Nero is better for novice players because of the devil bringer. The devil bringer can be a godsend in many situations since it nullify a lot of enemy attacks and be very useful in tight situations. However, Nero only has one sword and one gun and while being good at using the exceed system can take you far, he just lacks the depth of Dante. Dante has five styles, three guns and three melee weapons. He has pretty much something for every situation. But that said, being good with Dante requires being good at switching styles on the fly and using the weapon that is appropriate to the situation. So for more casual players, Nero is probably better, but for more hard core players, Dante is the better character to use.