How a New Character Successfully Gatecrashed a Capcom Classic
By: Aaron Moy
Tags: Gaming, PlayStation, Games, Features, Videogames

How a New Character Successfully Gatecrashed a Capcom Classic

Nico is a tattooed gunsmith who is a masterful addition to both Devil May Cry 5 itself and the broader series

Constructing a companion character in a video game is a tedious, delicate task. Creating a new character in a series that fans already know and love is even more tricky. A good companion must deliver information to the player where necessary, without making it seem like they are a blatant audience surrogate. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has an example of a controversial companion in Fi, where not many players were impressed by her constant reminders to change the remote’s batteries. When creating a companion, many more factors must be considered, such as relationships between the other cast members and the game’s overall tone.

For an action game featuring the most outrageous, impossible stunts and epic, stylish combat, Devil May Cry 5 takes itself quite seriously. From the get-go, our esteemed series protagonist Dante and his familiar associates Lady and Trish are compromised, once again forcing players into the journey of Nero, the only one who might have a shot at saving them. Starting the game this way shows the player where things left off with Nero following the events of Devil May Cry 4. Before we can flashback and learn any specifics, however, we’re introduced to the woman behind the wheel of the Devil May Cry van: Nico. As the “Artisan-at-Arms”, Nico is responsible for providing the player with their weaponry and upgrades in exchange for red orbs. In the first few minutes of her screen time, she laughs in the face of danger by burning out her cigarette on a demon’s head. Though most of the series’ cast were introduced in previous games by way of a dramatic action sequence, it made sense because all of them have demonic or otherwise superhuman capabilities. Nico however, is mortal, and still made an entrance as powerful and grandiose as any of the series’ regulars.

Nico catching a cigarette with her mouth in slow-motion. What’s cooler than that? Source: PlayStation 4.

“…Kyrie is incredibly important for him, so much so that he doesn’t want to put her in any kind of danger. We wanted a character who would be able to go with Nero and be there for him. That’s how the idea for Nico came up. At the same time, we wanted a new kind of heroine character. We wanted one who was going to be sassy, the kind of sassy that we hadn’t yet seen in the Devil May Cry series.” — Hideaki Itsuno, Dualshockers interview

Mates by misfortune

In development for Devil May Cry 5, Director Hideaki Itsuno saw the need for a supporting character for Nero — and with good reason. The storyline of DMC5 kicks things off with the mystery of how our protagonist lost his Devil Bringer arm and continues to focus on the inevitable reunion with his father, Vergil. With his girlfriend, Kyrie (whom we met in DMC4) ruled out, what kind of character could possibly take on a supportive role without their presence seeming forced? For starters, the support must be someone who can relate with our hero and their issues to some degree.

Enter Nicoletta Goldstein, daughter of Devil May Cry 4 antagonist Agnus. Both Nero and Nico’s fathers are deceased, having been killed by Dante at different points in the franchise’s timeline. This is established in the first few moments of the game when Nero asks her how she feels about saving the man who killed her father. She responds with a little exposition about how she doesn’t care because he abandoned her as a child, but doesn’t dive into the details of who he is; this is for the player to discover on their own time. Through the game’s journal entries written from her perspective, the player can get a sense of how Nico feels about the game environment around her without explicitly stating it. The DMC van itself offers a vast amount of background on Nico. In an early cutscene, she and Nero are seen working on it together, shortly before showing how he loses his arm. The interior features every gadget and decoration that she’s put there personally, from the rack of Nero’s Devil Breakers right down to the ‘Nico’ window decal. This shows how the van isn’t just a placeholder shop UI, it’s Nero and Nico’s baby.