Can someone help me not suck at Devil May Cry?

[Flake]

I've decided to try and get into the Devil May Cry series having somehow avoided it for a very long time.

I'm playing the original game and...well...golly but I suck. I am on the second mission and already I can't seem to make any progress. Like...I am dying in the freaking hallway I start in.

There is an 'easy' mode that I can choose but I am reluctant to do that since I don't want to risk missing learning how to play the game properly - that might make the sequels even harder if there isn't a similar easy mode.

So any Devil May Cry masters who can give me some advice on how to manage all these enemies?

[Veno]

My advice, don't go all offensive. That may be possible in DMC3 since the combo system is very free form, but DMC1 is a lot more restricted in combat. I'm assuming you're fighting those puppets.

Slash twice, pause, then keep slashing to do that million stab combo. That works wonders. Also, do helm breaker more often, where you jump then slam your sword down.

That usually does it for me. DMC1 can be hard to get used to, and there's not much advice I can give except roll more often and shoot from far away.

[Flake]

So it's not bad form to rely on the guns? So far the only thing that is working for me is to needle them with the pistols and then rush them when they are about to die. It's kind of time consuming so I get impatient and rush to my death in melee.

[Veno]

Not bad form at all, just another playstyle. It can be time consuming, but if it works for you, go ahead. But the million stab combo works better imo since they can't attack you while you're stabbing them to death, and if something else is about to hit you, you can jump out of the combo and helm breaker them.

[Xeogred]

Yeah I don't know what to say. You need to be patient kind of like in the Ninja Gaiden games always watching your enemies moves, ready to counter at any opening when available and constantly dodging. It's also always good to slash the enemies into the air if you can and then combo them a bit with the guns or anything. I can't remember how well this worked in the first game though.

[Soldier Blue]

Eh good luck with the first boss (spider) that guy is a bitch.
One thing that helps with fighting is if you are constantly jumping in the air with your sword. Jus keep on hoping around so no one corners you.

I use the sword move that shoots the enemies up into the air a lot. You can shoot 'em up into the air with sword and then shoot them with a gun while they are airbourne.

[D.D.D.]

It's been a while but I didn't think DMC was that hard. DMC3:SE AKA Suicidal Edition, was just punishment.

[Gamerforlife]

You can't compare DMC to Ninja Gaiden. They play very differently and I've always found the NG games easier as there are always things you can exploit against your enemies. I mean the first NG was mostly all about blocking, countering, izuna drop, things die. Rinse, repeat. You have to really work for your victories in the DMC games though, except for the second one but who really counts that game as part of the series?

I will say this. When you reach the part where the spider boss chases you down the hall, man up and try to actually kill him. I don't think you have to kill him to proceed, but you should. You can save and exit out of the game after you kill him and collect his red orbs. This is an easy way to load on orbs and upgrade Dante, as well as purchase items. That will make the rest of the game MUCH easier. It gets much easier if you can devil trigger and fly around shooting lightning bolts at him to kill him quicker

and it's not cheating to use this trick. I don't consider exploits cheating personally. If it's in the game, it's all fair game in my book

[Gamerforlife]

What I meant in that last post is you can keep killing him over and over again for orbs. I'd post a youtube link but it's so damn hard to find anything with youtube's shitty search engine these days

[Flake]

Yep, that spider sucks. At least this game is designed with a mission structure instead of a Metroidvania approach. Otherwise I'd be very very frustrated instead of a little challenged but still wanting to like this game.