I give the goofier moments in DMC1 a pass mostly because it's a 2001 offshoot of Resident Evil 4 and we all probably have a good idea of the quality of classic Resident Evil voice acting. DMC1 is a massive improvement, at least in my opinion. And even with the whole light thing, I still really love the scene before it where Dante tells Trish that he only saved her because she looks like his mother. I find his delivery in that scene to be pretty emotional to the point where I consider it to be one of the best in the series, though that could be the rose-tinted glasses talking. The games also never really took themselves all that seriously, which provides a contrast with the wuboot developers who have over a decade of hindsight on DMC1 and still think their schlock is going to affect the entire industry.
Haha, I forgot about that Bill 'O Reilly fight. I think the whole idea would actually fit in with the golden age of Capcom games, even if it was in something more nonsensical like God Hand.
But yeah, I absolutely love how Nero went around with a Stand for a Devil Trigger and that sick double-barreled revolver that made things explode once you charged it up. His more clumsy and brutal attacks and his ton of different grab animations (and the fact that he fucking air guitars for a taunt) gave him a nice contrast with Dante's more skillful style. I think DMC4's story would be a lot worse off without him considering Dante's beyond giving a shit at this point and I think there's a lot of potential for Nero to grow in a sequel, especially with all the hints that he's Vergil's son.
Also that grab where he Ora Ora's the shit out of Super Pope and holds him up and tells him that he's the real demon before punching him across the stage makes me cry out in joy every time.
