During this game's gameplay preview back in the last E3, many compared this game to Devil May Cry. And you're right to notice that. Bayonetta had also the same creative director from Devil May Cry, Hideki Kamiya. After reviewing from what Capcom did with their latest DMC, Kamiya wanted to create a game that has evolved from DMC to focus more on feminine style centering a female protagonist.
It's Bayonetta making herself known to the world.Bayonetta's setting is about Paradiso(heaven realm) and Inferno(hell realm) having a ongoing war, with the real world and purgatory as their battlefield. Totally original right? So anyway, here comes in Bayonetta, the last surviving witch from the Umbra clan stricken with amnesia. She tries to recollect her lost memory while she gives a bunch of whoop ass to both of the waring factions. During her journey has reoccurring stereotypical characters. You got a hardass black dood, a 1940s danny devito chump, a red-wearing rival witch, a lame love interest, and a little girl who looks similar to Bayonetta. I havent play too long yet but i can tell story isnt gonna be that original but it'll definitely get you to travel many different baddies in the game.
About the game itself: It's freakin awesome!
Well, that's if you dig games like DMC and Ninja Gaiden. Fans who are familiar to the series genre can expect some of the moves you can pull out from the game. I got the 360 version of the game so ill point out the control scheme by referencing the 360 pad.
A - jump
B - kick (hold to fire wepon)
Y - punch (hold to fire weapon)
X - weapon
RB - hold to lock on target
RT - dodge/Witch Time
LT - change weapons
LB - taunt (lol!)
Left stick - move
Right stick - move camera view
Like the usual of the genre, you can have many combination of flurry attacks against your opponent. Many of which are combos of weapon+punches+kicks. To add a halt to your combos, you can hold one of the punch or kick buttons to end the end early (or to chain off it) with firing your weapon. You can press punch/kick while moving the left stick in a circle to execute in 360degree shooting mode to aim baddies around you (while you press left or right in the stick to switch baddies).
Beating up big scary angelic monstersis all in a day's work for Bayonetta.
Back to the combos, having a long stream of punch/kick combos sets up a attack that delivers a devastating blow to the opponent. You can immediately notice the heavy blow coming by seeing you character momentarily strip off for clothes leaving what looks a black V-shape bikini (just to note first, her clothes are made out of her magical hair). After a long chain combo, her hair goes into a portal and come out to another portal in front of the baddie looking like a huge 'hair weave' fist; or a 'hair weave' leg wearing heels. It may sound obsurd but while fighting larger baddies and bosses, you'd want to have long combos with devastating blows to end it.
Nice heels you got there Bayonetta~The real helpful tactic while fighting is the dodge button. Pressing RT by itself just lets you dodge enemy attacks. But dodging just moments before the baddie lands a hit on you, time slows down and the stage goes purple. This mode is called Witch Time. While times slows down momentarily, your character becomes a bit faster, this means you can run up to the baddie, make a long but very fast combo and end it with a devastating blow. Time reverts back and you can repeat it as much as you want just as long you time your dodges just right to go back in Witch Time mode. And also, its absolutely free, meaning there isn't a gauge that times you while doing it.
Witch Time makes the screen look more purple...There are many different ways while being in action in Bayonetta. The weapon button doubles a interact button and a pick up button. The things you can pick up are baddies' dropped weapons, with each of them have a very unique style of using them. There is also a bar adjacent to your health meter. This is your magic gauge. What it does is while you chain successful blows to your opponent, the gauge fills. Once it fills, you get Bayonetta close to the baddie and press Y and B together. This activates the Torture Attack. The opponent is placed inside a torture device, and with a little bit of repeated presses of the B button, the attack increases and you get a wonderful bloody animation of damage.
Don't get caught by one of Bayonetta's Torture Attacks.Bayonetta is split up into chapters containing many verses in between. After clearing each verse you'll be given a medal. And after clearing that chapter, the game accumulate your medals from the chapter's verses and gives you an overall score. Sometimes while it calculates the accumulated verses, there are some medals displayed in black. This means there are some optional verses that you can clear later on your 2nd playthrough, hence giving this game some replayability. Also, after the end of each chapter, a short shooting minigame can be played. It's played by how many 'bullets' that you have collected in the chapter. Shoot enough baddies on the screen gets you to get some points to buy items or just change them into halos(currency of the game).
There is also a shop located in different points of the map called the Gates of Hell. It looks a bar, but it's really a front for a weapon and item shop. As you get through the game, there are a few weapons will be available for you to purchase. You can also buy recover and life enhancing lollipops. Buy accessories to add more punch during your fights. There is also a special section where you can buy new flashy moves to add your repertoire of baddie slaying.
Rodin, the owner of the shop, Gates of HellThe set pieces of the game are nicely detailed while you tour the European terrain. You get to cross the city streets of Vigrid, tour active caverns and explore gothic ruins. But all this limits you to move from corridor to open-room pathways. You can also destroy pots and benches to get some ingredients for alchemy. And there are some objects on the field that you can pick up and toss them on baddies. You can tell by a fight coming if you approach a larger open space, so be prepared.
One of the beautiful locale in the city of Vigrid.What makes this game made more interesting are the set pieces when fighting bosses. Sure there are some mini-bosses in the chapters too but the real boss fights are fought in a huge scale. Even different stages of the fights is having the boss pick up the land you are standing on and you try to land hits while being tossed around. During and near the end of the boss fight, there is move you can do called Climax Mode. What it is, is that you get to execute a number of quick time event presses on the pad to make large (or even decapitating) damage to the boss. This is both quick exciting and pleasing to watch. Almost all mini boss and big boss ends up Bayonetta removes her hair clothes to help summon Infernal Demons. One of these is a bigass 'hair weave' dragon (and a bird sometimes)that just brutally crush the boss. While this happens, you can get more halos by pressing the X button.
Top Left: Bayonetta's Infernal DemonBottom Right: a not so happy mini-boss
This was a pleasure to play and own. Though the story maybe a bit lacking with still shot cutscenes and lack of better voice acting. But what really gets you going is the many different stylish moves you can acquire and the insanely larger than your 'three storey house' bosses. Now I can't wait to finish it because I heard that the last few chapters is gonna eat my face lol~! This game is now set the standard to the extreme stylish action genre. Even you aren't familiar to this type of game, pick it up, and you'll be in awe by the hilariousness and craziness that is Bayonetta.
Thumbs up: Stylish movelist, crazy Quick Time Events, jazzy j-pop and larger than life bosses.
Thumbs down: Still shot cutscenes, lame dialogue, story at times is hard to follow.
Bayonetta Trailer
