Gameplay
Gameplay in Devil May Cry 4 is like previous games in the series. The player must fight through levels called "missions", occasionally solving puzzles or gathering items. Performance in a mission is graded from "D", the lowest grade, to "A" then "S", "SS", and "SSS", the highest grade. Grades are based on items used, Red Orbs gathered, time taken, and the number of Style Points accumulated. Each Style Point grade has its own tag-word. The stylish grade shows up on the side of the screen and begins at "Deadly" (D); progresses through "Carnage" (C), "Brutal" (B), and "Atomic" (A); then, advances through one last bar of grades containing the phrases "Smokin'" (S), "Smokin' Style" (SS), and lastly "Smokin' Sick Style" (SSS). Stylish combat is the focus of the game, conveyed through unbroken combos of varied attacks while avoiding damage. The player must avoid enemy attacks to continue performing combos, often by memorizing attack patterns. The Devil Trigger is a super state that enables the player to become more powerful adding a slow but steady health regeneration, with increased damage done. Devil Trigger can be activated by pressing the button to trigger it when the minimum amount on the gauge is filled.
Some changes introduced in Devil May Cry 4 are the presence of two playable characters, Dante and Nero, and a slight modification to the shop system. A new currency, Proud Souls, is used to buy new abilities while Red Orbs are used to buy items. Proud Souls are rewarded at the end of missions; the amount varies depending on how well the player performed. The cost of abilities increases with the purchase of other abilities, though all abilities can be sold back for their original price.
The player plays as Nero throughout most of the game. He is equipped with the Red Queen sword, Blue Rose revolver, and the powers of his Devil Bringer. The Red Queen features an Exceed Gauge that can be charged up, allowing for subsequent attacks that are more powerful than regular slashes, until the gauge empties. Nero also has the powers of his Devil Bringer and can use it to pull himself towards enemies or vice versa. The Devil Bringer may also be used for context-sensitive throw attacks, leading to high damage and various effects depending on the enemy. Nero's Devil Bringer also gains new abilities during the game, including being able to detect secret missions or caches of Red Orbs. Nero eventually gains the ability to use Devil Trigger after getting the katana known as Yamato. This increases his Devil Bringer's power changing its attacks into more powerful versions with different animations.
The player plays as Dante through seven missions, taking over halfway through the game. His gameplay is like that in Devil May Cry 3. He has access to multiple melee and ranged weapons which he gains after boss battles. He is able to cycle through them freely in combat and is no longer limited to equipping two weapons of each type as he was in the previous game. Dante also begins with his four styles, each of which grants him different abilities. But, unlike in Devil May Cry 3, he may now switch them at will with buttons or pads on the controller. He also gains the Dark Slayer style near the end of his appearance, which only has one style level. Styles do not level up through experience as in the previous game, but instead must be upgraded like other skills in the shop screen in between missions or at statues. Dante can also enter Devil Trigger where he gains most of the benefits that Nero's Devil Trigger has. Since he does not have the Devil Bringer, he gets animation and property changes on some of his normal attacks instead.
Plot
Nero is a young man who works in the island castle-town of Fortuna for The Order of the Sword, a sect of holy knights who revere the demon Sparda and are led by their benevolent spiritual leader Vicar Sanctus. At the beginning of the game’s events, Sanctus is murdered by Dante. As the Order's captain, Credo, leads his sister and Nero's love interest, Kyrie, to safety with the others, Nero remains behind to fight Dante as he kills Order soldiers. During the fight, having concealed his right arm in a brace, Nero reveals his demon arm to Dante. Dante recognizes that Nero is "different from the others" and escapes after revealing the Order members he killed were demons. Nero requests to go after Dante alone, encountering demons that are emerging from the activated Hellgates scattered across Fortuna. Nero eventually learns it to be the work of the Order's high-ranking scientist Agnus via the power of the Devil Arms Yamato, the sword of Dante's twin Vergil, using the demons in his experiments to enable humans like himself and the resurrected Sanctus to become powerful Angelo demons. Agnus then attempts to kill Nero, only for him to be saved by Yamato which expands his demonic powers and reveals him to be a descendant of Sparda. Revealed to have been investigating Sanctus for Lady, with Trish infiltrating the Order, Dante confronts Nero before allowing him to keep Yamato once deeming his intentions just.
