, in that sense.
* HilariousInHindsight:

** Mission 6 is ThatOneLevel, where you have to play a board game by hitting a die, with a random chance of either fighting enemies or a previous boss, [[ScrappyMechanic which fans hated]]. Nine years later, ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' would use a similar mechanic for a boss fight, which fans [[Awesome/VideoGameBosses really liked]].
* MemeticMutation:

** The first ever voice acting role of Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (Nero's American voice actor) was Vash the Stampede in ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'', who, like Dante, is a gunslinging hero in a red coat.

** Because Dante wasn't tested in-depth due to the game being rushed, [[GoodBadBugs he has several mechanics exploits]] that turn him, [[DifficultButAwesome a character who already has a high execution barrier]], into something that can only be likened to a death machine traveling at Mach 2. One of the cornerstones of his inhuman mobility and combo potential revolves around [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOLRLcRQj_0 a mechanic]] referred to as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urn_z0bzgs0 "Inertia,"]] wherein jump canceling specific moves with horizontal momentum (e.g. Sky Star, Killer Bee, Full House) in a certain way will cause Dante to [[JumpPhysics drift through the air in various directions]]. From there, you to get to techniques [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K_fABSqeAI Guard]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhMxmOk8Srg Flying]] (aka Flying Guard/Sky Running), where canceling inertia-generated movement with his Guard will cause Dante to zip around the air at the player's whim. Similar but distinct is [[https://sites.google.com/site/darkwavestyle/games-research/devil-may-cry-4/dmc4---dante/action-loops-starraves-etc Star Rave,]] which involves canceling the first hit of Swordmaster's Aerial Rave with Trickster's Sky Star, then switching back to Swordmaster and jump canceling into another Aerial Rave--all in one fluid motion--for a potentially endless loop. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YALYaSVjyBU And this]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOIc5m6PwNY is only]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vx2TaYu_LY barely]] [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=382466026 scratching]] [[https://sites.google.com/site/darkwavestyle/games-research/devil-may-cry-4/dmc4---dante the]] [[http://www.phantombabies.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=11735 surface.]] [[SomeDexterityRequired Needless to say, your index fingers and thumbs will require A LOT of training.]]
*** Note that [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCC5F89938410209E other characters can make use of certain exploits available to Dante,]] such as releasing the target lock on an enemy during specific intervals mid-combo to freely control the direction of a subsequent attack that normally is bound by Lock-On (Stinger, Streak, Rapid Slash, etc.), thus [[https://sites.google.com/site/darkwavestyle/games-research/devil-may-cry-4/dmc4---dante/reversing "reversing"]] said attack; a "mastered" Dante just takes this to an entirely different level.
** Vergil in ''4:SE''. Carefully using the Concentration Gauge coupled with the Devil Trigger and Beowulf makes The Savior a 2-hit job.
*** From a platforming standpoint, Vergil now also has the ability to collect orbs at a distance by hitting them with his Summoned Swords. This renders the challenge of retrieving most of the hard-to-reach orbs scattered throughout the game completely moot, due to the sheer range at which the Summoned Swords are able to travel.
** Lady is this as well, thanks to being a character designed around fighting at a distance in a game where most enemies are designed around characters fighting at close-range. Her inherent flaws are supposedly 1.) no Devil Trigger and no accompanying health regeneration making her significantly squishier than her demonic allies; and 2.) she has very limited close-range options. Those might sound like good trade-offs for her gun combat, but almost nothing in the game can deal with the fact that she just sits across the room and mows everything down, and even up close, her fully charged shotgun blasts deal ludicrous damage.

* EarWorm: Following in the footsteps of Dante's battle music from ''3'', the introduction of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iBNMn6GUss "Shall Never Surrender"]] (Nero's battle theme and the main theme of the game) ''will'' get stuck in your head.

* CrazyAwesome: Most [[CutscenePowerToTheMax cutscenes]] qualify. Dante performs Jeet Kune Do on a demon, Nero reloads bullets by throwing them in the air and making his revolver's cartridge grab them, etc. It's hard to say if ''4'' [[SerialEscalation successfully managed to one-up its predecessor]], but if the game failed in that endeavor, it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Comes right out of nowhere? Check. Has nearly nothing to do with the plot? Check. Ridiculously way over the top? Check. Never mentioned again? Check. If [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Dante and Agnus going Shakespeare on one another]] isn't a complete BLAM, what is? However, unlike many versions of this trope, [[NarmCharm this is considered one of the best parts of the game]].

* WhatAnIdiot: Trish. [[spoiler:Taking a powerful sword capable of subduing the Prince of Darkness and handing it to a CorruptChurch is NOT a good idea.]] It may not necessarily be idiocy at play, though; judging from the way she and Dante act throughout the course of the game, it was likely a stunt she pulled without his permission [[ItAmusedMe because it was fun]]. And considering that Dante is a OneManArmy and will curbstomp the bad guys anyway, any entertainment is welcome. Yet, Dante was right to respond to that by saying things will get messy: [[spoiler:we see human casualties in Fortuna City as a result of the villain having the necessaries to bring The Savior out, opting Agnus to release demons. It can be argued, however, that by gaining the trust of the Order, Trish was able to ascertain that they were evil far quicker than if they investigated by normal means, which may have possibly led to the Order becoming too powerful thanks to the progress of Agnus's research by the time they would've known for sure, resulting in even more deaths.]]
** It should also be noted that the plan only went wrong due to Nero. Without his interruption, [[spoiler:Yamato]] couldn't have been restored, which led to the aforementioned casualties, and the Order only intended to use the Sparda to power the Saviour, which they needed Dante to complete, and as shown with his battle with the fully powered Saviour, they couldn't have possibly been able to achieve such a goal. However, because Nero [[spoiler:shares Sparda's blood,]] they were able to use him as a replacement, ultimately leading to the plan falling apart.

** Chimera Assaults are especially so. To put it simply, on higher difficulties, simply trying to get near them is '''potential suicide'''.

** Okay, so whose great idea was it to invent the Proud Soul system and have it work [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts the exact same way]] as the regular Red Orb purchases? Some have argued it works due to allowing customizability, some have stated that it's frustrating due to only getting them at the end of every mission. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And we'll leave it at that.]]
** Whose great idea was it to put a time limit on Bloody Palace?

* DisappointingLastLevel: Dante's share of missions feature excessive {{backtracking}} and recycled bosses, and when you switch back to Nero, you're treated to a return of [[ScrappyMechanic the dice game]] from [[ThatOneLevel Mission 6]] combined with a BossRush for Mission 19. The second half of the game, though not without its enjoyable moments, is generally agreed to be much weaker than the first because of the lack of originality.

** Gloria's physical similarities to Music/LadyGaga, who made her debut in 2008 not long after the release of ''4'', have ''not'' gone unnoticed by the fans.

* ThatOneLevel: Mission 10 will make you ''hate'' [[LaserHallway lasers]] thanks to their difficulty in dodging. And that's just before fighting [[ThatOneBoss Dante]], who fights like a player would.

* CrazyAwesome: Most cutscenes qualify. Dante performs Jeet Kune Do on a demon, Nero recharges bullets by throwing them and making his gun grab them, etc. It's hard to say if ''4'' [[SerialEscalation successfully managed to one-up its predecessor]], but if the game failed in that endeavor, it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

** Blitz. They're more like Demonic Beetles, really, but most players can agree they'd rather fight an actual boss than one of these. Unfortunately, they're far from the only examples.

** Okay, so whose great idea was it to invent the Proud Soul system and have it work [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts the exact same way]] as the regular Red Orb purchases? Some have argued it works due to allowing customizability, some have stated that it's frustrating due to only getting them at mission ends. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And we'll leave it at that.]]

* PolishedPort: The PC version, which not only runs very smoothly on a wide array of systems, but puts higher-end systems to the test with ''[[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Legendary Dark Knight Mode]]'', which [[ZergRush fills the screen with enemies]]. Quite the breath of fresh air for PC gamers. It doesn't have a leaderboard, though.

** Okay, so whose great idea was it to invent the Proud Soul system and have it work [[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts the exact same way]] as the regular Red Orb purchases? Some have argued it works due to allowing customizability, some have stated that it's frustrating due to only getting them at mission ends. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement And we'll leave it at that.]]

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Comes right out of nowhere? Check. Has nearly nothing to do with the plot? Check. Ridiculously way over the top? Check. Never mentioned again? Check. If [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Dante and Agnus going Shakespeare on one another]] isn't a complete BLAM, what is? However, unlike many versions of this trope, [[NarmCharm is is considered one of the best parts of the game]].

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Comes right out of nowhere? Check. Has nearly nothing to do with the plot? Check. Ridiculously way over the top? Check. Never mentioned again? Check. If [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Dante and Agnus going Shakespeare on one another]] isn't a complete BLAM, what is?

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Sanctus]], while [[VillainWithGoodPublicity appearing to be the benevolent head]] of the [[CorruptChurch Order of the Sword]], is in fact a vicious monster. Sanctus covets the powers of Sparda and Vergil and plans on using their swords to control the power of a giant godlike golem, the Savior. To do this he feeds Nero and Kyrie to it, and had Dante not intervened they would have both been digested alive; he also murders his own loyal servant Credo for daring to defend his sister Kyrie, even mocking Credo for his love while impaling him on Yamato, claiming that the only thing that matters "is absolute power." The demons that have been killing people throughout the game have been released on Sanctus's orders. When Nero fights Sanctus, Sanctus uses Kyrie as a HumanShield. Despite his [[LightIsNotGood holy trappings and grandfatherly appearance]], Sanctus was an evil monster and one of the worst villains the series had to offer.

** Blitz. They're more like Demonic Beetles, really, but most players can agree they'd rather fight an actual boss than one of these. Far from the only one, though.

** Then there's Alto Angelo. Its lesser brethren, Bianco Angelo, can't fight back if backstabbed, but Alto can and will teleport like kids on crack, are impossible to Buster unless their shield is down, and like Bianco, cannot be [[YouWillNotEvadeMe snatched]]. EVER. [[note]]At least trying to use the Snatch on them doesn't hurt you or anything; the game just treats them like a grapple target from the platforming sections.[[/note]]

** Lady is this as well, thanks to being a character designed around fighting at a distance in a game where most enemies are designed around characters fighting at close-range. Her inherent flaws are supposedly 1.) No Devil Trigger and no accompanying health regeneration making her significantly squishier than her demonic allies; and 2.) She has very limited close-range options. Those might sound like good trade-offs for her gun combat, but almost nothing in the game can deal with the fact that she just sits across the room and mows everything down, and even up close, her fully charged shotgun blasts deal ludicrous damage.

** "KYRIE!!! KYRIEEEEEEE!!!!" Made even worse when Nero starts to have a reverse puberty similar to Dante's infamous ''[=DMC1=]'' moment when he cries after fighting Agnus.

* UnnecessaryMakeover: Lady's new design in this game, considering she wasn't unattractive to begin with and appealed to a lot of fans in ''3''.
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: ''4'' was released near the beginning of the seventh gen. To this day, it still looks damn good (on top of running at 60 FPS in an age where people would rather ignore playability for visuals).

* WhatAnIdiot: Trish. [[spoiler:Taking a powerful sword capable of subduing the Prince of Darkness and handing it to a CorruptChurch is NOT a good idea.]] It may not necessarily be idiocy at play, though; judging from the way she and Dante act throughout the course of the game, it was likely a stunt she pulled without his permission [[ItAmusedMe because it was fun]]. And considering that Dante is a OneManArmy and will curb stomp the bad guys anyway, any entertainment is welcome. Yet, Dante was right to respond to that by saying things will get messy: [[spoiler:we see human casualties in Fortuna City as a result of the villain having the necessaries to bring the Savior out, opting Agnus to release demons. It can be argued, however, that by gaining the trust of the Order, Trish was able to ascertain that they were evil far quicker than if they investigated by normal means, which may have possibly led to the Order becoming too powerful thanks to the progress of Agnus's research by the time they would've known for sure, resulting in even more deaths.]]

* BrokenBase: Creator/{{Capcom}}'s idea to release ''[[UpdatedRerelease Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition]]'' physically only in Japan and Asia. Some people were fine just so long as they got the game and encouraged others to import, while others demanded the physical release, especially considering ''[[VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry DmC: Definitive Edition]]'' was given one. Capcom's official statement was [[http://attackofthefanboy.com/news/devil-may-cry-4-special-edition-too-complicated-to-get-a-physical-disc-release/ too complicated to get a physical release]] didn't help matters.

* CrazyAwesome: Most cutscenes qualify. Dante performs Jeet Kune Do on a demon, Nero recharges bullets by throwing them and making his gun grab them, etc. It's hard to say if ''4'' [[SerialEscalation successfully managed to one-up its predecessor]], but if they didn't, it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

** Blitz. They're more like Demonic Beetles, really, but most players can agree they'd rather fight an actual boss than one of these. Far from the only one though.
** Chimera Assaults are especially so. To put it simply, in higher difficulty mode, simply trying to get near them is '''potential suicide'''.
** Then there's Alto Angelo. Its lesser brethren, Bianco Angelo, can't fight back if backstabbed, but Alto can and will teleport like kids on crack, impossible to Buster unless their shield is down, and like Bianco, cannot be [[YouWillNotEvadeMe snatched]]. EVER. [[note]]At least trying to use the Snatch on them doesn't hurt you or anything; the game just treats them like a grapple target from the platforming sections.[[/note]]

* WhatAnIdiot: Trish. [[spoiler:Taking a powerful sword capable of subduing the Prince of Darkness and handing it to a CorruptChurch is NOT a good idea.]] It may not necessarily be idiotic and possibly done because [[ItAmusedMe it amused her]]. Judging from the way she and Dante act throughout the course of the game, it was a stunt she pulled without his permission because it was fun. Considering that Dante is a OneManArmy and will curbstomp the bad guys anyway, any entertainment is welcome. Yet Dante was right to respond to that by saying things will get messy: [[spoiler:we see human casualties in Fortuna City as a result of the villain having the necessaries to bring the Savior out, opting Agnus to release demons. It can be thought of, however, that by gaining the trust of the Order, Trish was able to ascertain that they were evil far quicker than if they investigated by normal means, which may have possibly lead to them becoming too powerful thanks to the progress of Agnus' research by the time they knew for sure, resulting in more deaths.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The [[spoiler:[[CorruptChurch Order of the Sword]]]] in seems like an obvious TakeThat against UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, but the director denies this is the case.

* DesignatedHero: Trish, for [[spoiler:giving the most powerful weapon in the game to the Order, allowing them to wreak havoc much faster than they would have originally. The only thing possibly keeping Trish a hero is that she's sided with Dante and posing as a ReverseMole under the guise of Gloria.]]
* DisappointingLastLevel: Dante's share of missions feature excessive {{backtracking}} and recycled bosses, and when you switch back to Nero, you're treated to a return of [[ScrappyMechanic the dice game]] from [[ThatOneLevel Mission 6]] combined with a BossRush for Mission 19. The second half of the game, though not without its enjoyable moments, is generally agreed to be much weaker than the first because of the lack of originality.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Sanctus]], while [[VillainWithGoodPublicity appearing to be the benevolent head]] of the [[CorruptChurch Order of the Sword]], is in fact a vicious monster. Sanctus covets the powers of Sparda and Vergil and plans on using their swords to control the power of a giant godlike golem, the Savior. To do this he feeds Nero and Kyrie to it, and had Dante not intervened they would have both been digested alive; he also murders his own loyal servant Credo for daring to defend his sister Kyrie, even mocking Credo for his love while impaling him on Yamato, claiming that the only thing that matters "is absolute power." The demons that have been killing people throughout the game have been released on Sanctus's orders. When Nero fights Sanctus, Sanctus uses Kyrie as a HumanShield. Despite his [[LightIsNotGood holy trappings and grandfatherly appearance]], Sanctus was an evil monster and one of the worst villains the series had to offer.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Sanctus]], while [[VillainWithGoodPublicity appearing to be the benevolent head]] of the {{corrupt| Church}} [[CrystalDragonJesus Order of the Sword]], is in fact a vicious monster. Sanctus covets the powers of Sparda and Vergil and plans on using their swords to control the power of a giant godlike golem, the Savior. To do this he feeds Nero and Kyrie to it, and had Dante not intervened they would have both been digested alive. Sanctus is the only person to kill a human on-screen by murdering his own loyal servant Credo for daring to defend his sister Kyrie. Sanctus even [[EvilCannotComprehendGood mocks Credo for his love]] while impaling him on Yamato, claiming that the only thing that matters "is absolute power." The demons that have been killing people throughout the game have been released on Sanctus's orders. When Nero fights Sanctus, [[DirtyCoward Sanctus uses Kyrie]] as a HumanShield. Despite his [[LightIsNotGood holy trappings and grandfatherly appearance]], Sanctus was an evil monster and one of the worst villains the series had to offer.