Bayonetta Review For Xbox360 and PS3

     IT'S HERE! I've been waiting for this game for so long! I even avoided importing it. I LOVE Hideki Kamiya! He's the man responsible for Leon Kennedy of Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry (1 and 4) and the ever beautiful Okami. All of those titles have had a huge influence in my gaming tastes and experiences. I feel like I became a better gamer from playing his games. And now, here's a completely new series from one of my favorite directors.
     Now, this game isn't all rainbows and sunshine. It's got a few hitches here and there but I don't think it overall effects this title. Let's set into this "Infinite Climax" review!

Gameplay

+ Great for beginners and challenging for pros. Normally, when it comes to these types of games, they'll bury you into the ground until you get the point that you just need to work a bit harder to get through the current level which is normally what turns away casual gamers. The other thing that factors in is that you also used to play through a level and if you died, you'd have to start the entire level over from the beginning. Well, Bayonetta has a LARGE amount of checkpoints and the game is fairly easy to get through, even if you only know how to do one combo. Even on lower difficulties, Bayonetta comes equipped with a special item where you can just mash one button and she'll chase down enemies and do spectacular combos for you. The only drawback on taking the easy route is that you'll get less halos for buying new accessories, items, weapons, etc. 
     When it comes to the veterans, the more diverse your combos are, the less damage you take and the faster you can get through a level, the more halos you get! And at the end, all of your scores for sections within a level are added up and you are rewarded with a trophy based on your performance which will net you MORE halos! Then your scores are added to a leaderboard where you can compete for the best scores and times. You can go ahead and slack through the game if you want, but then you'll never have enough to buy all of the cool stuff available to you in the shop. Believe me, you want halos to buy that cool stuff.
     Also, just to note, when you dodge in this game, you can avoid damage and your dodge will make you invincible for a fairly large frame of time making it beginner friendly. However, if you can dodge at just the RIGHT moment, you activate Witch Time which will slow down time for you temporarily to allow you to nail an enemy with a combo without worrying about taking damage. You'll also deal more damage and obtain more halos in the process.


+ Combos for the combo masters! For me, what I loved about Devil May Cry is that there were all of these moves that you could link any way you could imagine and so I felt more creative when it came to the combos I'd produce. When it came to Ninja Gaiden and God of War, I would always go through all of the combo lists and just find the one or two combos to stick with for the rest of the game instead of utilizing an entire list. Bayonetta brings these two worlds together to lend itself to however the player wants to play. You are given a very large list of combos consisting of different combinations of punches and kicks. Those combos will figure into all of the weapons that you obtain in the game. Some combos may be removed or given different timing, some combos might be useful for some weapons and less so for others. Though, as long as you've been studying up on what she can do, it's fairly simple to jump into a different weapon and know what you're doing. 
     You can also purchase moves that can be performed in the middle of any combo string by utilizing a specific motion and button press ala Devil May Cry. By modifying your combos with these moves, you can set them up for an air combo, stun them to perform a more devastating combo, or give the enemy chase if they end up moving too far from you. You'll also end up netting more points and halos by using these moves to link your combos.

+ What's the difference between this enemy and that enemy? Almost everything. All of the enemies in Bayonetta will have strategies of their own to try and take you down which means you'll have to adapt to each enemy you face. You can go ahead and use the same combo you've always used but that doesn't mean it's going to be just as effective against one enemy type as it is for another. And when you're facing multiple types at once, they actually have a way of attacking you together. Some beat-em'-ups have a sense of just killing as much as you can and as fast as you can but with the enemies in Bayonetta, you'll start to dissect the battle situation and begin using strategies of which ones to dispatch first, which combos would work the best if you end up needing to interrupt it. The enemies in this game made me think, and not only did I feel and look cooler when I took them on, I felt smarter too.


+ The difficulties are what they are. The pacing of each difficulty felt absolutely perfect. Normal didn't start ramping up to max difficulty in the end making you think, "Man, I'll never be able to do this part on a harder difficulty..." Normal will be narmal through and through. The difficulty will come out of learning how to handle new enemy types on their own and then how to handle them when they're mixed together. The game's challenge comes more from how you can adapt, not from, "Good luck surviving this one." And then when you move onto the harder difficulties, it uses new combinations of enemies for each level and picks up the pace in a way that feels like a natural step up from when you beat the game on a previous difficulty.


+ The weapons are wicked. The weapons are definitely unique in this game. There wasn't really a feeling that I had used a weapon in some other game before. With the way they combo'd, they felt intuitive and also different from everything I'd used before. And there are plenty of weapons. You are also allowed to make two sets of weapons attached to your hands and feet and you can switch them on the fly. You can also make your weapon sets whenever you want instead of only being able to pick them out in the beginning of a level. Play around with them, use what feels good; It's what this game is about.


+  Torture whenever you like. There are torture attacks in the game which are essentially what you can use to finish off enemies to save time and net halos. When you land a lot of hits and don't take damage, you have a magic bar that starts to fill up. When fills all the way, you get a prompt to perform a torture attack. You can perform these whenever you want, no matter the enemy's health, as long as you have a full bar to use. In most cases, it will flat out kill the enemy or, at the least, do a TON of damage.


+ Finally! A dodge BUTTON! I prefer the Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden way of dodging where you hold the target enemy or block button and press a button (usually the one assigned to jump) and a direction to dodge. I can keep my thumb on the important buttons to retaliate after I dodge and I can react quicker with my dodge. I got beef with whoever thought taking your thumb off of the pad to use a controller's right-stick to dodge was a good idea (I'm looking at you God of War and Dante's Inferno) because it's not. Kamiya has actually found a way to more conveniently allow the player to dodge by just using the RT or R2 button. She will automatically dodge backwards and avoid the attack. If you want to dodge to a specific direction, just move the stick wherever you want when you press the dodge button. It's convenient, intuitive and just plain awesome. THIS was a good idea.


= This isn't Shenmue! I swear, it feels like ever since Shenmue started using quick-time events, every other game thought it should too. Bayonetta doesn't really flood it's gameplay and cutscenes with them, but they're still there and they can still be annoying. Some of them are fun though so it's not really bad. It's just not really good either.


- It does what beat-'em-ups don't. There are certain sections of Bayonetta that have you doing tasks that break up from the usual fighting to change the pace. Now, they'd be kinda cool and fun seeing as how they're tributes to other games, but they just feel like they go on FOREVER. If they were short and sweet excursions, they'd be welcome editions. Instead, they wear out they're welcome real fast. On one of the levels, I was riding a motorcycle. I thought I was going around in circles because I would go through the same tunnels, turns and bridges really often. I was trying to figure out where to go the whole time only to find out that it was just incredibly long-winded and that I was doing the right thing by just going forward. There are only two sections in the game that do this which only accounts for a very small portion of the game and they don't mar the overall experience. Just don't do it again P*. Don't.
 

Story and Presentation

+ Robert Rodriguez, anyone? This game has a campy, fun vibe to it. When you watch the opening, all of the characters felt like they came right out of a Rodriguez flick. From the dialogue, to the action being cool but not fully taking itself seriously, you'd think Kamiya had just finished watching Desperado. I personally think it's a good thing. At the same time, I can take the characters and events seriously. But when Bayonetta starts to goof off with comedic and cheesy sexy moments, I can have fun with it too. One moment, Bayonetta will make a provocative, over-played sexual motion, blow the head off an angel with style, and then proceed to slap an angel silly. The game was made more to have fun with. If you take it too seriously, it's really likely to just turn you off. It's not really trying to hit gamers over the head with sex-appeal, it's poking fun at everything that does.


+ Ooooh, what's that? Every angel and boss was creatively inspired with a lot of thought put into how they would act, and look. For example, with the angel, Iustitia, or Justice, he came off as a demon with how scary he appeared. "This may be due to the fact that those depicting the angel are filled beyond comprehension with awe at the sheer difficulty of encouraging justice in the world." I liked how the enemies weren't just put because you need enemies that look cool. They all have their own backgrounds and reasons for their appearance. It was always exciting to read about the different forces of heaven.


+ I'm killing angels? Yep, you are killing angels. And not because Heaven is evil in this game. You are killing good-willed angels that protect the world from demons and the like. To me, that was a really intriguing point. Normally, when you're on the bad side in videogames, they always tend to either make the good side come off as being evil or totally stupid in a satirical manner. Sometimes they'll even twist the bad side to work for the good making one large good force against a greater evil. Instead, Bayonetta puts you on a very ambiguous side where you aren't trying to go forward with evil intentions, but they're not exactly good ones either. I just thought it was about time someone really say, "You know angels, right? The ones that help people and guide souls to heaven and work for God? Yea, you're going to go kill those," instead of, "Yea, they're angels but they're trying to kill mankind so it's ok." Bayonetta kinda looks at both Heaven and Hell objectively showing that the creatures of Heaven feel like they should help humans out because it's the right thing to do, not because that's what they exist for or that it's what they're supposed to do. It feels like a breath of fresh air to me.


= But I thought you said... The story in Bayonetta isn't the strongest I've ever gone through. You can tell the effort was there to make a good story and it was interesting and intriguing up until the end where it just felt like it fell apart. Not like Borderlands did, mind you. More like the dialogue got really confusing and just left you there in left field trying to make sense of it. At least it did for me.

= Sex-Appeal. Bayonetta is a constantly teasing game when it comes to sexual innuendos and body language. I don't see it as something that doesn't fit or makes the game worse. It actually lends itself to creating a lot of the comedy in the game. Some people that can't see that think it's just over sexualizing Bayonetta, trying to get gamers to buy it through T&A thus making it offensive. I say lighten up. It's supposed to be ridiculous. I don't think of it as either good or bad. It's just a part of what the game is. It does enhance certain moments with comedic flare but otherwise, it's just there.


= This is just a tribute. There are tons of references to past Kamiya creations, SEGA games, and I really want to say even No More Heroes. Unfortunately, sometimes it felt like there may have been so many references and tributes that it made Bayonetta feel more like a culmination of these things instead of something that stands alone by itself. Luckily, Bayonetta does have enough of it's own personality to be something that can stand on it's own two legs. The references are cool though, if you can catch them. I just wonder if maybe they should have held off on a few...



Graphics

+ I feel happy! I liked the graphics very much. Not everything popped so I wouldn't say that this is a game to show off visually but there's a lot that's very detailed and lends itself to the style and aesthetic of the game. In this case, the graphics enhanced the experience for me with all of the special effects and it's unique visual style. This was a visually pleasing game.


Sound

+ Pop-star party!  The soundtrack was a lot of fun. Bayonetta's themes were very pop-styled including a remix of "Fly me to the moon". The orchestral pieces did a very good job at adding tension to struggles in battle or to give you that push of hope when you're just about to deal the final blow to one of the game's bosses. I kinda want the soundtrack actually...

+ Where do I know this from...? There are remixed themes of classic sega games in here and they are VERY awesome. Keep an ear out and see if you can recognize them.

+ BOOM! The sound-effects had a great oomph to them that made you feel like you were really pounding on your enemies. The creatures also have very cool noises that they make. Good luck trying to figure out what animals they used to make some of those sounds though.


Should you buy it?

     Totally. The first run through the game has a fair amount of length to it. This game was made for replays though. You'll need to play through all the levels and difficulties to get enough halos to buy all of the items in the shop, get all of the weapons, unlock secrets and find all of the Umbran blood tears. The mere challenge of trying to get the highest award on each level is already addictive and fun on it's own. It's a satisfying experience worthy of your attention. Great Job, Platinum Games!

     *SEGA took it upon themselves to port Bayonetta to the PS3. Unfortunately, it has increased load times (even for pausing), reduced frame-rates and the graphics take a SLIGHT hit. I don't think it should deter you from playing or purchasing this game if you only have a PS3 since the game is still just as enjoyable and addictive. If you can choose what system to get it for though, get it for the Xbox 360.


Bayonetta was developed by Platinum Games, published by SEGA. Played through Normal, Hard and Infinite Climax difficulties, clocked a whopping 40+ hours and is still going strong. Review is based on the Xbox 360 version.