Bayonetta – Review

1. Bayonetta is the latest title to hit consoles that falls into the category of nu-brawler (also called neo-beat 'em up, or the painfully inaccurate classification "action game"). While 3D beat 'em ups have been around since the days of Die Hard Arcade and Fighting Force, the sub-genre that Bayonetta belongs to is product of the 21st century. Somewhere around the time of Dynasty Warriors 2, Onimusha, and Devil May Cry there became an emphasis of racking up combos, frantically pounding on your controller to avert hyper-aggressive enemy blows, and exaggerated strength and endurance - well beyond Mike Haggar punching apart cars. Sadly, it came to be that most of the games in the new sub-genre (Ninja Blade, PS2's Shinobi and Kunoichi, the modern Ninja Gaiden games, the Devil May Cry and God of War franchises, etc.) have added platforming into the mix - which I hate in any game after the 32-bit era. So, now this glossier and more extravagant combat has to share screen-time with mundane tasks like avoiding pits and hopping off walls. Thankfully, Bayonetta has inserted only a small fraction of platforming into its game-mechanics - and as such I decided to fully play it and review its merits on Gamefaqs like any other beat 'em up.
   
   Story 4/10
   
   The weakest areas of Bayonetta's package are its plot, narrative, and theatrical pacing - all falling the overall story heading. Bayonetta is the title character, a witch in the dark half of a Yin-Yang balance of power between the Inferno and Paradiso faction of witches and sages. Something tragic occurred long ago in Bayonetta's past and 500 years later (now set in modern times) she wanders around aimlessly working with a mobster goon and a devilish arms dealers. I emphasize the word aimlessly because the first 25% of the plot is just a repetitive cycle of smarmy one-liners, cheap bantering dialogue, and over-the-top stunts that would make Micheal Bay cry out for restraint. It got to the point where I just started skipping cutscenes until after the second major boss fight when things started to become slightly interesting. At the conclusion of the game my interest was still barely there - as most of what I saw was predictable Anime-styled quasi-epic nonsense that probably caused dozens of people who post on DeviantArt.com and shop at Hot Topic to swoon. I know that the beat 'em up genre isn't known for its super-serious plots - but there is a difference between Schwarzenegger-style suspension-of-belief and watching cutscene after cutscene of practically invincible Mary-Sue characters mow down half a million mindless enemies before fighting each other in battles that vomit dramatic camera angles and dozens of extremely powerful but conveniently non-fatal attacks on one another. It also takes forever for things to start piecing together in terms of what is really going on - and I mean in an amnesic near-Deus Ex Machina kind of conclusion rather that something subtle and eventually piercing like Silent Hill. So even if you really wanted to know why you were doing what and where, the game's pacing is so jagged and unevenly shallow that it actually works against your interest. It also doesn't help that most of the characters are downright annoying and have the depth of the disc they're featured one. The bottom line is that had Bayonetta showcased better plot, characters, and direction - it could have meant an overall more impressing game rather than a solid beat 'em up with a bunch of baggage attached to it.
   
   Graphics 8/10
   
   Bayonetta's visual strength and art design are a bit tumultuous with itself. The graphics on a spec level are pretty good, and the amount of animation brought into this game through its combat maneuvers and real-time cutscene poses are impressive. The levels are rather uneven in how inspired they are, though - with the first half of the game rather generic before the second half heaps on the eye-candy through shimmering fantasy landscapes and haunting Greco-Romanesque decor. The enemies have angelic motif going on - with most of them having features incorporating bird or lizard features with jewel-encrusted decorative bodies and porcelain dolls faces somehow attached as a way of showcasing a relative human element. While most of them wouldn't look too out of place in Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden, it is nice that I can play a game without generic hoodlums, shinobis, or less-interesting tradition monsters from time to time. The bosses are quite larger and continue to increase in size as you progress through the campaign, and the majority of them showcase the graphical peak of the game with sharp color contour and vibrant animation. There is a lot of pulsating sheen in combat, with vivid light patterns and subtle touches like rose petals and butterflies when Bayonetta walks or takes damage. Most of the game, visually, I view in a positive light - but there is one portion of all this that drags down my score for the graphics, and that is the area of character art design. The cast here all showcase a run-of-the-mill flamboyant sense of fashion that I have seen time and time again in these Japanese nu-brawlers - and quite frankly have grown quite tired of. You could quite possibly take every one of these recent over-the-top beat 'em ups, pour their contents into a pile, and I'm sure I could assemble the cast of this game from the parts. Some people have said that because this game is sort of a parody of other nu-brawlers, that I shouldn't so critically judge its archetypes since they're supposedly mocking already established ones. However, if that is so - then should I praise spoof films like Epic Movie, Superhero Movie, and Meet the Spartans because they're attempting to poke fun of existing ideas when they themselves aren't half as funny as what they're imitating? While the supporting cast are merely eyesores - Bayonetta herself is a whole different level of disease when it comes to design. I know that the three biggest draw points when gaming a video game are its violence, graphical definition, and sex appeal - and this game has no real problem with the visual quality or the carnage. That being said - Bayonetta one of the most freakishly sexualized characters I have encountered in a video game for years (and she's not even attractive, her abnormally lengthy body makes her head seem puny to the point where she seems to suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome). While the majority of women portrayed in beat 'em ups wear revealing or skimpy clothing and openly target the predominantly male audience, there's a difference between highly suggestive and full-throttle flaunting. Games like Dead or Alive, Soul Calibur, Onechanbara, and P.N.0.3. welcome Bayonetta into their ranks as games where amusing sex appeal sours into an embarrassing gaudiness that almost indicates male gamers are so desperate for women that they'll worship exaggerated digital renditions of them. While some of us alpha-male sexually kinetic types do enjoy drowning in those kinds of things through porn or actual woman - I prefer keeping my naughty stuff separate from my video gaming career. These kind of attention-grabbing caricatures damage the non-gaming portion of the world's perspective of sex in video games, making it harder for them to showcase it through a positive manner (ie consensual sex as portrayed in Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy) or as thematic elements such as the rape and traumatic sexual psychosis featured in Silent Hill 2. Bayonetta constantly gets into a near-nude state unleashing her demonic hair powers, and the camera seems almost magnetized toward Bayonetta's crotch, chest and rear end - with lots of coy leg maneuvering to suggest sexual enticement. Its not that all this bothers me on a moral basis, but rather I find it pathetic that all this is catered toward the male fanbase as a means to sell rather than showcasing the merits of a sleek and complex combat system. I think I've ranted enough here (this is already turning to one of my longest reviews) so I'll move onto the next section.
   
   Sound 5/10
   
   Do you like that song "Fly Me to the Moon"? How about that song being sung in a techno-jazzy J-Pop fashion? How about hearing that song roughly 40 times during the campaign while you are trying to mash together combos and dodge attacks to earn that platinum rating? While most of the ambient music and sound effects for Bayonetta are perfectly fine, I found the battle themes extremely overused and not exactly fitting the setting of me disemboweling an angel. The voice acting was another section of the sound that I'm not too fond of - with underwhelming performances by most of the cast that seemed more in line with a modestly budgeted cartoon than a high-profile title with more advertisements on the Internet than Bayonetta has inches of bared skin.
   
   Control 8/10
   
   For the most part the game's combat is silky smooth, with easy weapon switching and movement transition all while you are in the throes of an aerial barrage of kicks or a shuddering gun-enhanced break-dance. There have been a few times when I wasn't allowed to open my menu during a fight to use a health item which resulted in my death, and the lack of a button used for magic and life restore would have been nice. The only real hiccups we have going on here belong to the mini-games (like the arcade shooter Angel Attack, which needed a bit of tuning in the accuracy department) and the couple of motorcycle levels which felt stiff and limited compared to the usual mechanics of battle.
   
   Game-play 8/10
   
   Like a piercing ray of light from Heaven, the core of the game (that being the beat 'em up action) cuts through all the awkward sexual pretense and whimsical setting to hoist up the game from collapsing upon itself. While Bayonetta wields on her feet and in her hands - they're basically used for long-range enemies, breaking urns/benches, and keeping a combo flowing while you move on from one enemy to the next. So instead of firearms, you alternate between claws, a katana, a whip, severed enemy limbs, and various objects defeated foes drop like over-sized swords and trumpets. Each weapon you use has a different style of engagement with various amounts of speed and impact damage, requiring you to do a bit of practice but ultimately allowing a greater array of fighting technique so you could pick a choose which best suited you. You could fight the enemy head-on on the lower difficulties but the more advanced ranks and skilled opponents required use of the game's slow-motion variant "Witch Time". Witch Time was engaged by getting within an enemy's striking distance and avoiding their attack at the last moment, which jump-starts a few seconds of everything aside from Bayonetta greatly reduced in speed - while she is able to unleash much faster arrangements of combos on the basically helpless angels. Winning battles quickly, without taking damage and using a lot of combos earns you glossy medals - which in turn earn you a ton of halos (the currency) to upgrade techniques, buy weapon skins or health items. You can also stride into extra-bloody "torture attacks" which torment the enemies you snag onto with devices like racks or iron maidens, also earning you additional halos for rapidly hitting the correct buttons. The combat here is very fluid, more so than most nu-brawlers I have played - and the very few instances of puzzles or platforming mean that the game is almost entirely hyperactive beat 'em up action. The slow sections are the only thing really holding down the score a notch, as you have roughly four sections you have to endure non-brawling game-play. Two of these sections are motorcycle races where you have to dodge obstacles, jump gaps, and smack or shoot a few targets to keep safe and earn halos. Despite how well put together most of the other action is, the motorcycle portions feel extremely limited - and considering how many other cutscenes this game has I have to wonder why they just didn't make them non-interactive or simply quick-time events instead. Speaking of those, some of the quick-time events aren't too bad (like boss finishers or torture attacks) but sometimes they will pop up in the middle of you mashing out a combo and you will hit the wrong button and lose health and score. The other non-brawling sections include a rather bland shooting gallery where you have to aim at passing targets to earn items/halos and a level that is basically a motion-sickness inducing remake of Space Harrier. While the former mini-game isn't too bad in that the worst thing that could happen is you get screwed out of a few thousand halos, the rocket-riding level is a bit of a shake-up from beat 'em up action and not really what I felt like doing in Bayonetta. Before I forget, I'd like to mention there's a couple of battles that bother me, one involving a highway duel in which cars often strike you in mid-combo and two small escort missions that seem to exist only to ensure you mess up on earning the platinum medals. There's also a bit of walking around in kind of pointless city environment full of non-interactive soldiers and civilians that happens in the second level, which means that Sega had resources they could have put to use adding another level or a new weapon but chose to waste instead. Back into positive territory again - while the common enemy battles feel like flashier more versatile Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi's cannon fodder fights - the major boss battles resemble God of War. You will be fighting gigantic beasts often need to be stripped of armor, limbs, or heads before you can strike their weak-spot. These sections of the game best reflect the game's budget and the cutscenes involved are often the only ones in the game worth watching. The bottom line is that when Bayonetta is actually brawling - the game is engrossing and worthy of praise. I just wish it could shed the needless trappings and get a better body of art design and directing.
   
   Replay value 7/10
   
   There are five difficulties to play Bayonetta on, four of which reward you with unlockable treats should you complete them. There's also a lot of achievements to obtain, with about 75% being productive to your state of fun while the others involve a lot of collecting or grinding. You'll end up earning enough halos (the currency) and meeting required parameters to receive additional weapon skins, costumes, special techniques and combat-altering accessories - as well as a few different playable characters. While there isn't a versus mode or online co-op included, I'm not sure the game would have been any better with them considering how much is going on in the screen at once just playing solo. Not too shabby in terms of reasons for going through the game multiple times.
   
   Overall 8/10
   
   While Bayonetta certainly has some of the most fluid and stylish action on the 360's beat 'em up scene - it's weak story and sound departments are highlighted by the in-your-face saturation of overzealous sex appeal. Some people honestly won't care about that as they shove a chainsaw in slow-motion into an angel's face - but games are often looked back years later for the sum of their parts. I'm sure there will be a brawler in the near future that manages to outclass Bayonetta's accomplished combat theatrics, and if the game-play becomes outdated what will people continue to cherish this title for? I don't mean to sound overly-negative in my final words here - Bayonetta has been more enjoyable in terms of combat than any other nu-brawler I've played so far.. and I guess that is the most important thing. Beat 'em up fans should definitely rent this, and if you can look past all the nonsense involved here easier than I did - a purchase wouldn't be too bad of an idea.
2. Rating: 
   8
3. Product Release: Bayonetta (JP, 10/29/2009)

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