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Bayonetta Review by jg4xchamp

"Bayonetta is an exceptional action game that belongs among the elite of its genre."


Bayonetta is a game that delivers a narrative that is more than likely going to turn people away. Its excessively cheesy and heavily sexualized main character Bayonetta (her suit is made entirely of her hair) character can enter offensive and shameless territory. The dialogue is cringe worthy, but for those that are willing to go in with an open mind and forgive the narrative will find an exceptional action game. Bayonetta is sty-lish, insane, over the top, and all around exciting from start to finish, and probably the best way to kick of the "monumental" year we all hope 2010 will be.

Bringing the focus back on the plot one can go in with two different approaches. You can rip into it for the abomination of a narrative that it is, or you can go in with a more open mind. One that is willing to forgive it as something that is cheesy on purpose, that essentially goes out of its way to not take itself seriously. It's a divisive part of the overall game and could be a major turnoff for many. The story is about witches, angels, magical stones, and a six foot witch who is shamelessly over sexualized throughout the entire experience. For the most part, the game pretty much knows what it is doing, and it probably goes without saying that the game was pretty much meant to be what it is.

So it's a good thing the game is able to make up for its audience dividing plot with an incredible combat scheme, and impressive game design overall. Bayonetta's combat scheme is the work of the Legendary Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry, Okami, Viewtiful Joe) and Platinum Games. It won't take very long for veterans of the genre to realize that the game borrows and builds upon the sty-lish combat of the Devil May Cry series. That doesn't mean Bayonetta is a rip-off though, as Bayonetta does many things to give its own unique feel and separate itself from its spiritual predecessor.

Bayonetta is capable of attaching weapons to both her legs and her arms. These weapons can range from guns to a sword, ice skates, a snake like whip, and of course Bazooka Tonfas. Yes, the Bazooka Tonfas are nothing short of majestic. You press the Y button to use the weapon attached to the arms, and the B button to use the weapon on your feet. The X button takes care of shooting Bayonetta's guns and then there is the right bumper taking duties as a short cut for specific types of attacks (when coupled with B or Y). The left trigger and right trigger take over the ability to switch weapon combinations and utilize your dodge. Bayonetta is fast, fluid, and accessible. It doesn't take many button inputs to dish out serious damage on the angels of Paradiso. What really helps it stick out is the myriad of combos that one can perform in Bayonetta. It's a combat scheme with an ocean of depth that when coupled with the fluidity and accessibility of the controls allows players to get extremely creative with their combos.

The weapons of the game all provide their own perk of some kind. The shotguns provide a lot of the same moves as your standard pistols if attached to one of Bayonetta's limbs, but they bring far more force and their ability to hit multiple enemies is greater. The sword becomes an old faithful with its speed, large move set, and the ability to dish out a strong amount of damage. Ice skates provide you the ability to freeze enemies, and also being able to traverse lava and bringing no harm to Bayonetta. This is a tactic that will come in handy for those that want platinum trophies on certain levels. The serpentine whip doesn't bring much in terms of speed or damage, but it does open up a whole new way to get in aerial combos and makes a good weapon for a combination where you can switch between your set of weapons. The bazooka tonfas speak for themselves, and for those that dare to try to beat the game on the games hardest difficulty. There is a nice surprise weapon that will easily put a smile on your face.

The more weapons and techniques you unlock the more the game play opens up. It may not be as brutally visceral as the Ninja Gaiden series, but it is arguably the most satisfying combat scheme in any action game to date. Abilities such as break dancing, to being able to do a clockwise shooting attack to target multiple enemies are only the beginning of the insanity one can produce on the screen. With properly timed dodges a player can force "Witch Time": the "slow mo" mode for the Bayonetta series essentially giving you a good chance to fire up some massive combos on your enemies. You also have finisher moves that Bayonetta can use when the magic gauge is full which can be a whole list of devilish traps and devices used to kill enemies from something like a guillotine to a sarcophagus filled with spikes ready to obliterate your foes. Then, when it comes to Climax Attacks, Bayonetta can use the hair on her body to create gigantic creatures that vanquish your enemies with ease. For veterans of the genre, you can cancel out of attacks even in the middle of animations, something that was long overdue for the genre.

Bayonetta's other abilities are also very useful such as turning into animals such as a panther or a crow. Her ability to turn into animals to traverse the area also provides bonuses in combat as ways to evade, mitigate damage, or even another way to attack the enemies on screen and adding unto your combo. The enemies also do a good job of not being punching bags, as they don't stop just because you are hitting them. The angels of Paradiso are capable of dishing out their own attacks while getting hit, and can even dish out attacks that not only knock you the player out of rhythm but can chain moves of their own to dish out some serious damage.

With multiple enemy types that require a different form of finesse, strategy, and timing to get in hits without taking too many shots of your own. Plus there are the extremely large bosses of the game that are more or less horrific designs of biblical lore (that just happened to be named after human emotions). The bosses are incredibly well designed and provide some of the most satisfying obstacles of the game. Especially the battles with Bayonetta's rival witch, which are nothing short of awesome. What these battles lack in overall challenge they make up for in spades in creativity and sty-le. They're so well crafted that you'll probably ignore the lack of difficulty and just enjoy the fights for the grand spectacle they are. Like the series Bayonetta is inspired from, a lot of the sub-bosses and bosses will come back further on in the game although a bit weaker and as sub-bosses, in the case of the latter. They won't necessarily all play out the same way as a new variable will be thrown your way, but the return fights won't be nearly as memorable as the initial fights.

Where the games core gameplay may fail to deliver for veterans of the genre is probably going to be the difficulty. The enemies just aren't aggressive enough on the default normal difficulty (you have to unlock the harder modes), and the impressive and large boss fights aren't very difficult for those that have been seasoned by other big names in the genre. The bosses for the most part can come off as major push-overs. The standard difficulty also lets you get away with button mashing in some segments as a reasonable way to eliminate enemies. This could be argued as a product of the combat scheme being so good and so varied that it can make it an easier experience by genre standards. However it is still a noteable issue.

To counteract this though, Bayonetta's rewards and prizes are all about scoring. Each section of action in a mission is called a verse. After each verse you will see where your current score for the mission is, and what kind of medal you got for the verse. Pure Platinum is the highest of honors and only rewarded if you can dish out a platinum-worthy combo without ever taking any damage. So if you want to pile on Halo Rings which is the currency of the game and points you need to be more creative than simply button mashing. Taking too much damage, and even dying during a mission will be a significant penalty to your overall score and thus leading to lower scores and even lower trophy rewards. If you're one that likes to get competitive with friends and other around the world on XBL/PSN leader boards, Bayonetta gives enough of an incentive to be on top of your game.

From a progression standpoint Bayonetta is strictly linear like the Devil May Cry series. You'll go from one area to another fighting waves and waves of enemies, always getting different types as you progress so not to come off repetitive. Sub-bosses are thrown in to keep you busy and challenged, and major bosses appear to ice off key points of the game. You won't do much puzzle work, but they way you traverse the areas in Bayonetta can change overtime. When the moon is out, Bayonetta is capable of walking on walls and going vertical in a completely different way. This way the game is capable of bringing you back to areas you've seen without feeling stale and making it look like pointless backtracking. The plat forming is pretty solid and is never in a position to ruin the pacing of the game. This is in large part due to level design that at times can both be remarkable and creative. If you're a person that also enjoys a game that can take his/her breath away with its scale, just wait until you see Bayonetta's final level.

What might hurt it is some of the homage's to clas-sic Sega games. The two that stick out the most as major down points in the overall experience include a segment where Bayonetta is riding a motorcycle, and another one where she is piloting a missile. When the initial appeal of nostalgia and the lovely reference wears off, it quickly becomes apparent that these portions are far too repetitive and drawn out. They come off as excessively unsatisfying, and easily stick out as the worst segments of the game. That's not to say the other references in the game aren't fun though. There are multiple lines in the game that make references to popular games like Halo and Resident Evil 4, to even Platinum Games' original game Madworld.

From a presentation standpoint the game is pretty good all around. The game usually runs at 60 frames per second on the 360, but there are some notable framerate dips and screen tearing. There are also some slowdowns here and there, but overall the game runs very well. Visually the graphics are pretty good, although nothing exceptional. Animations are top notch and some of the best you'll get. The audio work is pretty good for the most part as well. You have a nice mix of J-pop and some Jazz giving you some catchy tunes to enjoy the intense battles of the game. The voice acting is a mixed bag. It's hard to put the blame on just the voice acting considering the script is so incredibly bad (which again, is meant to be cheesy purpose). The cut scenes are all well choreographed, but some of them can drag on far too long and keep the player out of the action for too long. This annoyance also carries over to some rather annoying placement of quick time events. Other forms of the story are told through slide show, film strips. They aren't bad, but they come off as a lazy way to do things.

I cannot stress enough how exceptional Bayonetta's combat is. It's wild, over the top, and incredibly satisfying. It's fast, fluid, and filled to the brim with a superfluous amount of combo all the while maintaining an accessible control scheme that lets you unleash all the insanity without being overly complicated. The marvelously crafted boss fights provide some of the most satisfying moments in the overall game, and the final segments of the game (both gameplay and the ending cut scenes, including post credits) just find a way to get better and better. Bayonetta is at this point the definitive action game of the current generation, and a game that belongs among the elite games of the genre. Oh and it has Bazooka Tonfas. What more do you need?

Figured I'd reply to this thread since I think that Bayonetta is the bee's knees. I haven't read c_rake's critique, so there may be some overlap here. Anyway, these are just some general tips, so don't expect a sentence-by-sentence walkthrough or anything, but hopefully this is some help.

The point of the opening paragraph should be to intrigue people into wanting to finish reading your review, but also to serve as your opening arguments--you should be expressing an overall opinion about the game, which you go on to back up in the rest of your review. Here, you're not really saying anything about the game besides that you think the narrative sucks but it's nonetheless a great game. This is bad because it doesn't summarize your opinion about the game at all. It's good that you believe that the plot is ridiculous, or that Bayonetta is hyper-sexualized, but do these thoughts really affect your opinion?

When writing a review, a key point to remember is that less is more. Does some aspect of the game ultimately enhance or detract from that game, so much so that you believe it affects your score? If not, then you can safely cut it out, which makes your review more readable and less full of fluff.

Finally, you end the opening by saying that the game is" stylish, insane, and over the top". While I can certainly agree with these sentiments, this doesn't really say anything. What exactly do you mean by saying that it's "insane," and how exactly is that a good thing? It would be better to say that Bayonetta's stylish, over the top action makes for some incredibly fun and action-packed moments, or something along those lines.

Next up, you continue to rail on the plot and on Bayonetta's sexualized nature. Here I have to bring up another key point. You want your review text to match your score. You can't essentially say that the plot is awful and award the game a 9.0, because that's a score for a superb game, and your text doesn't support your score. It's perfectly fine to think that Bayonetta's got a silly plot (because really, it does), but it obviously doesn't affect your opinion of the game, so why say that outright? In this case, it's better to show than tell--write about the plot and give examples of some of the silliness. It's okay to be self-aware about it (it always makes for good jokes to write about something ridiculous and then acknowledge it), but in the end let the reader decide how preposterous or ridiculous the plot is. Finally, make sure you describe the basics of the story: who the main character is, what their motivation is, and who opposes them. Here, you don't really do any of that.

I'm of the opinion that name-dropping in a review is a bad thing. Sure, I've done it in the past, but I've come to realize that it doesn't really add anything. And it certainly doesn't mean anything to someone who doesn't know who you're talking about. Also, the Devil May Cry comparison has been done to death with Bayonetta, so I don't see how this really helps either. A game should stand on its own two feet, which Bayonetta clearly does, and so you shouldn't need to make any comparisons. And again, if the reader isn't familiar with your comparison, it doesn't mean anything to them.

Bazooka tonfas are not anything that any reasonable person would expect to find in a game, so it's odd to say that they're available, of course. I realize it's an attempt at humor, but the delivery could have been a bit better. My big issue with this paragraph though, is that you're basically trying to fill in for an instruction manual. Absolutely remove any mention of the button configuration, unless it's a huge deal. In the case of Bayonetta, the only button that warrants a call-out is the dodge button, and only because it's set to a trigger instead of the right analog stick (this is a huge deal because it makes dodging so much easier to access than in other similar games). It of course is important that Bayonetta has two types of attacks, etc., etc., but you don't need to mention how you trigger them.

Also, you really need to expand on your description of the combo system. You mention that it has "an ocean of depth" but you don't provide any examples or go into any real details. This is also a perfect opportunity to mention how fun battles are, and describe some of the ridiculous things you can do. Make sure you do this in simple, easy to understand language too--Bayonetta's combat mechanics are it's most important aspect, and you want to make sure that everyone gets why it's awesome, why it's fun, and why they should want to get it.

Next up, you make the mistake of mentioning platinum trophies without explaining what they are. You need to go into some detail as to how the game grades you, what scale it grades you against, and why you want platinum trophies. You should also mention why the grading system is awesome, and how the leaderboards really make this game stand out from some of its peers.

Your comparison to Ninja Gaiden is an example of how you use game comparisons--it's self-contained and contrasting, and even a layman can ready our sentence and understand that Ninja Gaiden is pretty brutal. Good job there. You go on to discuss Climax Attacks without really explaining what they are though, which is a pretty big problem.

In the end, my big problem with this review is its structure. You seem to approach things almost backwards--you casually mention something without really describing what it is, as though you assume the reader will understand, and then at some later point you go into detail on it. This is a big no-no. Do not discuss anything that is not completely obvious without first defining what it is. I can't stress how important this is, because readers won't understand what you're getting at.

You also need to toss out a few examples of the gameplay itself, to help support your points. You continually mention how crazy the combat is, but you don't really show why. Discussing your first witch-walk battle, or your fight with Fortitudo, or how the game features angels that are also cars could go a long way to proving your point. Also, be sure to spell-check and grammar-check your work, as there were issues with both throughout the text. I find it incredibly helpful to read my text out loud to myself as well, as it helps me catch things that otherwise would have slipped in.

Anyway, hope this is helpful. 

The best advice I can give you regarding the score is to not really think about that until the very end. Sure, it's good to get a sense of what you think the score would be while you're playing, but definitely don't go into a review saying to yourself, "this is a 9.0 and I'm going to write a 9.0 review."

What you really should do is write your review, make sure you include everything you want to include, and then ask yourself what score it reads like. Don't be surprised if you end up writing a review that reads far more positively or negatively than you had originally envisioned--this is normal, and believe me that you'll get something that is much more accurate this way.