Grenade Gun

A powerful firearm featured as a weapon or power-up in retro action games, including Lethal Enforcers and Devil May Cry.

Action

Games

1994–2001

Years

Platforms

About

In the Devil May Cry franchise, the Grenade Gun is a slow-firing but highly damaging firearm found by Dante in the first game. In the light gun shooter Lethal Enforcers and its sequels, it serves as a limited-ammo special weapon that deals area-of-effect damage. It also appears as a powerful temporary weapon upgrade in the sci-fi wild west shooter Wild Guns.

Within the broader Devil May Cry franchise ecosystem, the weapon's design evolution reflects a transition from 2D arcade shooting mechanics to 3D character action. In the 1994 home console releases of Lethal Enforcers, players acquire the item by shooting a specific on-screen icon, requiring careful tactical placement to avoid collateral damage to hostages. This risk-reward dynamic carried over to the 1997 compilation Lethal Enforcers I & II on the PlayStation, where the weapon remained a crucial tool for boss fights and crowd control.

In the futuristic wild west setting of Wild Guns (1995), the item drops from floating capsules, granting temporary invincibility frames during its firing animation to help players navigate dense bullet-hell scenarios. By the time the weapon transitioned to 3D in Devil May Cry (2001), players discovered advanced mechanical exploits. Specifically, the slow reload animation of the weapon found in Mallet Castle can be bypassed using "shot-canceling"—a technique where players jump, roll, or switch weapons immediately after firing. This exploit significantly increases the damage-per-second output, cementing the weapon's legacy as a staple for high-level speedruns and combo exhibitions.