While Bayonetta was pushed back to release in 2010 for us Americans, Sega is still releasing Bayonetta in Japan next week. Consequently, a demo was released last week on the Japanese marketplace and I ended up acquiring it through the same means as I did with the Resident Evil 5 demo that was originally only released in Japan.
For those that don’t know what Bayonetta is, it’s the next big “classic” Japanese action-adventure game from the director behind Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami. I say classic because in this day and age, games in general are really not as difficult or challenging as classic Japanese action-adventure games that we grew up on (see practically every game on the original NES). In fact, the only ones I can think of today that have the ability to be challenging yet enjoyable are the Ninja Gaiden series and the Devil May Cry series. And as a fan of both series, Bayonetta is definitely on my radar.
In a way, it helps that I’ve been replaying Devil May Cry 4 recently, because I’m seeing many similarities and influences that Devil May Cry 4 has on Bayonetta. The game engine seems to be the same, the combat style and mechanisms appear to be very similar, and the scantily clad outfit Trish was sporting in DMC4 was taken to the next level for Bayonetta’s outfit. And strangely again, Bayonetta follows the Devil May Cry series in having you play the role of something demonic and going up against evil “angelic” forces.
The 360 demo consists of a tutorial and two different levels. What’s also kind of neat is during the loading screens, you can practice the various different combos that Bayonetta has. The first demo level (exclusive in the 360 version of the demo and not present on the PS3 version) consists of Bayonetta fighting angelic enemies on a large chunk of land matter or broken building (I forgot which) as it slides very quickly down a slope and basically enters free-fall. The background moves faster and faster as you find everything around you falling while you pummel all of the enemies. It was definitely crazy and I was initially overwhelmed by how fast and relentless everything was.
The second demo level is a lot more traditional as it takes place on ground and you can move from section to section, breaking objects for money, defeating pockets of enemies, and eventually taking on bigger boss-like enemies. Here I was able to try out moves and get a better feel for what Bayonetta’s core gameplay is all about. The game seems to have something similar to Devil May Cry 4′s grading mechanics as well, since you’re graded on how you perform in each section of a level.
Famitsu, the primary Japanese video game magazine, recently gave Bayonetta on the 360 a perfect score, which surprised me a great deal. It’s still somewhat of a derivative game, as it borrows many concepts from Devil May Cry 4 so I was surprised that it could land a perfect score. The best way I can describe the demo is that it feels like the Devil May Cry games, but is much more over the top: explosions everywhere, enemies circling around you, items dropping and disappearing, Bayonetta performing all sorts of crazy moves like huge boots or fists knocking enemies out, guns shooting from her shoes, slowing down time by dodging enemy attacks, and finishing moves like a guillotine chopping enemies’ heads off, etc. I couldn’t even take it all in the first time I played through the demo because there was just too much going on. After I played through it a second time though, things clicked and now I’m just enjoying it as opposed to wondering what the heck is happening.
One new feature that I forgot to mention that also goes over the top in Bayonetta is nudity. With a large amount of her body wrapped in her own hair, when she performs a lengthy combo, the finishing move will generally require more hair. Thus, more hair leaves her skin and in a way, the player is almost “rewarded” with quick shots of skin when the player is able to perform more advanced moves. I don’t have any complaints about that, although we’ll see if my wife says anything when she sees me playing this game. The game is definitely not for kids. While it has classic game design, it’s super violent and shows a lot of skin. Sounds like my type of game!
I never play these sorts of games, but between the two, would you recommend Ninja Gaiden 2 or DMC4? Or should I just wait for Bayonetta
it honestly depends. personally, ninja gaiden 2 is one of my favorite games on the 360, whereas dmc4 to me is a love/hate type relationship.
the dmc games have always been more about style, as the cinematics, characters, and even gameplay all revolve around killing in a stylish way. thus, you just feel a lot cooler playing as dante in dmc instead of ryu from ninja gaiden because dante has wisecracks, crazy moves, and over-the top stuff that really gives the game character. in contrast, ryu is more of a quiet ninja, and a really effective killer at that but at the end of the day, not much personality there. thus, i love the character design and over-the-top feel that the dmc games provide.
what i hate about the dmc games though is the level of detail the hardcoreness gets into (of course, hardcore dmc fans will feel differently). i consider myself to be a pretty hardcore gamer, but i find dmc4 to be just too hardcore. dmc games grade you on how well you combo, how varied your attacks are on enemies, how quickly you clear through a level, etc. all of this ends up as a ranking at the end of the level. doing it all well awards you more points to spend in store for upgrades, but when you buy more items, the prices of the items go up, so you ideally don’t want to using them (your score even goes down when you use an item on a level). on top of that, there’s no save points or anything in the middle of a level – you just have to play through its entirety and save inbetween each of the half hour stages. in all, there’s a lot of stuff that just prevents you from really enjoying the game as simply an adventure, and more as a series of more and more difficult challenges.
ninja gaiden 2 is a little more simple in its combat mechanics and gameplay design, but it’s also very intuitive so i find it more enjoyable to play. i don’t have to worry about playing through the game the way i’m “supposed” to play it – i can kill enemies however i want and not be penalized for it. plus, there are save points all over the place, and in general i prefer the simpler, yet tighter combat system that ninja gaiden 2 provides.
so i guess there you go! my comparison to the two games is pretty much: dmc4 is more stylish and cooler to play but also more hardcore and less forgiving, whereas ninja gaiden 2 takes more of a middle path. this middle path allowed me to enjoy ninja gaiden 2 from start to finish multiple times. i think i put in over 100 hours into that game!
if the demo is any indication, bayonetta will most likely continue the dmc4 style gameplay, so i don’t know if you should necessarily wait for that game when you can acquire either ng2 or dmc4 today for a lot cheaper to see if you want to go back to your hardcore gaming roots. there are demos to both out on the marketplace now, so if you’re curious you should definitely give them a spin.