"Devil May Cry is burned into my heart" — not because of the demons, but because of a heartbreak he was living through the year he built it.
Devil May Cry began as a discarded idea inside a different game entirely — an early, scrapped Resident Evil project that director Hideki Kamiya reworked into something new rather than let die. He has called it his first original IP: the first time his entire design started from one invented mechanic, combo action tied to realistic movement in 3D space, rather than an established formula. But when Kamiya talks about the game now, the detail he returns to isn't the combat system. It's 2000, the year he made it, and a breakup he says hit him hard. 'Devil May Cry is burned into my heart with that memory,' he has said — a demon-hunting action game, in his own telling, doubling as a private record of a bad year. Dante's unshakeable cool under pressure, he has also said, was modeled on the manga hero Cobra, an image that had stayed with him for years before he finally had somewhere to put it. A game built to reinvent a genre turned out to be carrying something much smaller and much more personal inside it the whole time.
About this game
Devil May Cry (2001, PlayStation 2) was director Hideki Kamiya's first original IP after debuting on Resident Evil 2 — a project that began life inside Capcom in the Resident Evil lineage before Kamiya spun it into its own franchise. He has described the game's central pillar as combo action performed with realistic character movement in 3D space, built around the demon hunter Dante. Kamiya has said Dante's always-in-control, joke-cracking personality was drawn from the manga hero Cobra, an image he says he 'had stuck in my head for years.'
The Story Behind
Devil May Cry arrived at Capcom in the period directly following Resident Evil 2, and its origin is tied to the survival-horror lineage the studio had just established: the museum's own Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4 pages both note that an early, scrapped version of a Resident Evil project under Kamiya's direction was reworked into Devil May Cry rather than released as a mainline survival-horror title. Kamiya has called it his first original IP as director — the first time he built a game's entire design around one mechanic invented for that game alone, a pattern (VFX Power on Viewtiful Joe, the Celestial Brush on Okami, Witch Time on Bayonetta) he would repeat on every project that followed.
Tricks & Tales
Kamiya has said Devil May Cry is tied to a specific personal memory: "Back around 2000, I got dumped big time by the girl I was dating, and I was super depressed. So Devil May Cry is burned into my heart with that memory." He has also told a story about an animation that never made it into the finished game — animator Akihiko Nasu built a full set of movements for a particular enemy that was scrapped entirely late in development. Kamiya still brings it up as an apology: "Nasu-san, I apologize for that." Asked about a remake, Kamiya has said he would welcome the chance, noting that when he occasionally sees gameplay clips today, it 'really does feel like a 24-year-old game design' by modern standards.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The PS2 is region-locked. A machine and a disc must belong to the same region to work together: NTSC-J (Japan and parts of Asia), NTSC-U/C (North America), or PAL (Europe, Australia). A Japanese console plays Japanese games. It is also Japanese 100-volt hardware — a fat model used in North America's 120 volts or Europe's 220–240 needs a step-down transformer; the slim models use an external adapter that can be swapped for the right one. DVD films carry their own separate region code, fixed to the console as well.
Maintenance Tips
The PS2's most vulnerable part is its optical drive. The laser pickup weakens with age, producing the famous Disc Read Error — discs that load slowly, read intermittently, or read games but not DVDs (or the reverse). Keeping the vents and internal fan free of dust matters, especially on the larger 'fat' models, which run warmer. Replacement laser units are still made, but match the part number to your exact model before buying, as several incompatible types exist. DualShock 2 controllers commonly develop sticky or drifting analog sticks with age; the rubber and contacts wear, and both are repairable.
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Devil May Cry copies regularly.
Should I buy a fat PS2 or a slim one?
Both play the same games; the choice is about what you want around them. The fat models have an internal power supply and an expansion bay that takes a hard drive, and the original PlayStation backward compatibility is at its strongest here — a late fat unit (SCPH-50000) is a well-regarded, stable choice. The slim models are far smaller, have networking built in, and use an external power adapter that is easy to swap for your region, which makes them the simpler pick for travel or for use outside Japan. The very last slim revision (SCPH-90000) is best avoided if PS1 compatibility matters to you, as some older discs can be less reliable on it.
How do I check a used PS2 for the dreaded Disc Read Error?
Ask the seller to test three kinds of disc, because the laser can fail partially: a PS2 game, a PS1 game, and a DVD film. A drive that reads one type but not another has a tired laser — repairable, but factor in the cost. Warning signs to ask about: discs that only read after the tray is opened and closed a few times, long load times, or freezing. A unit described only as 'powers on' has not really been tested; powering on is not the same as reading discs.
What should come in the box?
To actually play, you need three things beyond the console: a controller (a genuine DualShock 2 holds up far better than most third-party pads), an 8 MB memory card for saves, and the right power connection — a direct cable on fat models, a matching external adapter on slims, where the wrong adapter is genuinely risky. A standard composite (yellow/red/white) AV cable is the baseline; a component or RGB cable, if included, noticeably improves the picture.
Is a modified PS2 (FreeMcBoot and similar) something to worry about?
Some used units come with a modified memory card or software that unlocks homebrew and disc-image loading. Whether that appeals to you is a personal call, and the legal picture varies by country. For simply playing original discs it is not needed at all. If a listing advertises 'free region' or 'modded,' understand that you are buying a console someone has already altered — fine if that is what you want, worth knowing if it is not.
Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Devil May Cry sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
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