The Evolution of "Devil Trigger Explosion" - Devil May Cry

Watch me indulge my hyper-fixation as I meticulously trace the development of the obscure mechanic known as Devil Trigger Explosion throughout the DMC games.
Here's my other video I mentioned: • "Resources & Character...
Ocean Eyes (Tropical Devil Night Remix) - • Ocean Eyes (Tropical D...
Twitter: / nero_thegame
Patreon: / nerothesky
Music
"Jouin High School" - Toshiki Konishi
"Mansion of Heresy (Cursed)" - Kenichi Tsuchiya
"Muladhara" - Shoji Meguro
"Albona" - Kohei Tanaka
"Svadisthana" - Shoji Meguro
"Any Special Orders? (Tropical Devil Night Remix)" - 前馬宏充
Vocals from "Ocean Eyes" - Billie Eilish
00:00 - 14:51 DMC3
14:51 - 21:56 DMC4
21:56 - 24:41 DMC5 Nero
24:41 - 30:36 DMC5 Vergil
30:36 - 41:51 DMC5 Dante
41:51 - 43:27 Outro
43:27 - 46:25 Credits
#DevilMayCry #DMC #Dante #DMC5

[@damienwest196]

Correction. Dmc does tell you about dte in the tutorial for it they just call it transformation flux for some dumbass reason

[@nerothesky]

Wtf? You're right. It doesn't tell you that you need additional notches though so if you try to do it when the game tells you, it won't work. Thanks for the correction.

[@damienwest196]

@@nerothesky your welcome yeah I went to check when heard that cause I remember seeing something similar when I saw the tutorial and wnt to check it

[@nerdodragonnerdpl4167]

So upseted just by one name...or just durring sexual awakening:D

[@damienwest196]

@@nerdodragonnerdpl4167 no its just transformation flux is a bad name for the mechanic

[@nerdodragonnerdpl4167]

@@damienwest196 i dunno...for me seems natural Also...sorry for being harsh:D

[@rook7174]

"Your attack didn't hit me, because I didn't want it to. I didn't dodge it I didn't parry it I just * *Explosion* *" sounds like Nero to me

[@pazer_by]

I CANNOT ERUPT I MUST CONTROL I CANNOT ERUPT I MUST EXPLODE

[@552jacki3]

​@@pazer_byme when I play Dante, desperately holding L2 trying to claw my way back up to SSS so I can let go.

[@sealablemite6132]

You forgot the best devil trigger explosion: nightmare bellyflop

[@loganreano1910]

Nightmare’s meteor strike is the best attack in V’s moveset. It’s hilarious to see almost everything on the field die in a giant explosion

[@warpstarrogue3554]

Nightmare summons are most likely there to show how strong the behemoth is. So strong that in canon, if he could stay out for as long as he'd like he could probably mop the floor with Urizen. Also the fact that he NEVER comes out of V like the others, but rather in his own pocket dimension also can symbolize this, being so goddamn strong that V's body is physically incapable of housing him.

[@davidgeorge3944]

​@@warpstarrogue3554 nightmare in legit canon is powerful enough to entirely destroy the dimension of hell. As in wipe it clean out. That's insane power. He holds back a lot. That's the crazy part really lol

[@This-didnt-make-us-friends]

@@warpstarrogue3554 and that is more scary if we think that dante defeated him 0 effort-

[@DanielJimenez-vq5gw]

Quadruple S is undeniably the most kino mechanic ever. Popping into Judgement feels so good.

[@zesork5627]

Based

[@kin4386]

It's my favourite mechanic in the game. Because it essentially turns the style ranking into Dante's equivalent of Vergil's concentration gauge. Playing in a way that suits the character (For Vergil, being efficient and precise and for Dante, being stylish) rewards you with better use of your Sin Devil Trigger powers.

[@flockerz8731]

I like these meticulous deep dives into obscure game mechanics. Maybe there are other games you wanna do this for?

[@nerothesky]

Absolutely

[@nosh62]

@@nerothesky when will you do a video talking about and analysing every single detail in Cyberpunk 2077's sex scenes?

[@Maxificent]

@@nosh62 I would watch that

[@MommysGoodPuppy]

@@nerothesky please do nier automata, that game is incredibly mechanically deep

[@NinetyNineNo]

@@nerothesky you got a Sora PFP, don't you? The KH series has a fair few mechanics that merit a deep dive, though perhaps none on the level of DTE.

[@vul4ak]

Impressive. Well done. I'll just throw some extra info about DMC4: Special Edition since I don't want this comment to be just random praise. Vergil's BOOM BOOM was also in DMC4SE. Just like in 5 - If you stand still - you'll get it as well. Trish also has a BOOM BOOM effect to her Devil Trigger. These damage frames are tied to the DT activation animation. It's cool seeing Trish put on her sunglasses while knocking away enemiеs. And Lady... err... well... Lady's whole D.T. is an explosion anyway :D

[@solracstormhunter3023]

Vergil: GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!! Trish: *Relaxed torturing her enemies with a literal flash* Lady: He he... IIIII doooon't cryyyy, when demons deserve to DIIIIIIIIIE 🎶

[@michaelwestmoreland2530]

You find lore and theme depth equal to the mechanic depth, and it's artfully beautful. Thank you for sharing these insights.

[@SHIKI_All_Caps]

Great vid. Never thought about how DTE could be interpreted as a form of characterisation so it was interesting to hear your take on it. I agree that DTE in 3 is pretty basic and doesn't offer much variety, but I do think it works really well in the context of DMD in that game. To me it always made playing on DMD a more tactical experience that was pretty fun and isn't something that's present in the same way in 4 or 5 due to how they changed some of the rules for DMD in those games.

[@christianwright7581]

Plus DMC 3 is the beginning of Dante's journey, so of course the explosion off of DT is going to be basic, he isn't as strong as he is later in the timeline.

[@mechanomics2649]

It's interesting, but I really don't agree with how he's characterized it though.

[@rookie2128]

23:20 keyboard and mouse users be like: "I have no such weakness"

[@arlaghdoth4434]

"What is the point of having raw power if you're not going to use it to emasculate your son" - Sky, Nero.

[@bwackbeedows3629]

7:06 But they came at the same time. That's a wonderful thing 🫂💕

[@baronroy2012]

Personally, I mapped Nero's DT to L1 the moment I could. That d-pad input just didn't feel the same

[@nerothesky]

It's for the best. I'm too used to the d-pad at this point.

[@thegoose8663]

Yeah, the story progression kinda screws up the default controller layout with Nero having two snatches, DT activation/break hand, devil buster/devil breaker buttons; and the devil breakers taking priority in the layout because Nero gets DT at the end of the story. Changing it is pretty much mandatory really.

[@baronroy2012]

@@thegoose8663 Honestly I never used Break Away all that much. Wasn't a fan of it replacing DT at the start and I definitely didn't like wasting arms, so I had no problems switching it to the d-pad once Devil Trigger finally became an option

[@nerothesky]

@@thegoose8663 I ended up changing Buster to R2 in 4 and kept everything as is in 5.

[@Zetact_]

Nero's charge shot is so powerful in both 4 and 5 that a player keeping it on a face button is really kinda doing a disservice. Also makes Exceed feel better if you put the Exceed button next to your melee attack.

[@TalkingRaven_]

Fking finally someone acknowledges the sheer genius of the Quadruple S in DMC5, it's like the "I'm just better at the game" mechanic that rewards the stylish players with more options to style. Nothing beats flickering into SDT to use the dodge instead of resorting to royal guard or trickster dash. And you also explained the reason why I loved playing as Nero in DMC4 compared to Dante, being able to DTE out of every attack was just very "fluid" in feeling, using it to avoid damage, launch enemies, and use it to chain weird combos.

[@thanatos5999]

Bro, you killed me with the comparisons and with the edit, gained one more subscriber (sorry my english is bad)

[@lost_to_time.]

Fun fact, Dante DOES have DTE in DMC 5. The only problem is that you have to be standing still, locked off, and you need to stay still before it works for like...3 seconds.

[@nerothesky]

It's just an animation though, it doesn't do anything.

[@liltone829]

​@@nerothesky Yeah, it's basically a more detailed version of his DMC3 transformation

[@roychampagne6456]

can we just talk abt how this man has 81 subs and puts out vids as good as this. respect to you man

[@raxzen-1610]

82

[@pleaserespond3984]

>Canon Dante always has a full bar of SDT Such a great way of putting it.

[@omegazjay]

This deep dive into DTE is hella fire but the part about Vergil and Dante's DT's does get 1 thing wrong: Vergil already got his DT when he was WAAAAAYYYYYYYY younger (when the house got attacked by all the demons) so the DTE inexpirence for him doesn't make as much sense as Dante, but still a very dope video

[@liltone829]

Where does it ever say that?

[@omegazjay]

Ok so, basically in one of the mangas (dont remember if its VoV or Before the Storm), during Mundus' demon attack, Vergil see's his house burning and summons Yamato from thin air. That is most likely the first time Vergil used his DT. In a moment of desparation. If the info about the demon attack is wrong then the latest point where Vergil could get his DT pre 3 is the Fortuna trip but im 97% sure its the former (and plus this is more headcanon than fact on my aprt if the Demon attack isn't what awakened his DT)

[@jondoe7036]

@@omegazjay DMC3 manga has Dante also dapping into his demonic power few times, despite taking place a year before he'd unlock his Devil Trigger in the game proper. The thing is that it is also either at specific moments of desperation, or when he is being affected by some demonic trickery, that forces the demon power out of him and he isn't able to actually control the transformation. I see no evidence to suggest the thing that happened to Vergil as an eight year old would have been anything more than that and there's a world of difference between them experiencing brief instinctual flashes of their demonic powers and fully controlled use of those powers in the form of Devil Trigger.

[@omegazjay]

@@jondoe7036 that actually does make alot of sense for the demon attack ngl. The issue of the DT control still kinda stands but we could just say his Fortuna trip pre 3 is when he was honing his DT and in 3 he is still honing it or some mumbojumbo like that

[@JuliusCaesar103]

Clicking on random videos and finding gold is what I use KZbin for. Interesting all the way, loved it.

[@GoddessWhoUsedToKnowToMuch]

So basically, Super Vergil and Super Dante are just lore accurate Dante and Vergil.

[@bluegrave4376]

God, now I want to play every dmc game again (except 2). Also, fantastic vid. I smashed that sub button

[@cyrilchannie5120]

This! This is y I love dmc and the dmc community. The mechanics of the game tells most of the story in the game TRUE LUDONARRATIVE HARMONY! Awesome vid. Looking forward to more. Subbed👍🏾

[@painlesssteam5284]

As a die hard Devil May Cry fan, not knowing about this has destroyed my sense of self worth

[@matthews-d6431]

Your editing is great, your audio quality is great, everything is a well researched deep dive with a beefy but not overwhelming length. You have a good amount of humor. Why don't your videos have more love?? You've really nailed it right on the head. Good job to you. And damn, thank you for handing me this powerful piece of information on a platter. Just got dmc3.

[@matthews-d6431]

The way you always manage to link it back to characterization is also a really unique touch, great attention to detail.

[@ryanstiles3364]

DTE was a mechanic I knew existed in 3 for a while but until watching this video I didn’t realize the utility of it in DMD until watching this video.

[@notfurry6582]

"i rarely choose to make boom boom, it's just a thing that happens sometimes"

[@michaelwestmoreland2530]

DMC may be my favorite action franchise of all time. The INSANE depth in these games. I mean, SECRET MECHANICS? ALMOST NO one does that but DMC devs. And it's BEAUTIFUL.

[@chrischristopoulos3371]

I never comment on anything ever but this might be the most brilliant video essay I've seen, taking the most random-ass mechanic of my favorite game franchise and making mf poetry out of it.

[@cronos9696]

I have to admit, I didn't know this mechanic initially, even playing the franchise for a long time. In addition to all the character analysis presented, you still made me learn more about my favorite games.

[@talonsandwings17]

Okay so here’s the deal: these videos are very thorough and excellent analytic DMC content but I also haven’t concussively laughed this loud and this often at KZbin content in a WHILE

[@TNB12]

Phenomenal deep dive into the cavernous depths of this series, every time I think about DMC, I can't help but be amazed of how well designed every facet of the combat is, both as just satisfying and endlessly fun gameplay, but also as meaningful actions that clue us into who these characters are.

[@Tairongo]

This may be the single best video on youtube

[@SamSamthereal]

Impressive how you made 40min video about 1 move and keep it interesting

[@mark1A100]

I think my favorite part about this is me struggling to beat devil May cry games on normal to like hard difficulty with sub s rankings but wanting to play more just cuz I see how stylish I could be

[@Minal_Aurapine]

Question? Why are you so criminally underrated?

[@PickleAndPearBTBM]

holy crap i didnt think i’d watch a video about a move performed with one button for half the length of a feature film but here we are amazing video, you got a new subscriber

[@1pdd12]

I believe Vergil gained access to his dt as a child when he was attacked by demons

[@M08Xrd]

Just when I thought I was pretty knowledgeable about DMC and its intricacies, I find your videos. Awesome content man!

[@LethalAxis]

im also extremely in love with quadruple S because it finally.....finallly introduces to action games a "rage" mechanic that is not a "i wanna wack on enemies and win for 10 seconds" button while also having that as an option. As much as i love the variable rage modes in god of war for example, they are super mindless and ive seen them in so many countless games that i accepted that the super duper mode will always be this. And devil may cry 5 is like "that shit is garbage, this is how you do it"

[@grappier5636]

Found this video (and channel) by accident. 5 minutes in, already subscribed. Funny, without excess jokes and side-content, video and audio content perfectly matches. Dude's a beast. Perfectly edited Smoking Sexy Satisfaction.

[@Randoman-dt9cq]

this is the best and most fun combat tutorial i have ever seen

[@bluepheonixsoul1553]

Wow you only have 3 videos on your channel and they were all great.

[@acetrigger1337]

Gosh... i hate when i find a cool youtube channel, and they barely have any content for me to binge!!! jokes aside, that was some solid analysis on a mechanic that i had no clue about.

[@spaljenimaslacak7663]

Watching a 46 minute video about holding a single button made me reconsider my life priorities, 10/10

[@angerypotato7430]

12:28 Vergil has had his DT since he was six, as it is what saved him from the demons that attacked his home and nearly killed him.

[@themawnster7191]

"You protect Vergil by beating the shit out of him, why don't more games do this?" I present to you: the entire Yakuza series

[@emaitchess3821]

Randomly stumbled upon this, even as a "veteran" of the series, very impressive deep dive into the mechanics, loved the head canons, and your editing is amazing. Great video all in all

[@liviekumori]

You won me over with this video, underrated channel

[@nikhilkuppuswamy1222]

His talk about SDT was the most relatable think any dmc 5 review ever talked about

[@niteus4907]

I always saw Quad S as a challenge to himself, like at any point Dante could pop into SDT but he doesn't because it wouldn't make the fight fun for him.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

I would say you are underrated, but for someone with only 2.4k subs, only 3 videos, this video on a super niche topic has 60k views in one month. It seems to me this video is getting the proper attention it deserves, a big W in my book. Here's to your growth if you keep making stuff like this, it's only a matter of time imo.

[@OneTrueNobody]

15:00 - "L1 is no longer a button you constantly hold." Not unless you know how to use Nero's Charge Shot to maximum effect, at least.

[@BillBounce]

The info I never knew I needed but it was so enlightening. I've never paid attention I could hold DT in DMC 3. And the jokes are top-notch 😂 Thank you!

[@zesork5627]

A banger once more. From the biggest DMChad there is (yes, i am factually the most hardcore DMC enjoyer out there) i say these videos are the best analyses ever put out on the legendary king of action games, the quality of the script is unmatched, the opinions are all thought provoking and correct. I will now watch your every future video. Based: The Channel

[@552jacki3]

Holding down the left bumper has made it click for me, I'm playing so much better!

[@NarrowSpark96]

Distortion is a lot more interesting if you consider the fact that it is also present in DMC1, though specifically only with Nightmare Beta and Ifrit. Which fits the idea Dante is still somewhat inexperienced and still is influenced by devil arms.

[@masterseal0418]

The guide is so good, including the editing; and my god are you severely underrated! Subscribed, and hope you gain more attention!

[@Lucafire09]

This made me remeber when I started playing dmc. When I got to 3 I need to learn the mechanics that were added after dmc 1 and my brother told me about the technique of perfect royal guard by jumping and D.T.E and I never used it but now I know how powerfull it was, I simply didn't understand that

[@l.a.g3098]

The video description is my spirit animal Also damn, it's crazy there's so much to say about a single mechanic! Great job!

[@Hecatom]

The best mechanics are the ones that let themselves to not only be analyzed on how they interact with the game, but also how they represent the characters that use them, specially if they are unique to them

[@elenaschmidt9476]

you put more thought into interpreting single attacks than many gaming youtubers do into entire games, I don't even play DMC (yet?) and I still listened to the whole thing because I *live* for shit like this

[@thebaseandtriflingcreature174]

Exceedingly excited to see more from this channel. Rewatching this video cuz i think it’s pretty neat :)

[@Dark-Wolf-066]

Dude... this is so entertaining to watch, especially with the edit & the jokes you throw, it's kinda hard to focus again to the major topic after laughing my ass off cus of that XD, but anyway great video

[@MonkeyBobist]

Please whatever you do, make more content. I absolutely love the stuff you've put out and want to hear more about dmc or any other thing you have as much interest and insight for.

[@Cru128]

Man, first time watching this and that mic quality is god tier and there’s some damn good humor with the production quality slipped in. Nice work.

[@KaylaYenL]

Holy banger video the depth of detail and analysation is amazing

[@ihopeyouandicanbefriends]

what a cool video, rly enjoyed

[@kaiser9598]

You need more subscribers. This video is well produced, edited, and has genuinely complex analyzations and observations. I regret running away from this video because it was 40 minutes..

[@Emeraudus]

Surprisingly very hilarious, entertaining AND informative for a 42 minute video. Usually I drone out and alt-tab (modern attention span lol) but this got me hooked. Looking forward to your future videos.

[@imperator940]

I must say what an amazing video. Especially for a, right now, smaller channel. Keep up your great work.

[@wye.9789]

Great Video!

[@yoariku1]

great video man!

[@Iyman2575]

How dare you give me more info that makes me want to play DMC again. Great video my friend.

[@joelmoore6879]

Bro how is your channel not massive, this video is awesome.

[@idiothead5511]

correction: the popup when you unlock dt in 3 does explain dte. "Press and hold [dt] for a brief period to catch nearby enemies in a transformation flux, damaging them as you shift into demon form."

[@ansas.9957]

You are exceptionally funny, sir. Thanks for the mechanic info!

[@Fenrir1218_]

Wasn't expecting character analysis along with explaining gameplay mechanics, but I'm definitely not complaining Great content, I'm definitely subscribing

[@omegaphoenix7085]

Can’t wait for the next video

[@Hecatom]

Great video mate. You gained my sub 👍

[@NinetyNineNo]

Man, this was an incredible video. Informative, entertaining, very well-edited and well-researched, and hilarious. Instant sub. That aside, I couldn't agree more about Quadruple S. It's easily my favorite mechanic in any action game ever, just absolutely brilliant design from top to bottom.

[@arieloporto3709]

Fantastic video man, made my afternoon. You got a new subscriber.

[@___nttien]

the algorithm did me well again today, good shit bro

[@EyeOfKings]

I thought this was an established channel with like 100k subs. My surprise when I saw that you just reached 633 is insane. Well you just earned one more.

[@noir-4092]

Did some rough calculations based on the play time of dmc5se in the video and learned that on average this man played dmc5se for almost two hours a day since launch

[@nerothesky]

Yeah that checks out 😅There was like...a pandemic and stuff.

[@pepekovallin]

45:16 this moment is so magic lol, whenever I get to play a Franchise that actually started a long time ago I always loved to see when certain aspects of the modern game were first introduced, like MGS3's camouflages, MGS peace walker's walking while crawled, and in DMC2's wall running, I was like "wow, that's so cool, I don't even need to use a style, and then I finally started playing the level and had the worst experience in my life lol

[@jondoe7036]

Wasn't crouched down walking as a mechanic introduced to Metal Gear Solid in Guns of the Patriots? That was the first and one of the only two or three titles in the franchise (depending if you count MGS5 as one entity, or Ground Zeroes and Phantom Pain as their own separate games), where you could both walk crouched and crawl.

[@pepekovallin]

@@jondoe7036 oh, you're right, I forgot PW came out AFTER MGS4,

[@luciferamigodobairro6169]

I also just learned Vergil gets more DT if you let the animation finish. Just how many fucking mechanics does this game has?!

[@BrazenLunatic]

Been playing DMC games since 2008, when I was 8 yrs old. I'm glad there's finally a definitive breakdown of DTE. It's one of those obscure but integral part of this series.

[@thewanderer5506]

I love deep dives into game mechanics I've never heard about

[@echoronin796]

Thank you for having me watch all dmcs again😅🔥

[@DkKombo]

Bto has like three videos but theyre all fire. Finally somebody i can subscribe to whose uploads will he legendary!!!

[@micahmiller4822]

Fantastic video, and Digital Devil Saga music is always an instant like from me!

[@TTXG]

Came for a compilation video stayed for a video essay

[@camerontroscianiec5320]

Love the headcannon you have of how this funny little mechanic came to be in the sons of Sparda

[@nathanpeterson1431]

It’s videos like this that make you realize they put a lot more thought into their creation -in this case, game- then you (read as “I”) had originally assumed. And a secondary bonus of making you want to replay it.

[@karuiGaming]

I came in for Mechanical explanation of DTE, but instead got that AND lore reasons I can totally agree with. Subscribed!

[@TheJigma]

Video absolutely slapped deserves more subs

[@joe_mama__]

Great video! Made me sub

[@man3son1]

Nero’s “Fuck you” into Devil Trigger will always be cool

[@flipsvstheworld]

I have misread and mis interpreted Quad S 🤯. For 3 years, I thought all it was the given ability to let you end SDT early when at SSS while losing the guage. I'm so glad enough time has passed for 5 to gain the creative, secret tech videos that 3 and 4 had. Especially, if I can just use the pause button🤡. Also, your deep dive into a theoretical character analysis about why the DTE changed forms is really strong since it is based on the characters themselves, personality and gameplay. It is put together to be taken at face value as the real reason for the differences and reasoning of DTE.

[@Nietro9]

" he just need a hand " and after summons nero's devil bringer from the yamato got me dead

[@carlosdavidnavarrete7639]

Hippoty hoppity my subscription is now your property