(Originally posted on January, 2015)
(Wii U, 2014)
I was sold on Bayonetta 2 upon playing the demo, which has you battling beautiful, mysterious ‘angels’ on top a flying jet. Taking place in New York City, the scene is full of brilliant color, reflections and chaos. Even though this was my first sustained experience with a 3D action game, I was immediately in love, as all the insanity during battle is orchestrated through easy to learn, engaging design. Already astonished by the ‘normal’ enemies, a huge demon/dragon then emerged from a Skyscraper. For this boss encounter, Bayonetta reveals she never even needed that jet to take flight! It was a tough battle, but with the aid of several mid-battle checkpoints, I finally toppled the boss, only for something to happen to Bayonetta’s friend (?). This was just the first stage! What kind of craziness was to follow?! I had to buy this game!!
I played II simultaneously with the Wii U port of the original Bayonetta. This is one of those sequels that while appearing remarkably similar, is so much more refined and cohesive that it really pulls ahead from its predecessor. The game’s construct of cutscenes, fighting and (minor) exploration is all blended together so smoothly that the game feels like a single, fever induced dream. This continues to the battles themselves, which animate and ‘feel’ even smoother. The polishing even extends to the previous ‘film’ cutscenes being replaced by ‘clocks’, which are even faster paced and more stylish to watch. Once again, the game is rather generous in length, but is never bogged down by filler or a feeling of repetition. My loading complaint from the original Bayonetta on the Wii U has been improved in the sequel.
Only playing this game casually, the most significant change I noticed to the combat system was the new Umbran Climax feature during battles. As if things weren’t already intense enough, hitting the L button will allow one of Bayonetta’s demons to assist her in attacks. This immense but short lived power gave me that same rush and feeling of relief as FFVII’s limit breaks or FFIX’s trance mode. There are plenty of other little surprises and changes, but I’d rather leave those to be discovered while playing. The first fight I had with the Lumen Sage is honestly one of those moments I’ll treasure as among the greatest I’ve experienced in a game. Drawing out that wonderful Zen/flow state, I found myself reacting to his movements faster than my faculties could process. Going on for several exhausting minutes, the battle escalates until the otherworldly forces of both characters are doing battle in the background!. By the end, I forgot I was just playing on the Nintendo. Bayonetta 2 is a series of such memorable events. You’ll find yourself once against revisiting Sega’s arcade classics, the inside of a massive sea creature and even Hell itself!
The dull browns, greys and reds that often held back Bayo 1 have been switched for glistening gold, blues, purples and a still a bit of red blood, of course. Screaming at maximum volume, they fit the game perfectly, which now deservedly has a style all its own. The enemies are grander and more fluid. The environments are now more uniformly inspired and detailed, each one worth a good look. The new soundtrack is once again epic and varied, sometimes switching out some of the pianos for a tenser organ sound.
The only complaint I could possibly launch against the game is that while the very final battles are impressive, they’re not quite at the level of jaw-dropping, near hilarious spectacle of the original. Just playing this game once, also in tandem with the first, it deserves a lot more attention and more written about it in the future. I’ve barely delved into the weapon/inventory system and numerous collectibles at the time of this writing. Don’t wait for any further convincing from me though. If you have a Wii U, download the demo and try the first stage on the arm. Afterwards, parting with $60 for the full experience won’t hurt a bit.
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