At a time when all you hear about these days are open-world games, we have a series like Devil May Cry which was revitalized early this year. It brought back all of the previous main characters, with Nero returning as the core protagonist we followed.
Nero’s characterization has been distinct from Dante, as he’s someone who’s more serious but still lacks in maturity. This has resulted in some surprisingly insightful quotes considering the person he is, along with some boyish words that we liked simply because they were cool or amusing. With that in mind, here Nero’s 10 best quotes found in the Devil May Cry series.
10 “No, You Listen, Dead Weight.”
Nero spent all of Devil May Cry 5 triggered over Dante calling him “Dead Weight”, even though the latter had said it to protect him. This resentment lasted so long that Capcom should’ve just called the game “Dead Weight May Cry” instead.
And yet, it was still rather appropriate when Nero turned things around in the climax and called Dante out as a dead weight when it was Nero who stood tall and was in control. By then, he finally got over the chip on his shoulder and considered himself a great demon hunter in his own right.
9 “…This Hand Was Made For Sending Guys Like You Back To Hell! And Now…You… DIE!”
Players loved using Nero’s devil bringer in Devil May Cry 4, but the character himself hated his demonic arm and thought it was a curse he had to live with. By the end of the game, though, he finally found its purpose to be the tool that sent demons back to Hell.
Nero then followed through with this by magnifying his devil bringer to enormous lengths, making it so gigantic that he was able to destroy Sanctus’ last form and send him to Hell where he belonged.
8 “Fire’s Bad For The Complexion. I Burn Easily, Never Tan!”
Unlike Dante’s signature cocky humor, Nero’s trash talk is mainly restricted to taking shots at his opponent’s expense, being dry and sarcastic. On this occasion, he mixed things up by taking a page out of Dante’s book.
When confronted by the demon Berial, who considered himself the greatest creature to ever have been spawned, Nero didn’t show any fear and instead mocked Berial over burning everything around him into a crisp. This was the perfect kind of trash talk, as the overly literal Berial found himself enraged and unable to beat the unorthodox style of Nero.
7 “When This Is Over, I’ll Make You Submit… Father.”
For eleven years, fans debated over whether Vergil was supposed to be Nero’s father, and we got confirmation of this in Devil May Cry 5. This led to a mouth-watering match-up as we saw father and son collide.
Even better was the fact that Nero wasn’t out for blood at all as most expected he would be, instead wanting to make his father submit so that Nero could make him reflect on his actions. It was the culmination of over a decade’s worth of anticipation, and this quote sealed the perfect execution for it.
6 “You’re Dante, Right? Not A Bad Name.”
Nero couldn’t tell it, but fans could tell Dante had something of a soft spot for the young devil hunter as he constantly let Nero go and held back in their match-ups. After yet again toying around with him, Nero realized what Dante was doing and arranged for a truce.
It was here that Nero saw how Dante seemed to have a liking for him and they had their first civil interaction where Nero complimented Dante for having a nice name. He didn’t hear the response, but Dante appreciated enough to reciprocate the same sentiment.
5 “Tough Guy, Huh? Well…”
Nero’s immaturity was on display here as he let Dante’s cockiness get the better of him. In their first confrontation, Dante chose not to speak and tested Nero’s abilities which made the latter annoyed at how he was being played.
This is when Nero read Dante out as being a tough guy who used mental tricks to get his opponents to make mistakes, and Nero capitalized on this realization by improvising new attacks toward Dante. This eventually led to Dante recognizing that his nephew indeed was a gifted talent who could hold his own.
4 “…I Do Know That Sparda Had A Heart. A Heart That Could Love Another Person, A Human.”
Separating Dante from Nero was the fact that the latter was deeply in love and was faithful toward Kyrie. Neither of Sparda’s sons grew to love any women, but his grandson sure had the tendency to love someone else as he openly confessed his love for Kyrie.
Although he didn’t know at the time that he was Sparda’s grandson, Nero did feel a sort of connection with him due to their shared respect for the concept of love; especially love that was toward a human.
3 “All Of A Sudden, I Have A Family. What Am I Supposed To Do With That?”
Nero was given an additional layer of emotional depth as he forewent the typical angle we’ve seen in games like Tekken where fathers and sons have no qualms about killing each other. In its place, Nero was shown grappling with the idea that he now had a father and an uncle.
It was then that he called Kyrie and asked her what he was supposed to do with this knowledge, bringing in a wonderful change of speed that Devil May Cry never had before where the protagonist took the time to reflect on his feelings rather than simply focus on slicing and dicing his enemies.
2 “I Couldn’t Protect Credo. To This Day, I Hate Myself For Not Having Enough Strength.”
A lot of wrongs were made right in Devil May Cry 5 from the previous game, one of which was Nero expressing regret at Credo’s death. He hadn’t been shown caring at all about Kyrie’s brother after he’d died in the fourth game, so this was a good touch to bring by showing that Nero did feel the impact of Credo’s demise.
This way, the player got the sense that behind Nero’s sour demeanor was a young man who did ponder over his actions. It also validated Credo and Nero’s relationship in Devil May Cry 4, as their confrontation in that game was given additional context.
1 “Dante’s Not Going To Die Here, And Neither Are You. Do You Have A Problem With That?”
After thinking it over about what having a family meant to him, Nero happened upon the realization that he would very much like to have a real relationship with his father and uncle. This led to him gaining a human arm and unlocking his true devil trigger.
It was a twist in the story that Nero’s greatest power wasn’t unlocked through combat, but rather the love he felt toward his family. To this end, he was able to beat both Dante and Vergil handily because he never sought to put them down; rather, his only intention was to bring all of them together as a family for the first time.
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