Bayonetta — She’s a Mystery

There’s no way you can read anything about Bayonetta with fans of high-octane action games not chanting about how it’s the pinnacle of the genre these days. Upon reading that, the question you’ll naturally ask is whether it’s true or not. Gamers on the internet have a tendency to be right about plenty of game recommendations, but they’re wrong just as often — and hell, why don’t we throw critics under that bus too. The claim is that this game, made by Platinum Games’ Team Little Angels, dethrones the previous pinnacles of the genre that were Devil May Cry 3 and Ninja Gaiden Black is awfully bold. Upon playing it, it’s definitely a true statement.

In observing the game’s overall format, Bayonetta owes a lot to Devil May Cry in terms of structure and progression. From the menus and customization options available before a chapter to its combat techniques and combo counter, Bayonetta makes her way through her quest much like Dante would in the first and third game of the DMC franchise. That shouldn’t be surprising considering the talent behind it, many of which were responsible for the first game in the franchise — including its director, Hideki Kamiya. But  it’s important to understand what works about Bayonetta, why it does things better than any DMC title, and why it’s the action game for future titles in the genre to live up to.

To start, Bayonetta has a plethora of options in terms of weapons and combos, all of which are implemented in a way that will make them easy to learn but tough to master. You’ll start off with Bayonetta’s twin pair of guns (similar to another previously-mentioned protagonist. And yes, I mean that literally), along with combos using her witch powers. You’ll almost feel as if you have too many powers to start with, so it’s a good idea to take your time and master what you have first before you acquire or purchase more weapons.

Yeah, you’ll find yourself amidst chaos often.

Utilizing “Witch Time” is a good way to mix up and maximize combo potential. It’s not easy to start and continue a big combo on one or two enemies if a bunch of them are attacking you at once. That’s where “Witch Time” comes in, which is a fancy-looking and fancy-sounding name for slow-mo. It’s initiated by dodging an enemy’s attack right before it can hit Bayonetta. Time is slowed down for around five seconds, enough for you to start or finish combos on multiple enemies. It doesn’t give you enough time to plan out something, though, but it teaches you to be quick on your toes. You’ll need practice before you become even slightly formidable, unless you’re playing on the easier difficulties, “Normal” is actually pretty tough — though rarely unfair.

Torture Attacks are initiated by pressing a combination of two buttons during battle for regular enemies, and automatically happen after every boss battle. Mashing on the button that flashes when one is in progress will net you more rings — which happen to bear a striking resemblance to Sonic‘s rings. It’s definitely an intentional similarity, and it’s far from the only Sega franchise homage or reference in the game (or homage period). Rings can be spent at the store for more techniques, weapons, and items. Be warned:  some of the stuff in the shop is really expensive.

As you acquire more weapons in the game, the combo possibilities open up with many options, giving you flexibility between combos. All of these are available within the press of a button, with no need to go to a menu to change an option. It’s what Devil May Cry 4 could have been if it was designed around Dante and his style changes. A shame that road wasn’t taken.

This game has some flashy combo finishers.

Just about all of the gameplay is good, but there’s one element that will have (and has had) plenty of gamers freaking out: QTEs. They’re usually not implemented all that well in most games, but this game has some of the most aggravating one’s ever seen in a game. After each stage, you’re given a trophy (no, not of the achievement variety, though those are here) for your performance to measure how skilled you were in making it through the level. Dying during a level nets you a steep penalty, possibly knocking down your trophy by a whole level. This game has QTEs that you’ll have to be very quick to hit, some of which could mean death if you miss them. There’s nothing more maddening in this game than having a nearly perfect performance for your skill in a specific level and having your trophy downgraded because of a QTE you missed that you couldn’t have seen coming. And this is the last type of game you want to see this crap in.

The storyline takes place in Vigrid, a city that exists in a fictional Europe — a place that’s represented not on the most graphically-pleasing manner, but a more aesthetically-pleasing one. Bayonetta awakens in a spectacularly over-the-top fashion after a 500 year slumber with no memories of who she was, and that doesn’t bother her at all initially. Some characters attacking her are intent on having her remember who she was and what she did; while it’s clearly an objective for Bayonetta, it’s not her priority. It’s here that you come to understand the game’s whimsical nature, coming with some entertaining cut scenes directed by Yuji Shimomura. Shimomura, in case you didn’t know, directed the cut scenes for Devil May Cry 3 and 4 as well. Another surprising similarity!

Torture fetishist? Yes, this game has something for you.

The cut scenes are only fun to watch when they’re the Shimomura-directed ones. Bayonetta also has cut scenes comprised of still scenes accompanied by voice acting, kind of like watching a movie reel. They’re not bad at first, but they get much longer as the game goes on, as if the developers wanted you to take the story seriously at that point. Not a good decision when the story isn’t good. It’s certainly at its best when it’s making fun of itself and completely zany.

Oh, and yes, the game itself and its cut scenes are packed with a plethora of fan service. And you know what kind I’m talking about. There’s something for everyone here, especially if you’re male.

In a startling change, unlike a DMC title, this game music is pretty great. While DMC engages heavy metal and rock, this game goes more for jazz and new age; it has a pretty nice mix of fast-paced and slower themes to accompany its cut scenes, battles, and other aspects of the game. The music comes courtesy of…well, maybe you should just take a look at the laundry list of composers Platinum enlisted for the game’s whooping five disc soundtrack. You may not want to look at the track names if you don’t want to spoil yourself on the numerous Sega franchise homages, though.

You just know there’s a QTE here.

It’s not perfect, but Bayonetta is the best example this genre has. Unfortunately, the genre is getting ready to enter a tumultuous road due to some talent venturing to other development houses (Valhalla seems to be taking their sweet time with Devil’s Third) and some baffling decision-making. It’s uncertain as to whether Team Little Angels will be allowed to make a sequel to this game since this one’s sales were merely OK, though Sega acknowledges it as a success. If they do, hopefully they’ll be able to avoid the minimal-through-intrusive flaws this game had without adding any new ones. But they’ll have their work cut out for them if they want to make the game as good as this, if not better.