Like any good Capcom franchise, Devil May Cry is home to dozens of different outfits for its main cast. Dante sees an outfit change with every game, and while Devil May Cry 4 briefly broke the mold, its Special Edition has made sure that every single Devil May Cry has multiple outfits to unlock for the playable characters.
Not every outfit is a hit, though. For as well stylized as the series is, the costume design doesn’t always land. Whether it’s due to an uninspired design or an outfit that just doesn’t match the character well, it’s a good thing Devil May Cry allows audiences to play around with the clothes whoever they’re playing as is wearing.
10 BEST: DMC5 Dante
Dante’s outfit in Devil May Cry 4 wasn’t bad, but it was a bit on the overdesigned side. In general, Devil May Cry 4 felt as if it were nudging the series towards more traditional fantasy. Thankfully, Devil May Cry 5 tonally course corrects right out the gate. Visually, Dante’s outfit is more casual, but it fits him much better.
Dante’s the kind of guy who likes to show off, but who would clearly enjoy being comfortable. His DMC5 outfit is the least ornate of his get-ups, but that’s not a bad thing by any means. As the series embraces a more grounded art style, it also simply makes sense to update Dante’s wardrobe to resemble real clothing while still prioritizing making him look good during combat.
9 WORST: DMC3 Dante
Devil May Cry 3 is one of the best action games ever made (if not outright the best,) but Dante’s default design leaves a lot to be desired. His hair is painfully dated, even for the era, and sporting a shirtless chest under his open trench coat is… bold. It’s a visually iconic design if nothing else, but Dante looks like a proper brat here.
At the same time, that’s kind of the point. Dante is still immature in Devil May Cry 3, and his design showcases that. Does it make it a good design? Well, do a degree, yes, but it’s still not one of Dante’s better outfits. The haircut and the coat do him no favors.
8 BEST: DMC3 Vergil
On the flip side, Vergil looks like a proper warrior in Devil May Cry 3. Simply dressed with an ornate coat that’s not too over the top while still being stylish, it’s no wonder fans everywhere immediately fell in love with Vergil in DMC3. The game gives him a personality that the first one couldn't.
Best of all, Vergil looks just as good as Dante in action without needing to settle for a lesser outfit. A more put together outfit also suits Vergil in Devil May Cry 3 better than it does Dante. He’s immature as well, but he projects himself better than Dante and constantly tries to assert himself as the more composed twin.
7 WORST: DMC4 Nero
Devil May Cry 4 isn’t a bad game by any means and its mechanical depth speaks for itself, but it does take a few steps back from Devil May Cry 3. Tonally, the game is just much lighter and not in a way that really benefits the series. Nero is a good protagonist, but his design isn’t distinct enough from Dante, almost looking like a sanitized version of him.
It’s a shame because the elements of Nero’s design are good. In fact, his concept designs are all significantly better than his final design, opting for something simpler and more elegant. In his winter coat, Nero looks like an actual part of Fortuna’s society. In his purple coat, he just looks like a typical anime protagonist.
6 BEST: DMC5 Nero
In the same way Devil May Cry 5 saved Dante from his outfit, DMC5 keeps Nero from becoming a fashion victim. In general, Devil May Cry 5 does a lot of good for Nero’s character. Now that he’s explicitly the main character this time around, Nero is allowed to develop more fluidly and better represent his own character.
This is best seen in his design where he’s been given a complete makeover. In terms of facial structure, Nero’s shockingly similar to his DMC4 model, but everything else is different. New haircut, new coat, new arm— he’s sure to get a new outfit for DMC6, but this is a Nero worthy of leading the franchise.
5 WORST: V
V is an incredibly interesting character and his mere existence adds so much depth to the greater Devil May Cry mythos, but that vest… It’s perhaps fitting, but V looks like he raided Devil May Cry 3 Dante’s closet. And not the stylish Dante who wears a vest after the game is over, the weird Dante who probably doesn’t wear socks either.
V’s disaster of an outfit is appropriate if nothing else. He’s supposed to look a bit off. To his credit, he doesn’t look nearly as bad as he should, and while his outfit is quite mediocre, Devil May Cry 5’s priorities were about ensuring that V looked cool in combat— which he undeniably does.
4 BEST: DMC2 Dante
What an amazing outfit wasted on a terrible game. Thankfully, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne actually featured Dante from the Devil May Cry series, specifically wearing his outfit from Devil May Cry 3. A vest-long coat hybrid that’s impractical in every way, Dante just looks so stylish in action. It really is a shame he’s locked to DMC2 and a turn-based RPG.
In terms of personality, DMC2 Dante is kind of dour, but Capcom retconning the second game to take place earlier in the timeline does perhaps signal that they’re willing to play fast and loose with DMC2 now. Maybe that means Dante will bust out the DMC2 outfit yet again, if only as an unlockable.
3 WORST: DmC Vergil
What a mess. Reboot Vergil actually isn’t too bad aesthetically so long as he isn’t wearing the fedora. He also isn’t a horrible character. His last-minute motivation plot twist is horrible writing, but there’s something resembling substance there. Unfortunately for Vergil, he lets his hair down and… well, yeah.
Weak Vergil as he’s so accurately called in Vergil’s Downfall is quite possibly the ugliest playable character in the series. V’s skin is literally decomposing by the end of Devil May Cry 5, but DmC Vergil’s haircut is just so offensively bad. He looks like a middle schooler who refuses to let his mom get him a haircut.
2 BEST: DMC1 Dante
There’s no beating the original, but this outfit actually earns the top spot thanks to Devil May Cry 3, not the first game. Dante actually wears a coatless variation of this outfit at the end of the game. While the first game’s outfit is unlockable, so is the vest. It’s so slick and just looks fantastic in-action. It even manages to salvage Dante’s haircut.
Even with the coat, though, this is a fantastic look for Dante. It’s designed to flow around Dante, complimenting his movements. It’s his most iconic design by far and it’s really a shame Devil May Cry 5 didn’t even include it as an unlockable.
1 WORST: DmC Dante
Really, who else could it have been? Devil May Cry’s Dante is such a poorly designed character. Shockingly, it was Capcom that wanted Ninja Theory to experiment with the reboot’s designs. Their original concepts for Dante, while still out there, are more in-line with the character’s base aesthetics. Reboot Dante just throws everything away and does it’s own thing.
Which is perfectly fine in theory, but DMC Dante just doesn’t look good. He’s very poorly dressed and his clothes look dirty. There’s something profoundly unhygienic about DMC Dante. Considering the reboot is even more grounded than DMC5, this doesn’t exactly paint a pretty picture.