Devil May Crychanged action games forever, offering stylish action and combos that inspired many games to follow. It made sense that the star, Dante, would go on to cameo in a lot of games, most in the style of costumes. Masamune Date got a Dante costume inSengoku Basara 4and most Western fans are probably unfamiliar with this Capcom-made Musou-like.
They do, however, know whatStreet Fighteris, andStreet Fighter 5: Arcade Editiongave Ken a Dante costume. The costume parade could go on, including most recently acameo inAstro Bot, but getting costumes is not as cool as playing or being supported by the real Dante. So, let’s see what substantial guest appearances Dante has made over the years.
5Monster Hunter Frontier G
Monsters Are Basically Demons, Right?
Monster Hunter: Worldhad a lot of crossover promotions with Capcomgames likeStreet FighterandMega Manalong with third-party support from games likeHorizon Zero Dawnfrom Sony. Dante made it in too during a special Event Mission called Code: Red and no, it also wasn’t related to the Mountain Dew flavor. Players who completed the challenges could craft armor to make themselves look like Dante complete with the Charge Blade weapon, Dante’s Devil Sword. While it was a cool cosmetic upgrade with stat bonuses, the armor, and weapon set were not as cool as getting a chance to inhabit or join the real Dante.
Western fans are probably unfamiliar withMonster Hunter Frontier Online, which was a more MMO-based entry that saw several updates and ports starting in 2010 on the PC and Xbox 360 but in Japan only. One of these updates was calledMonster Hunter Frontier G, which was in 2013, and these games notably had a mechanic called Rastas. Rastas were A.I.-based companions players could hire to accompany them on missions kind of like the Support Hunters inMonster Hunter Wilds. Well, Dante and Lady were put into the game as Rastas who could join players on the hunt which was a much better crossover promotion than whatMonster Hunter: Worldhad.
Project X Zoneis one of the most impressive crossover games on the 3DS which was released in 2013 in North America. Sega, Capcom, andBandai Namco characterscollaborated against the forces of evil in tactical gameplay. While players could move their characters on a grid, the gameplay would switch to a fighting game-like 2D hybrid during encounters. In the first game, Dante was paired with Demitri Maximoff from theDarkstalkersfranchise and Lady was a solo unit.
To clarify, most characters in the game were paired with somebody else while solo units could join anyone as a third. While Dante and Lady had a good inclusion in the first game,Project X Zone 2made theDevil May Crycrossover better as Dante was paired withhis brother Vergil. It was another 3DS game which was released in 2016 in North America. Who doesn’t love a good brotherly combo?
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturnewas released for the PS2 in 2004 which was a year after Japan. The North American release got a bonus via the inclusion of Dante as a recruitable party member. Players first encountered him in the game as an enemy, got him as a guest party member, and then he joined permanently later on. Dante was a big exception in the port as the unnamed protagonist was the only humanoid in the original version.
This protagonist could instead befriend demons to join his turn-based party. Another humanoid inclusion in a re-release of the game was Raidou, the protagonist from the wildly named spinoffDevil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army. Both Raidou and Dante are available in the latest version,Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster, but as DLC instead of being included in the base package which was a bit annoying for longtime fans. Dante made it intoanotherShin Megami TenseigameviaShin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2which was a mobile-only RPG that also included ties to Nero and V as a way to promoteDevil May Cry 5.
Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroeswas a wildly popular arcade and home console game that first debuted in 2000. Despite its popularity, Capcom did not make a sequel until 2011’sMarvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. This gave Capcom more series to bring into this crossover fighting game phenomenon like Dante along with other Capcom highlights includingWesker fromResident Eviland Amaterasu fromOkami. Dante was a blast to use as his combo system applied well to a fight game even though he had to hold back a bit.
Trish, his lady friend, was in the original version too. The game later got a special edition in that same year calledUltimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3which kept the cast and added new characters like Vergil. In the latest game as of 2017,Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Vergil and Trish were dropped but Dante remained intact. He had an even bigger role as one of the featured characters in the story and his cutscenes are worth checking out online.
Viewtiful Joewas released for the GameCube in 2003 as part of a project by Capcom to release exclusives on the system. This project was dubbed the Capcom Five which ended up not being so exclusive as one game was canceled,Dead Phoenix, three games were ported to the PS2 includingViewtiful JoewithP.N.03being the only exclusive to this day. For those curious,Resident Evil 4andkiller7were the other two games in the project.
Viewtiful Joegot this PS2 port a year later with the bonus of Dante being added as an unlockable character.Viewtiful Joewasdirected by Hideki Kamiyawho also directed the firstDevil May Cry, so it made sense to cross the two series over. Both were stylish action games in a way withViewtiful Joebeing the sillier of the two. Dante also appeared in the platform fighter,Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble, as a playable character but only in the PSP version.
