Devil May Cry 5's Most Intriguing Easter Eggs And References

Devil May Cry 5 isn't shy about being a pure celebration of the series' past. While it has plenty of new ideas, this latest sequel is laced with entertaining callbacks that are sure to bring a smile to your face. In addition, there's a surprising amount of extended-universe lore acknowledged in DMC5 that even hardcore fans might not even recognize.

We've compiled the most noteworthy Easter eggs and references in DMC5. Below you'll find references pointing as far back as 2001's DMC1, as well as fun nods to Capcom's other franchises. Be wary, there are light spoilers ahead.

If you're looking for DMC5 features, check out our secret mission locations guide. You can also read up on how to unlock the secret ending. Check back often as we post more guides in the coming days.

In my review, I awarded DMC5 a 9/10 and said,: "DMC5 thrives on the stylistic and mechanical prowess of its predecessors. It sticks to tradition above all else, pursuing a few ambitious new ideas along the way, but mostly maintaining the series’ focus on intricate fighting systems and campy bravado. Rarely does the game stumble, consistently leveraging its spectacle and mechanical depth to push aside any small frustrations. All the while, the story exudes a charismatic charm that keeps you constantly intrigued as you’re refining your skills. DMC5 proves the series can still be brilliant and imaginative without compromising its longest-held traditions."

Did you spot any Easter eggs or references that we didn't mention here? Let us know in the comments below.

The City of Red Grave is a nod to Tony Redgrave, which is Dante’s alias in the anime and early light novels. In a note in the Gallery menu, this element is reintroduced into the canon, explaining that Dante took on the name since Red Grave City is his hometown.

The name Tony Redgrave itself is a nod to Capcom's past, as it's Dante’s original name back when DMC1 was being developed as Resident Evil 4.

Throughout the story Nico continually brings up Nell Goldstein, her grandmother and legendary gunsmith. Known as the .45 Caliber Virtuoso, Nell originates from a Devil May Cry light novel. She and Dante (known as Tony at the time) are established in the book as close friends. The fledgling demon hunter would often stop by Nell's shop to buy new guns, as well as sell any spares he picked up. But during his jobs, Dante would often break his pistols, so Nell decided to craft for him the indestructible dual pistols, Ebony & Ivory, to solve this persistent annoyance.

After Devil May Cry 3's release, details in that game’s story ended up contradicting the events of the novel, and as a result, were removed from the canon. However, J.D. Morrison’s letters to Nero in DMC5 end up bringing a lot of the novel’s elements back into the canon, including Nell Goldstein.

Speaking of J.D. Morrison, he originates from Devil May Cry: The Animated Series, a small 12-episode anime that ran back in 2007. Unlike the novel, the anime is canon taking place after Devil May Cry 1, and introducing Morrison as Dante’s agent, bringing him job requests; though, the Morrison in the show features a completely different design from the game.

Another character introduced in the anime is Patty Lowell a young girl that ends up in Dante’s care and lives in the Devil May Cry shop for a time. She makes a voiced appearance in DMC5, calling up Dante to invite him to her 18th birthday party.

Nico’s father is mentioned a few times throughout DMC5, but it's never explicitly stated who he is. But if you research the Gallery enough, you can find several notes pointing to his identity. The profile that Nico wrote up on Dark Knight Sparda mentions that her father was from Fortuna, which is the primary setting of DMC4. In addition, the Red Queen weapon report states that Nico's father had designed the blade. If there's anyone from previous games who most fits the bill based on these clues, it's Agnus--the smarmy, research-obsessed scientist from DMC4. This lines up with details confirmed about Nico's father early on, who was said to be killed by Dante. And given Nico's general disdain for her father, it makes the most sense that it's Agnus.

The Cavaliere likely is a callback to the series' love of inserting motorcycles into action scenes--specifically in DMC1 and DMC3. This crazy chainsaw motorcycle is earned after defeating Cavaliere Angelo, which is the boss that Trish was trapped inside. Getting the Cavaliere after this fight in particular is fitting Trish's association with motorcycles; she crashed into Dante's office with one in DMC1.

If you didn't recognize them already, V’s familiars, Shadow, Griffon, and Nightmare, are direct nods to DMC1 bosses of the same names. In fact, many of their attacks and animations are lifted straight from those bosses. For example, Shadow's Bayonet attack is very similar to the attack that its DMC1 counterpart opens up its bossfight with. You'll even notice later on that much of Mission 18 features several callbacks of each familiar's DMC1 counterpart, including the return of boss themes and some dialog referencing events on Mallet Island.

The Punchline Devil Breaker has an added function that allows you to ride it like a skateboard, which is incredibly satisfying to use. This isn't the first time a DMC protagonist has ridden a rocket, though; the second mission cutscene in DMC3 features Dante doing the same after the Cerberus boss fight. The ability to ride the Punchline in this manner is likely a reference to that over-the-top scene.

The Devil Arm Dr. Faust is named after the Faust, the shrouded hat-wearing demon from DMC4. When you acquire the weapon from Nico, you witness quite a hilarious fourth-wall breaking scene of Dante dancing like Michael Jackson, as strobe lights flicker and fireworks go off in the background. This scene is likely an ode to DMC4 Dante's ridiculous shenanigans from his post-boss fight cutscenes.

If you got your hands on the deluxe edition, you'll notice that Nero gets a Devil Breaker that's legitimately Mega Man's buster arm. While it expectedly shoots buster shots of varying charges, equipping it also changes Nero's animations. When you jump, Nero extends his arms out like Mega Man does when he jumps; though, seeing Nero not have his mouth open while doing this jump is a smidge off-putting. In addition, dodging left or right causes Nero to slide just like Mega Man does. This animation change in particular is incredibly handy, as it increases the speed of Nero's dodges, making it easy to avoid enemy attacks.

Dante has a taunt that pays homage to the sexual innuendo-laced monologue he delivers after defeating Berial in DMC4. It generally triggers when you achieve an S-rank. You'll know you've done it when he throws a rose and says: "And you are set free."