As far as the video game medium is concerned,Vergil is the quintessential rival character. While his presence in the originalDevil May Crymay have been more in the background, butDevil May Cry 3solidified him as one of the greatest video game characters of all time,thefoil to surpass and ultimately defeat in combat.
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It’s worth noting, however, thatCapcom’sDevil May Cryis a series that keeps its juiciest lore in the background. Simply playing the games won’t paint the whole picture, especially not for a character as enigmatic and in-depth as Vergil.Devil May Crywouldn’t be the same without him.
Updated July 23, 2025, by Jerrad Wyche:Fans lost their minds when Devil May Cry 5 was revealed in 2018, as it felt as though Capcom would never return to the series in a meaningful way. The game was released in 2019 to generally positive reviews and provided fans with plenty to dig into. Though Capcom has yet to officially announce Devil May Cry 6, the sales and critical success of Devil May Cry 5 feel like it set forth a path where a sequel is all but inevitable. Fans are hoping 2023 is the year when DMC6 is officially revealed, which would be four years after the last entry was released.
14The Voice Of Vergil
Vergil is a character who carries a notable voice that fans of theDevil May Cryseries can identify from a mile away. As in most mediums, voice actors rarely get the recognition they deserve, and there are two performers who have most often provided the voice of Vergil in English and Japanese, respectively.
Hiroaki Hirata is Vergil’s main Japanese voice actor and has done so in several titles, including the character’s appearances inUltimateMarvel vs. Capcom 3. When looking at the English voice of Vergil, that duty has mostly been given to actor Daniel Southworth, the same man who provided the motion capture for the character sinceDevil May Cry 3throughDevil May Cry 5.
13His Signature Fighting Style
One aspect of Vergil in combat that rarely gets discussed is that he has his own particular fighting style he uses. It’s most notable when he is using the sword Yamato or in specific duels where he must take a stance. The fighting style in question is called Iaido and can be identified based on how it makes the user emphasize their own awareness. It relies on being able to quickly react and respond with the drawing of one’s sword and is meant to serve as a counter to quick incoming attacks.
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Though most players who witness Vergil won’t ever notice his style is pulling on real-life weapon arts, it’s always appreciated that designers focus on implementing these details that add to the overall immersion of the stories they craft.
12Cameo Appearances
Despite his popularity, it’s clear that Vergil isn’t at the same level as Dante when talking about the most notablecharacters from theDevil May Cryseries. Though that may be the case, it hasn’t prevented Vergil from appearing in several other gaming properties.
He’s mostly been represented by cosmetics or card items in games likeViewtiful Joe, Sengoku Basara, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royal, andTeppen. Vergil has also managed to be playable inUltimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, albeit in a newer version of the game. The chances of him popping up again in some fashion in a future Capcom project is more likely than not at this point.
11Vergil’s New Look
A point of contention for fans when Vergil was first revealed inDevil May Cry 5was his new appearance. He and Dante are identical twins, albeit with some aging shenanigans thrown in, but they’ve looked alike for quite a while. In the newest mainline entry actor, Maxim Nazarov’s face was used as the model for Vergil, and in turn, the two characters aren’t as symmetrical looking as they once were.
There are plenty of logistics and canonical fan theories suggesting why this happened. Hideaki Itsuno, Director of theDevil May Cryseries, said that the explanation for the difference in appearance between the two is due to Dante living most of his life in the human world, whereas Vergil spent most of his time in the Demon World. Itsuno said this was what caused them to look less identical over time.
10“Nelo” Angelo
For most of the originalDevil May Cry, Vergil is only known by the alias “Nelo Angelo.” Corrupted by Mundus in the game’s backstory, Nelo Angelo is mostly devoid of all personality. The reveal that he was Vergil all along makes the conflict with Mundus personal for Dante. While a good story, the “Nelo Angelo” name has a problem.
Specifically, the fact that it’s a mistranslation. Vergil’s alter-ego was supposed to be namedNeroAngelo, but it wasn’t translated properly. Interestingly, while Vergil’s son is correctly identified as Nero,Devil May Cry 5does not fix the Nelo Angelo mistakes.
9Vergil Never Makes It Past Childhood In The Original Canon
Hideki Kamiya’s original vision for Vergil was quite different from what fans ultimately got withDevil May Cry 3. Before Kamiya left the series and Itsuno took over, the plan was that Vergil never made it past childhood. Where Dante made it out alive, Mundus actually did kill Vergil when he was a child.
From there, Vergil’s entire adult life was spent serving Mundus as one of his soldiers. It wasn’t untilDevil May Cry 3was decided to be a prequel that the first game’s backstory was changed so that Vergil not only survived the events with Mundus, him and Dante actually interacted multiple times before the first game.
8Vergil And Sparda Share A Musical Motif
Dante’s Sparda costume in the originalDevil May Cryisn’t just a cosmetic change, it also bestows upon the player new battle themes. Sparda’s personal themes end up taking over Dante’s and, interestingly, Sparda’s battle theme “S” lifts several musical cues from Vergil’s main battle theme, “Ultra Violet.”
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Given that Sparda resembles Dante in both gameplay ability and design, it’s only fitting that something unique to Vergil is repurposed for the Sparda costume. After all, the intent is to showcase Sparda as accurately as possible. It’s natural he shares traits with both Dante and Vergil. It just so happens that this sharing only extends to music.
7Vergil Uses Dante’s Character Model In The First Game
While it wasDevil May Cry 3that solidified Vergil as the quintessential rival character, he’s had this role locked down since the originalDevil May Cry. Capcom had always intended on Vergil actively mirroring the player, to the point where the developers used Dante’s character model as a base for Nelo Angelo.
In using Dante’s exact models, the two could interact more interestingly in battle while also saving the developers time when creating Nero Angelo’s model. This is also the reason why Vergil doesn’t use guns in-game. Instead, summonable swords were used as they didn’t require a firing animation.
6Vergil Was Designed To Be More Likable Than Dante
While Vergil’s presence is felt as early as the first game, it isn’t untilDevil May Cry 3that he becomes a more fleshed-out and complete character. The goal behind his design was to create a rival more likable than Dante, a character that players would love to hate while also just genuinely loving him.
SinceDante’s arc had him growinginto a likable character, it was important that audiences had someone immediately appealing to latch onto in case Dante’s unlikability proved frustrating early on. This also allows for a more dynamic relationship between the two as Dante has to mature emotionally whereas Vergil is already emotionally mature.
5Vergil Is Stronger Than Dante
If there’s one thingDevil May Cry 5proves, it’s that Vergil really does beat Dante when it comes to pure power. Of the two, Vergil is the stronger twin, dedicating his entire life to the philosophy of strength. Time and time again, Vergil proves his strength over his brother, besting him multiple times between all five games.
Of course, Dante wins in the end (with the exception ofDevil May Cry 5,) but that’s mostly because of Dante’s own abilities and not Vergil’s lack of strength. When it comes to power, Vergil can overpower Dante reliably. Keep in mind that Vergil nearly killed Dante during their first fight inDMC1.
