Genre: Action
Year: 2009
Developed by: Platinum Games
Published by: Sega
Platforms: PS3, XBOX 360, Wii U, PC, Switch, PS4, XBOX One
#182
Feeling Like: The Holy Mother
I’m reading Ken Follett’s “A Column of Fire”. It’s a terrific book, I can’t help but get sucked into historical fiction. I don’t know if the writing style is sophisticated, but yogeu can tell the research is meticulous. Every major event in the book leads me to Wikipedia to find that, yes, that did happen or that nefarious villain was a real person. It’s a tale of adventure and romance set during the Elizabethan era, where religious conflicts have catastrophic impacts on the denizens of the world. Minor transgressions like daring to sing hymns in English, or have a non-Latin bible were punished by fines, excommunications or being burned at the stake.
It’s not a funny scenario, but I do get a minor chuckle when I think if I could show Bayonetta to dedicated, devoted Catholics in the 16th century, they’d probably faint within 5 minutes, or I’d be arrested and tried for heresy. Or both.
Bayonetta is one of the craziest things I’ve ever witnessed. It is batshit insane, there is no room for anything remotely real, no representation of sanity, rational, or reason. You play as Bayonetta, a shape shifting witch who prefers to dress in a tight, black dress with guns everywhere, even masquerading as her stilettos. She may represent what many consider an ongoing issue with female video game character design; overtly sexual, with impossible proportions and clearly targeted towards a rabid, young, male, horny demographic.
I think Platinum was wise to sidestep this by making her the protagonist, but also she is in control of every situation she’s in. I can’t recall a single instance or hint of her being any kind of damsel, let alone in distress. She is an unholy god of combat, murdering every evil angel and demon along the way. I’m hesitant to use the word empowered, but I think that applies here and why there wasn’t bigger outrage.
Or maybe there was? As I mentioned in in my Dragon’s Crown post, I’m not the right person to be discussing this type of thing in great detail. I see a ton of Bayonetta cosplayers at conventions and don’t hear of much controversy, so it seems like any guilt I have of admiring this game and the sequel isn’t necessary.
Besides, the game is fun as hell to play.
You’ll be thrown into the most creative, ludicrous situations possible. You’ll be dodging buildings being thrown at you, shooting deformed beasts in the face, using every kind of kung fu move possible on Gods all the while quipping naughty, but not pornographic comments. And sometimes dancing. Bayonetta knows the power she has, both physical and mental, especially over weak-willed idiots.
Like myself.
I guess the only downside is that this was launched in 2009, right around the era where everything was grey and brown. Is that because Gears of War was such a hit? Either way, it’s possibly the only aspect that hasn’t held up well. When I think of Bayonetta, I think of the silky smooth framerate as I cartwheel around enemies, blasting them with various combos and using medieval torture devices to finish them off for bonus goodies. I don’t think of how beautiful the game is.
But really, it’s not important that the churches or causeways or villages I invade are beautiful. They’re only the backdrop to my genocide of evil doers. Bayonetta herself is the key to the game, and it works because she is an intriguing main character, absolutely created by frisky developers who can appreciate how enticing her body is, but more interested in her being a world-saving, ass kicking witch who can morph into Cereberus when she’s hungry and save the righteous when they’re being threatened. She rarely exhibits an emotion beyond aloof, but when you’re a nigh-immortal dominatrix, I’m assuming she’s seen it all.
I’ll go into more detail about movesets, mini-games, bosses and the core gameplay in the Bayonetta 2 writeup, since all of that is improved in the sequel. As an evolution from Devil May Cry, it does a terrific job taking advantage of improved hardware and a slightly different take on the devil-may-care attitude. It’s bolder, sexier and better than nearly every other game in the genre. I wasn’t a huge fan of the over reliance on pop songs, but you can’t have everything.
Maybe don’t show this one to your church friends.
The 500 