This would be the first in a new series! Retro Flashback is a new series where I will be discussing games on the day of their anniversaries. How this will work, is if a game turns 5, 10, 20, 25 and so on, it will be celebrated on the year and day of that anniversary that it was originally released. The first one to kick this off will be Bayonetta!

BACKGROUND

Bayonetta was first released on this day 10 years ago on the PS3 and the XBox 360 in Europe and North America. In Japan, it was released on October 29th, 2009. The first Bayonetta game would eventually make it’s presence on the Wii U, alongside with it’s sequel, Bayonetta 2 which was released in Septemeber 2014 in Japan and then worldwide within the following month.

• 

• 

Development for Bayonetta began back in January of 2007, with Hideki Kamiya as the game’s director. According to Kamiya, he wanted the game to have originality, and was heavily inspired by Scandanivian mythology, and was also inspired by Devil May Cry 4 template.

The game was met with tons of critical acclaimed from it’s great combat system, presentation, and it’s amazing soundtrack. Some other elements that game was widely praised for was also it’s great storytelling and its quick timed events.

THE GAMEPLAY

Bayonetta is a single-player third-person 3D action game that was made and published by SEGA. The combat is very familiar to another series that was also created by Hideki Kamiya, being the Devil May Cry series. The player plays the protagonist of the game, Bayonetta, a witch, that is controlled and played with using melee and long ranged attacks, complex combo strings, use of multiple weapons, the player is encouraged to use many ways to dispatch her angelic enemies with as much flair and style as possible.

Some of her special commands come through in the forms of quick time events, finishes, execution, and the very unique, “Torture Attacks,” where Bayonetta can be able to summon a variety of devices to with some devastating blows for her enemies.

She is also abe to use some very unique but, very limited abilities such as “Witch Time.” Witch Time is where the player has to make a very well timed doge in order to attack. This move is also able to slow down time to make Bayonetta inflict massive amounts of damage before her enemies can attack.

The player can also perform some other tricks that are very acrobatic, such as, back flips, and being able to destroy objects and doors while exploring an area. With some her unlockable abilities the player can also make Bayonetta become a panther or one of the various other creatures to enhance her abilities. Healing can be used through lollipops, that will also enhance her magic, induce invincibility, and be able to increase her overall strength. The player can also use enemy weapons to either directly attack back or use for props for movements.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The game is in a book format with multiple chapters, with each consisting of several versus. Depending on how well the player performs a level, the player will receive one of the following medals at the end of the versus, being, Stone, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Pure Platinum. At the end of the chapter, there’s a final score and award that is given depending on the medal that was achieved through that level. score may get deducted depending on how many items that were used and how many amount of deaths.

There is also a mini game that taken in between chapters called, “Angel Attack.” Angel Attack is when players use Arcade Bullets that is found in the main levels to shoot at angels to earn points. These points can also be used for trading in items, with any leftover points to exchange for Halos.

The game has five difficulty modes going from: “Very Easy,” Easy.” “Normal,” “Hard,” and “Non-Stop Infinite Climax.” There’s also an even more easy mode called, “A Very Easy Automatic” mode. This mode is available when the game makes Bayonetta to perform attacks on enemies, and the player only needs to press one button to execute elaborate combos. According to Kamiya, he expects for most players to be able to the beat this game within 10 to 12 hours and believed that the game’s rating system and the pursuit of wanting a high score would make players to come back for replay value.

GOING FORWARD

As of 2012, Bayonetta did receive a sequel that was published by Nintendo on the Wii U, called Bayonetta 2. The sequel was released on September 2014 in Japan, and was released in North America and in Europe in December 2014.

There was also a port of the original Bayonetta, which adds costumes from Nintendo franchises with their characters, which included Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and Metroid.

A third sequel is currently in development, was announced during the 2017 Game Awards and is to be an exclusive Nintendo Switch title. It was also announced alongside of two Switch ports from the two previous games.

There’s even a compilation called Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle that would include a 4K remaster of of the original Bayonetta, and is to be paired with alongside another Platinum Games remasterd title.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’ve personally always enjoyed the original Bayonetta and I’m so happy that Nintendo is making people be aware of this game and gave it a chance unlike Sony and Microsoft ever did. When I first heard that this was made behind the same people that made the Devil May Cry series (from the early days) I completely jumped in on it and gave it a chance. I have it on the PS3 and also on the Wii U and on the Switch. So, I’ve pretty much have played in most of it’s forms. For some reason I skipped out on it on the 360, but I think I just forgot that it was on the 360.

If your a fan of action adventure, hack and slash, and the Devil May series I would completely recommend giving the original Bayonetta a chance. You don’t have to go on the PS3, its available on the Switch. So, just play it on the most recent console. It’s great over the top beat em up adventure game. It really is a stand out from it’s genre with great style, characters, story, and great combat system. If you are a fan of third-person action games, I cannot highly recommend this enough.