Bayonetta (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.1 Update

Bayonetta is a 2009 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega. It was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in Japan in October 2009, and in North America and Europe in January 2010. It was released on Wii U in September 2014, Windows in April 2017, Nintendo Switch in February 2018, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in February 2020.

GAMEPLAY

Bayonetta is a single-player, third-person 3D action and hack-and-slash game. The player controls a witch named Bayonetta, is able to use melee and long-ranged attacks, and is able to select multiple weapons.

By pressing a combination of buttons, they are able to use ‘‘Wicked Weave‘‘ attacks and they are also able to use ‘‘Torture Attacks‘‘ in which Bayonetta summons a variety of devices to deal strong damage to enemies.

One ability Bayonetta has is ‘‘Witch Time‘‘, which activates when the player makes a well-timed dodge to an attack. Many enemies and objects drop halos when destroyed, which the player can use to buy items, techniques, and weapon upgrades. The player can use enemy weapons, either to directly attack or as props for movement.

Bayonetta`s strongest attacks allow her to summon parts of Madama Butterfly and other demons with her hair. On Easy and Very Easy, a ‘‘Very Easy Automatic‘‘ mode is made available in which the game positions Bayonetta to perform attacks on enemies, and the player only needs to press one button to execute elaborate combos, unless they wish to perform their own choice of movements or attacks.

He expected players to first complete the game in 10 to 12 hours but believed that its rating system (similar to that of Viewtiful Joe, which he directed) and the pursuit of high scores provide replay value.

SETTING AND CHARACTERS

Five hundred years before the incident that caused Bayonetta`s memory loss, there were two factions preserving the balance between darkness and light in the world: the Umbra Witches, who are followers of darkness, and their counterparts, the Lumen Sages, who are followers of light. The factions shared two distinct treasures, the ‘Eyes of the World’ (separately named the ‘Left Eye of Darkness’ and the ‘Right Eye of Light’) which they used to oversee the passage of time.

Bayonetta has an ornate piece of jewelry that contains a small red gem and believes this gem is the Left Eye of the World. While searching for the Right Eye, she occasionally receives flashbacks that make her remember what happened.

The game settings borrow from Dante’s Divine Comedy: Paradiso (heaven), which generally takes the form of a heavenly yellow or golden valley or palace and is the home of the ‘‘Angel‘‘ enemies she faces; Purgatorio (purgatory), a meta realm that functions as an ‘‘in between‘‘ for metaphysical beings and stands alongside yet outside of the plane humans exist on (all beings in and outside of Purgatorio take on a transparent, watery appearance); Inferno (hell), which is not visited in the game, but contains the infernal demons that Bayonetta summons in combat, using her hair as a conduit.

PLOT

Bayonetta confronts another Umbra Witch named Jeanne, who seemingly has ties to Bayonetta`s past, and a young man named Luka, who blames Bayonetta for his father’s death. Returning to the human world, Bayonetta continues her search for the Right Eye, journeying to an island named Isla del Sol with Luka and Cereza, while gradually remembering her past and uncovering mysteries to her questions: she and Jeanne are the only surviving Umbra Witch clan, which was rendered near extinction after a clan war with the Lumen Sage clan, followed a massive witch hunt led by the angels of the Paradiso realm.

She also discovered that both halves of the Eyes of the World are artifacts created by Aesir (also known as The Overseer), the ruler of the Human realm who decides to grant humans free will out of pity, by bestowing the eyes (which contain his power) separately to both Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches. Bayonetta is confronted again by Jeanne, who explains Bayonetta was a child born from an Umbra Witch and a Lumen Sage, a forbidden union.

Bayonetta defeats Jeanne, who reveals the reason Bayonetta possesses the Left Eye is because she has accepted her fate. After Jeanne then sacrifices herself to save Bayonetta, she continues through the tower with Luka and Cereza. At the top, Bayonetta meets Balder, the last of the Lumen Sages. Balder reveals he is Bayonetta’s father, and plans to reunite the three realms by resurrecting Jubileus the Creator, also the ruler of Paradiso. He also reveals that Bayonetta herself is the Left Eye, but for her to awaken it, she has to regain her memories. For that reason, he brought Cereza, who is Bayonetta as a child, from the past, to awaken her memories.

Bayonetta fights and seemingly kills Balder, and saves Luka. Balder, who had survived the fight, transports himself and the unconscious Bayonetta towards the statue on top of the tower, beginning the resurrection of Jubileus. She ascends the launching statue on her motorcycle; reaching Bayonetta, she saves her, but Jubileus comes alive, consuming Balder. The epilogue, mirroring the start of the game, shows Jeanne and Bayonetta continuing to battle against the angels.