Reseña de Bayonetta y Bayonetta 2

Como Nintendo lanzó Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2 como un paquete, hemos decidido revisar cada juego, seguido de la colección. Continúe leyendo para conocer nuestra versión de Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 y la pareja:

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bayoneta 1:

En 2009, el mundo fue invitado a conocer a Bayonetta , una bruja de Umbra con increíbles habilidades de combate y capacidades mágicas. Ella era el personaje principal del juego, un espectáculo de acción con uno de los mejores ejemplos de combate jamás implementado en juegos de computadora. La narrativa era escandalosa, la caracterización irónica y todo estaba casado con una acción fluida. En manos de un jugador experto y experimentado, fue fascinante y lleno de ritmo, con una cadencia armónica capaz de brindar un ambiente meditativo a todos los que miraban y jugaban. Bayonetta fue una obra maestra. En 2018, en Nintendo Switch, Bayonetta es esa obra maestra y más.

Un poco de antecedentes y contexto primero. PlatinumGames se formó después de que los desarrolladores clave del semiautónomo Clover Studio de Capcom decidieran hacerlo completamente solos en lugar de perder la independencia que tenían y volver a caer en el seno de Capcom. Los fundadores incluyeron a Hideki Kamiya, el director de Devil May Cry , el clásico juego de acción con combate de siguiente nivel. Bayonetta fue el tercer lanzamiento de Platinum, el primero de Kamiya para su nueva compañía, y el primero en las consolas de Sony y Microsoft.

Ella tenía razón, ya sabes.

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Dadas las bases que tenía el juego, quizás no debería sorprender cómo resultó. Bayonetta es el avatar del jugador a lo largo de la historia y desde el principio tiene unas habilidades espectaculares. Se mueve en todas las direcciones en el suelo y en el aire después de saltar presionando B. Puede saltar dos veces y colgarse en el aire por una fracción de segundo más si lo desea, y los ataques pueden comenzar o terminar en el aire, o en el suelo. X lanza un puñetazo y A una patada, con Y reservado para sus armas. La gloria viene al combinar todas sus acciones para crear un conjunto de movimientos fabuloso y combos fluidos, que conducen a la destrucción y el caos, todo centrado en el ojo de la tormenta: la propia Bayonetta .

El sistema de combate es un modelo de profundidad. Competir en dificultad normal es algo que cualquiera puede hacer, y quizás eso sea parte de la genialidad del juego. Si está limitado a simplemente enviar spam a los diversos ataques y esperar que un combo salga al azar, y luego ese combo hace el trabajo, entonces llegará allí. No será elegante, ni se verá muy bien, pero podrás moverte por el juego disfrutando de cada secuencia y ver cómo sube la apuesta en cada capítulo; cada verso. Desde simples ángeles demoníacos hasta bestias devastadoras y dioses gigantes, Bayonettase enfrentará a enemigos que aseguran que el jugador se quede boquiabierto antes de trabajar en las diversas fases del ciclo del juego: asombro, preguntarse cómo vas a ganar exactamente, miedo de que nunca ganarás y finalmente un deleite absoluto en clavar el ventosa. Enjuague y repita.

Sí, luchas contra esa cosa en el fondo.

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Sin embargo, obtendrás una calificación absolutamente apestosa. Bayonetta es un juego muy lineal con quince capítulos, cada uno separado en varios versos (aquí hay una capa muy pesada de cielo e infierno en la historia, así como el hecho de que la música es de una importancia increíble). Cada verso es un conjunto de enemigos, mini-jefe, jefe o área pequeña. Esto ayuda, obtienes respiros entre la intensidad de la acción si lo necesitas. Su objetivo en cualquier verso es obtener una medalla de platino puro, pero muy a menudo no puede obtener nada. Cada verso contribuye al premio general del capítulo de algún tipo de estatua; de nuevo, el platino es tu objetivo aquí, pero desde el principio, o si siempre estás luchando por mejorar, posiblemente serás recompensado con una estatua de piedra.

El combate es fascinante. Bayonetta se mueve muy rápido y puede hacer mucho. Puedes simplemente construir un combo y construirlo un poco más. Mezclas los puñetazos, las patadas y el uso de pistolas (que ella tiene en las manos y en los pies), todo trabajando en conjunto para dar como resultado algo más dada la combinación correcta. Ese algo más es a menudo un tejido perverso o un ataque de tortura. Wicked weaves son golpes mágicos que generalmente vienen al final de un combo y aterrizan con algo de peso. Mientras que Bayonetta normalmente usa sus puños y pies, los tejidos malvados se tipifican como manos o pies gigantes creados por su cabello, usando magia. Los ataques de tortura se activan una vez que tienes un indicador mágico completo y lo hacen de acuerdo con las indicaciones de los botones. Toman la forma de varios métodos de tortura dependientes del enemigo y podrían serBayonetta patea a su oponente en una guillotina antes de cortarle la cabeza, o tal vez sumergir a alguien en una doncella de hierro y apretarlo. Es gloriosamente espeluznante y cada vez más entretenido de ver.

Bayonetta cuando comienza a llegar al clímax.

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Perhaps the most important thing about combat though is Witch Time. If you dodge an attack at the very last moment time slows for a short period. This allows you to get more hits in with no comeback until Witch Time ends. An essential skill for getting past certain challenges but equally an integral one for anybody wishing to succeed even at normal difficulty, or to get better medals and statues. Importantly, a combo can be carried through Witch Time meaning if executed properly there is no attack penalty for defending yourself — all you need do is keep an attack button depressed whilst dodging and then carry on. It’s not easy, though. None of this game is easy. It’s a significant challenge to compete, let alone win. But by golly it’s a wonderful experience each time you do.

It’s not just the actual mechanics of the game — which are so very liquid — that makes it, either. There are all manner of lovely touches which really make the holistic experience that much better. For instance each time you’re introduced to a new set of enemies, or a reoccurrence of a particularly important one, you get a short cutscene. On returning to the game there’s a piece of jolly music which always plays, reminding you that this a game, which is meant to be fun — don’t get lost in the veracity of the beastly tormentor you’re about to come up against, instead revel in the beauty of your role as judge, jury and executioner. The whole story is told with a healthy does of bombast and has an underlying element of not taking itself seriously. All of this is wrapped up in glamour and sex to make a riveting and wholly unswallowable tale — none of which matters when it’s this much fun.

Bayonetta’s hair is what she uses to execute wicked weave and climax moves.

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This game is still amazing despite it being over eight years old, and this being a port of a game which has been ported a few times previously. The very fact it is amazing ensures it merits a Switch release but in fact being able to play Bayonetta on Nintendo’s latest hardware is a revelation. As with everything on the Switch what we’re getting is an example of superb home console gameplay which can be played on the move. Whether docked or mobile we have a native 720p resolution and a gorgeous 60 frames per second — which is almost rock solid throughout the entire game. This is important in ensuring the combat retains that liquid feel and all works, but also in just looking absolutely sensational in your hands. The preferred way to play the game is in docked mode, of course. There’s a lot of action and a lot of things going on on screen much of the time. The bigger the screen, the easier to take it all in and do what’s needed. Yet that doesn’t mean you can’t see and do in handheld mode everything you can when in docked. It works very well and whether tackling a verse, or chapter, for the first or thirtieth time (due to rubbishness or a hunt for the pure platinum medal) it all comes together brilliantly. You might find the Joy-Cons limit your abilities versus a pro controller sometimes, but only because the pro controller is clearly better to use than Joy-cons for anything.  

As we do have a port of an older game here some of the design choices which were very much of the time have been carried over and perhaps don’t work so well. The main culprits are the quick time events (QTE) which can lead to failure just because you were taking in the apparent cutscene and enjoying it all, rather than waiting for a prompt to flash up demanding the X or Y button is hammered. It’s a minor point but it does jar a little and spoil the fluidity of everything. If we could ask for one change it would be for the QTEs to disappear.

Bayonetta and her very long hair.

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With this release of Bayonetta on the Nintendo Switch the mass of console owners can experience for the first time — or again — what is still perhaps the finest action game of all time with an amazing story and exquisite combat. Being able to do this at home and on the train is wonderful and demonstrates the brilliance of the hardware and what it can do for games new and old. In this case the fact you can go and do a verse in a few minutes to better your result or a chapter when you have more time really helps and the replayability ensures it can stay on your Switch for a very long time. Bayonetta is a fabulous witch and still at the top of her game. Nothing else can quite match her – except, perhaps, herself.

Bayonetta 2:

The very fact Bayonetta 2 exists is a modern miracle, and a baffling one at that. It’s not because it doesn’t deserve to exist — far from it — but the fact that it looked incredibly unlikely for years and then the most left-field saviour presented themselves: Nintendo. You see, Bayonetta is the eponymous Umbra witch, a brilliantly characterised individual of rare strength, skill, dazzle and beauty. She, is, perhaps one of the top three female avatars in gaming in the way she delivers such brilliance on her own terms. Sure, many point to the way she looks and moves and question if she’s been designed for your typical thirteen-year old male gamer but that misses the real point — Bayonetta does everything she does because she is who she is and wants to be. That includes being one hell of a witch, and quite clearly the finest and most fabulous fighter in the trinity of realms.

Anyway, the fact Bayonetta is as she is and the way the first game played out — immensely delirious liquid fighting from the sexualised witch who had sardonic put-downs aplenty — is why the very fact Nintendo saved her and brought us Bayonetta 2 is a bloody surprise, to say the least. Sega, as publisher, had shelved development of a sequel despite PlatinumGames having begun work on it and many thought that was that. Thankfully, we were wrong. Nintendo funded PlatinumGames to continue making the sequel, then exclusively for the Wii U. Now it’s been ported to the Switch ahead of a third game which was recently announced. Everyone who owns a Switch, I implore you to buy this game if you can and to experience what is arguably the finest action game in existence.

Some of the baddies you fight in the sequel are as big, or bigger, than in the first game.

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The director of the first game, Hideki Kamiya, declined to retain his role on this sequel as he has tended to do across his library of games, and instead handed the reins to newcomer Yusuke Hashimoto, under his supervision. The approach taken was evidently to follow the rules of a sequel as explained in the film, Scream 2: “…observe the rules of the sequel. Number one: The body count is always bigger. Number two: The death scenes are always much more elaborate. More blood, more gore. Carnage candy! Your core audience just expects it. And number three: If you want your sequel to become a franchise never, ever…”

Bayonetta 2 is an iteration on brilliance. To that end no-one who has played the first game will be fazed at all in picking up the sequel and just getting going. Bayonetta looks different, with her new outfit and short hair-do but otherwise she is the same fighting totem with a dizzying array of moves, and setups, all of which can be added to and updated throughout the game. One fun but throwaway feature is that some of the weapons Bayonetta can get hold of during the game are Nintendo-related, for example a Chain Chomp. It breaks the fourth wall a little when you get this but you don’t have to use them — you can stick with your preferred demonic blades and guns if you like.

Bayonetta has short hair and a new outfit in the second game.

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There is a new and integral aspect to the play — Umbran climax. During fights, and as your magic gauge fills, you’ll have the option to tap L and initiate what is a time-limited ability to just pummel opponents with multiple wicked weave moves. Effectively it’s like an Ultra combo in Street Fighter where you get rewarded with the chance to really diminish an enemy’s health bar as a congratulations for doing as well as you have done so far. It’s a big help in fights and really does let you make a good jump ahead in progress in any single fight.

Whilst this OP move obviously helps with the game’s challenge, it feels more forgiving throughout than the original. The time window which you have to activate Witch Time for instance, seems longer, or at least I was able to activate this vital slowdown of time pretty much everytime I wanted to during the whole eight hours of Bayonetta 2 compared to a hit rate of around 50% with the first. It might be that I was just more attuned having finished the first one beforehand but it feels like something more. The windows on executing specific combos were more lenient too, all adding to an easier and more accessible experience for those wanting to finish the game. That’s not to say it’s any easier to get the Pure Platinum awards for chapters and verse along the way, mind. No, what we have here is an entry-level lower to allow for more to enjoy the game, but a level of mastery as high as demanded by the skills of the top gamers.

Guns are key.

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The game’s structure is slightly refined versus the original, too. Each chapter is built up with short, sharp verses, each of which is there to provide a challenge and a variety which does not outstay its welcome, before moving on to the next. There’s less of a tendency to add to the foes rather than move onto a new set, or a new environment. The world itself is added to with some underwater sections which are few and far between thankfully (they work but they’re the least energetic of any part of the game) and a number of in-air fights. Bosses seem more plentiful which in turn means more of the massive enemies and the inventive set piece fights, which is entirely brilliant whilst being incredibly intense given they are always the most challenging moments. We have an Afterburner pastiche to go alongside the Space Harrier and Hang On moments from the first game, and we visit all three realms of the trinity in Earth, Heaven and Hell.

The story is totally awesome and fabulously outrageous. Bayonetta is shopping in a place reminiscent of New York City around Christmas time and suddenly angels attack. Bayonetta’s friend and fellow Umbra Witch, Jeanne, comes along to help but things go wrong and she dies, being dragged down to Inferno. Unsurprisingly eternity in Inferno is not meant to be a nice thing and Bayonetta decides she’s going to travel through the gates of hell to save her friend’s soul. Obviously. So begins a journey through the three worlds and time, in an effort to save Jeanne and ultimately the world. It was difficult to see how the first story could be made bigger and more brash but by jove, they’ve done it.

The boss fights are insane, and incredible.

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The game looks better than the first and runs as smoothly as you’d want on the Switch, whether in docked or undocked mode. As with the first game, if you’re able to play on the big screen do that, as with everything going on it really aids the experience. That being said, it’s not as confusing to play on the small screen thanks to its original development for the Wii U. Use of a pro controller would be beneficial here as well. I often found myself accidentally pressing R when I went to trigger ZR and Witch Time, but that might just be my fat fingers. It’s not really an issue in terms of doing well as that just meant my weapon setup was changed. It did however mean I set both load-outs to be the same so that I was able to use my preferred tools when I wanted. The amount of weapons and unlocks throughout the game are plentiful and here you can use Amiibo to gather additional resources which in turn allows you to more easily up your health bar, or gather more lollipop consumables.

Bayonetta 2 is the benchmark in action-adventure gaming. The combat design is objectively the finest you’ll find, with a supreme level of depth allied to a curve enabling the largest amount of the population to enjoy the game as is possible. The narrative is gasp-inducing and the pacing of the game such that you’ll always want to play on and see what comes next. It has a couple of minor issues by way of the underwater sections mentioned earlier and your companion through part of the game who you do control for short periods. He’s grating at times and not anywhere near as entertaining as Cereza in the first game. But these are minor issues. Neither stops Bayonetta 2 from being the masterpiece it undoubtedly is.

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Some wicked magic going down here.

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Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2

In this package of Bayonetta + Bayonetta 2 we have the quintessential action-adventure experience. Either of these alone is the best example of the genre you can find, with the most dazzling and comprehensive abundance of combat you’re likely to find. In combining the two the bar has been blown away. Allied to the sheer flow of the fighting itself is one of the greatest heroines in gaming, some brilliant one-liners and an outrageous pair of stories with equally cheeky moments (none of which you ever expected to see on a Nintendo console). Whilst I found the first game the better, this may well have been just the fact it was the one I was exposed to first, too. Throughout its runtime I was left with my jaw dropped and chuckling on numerous occasions. The second game didn’t quite take me on the same rollercoaster but in terms of gameplay it was tighter and faster. If you were to tackle them the other way around — and it wouldn’t be an issue to really given the stories aren’t the crux of the game — you may find the second to be superior. Really, it’s irrelevant. Both are wonderful alone and together? Irresistible. Roll on Bayonetta 3…