Despite how popular the Devil May Cry series is, most of the games are actually incredibly difficult, requiring players to master their combos and techniques to take down the waves of demons that they will come up against. With that being said, while obliterating groups of enemies is a challenge in and of itself, it's the boss fights that really test the combat prowess of the player.
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Just like other hack-and-slash games like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry doesn't pull any punches when it comes to bosses, with many of them providing a challenge that at times can feel like they are near-impossible to beat. While some are unintentionally difficult due to faulty mechanics or game design, many bosses provide a fair fight that players will only be able to overcome by carefully planning their next attack, making for a truly memorable battle to the death.
10 Angelo Credo
The epic final confrontation with Angelo Credo in Devil May Cry 4 is a fight that tests everything the player has learned up to that point, requiring Nero to use every tool and weapon at his disposal to break the defense of the former Supreme General of the Holy Knights.
Credo is capable of teleporting around the stage while letting out large sweeping attacks which are incredibly difficult to defend against due to their speed. On top of that, he also has a spear that can knock off most of Nero's health with a single hit, and to top it all off, he even gets faster the longer the fight goes on.
9 Tateobesu
Devil May Cry 2 isn't exactly known for its difficulty since a lot of the enemies in the game are so slow and cumbersome that it doesn't take much to defeat them, but one that poses a surprising challenge is the fish-like demon that Lucia encounters, the Tateobesu.
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Not only does the entire fight take place underwater, which already makes the awkward movement that is synonymous with the game feel even more clunky, but the boss itself remains invisible for most of the encounter, flapping its electrified tail to stun Lucia in place. Because of how excruciatingly slow Lucia moves in this section, it makes the fight a real pain that is much harder than anything else seen in the game.
8 Nelo Angelo
Nelo Angelo is a boss in the very first Devil May Cry that combines immense strength with lightning speed to make him near-impossible to hit, and this isn't even factoring in his impenetrable defense. As the fight moves up onto each floor, Angelo will also hit Dante with a cheap shot, which means the player has essentially no chance of continuing the fight if they are on their last legs.
Since this is the very first game in the franchise, it also means that Dante doesn't have his Styles yet either, so he won't be able to counter Angelo's gigantic sweeps and will struggle to keep up with his movements too.
7 Sanctus Diabolica
Considering how painfully difficult a lot of the bosses in Devil May Cry 4 already are, it was obvious that the final battle had to be especially challenging, and it certainly didn't disappoint with the Sanctus Diabolica requiring a tremendous amount of patience and careful planning to defeat.
The final portion of the fight isn't too difficult and essentially acts as an epic quick-time event, but it's the first section that is the hardest to defeat, with the waves of projectiles and random teleporting making it very easy to take damage without even realizing it. Using Nero's Buster Grab is essential in this fight since it will give players a very brief window to knock Santus out of the air to inflict a little bit of damage.
6 Nightmare
Unlike a lot of Devil May Cry bosses who fly across the screen at blistering speeds, Nightmare is an extremely slow and tanky boss which often feels more like a puzzle than a fight, requiring Dante to activate rune-wheels which will then expose Nightmare's core. The player will also have to switch on lights to even be able to damage the boss, so it's best to take a hit-and-run approach and to constantly stay active to avoid getting knocked over by projectiles.
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The janky camera also doesn't do the player any favors in this fight, and on Hard Mode, this is by far one of the most challenging parts of the entire game.
5 Dante
When fighting Nero in Devil May Cry 4, despite how much stronger he is in the lore, Dante truly holds nothing back as he whips out nearly every technique he has learned from the previous three games to annihilate the player.
Each time Nero shoots his gun in this battle, Dante will fire to counter, and almost every time Nero swings his sword, Dante will either block or punish him with a swing of his own, making it almost impossible to even get close to him. The best way to leave him open for an attack is by using the Buster attack and then slashing him as much as possible when he's stunned.
4 Arkham
Lady's father Arkham is so immensely powerful by the end of Devil May Cry 3 that Dante has to begrudgingly team up with his brother Vergil to even stand a chance of defeating the monstrous demon.
The boss possesses several elongated limbs which prevent Dante from getting close, along with Seeker Tendrils that can obliterate his HP if they manage to hit him consistently. In fact, many pro players will use Dante's single jump in this fight as opposed to his double jump in order to make use of the invincibility frames, which in itself demonstrates just how challenging this encounter is.
3 Vergil (Devil May Cry 5)
The fight between Nero in his Devil Trigger form and Vergil in Devil May Cry 5 isn't too difficult and essentially acts as a tutorial for Nero's newfound ability, but it's the first section of the battle between Dante and his brother that is the difficult part with Vergil being as fast and frightening as ever in the encounter.
The only hope of surviving the onslaught of close and ranged attacks that Vergil deploys in the fight is to constantly switch between Dante's Styles, specifically Trickster and Royal Guard, which will help him get close and survive the bigger attacks. All in all though, while incredibly challenging, this is still an extremely fun fight that really feels like a final duel between two rivals who are at their very best in terms of strength.
2 Mundus
Because the Demon Prince Mundus is constantly switching to a new form during his fight with Dante in the original Devil May Cry, it makes it incredibly difficult to plan a strategy around his attacks, many of which are large radius explosions that Dante will be lucky to dodge.
Devil Trigger is a necessity for the second part of this fight since it will allow Dante to deal far more damage, but even in this state, players will still need to keep an eye out for the lava dragons and dreaded fireballs, which deal a tremendous amount of damage each. On the harder difficulties, Dante's guns are his best bet since they will allow him to dodge on the fly, which is incredibly important in this intense battle.
1 Vergil (Devil May Cry 3)
The fight with Vergil at the very end of Devil May Cry 3 has become one of the most iconic duels in video game history because there is simply nothing unfair about it. Sure, Vergil moves at blistering speeds and is capable of unleashing devastating combos in mere seconds, but Dante can still keep up with his brother so long as he utilizes every single skill and technique he has learned throughout the game.
The Vergil encounter is a fight that haunted many young gamers for its difficulty, but considering just how built-up he was a villain and his familial connections with Dante and Sparda, it only makes sense that he would be this astronomically strong.
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