It may not be Capcom's biggest franchise, but Devil May Cry is undoubtedly a core part of the company's identity. Serving as the most focused form of Capcom's old school action tendencies, this stylish action series is never far from any discussion of the best hack-and-slash games of all time. Devil May Cry protagonist Dante serves as its confident face, and even with later games' attempts at bringing new protagonists into the spotlight, there's no denying the red-clad hero's legacy.
Said legacy stretches far outside of Devil May Cry itself. Those in online gaming circles may have come across a "Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry Series" sticker slapped onto various images, often involving some sort of special edition or cameo. It is a real graphic from a game Capcom had little to do with, but featured Dante nonetheless. The Son of Sparda has spent a lot of time outside his own franchise, perhaps almost as much as Capcom mascots Mega Man and Ryu. Chronicling Dante's journey through gaming is always a fun exercise, and may even unearth some interesting titles that fans have missed.
Dante Is A Recurring Capcom Icon
Dante has had plenty of minor appearances in other Capcom properties. Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition added DMC4's Dante as a costume for Ken, which was fitting due to the pair sharing an English actor at the time. Dante featured as a character card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighter DS, and made a cameo in Jedah's ending in Capcom Fighting Evolution. Cosplay gear of Dante appeared in Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Monster Hunter World, and Masamune Date could get a DLC costume of him in Sengoku Basara 4.
However, not content to just lend his appearance, Dante has also entered other Capcom titles in person. His playable roles in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Infinite need no introduction, but Dante's unlockable appearance in the PS2 version of the original Viewtiful Joe is more obscure. He also appeared in the PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. Dante was a core hero in the Teppen card game, and teamed up with Darkstalkers' Demitri and DMC's own Vergil in Project X Zone 1 and 2 respectively. Most of these crossovers are relatively well-known, but the same can't be said for Monster Hunter Frontier G. The game provides his outfit like usual, but unlike other MH entries it also offers Dante as an NPC Rasta hunting partner.
Dante Has Appeared In Many Other Franchises
All of that makes for a rich history of Devil May Cry crossovers, but that's just in Capcom-related projects. The original Dante crossover, before the 2004 PS2 port of Viewtiful Joe, was 2003's Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. SMT3's updated Maniax version introduced the "Featuring Dante" logo, and works Dante in as a recurring boss fight and optional party member. He was replaced by SMT's own Raidou Kuzunoha in another revision, but returned in the game's HD remaster as paid DLC. Appropriately, the mobile game Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 added Dante as a participant in a Devil May Cry 5 collaboration, which finally got the Devil Hunter in the same game as his genre rival Bayonetta.
This would partially repeat when Dante was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but only as a Mii Swordfighter costume. An Astro Bot also appeared in Astro's Playroom dressed as Dante, complete with juggling a classic DMC1 enemy. One more major crossover appearance comes in Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, with Dante's DmC: Devil May Cry incarnation on the core roster and classic Dante in as an unlockable icon. That concludes Dante's appearances in other video games for now, but with his track record, there's no doubt that Devil May Cry's hero will turn up again.