It may not be Capcom’s biggest franchise, butDevil May Cryis undoubtedly a core part of the company’s identity. Serving as the most focused form of Capcom’s old school action tendencies, this stylish action series is never far from any discussion of the best hack-and-slash games of all time.Devil May Cryprotagonist Dante serves as its confident face, and even with later games' attempts at bringing new protagonists into the spotlight, there’s no denying the red-clad hero’s legacy.
Said legacy stretches far outside ofDevil May Cryitself. Those in online gaming circles may have come across a “Featuring Dante from theDevil May CrySeries” sticker slapped onto various images, often involving some sort of special edition or cameo. It is a real graphic from a game Capcom had little to do with, but featured Dante nonetheless. The Son of Sparda has spent a lot of time outside his own franchise, perhaps almost as much asCapcom mascots Mega Man and Ryu. Chronicling Dante’s journey through gaming is always a fun exercise, and may even unearth some interesting titles that fans have missed.
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Dante Is A Recurring Capcom Icon
Dante has had plenty of minor appearances in other Capcom properties.Street Fighter 5: Arcade EditionaddedDMC4’s Dante as a costume for Ken, which was fitting due to the pair sharing an English actor at the time. Dante featured as a character card inSNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter DS, and made a cameo in Jedah’s ending inCapcom Fighting Evolution. Cosplay gear of Dante appeared inMonster Hunter 4 UltimateandMonster Hunter World, and Masamune Date could get a DLC costume of him inSengoku Basara 4.
However, not content to just lend his appearance, Dante has also entered other Capcom titles in person. His playable roles inMarvel vs. Capcom 3andInfiniteneed no introduction, but Dante’s unlockable appearance in thePS2 version of the originalViewtiful Joeis more obscure. He also appeared in the PSP version ofViewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. Dante was a core hero in theTeppencard game, and teamed up withDarkstalkers' Demitri andDMC’s own Vergil inProject X Zone 1and2respectively. Most of these crossovers are relatively well-known, but the same can’t be said forMonster Hunter Frontier G. The game provides his outfit like usual, but unlike otherMHentries it also offers Dante as an NPC Rasta hunting partner.
Dante Has Appeared In Many Other Franchises
All of that makes for a rich history ofDevil May Crycrossovers, but that’s just in Capcom-related projects. The original Dante crossover, before the 2004 PS2 port ofViewtiful Joe, was 2003’sShin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne.SMT3’s updatedManiaxversion introduced the “Featuring Dante” logo, and works Dante in as a recurring boss fight and optional party member. He was replaced bySMT’s own Raidou Kuzunohain another revision, but returned in the game’s HD remaster as paid DLC. Appropriately, the mobile gameShin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2added Dante as a participant in aDevil May Cry 5collaboration, which finally got the Devil Hunter in the same game as his genre rival Bayonetta.
This would partially repeat when Dante was added toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, but only as a Mii Swordfighter costume. An Astro Bot also appeared inAstro’s Playroomdressed as Dante, complete with juggling a classicDMC1enemy. One more major crossover appearancecomes inPlaystation All-Stars Battle Royale, with Dante’sDmC: Devil May Cryincarnation on the core roster and classic Dante in as an unlockable icon. That concludes Dante’s appearances in other video games for now, but with his track record, there’s no doubt thatDevil May Cry’s hero will turn up again.
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