Sin Devil Trigger (2024)

• NORMAL
• SIN
• DmC

• MAIN
• Gallery

The Sin Devil Trigger (真魔人 Shin majin^?), referred to as the Ultimate Devil Mode (真魔人モード Shin Majin mōdo^?) in Devil May Cry 2, is a second Devil Trigger mode, which utilizes the character's True Devil transformation. Originally available in DMC2 to Dante only, it can be used by both Dante and Vergil in Devil May Cry 5 and Special Edition.

While in DMC2 this transformation used the regular Devil Trigger Gauge, in DMC5 it has the special Sin Devil Trigger Gauge (シンデビルトリガーゲージ Shin debiru torigā gēji^?) or SDT Gauge dedicated to it.

Appearance[]

The Ultimate Devil Form's appearance in Devil May Cry 2 resembles Dante's previous transformation into Sparda, but more bestial. The head is surrounded by large ram-like horns with a second smaller set extending from the top. It is shown to have reptilian feet and four bat-like wings which are darker than the body. Dante wields a pair of bright red retractable spikes in his forearms, similar to the demonic needles used by Mundus.

In Devil May Cry 5, Dante's Sin Devil Trigger has a somewhat similar appearance. It has two pairs of wings, and the horns on top of the head are now longer. The chest and head glow with incandescent orange in a similar manner to Berial, and the whole body is wreathed in demonic flames. The solid parts of the body seem to be a combination of metal and black demonic stone: any areas of exposed "skin" are covered in square scales.

Vergil's Sin Devil Trigger has four wings folded down in a similar manner to the tails of Vergil's coat, blue arm-mounted blades, and a thick reptilian tail with a barbed tip that extends from between its shoulders. While the head is basically shaped similarly to his normal Devil Trigger form in Devil May Cry 4, Vergil's Sin Devil Trigger resembles a traditional samurai helmet more, with the horns assume hollowed and tube-like shape, venting demonic energy in a manner resembling exhausts. The solid part of his body resembles samurai armor more and whole body is wreathed in silver aura. The color scheme of Vergil's Sin Devil Trigger is silver to blue, opposite of his brother's coloring.

Story[]

Devil May Cry 5[]

During the incursion of the Qliphoth in Red Grave City, Dante is defeated by Urizen and the Rebellion's blade is shattered in the battle. After V locates Dante and gives him Sparda, the demon hunter journeys to the ruins of his old family home.

Contemplating a photograph of his family, Dante ponders why Sparda had given him the Rebellion, recalling how he had once awakened his potential when Vergil stabbed him through the chest with the sword. He considers that, if Yamato is the sword that divides, Rebellion is perhaps the inverse. Much to Griffon's horror, he decides to test this theory by thrusting the broken hilt of Rebellion into his stomach.

Through this he fuses the remains of Rebellion, the Devil Sword Sparda and possibly his own powers. By doing so he unlocks his true potential, a devil form powerful enough to confront the mighty Demon King. On confronting Urizen, he calls the Devil Sword Dante into existence in his hand, and thereafter adds it to his arsenal when in human form.

Nico's report on Sin Devil Trigger Dante states that there is "no telling" how much power Dante has in this state, speculating that he may even be more powerful than Sparda himself. In her report on Devil Sword Dante she states she isn't sure if Dante used his own powers or those inherent to Rebellion to create the new weapon.

When Dante finally faces Vergil in combat, the latter also possessed a more powerful Devil Form, which Nico speculated was a consequence of "his time bein' Urizen". As of the Special Edition however, it was officially referred to as his Sin Devil Trigger.

Gameplay[]

Devil May Cry 2[]

The form is not documented in any version of the game's manual, seemingly intended as a secret for the player to discover. It is activated if Dante uses his Devil Trigger while at less than 10% health (ie, when the remaining health in the bar has turned red). Once the form has been activated, it cannot be manually cancelled: Dante stays transformed until the Devil Trigger gauge is completely depleted. It restores health just like the normal Devil Trigger. While in this form, Dante is invulnerable: he does not take damage, his attacks cannot be interrupted, and he does not flinch when hit. He is also immune to the pink sphere traps.

In terms of combat, Dante in this form possesses much faster movement speed, and has enhanced physical strength. He can fly much like with the Aerial Heart. His attacks in this state are based on demonic powers and very different, using red wrist-mounted spikes for his melee attacks and throwing red fireballs as his ranged attack. The form ignores Dante's normal equipment: his equipped weapons and Amulet components have no effect on his capabilities.

While it is active, the Devil Trigger gauge constantly drains as normal, but in addition using any of its attacks will drain a set amount of the gauge. Its basic moves drain for each button press, and spinning moves for each rotation. The most economical use of the form is simply spamming fireballs, as these deal catastrophic damage to enemies while having a fairly reasonable DT gauge cost: it is easy to throw fifteen or more in a single use, more than any boss in the game can withstand. The player can use Devil Stars to prolong the effect.

Dante can also expend all of his remaining DT energy to create either an enormous area-of-effect shockwave, or a ray of energy to deal heavy, concentrated damage. These are actually fairly mediocre uses of the mode given how much damage the regular moves do: they are best employed as finishers at the end of activating it.

Devil May Cry 5[]

Dante[]

The Sin Devil Trigger bar is added above the regular DT bar after Devil Sword Dante is acquired, even if Dante has one of his other swords equipped. It fills slightly when Dante takes damage, but is not filled by taunts or stylish combat like the regular DT gauge. The main method of filling it is using the move Accumulate, which transfers power from the regular DT gauge to the SDT gauge. It takes 12 bars of the DT gauge to fill the SDT gauge. A distinctive sound effect is heard when the SDT gauge is filled: it is important to pay attention to this, since the command for using SDT is the same as the command for filling the gauge. Charging the gauge does not have an associated animation, and the player can do it while performing other actions.

It takes a short time to activate SDT, indicated by the gauge filling outwards from the middle: the move then activates when the button is released. A bestial roar can be heard when the move is ready and Dante's SDT demon form will briefly appear over him. As with Accumulate, Dante can perform other moves while SDT is being readied or ready. The player can release the button to stop filling the bar at any time with no consequence, but once it is filled there is no way to cancel it in-game and the player is committed to using SDT. This can be circumvented by pausing the game, letting go of the DT button, and resuming.

Once activated, there is normally a short animation of Devil Sword Dante impaling Dante though the chest, during which Dante cannot take damage: this ends with an explosion which will deal damage to all enemies nearby. Activating SDT will cancel any action Dante is currently taking with absolute priority, even overriding normally uninterruptible moves such as Balrog's Real Impact and Pyromania. Health is not restored by SDT, but Dante does gain so-called "super armor" in this state, meaning his attacks cannot be interrupted, he cannot be staggered or knocked down, and he takes drastically reduced damage from enemy attacks.

SDT removes access to Dante's normal weapons and Styles, instead having its own moveset with a regular sword combo that ends with a gigantic 360-degree sword sweep, a homing "Stinger" which functions like Alastor or Nevan's Vortex, a high-damage fireball attack (representing Ebony/Ombra), a rapid-fire laser bolt attack (representing Ivory/Luce), a descending ground-pound AoE attack like a much more powerful version of Ifrit's Inferno, and a unique grapple attack which will deal enormous damage if an enemy is held for long enough. Its ultimate move, Judgement, unleashes a flurry of sword moves that hit every enemy in the current area, terminating in a massive explosion. This move will instantly end SDT once it concludes, but cannot be interrupted once started even if the SDT gauge expires, serving as a useful way to get in some extra damage as an ender.

The SDT form also has the ability to dodge, and a Trickster-like teleport move. Rather than walking, it glides along the ground: it also has Air Raid, allowing the player to press jump to have Dante hover in mid-air at his current altitude. Unlike prior versions of Air Raid, SDT's version allows Dante access to all of his normal attacks.

The bar normally starts to deplete as soon as the animation of Dante being impaled concludes, but at SSS style rank the animation is skipped, Dante simply changing forms like the normal Devil Trigger, and the bar does not start to deplete for five seconds. When the SDT bar is fully depleted, Dante will drop to the ground on one knee, and is unable to act and vulnerable for a short time.

Normally, the player cannot interrupt SDT once activated. By purchasing the ability "Quadruple S" an exception is created: if the player enters SDT at SSS rank and is still in the 5-second period where the SDT bar does not deplete (during which the border of the SDT bar will glow white), they can manually cancel out of SDT mode and retain their full SDT bar. Leaving SDT mode this way does not result in the usual short period of vulnerability for Dante.

As the final boss of Vergil's story, Dante utilizes Sin Devil Trigger with Quadruple S, transforming into the form mid-combo and during various phases. At low health, Dante uses Advent to warp to Vergil's location and performs Judgement, in a similar manner to Vergil's usage of Judgment Cut End.

Vergil[]

In Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition, Sin Devil Trigger is one of Vergil's starting abilities. Transforming him into True Devil, it increases his speed, attack power, and defense, as well as recovers his vitality. Unlike the boss character, player Vergil cannot fly in SDT.

SDT is represented by the dark blue gauge between the Vitality and DT gauges, which starts glowing when fully charged. SDT gauge must be accumulated expending the DT gauge by holding the SDT/Doppelganger button while in human form, however, it takes less amount of DT (about 10 bars) to fill the SDT than Dante's. As 10 bars is the limit of the DT gauge, this means that Vergil can completely fill his SDT gauge from a single full DT gauge.

Vergil's SDT is activated by holding the button when the gauge is full, and can be cancelled at any time by a simple press before it's emptied. Also the SDT won't deplete for a few seconds after transformation allowing to cancel it after a couple of attacks and reactivate again, much like with Dante's Quadruple S but without additional conditions. Purchasable ability Trigger Heart slows down the SDT gauge depletion. With Trigger Heart, the SDT gauge depletes within 20 seconds.

SDT activation burst deals damage, produces a blue colored energy shockwave, and can launch nearby enemies. If no action is taken during this activation, there is a small animation action which accompanies it. If Vergil is doing anything when SDT is triggered however, he will continue to perform whatever action he had been performing rather than the animation. The burst damage can be negated if Vergil activates one of his super attacks while transforming; the shockwave may still appear but enemies won't be affected in any way.

Vergil's SDT, unlike Dante's, doesn't have a separate moveset, but rather allows to use all of Vergil's weapons – Yamato, Beowulf, Mirage Edge-Yamato dual wield, and Mirage Blades, with some of their attacks getting alterations – additional hits and other properties (like his DMC4SE Devil Trigger). Doppelganger can be used with SDT, although it has to be controlled using the D-pad only. Additionally while in SDT Side Roll is replaced with dash, and Back Jump with Trick Down (like in DMC4SE).

Vergil can use his SDT Gauge to perform super attacks with his main weapons – Judgement Cut End with Yamato, Hell on Earth with Beowulf, and Deep Stinger with Mirage Edge-Yamato. These attacks require Concentration Level 2, and can be performed either in human form with a full SDT gauge or in SDT. If in human form, the entire unused SDT gauge is depleted. If used while in SDT, each use of those super moves will deplete only a portion (~30%) of the gauge while dealing increased damage. Four of these attacks can be performed with a full gauge in SDT, as the final attack will simply consume the remaining ~10% of the gauge. So long as Vergil is in SDT, one of these moves can be performed regardless of how little of the gauge is full. If the gauge is reduced to zero by the activation of one of these abilities, Vergil will still perform the attack and remain in SDT until the attack is complete.

Summoning the Doppleganger while in SDT massively increases Vergil's damage output, particularly with his Yamato A combo, Perfect Judgement Cuts, and Void Slash. In fact, simply spamming Perfect Judgement Cuts and/or Void Slashes in SDT with the Doppleganger active can take out even boss characters absurdly quickly. However, the Doppleganger does not copy Vergil's super attacks, and will disappear if one is activated.

Moveset[]

• Devil May Cry 2

• Devil May Cry 5

Note: Names of the attacks are taken from Devil May Cry 2 Official Complete Guide

Action	Command	Description
UDT Ground Combo	PS: , , , , XBOX: , , , ,	A powerful five-hit combo with a wide radius, ending with a lunging double-swing. Drains DT with each swipe.
Air Raid	In mid-air PS: to gain height, to lower XBOX: to gain height, to lower	Switches to flying mode.
UDT Air Raid Combo	In Air Raid PS: , XBOX: ,	Strikes in mid-air, with a 360° spin. Drains DT with each swipe.
Archibald	In mid-air after jump PS: XBOX:	Spins towards the ground, slashing with a 360° spin. Drains DT with each spin.
Whirlwind	In mid-air after jump PS: Direction + XBOX: Direction +	Spins towards enemies like a buzzsaw. Drains DT with each spin.
Crimson Bolide	PS: XBOX:	Shoots a ball of demonic energy. Button can be tapped to fire more in quick succession. Drains DT with each shot.
Doomsday	With target lock off PS: + XBOX: +	Releases an explosion of demonic energy with a wide AoE. Drains all DT. Note: Has no effect on Argosax the Chaos.
Lævateinn	PS: + + XBOX: + +	Releases a damaging beam that will lock-on to enemies. Drains all DT.

• Dante

• Vergil

Action	Command	Description
Accumulate	In human or devil form, hold	Expend the DT gauge and charge the SDT Gauge.
Shift	On ground, press + L stick ← or → + /	Quickly dodge the enemies' attacks with lightning-speed side maneuver.
SDT Combo	Press --	Perform a crushing three-stage combo attack that unleashes the full power of the Devil Sword Dante.
The Ombra	Press	Energy blasts from your palms slam into the enemy with terrific force.
Air Raid	During a jump, press while falling	Spread your wings and hover in the air. Tilt L joystick to move while hovering, or press to fold your wings and fall to earth.
Advent	Press	Move at hyper speed, reaching the enemy in the blink of an eye.
Sin Stinger	Press + L joystick forward +	Charge into the enemy surround by a whirlwind of swords. Tears through any enemy, leaving tattered shreds in your wake. Hold to keep the attack going.
Judgement	Press +	Unleash all of your power at once, bathing nearby enemies in lethal damage. Expends all of your SDT Gauge.
Sin Inferno	Press + L joystick back +	Slam a thunderous punch into the ground, making the fires of hell erupt around you and launch any nearby enemies into the air. Fire elemental attack[1]
Demolition	Press and hold	Grab an enemy and trigger a blast from within, shattering the enemy with raw explosive power.
The Luce	Press and hold	Focus energy into your outstretched wings and raze the earth with a laser barrage. Hold to keep the attack going.
Quadruple S	While transformed into Sin Devil Trigger form with Stylish Rank SSS, press when the SDT Gauge glows	When transformed into Sin Devil Trigger with Stylish Rank SSS, press while the SDT Gauge is glowing to disengage your transformation. This allows you to unleash your Sin Devil Trigger power for a moment and attack.

Main articles: Yamato, Beowulf, and Mirage Edge

Action	Command	Description
Accumulate	In human form, PS: hold Xbox: hold PC: hold	Expend the DT gauge to charge the SDT Gauge.
Sin Devil Trigger	With a full SDT Gauge, PS: hold Xbox: hold PC: hold	Vergil unshackles his true power to become the demon within. Depletes the SDT Gauge to raise attack, defense, movement speed, and restore vitality. Press // to end the effect.
Trigger Heart	Passive	45000 While Sin Devil Trigger or Doppelganger is active, both the SDT Gauge and DT Gauge will deplete at a slower rate.

File[]

Devil May Cry 5[]

Nico's Character Report - Dante - Sin Devil Trigger Dante

Dante's true form. With the two swords absorbed into him, his true power has awakened.

He can't stay in this form for long, but heck, overwhelming power doesn't have to last long to deal devastating damage.

With the power of Sparda unleashed, there's no tellin' the strength Dante has at his disposal. Maybe more than Sparda himself.

Nico's Enemy Report - Dante - Sin Devil Trigger Dante

Desperate times call for demonic measures. When Dante drops the old man bit, you know it's about to get real.

I'm talking full mano-a-demon action, you know what I mean?

Like when Dante and Vergil change shape and really start knocking each other around.

Times like that though, phew, there's the potential for some serious demon sword study here. Dante's sword's all about combining man and demon, while Vergil's all about keeping them apart. Feels like it's more than just two brothers playing around, it's like the swords themselves got something to settle.

Nico's Character Report - Vergil - Sin Devil Trigger Vergil

Yep, Vergil's got himself a devil form too. He just absorbs Yamato into his skin and BAM!, full-on devil ready to kick ass.

Thing is, he can still use other weapons. With that amount of power and speed, there ain't no telling just how strong he is...

If Nero's thinking about a family reunion, I better get busy making him some new Devil Breakers.

Nico's Enemy Report - Vergil - Sin Devil Trigger Vergil

Vergil's true form.

He always thought that his humanity was stopping him from unleashing his full potential. Well he's sure got his demon power figured out now.

Guess this is the payoff for his time bein' Urizen.

In this form, Yamato—the source of his power—is stored in his arms. Maybe this is the true form of Yamato too.

Development and background[]

Name[]

The term 真魔人 ( Shin Majin^?) literally means "True devil/demon" in Japanese. No English name for the form (or any of its moves) is provided by the game itself or its manual. However, it's given in guidebooks – BradyGames' Devil May Cry 2 Official Strategy Guide by Dan Birlew refers to it as the "Super Morph,"^[2] and Japanese Devil May Cry 2 Official Complete Guide by Studio Bent Stuff uses the "Ultimate Devil" as English name of the mode (base transformation is referred to as the "Devil" mode).^[3]

The lack of in-game documented name led to fans dubbing it the "Desperate Devil Trigger" or "Desperation Devil Trigger" (abbreviated as "DDT"), based on the criteria for activating it, and this was the most commonly used name in the English-language fandom for a significant period.

In 2007, the Encyclopedia section on North American Devil May Cry Portal website called this transformation the "Majin Form."^{[4][note 1]} Despite being unfitting – 魔人 ( Majin^?) is the term used for basic Devil Form – this name has also stuck in fandom as the name for the True Form. It was later used in Udon Entertainment's 2015 English version of Devil May Cry: 3142 Graphic Arts book in DMC2 and Interviews sections despite the same term being translated as the "Ultimate Devil Trigger" in DMC4 section. It is unknown what English name, if any, was assigned to the form in DMC4.

Devil May Cry 5 reintroduced the transformation as "Sin Devil Trigger" (the Japanese version uses this term for the gauge only, rendered in katakana, whereas the English version uses it for both the gauge and the form). According to Hideaki Itsuno, he chose the word "Sin" not simply as a phonetical representation of the Japanese word 真 ( Shin^?, lit. "True"), but because he wanted the term to have a natural meaning for western audiences, and the word "Sin" fitted the theme of demons, and has a certain cool connotations (at least to Japanese).^[5] However, the Japanese version still uses "真" for the form and the attacks "Sin Stinger" (真スティンガー Shin sutingā^?, lit. "True Stinger") and "Sin Inferno" (真インフェルノ Shin Inferuno^?, lit. "True Inferno").

Design[]

Hideaki Itsuno likened the True Devil transformation to Super Saiyan from the Dragon Ball series.^[6] He would later speak of his desire to iterate on the this form. According to him, he liked the idea of Dante unleashing his full power to enter a more powerful Devil Trigger state that reflected his demonic nature on a conceptual level, but accepted that in DMC 2 it had been implemented in such a way that most players were unaware it even existed.

Itsuno's team worked on a "Double Devil Trigger" for Dante early in the development of Devil May Cry 4.

According to the information translated from the Devil May Cry 4 artbook, the Ultimate Devil Trigger's power would have been greater than that of the Dark Knight Sparda. This, in turn, was said to cause Dante to be nearly impossible to defeat. However, this form would be double-edged, due to the fact that Dante could eventually lose his humanity and sanity and become a feral being. It is unclear if there would have been some kind of in-game mechanic related to this, or if it was simply backstory fluff.

According to the illustration of Dante's Ultimate Devil Trigger, Dante's wings unfurl and grow much longer, with Rebellion becoming a tail. His body becomes almost entirely black, save for some red, glowing cracks in the chest, hands, tail, and inner wings. No other abilities were described.

The Ultimate Devil Trigger was eventually abandoned due to time constraints, and it is not clear if work on it ever proceeded beyond concept art and basic story outlines. However, with the start of work on Devil May Cry 5, Itsuno was able to resurrect the idea and fully realize it.

Trivia[]

• Dante transforms into Ultimate Devil when fighting The Despair Embodied in the Trinity of Fates DMC2 story video.
• In the original release of Devil May Cry 5, Vergil's demon form was labeled as his Devil Trigger.
• Some of Dante's maneuvers while performing Judgement resemble those in Sparda's swordplay as shown in the opening cutscene of DMC1.
• if the player transforms into SDT at the right time with dante, it can cause a Perfect Evade

Notes[]

References[]