Side-by-Side: Devil May Cry HD Collection

Yeah, I bet people weren’t expecting to see this series again. A long, long time ago, in a far away part of the Internet, I had posted a piece discussing the differences between the original and remastered versions of games. The Prototype Biohazard Bundle was, unfortunately, the only title that was written up for the series and thus, it faded into obscurity much like a summer’s breeze. Now, since a decent amount of time has passed and recent releases of remastered revisions have returned to retailers somewhat reluctantly, I feel like it’s a good time to bring back the series and talk about whether you, the player, are getting the best bang for your buck. So without further ado, let’s discuss the most recent of returns. No, not Burnout Paradise. I speak of none other than the Devil May Cry HD Collection.

To start off, the original Devil May Cry HD Collection, which I will now refer to as the DMC Collection to save time, was a nice treat in terms of developers re-releasing a product for fans of the genre to enjoy once more. That being said, much of the same could be implied when discussing the countless other HD collections that hit shelves. For DMC though, it was one that was regarded with a bit more favour than most. Not like the Silent Hill HD Collection, which received quite a bit of negative press upon its arrival.

That aside, the original DMC Collection (which came out for the PS3 and Xbox 360) wasn’t much to boast about all in all. It included the first three entries to the series and a bit of polish in terms of graphics, but that was about it. The saving grace for it was in the acceptable price upon release which, considering the amount of titles you were getting and the replay value that came with them, it was a fairly solid deal. Especially if you’re like me and a huge fan of the series.

So is there anything about the new collection that really separates it from the older one? Well again, there’s a nice little graphical update, but that’s to be said about any remastering. The newest features worth talking about are more for veterans of the franchise. The next-gen DMC Collection boasts content such as various pieces of concept art and music compiled from all three games. This being a really nice gesture, but one that I feel would be lost on anyone who isn’t a fan. Other than that, there’s not a whole lot to talk about as it performs about as well as the older version did.

With both collections now taken into account, is it worth picking up? Well, I'd say if you’re a veteran of the series and would like to play the original three titles on next-gen consoles, then it’s absolutely worth your time. The price is, once again, fair for what you’re getting and the games are as charming as ever. If you’re not a fan, however, then see if you can pick up a copy for last-gen, assuming you’ve still got a PS3 or Xbox 360 kicking around. Honestly, it’ll be more worth your time and money. Hope this has helped!