Devil May Cry: Why Capcom Has Struggled With Passing the Torch to Nero

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TheDevil May Cry series has been a mainstay of the action genre since 2001. Its main character, Dante, has been elevated to a video game icon in that time. However, its secondary and more recent protagonist, Nero, hasn't had the same explosive popularity. Although Devil May Cry 5 succeeded in bringing Nero to the mainstream, fans of the series are still overwhelmingly focused on Dante and Vergil. There are many reasons why Capcom has struggled with passing the torch to Nero, and some of them are easier to overcome than others.

Nero was introduced to the Devil May Cry franchise in 2008's Devil May Cry 4, hot on the heels of Devil May Cry 3 restoring Dante's cocky attitude and irreverent sense of humor after he was reimagined as a stoic badass in Devil May Cry 2. It also made Vergil a major character, with his icy determination and self-destructive quest for power contrasted nicely against Dante's good cheer and desire to protect others. Unfortunately, the events of Devil May Cry 3 took Vergil out of the picture, having already been killed off in the first game. Odds are good that Nero was originally created to try and inherit Vergil's position in the series, but he now seems to be gunning for Dante's.

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Nero was introduced as a character suspiciously similar to both Vergil and Dante. Like the sons of Sparda, he's an orphan with demonic heritage who acts as a demon hunter. Unlike them, Devil May Cry 4 established that Nero answered to a higher authority: Order of the Sword, a church that worshipped Sparda. Nero's powers were also more limited than Dante and Vergil's, mainly taking the form of his Devil Bringer, a demonic right arm. Throughout the game,