Hello and welcome to all the stylish action-loving, combo-thirsty, and demon-hating players out there. If any of the above characteristics describe your gameplay outlook, even if by a longshot, then you are on the right article for sure. With the Devil May Cry 5 game getting closer and closer to its inevitable launch, we want you to be well-equipped lore-wise. The ever-familiar, intense action-packed, and the undoubtedly stylish hack-and-slash franchise is returning with its fifth piece and there’s a whole bunch of everything you should know before turning your demon-body-counter on.
Even though the games in Devil May Cry series are considered as one of the representative titles to a hack-and-slash genre, each of the released titles fascinates the fans with an immersive and captivating narrative. However, even though the DMC universe is vast and interesting beyond mortal comprehension, technically, it’s a goddamn chronological mess! So, if you are one of the players who love these games, but is mind-boggled with what happened when, and which title should follow which in a constructive sensible manner, we offer help! Once again, hello and welcome to Devil May Cry Chronology!
So basically, the title ordering is very important here, as if you’re planning to replay all four of the already released pieces, consecutively from 1 to 4, the luck of understanding everything that’s happening is not in your favour. For example, if you start with the first game and then follow up with the second, it sort of looks that DMC2 completely forgot about its predecessor, or even worse, the second game doesn’t even acknowledge the first one’s existence! If you then go on to the DMC3, the second looks like it’s on the entirely different universe; where Dante has eaten a bad breakfast and is now beyond grumpy. However, once you finish with the third, the DMC1 starts making sense, and here lies the key to Devil May Cry Chronology!
DMC THREE; ONE; FOUR; TWO!
Almost Everything’s in the title, and that’s one hell of a mix up for a franchise, honestly, it’s certainly not as complex as Kingdom Hearts, Metal Gear, or Final Fantasy, but if the game’s releases are to continue, it might be the next contender to frying your brain! Also, there’re the anime events happening in the gap between DMC1 and DMC4 (narrative order), and we highly recommend watching it! We have revealed the ace card of this article, and yet it’s far from over! If you are still interested on sorting things out further, we have prepared a coherent plotline for you to glance through, as well as some insights on where on the Devil May Cry chronology the highly-anticipated upcoming Devil May Cry 5 release should be placed!
DEVIL MAY CRY 3: Dante’s Awakening
As you now know, this one is the prequel to the first game as far as the Devil May Cry chronology narratively goes! It starts with Dante’s owned shop which yet has no name to it. So, the four main characters which you should know about in DMC 3 is Dante, Vergil, Arkham, and Mary. Dante is our protagonist, Vergil is his brother, Arkham is our antagonist, and Mery is his daughter.
The two brothers don’t go very well together, and Vergil together with Arkham has plotted quite a deviant plan to merge earth with the demon realm. For that, they need half of the medallion which Dante is holding. The medallion has power beyond mortal comprehension. Through the Devil May Cry cutscenes, we find out that back in the day it was split into two halves and given to each of the brothers by their mother.
Dante and Vergil fight for a few times, but they get interrupted. Eventually, Dante loses the fight, and Vergil now has both pieces in his disposal. Soon after, Dante awakens his demonic nature to fight for some more, thus interrupting Vergil’s plan to activate the portal (all the action is set on a tower, which also works as the antenna) that would mix the worlds together. The fighting brothers are stopped by Arkham, who admits that he used them both in order to enter the demon realm where he can steal Force Edge, a form of Sparda’s sword with which he would be able to control the ‘soon to be’ demon-infested world. The tower opens up a way to the demon world and Arkham rushes off into it.
Along the Devil May Cry 3 plot, Dante encounters Mary and has to fight her in order to chase after Arkham, he wins, and Mary gives him quite an extraordinary weapon. Dante continues with his pursuit and enters the demon world. Soon he finds Arkham who already has the Sparda’s power, however, Dante is not a joker and overwhelms Arkham with power. The antagonist then has to transform into a blob-like creature. Vergil joins the scene and the two brothers work cooperatively to force Arkham back from the demonic world. Once he re-enters earth, his daughter Mary finishes him.
Devil May Cry 3 plot doesn’t end here! Back in the demonic realm, the two brothers fight once more for the ownership of the medallion and the Force Edge, by now Dante is too strong for Vergil and manages to defeat him. The earth portal is closing in, Dante manages to get his medallion half and Force Edge, however, Vergil doesn’t make it through. Back on earth, Dante names his little shop ‘’Devil May Cry’’.
The ending credits show Vergil, weakened, but ever-so-fierce as he’s charging into the battle against his father’s old nemesis Mundus.
DEVIL MAY CRY
This is the very first game in the DMC series and the second as far as the narrative Devil May Cry chronology is concerned. The story again follows Dante’s adventures, and the other notable characters in this piece are Trish, a demon’s agent who very much resembles Dante’s mother, Mundus, the antagonist of the series, and Nelo Angelo who’s actually a defeated and entrapped version of Vergil, Dante’s brother.
In the first Devil May Cry, Dante enters the Mallet Island where Mundus is expected to make his return, where he encounters numerous demons as well as Nelo Angelo, to whom he loses, but is surprised by his opponent’s honour. Further, into the story, Dante finds out that Nelo Angelo is an entrapped form of Vergil, and then with all his might puts Vergil out of his misery. Eventually, Dante encounters Mundus but is overwhelmed with his power, Trish saves him, and only then he realises the true potential of the power that he has received from his father.
After sudden realisation, the battle against Mundus continues, and with Trish helping, the two manage to defeat Mundus and send him back into the demon realm. The island starts shattering and collapses, both Dante and Trish manage to escape. After the collapse, the two are shown to work at the shop, and the shop is now renamed to ‘’Devil Never Cry’’.
DEVIL MAY CRY 4
DMC4 Continues on Dante’s and Trish adventures. The other notable characters in this one are Nero; a young hot-blooded demon hunter, and Sanctus, the leader of the Order of the Sword, a brotherhood with the world-conquering intentions!
The plot revolves around the Brotherhood’s intention to use Vergil’s sword Yamato in order to achieve their goal. Dante supposedly takes out Sanctus. Nero, who is descendant of Sparda who also possesses demonic powers is sent to capture Dante, but soon after also learns about the Order’s intentions and is, unfortunately, is lured into a trap and captured by the order.
As is the usual case in Devil May Cry universe Dante once again manages to wreck the antagonists’ plan completely and soon after frees Nero from his captivity. Both demon hunters part ways on good terms and Nero walks away holding the Yamato sword in hand.
DEVIL MAY CRY 2
This DMC2 title is very tricky to discuss as you could read such comments as ‘’just forget DMC2’’ or ‘’Capcom is trying to ignore this game forever’’, and for the longest time that was the accepted state of the game. However, with the official DMC5 release date, it looks like the things for DMC2 (narratively) are about to change as well.
In Devil May Cry 2, our protagonist Dante meets with a woman named Lucia, then, of course, they have to fight a bunch of demons, and after that, the duo travels to Dumary island to meet Lucia’s mother. Dante is asked to help in the fight against Arius, a ruthless demon who, as most of the evil antagonists in the series, wants to conquer the world. Dante throws a coin and decides to help.
Apparently, Arius is collecting ancient items in order to summon a legendary demon known as Argosax. Dante rushes off to obtain the items first, but during his absence, Lucia strides to fight Arius by herself, she gets captured and Dante rushes off to save her. In order to save her life, he has to trade the items he has gathered for her life, and he does.
Devi May Cry 2 once again pairs Dante and Arius during the summoning ritual, the gate to the demon world is now open, however, Dante manages to stop the summoning ritual and kill Arius. The open portal to the demon world must be closed from the other side, and the two protagonists have a quarrel on who should go in. Dante throws his coin once again, and the task falls upon him. He gives his coin to Lucia and drives into the demon realm with his motorcycle.
In the demon realm he faces Argosax, while on earth Arius rebirths to life and now has demonic powers, Lucia has to fight against him. Both Devil May Cry protagonists manage to win against their encounters, and Dante closes off the portal, enclosing himself in the demon world. Lucia looks at the coin that Dante has given to her, and both coin sides are identical. During the ending scene, Lucia is shown to work at the ‘’Devil May Cry’’ store when she hears a motorcycle pull up in front. The scene closes.
FINAL OUTLOOK AND THE UPCOMING DMC5
If you are into demons, stylish protagonists, some awesome fights, and uninterrupted action sequences, the newest Devil May Cry 5 release looks as promising as it gets. And there’s a big chance that it captivates on and follows the DMC 2 storyline (or knowing the unpredictability of the series, DMC5 might be on the entirely parallel universe as well). And if the former variant is to be the case the whole franchise (narratively) will become fluent and consecutive. Ironically, the fifth title in the series would also become the first one to meet the Devil May Cry chronology both numeric and narrative-wise!
If you want to experience each game before the long-awaited Devil May Cry 5 release, we recommend visiting our Eneba Marketplace and buying the Devil May Cry HD Collection, as well as the Devil May Cry 4 (Special Edition).
The demon slaying business cannot get any more awesome than that of DMC!
