The Devil May Cry series started its development as one of the possibilities for Resident Evil 4. Dante first appeared as Tony, a superhuman with powers fueled by biotechnology. Hideki Kamiya then decided to abandon the fixed camera system and the pre-rendered background, well-known to the Resident Evil franchise, in favor of a dynamic system, Kamiya along with Noboru Sugimura added a gothic style to the game scenario. But with all these changes the concept was looking less and less like a Resident Evil game, so Kamiya simply changed the story to fit what they already had, renaming the character Dante.
Curiosly, when Dante needs a human alias he uses the name Tony Redgrave, as seen in the anime and engraved in both of his guns, Ebony & Ivory, as well.
For Tony Redgrave
By .45 Art Warks
It is suggested that Sparda used this alias in the past too, as his guns, Luce & Ombra, have the same engraving as Dante's, altough none of Sparda's relation to the Tony Redgrave alias is confirmed.
Despite starring his own franchise, Dante bears resemblance to Leon S. Kennedy, the lead protagonist of Resident Evil 4, and its interesting to notice that Mallet Island resembles Salazar's Castle. To top it off both of the characters end their games by escaping islands about to explode.
