Versus: DMC4’s Dante VS Nero

The king is dead, long live the king. Or is he dead? Dante fans turn away now, because Capcom has replaced everybody’s favourite demon slayer with Nero, a sort of “Dante-lite” warrior from the corrupt religious cult The Order of the Sword, for Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Fear not! You’ll get to play as Dante for just under a third of the game, but the big question is, how does Nero shape up? Here we pit gaming’s two premier demon hunters head to head in a no holds barred scrap. Who comes out on top? Read on.

Lock, load, and rev that sword – weapons

Nero’s got some pretty cool weapons at his disposal – Blue Rose is a rapid-fire, double-barrelled six-shooter which can, of course, be upgraded as you accumulate Proud Souls throughout the game. It’s not massively useful during the game, and isn’t particularly powerful either. Nero can use Blue Rose to keep enemies in the air, as well as himself, as Dante has been doing since the first game. More interestingly, Nero’s also got the Red Queen – a giant sword that can be revved like the handlebar of a motorbike – at his disposal. This brings into play Nero’s Exceed meter, which you fill by holding the left trigger. Exceed can be revved up to three levels, each granting Red Queen addition speed and power, and a cool red glow. It takes time to rev it up though – thankfully, you can purchase an upgrade which allows you to fill up the meter automatically with a perfectly timed press of the left trigger after an attack, making the sword, and Nero, much more useful in combat, much more powerful and much more fun to use. Later in the game Nero gets hold of Yamato, the sword used by Dante’s brother, Vergil, in DMC3. Nero whips this katana-style sword out when in his devil state, granting him increased speed, super fast combos and additional power.

Nero’s best weapon is his demon-powered right arm – Devil Bringer – which allows him to grab enemies from a large distance and pull them towards him. This opens up some interesting combat options – you can drag demons from mid-air, kill them, then, before you touch the ground, drag another. Devil Bringer also gives Nero a close combat throw attack, which is different depending on what demon you use it on. One of the best, and most fun things about using Nero, is discovering all the different Buster attacks in the game. Some of them, especially on the game’s huge, spectacular bosses, are absolutely brutal.

Dante, on the other hand, has all his weapons from the previous games, and more. When you eventually get to control him, you’ll have access to Ebony and Ivory, the super fast twin handguns that never have to be reloaded, as well as Vergil’s sword Yamato. As you progress through the game as Dante, you’ll unlock other weapons, including a shotgun, fist and feet blades and a Pandora’s Box style suitcase with 666 different forms. The suitcase gives Dante access to a mini-gun, a rocket launcher and a hovering missile-launching craft which suspends in mid-air and can be flown about briefly. All these weapons give Dante huge variety, deadly power and mind-boggling speed. And his guns are actually useful – Dante’s mid-air upside down handgun attack remains one of the coolest moves in video games. And, of course, Dante can transform into a devil.

Verdict:

Nero’s motorcycle sword is a cool idea, and once you unlock the ability to fill the Exceed meter instantly with perfectly timed button presses, he becomes much more useful, fun and spectacular to use. Yamato, too, gives Nero a much needed boost in the coolness department. But compared to Dante’s more visceral, in your face, powerful weapons, he comes up miles short. Add to this the fact that Dante, however briefly we get to play with him, has loads more weapon options to choose from (the Pandora’s Box suitcase itself, fully upgradeable, contains more weapons than Nero has to himself), and you can see that Dante is the only choice. Nero’s Devil Bringer is fun to use, and, as we’ve said, some of the enemy specific Buster attacks are super cool, but Dante’s armoury gives die-hard DMC fans something special to play with. Round one goes to the stubbly one.

Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y,Y – Combos

DMC has always been about spectacular, violent, brutal in your face combos, and DMC4 is no exception. Here Nero has some interesting options. Devil Bringer means he can effectively stay in the air forever, dragging demons towards him and slamming them into the ground. It’s tonnes of fun. When his Exceed meter is full, or he triggers his Yamato devil, he can pull off some spectacular attacks too. But Nero has a beginner feel to him, almost as if he’s intended to prep you for the arrival of Dante.

Speak of the devil. Dante’s combos are quicker, more powerful, more spectacular and simply cooler. There’s also loads more variety. He has four combat styles – Gunslinger, Trickster, Swordmaster and Royal Guard – which are switched by d-pad button presses, as well as hand to hand combat options. You can mix all these up with Dante’s impressive arsenal of weapons. So, you might trigger Dante’s devil, charge in with some blistering attacks, air juggle, switch to a different style, slash some more, whip out the Pandora’s Box mini-gun, let fly with that, then, while in mid air, switch to Gunslinger and tear into another unlucky demon. Nice.

Verdict:

Dante’s huge variation gives his combo potential the edge. He’s more fun and challenging to use compared with Nero’s simpler style. DMC4’s Dante is sure to please even the most skilled hack and slash players. Two-nil to the veteran demon slayer.

Kyrie! Kyrie! Kyrieeeeeeee! – Personality

To use Dante’s own words, Nero is a kid. He’s also love-struck. Damsel in distress Kyrie is kidnapped early on in the game, and so Nero’s driving force becomes much more than simply hunting Dante down and avenging the assassination of his religious leader, Sanctus. It becomes a desperate attempt to save his one true love. Because of that, he does get a tad annoying the further you get into the story. At the beginning of the game Nero is a cocky, rebellious type whose undoubted skill in combat and disregard for tradition has ignited the suspicion of the Order. But by the end of the game he’s more desperate, angry and, in our opinion, more annoying. We quite liked Nero’s wise-cracking comments at the beginning of the game. Shame they seem to dry up.

Dante, on the other hand, never gets ruffled, and always has something smart to say. In DMC4 he plays a slightly more mysterious role – you’re never sure of his true motives – but his cool factor is through the roof throughout. When he’s not nonchalantly sitting cross-legged atop a stone structure, oversized sword resting on his shoulder and a coy smirk on his face, he’s taunting and wise-cracking his way into the baddest bosses the game has to offer. Dante has also matured somewhat since the first game, and at times he comes across as a father figure to Nero. But don’t fret, Dante still loves the ladies, still loves a fight and, most importantly of all, makes it all look super cool.

Verdict:

It’s looking like a rout. Nero starts off well, giving Dante a run for his money in the game’s opening tutorial fight. Like Dante, he dodges, jumps and flips his way to cross-legged, lazy-boy positions on top of piles of destroyed furniture. And he doesn’t mind winding up massive demons either. But as the game’s story progresses he changes somewhat, leaving the door open for Dante’s been there, done that, got the t-shirt attitude, to win over the hearts and minds of DMC fans across the world.

Kyrie vs Gloria vs Lady – The Ladies

Who gets the best girl? Nero’s taken of course. He’s loved up with the meek, softly spoken and conservatively dressed Kyrie. But he comes into contact with the ridiculously buxom babe, Gloria, a new character introduced by DMC4. Gloria is part of the Order, and, technically, on Nero’s side, helping to hunt down Dante following the assassination of Sanctus. Nero’s first meeting with the easily turned on Gloria sparks a cut scene which will go down in gaming history as one of the silliest ever. Gloria, sans underwear, takes out a group of demons using moves designed to tease and titillate. Her boobs jiggle, her legs spread and her mouth quivers. It’s not sexy, it’s funny. Big question is, who ends up with her? We won’t spoil it. You’ll have to find out yourself.

Then there’s Lady, from DMC3, who, via a flashback cutscene is shown, also with jiggly boobs, talking to Dante in his office. Does Lady end up in Dante’s arms? Again, our lips are sealed.

Verdict:

Nero gets the nice, sweet, meek one, and Dante gets the, how shall we put it, more relaxed ones. Gloria’s a bit of a joke, but we can see Lady’s appeal. This all depends on taste of course. Do you like your women scantily clad, supple and top heavy? If so, Gloria and Lady will be the perfect choice. If you’d rather every bloke and their dog wasn’t checking your other half out during romantic walks in the park, then Kyrie’s your girl. Us? Do you have to ask? Round four to Dante.

VideoGamer.com’s ultimate Nero VS Dante verdict

This fight was over before it even began. Dante’s got more moves, more brutal combos, better-looking women and a cool factor that’s through the roof. In this match-up, there was only ever going to be one winner. We love you Nero, but Dante was, is and will always be our number one demon slayer.

Disagree? Does Nero rip Dante’s demon slaying crown off his head, or does Dante teach the kid a much-needed lesson in the art of combat? Let us know in the comments section below.