Ever since the original game dropped back in 2001, theDevil May Cryseries has been a classic of the hack and slash genre. The series is still one of the most iconic spectacle fighters in the world, and its poster boy Dante has gone down in history as an iconic video game character. These games have many strengths, including a playful but adrenaline-soaked style that keeps new fans coming. However, one thingDevil May Cryisn’t good at is maintaining a coherent timeline.
With each new game,Devil May Cryseems to be trying to reinvent itself in terms of themes and story beats. Nowhere is this more obvious than when trying tomake sense of Dante’s characterarc. Not only does the series constantly bounce between various points in Dante’s life, it rarely revisits past plot points. When it does revisit something introduced in previous games, such as characters like Lady, Trish, and Vergil, the new title often overwrites the past. Despite this confusion, fans used to have a pretty solid idea of the overall series timeline. The release ofDevil May Cry 5changed that with a retcon that swapped which order the games officially took place in.
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The Original and Remixed Devil May Cry Timelines
In the originalDevil May Crytimeline, the events ofDevil May Cry 3took place first. This title follows Dante as a brash and reckless teenager, goes into depth on his troubled relationship with his twin brother Vergil, and explores how he became determined to protect those who can’t protect themselves. Next cameDevil May Cry 1, which tells the story of Dante’s battle with the demon Mundus and introduces him to Trish.
After this came the events ofDevil May Cry 4, when Dante teams up with Trish and his old friend Lady to fight the Order of the Sword. This brings them into conflict with the new character Nero. Finally,Devil May Cry 2leads a colder, more solemn Dante on one final devil hunting mission before he vanishes into the underworld, seemingly for good.
As ofDevil May Cry 5, the official timeline has swapped the places ofDevil May Cry 4andDevil May Cry 2. This means the series timeline now goesDevil May Cry 3,Devil May Cry 1,Devil May Cry 2,Devil May Cry 4, thenDevil May Cry 5. Fortunately, the fact that each title is more or less self-contained means that there aren’t many major plot threads derailed by this change. Unfortunately, there’s at least one major plot hole caused by puttingDevil May Cry 2in the middle of the series instead of ambiguously at the end: Dante’s first trip into the underworld.
What the New Timeline Means
The new timeline means that Dante has gotten himself stranded in the demon world twice: Once at the end ofDevil May Cry 2, and once at theend ofDevil May Cry 5. Not only is this a repetitive plot point now, butDevil May Cry 4also doesn’t explain how or why Dante returned from his first trip to the underworld. It also means that the cast ofDevil May Cry 2just sort of vanishes from the series afterward, which made sense when it was the last game, but seems odd if it takes place in the middle.
The re-ordered timeline does mean Dante’s physical aging now resembles normal human aging — the original timeline had him preserved as ambiguously twenty-something, and then seemingly age backward betweenDevil May Cry 4andDevil May Cry 2. Unfortunately, Dante’s creator Kamiya has previously stated that Dante would become more demonic as he aged, so Dante’s increasingly wornfeatures inDevil May Cry 5may still leave even dedicated fans confused. Especially fans who were used to the previous game order.
It remains to be seen whetherDevil May Cry 6will continue to follow a Dante who ages realistically, even when Trish and Lady appear virtually unchanged, or if he will return to his iconic classic look.
Devil May Cry 5is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Amazon Luna.
