Dante sucks in gameplay wise? What did you play the rest of the game with Dante executing stinger move only ? lol, Dante was certainly a beast OTF style switching and his weapons were fun to use he was very much stylish and had depth if you practice enough with all the styles Dante is a whole different ball game.
Nero on the other hand was a great addition with devil bringer and his complete move-set only if they expanded with his arsenal and melee weapons, He would have been much better than Dante. I find your liking about Nero more than Dante funny, he was one dimensional character ever introduced in DMC franchise.
I didn't even talk about Dante DMC4 one of the best character if he was acting like clown of-course, actually everything was joke to him in DMC4. He was only there for a simple fetch mission to bring back Sparda weapon that Trish stole. No foe could match him he was unstoppable not to mention slapping around Nero in second battle is enough that he was just having fun. Whats wrong with Dante in DMC1? He was funny and had serious attitude in him, the fans didn't mind his corny jokes which made him iconic character.
DMC3 for me was one of the best character his transition from being a cocky daredevil attitude like guy with no goals nothing to lose hated his father and brother. In the end he realized whats important for him hence he accepted his legacy.
If i like something how is that "blind fanboyism?" If you check my previous post i only talk about gothic environment in DMC1 much better than DmC environment and Vergil in DmC looks a douche yes a Vergil in a hat does make him look stupid IMO. You need to ease down a little and wait for a final game it's not like DmC will be something ground breaking in storyline.
Nero is better than Dante, who defines the term 'one-dimensional garbage'. Nero had three facets to his personality in the game alone if I am to completely exclude his past; his link with Kirie - further divided into three roles - his relationship with Credo, and finally his status as a demon hunter which is in odds with the cult set-up and then there are further three divisions to his core personality. The funny thing is, you need to keep your eyes open and take your Dante and Vergil blinders off when you play DMC4, because Nero is in no way a one-dimensional character. Not even a snow flake in hell. Your liking or disliking of his character is subjective, but don't dismiss things that are there.
Whatever is there to the game play is my personal opinion. I found Nero to be extremely fast, innovative and fresh, new, slick and the list is long. It was just pure joy to take out enemies and fight bosses. With Dante, it was nothing more than a chore. Sure, you can beat the toad in 40 seconds with Dante or take out the fiery cat quickly as well, but, in terms of enemies...the guy was a nightmare, for me at least. He was just too slow if you compare him to Nero. I at least felt the difference, don't know about anyone else.
Dante overwhelming Nero was no big deal, as the latter had his Demonic energy isolated to a single arm, and still he was able to perform nicely. As far as him having fun; then nah, I would just say the writers had their heads far up their asses when they wrote it. They didn't know what to do, so they made him act the way he did. I was not flattered. Iconic character? Master Chief is an iconic character and the fruity loafer doesn't even talk. There is your example of fan whoring.
DMC 3, like I said, was a decent story venture, and Dante did have a bit of character. Your liking DMC is not blind fanboyism, but you persistently saying that Dante and Vergil are personality incarnates, IS. See the difference? And what is a douche? Seriously, is that all you DMC fans have against this game? lol Dante was and is a complete douche AND a prick at that. You want to go Urban, then at least check the definitions.
This may sound weird, but my opinions on games never change whether it's before I play the game or after it. I look at videos, a few trailers and that's it. It gives me an idea about what a game is generally like. There is no such thing as a perfect game, every game has flaws and room for improvement. If the game delivers on art front, gives the characters a bit of personality, provides a decent game play, then it's already miles ahead of DMC, as it's improving upon - even if it's very slightly - all aspects, not just one which was gameplay and GP only.