Despite that, Devil May Cry 2 was a commercial success, established a number of series conventions, and motivated its development team to improve their work, staying with the franchise for future entries.

An island existing outside the mainstream in the outskirts of the New World, Vie de Marli became a sanctuary for refugees of different races, beliefs and languages; as well as runaway slaves; in the distant past.

At Vie de Marli, Dante meets another one, Lucia's mother Matier who, centuries earlier, exorcised Argosax (the evilest idolized demon) with the aid of his father, Sparda.

Outwardly interested in "special ores" found there and developing the place,[5] his true intent is to transcend mortality by absorbing Argosax's power after summoning the demon with Arcanas, holy relics hidden throughout Vie de Marli.

Throughout the turn of the millennium, Team Little Devils—a group within Capcom Production Studio 4 helmed by Hideki Kamiya, who previously lead the successful Resident Evil 2—developed Devil May Cry.

[25] That crew ultimately contained many people who had mostly worked on fighting games,[27] as well as some Team Little Devils members, and industry newcomers like producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka [ja] and planner Bingo Morihashi,[28][29] totalling around 40 to 50 developers.

Capcom management at the time was disappointed with the financial performance of Studio 1's output,[34][25] the change of teams for Devil May Cry 2 part of a pivot reflecting industry trends.

Multiple Team Devil members were fond of Arius because "it was neat to have a CEO as a villain"; as "a symbol of high contemporary culture", he became the precedent that allowed writing opportunities in sequels beyond the "fantasy world" setting of the original.

Arius' face is an homage to Colonel Douglas Mortimer, a character played by Lee Van Cleef in For a Few Dollars More; his noble look and palette "imply that he's compensating for a deep, dark evil that he harbors within".

[43] Capcom Design Room illustrator Naru Omori created four cover images for Devil May Cry 2, which he found unsatisfactory due to a short three week deadline, though content with one used on the packaging;[44] as well as the logo pose render, made during an all-nighter.

[48] Ikeno turned to the roots when crafting their designs: "Ancient portrayals of demons rarely incorporated elements that weren't already known to people at the time, so they might have the head of a lion but the body of a human, for instance.

Inspiration derived from western imagery includes woodblock illustrations of the brazen bull, Norse mythology, the Bible, alchemical symbolism, and rituals with pagan roots.

In his estimate, Argosax the Chaos—an amalgamation that recycles resources and attacks from previous bosses—"probably received more time and effort than anything else in the game", with peculiar coloring because he "really just wanted to make it look weird".

[23] The first game's engine was used as a base, which by the end of development the staff had altered 98% of, implementing better visual effects and what he claimed was double the resolution of its predecessor, something only perceptible on certain televisions.

Team Little Devils' software crew had great influence and freedom over animations; their constant tinkering meant the backup did not reflect how the retail release behaved,[55] with completely different speed on top of final motions being programmed separately.

[27] Devil May Cry 2 was originally set in New York City and starred a man in a green jacket instead of Dante,[28] but that was changed due to a number of factors, including the September 11 attacks.

"[28] The production of Devil May Cry 2 was a very difficult process, with the staff struggling against its lack of both know-how in 3D action games and manpower due to other titles concurrently in the works within the division.

[27] By the point they had around six months left before the deadline, Studio 1 director Hideaki Itsuno had finished work on Capcom vs. SNK 2 and was doing the early conception of what became Dragon's Dogma.

"[60] Itsuno was angered at his assignment and took on the job in a "burning [his] own bridges" way;[60] he originally planned a complete overhaul which would detach the game from the Devil May Cry intellectual property:[29] "part of me was dissatisfied because I hadn't started with the project from day one.

[59] According to Nara:"The final days of development on DMC 2 were wild... (laughs) I joined the team right near the end, as the deadline was approaching, and it's no exaggeration to say that every available staff member was mobilized.

[28]Morihashi, who handled a multitude of odd jobs, found the toil taxing, to the point of coughing blood: "I was living close to the company, so I'd get home around dawn, bathe, change clothes, and then head right back.

[53] Ikeno's early boss drafts depicted Jokatgulm as either a conventional demon or a humanoid woman whose body is composed of multiple giant skulls with tentacles coming through them; while Nefasturris was based on buddhist art.

[72] Among unused foes are a plant demon, masses of bodies and spirits, a rival with abilities similar to Dante's who could shoot energy balls and fly at any time,[73] and a boss would've been a huge dragon with fire attacks.

[76] In November 2020, Capcom was targeted by a ransomware attack, which led to a file batch containing the source code backup for Devil May Cry 2 leaking on the internet.

[78] Per Ikeno, the collaboration happened via Tanaka, who was an ex-Diesel employee: "People on both sides talked at the time and felt that DMC 2 and Diesel's visual styles would work well together and could be quite appealing to the casual audience".

[28] Three costumes (one for Dante, two for Lucia) made of pieces from Diesel's 2002 Autumn/Winter collection—which were almost entirely sold out by the point the game came out—[79] and a belt designed by Team Devil's visual staff,[28] were featured as unlockables for players.

[80][81][82] In Japan, a charm bracelet with a detachable steel miniature of Dante's sword Rebellion was distributed in a first come first served basis to people who preordered Devil May Cry 2 through participating retailers.

[79] One year after the game's release, Dante—sporting the design and some of the personality he has in Devil May Cry 2—was featured as a boss and summonable ally in the Atlus RPG Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax.

[84] After a test period during which Capcom sought 1,000 pre-orders as a proof of demand, the Devil May Cry 2 soundtrack was released to the public on October 15, 2004, as a two-disc set, with Masato Kohda, Tetsuya Shibata and Satoshi Ise credited as producers.

[63][d] The game's market shortcomings and troubled creation reflected wider struggles within the company: the cancellation of 18 titles in concurrent development with it led Capcom to undertake mid-production evaluations and stronger pre-development project vetting.