Bayonetta

[Random Rhyme]

IGN Review

Well, Bayonetta is officially our new favourite videogame character ever. Yes, she beats out Snake, Lara, Faust, Waluigi or anyone else you care to mention. Importantly, she's even cooler than Dante, who has long been the poster child for devil may care action heroes. The things that man can do with a gun and some airborne billiard balls.

So. Bayonetta. Why is she the new saviour of action gaming? Because she has the playfulness and versatility of Dante, but wrapped up in some of the most visually inventive combat we've seen in a long while. That and the fact that she's close to naked about half the time. (More on that in a sec.) It certainly bears the hallmarks of the game's director Hideki Kamiya, who was also director on the original Devil May Cry (not to mention Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe and Okami). That alone suggests good things a'brewing... and it all comes together when you see it in motion.

As mentioned, this is a wildly inventive action game. Bayonetta is hugely versatile, with weapons secreted about her entire body - she has two guns strapped to her boots, but can also dual wield in her hands, or switch to a sword. Lightning fast melee attacks chain into weapon attacks, which chain into hair attacks. Yes, hair attacks. As you've probably heard, Bayonetta utilises her long black locks as a weapon. Numerous combos end with portals opening in the air, through which huge demonic fists or boots wreathed in hair punch or stomp through. The hair really comes into its own during the boss battles too. At the end of the first stage we were shown (which was a more polished version of the stage demoed at last year's E3), the hulking, cherub-faced boss is devoured in the gaping maw of a massive dragon, constructed entirely of shimmering, swirling strands of black hair.

All of which brings us to the aforementioned nakedness. Bayonetta's very outfit, you see, is composed of hair, so when she's using a lot of it to attack, it leeches off her body, leaving her almost completely bare. We're still undecided whether this is the stupidest thing we've ever seen, or the coolest. Probably somewhere in between. The game certainly doesn't shy away from her sexuality - the enemy she's currently targeting, for instance, is highlighted with a pair of bright red lips on its chest.

I believe this move is known as 'The Brazilian'. (Alternate caption if you want one "Punch Giant Robo, punch!")

So who is this Bayonetta lady, anyway? Well, apparently she's a witch and the last of an ancient clan. She finds herself in the modern day, with no memory of her childhood, and travels to the fictional European city Vigrid in search of her past. This - as is always the way - seems to revolve around finding a blue gem that goes with the red one she currently wears. You get the idea. All you really need to know is this is a balls-out action game set amongst glorious European architecture, against 'The Lumen Sage' - evil angels and monstrous demonic guardians.

Yes, evil angels. Many of the enemies you come up against literally have wings on their backs and halos hovering above their heads (which you collect and use to buy new weapons and upgrades). They'd kill you as soon as look at you, however, so you shouldn't feel too bad about thrashing them to the point where they literally explode in a shower of gore. Your cloven-hoofed enemies wield a number of weapons, including spiked metal balls on chains, huge bugles that also seem to double as muskets and staffs with razor-sharp metal arrays atop. Adding to her already formidable ability set, Bayonetta can wield these weapons herself, resulting in some pretty sweet moves. She can plant the staff, for instance, then spin around it like it's a stripper pole, firing her stiletto guns in all directions. In a nice touch, Bayonetta can even use items as weapons. In the level we've been discussing, she picks up a novelty oversized key, which soon doubles as a key-sword (not as cool as a key-tar, but close). Ever seen an angel run through with a key? After playing Bayonetta you will have.

The controls are pretty straightforward. X/square is shoot, B/circle is kick, Y/triangle is punch, A/cross is jump and right trigger/R2 is dodge. You string together most combos as you'd expect. Hit Y four times then pause and hit it again, for instance, and you'll chain a flurry of punches into a portal punch, where a giant demonic fist hurtles out of a portal above the enemy, punching it into the ground. Hit B, on the other hand, then rotate the left stick 360 degrees and Bayonetta will pose upside down, firing off the guns strapped to her stilettos. You can even control the direction of fire. Dodging is important too, as successfully evading an enemy attack at the last second sends Bayonetta into 'Witch Time', aka bullet-time.

There are also a number of cinematic kills in the game, which are executed with a simple button press when prompted. One might see a guillotine appear, with Bayonetta repeatedly kicking the enemy in the ass until he falls into it and is decapitated. (Shades of God Hand!) Another sees an enemy smashed to bits in an iron maiden, while a third has Bayonetta hook a chain around an angel's neck in mid-air, then yank it back to shower the area with gibs. We'd have liked a little more control over these moves, but they're cool nonetheless. Perhaps the biggest potential weakness in the combat, however, is the lack of manual lock-on. The auto system seems to do a decent job, however, so we'll reserve judgment until we go hands-on (which should be soon).

As you can see from the screens, this is an absolutely stunning-looking game. One moment you're running along a vaulted and somewhat ecclesiastical mosaic-tiled corridor, the light streaming in from the tall windows along one side, the next you're walking the paths of a verdant tree-lined garden, a bubbling fountain its centrepiece. There are numerous visual flourishes to enjoy too: the fact that you knock off the aforementioned cherub boss' armour and even start to expose the muscle beneath his skin; the animalistic qualities of Bayonetta – her butterfly wings after double jumping, the hair dragon, her panther form which can be used to move at speed; the level of detail on Bayonetta's model, right down to the mole on her chin, the patterns on her outfit and the red and black motif in her attacks.

Yes, this game is nothing short of vivid, and almost explodes out of the screen at times. Perhaps the best example of the kind of spectacle Bayonetta is trying to achieve, in fact, is the other level Sega demoed (which is apparently the game's opening sequence). In it, Bayonetta fights alongside another woman - at this point we don't know who she is - on the face of a destroyed clock tower as it falls off a cliff. It's falling high above an ominous planet's dark surface with a huge moon hanging in the sky. After battling angels and a flying centipede/dragon creature, the protagonists leap across chunks of falling debris to another large piece, where a double-headed dragon sweeps into view and spins its body, lashing its wings at the fighters. It then belches up twin fireballs at our heroines, before landing on the falling stone structure, its talons the size of a large car. The whole sequence is nothing short of spectacular. Of course, whether this particular section is playable, in amongst the insanity, remains to be seen, but as an opening it's undeniably bold, and as long as these kinds of cinematic excesses are balanced by more grounded sections - which we have every confidence they will be, Bayonetta is going to be one of the best action games of 2009.

Source

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/964/964193p1.html

I'm still in limbo on getting this or not since it has allot of fanservice. I will mostly buy it if I have extra money left over. It looks cool nonetheless and the story looks interesting.

[turbojet]

From the moment I saw this game, my jaw dropped. Sega is apparently looking for a new mascot and it's between Jack and this chick.*sarcasm*

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Cooler than Dante? Ha, that's close to impossible. I got to see some results first before I allow that judgement to go by.

[turbojet]

Cooler than Dante? Ha, that's close to impossible. I got to see some results first before I allow that judgement to go by.

Cooler than Dante?

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Cooler than Dante?

The video's been removed.

Was it that scene where he got Lucifer after shooting Berial in the head, and started making those...jokes.

"Thrust it in...with GREAT force...in the end, we're all satisfied." - Dante

[ZERO_ninja]

The game is made by the guy behind the original Devil May Cry, he was never involved in any of the later games (not by his choice) and wasn't happy with how the seires progressed (or in his view didn't progress). He left with many other Capcom developers who made up the department of Clover at Capcom who at the time were producing the best games at Capcom and all left because Capcom have no consideration for their developers. Bayonetta is made to be what the creator wanted of the Devil May Cry series, so any Devil May Cry fan should be first in line to get this game.

Personally I am looking forward to this. I also hope Platinum Games stick with SEGA for a long time as they were the best department in Capcom.

Edited March 21, 2009 by ZERO_ninja

[Sega DogTagz]

Personally I am looking forward to this. I also hope Platinum Games stick with SEGA for a long time as they were the best department in Capcom.

Man, Plat is turning out to be quite the investment for Sega.

Can't say that I would have trusted them if they came to me with ideas like MadWorld and Bayonetta when a chuck of them are coming off Veiwtiful Joe and Okami. Props to the exec's at Sega whom gave Platinum the green light.

[Strong Bad]

More favorite than Faust? What the fuck...

[ShadiWulf]

Man, Plat is turning out to be quite the investment for Sega.

Can't say that I would have trusted them if they came to me with ideas like MadWorld and Bayonetta when a chuck of them are coming off Veiwtiful Joe and Okami. Props to the exec's at Sega whom gave Platinum the green light.

SEGA didn't know about MadWorld until it was pretty well into development, they just blindly funded Platinum Games to begin with, and then one day Platinum Games showed them what they had of MadWorld and SEGA is like "FUCK YEAH!!" and gave them more money to keep working on it.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Bayonetta is made to be what the creator wanted of the Devil May Cry series, so any Devil May Cry fan should be first in line to get this game.

I have no doubt in my mind that I will get this game. It's just going to take a lot for me to consider the main character to be cooler than Dante.

[Saint Nathan]

Her clothing is made of her... Hair.

That is the most hardcore thing ever.

Anyways, it'll take alot to make this better than Devil May Cry, ALOT. Though I have high hopes for it.

[Conando]

I'm pretty sure this game will be damn awesome, just knowing who it's coming from. What, with Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe already under his belt, what's another stylish action game?

[Sega DogTagz]

SEGA didn't know about MadWorld until it was pretty well into development, they just blindly funded Platinum Games to begin with, and then one day Platinum Games showed them what they had of MadWorld and SEGA is like "FUCK YEAH!!" and gave them more money to keep working on it.

Even better then. At least now we know that Sega can recognize quality when the see it.

[ZERO_ninja]

Also on a side note a lot of the guys at Platinum Games were the creators behind the Resident Evil series... infact they are really everyone of the old Capcom who mattered appart from Keiji Inafune, and he already said before he'd leave if they would give him Rockman (Mega Man).

[turbojet]

The video's been removed.

Was it that scene where he got Lucifer after shooting Berial in the head, and started making those...jokes.

"Thrust it in...with GREAT force...in the end, we're all satisfied." - Dante

Yeah. I doubt that anyone could top a character like Dante in coolness. I mean...he made Shakespeare cool.

[Remy]

Platinum Games has started a Bayonetta Blog, First entry isn't so mucha bout Bayonetta as it is about other games Kamiya has made, but it is a fun read regardless-

http://platinumgames.com/2009/04/01/greetings/

Hello everyone around the world. Welcome to the PlatinumGames website! I’m Hideki Kamiya, director of Bayonetta.

If you’ve taken the time to visit this site, it probably means you’re more than a little interested in Bayonetta, right? Some of you probably came looking for information about Bayonetta, but there isn’t that much out there and you’re on pins and needles waiting to know more. Well, it isn’t too long now until Bayonetta is on the shelves, so we are going to lead up to that date by giving you all the information you desire on the site. So, make sure to keep visiting us here!

Of course, you’re thinking, “Shut up already and tell us about the game!” Well, as part of our plan, we won’t just be releasing screenshots and trailers (trust me, we will put those out too!). I also want to use this site as a blog alongside members of the Bayonetta team. (That would make this the first post of said blog.)

I haven’t changed my way of thinking about games. I still feel “if you want to talk about a game, you have to play the game.” However, beyond playing the game, I think this blog can become an important source of information for gamers. Lately the market has been flooded with sequels, but I think that is simply because you can buy a sequel and feel safe in what you are buying. Don’t you agree? Plus, there are definite advantages to sequels. You already understand the concept thanks to the previous title, and the media tends to cover sequels more than other games, so you’ve got more information at your fingertips. Yet, it is within that environment that the staff here at PlatinumGames decided, “Let’s make original games!” Now we are working hard towards that goal; however, as we are a new company, we don’t have anything in the bank that we can just use to make to crank out a game. We can only make original titles, right!? (LOL.) Of course, we’re not facing backwards towards the past, but instead, whether it be an original game or a sequel, we are totally dedicated to making one thing – Fun games.

But to get back to the point, even though we are unsympathetic to the sequel-flooded market, I am aware that we as game creators need to recognize our responsibility in creating the situation. No matter who you are, getting your hands on a kusoge sucks. (By the way, kusoge is Japanese slang for a crap game. Try using it in your everyday lives.) Once you’ve been burned a few times that way, you start wanting to head for the safe route. It is because there has been no lack of disappointing titles that we have invited this situation upon ourselves. The staff here at PlatinumGames wants to make games that serve as proof that “you can trust what we say as creators.” This is how we arrived at the creation of a place like this site. We feel that communicating with you is an important way in getting you interested in what we do.

There are also cases where a game isn’t a kusoge, but it wasn’t exactly what you were looking for, so you feel burned by the experience. This is why we want to be completely upfront with what we are making so there are no hard feelings or misunderstandings. For instance, with Bayonetta, we would hate for someone to think it is a heartwarming tale and then buy the game to discover it is really a sadistically hard game (I hope…) where you play as a witch who laughs as she destroys angelic enemies.

I don’t want to get into a spouting off some sort of sales pitch… “My game is awesome. Buy my awesome game.” Instead, I want to tell you about who is making our games, and what they are thinking and feeling when they make them. I want to express our true feelings, free of pretension, in hopes that it gets the point across. I want you to trust and believe in us in hope that at the very least, someday you will want to play Bayonetta. I don’t mind if you play it once and decide you want to buy it or you don’t want to buy it. I’m confident in my creation. (But, of course, if you play it and like it, I’d love for you to buy it!) Buy it or not, I really want you to at least give Bayonetta a try. Naturally the next thing you must be thinking is, “Then hurry up and let me try it!!” Hehe… Sorry, but I can’t help you there.

I think I might be losing my bearings here, so allow me to change course. Since this is the first post in the Bayo-Blog (I just picked that name myself), I thought I would share a bit of my feelings in regards to Bayonetta as a character.

I’ve said this all over the place, but the impetus for Bayonetta came from a chat with my producer, Yusuke Hashimoto, where he said, “I’d love to see another action game by you, Kamiya-san.” Right after our chat, I wrote my first draft of a design document for a 3D action game, and that is when I decided to make the main character a woman. When the team looked at the design doc, there were apparently a few people who were uncomfortable with the choice. “It will be hard to relate to her,” they said. “It will be a hard sell.” There were plenty of reasons to feel that way, and perhaps it really is hard to connect a female character with hardcore battle action. But to me, that gap was the attraction. I also had a less reasonable, but still valid, reason for selecting a female lead character. I already feel a sense of accomplishment as I feel I have already done what there is to be done vis-à-vis creating male characters.

The first male character I created was Leon in Resident Evil 2. In Resident Evil 1, the main character, Chris, was a bit of a blunt, tough-guy type. So in RE2, I wanted to change it up and make Leon someone with weaknesses, but ultimately a man who was on the ball. To be fair, I am more of a fan of a character like Mikami’s Chris, but since he got to make Chris first, I decided to go in a different direction. I went with a character that wasn’t really my “type.” However, now that I look back at how things turned out, it is surprising to me how popular Leon ended up being. In Resident Evil 4, he actually ended up being really cool looking guy, and I fell in love all over again. LOL.

The next male character I created was Dante from Devil May Cry. Devil May Cry started off as a game in the Resident Evil series, and I always planned for the game to be jam-packed with action, thus I went with the concept of a “gritty badass show-off.” (Actually, I just thought of the ‘gritty badass show-off’ bit right now…) I had been thinking of making a lead character in that vain for a while, but within what was thematically a horror game, it didn’t seem like something I could pull off. Yet, in Devil May Cry the theme is Stylish Action, so I had free rein to put my own spin on the lead character (and the game) as I saw fit.

Oh yeah… Just to add another descriptor to how I perceive Dante… He is a character that you would want to go out drinking with. Basically, he isn’t just a show-off to be ‘cool’. He is the kind of guy that will pull some ridiculous, mischievous joke and that will endear you to him. I wanted to make him feel familiar to people.

Next was Joe, the titular character from Viewtiful Joe. Viewtiful Joe was a comical game, so Joe himself is brimming with playfulness. He seems to be a naturally fun-loving, unassuming laid-back hilarious dude. Dante was sort of like that as well, but Joe is most likely the more narcissistic of the two. No matter where he is, he is the star of the show, and he can’t help but having fun behind the star… I really enjoyed making him the star, as well.

The last male character I want to touch upon is Issun in Okami. He isn’t a playable character, not to mention you don’t really see him during gameplay (LOL), but I think that people who have cleared Okami realize that he was a great main character. Conceptually, Issun is a childish character who manifests this immaturity in his extreme perversion and foul mouth; however, he is also a good-hearted, loyal, and compassionate figure. As Okami is an adventure game, Issun holds a special place as the character with the largest number of lines I have ever written, and as you move through the game, I think he is also the most fleshed out of my characters. Among all the characters I have created, he is the only character that hasn’t been used by another creator, and even now, he is a character whose story I feel I’d like to continue some day.

Oh… This seems to have gotten longer than anyone is actually going to read! Well, there you have it. Those are the reasons why Bayonetta is a female character.

And with that I would like to bring to a close the first entry in the Bayo-Blog by one Hideki Kamiya. The next post will be from Bayonetta’s character designer, Mari Shimazaki. She will have plenty to say, so look forward to her post soon.

I’ll be on the look out for places to join in the fun, and will be contributing to the blog now and then, so look forward to that and keep reading the Bayo-Blog! (Again with that name I just picked!)

For the record, I'm ridiculously hyped for this game- Kamiya's track record is flawless dudes, he'll deliver again!

[SuperLink]

Despite how much I love Viewtiful Joe and Okami, Madworld didn't get my interest. I might try it out someday anyway, and I might love it, but for now I don't feel the hype.

Bayonetta on the other hand has already grabbed my attention more than MadWorld did, as well as Platinum's DS RPG. I guess I'll see how they turn out.

[Remy]

Mad World wasn't a Kamiya game...

[Urtheart]

This might explain why I'm not excited for this game, I disliked Viewtiful Joe, not had a chance to try Okami yet, but I just don't get the hype at all.

[SykoTech]

Even better then. At least now we know that Sega can recognize quality when the see it.

Den y doo dey keep makin dem bad Sawnik gaems?!

Anyways, I initally wasn't very hyped for this. MadWorld and Infinite Space seemed like winners, but Bayonetta sorta floated under the radar for me. But after reading this, and then proceeding to watch a few videos, my interest has definitely gone up. Not quite a Day 1 purchase (yet), but I'll end up nabbing it somewhere down the line.

[Paul Str337]

I’ve not been a fan of Kamiya’s games in the past. I suck at Devil May Cry and by the time Okami was out I’d upgraded to my 360 and didn’t fancy playing anything on my lowly PS2. Bayonetta however has kept me very interested since I first heard about it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find the main character appealing but it’s the special moves that sold me on it. We’ll see if it can live up to the hype but I’m more than likely to pick it up.

[ShadiWulf]

New Trailer:

http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_10506_en.html

also site, with some trippy BG music

http://bayonetta.jp/main.html

[Random Rhyme]

Also a mini article

Hideki Kamiya hopes Bayonetta will be 'sadistically hard'

Director Hideki Kamiya wants to be upfront about his new project, Bayonetta, as much as possible and wants to let gamers know what they're getting into. "With Bayonetta, we would hate for someone to think it is a heartwarming tale and then buy the game to discover it is really a sadistically hard game (I hope...)," says Kamiya in his first entry on Bayo-Blog.

Kamiya warns not to let the gentle-looking female lead fool you, pointing out that Bayonetta is full of "hardcore battle action." We think this comes through clearly enough, judging from the Devil May Cry vibe we've picked up from the past couple of screenshots and vids.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/02/hideki-k...istically-hard/

[Paul Str337]

Nothing really new as it just referenced Kamiya’s blog entry. The trailer is fantastic though even if the story looks as mad as a box of frogs. It all looks like its set in some alternate 50’s style New York at times. Plus Bayonetta can turn into a leopard apparently. And she has amnesia. And was found in a coffin under the sea. Good lord.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

New Trailer:

http://www.gamersyde.com/stream_10506_en.html

Just saw the first minute of the trailer, and unfortunately...I'm convinced at what they said.

The main girl is much cooler than Dante. Dante's never transformed into any sort of animal creature to up his style of play, and she glides around the battle area much more graceful and further than Dante and Vergil combined even with their ability to teleport.

And on top of that, we actually get to see both a modern world AND a more mythological one, instead of 10% Real world and 90% myth. I know DMC is about demons and magic, but the main character uses a 20th century arsenal along with ancient and unreal weapons. I would expect the chance to explore more of city life along with the unreal one.

But hey, I'm already sold on this game.

Edited April 13, 2009 by ChaosSupremeSonic