Bayonetta is always bayonuts! (Bayonetta 3 in review!)

     Bayonetta started out as a series during the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, following the vein of Devil May Cry and other action games of that kind, and along with all that, we got a character who definitely stands out from the crowd, and maybe even more so than Dante in that series. Bayonetta is a wild series with a lot of weird quirks and outstanding characters, as well as some incredibly satisfying fast-paced combat. These games are tough in general, though the third one is the easiest by far I would say. You know, I'll just get into it, because I really love the series as a whole, even though my thoughts of the third game are not quite as glowing as the first two. I hope you're wearing your dancing shoes, because we're going to dance today!

Let's Dance, Boys!

    Bayonetta 3 continues the story of Bayonetta, an Umbra Witch who dances to summon demons with her hair (among other things). In the first two games, she dealt with the forces of Chaos and Paradiso (think of Hell and Heaven respectively) deals with some interesting themes, chief among them being the multiverse. This has been a very popular topic for the last several months especially, so I don't feel like I need to over-explain the concept here. Basically, there are many parallel worlds, all of which are different in some way, and Bayonetta has to go to all of the different worlds to collect the Macguffins (items that everyone is after, including the villains) which will allow her to go to the "Alphaverse," where the main villain is. I don't want to get too into the plot here, just because the game came out in October and it's possible that people who are interested in the game haven't had a chance to play it yet. I will say that in several cases, these characters feel a bit different from how they did in the previous games in the series, either because of the long time since Bayonetta 2 came out in 2014, or just because they wanted to make the characters and plot a bit more dramatic this time around. Also, with the multiverse concept already baked into the story, this can literally be a different character than the one you played as in the first and second game.

    The good news is that the gameplay is still just as fun as ever. The battles are wild and fast paced, plus with the addition of the "Demon Slave" ability, you can command giant beasts to fight for you when some of the larger enemies rear their ugly heads. Bayonetta has even more weapons at her disposal this time around, and now they're unlocked just through the story, whereas in the older games, you would have to find Angelic records, which would inspire Rodin to create a new weapon for you. In this game, all of the weapons are paired with a specific demon, which also comes with a different method of traversal for Bayonetta to use. Some of my favorite forms of transportation would have to be the ones where Bayonetta turns into a big spider woman, or when she turns into a train. My favorite weapons to use in terms of combat abilities are definitely the faster ones like the yo-yos, the classic guns, or the "Abracadabra" which is a magician's hat and wand that let you shoot doves or various other things. It's just a lot of fun to use that one, even though it's almost entirely ranged attacks, and may not be quite as strong as the others. Typically when I played, I would always have a strong weapon and a quick weapon equipped to my two slots, but since there are so many combinations you can use, along with all of the different demons that add even more variety, I feel like you could really play this game with any of the combinations and have a good time. Speaking of variety, there's a lot more to change about this game than just the weapons that Bayonetta uses.

The Spice of Life!

    This game puts you in control of three different characters, Bayonetta, Jeanne, Bayonetta's best friend/rival, and Viola, the newcomer to the party. Bayonetta controls just as she always has, but with a few refinements as I already spoke on. Viola plays basically the same as Bayonetta, but with a few tweaks to how she works. Viola can't equip new demons or new weapons, using the same sword for the whole game, which is tied to her demon of choice, Cheshire. When she pulls Cheshire out, however, she loses her sword and instead must attack with hand-to-hand melee combat. Also unlike Bayo, she doesn't command Cheshire, he goes around and attacks at his own pace until she calls back her sword. Her ranged attack is throwing darts, which isn't really a change, since it works basically the same as Bayonetta's guns. The biggest issue I had with Viola was simply how she activates "Witch Time," which is a staple mechanic to the series that allows you to slow down time for a few seconds after dodging at the last second. At least, that's how Bayonetta does it, but Viola instead has to block an attack by pressing the right bumper instead of the trigger. This honestly seems like it shouldn't be a big deal, but I messed it up insanely often just because I had gotten so used to just playing as Bayonetta, and I never really got the hang of the timing of the counter. Because of that one move, Viola was always kind of annoying to play as, but I hope if she comes back for future titles, they'll refine her gameplay a bit more. 

    Jeanne on the other hand, plays completely differently, having a side scroller stealth game built into the game, which you'll play another level of every few missions or so. It's a lot of fun, and it even comes with a Metal Gear Solid style intro cutscene every time you begin one of her stages. I've seen a lot of people complaining about this, but to me, this is what Bayonetta is all about. I want the wacky changes in gameplay, and honestly this game is full of those wacky design choices. This game of ups and downs constantly surprised me with all of the things that it did. There were shoot-em-ups in the vein of both Galaga and Sin and Punishment, there were epic battles that called to mind the standoffs between Godzilla and other Kaiju characters, and there was even a rhythm game in there for one section, which always gets bonus points in my book. There are many games that are action packed as the Bayonetta franchise, but there's something that these games have that really make them stand out. Something I like to call the, "Did that just happen" factor.

Style above everything else!

    I stated at the top that Bayonetta is an Umbra Witch, which means that she, along with many of her magical friends, derive their powers from the Moon. Believe it or not, some themes of these games also derive from the Moon! The theme of the original game was "Fly Me to the Moon," the second game had "Moon River," and this third game uses "Moonlight Serenade," all three of which were made famous by Frank Sinatra. I absolutely love this little touch, and as soon as Bayonetta 3 was first announced, I started speculating what song they would use. After hearing it and seeing the overall story and presentation of the game, it makes perfect sense. I'm happy to say that even though, as I said earlier, the characters are slightly different, the team still has a sense of playfulness that really keeps me going to see what will happen next in the wacky circumstances surrounding the characters. Just to demonstrate what the games are like, allow me to describe one of the first scenes of the game. Bayonetta goes on a cruise ship and decides she needs to be more fancy so she rips the decorations off of the walls and begins wearing them like a dress. Then, some monsters come out of nowhere and land on the cruise ship as a giant wave suddenly sweeps up the ship while flooding all of Manhattan. Bayonetta is a little nervous as her "shipment" isn't in yet, but then Rodin (a friend of hers who is a demon shopkeeper) drives up the giant wave in a pizza delivery van and throws a pizza box at her. The pizza box opens to reveal four guns, which she promptly grabs, strapping two of them to her heels, and then the fight begins. All of the intros of these games are incredible, and though they are not appropriate for the most part (especially when she changes into her battle attire, which is made of her hair), they are all hilarious and over the top in a way that I love. As I said, style is certainly the biggest thing here, and I did like it a lot.

    Ultimately this game is almost as good as the other ones, but I have to say that this one just had a bit too much of this one central area. You return to the island that's the center of the multiverse extremely often, and even though it is a lovely area, it's not super interesting in my opinion, most of it is made up of ruins, and all of the ruins look the same. The individual multiverses are actually really cool and interesting in terms of their make up, with one being set in what looks to be Ancient Japan, one in an Ancient Egyptian area, etc. I won't give them all away, but they're all pretty interesting I think. It's just a shame that so much of the runtime is devoted to this fairly lifeless island though, and because of that, it actually took me a much longer period of time to play than the second game, which I just flew through, and ultimately my favorite in the trilogy. 

    More Bayonetta is always good in my book, in whatever form, so I'm excited to see what Platinum does with Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, which is coming out in a few weeks. The new game is going to be more child friendly, and as such it's only rated T (for Teen), where the other games are rated M (For Mature), and it looks to be extremely different from the main series. Before I wrap this post up, I have to give the warning that Bayonetta is definitely not for everyone, and especially not for little kids. I would say that these games earn their M rating more than a lot of M rated games, but they're amazing if you're into the action game genre. There is a censored mode for if younger people are in the room, but even then, I can't imagine it changes too much of the gameplay or visuals. I'm always happy when Bayonetta comes in for a dance, and as far as I'm concerned, she does it better than anyone else.

    Thanks so much for reading this post, friends! I really appreciate the support as always. This series is so weird, I felt like talking about it for a little bit today, especially since the next time this series comes around, it'll most likely be in a very different form than it is right now. I will say that Bayonetta isn't my favorite series of all time or anything, but I love it for what it is, a series that definitely knows what it wants to be, and sets out to have a good time with the runtime. I hope you'll all have a great week, and thanks again for reading. Until next time, I'm Jonathan, your Self-Proclaimed Witchy guy, and I'll talk to you again soon!