With Ninja Theory at the helm of a beloved franchise, a lot of stomachs were turned at the sight of the new Dante and many dismissed the fact that the series was getting a reboot. Dubbed DmC, the new game is set to explore Dante’s origins and will focus more on character depth and story. Following the initial announcement back in 2010 at the Tokyo Game Show, this new direction was met with relentless backlash as many fans questioned Ninja Theory’s radical approach to the change; hair color, style and a pack of cigarettes. That and he also looked like a meth-head going through intensive withdrawal.
Ninja Theory claims the old Dante “isn’t cool anymore” and it’s quite a bold statement to make given the fact that millions of fans have become so attached to the original, it’s kind of odd for them to dictate what’s cool and relevant now since it’s such a thorny and subjective idea. Nevertheless, as we draw closer to DmC’s debut, it’s time to back off Ninja Theory and give them a fair chance.
Some might argue that Ninja Theory’s track record isn’t quite so spick-and-span or worthy enough to take on such a demanding franchise such as Devil May Cry but who else could’ve Capcom hired for the job? Let’s get to that later. Back in 2007, Ninja Theory released Heavenly Sword exclusively for the PS3; a flawed but technically impressive-looking game with fascinating characters. It sold about a million and a half copies but certainly not enough to break even for the independent studio. Critical reception was mixed, it gained some dedicated fans and even more in retrospective but it was never really a big hit.
Fast forward to 2010 and Enslaved releases with positive reception but fails to surpass Heavenly Sword in sales despite being a multi-platform release this time around. It sold 138,000 copies within the first 10 weeks of release meanwhile Heavenly Sword sold 533,000 copies in its first 10 weeks.
Panic mode engaged.
By that point, the Ninja Theory name was hanging on a string. Now in 2012 their practically falling and the only thing capable of breaking their fall is the imminent DmC and how it gets received when it comes out. Why did Enslaved perform so poorly? One theory, no pun intended, is that Devil May Cry fans purposely “boycotted” the game and fueled the backlash, causing other fans to react the same way since the reboot was already announced at the time of Enslaved release. It does seem peculiar that the reason Ninja Theory went multi-platform was because of sales and yet when they do, they can’t surpass the sales of their previous releases that were PS3 exclusive! A lot to wonder there.
With all this negativity floating around it’s hard to see this reboot reach the projected sales of 5 million copies that Capcom desires to see but we shouldn’t jump off the ship just yet. I don’t want to talk about the “coolness” factor and the fashion mythology of the game because quite frankly it’s irrelevant at this point; Ninja Theory has to nail the story and combat first. Judging from Heavenly Sword and Enslaved, Ninja Theory has proven without a shadow of a doubt that their capable of producing interesting stories and deep characters so we should expect a deeper storyline for DmC and a much deeper Dante with new motivations.
Combat in Heavenly Sword was innovative at the time, still button-mashy but a blast to play. Enslaved had an inferior combat system but it had a more interesting twist to it, having Tripp assist you during combat and working together to take down an enemy. The tools are there, Ninja Theory has what it takes to make great games but do they have what it takes to take on a reboot of this magnitude? That is the question my friends. I’m sure Capcom had a shopping list of developers before they corralled Ninja Theory, but who else could’ve taken the job?
Gaijin Entertainment, Santa Monica Studios, Visceral Games or Mercury Steam?
Ninja Theory was probably the best bargain, great storytellers at a fraction of the cost and Capcom wasted no time. Besides, Heavenly Sword left a lasting impression on Capcom. Despite how much they change or deface what we’ve come to know, we have to give them a solid chance. They’ve had their ups and downs, more downs than ups, but perhaps the third time is a charm? DmC has no release date as of right now and the latest trailer was an extended trailer that was released back in November. A release date in 2012 is likely but the question still remains: Does Ninja Theory have what it takes and will the fans allow it?
Ultimately, it’s us who decide, and right now Ninja Theory has a lot of ass to kiss for the time being.