Introduced as the protagonist of the 2001 game with the same name, Dante is a devil hunter dedicated to exterminating them and other supernatural foes in revenge for losing his mother Eva and having his older twin brother, Vergil, lost.

Comparatively, his redesign and characterization in DmC: Devil May Cry was highly controversial for the drastic change of his appearance, most notably his iconic white hair.

[41] The staff were afraid of negative feedback similar to what had happened to Konami's 2001 game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, which proved highly controversial because of switching protagonists.

The character's early defeat at the hands of Urizen coupled with the destruction of his sword Rebellion was meant to emphasise Dante's weak powers set by the narrative and how, across it, he would gain new skills to face the antagonist in a rematch.

[44] The game's climactic event where Nero awakens his demonic powers and stops the struggle between Dante and Vergil was meant to give the story a deeper form.

[45] Artist Yuichiro Hiraki felt Dante looked like a "nihilistic anti-hero with a bit of a dark side", based on his early concept art by character designer Makoto Tsuchibayashi.

Shortly after the game's development, Kamiya said that his personality would be more animated (which gave Hiraki the idea that Dante would be an "incorrigible joke-cracker") and the Devil Trigger was downplayed.

Hiraki began drawing the character stylishly, working on Dante's gameplay, his swordsmanship Stinger (スティンガ, Sutinga) and his handling of the guns (Ebony and Ivory).

The combination between Dante's swordsmanship and usage of guns with unlimited ammo made the character feel more unique according to Hiraki before the concept of Devil May Cry was conceived.

[49] For DmC: Devil May Cry, a reboot of the series, Dante was completely redesigned by Italian concept artist Alessandro Taini (known as Talexi), in response to comments by the Capcom staff.

Although his original design was meant to resemble those in previous games, Capcom told the Ninja Theory staff that he needed a redesign to appeal to a younger demographic.

[62] As Langdon faced difficulties with the work, he was thankful towards cast director Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as well as Yutaka Maseba from ADR Production who helped him in the making of the game.

Despite the staff's concern about the difficulty of such a portrayal, Langdon had no issues after choosing Roy Focker of the anime series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (who was near Dante's age) as his character model.

[67] Langdon said that his favorite motion capture scene from the series was Dante's banter with the antagonist Agnus during Devil May Cry 4 as they did a take on Japanese stage play originally designed by Yuji Shimura.

Dante's arsenal usually consists of firearms and melee weapons, including Ebony and Ivory (エボニー&アイボリ)—twin semi-automatic handguns which never need reloading—and a variety of swords, such as the Rebellion, Force Edge and various "Devil Arms" created from the souls of powerful demons he defeats over the course of each game.

After multiple encounters, Dante defeats Vergil whose body is destroyed, leaving an amulet necessary to unlock their father's legacy, the sword Sparda (スパーダ, Supāda).

Set some time after the first game, Devil May Cry 2 focuses on helping Lucia defeat Arius, an international businessman who uses demonic power and wants to conquer the world.

He is drawn out by Vergil, who is trying to reopen the portal to the demon world to obtain Sparda's full power, which remains on the other side in the Force Edge sword.

[98] Dante and Vergil embark on a one-way trip to the underworld to cut the Qliphoth's root and to seal the portal with the Yamato, leaving the human world in Nero's hands.

[99] In the final scene, Dante is shown sparring with Vergil in the underworld, no longer as enemies but as friendly rivals while at the same time fending off waves of demons.

[131][132] A Devil May Cry 4 novel by Bingo Morihashi reprises Dante's role in the game, revealing his interest in Nero after discovering his resemblance to his brother Vergil.

[136][137] DmC: Devil May Cry's version of Dante appears in the game's prequel comic, The Chronicles of Vergil, when he receives the Rebellion sword to fight demons.

[157] Meristation regarded Dante's design and characterisation provided by Kamiya as one of the biggest reasons for the iconic character's popularity in hack and slash games.

"[159] SNK artist Falcoon called him an anti-hero, comparing him with K' (a character in The King of Fighters series),[160] whereas GameSpy described Dante as "awe-inspiring to look at", with attire reminiscent of Vincent Price.

[164] The articles involving his sex appeal led to a comparison with Bayonetta's title character, especially in his Devil May Cry 4 persona, based on their personalities and actions.

[178] Dante was added as a Mii Fighter costume to the game on June 29, 2021,[130] later resulting to Devil May Cry's fans outcry on twitter, following over the disappointing character reveal.

[185] Among other relationships, Dante was positive for his team ups with Trish and Lady, to the point his role in Devil May Cry 3 was felt be superior to Kamiya's original take.

[199][200] According to UK Anime Network, his personality in the Devil May Cry 3 prequel manga lacked development; he appeared unlikable, and the script gave him strange lines.

[204] Dave Riley of Anime News Network compared the reboot's character with the young Dante from Devil May Cry 3, criticising him as a "pretty generic adolescent power fantasy" (including swearing when he confronts enemies).

[61] Writers on several websites criticised the fan base's negative reaction, saying that they were influenced solely by the character's look; his personality was very close to the original Dante.