Summary
It’s hard to find any longtimeDevil May Cryfan who doesn’t love Dante’s honor-obsessed andkatana-wieldingbrother, Vergil. Although the two may be siblings who share an extremely intense rivalry, they’re polar opposites when it comes to their personalities, with Vergil’scold and calculated personabeing completely different from the brash and cocky attitude of Dante. Still, while Dante is usually the one who gets most of the spotlight in the games, Vergil is an incredibly well-written character who has been given a lot of depth and intrigue in the majority of the games he’s featured in.
He hasn’t always remained consistent though, as each time Vergil shows up, the developers always tweak a few small parts of his character to present him in a slightly different way. Luckily, none of these iterations have been seen as outright bad by fans, but there are some versions of the character that stand out a lot more for a multitude of reasons.
Although Vergil is technically in the firstDevil May Crygame, he only makes a very brief appearance as the dark knight, Nelo Angelo, who has been corrupted by the demon king Mundus. Although he doesn’t say much outside a few moans and groans, Vergil still has a pretty striking design and also puts up one hell of a fight when he’s encountered, which subtly foreshadows his much trickier boss encounters in some of the later games.
When he’s defeated, Vergil also drops a special amulet which seems to contain a memory of the two brothers when they were kids, as it plays the voices of them both squabbling over a chocolate cake when they were younger. While this iteration did an excellent job at granting amysterious auraaround Vergil and making him incredibly intriguing as a character, he only gets a very brief amount of screen time, which makes it a lot less memorable than his other appearances.
Ninja Theory’sDevil May Cryreboot played around with a lot of the series' lore and characters to create something that felt fresh, but that still retained the core features and elements that the games had become so well known for. While Dante went through quite a considerable change, Vergil was also altered quite a bit. While he still wielded the Yamato and certainly wasn’t afraid to use it when needed, Vergil came across as more of a strategist and a planner in the reboot, often being the one to guide Dante and Kat when they were at a crossroads.
However, it gradually becomes clear that Vergil has a much more sinister goal in mind; becoming the sole rule over all of humanity, whom he sees as being too weak to protect themselves. While the original series' Vergil was a very honorable but still dangerous individual, this iteration is far more ruthless and will do anything to get what he wants, even if it means shooting a pregnant woman with a sniper rifle, which is something he does do near the end of the game.
It’s an interesting take on the character that might not be quite as deep or fleshed out, but the heated rivalry between him and Dante is still there, and he gets a lot more development in the excellentVergil’s DownfallDLCtoo.
Although he doesn’t physically appear in the base game, Vergil does show up in the special edition ofDevil May Cry 4where he journeys to Fortuna after becoming suspicious of the Order of the Sword, wondering why exactly they have decided to worship Sparda. While Vergil’s journey across Fortuna is a relatively short one, there are still a few scenes sprinkled throughout that showcase just how immensely powerful he is, as he slashes apart groups of demons without even needing to break a sweat.
His skepticism on the Order’s obsession with Sparda also leans into Vergil’s true feelings about his father, and how he’s conflicted on whether someone such as him, a demon no less, really deserves to be praised, or even remembered at all. He doesn’t hang around for too long, but Vergil still manages to steal every one of his scenes inDevil May Cry 4thanks to his endless charisma andincredibly flashy fighting style.
By the time Vergil appears in the late game ofDevil May Cry 5, he’s far more subdued in his personality, seeming a lot less hostile towards Dante, and even enjoying the last few fights they have together. That shouldn’t imply that he holds anything back though, as Vergil demonstrates that he’s stillalways a few steps ahead of his knucklehead brother, revealing that it was he who was acting as V and Urizen the entire time, and pushing Dante to his absolute limit during their encounter.
Vergil also got quite a bit of development in this game regarding his relationships, especially in the case of Nero, who is revealed to be his son. His ignorance towards his son proved that growing stronger was still the only thing on Vergil’s mind, but by the end of the fifth game, he seems to come to accept not only Nero’s strength but his existence too. Capcom could have easily just included Vergil as a quick final boss fight to please longtime fans of the series, but they went the extra mile in expanding upon his character in more ways than one.
At the beginning ofDevil May Cry 3, Vergil is presented as the evil villain who seems as though he willinevitably end up being some sort of maniacal mastermind. Still, as the story progresses, he becomes much more layered as a character. Vergil’s obsession with might and power comes from the trauma of losing his mother at such a young age, and it also fuels his anger towards Dante, whom he encounters on numerous occasions throughout the game.
With that being said, although Vergil’s obsession with growing more powerful does lead him down a very dark and demonic path, he is still a man of honor, and will always abide by his moral code, especially when it comes to combat. Vergil refuses to ever use firearms and never decides to fight dirty, deeming these as being unworthy of a “true warrior” like himself. Despite being a major antagonist, Vergil comes across as a genuinely captivating and even sympathetic character whose relationship with Dante feels real and believable, and his brutal boss battle also earns him extra points, as it perfectly showcases just how incredibly strong Vergil is through actual gameplay.
