Ryo Hayabusa returns in Ninja Gaiden Sigma II for the Xbox 360. Taking place a year after his previous victory over the evil forces, once again Ryu finds himself at war with dark forces. However, in Ninja Gaiden Sigma II, Ryu finds that he has a more personal reason to fight this time around. Ryu’s village was invaded by Black Spider Ninjas who aimed to steal a legendary statue called the Demon Statue that the village has held onto for some time. Joe Hayabusa, Ryu’s father, wishes his son to retrieve the statue as it will lead the world into ruin if the statue’s power falls into the wrong hands. Ryu will now go forth once more facing foes that want nothing more to take him down, but Ryu with his legendary Dragon Sword stands ready.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma II is all about action and fans of Devil May Cry will love that without a doubt. Once again the fast and furious gameplay that has become a staple of the Ninja Gaiden games returns but more tuned for better gameplay mechanics and tighter controls in this version. Also returning is the series well known difficulty but players will appreciate that there are multiple difficulties this time around to harken to those who wish for a bit of an easier ride. Overall if you love the swordplay of Devil May Cry with its mixture of gun play and sword fights, you’ll love Ninja Gaiden Sigma II as it shares all those traits that make an excellent game.

Solid Snake has always taken the role as lead main character in most of the Metal Gear games, once Raiden was introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty he hasn’t had much of a prominent role. That all changes in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance where Raiden is now the main hero. Raiden’s story begins when he is attacked while on a mission involving escorting a VIP. Having lost, Raiden is fortunately put back together using his cybernetic limbs and made even stronger. Now on a mission of revenge, Raiden will use his new body and tools to annihilate the enemies of the future. Raiden use to have the nickname Jack the Ripper, his enemies will soon learn why.

The Metal Gear series has always been about stealth over action, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance has altered that concept thanks to developers Platinum Games who are known for producing amazing action titles. Metal Gear Rising Revengeance allows players to have an unprecedented freedom with their strikes allowing fluid sword strikes that aim for specific parts. Similar to Devil May Cry style, players will wander large areas facing opponents left and right to proceed forward to an eventual boss fight in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Those who are familiar with the lore of the series will recognize a lot of tributes hidden in game as well as several characters from the series popping up. If you want to know what it could feel like to be a walking cyborg capable of cutting enemies into a dozen or more pieces we recommend you Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

The tale of Kratos is one that is well known to most. After the events of the previous game, Kratos continues to seek his path of revenge against the Gods. Amassing an army of Titans, Kratos now has a means to fight against the might of Olympus. However, Zeus and his fellow Gods won’t allow themselves to fall into fear against a man who is still only human. Can Kratos defeat some of the Gods legends were made from? Regardless if any believe in him, Kratos stands with his legendary twin swords ready to show the world the extent of his anger.

God of War III brings back the series staple carnage and blood baths. Similar to Devil May Cry, God of War III gives players a vast amount of weapons and powers to defeat the various enemies of the game. The series’ well known quick time events also return and are still fun to pull off leading to some gruesome executions when executed on enemies. Devil May Cry has also always given players interesting bosses that require using wit and smart use of the various weapons of the game, that mechanic is mirrored in God of War III. If you have never played a God of War title, don’t worry you can still enjoy God of War III fully as the game does have backstory at times, but you can purchase the previous games as remastered titles. However, God of War III stands as the best of the series and for that is worthy of being on this list.

The world is nearing its end. The powerful Lords of Shadows has launched its power across the world bringing forth evil forces that are killing innocent humans. The Brotherhood of Light exists to take down the evil forces such as one of its members by the name of Gabriel Belmont. Having just lost his wife, Gabriel seems lost but then his wife’s spirit, trapped in between dimensions, tells him that she knows how to help him save the world. Going forth, Gabriel stands against the evil forces from the Lords of Shadow. Armed with only his Combat Cross, Gabriel must now travel to seek out the Lords of Shadow’s various forms to take them down.

Castlevania has always been known for side scrolling gameplay, the few games of the series that deviated from that mechanic were met with negative reactions from fans. Developer Mercury Stream alongside Kojima Productions helped to finally find a means to make Castelvania: Lords of Shadow feel vastly different from its former titles leading to a game that felt more akin to the Devil May Cry franchise. Focusing on fast paced combat and counters, players will enjoy a whole new side of Castlevania. Besides fantastic combat, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow looks fantastic melding some of the series strongest art styles ever seen. We at Honey’s Anime truly feel you will thank us if you haven’t tried this amazing game.

Are you having a nightmare? Is this really happening? Waking up, you see a strange old man standing above you. The old man claims that he must alter your blood otherwise you will most likely die. Suddenly strange beasts appear, you black out before they can reach you. Upon waking you notice the old man and the beasts are gone, you are alone in the room. You leave the building having barely avoided a large beast. Stepping outside you see the world and you realize this may not be a dream after all. Welcome hunter, you are cordially invited to join the hunt. If you wish to survive and bring a way to end this dream you will have to go forth and tackle the beasts of the night.

Bloodborne’s action packed gameplay truly mirrors the feel of Devil May Cry. While Bloodborne comes from developer From Software known for their Dark Souls series, Bloodborne aims to infuse faster paced combat and less defensive measure like the Souls series. You will face a myriad of varying beasts as you travel this dark land but along the way you’ll find yourself becoming stronger and stronger as you use the in game currency called Blood Echoes to enhance yourself, very similar to Devil May Cry’s fallen enemy’s essence to power Dante and his various skills. If you seek a game akin to Devil May Cry’s harder difficulty setting, we highly recommend checking out Bloodborne.

After having slept for 500 years, a young witch awakens to an unfamiliar world. She remembers little of her past. Time passes and the young witch’s memories return slightly. She remembers her name, Bayonetta, and that a war caused her predicament. The Umbra Witches went to war against the Lumen Sages to gain control over the world. The witches standing for darkness and the sages for light. Bayonetta knows one thing, she hates both of these factions and aims to destroy both of their forces. Armed with her hair, which acts as her magic summoning and several weapons, Bayonetta will begin to eventually learn more as time progresses. However, are those memories ones worth remembering?

Bayonetta wraps up this list and it is very deserving of the final spot. Directed by Hideki Kamiya, the same man who directed Devil May Cry, it is understandable there would still be obvious elements carried over from Devil May Cry. Bayonetta’s combat and various room to room type of gameplay is an echo to Devil May Cry but with its own soul. Players will use Bayonetta’s powerful hair attacks, yes her hair is the literal weapon at times, as well as various guns to combat angels and demons. The players can also evade and if timed right the game slows down allowing for large combos to be pulled off on the enemies Bayonetta faces. We recommend the Wii U version of the game as it has remastered graphics and updated mechanics but you can get the full experience just as well on the other consoles. Bayonetta is easily one of the coolest action games of all time and while it does have a sequel, we still believe the first title does it best.