I know that Devil May Cry isn’t really that popular of a series around these parts, and I want to see if I can change that just a bit. A good number of people find Devil May Cry to be nothing more than a button masher trying to emulate God of War (an equally awesome game series btw). Though, honestly, DMC is only truly a “button masher” if you set your character to some ridiculous “automatic” mode which will chain different moves and combos for you by just spamming the attack button. This absolutely kills the battle for these games and I pray you don’t use it. But I digress: I wish to first talk about the story line a bit. And I want to approach it in the order in which the games were released instead of chronological order (which, by the way is DMC 3, 1, 4, 2. Crazy, I know). Just know that this is nothing more than a shortened cliff note of what really happens. There is much more to the DMC continuity, but at least we can cover the bare-bones. A good deal of this information is found in-game. Though there are other scores such as the DMC novels, anime, and what have you that fills in some of this information. Anyways, let’s dive in.

In Devil May Cry 1, you are first introduced to Sparda and his actions many years ago. Sparda is a rebel demon who turned on his own race, and sealed them from coming to destroy Earth. He also wedded a human and had two sons (of which weren’t born until he passed). He was able to seal the demons at the cost of his own life. The key to the seal is through his sword which is self-named Sparda. Once the seal was in place, he sealed his swords power into two amulets. He then has a brief moment with his wife and gave the amulets and the now powerless sword (now named Force Edge). She, in turn, gave them to her two sons. This leads us to Dante. Dante owns a shop known as Devil May Cry (reason for the name comes later) and hunts downs demons who did manage to seep from the demon realm to Earth. He’s earnestly looking for the demon lord Mundas who Sparda fought long time ago and who killed Sparda and his wife, Dante’s mother though some means (it was never specified how). We join dante as he is met by a woman with the exact same figure as his mother which is a quick way to get his attention. Apparently Mundas wants to find Dante just as much as Dante wants to settle the score with Mundas. I assume he’s none too happy about being banished to the demon realm. This woman, named Trish, leads Dante to Melee Island. It is said to be the place Mundas will next try to force his way in to Earth’s realm. So Dante is left running around the solitary castle. It is here that Dante runs into someone he finds very familiar. He goes by the name of Nelo Angelo. After a long fight, Nelo pins Dante against a wall. Dante’s amulet, given to him by his mother, falls in such a manner that Nelo notices and instantly releases Dante and leaves. As it turns out, Dante fought with Nelo Angelo a number of times, and the one time that Dante manages to finally defeat him, he leaves for the demon realm leaving behind the other half of the amulet Dante’s mother left him. Which means that Nelo Angelo is no other than Vergil, Dante’s twin brother. Also, we find out that Trish was a demon created by Mundas in the image of Dante’s mother to lure Dante to Melee Island. And after an act of betrayal, leaves the scene for a while. Anyway, now that Dante has both amulets and the Force Edge, he is able to re-awaken the sword to its true power as the sword Sparda. With this new found power, he was able force his way into the demon realm to fight Mundas on level ground. But before this fight, Trish threw herself in the way of one of Mundas’ attacks to save Dante. After a drawn out and hectic three part fight, Dante fights Mundas as he tries to force his way into Earth’s realm. It is here that we find out Trish is still alive and helps Dante force Mundas back into the demon realm. A short scene then depicts Trish weeping as she apologizes to Dante only for Dante to make the comment that demons never cry, meaning that because she was able to show human emotions, she was able to break free of Mundas control and ascend being nothing more than a demon. It is here that Dante re-names his shop “Devil Never Cry.”

We meet back up with Dante in Devil May Cry 2. This is quite a number of years later, and to this date is still the chronological last game. Firstly know that DMC2 was the worst of the bunch. It is widely known that the direction Capcom took this go-around was definitely a step down and since have fixed this. But because it shares important storyline data I’ll be covering it too. A good deal of this information re-appears in Devil May Cry 4 as well. It starts off with a group of religious factions from a group called Order of the Swords. A part of this faction moved to Dumary Island, which is where Dante spends most his time in DMC2. Dante, still on a quest to finish his father’s work to rid the world of demons ends up in a museum looking for items that are said to temporarily open a gate to the demon world. This would give Dante a chance to stop the source of the demons (assuming that is Mundas) once and for all. It is in this museum that he meets Lucia. Lucia, seemingly capable of handling demons in battle herself, takes Dante to said island to meet her mother, Matier. Matier claims to have fought alongside Sparda, and then proceeds to mention just why Lucia is gathering the same items Dante is. A man named Arius is actively trying to find these items as well to not gain access to the demon world, but its power. And Matier, who fought with Sparda so many years ago and now too old to do as such any longer sends her daughter. I assume that Lucia is half-demon too, if Matier ended up doing what Sparda did and married a human. Towards the end of the game, Lucia ends up fighting Arius, and Dante ends up gaining access to the demon world and fought Argosax the Chaos who was apparently summoned by al l the items collected to open the gate. Unfortunately, there’s no real information on what Argosax the Chaos is as he kind of pulls a Necron from Final Fantasy XI. But after his defeat, the gate begins to close. Instead of leaving, Dante drives farther into the demon realm on a motorcycle. And thus ends DMC2 and where the series currently ends chronologically.

Devil May Cry 3 takes a major step back and takes place before even Devil May Cry 1. DMC3 really fills in a good number of gaps as it tells you all about Dante’s younger self and the conflict with his brother, Vergil. You join Dante right as he finds a place to finally set up shop. He, at this time, doesn’t have a name for it yet, but at least he’s got a location. It isn’t long before a strange man comes in and mentions your amulet. He was sent by Vergil, Dante’s long lost brother. No sooner does Dante find out than a huge tower juts up out of the ground. This is the Temen-ni-gru. This is the very same tower that Sparda used to originally seal the demons from entering Earth’s realm. Vergil, with the help of the strange man whose name is Arkham, was able to raise the tower. Only someone who carries the blood of Sparda could raise the tower, but only Arkham knew of its location. The reason for it all was because Vergil desired the power of his late father, Sparda. And in order to get it, he needed to break the seal. But to do that, he not only needs the Temen-ni-gru, but both amulets given to Vergil and Dante by their mother. This is also the resting place of the Force Edge, the weapon Dante uses in DMC1. Eventually Dante makes it up the tower, but first meeting a woman named Mary. She is the daughter of Arkham and is perusing him to kill him for slaughtering her mother (his own wife). She and Dante don’t hit it off very well, as she slings insults at him calling him a demon. Once Dante meets with Vergil atop the Temen-ni-gru, they battle it out. Vergil pulls out the victor and rips Dante’s amulet from his neck and leaves. Dante, then awakens his true power, the same power used in both DMC1 and 2, known as the Devil Trigger. With this new found power, he chases after Vergil. Eventually, Vergil makes it to the same room Sparda was in when he sealed the demon world. He turns on Arkham and slaughters him as soon as the last door to this room was open. Mary finds her father’s body, and in his dying words, apologizes for what he did and that he was under the control of Vergil which was why he killed his wife (Mary’s mother). Now Dante and Mary make their way to Vergil. Vergil, now with what he things is everything to open the seal, that being both pendants and the blood of Sparda, joins the pendants and cuts his hand, dripping the blood on the center seal. Nothing happens… Dante and shows up, with Mary not far behind. Afterwards, Arkham reveals his true plan. Turns out that there was yet another requirement to break the seal. The blood of the holy priestess (Sparda’s wife). Turns out, Arkham and Mary are descendants of her. But seeing as Arkham was male, his blood wouldn’t work. Because of the fight that took place when Dante first showed up, both Vergil and Dante were in no way able to put up a fight as Arkham broke the seal. He found and took the Force Edge and retreated into the demon realm to gain access to its power. Vergil and Dante team up to fight Arkham. And eventually, the two brothers manage to overtake the same power that Sparda once wielded. Upon Arkham’s defeat, he was ejected from the demon realm, where Mary was waiting and able to get revenge on her father for everything he had done, both past and present. But when Arkham was defeated and left the demon realm, he left behind the Force Edge and the two amulets. After a mad scramble, Dante was able to recover his amulet, and Vergil his. Also, Vergil managed to snatch up the Force Edge. It was here the brother’s fought for the last time until Devil May Cry 1 with Vergil as Nelo Angelo. After Dante won, he got the Force Edge, and his brother began to fall deep within the demon realm. Dante tried to catch his brother as he fell, but Vergil wouldn’t have it. With no time left, Dante retreated from the Temen-ni-gru as it began to sink back within the earth. Back outside, Mary was able to catch Dante shed a single tear for the loss of his brother. And made the comment that even a devil may cry when over the grief of a lost one. That is where Dante received the name of his shop. Back in the demon realm, because Vergil is now in the demon realm (carrying the blood of Sparda) he wakes Mundas. The game closes with Vergil challenging Mundas to a fight. And because of what happens in DMC1, we can assume he kind of lost.

This leads us to the current game Devil May Cry 4. This game fills in the gaps about the Order of the Sword. The order is the group of religious believers who follow Sparda. In fact, the character you control (Nero) is a part of this religion. On the outside, the order seems like a respectable group. But you know how THAT’S going to change. But more on that in a second. Nero is part demon. Instead of just being half demon like Dante or Vergil, mostly his right arm is permanently stuck in the vision of a demon’s arm. He usually keeps it wrapped up so that no one notices because he’d rather live out a normal life. Within the first scene of the game, you see Dante come in and slaughter a sermon in mid-session. Dante kills Sanctus, the leader of the service, as well as many of his guards. This, of course, drives Nero to confront Dante in a fight. Dante runs and Nero chases afterwards. But not before getting a few orders from the caption of the guards, Credo, and a few caring words from his love interest and Credo’s sister, Kyrie. As it turns out, Dante got a tip from Mary that lead to Sanctus searching for Devil Arms (the weapons Dante uses in all the current games). Sanctus has found out about the power of Sparda and plans to take it into his own sort of in the manor that Arkham did. The thing is, Sanctus isn’t dead. In fact, he is alive and well. He’s collecting things to revive the “savior” which is basically I giant statue of Sparda. Through some means, he had acquired Yamato, which is the katana that Vergil uses. How the sword got from the demon realm and into Sanctus’ hands, it was never said. Nor was it mentioned how the sword broke (I assume this is to be covered in Devil May Cry 5, if ever it was to be made). But eventually, Nero uncovers Sanctus’ plan. And in doing so, finds Yamato and was able to re-forge it. With it, he could use Devil Trigger just like Dante and Vergil. Backing up towards the beginning of the game. Trish went undercover and was able to get into the Order of the Sword, but only by delivering Sanctus the sword Sparda. But with Trish on the inside, Dante was able to get information and was able to assassinate Sanctus. Or so he thought. Originally, Sanctus wanted to use Kyrie, Yamato, the sword Sparda, and Dante to fuse into the “savior” to give it its power. But because of Nero stealing Yamato, Sanctus was forced to use him instead of Dante. Fortunately, before Nero was caught, he was able to find out that Dante was right and was able to give him Yamato before he was absorbed into the “savior.” Dante then works his way towards the “savior” and destroys all the gates to the underworld that Sanctus was able to open. He confronts the “savoir” and was able to force Yamato into the “savior’s” body. Nero was able to obtain it, and was able to break himself free from his bonds. Now inside the “savior” Nero makes his way towards Sanctus. After a long fight, Nero was able to beat Sanctus and retrieve from him both Kyrie and the sword Sparda. He returns the sword Sparda to Dante, and Dante tries to leave. Nero stops him to try and give him Vergil’s Yamato, but Dante tells him to keep it, despite the fact the sword is so important to him. So ends the fourth game.


But that’s not the end of it all. There’s still some holes to fill in. Unfortunately, there are some plot holes that are just gaping open that aren’t yet filled. Capcom seems to do this quite often with their games, especially Resident Evil. Like how Sanctus received Vergil’s sword Yamato. From here on out, though, is my own personal speculation that links some information. When Vergil shows up on Melee Island in DMC1, he didn’t use Yamato, but instead a broadsword. He also donned the name Nelo Angelo. A good number of the enemies in DMC4 also went with the name Angelo. So my guess is that somehow Sanctus already had access to the demon realm. And after Vergil lost to Mundas in DMC3 (Mundas could have broke Yamato in the fight), Sanctus was able to find his body and sword, and through the “awakening” process he used to made Credo Angelo (as well as many others) transformed Vergil too. I also believe that Nero might be an illegitimate child of Sparda. That would explain his looks being so similar to the brothers as well as his half-demon powers. Assuming Devil May Cry 5 takes place AFTER DMC2 (the chronologically most recent title) they could fill in just about everything. What happened to Vergil since DMC1 and Vergil’s origins being the bigger holes. Also, information on Matier and Lucia from DMC2 would be nice seeing as Matier fought side-by-side with Sparda at one point. Either way, I find the Devil May Cry continuity quite interesting and even if the games sucked, would be interested in play these titles if nothing more than the story. What I have written is nothing more than the bare minimum. The DMC world goes even farther. And I’ve been interested enough to go into it and dig up what I can. There’s information that tells of Dante living another life as a man named Tony (to hide his identity) that takes place even before DMC3 chronologically. You learn how he gets his infamous guns Ebony and Ivory.

But lucky for me the games battle system is just amazing for me. I find the combo system polished to damn near perfection. In Devil May Cry 1 the system introduces the combo rating system that awards you for stringing together a variety of moves. The higher this combo is, the more red orbs you acquire for learning even more moves and abilities. The game really mixes it up by giving you the ability to juggle enemies in the air. But to also add to the mix, you get an array of guns too. Mix that with your Devil Trigger abilities and you’ve got quite a good deal of freedom in battle and a good deal of creativity. They took it even farther in Devil May Cry 3 by giving Dante almost Final Fantasy type job classes called styles. On top of what Devil May Cry 1 had to offer, you could now focus Dante on more gun based abilities, sword based abilities, agility and movement abilities, and defensive abilities. You could change them between levels and they each could level up. There were even two more styles you could possibly unlock later in the game. Devil May Cry 4 took it even a step father by making these 4 (and eventually 5) styles changeable on the fly. In mid battle you could change your style and change tactics of fighting in the heat of battle. This gave almost LIMITLESS control in battle. And if that wasn’t enough, the replayability of every one of these games was wonderful with the additional difficulties. And the game series is good enough to WANT to beat them. This is where the infamous Dante Must Die difficulties came from. Over all, I think that the entire Devil May Cry series is widely under rated. And I hope my two cents were able to open you up a bit to this truly awesome series.

I'm still a fan of DMC, but I just haven't been playing the series much. Kudos to you for beating the hell out of DMC3, that game is a swing to the balls on later difficulty levels. I take it you're looking forward to Bayonetta?

Not at all, actually. Bayonetta looks just down right cheesy. And I'm pretty sure has nothing to do with the DMC universe.

Nice job there with the continuity, man.

You think the series is underrated? Really?
As far as I know, DMC is widely regarded as one of the best action games of the 3d era.
And didn't DMC1 come before God of War?

Yeah, I still think there aren't really that many avid DMC fans out there. And yes, DMC1 came out before GoW, but I've heard it never the less. Though DMC3 and 4 came out after the first GoW, if I'm not mistaken.

Sorry to double post, but I saw this and it flipped my sh*t. I was watching Mythbusters (Season 4, episode 16) and what do I see sitting in the background?