Devil May Cry HD Collection: Complete Guide

A guide to all three games in Devil May Cry HD Collection — Devil May Cry, Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition — covering which to play first, core systems, weapons and styles, boss tips, secret missions, difficulty unlocks and PC setup.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final PC build (last patch April 2018, which added Simplified Chinese). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Use a controller. These are PS2-era action games designed around a gamepad. Keyboard works, but a controller is the intended experience.
• Play order: Release order (DMC1, DMC2, DMC3) shows the series' evolution; story order is DMC3 first (it's a prequel), then DMC1, then DMC2. DMC3 is the best game in the collection; DMC1 is the classic; DMC2 is the weakest.
• Red Orbs are currency. Spend them at Divinity Statues (DMC1 and DMC3) or the between-mission shop in DMC2 on new moves, items and upgrades.
• Blue Orb fragments raise max health. Four fragments make one full Blue Orb. Find them in secret missions and hidden areas.
• Devil Trigger transforms Dante, boosting damage and defense and regenerating health. Save it for bosses and emergencies.
• Style rank matters. The style meter (D up to S in DMC1, up to SSS in DMC3) rewards varied, uninterrupted combos with more orbs. Don't just mash one attack.
• Check every corner. Secret missions and Blue Orb fragments are hidden in out-of-the-way places.
• DMC3 on Normal is hard. That's normal (pun intended). Buy Vital Stars and learn enemy patterns.

Devil May Cry (2001)

Overview

Dante's debut. He's hired by Trish and heads to Mallet Island to confront the demon emperor Mundus. Twenty-three missions with a gothic castle setting and a strong survival-horror influence.

Weapons

Weapon | Type | Notes

Force Edge | Starting sword | Basic, reliable

Alastor | Lightning sword | Gives the lightning Devil Trigger and air-raid flight

Ifrit | Fire gauntlets | Heavy, high-damage fire attacks; strong against many bosses

Sparda | Late-game sword | Story weapon

Ebony & Ivory | Pistols | Rapid fire; keep enemies juggled

Shotgun | Shotgun | Close-range crowd control

Grenadegun | Grenade launcher | Area damage

Needlegun | Underwater weapon | Used in underwater sections

Nightmare-β | Special gun | Late-game energy weapon

Bosses

Recurring bosses include the giant spider Phantom, the bird Griffon, the dark knight Nelo Angelo, the blob Nightmare, and finally Mundus.

• Phantom: Stay on its side, avoid its fire and tail; attack its face or back.
• Griffon: Shoot it down with pistols, then punish on the ground.
• Nelo Angelo: A duel; block patterns carefully and punish after his combos.
• Nightmare: Target the core when it's exposed.
• Mundus: Multi-phase finale — the shooter phase rewards staying mobile.

Tips

• Ifrit is excellent against tough enemies thanks to its heavy hits.
• Alastor's Devil Trigger gives flight and air attacks.
• Secret Missions reward Blue Orb fragments. Look for hidden areas and odd objects.
• Yellow Orbs let you continue from a checkpoint on death; don't waste them.

Devil May Cry 2 (2003)

Overview

Set decades after DMC1, Dante (and a second playable character, Lucia) fight Arius. It has two separate campaigns: Dante's and Lucia's.

What's different

• Wall run and Rain Storm — new moves introduced here.
• Bloody Palace — the survival mode debuted in DMC2.
• Easier overall difficulty than DMC1 and DMC3; guns are especially powerful.
• Amulets and Devil Trigger — DMC2 customizes Devil Trigger via elemental amulet slots.

Tips

• The guns are very strong in DMC2 — use them freely.
• Clear both Dante's and Lucia's campaigns to see everything.
• Bloody Palace is where the game's combat is most fun; try it once you've beaten the story.

Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition (2006)

Overview

A prequel to DMC1. Young Dante faces his twin brother Vergil atop the demon tower Temen-ni-gru, alongside Lady. Twenty missions. Special Edition adds Vergil as a playable character, a Bloody Palace mode, and Gold Mode (continue where you died using Gold Orbs) alongside the original Yellow Orb mode.

Styles

DMC3's big innovation. Dante chooses one style at a time (switch at Divinity Statues or checkpoints), and each levels up with use.

Style | What it does | Good for

Trickster | Dashes, teleports, air mobility | Dodging and positioning; great default

Swordmaster | Extra melee moves for each melee weapon | Damage and style

Gunslinger | Extra gun moves | Ranged damage and juggling

Royalguard | Blocking and releasing stored damage | High-skill defense; huge damage on perfect blocks

Quicksilver | Slows time (unlocked from a boss) | Crowds and bosses

Doppelganger | Summons a shadow clone (unlocked from a boss) | Extra damage, co-op-style

Weapons

Melee: Rebellion (starting sword), Cerberus (ice nunchaku), Agni & Rudra (twin swords), Nevan (lightning guitar/scythe), Beowulf (light gauntlets and greaves).

Guns: Ebony & Ivory, Shotgun, Artemis (energy bow-gun), Spiral (sniper) and Kalina Ann (rocket launcher).

Most devil arms are earned by beating the boss they're named after — Cerberus, Agni & Rudra, Nevan and Beowulf are all bosses.

Bosses

Boss | Tip

Cerberus | Break the ice armor on each head, then damage the body

Agni & Rudra | Twin bosses; focus one, keep moving

Nevan | Dodge bats and lightning; hit hard when she's grounded

Beowulf | Hit him in the back; his charging attacks are telegraphed

Vergil (several fights) | The best duels in the series — learn his teleport strikes and punish after them

Lady | Watch her grenades and rocket; punish when reloading

Gigapede and Leviathan | Unusual fights with shooting and platforming

Doppelganger | Use light sources to make it vulnerable

Arkham | The final multi-phase fight

Special Edition extras

• Vergil mode: play as Vergil through the campaign with his own weapons (Yamato, Beowulf, Force Edge) and Dark Slayer style.
• Bloody Palace: survival floors with increasing enemies and bosses.
• Gold Mode vs Yellow Mode: Gold Mode lets you continue on the spot; Yellow Mode sends you back to the checkpoint.

DMC3 tips

• Trickster is the easiest style for new players — it keeps you alive.
• Royalguard is the hardest but most rewarding.
• Buy Vital Stars and Devil Stars for tough bosses.
• Upgrade favorite weapons early instead of spreading Red Orbs thin.
• Secret Missions (12) reward Blue Orb fragments.

Difficulty Levels

Each game has its own difficulty ladder. In general:

• Normal is the default.
• Hard unlocks after clearing Normal.
• Dante Must Die is the series' signature top difficulty, unlocked after Hard.
• DMC1 offers an easier automatic mode if you die repeatedly early on, and DMC3 SE has an Easy option; exact unlock conditions differ per game, so check the difficulty menu.
• DMC3 also has Heaven or Hell mode, where everything (including you) dies in one hit.

Clearing harder difficulties unlocks costumes and extras.

PC Setup

• The HD Collection runs at 60fps.
• Controller strongly recommended. An Xbox-style controller works out of the box through Steam Input.
• The collection has a launcher where you choose which game to play.
• Mods: The PC community has DDMK (by serpentiem), a mod suite for the HD Collection (and DMC4 Special Edition) with gameplay mods, fixes, training tools and multiplayer features. Note: its GitHub repository was archived (read-only) in January 2026, so it is no longer updated, and first-time installs require undoing the latest game patch with an xdelta3 patch per its instructions. Mods are unofficial — back up your saves first (Steam keeps HD Collection saves under Steam\userdata\[your Steam ID]\631510\remote).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Mashing. DMC rewards variety — style rank and orb income both go up with varied combos.
• Ignoring guns. Pistols keep enemies juggled and interrupt attacks.
• Hoarding Red Orbs. Spend them — new moves make every fight easier.
• Skipping secret missions. They give Blue Orb fragments (more max health).
• Playing DMC3 with the wrong style for a fight. Swap to Trickster if you're dying.
• Using Devil Trigger immediately. Save it for bosses or to heal.

Advanced Tips

• Jump cancelling in DMC3 (jumping off enemies) lets you extend air combos — a core high-level technique.
• Royalguard Release after a perfect block deals massive damage.
• Style switching at checkpoints matters: use Gunslinger for flying bosses, Swordmaster for grounded ones.
• In DMC1, learn to cancel with guns and use Ifrit's charge moves.
• Bloody Palace is the best place to practice combos and boss patterns.
• S-rank missions by keeping combos varied, taking little damage and finishing quickly.

FAQ

Which game should I play first? Release order (1, 2, 3) is the classic way. If you only play one, play DMC3 Special Edition.

Does DMC3 have style switching on the fly? Not in the PC HD Collection; you switch at Divinity Statues and between missions. Community mods such as DDMK add more flexible options (unofficial, and DDMK is no longer maintained).

Is DMC2 worth playing? It's the weakest entry but short, and Bloody Palace debuted there. Many play it for completion.

Is Vergil playable? Yes, in DMC3 Special Edition after finishing the game.

What's Heaven or Hell mode? A DMC3 mode where everything dies in one hit, including Dante.

Where does this fit with DMC4 and DMC5? DMC4 Special Edition and DMC5 are separate games on Steam and continue the story after DMC1.

Is there a Netflix show? Yes — the Devil May Cry animated series streams on Netflix (Season 2 released May 2026).

Sources

• Steam store page — Devil May Cry HD Collection
• Steam news — Devil May Cry HD Collection announcements
• Capcom — Devil May Cry HD Collection official site
• DDMK on GitHub (archived January 2026)