Bayonetta

Overview

Bayonetta is an action game developed by PlatinumGames and directed by Hideki Kamiya whose previous titles include Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Ōkami. Like Devil May Cry, the game focuses on “Stylish Action” with over-the-top moves which the developer hopes will break new ground in the genre. Bayonetta was released on January 5, 2010 in the US and was Platinum Games's first release on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Bayonetta is a third-person action adventure in the same vein as Devil May Cry with many apparent influences used within its gameplay design owing to the the fact that several of those that have worked on the title, including Hideki Kamiya, have also worked on the first DMC. It spans sixteen chapters along with the epilogue. The game is named after its chief protagonist, Bayonetta, who is looking to discover her lost memories some twenty years after awakening from a deep sleep of over five centuries. This is exacerbated by the Lumen Angels that seem to be intent on killing her.

A currency system is also used in the game based on "halos" dropped by slain enemies or found in breakables. The title also uses a series of combination attacks which can be further enhanced by purchasing techniques that can expand the versatility of Bayonetta's skill set. Special attacks, such as Torture Attacks and Climax events, are also used as a part of Bayonetta's offensive arsenal.

Bayonetta also features a number of naming conventions based on a mix of Latin (notably for the Lumen Angels), Nordic (Ithavoll and Balder), and even Old English (Scarborough Fair). Unusual for a Japanese title, all of the lines in the game were recorded in English (aside from the language spoken by several of the main bosses) with the appropriately localized subtitles provided for each region.

Wii U Version

A Wii U port of Bayonetta, developed by Osaka-based studio Bee Tribe and overseen by Kamiya himself, is being included for free with both the physical and eShop release version of its sequel, Bayonetta 2 in North America and as part of a Special Edition in Europe and Japan. The physical version of the game is a separate disc packaged with the Bayonetta 2 disc. The European Special Edition of Bayonetta 2 that includes Bayonetta receives a higher age rating than the standalone Bayonetta 2 (rated PEGI 16/USK 16) release due to the first game being rated PEGI 18/USK 18.

This port will feature updated elements including bonus costumes for Bayonetta based on Link, Princess Peach, Princess Daisy and Samus Aran.The costumes also come with character appropriate weapons such as the Master Sword and change certain sound effects (such as the famous door unlock jingle) to those from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as per Hideki Kamiya's personal request.

Additionally, Bayonetta will include English and Japanese dual-audio tracks, run at 60 frames-per-second, support Off-TV Play and feature the touch-controlled stylus mode from Bayonetta 2 for some casual novice play. The motivation behind the port is the fact that the original game had not been released on a Nintendo platform while the sequel is a Wii U exclusive published by Nintendo.

Story

Five hundred years ago, two orders watched over the destiny of the world: the Lumen Sages and the Umbran Witches, light and dark. Together they ensured that the passage of history unfolded as it should, watching over it with two great treasures known only as the Eyes of the World. However, a grave transgression pit both sides against each other in a terrible war. Eventually, the Umbran Witches proved victorious over the Lumen Sages, but the hatred and superstition sown among the people of the world against their kind soon led to persecution and death for all but one of them.

Five hundred years later, Bayonetta is awakened from her sleep within a coffin that had been sealed and left at the bottom of a lake, far from the war and from the notice of anyone else. However, she awakens without the memories of her past. To make things worse, angels have noticed her awakening and have descended to destroy her. Unfortunately for them, she proves more than able to hold her own. With her favorite weapons in hand and with the help of several unlikely allies, she sets out to discover the truth of her origins and bring an end to the destruction.

Characters

Many different characters make up the game and not all of them will have Bayonetta's best interests at heart.

Bayonetta

Voiced By: Hellena Taylor

"I'm sorry. I forgot to mention one of the reasons I hunt your kind. You're much too ugly not to put you out of your misery."

The protagonist is Bayonetta, a powerful witch who has been asleep for the past five hundred years. Twenty years before the game begins, however, she was awakened from her sleep from the bottom of a lake and has begun a quest to recover the lost memories of her past. She possesses long, black magical hair that also acts to covers her body in the form of her outfit making it appear to be leather. She also wields a variety of weapons as well as guns attached to the heels of her shoes. Her favorite handguns are a set called Scarborough Fair, an old English ballad focusing on four herbs - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. Each gun bears the name of one of these herbs.

She has both ranged attacks thanks to her pistols as well as close combat skill with the use of her katana, although the number of weapons that she can use within the game offer many other opportunities for special attacks. For example, she has shown an ability to use the weapons that angels drop upon being defeated.

In Bayonetta's case, unlike the traditional perception and tradition of a Western witch, witches in the game are considered to have been tasked with protecting the world alongside their counterparts, the Lumen Sages. Neither side represented "good" or "evil" in the most obvious sense as both were required to hold the balance of the world in check. Witches also possess incredible powers granted to them by their deal with the Devil and when they die, are consigned to Hell whereas the Lumen Sages are claimed by the angels.

Jeanne

Voiced By: Grey DeLisle

"What's the matter, sweetie? Afraid of something, are you!?"

Bayonetta's rival, Jeanne. Their relationship is shrouded in mystery, but as a witch, she is also as skilled with weapons and magic placing her at equal or better terms than Bayonetta. She appears in the second half of the PS3 demo as Bayonetta's opponent during the Cathedral duel. She also has a set of four handguns similar to Bayonetta's and is determined to confront her at nearly every turn. Her role in the game is intertwined with both the mysterious angels and Bayonetta's quest to discover the truth about her past. She is adept at using the same magic as Bayonetta.

Rodin

Voiced By: Khary Payton

"Your fights are yours alone. I'm only here to watch my handiwork in action."

He runs a bar in the game and appears to be an ally of Bayonetta's. He has been described by character designer, Mari Shimazaki, as "a demon gunsmith who plays a big-brother role to Bayonetta". He has also been described by Bayonetta concept designer, Ikumi Nakamura as being "-bald as the night is long" with "a real presence about him". The menu for his bar was offered with a selection of soundtracks slipped into its cover as a pre-order incentive in Japan.

Rodin also creates upgraded weapons or items for Bayonetta depending on whether she can bring back Angel LPs, golden records that allow Rodin to call forth angels. In doing so, he uses their souls to forge the weapons and items that he provides to Bayonetta, often emerging bloody and out-of-breath from mid-air after leaving with an LP to go work on them.

Enzo

Voiced By: Allan Groves

"At least get me a drink at Rodin's before you start drilling me."

He's the underground informant tapping into a vast network of sources to get what he needs. He helps Bayonetta out with what he does, helping her to unravel her past. Character designer, Mari Shimazaki, describes him as a person that "adores the Italian Mafia" but that "his personal hobbies are decidedly more bourgeois".

He initially accompanies Bayonetta to a funeral where she reads from a bible in the hopes of bringing down the angels that are there to retrieve a dead person's soul. At first, he is skeptical of the whole operation until the attack actually happens. Even after nearly crushing his car as an accident, Enzo agrees to help her with a tip on a European "whale" that is trying to sell a large gem that may be the matching pair to the one that Bayonetta bears on her amulet.

Luka

Voiced By: Yuri Lowenthal

"I'm not your pet. The name is Luka. A name you better remember!"

A freelance journalist following Bayonetta's exploits. He's also got a grapple hook built into his sleeve to help him get to where he needs to stay ahead of the competition as well as in the midst of the action. He turns up in the most surprising places and is in pursuit of Bayonetta for deeply personal reasons that have to do with the death of his father. He also fancies himself something of a ladies man and never hesitates in pouring on the charm whenever the opportunity presents itself. However, his silver tongue is consistently tied whenever Bayonetta decides to play along.

Cereza

Voiced By: Stephanie Sheh

"Mummy is a witch, and witches protect people and are very strong."

She does not appear to belong where she is found and, as a result, is a very mysterious girl. She meets Bayonetta during the adventure and refers to her as "Mummy" much to Bayonetta's chagrin. She tells her that she will help her find her home as long as she doesn't cry and despite telling her otherwise, Cereza continues to call her Mummy. Whether or not the two are actually bound by blood is still something of a puzzle that must be unraveled.

Balder

Voiced By: Liam O'Brien

"The time has come to awaken 'The Eyes of the World'."

A mysterious, white robed figure who is the CEO of the mighty Ithavoll Corporation that runs the city of Vigrid and has extended its control over the entire country, restricting travel across its borders, and making it the most powerful force in the world today. The Ithavoll Corporation had first started out as an IT company until its transformation beneath the watchful eyes of its CEO. Balder regards both Bayonetta and Cereza as integral to his plans, although in what capacity remains to be seen. He is also rumored to have descended from the last of the Lumen Sages granting him incredible powers.

Gameplay

Bayonetta has many different methods of attack including hand to hand combat, her pink double barrel handguns and heelguns, and a number of unique powers that manifest as devastating Torture Attacks and Climax events.

During Climax events, her hair can morph into objects such as feet, hands and even a dragon-like beast to kill enemies in what is also known as a Weave Attack. This hair morphing ability is also used to perform double jumps and morphs around her to form her outfit. Finishing moves, also known as Torture Attacks, are performed against minor enemies as she summons various torture devices including an “iron maiden” and guillotine to completely destroy them. Performing moves such as these will remove hair off her body, the more powerful attacks (such as Climax events) rendering her nearly naked.

Like Viewtiful Joe, slow-motion (dubbed Witch Time) is used in both cinematic events and combat. Using these attacks she will fight “Angels” that appear to be inspired by European mythology with cherub style faces and ornate armor and wings. The player can also temporarily wield weapons dropped by enemies, such as a tuba that is used as a bazooka. Bayonetta has a special bar under her health bar, this bar allows you to preform special magical attacks, like summoning torture devices, you can fill it by doing combos with out being hit, in a similar way to the "Stylish" bar in the DMC series.

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, Bosses have a health bar in the final version in addition to showing visible damage. For example, the mini-boss in the E3 presentation had layers of armor on him, Bayonetta destroyed his armor and then summoned a giant dragon and finished him off. The boss dropped a gold record, another 60's music reference. These records unlock new weapons when taken to Rodin. Defeated enemies drop angel halos that is used as currency to power-up your weapons, unlock skills, and buy items in said place. Gameplay is not only crazy and over the top but it's like Devil May Cry on speed. The action is blazingly fast as you pull off combo after combo in lightning speed. Many of these combos are so fast that you barely notice that Bayonetta is de-robed when doing her powerful finishing moves.

Cosmology: Trinity of Realities

The world of Bayonetta is divided into what is known as the Trinity of Realities: Purgatorio, Inferno, and Paradiso. It is hinted that it wasn't always this way until the First Armageddon in which Jubileus, as the manifestation of the Divine Will, was forced to govern Paradiso.

Umbran Witches had the ablity to traverse between Purgatorio (which stands between Paradiso and Inferno) and the 'real' world. While in Purgatorio, they can affect objects in the real world, although no one can see them aside from the destruction that they cause which can cause them to flee. From their perspective, a park bench had just exploded for no apparent reason. Humans and other living things are represented as distortions to those in Purgatorio and are completely unaffected by any attack unless the Witch decides to drop into their reality.

Difficulty

Bayonetta includes 5 difficulty settings:

• Very Easy
• Easy
• Normal
• Hard
• Non-Stop ∞ Climax

Very Easy, Easy, and Normal are the only difficulty choices available initially. Hard is unlocked after beating the game once on Normal, while Non-Stop ∞ Climax is unlocked after beating the game once on Hard.

On Very Easy or Easy, a special additional mode called Automatic Mode can be enabled, which automates some aspects of gameplay, including moving Bayonetta in front of enemies on screen and condensing all attacks and dodging to a single button, so that pressing that one button will perform all necessary combat actions. Hideki Kamiya jokingly called this mode "Mommy Mode" and said it is like having the assistance of "a helping hand from an incredible skilled expert in the game".

Other differences between difficulties:

• Very Easy adds Vitality regeneration
• Hard and Non-Stop ∞ Climax change the placement of enemies
• Non-Stop ∞ Climax also disables Witch Time from triggering via dodging and using Bat Within
• in general, enemy speed, damage, and health scale up on higher difficulty settings and down on lower difficulty settings

Weapons

Bayonetta's weapons will include four guns named Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme (A reference to the English ballad: "Scarborough Fair"). She can also equip dual shotguns on her legs and wield a Katana. Platinum games has stated that each weapon will contain a "monster" spirit and that they are designing weapons that "you could hardly imagine". Bayonetta will be able to equip Weapons on her hands, legs, or both, and you can charge the katana for more powerful attacks.

This will cause a heart to appear on screen that beats when you charge it up and dark fumes billow from the sword. Bayonetta also has a huge chain and sickle that she uses for both ground and air attacks. You can equip all 4 guns at once or you can opt to swap out the pistols in her hands for a sword and use the guns on her feet as well. Certain weapons are designed to be equipped for the hands, feet, or both. You can even upgrade or buy new weapons or use the ones that enemies drop.

Concoctions

Bayonetta also has the ability to mix together concoctions that can create special lollipop candies that she can use as healing aids or enhancements to her abilities. The ingredients can be found by breaking items throughout the game and a maximum limit of 99 items of each type can be stocked. The ingredients required for mixing together different concoctions are:

• Baked Gecko
• Mandragora Root
• Unicorn Horn

Angel Attack

Special bullets can also be collected in each stage allowing Bayonetta to play an arcade shooter called "Angel Attack" at the end of the stage. The points earned during the game can be swapped out for different lollipops or other items. Halos can also be purchased with whatever is left over.

Locations

Bayonetta will feature a large variety of locations to fight through. The demo had included two areas, Little Big City and a Cathedral where she would face off against her rival, Jeanne.

• Vigrid
  An early location in the game. You see glowing translucent pedestrians walking around, but these people are in a parallel reality. Bayonetta can see them but they can't see her. What they CAN see is the damage that Bayonetta and the enemies are causing during battle, making the civilians flee.
  When Bayonetta start out in Big Little City, you see a cut scene where she walks into a field of flowers (sparkles rise from the ground signifying angel power) with pillars and fountains in the background. A number of angels appear in front of her meaning a battle is about to ensue. Angels are Bayonetta's main adversaries through out the game. There is a formidable angelic foe at the end of the Big Little City zone.
  It's not a boss but it's wields a giant two-handed axe. Bayonetta can jump over the attacks even without "Witch Time". Humorously, this giant miniboss has pathetically tiny wings, gold piercings, and the famous angel halo. A fine mist appears as you battle this miniboss, which is designed to create a holy atmosphere. The battle ends with an onscreen prompt that summons a giant dragon who bites the miniboss angel in half!

Weapons List

Throughout the game, Bayonetta gains access to an arsenal of weapons, each one forged from the essense of a demon. The weapons that she is able to acquire are as follows:

• Scarborough Fair: A set of four deep red handguns, named Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The standard weapons that Bayonetta starts the game with. They are relatively weak, but have excellent speed and combo potential.
• Onyx Roses: A set of four miniature shotguns, which are named after the fairies that they were made from. While much slower than the Scarborough Fair, their power is excellent and they do not lack for combos.
• Shuraba: A sentient katana that contains the still-beating heart of a demon named Ashura. Only able to be wielded by hand, Bayonetta is able to cut a wide swath through hordes of enemies with this balanced melee weapon.
• Kulshedra: A whip made from the soul of the queen of snakes. Though weak, its long reach, fast speed and technical abilities make it invaluable for Bayonetta to defeat her opponents.
• Durga: Named after the thousand-armed demon that it was made from, this set of claws has the power of both fire and lightning. By performing a spin attack, Bayonetta is able to switch between the two elements on the fly.
• Odette: Long ago, a demon princess was turned into a swan, and her soul was used to fashion these skates. Only able to be worn on the feet, Bayonetta is able to skate around, create ice and cut her enemies to bits with vicious kicks.
• Lt. Col. Kilgore: A mad military leader's bloodlust sent him straight to Hell, and his soul was forged into this set of bazookas. Slow and with little combo potential, their sheer power more than makes up for their lack of versatility.
• Sai Fung: Forged from the fasted bird in Hell, Sai Fung resembles nunchucks with gun barrels at the ends of each baton. When used, they offer fast, steady, easy combos when used with almost any other weapon.
• Bazillions: Powerful, futuristic laser guns that have the unique ability to fire while dodging. About as powerful as Scarborough Fair, these guns' added feature make them more suitable for combos.
• Pillow Talk: The most powerful melee weapon in the game. Pillow talk is a sword of pure light, which can extend outward even without wicked weaves. By holding the attack button, it is able to unleash a powerful attack.

Graphics

Previews of the game have praised the game's overall look and crazy over the top cinematics like blowing a tuba to make angels explode with music or picking up a staff and pole dancing guys to death. They say that every inch of the environment is well detailed and animated. In one preview it describes a battle with a creature that blasts from the ground hand first and starts rattling the stone cobbled bridge that Bayonetta is on with a stick. This shows that the game will be using highly polished set-piece battles.The game runs all the action without any problems with the camera obscuring the action, which is a common problem in similar games like the Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry series. One scene is described as "a riot of color". They even went as far as to say the game is one of the most visually impressive games in the last five years.

Limited Edition

Collector's Edition (Xbox 360)

An extensive Collector's Edition was also provided as a pre-order incentive for Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Both the Australia and New Zealand versions received a replica of one of the Scarborough Fair pistols that Bayonetta uses. All of the editions, however, contain the following items:

• A premium slipcase containing the game and the other included extras
• A 36 page hardcover art book
• A CD soundtrack featuring selected music from the game

Japan's pre-order incentive took the form of a custom menu based on a what might be found at the Gates of Hell, a bar in the game, with a CD containing selected tracks from the title.

Special Edition (Wii U)

The Special Edition only available in Japan, Europe and Australia includes physical disc copies of both Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 in a special cardboard packaging.

First Print Edition (Wii U)

The First Print Edition is available in Europe (not in Australia) in limited quantities of 15,300 copies. This edition also includes Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 each in its own separate Wii U game case. Together they are packaged inside a faithful recreation of the Book of Angels with an embossed foldout-design.

Special Edition / Climax Edition (Switch)

For the Nintendo Switch release, the original Bayonetta was available together again with Bayonetta 2 in a Special Edition (PAL) or Climax Edition (Japan). This edition contains both games, a steelbook featuring key art from both games but represented with the respectively other game's version of Bayonetta. Additionally, it contains six Verse Cards and a set of stickers.

Notably, the copy of the original Bayonetta is only available via a download code in the Bayonetta 2 case in the PAL Special Edition whereas the Japanese Climax Edition does include Bayonetta in its own separate case on a game card.

All standard retail copies of Bayonetta 2 on Nintendo Switch (all regions) come with a download code for Bayonetta as well.

Trivia:

• Sometimes when you enter Rodin's "Gates of Hell" Bar he'll say: "Check this out: 'Whadya buyin?' He he heh. Heard that in a game once." A reference to The Merchant in Resident Evil 4.
• In a cutscene on Chapter 3, Bayonetta rides an angel on a lava wave and says, "Dancin' a go-go, baby!" which is a nod to Viewtiful Joe.
• The missile ride section of Chapter 14 is an homage to Space Harrier, complete with gunfire and the Space Harrier music playing in the background. The achievement for getting a platinum in both of the missile ride sections is also called "Fire up the Afterburners" in a nod to After Burner another Sega arcade classic.
• The music playing during the motorcycle chase sequence in Route 666 is the theme from After Burner II.
• In panther form, Bayonetta leaves a trail of blossoming skull flowers, similar to the flowers and plants that spring up at Amaterasu's feet in Okami.
• In a cutscene on Chapter 5 where Bayonetta finds her lipstick, she draws a pattern on Luka's face which closely resembles the markings that can be found on Amaterasu's face in the game Okami.
• Also during the same cutscene in Chapter 5 Luka mentions his past girlfriends. Their names are Claire, Trish, Silvia and Ammy. This is a reference towards Claire Redfield from Resident Evil, Trish from Devil May Cry, Silvia from Viewtiful Joe and Amaterasu from Okami.
• Jeanne's character design closely resembles that of Dante from Devil May Cry, red coat and white hair.
• During the Prologue, Bayonetta and Rodin mention a "Mr. Eggman". This is a reference to Dr. Robotnik from Sonic The Hedgehog, who's name is Dr. Eggman in Japan.
• In the Prologue cutscene in the graveyard, Rodin makes two angels hold a casket and then knocks them into outer space with a bat, in a nod to God Hand's "Home Run God" God Reel.
• For the Wii U version, Platinum adjusted Jeanne's chest size to be more representative of Kamiya's preferences, making it a bit smaller. Platinum's JP Kellams later joked on Twitter that this is the most important difference that was overlooked in the Digital Foundry comparison between the new and original versions.

Patches

Version 1.01

The patch was released for the PS3 version of the game on January 28, 2010. It allows players to install assets to the hard drive, which decreases load times and has also been reported to reduce screen tearing. After installing the patch, an "Install" option will appear in the middle of the game's main menu. While Sega announced the patch release, neither Sega nor Platinum Games had anything to do with the patch; it was in fact Sony who put it together. The patch is 138MB and the install is about 4.5GB.

Useful links

• Official website (NA)
• Platinum Games Community Website
• Bayonetta website (Japanese)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is only released in japan, but every single track in the CD are in the US and EU games. The soundtrack has 150 tracks in it.

Disc One

Disc Two

Disc Three

Disc Four

Disc Five

System Requirements

PC