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[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I actually just picked up the PS4 remaster. For some reason they didn't sell it in Japan -_-

Looking forward to experiencing the changes.

 

[Replicant]

I just want Uncle Dante back. Is it too much to ask? Uncle Dante is the sexiest version of all the Dantes.

 

[Razlo]

I thought his personality sucked, I didn't like the new look and the gameplay was lesser than previous entries. Totally fine that some people loved DmC, but not exactly shocking that most long time fans were going to have an issue.

 

[darkslayer101]

I just want Uncle Dante back. Is it too much to ask? Uncle Dante is the sexiest version of all the Dantes.

soon man....soon

Can't believe we went from DMC being almost non existent to a possible sequel.

 

[karasu]

But new Dante never tries to be cool. He's consistently presented as an irritating, immature child.

Which is what NT thinks is edgy cool. The original Dante was cool like a ninja turtle. And that was ok. Aside from his combat prowess, those old cut scenes were never anything we were supposed to take seriously. All they wanted us to do was to marvel at the absolute insane imagery of a guy eating pizza while surfing on the backs of the fallen. They were never meant to hold up to dramatic scrutiny. The problem with NT is they want you to take everything they do so boringly so seriously. I can guarantee that the first thing to come to a DMC players mind is not how much emotion you can accurately display in a cut scene. The fuck you's were never going to become so impactful that players would catch themselves in flights of reverie concerning them moments later. This was always the wrong series for them. They approach their games from the ass first. And by ass I mean story.

 

[GuardianE]

But new Dante never tries to be cool. He's consistently presented as an irritating, immature child.

Unlike original Dante, who goes to great lengths to make everything he does look cool, from eating a slice of pizza to picking up the phone.

And thanks for agreeing with the bolded.

I think that's a misinterpretation on your part. Tameem and Ninja Theory actively tried to make DmC Dante cool, and have him act cool in their own westernized spin of cool, whether it appeals to you or not. He's actively trying to be a bad boy WB drama heartthrob with every one liner and salacious comment he makes. It'll come down to personal preference as to whether you consider that cool or not.

You can view classic Dante as going to great lengths trying to look cool. I just saw his shenanigans as him as being glib and having fun. And a character that is actively having fun appeals to me more in this series because it runs congruent and consistent with the freestyle flow of the gameplay itself. But sure. Let's reduce it to "12 year old taste" because that makes you sound convincing.

 

[IcyRhythms]

People just like to complain. They don't like change. Change is hard in just everyday life and people get far too attached to these fictional characters.

 

[Mit-]

I just didn't want them to reboot the series. It's not about disliking change. What if, instead of the next season of your favorite TV show, they just rebooted it entirely, started an entirely new storyline, and reimagined all of the characters for the modern day youth? Oh, and the last season was plenty successful, and the owners had no reason to reboot it other than they didn't want to produce and create the show themselves. Would you be upset? Is this because you just don't like change? No. Probably not.

This is why nobody even wanted to try and like the game the second it was announced. No one asked for it, no one wanted it, and it wasn't necessary.

 

[Not Spaceghost]

He kinda reminds me of anakin skywalker

 

[Weiss]

People just like to complain. They don't like change. Change is hard in just everyday life and people get far too attached to these fictional characters.

People like change when change doesn't suck.

For real, it's not even a matter of "New Dante sucks", it's "New Dante sucks, and this new mechanically inferior game exists at the cost of the series we already like."

 

[FreeMufasa]

Was one of the most pathetic moments in gaming. Grown ass men crying bout some game character not having white hair n shit.

Game is dope. I liked this and the original series. So whichever gets a sequel is a win-win for me. But hoping for more DmC

 

[Two Words]

DmC Dante is too try-hard with his attitude.

 

[kewlmyc]

I just don't get why Capcom decided that a reboot was necessary. 4 was the best selling DMC game.

He wasn't as bad as the classic fans made him. I prefer him to DMC1 and 2 Dante at least.

At least it's not as bad as what they did to newVergil. Dear god, way to freaking ruin one of the best rival characters in video gaming.

Also Bayonetta's superior to all of them.

 

[Seyavesh]

People just like to complain. They don't like change. Change is hard in just everyday life and people get far too attached to these fictional characters.

Was one of the most pathetic moments in gaming. Grown ass men crying bout some game character not having white hair n shit.

Game is dope. I liked this and the original series. So whichever gets a sequel is a win-win for me. But hoping for more DmC

what's that? a new page?

Let's look at what changed and didn't change with DmC, shall we.

DmC failed to change so much that actually matters: Progression is still completely linear since the mission/chapter system still sticks to the series like gum in its hair, the enemies are still slow and unreactive punching bags with two moves max, bosses still lack anti-air attacks, instead of getting rid of the pointless platforming they doubled down on it, the weapon/style switching is still unnecessarily convoluted, they failed to shake up the level design, the art design doesn't amount to more than pretty scenery instead of actually interesting locations (look at Dark Souls and Bloodborne. That's what DMC should aspire to, instead of dull gray-ish cities and pretty skyboxes), they made the "area closes off" scripted events before battles even more fucking annoying, no Boss Rush Mode, no co-op, no NG-esque mission mode, it continued a proud series tradition of getting rid of a bunch of great features from previous games (this time no Royal Guard, no Air Trick, no Sword Pierce/Dance Macabre, no Twosome Time, no Gunstinger, no DT-exclusive moves, no Distortion, no Inertia or Guard Flying, no Nero or any of his mechanics; still no crazy combos, Free Ride, Pole Swing, elemental weapons, obtaining bosses as weapons, Quicksilver or unique firearms like Artemis or Spiral). I could go on and on and on.

As for what they actually changed: The story is a retread of DMC1 and DMC3, the concept of Limbo has little impact on gameplay, the urban environments meets demonic wonderland amount to pretty looking skyboxes instead of actually interesting level design, modern trends like cinematic set pieces and forced walking sections, boss fights are interrupted by cutscenes and scripted events, they got rid of the lock-on which fundamentally changes the combat system and breaks the combat on higher difficulties, the launcher is now has a dedicated button with only two possible functions, more gosh darn bush-snorting stick-licking platforming, zero gravity on aerial moves meaning air combat is dead simple, the Angel/Devil system restricts the freedom of the combat needlessly, the weapon switching is even more convoluted by combining a toggle based weapon switch with the weapon switching of DMC3 and the stupid weapon shuffling from DMC4, weapons are now light/medium/heavy which sucks the fun out of combat even further, the combat has less options because of a more limited move set even though there's two more weapons, Dante's Devil Trigger is the worst version yet as it offers nothing beyond an anti-grav feature and a generic power up, and again it got rid and ignored of a bunch of great features from previous games.

Gee, I wonder why DmC's changes were so negatively received.

As for DmC Dante, no, people didn't hate him because they "hate change". They hated DmC Dante because the initial reveal was absolutely terrible, because instead of taking the criticism to heart Tameem and Capcom's Alex Jones dismissed fan concerns and insulted them instead. They hated DmC Dante because he's much less of the goofy cartoon character that people loved. They hate DmC Dante because he fucks strippers in the intro, and lives in a trailer. They hate DmC Dante because he's dressed like he's hobo. They hate DmC Dante because of the nature of the reboot his character represented a regression of all the development the original version of the character had undergone.
You can argue that some or none of those things matter. Personally, I don't really care about the changes that much because gameplay is no. 1 to me. But no one hates DmC Dante solely because they "hate change". It's a completely embarrassing notion and something that sounds like a commenter on a Daily Mail article would say than a NeoGAF poster.

I'm sick to death of every DmC related thread being the same garbage ad nauseum. Random DmC stans insulting fans over trivial bullshit while ignoring the actual interesting stuff the game did because their interest in DmC will never be anything but shallow gravy, while on the other hand a bunch of DMC weekend warriors shout about how DmC was the worst thing ever and worse than DMC2 and while also failing to acknowledge the before-mentioned great additions to the formula that DmC had.

We're so goddamn lucky that people like Rahni Tucker and NeoGAF's own TribladeX were involved in DmC because I shudder to think about what kind of shit fest DmC would have been otherwise.



The best things DmC gave us was a fully 360 degree rotatable camera system, full 360 degree maneuverability in mid-air instead of the forced jump arcs of previous games, Ricoshot, Reverse Rainstorm, Aquila's mechanics, the changes to Vergil's combat mechanics and move set, Dojo/Training Mode, extensive stat tracking found in the options, in-game speed increasing by 10% at S rank and above, the changes to the upgrade system, the ability to try out moves before buying them, generally more intuitive menu system/interface, being able to quit and continue from the last checkpoint, secret missions being available from the menu, features like Turbo and Super Mode being toggles in the main menu instead of hidden in the options, almost no forced backtracking or puzzle solving, bosses get their own separate missions, environmental hazards which are useful in combat, enemies that can parry attacks mid-air/mid-combo, charge moves charge faster and are therefore much more useful, pause combo-switching (i.e. continuing a pause combo with a different weapon) which is accompanied by a controller rumble and the flashing of the weapon, moves with just frame properties for all weapon types and not just gauntlets, improved style visual UI as Style rank up is indicated by the letter filling up, the style ranking system in DmC DE which is the best version of any game in the series, toggle-based lock-on, Bloody Palace timer option, Must Style Mode, Gods Must Die as an official feature.



You're ignoring context. Merely an hour before we have a scene where Kat explains in dead pan about how she was abused and raped by her step father who was a demon. The tone of DmC, like the originals, is all over the place.

If people misunderstood anything about the story, the game itself is to blame.

 

[Dahbomb]

You can paste that GuardianE post too you know.

 

[ZenTzen]

for a reboot that tried to take itself seriously on the story and have some sort of character development of its characters, i felt more attached and empathized more with those larger than life characters of the originals, their personalities and motivations and far enjoyed their stories and the cheesiness than anything in the reboot

suffice to say that speaking on gameplay i far enjoyed the old games far more than the reboot, for verious different reasons

 

[Mass Effect]

You can paste that GuardianE post too you know.

why bother

these fools don't want to read and understand, they just want to post about how "salty" old DMC fans are.

 

[Seyavesh]

You can paste that GuardianE post too you know.

good point

why bother

these fools don't want to read and understand, they just want to post about how "salty" old DMC fans are.

obviously, but i figure if i hammer it in enough maybe it will get through to some of 'em

It's quite easy (and lazy) to dismiss an entire fanbase for being irrational and illogical. As time has passed since the announcement, release, and re-release of DmC, you'll find that DMC fan concerns were warranted and justified, whereas there is a contingent of people who will insist on vilifying the DMC fanbase simply for fighting for something they care about. "White hair lol" wasn't a point of discussion a year after the reveal.

The most reductive and ignorant people will attribute the distaste of DmC Dante to "DMC fans hate change." As with any fanbase, there will be a subset that will despise any change to their sacred formula, but the DMC series as a whole is no stranger to change. Ironically, the hardcore DMC fanbase might be one of the most tolerant of change from game to game. The character focus has always shifted gears significantly from title to title. Every sequel featured a dramatic change, usually in character and scope. What was not compromised, however, was the attempt to hone and deepen the gameplay with each iteration. DmC was never advertised as such. In fact, DmC was advertised as an attempt to reach a casual demographic with a gritty urban western aesthetic at the expense of certain areas of gameplay depth.

Most hardcore DMC fans played DmC. Played it to death. Played it more than most people defending it. It's why we know there were problems with the original release. It's why we had issues with 30fps, no lock on, color coded enemies, broken devil trigger, broken damage values, broken style meter, and all around poor boss design. It's also why DmCDE changed all of these things. Because Ninja Theory recognized that all those little whiny fanboys had a point, and understood how to patch some of the glaring holes in their game.

All DMC fans don't universally hate change. They hated the changes that they saw coming throughout the development process because they recognized them, and spoke out against them. And continued to attack the game after release while they experienced those issues first hand.


But let's take a step back and look strictly at the superficial character design of DmC Dante. To argue that he was just the same as DMC Dante is either disingenuous or blind. DMC Dante was a goofball. Yes, even in DMC1. He was silly, over-the-top, slapstick, and lackadaisical. DmC Dante tries to appeal to a different kind of cool. There's no question that DmC Dante is harsher, cruder, and an anti-establishment bad boy archetype. He's not DMC Dante. He may be something you prefer, but he's not the same character. You have to understand that what DmC was proposing was the complete abandonment of a character that fans had grown attached to... not the change of that character, the deletion and subsitution. And while I certainly wouldn't argue that these are objective reasons why DmC is worse than DMC, I would argue that it's a perfectly legitimate reason for someone to not spend their hard earned money on a product that doesn't appeal to them.

The fan reaction to DmC's Dante was one spawned out of fear. The classic series might not have things that you care about, OP, but there was an existing dedicated fanbase that was threatened with the dissolution of the gameplay/story/characters that they loved... all while the series was arguably at its peak gameplaywise (saleswise definitely). And all for the sake of westernization and chasing God of War money. This has been confirmed by Itsuno in postmortem interviews - if DmC sold incredibly well, it would have been the series going forward. It seems that Capcom actually created what is essentially an irreconcilable rift in the fanbase, as is evidenced by threads like these.

It doesn't help that Ninja Theory, Capcom, and games journalists had the audacity to demonize the fanbase as a whole for actually speaking their minds and voting with their wallets. The entire tortured development process wasn't easy for Ninja Theory, but Tameem did no one any favors in how he opted to speak about the fanbase and outright ignore feedback. Thank God not everyone on the development team wasn't as blind as Tameem and certain members of Capcom. Key members and combat designer Rahni Tucker took feedback from the DMC and DmC fanbase to make DmCDE, a vastly vastly improved game all around, because they saw the legitimate concerns and criticisms from fans.

 

[kinoki]

I always saw the original Dante as some kind of a power fantasy/fetish for nerds. He had white hair, a long robe, a sword and a cocky personality. He even spews these stupid lines that are supposed to be cool ("dark soul with light", etc) like it was deep. He's just corny as fuck and only someone with deep social issues would think he's genuinely cool.

The new Dante is not a nerd power fantasy. And there is where I think the rub really lies.

 

[daxy]

People for some reason mainly associate visual/character design with a game series, rather than the gameplay being the 'iconic' quality.

The people who threw a fit about this must have grown up with old Dante, right? Maybe the fans have now had their Wind Waker moment and can grow up.

 

[Lernaean]

I just came to say thank you to Sesha and GuardianE.
Thank you guys. I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Success]

Just so we can all remember, this was the reveal trailer for DmC. (can't find a better quality vid)

And this was the reboot Dante.

The final game Dante in DmC turned out to be rather awesome but that reveal trailer messed them up.

 

[nded]

People for some reason mainly associate visual/character design with a game series, rather than the gameplay being the 'iconic' quality.

The people who threw a fit about this must have grown up with old Dante, right? Maybe the fans have now had their Wind Waker moment and can grow up.

It's not like the series' 'iconic' gameplay made the transition intact either. A fair proportion of the criticism leveled against this game is regarding mechanics and game design, but I guess it's easier to dismiss people if you only focus on their most petty arguments.

 

[badcrumble]

We'll get past all of these arguments once it becomes clear that we're getting DMC5 and not DmC2.

 

[B-Genius]

I did. Just like Shadow, original Dante tries so hard to be cool and fails spectacularly to anyone who has tastes more mature than a 12-year-old.

How would you qualify your own tastes, then? I suppose you must feel very sophisticated favouring such an embittered and crude portrayal of a character that was clearly never meant to be taken so seriously.

I don't think fans of OG Dante would argue that he's objectively "cool". He has a good time doing what he does with style, and he makes it look easy, which could, in all fairness, be considered cool.

The problem (many have) with Nu Dante is that you're forced to take him seriously for the most part. There's no other angle to his brooding badboy nature. That naturally turns a lot of people off, especially those who appreciated the goofier, more light-hearted Dante of old.

To be honest, I'd quite like to play DmC again (maybe I'll pick up the DE that everyone says is vastly improved), because some part of me gets a kick out of the more darker tones (in the environment, sound design, etc. NOT Dante himself). When I do, I'll try and approach it as "Ninja Theory's Satirical Take on Generation X Cool", and hopefully I'll see it for the genius it really is.

 

[Zomba13]

We'll get past all of these arguments once it becomes clear that we're getting DMC5 and not DmC2.

Then we can post shit like "You DmC fans just don't like change" and "All you DmC babies mad that he doesn't have black hair any more and doesn't swear as much".

 

[Safros]

I always saw the original Dante as some kind of a power fantasy/fetish for nerds. He had white hair, a long robe, a sword and a cocky personality. He even spews these stupid lines that are supposed to be cool ("dark soul with light", etc) like it was deep. He's just corny as fuck and only someone with deep social issues would think he's genuinely cool.

The new Dante is not a nerd power fantasy. And there is where I think the rub really lies.

It's sad that some people believe this.
You could attempt to read the reasons that people bring up instead of writing whatever that was meant to be. I mean, sure, some people hate new Dante to an unreasonable degree but things like this are just as much of a problem.

 

[karasu]

Why do some of you have so much invested in new Dante than you can't even tolerate the idea of someone disliking him for completely sane reasons? I mean was his character design so great that you really feel you need to insult people about power fantasies and other trivialities? Crazy.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

For all the hate Donte capped, Vergil takes the shitlord cake. Dude assassinated a baby and then let its mom live long enough to let her realize it before blowing her head open.

Also wore a fedora and was a grade A asshole.

 

[Spman2099]

Was one of the most pathetic moments in gaming. Grown ass men crying bout some game character not having white hair n shit.

Game is dope. I liked this and the original series. So whichever gets a sequel is a win-win for me. But hoping for more DmC

It is amazing that people are still boiling down all the legitimate complaints to the hair colour... Sad, but amazing.

I think that is primarily on the media who pushed this narrative so goddamn hard.

Then we can post shit like "You DmC fans just don't like change" and "All you DmC babies mad that he doesn't have black hair any more and doesn't swear as much".

Brilliant.

 

[Zomba13]

It's sad that some people believe this.
You could attempt to read the reasons that people bring up instead of writing whatever that was meant to be. I mean, sure, some people hate new Dante to an unreasonable degree but things like this are just as much of a problem.

Nah, it's easier to write off people who like things I don't like as being childish baby nerds who threw death threats at people for changing the colour of a guys hair in a videogame.

 

[nded]

For all the hate Donte capped, Vergil takes the shitlord cake. Dude assassinated a baby and then let its mom live long enough to let her realize it before blowing her head open.

Also wore a fedora and was a grade A asshole.

But you're completely ignoring the brilliant satire behind this scene.

 

[Zomba13]

But you're completely ignoring the brilliant satire behind this scene.

I absolutely love how people actually use that as a defence of things when people are critical. Like, You can't hate on DmCs writing and inconsistent tone because satire. I mean, there absolutely is satire in the game, but it's not really new or clever. It's the same Fox News and big corporation easy target shit that South Park pulls off a million times better.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

One of the things that really endeared me to Dante (and the series as a whole) was the contrast between him and the setting.

Devil May Cry builds up this super edgy setting with spiky fire demons, edgy metal tracks, tortured souls, gothic castles, etc. and then this smug jackass just walks in and fucks it all up without a care in the world. Both 3 and 4 did this, although 4 did it a bit weirder by having a mostly unironic plot involving Nero before throwing Dante in midway through (it doesn't entirely work). DmC keeps the super edgy setting, but takes itself more seriously and even worse throws in the weird social commentary and without a counter balance in a goofy protagonist it really just kinda falls flat on it's face.

Bayonetta also does the whole contrast thing, but it replaces the demon powermetal with the angels who are more horrifying in an otherworldly Lovecraftian sense.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

I could never really get into the DMC games, but I enjoyed DmC. As for the Dante character, in the OG games he was an annoying, cheesy goofball anime character, while in DmC he was an annoying, edgy and brooding Shadow the Edgehog, so I don't think either version is particularly good.

DmC did have some great music tho, dat Combichrist soundtrack, hnf hnf.

 

[fvng]

Agree 100% op. Still hoping for a sequel

 

[HyperBitHero]

Because it was a terrible story with terrible characters with gameplay that didn't come close to the original series.

 

[FreeMufasa]

I always saw the original Dante as some kind of a power fantasy/fetish for nerds. He had white hair, a long robe, a sword and a cocky personality. He even spews these stupid lines that are supposed to be cool ("dark soul with light", etc) like it was deep. He's just corny as fuck and only someone with deep social issues would think he's genuinely cool.

The new Dante is not a nerd power fantasy. And there is where I think the rub really lies.

Basically this. It's mad funny when you see them call new Dante a 'douche' rofl.

Then you factor in not Japanese Made and it's a recipe for a nerd meltdown.

 

[Candescence]

OG Dante was an absolute goofball and a dork, and he was having fun just as much as the player. Hell, the whole series isn't really supposed to be taken seriously for the most part. Though it helps that many sequences genuinely are cool and over the top.

DmC, on the other hand, throws out the fun and substitutes it with a bland shitty cast, a horrendously written 'edgy' story with 'satire' that's about as subtle as a damn brick. Throw in a horrendous soundtrack and awful art design and environments, and you've got an axis of suck.

The gameplay itself was just passable, though.

 

[TheOriginalFlippydip]

Dunno if it's been posted, but for those saying that Donte has no good one liners don't remember the church sequence near the beginning of the game. The whole sequence being the setup for that corny ass joke is perfection-

http://youtu.be/wKNjWTAFhmg

 

[tbd]

Realistic face, no anime hair. That's it, really.

 

[B-Genius]

Then you factor in not Japanese Made and it's a recipe for a nerd meltdown.

Stay free, Mufasa.

 

[Pyramid head]

I mean, hey, if you think original Dante is cool, by all means, enjoy that brand of cool. Plenty of people find Shadow the Hedgehog cool, too. They're usually 12 years old, but if you want to have the taste of a 12-year-old, then that's fine.

Hey man, you know what I could do when I was 12 years old? I could discern when something was tongue in cheek. But, I also recall the peer pressure from those years. You should start being amused by swearing now, doesn't matter if it's funny, adults swear so it's cooooooool. Hey look at this guy: He swears, he fucks strippers, he answers the door with his cock out, what an adult, how edgy.
DmC's brand of edgy is tailor made for people still trapped in the insecurity of puberty.
Personally, without at least a little wit to back it up, that kind of shit hasn't amused me since I actually was 12. Give me straight up zany, over the top fun any day, the kind which isn't overly concerned with how mature the player thinks they are.

 

[M0nochromatic]

Sesha's and GuardianE's posts are great reads, I must say.

Strangely enough, DmC was my first entry in the series and is what got me to play 3 & 4. I acknowledge that it lacks a lot in comparison to it's predecessor's, but I personally have to give it credit for getting me interested in the series.

The Virgil 1 fight and subsequent cutscene from 3 is one of my best experiences from a video game. If DmC hadn't got me into it from a casual level, I would have missed out.

 

[Rymuth]

Because it was a terrible story with terrible characters with gameplay that didn't come close to the original series.

I rather enjoyed your video on the subject matter.

 

[Strangelove77]

Things I've learned in this thread -

1. There are a healthy amount of DmC Dante fans and most of them are super defensive
2. The remastered version of DmC is actually a good game now
3. No one really knows what the hell DmC was attempting to do. You think you do, but you don't
4. Seriously, you don't
5. Fuck this, let's all go play DMC3

 

[BocoDragon]

I always saw the original Dante as some kind of a power fantasy/fetish for nerds. He had white hair, a long robe, a sword and a cocky personality. He even spews these stupid lines that are supposed to be cool ("dark soul with light", etc) like it was deep. He's just corny as fuck and only someone with deep social issues would think he's genuinely cool.

The new Dante is not a nerd power fantasy. And there is where I think the rub really lies.

No one thought original Dante was a cool power fantasy. Such a misreading of the character and its fans.

I'll be charitable to this generally wrong post and say that OG Dante was particularly appreciated by gamer nerds... because they understood that he was to be appreciated ironically for being campy and over-the-top. Someone above said that OG Dante was a Ninja Turtle. That is spot on. The biggest fans understand that it's supposed to be silly and fun.

On the other hand Nu Dante is a power fantasy. It wants us to take angry punk ethos seriously. And that kind of emo appeal is just for another kind of nerd, really.

 

[Spman2099]

Basically this. It's mad funny when you see them call new Dante a 'douche' rofl.

Then you factor in not Japanese Made and it's a recipe for a nerd meltdown.

Bait? Bait.

By the way, you are posting on a video game message board. You are, without question, a nerd. We all are. You have no ground to stand on. Just saying...

 

[Unit24]

Bait? Bait.

By the way, you are posting on a video game message board. You are, without question, a nerd. We all are. You have no ground to stand on. Just saying...

If you know it's bait, why are you bothering to respond?

 

[dlauv]

I don't think Old Dante was particularly considered "cool." Maybe he was considered a affably misguided attempt to be "cool," or cool to youngsters.

I think Old Dante is cool in the way that a walking, acceptable meme could be cool.

New Dante doesn't really touch him on any level.