Nero (Devil May Cry)

Creation and concept

Nero was developed by Capcom as a new lead for the Devil May Cry series, designed to grow stronger over time because Dante had already become too powerful. Starting out weak, Nero gains new abilities—especially through his Devil Bringer—until he matches Dante’s strength. He was also meant to bring in new players. The Devil Bringer was first considered for Dante, but the team decided it was more interesting to give a demonic arm to a character who can’t transform into a demon.

During development, Capcom kept most of Nero’s traits secret, only revealing that Kyrie was his love interest. Writer Bingo Morihashi based Nero’s story on a line from manga artist Ramo Nakajima’s Amagasaki City series: “I love you, so I protect the city you love.” Love is the series’ central theme, and Devil May Cry 4 focuses on Nero’s love for Kyrie. The staff liked Morihashi’s simple plot, comparing it to Hollywood damsel-in-distress films.

Worried about backlash like when Solid Snake was replaced by Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said Capcom made sure Nero was fun to play and stronger than Dante. Kobayashi described Nero as “characteristically wild, quite immature, young, and very passionate … kind of a rebel.” Yuichiro Hiraki helped shape Nero using Kobayashi’s notes, wanting him to be violent, especially in his sword fighting. Hiraki worked with director Hideaki Itsuno on other traits and, like in the first Devil May Cry, collaborated with two motion actors.

Capcom first planned to name Nero after sculptor Auguste Rodin, creator of The Gates of Hell, which appears in Devil May Cry 4. But they later wanted a simpler name like Dante and Vergil. Morihashi convinced them to use the Roman emperor’s name; any similarity to Vergil’s alias Nelo Angelo was coincidental. Most of Nero’s attack names come from casino terms, which Morihashi felt fit his personality.

Appearances

In Devil May Cry 4, Nero gets hurt while shielding his childhood friend Kyrie from a demon attack. Later, during a church service for the Order of the Sword, Kyrie is put in danger, and Nero’s injured arm transforms into the Devil Bringer. Known for working alone, Nero is sent to capture Dante. He discovers that the demon outbreak on the island was orchestrated by Sanctus, who was turned into a demon by the Order’s scientist, Agnus.

Nero is revealed to be a descendant of Sparda, which leads Sanctus to kidnap Kyrie and use her as bait to force Nero into a role originally meant for Dante. Dante disrupts Sanctus’s plan, frees Nero, and lets him save Kyrie and destroy both Sanctus and the giant statue called the Savior. Nero and Dante part on good terms, and Dante talks Nero into keeping the sword Yamato. A novel by Bingo Morihashi adds more to Nero’s past: he was found as a baby in Fortuna, bullied by other kids who insulted his mother, and later taken in by Credo and Kyrie’s family.

Dante says he enjoys fighting with Nero because he reminds him of his brother Vergil, though he does not know why. In Devil May Cry 5, Nero runs a mobile branch of Dante’s demon-hunting business to support Kyrie, working with Nico, who is Agnus’s daughter. His life is thrown into chaos when a stranger rips off his Devil Bringer arm to take the Yamato. Nero gets a prosthetic called the Devil Breaker and chases the thief to Red Grave City, where he meets up with Dante and a mysterious man named V. It turns out that V and the demon Urizen are two halves of Vergil, who stole Nero’s arm and is actually his father.

Nero steps in to stop Dante and Vergil from killing each other, awakens his own Devil Trigger, and overpowers Vergil. This convinces both brothers to leave the world in Nero’s hands while they trap themselves in the Underworld to destroy the Qliphoth tree. The light novel Before the Nightmare covers what Nero does between games. Nero was almost in the fighting game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom but was cut due to lack of time.

In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Deadpool mentions him while talking to Dante. In Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Vergil has a color palette based on Nero’s DMC4 look. In Street Fighter V, Nero appears as an alternate costume for the character Ed.

Reception

Nero has received mainly positive reviews from video-game critics. A GameSpot reviewer felt the character would appeal to series fans, though Dante remained more popular. Dante's replacement with Nero was controversial; a GameAxis Unwired reviewer expected him to play similarly to Dante, and his Devil Bringer would satisfy newcomers. IGN praised Nero's gameplay style, saying he 'strike[s] the right tone of gravity and sarcasm.'

Capsulecomputers.com called Nero 'our anti-hero with a heart.' GameSpot found Nero a likable character and said players would be pleased with the switch between Nero and Dante as Devil May Cry 4 progressed. Den of Geek noted that Nero's combined similar appearance and distinctive style might appeal to fans. GameSpy described his combat as having a fuel injector built in to 'rev' up his blade for charged attacks.

USgamer noted that despite Nero being one of the easiest characters to use in Special Edition, his combat still provided depth. Metro said Nero's swordsmanship and Devil Bringer made him unique. IGN ranked the Devil Bringer the ninth-best weapon in the series. A Dual Shockers reviewer enjoyed Nero's combat for adding depth, but found his story unappealing.