Bayonetta 3 is out, and I have a full review up over at MonsterVine.
Like many people, I was put off by the game’s ending.
(While there won’t be unmarked spoilers in this post, it might not mean much to you if you haven’t played Bayonetta 3. Instead, maybe you’ll prefer the confirmation that Granblue Fantasy: Relink news will be coming in January or the unveiling of Ace Attorney merchandise at Fangamer.)
Getting back to Bayonetta 3, I felt some aspects were unearned, and one implication at the end left me worried about what was planned for the future of the series.
But lately, Hideki Kamiya from PlatinumGames has made some tweets that sound as though we might have the wrong idea.
Running tweets through Google Translate is never a great way to get information, but let’s do the best we can. First up is a tweet from a few days ago in response to a comment about the ending, in which Kamiya says “everyone seems to have a misunderstanding” but that he can’t say too much because it’s related to the sequel.
Now in another tweet from earlier today, he also says, “it seems that the ending of Bayo 3 wasn’t conveyed correctly to everyone, so I think Bayo 4 will be an unexpected development for everyone.”
These two tweets both suggest that something about the ending is being misinterpreted by a majority of fans.
Click for major Bayonetta 3 spoilers
The main thing I disliked was the implication that Viola would be the main character going forward, so I hope that – and everything related to it – is what he’s referring to.
And yes, he’s also casually referring to Bayonetta 4 like it’s a given, but I wouldn’t take that as official confirmation of anything since he’s already said in the past that he has ideas for future Bayonetta games. Bayonetta 3 definitely felt like it left the door open for a sequel, though.
How did you feel about Bayonetta 3’s ending? What do you think about these suggestions that something about the ending has been misinterpreted?
After Bayonetta 3 finally resurfaced last September with a 2022 release window, we now have a new trailer and a specific release date.
Bayonetta 3 will be out on October 28.
In addition to the standard edition, they also revealed the Trinity Masquerade Edition, which includes a 200-page artbook and a panoramic artwork made up of all three Bayonetta covers.
According to the press release, it will be available at “select retailers and the My Nintendo Store.” After enduring the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Special Edition preorders, I was very happy to read the words “select retailers.”
The first Bayonetta is also getting a limited standalone physical release on September 30, since previously it was only packaged with Bayonetta 2 or available digitally.
Now let’s take a look at the new Bayonetta 3 trailer (which I’d embed here, but it can only be viewed on Youtube).
After the previous trailer, I was a little concerned that the new gameplay elements might make the game feel too slow. Well, this trailer reassured me. The part where you directly control the demons still looks slower than the rest, but everything else looks as fast-spaced and smooth as ever.
The mysterious silhouetted character from the previous trailer is now officially revealed as a new playable character called Viola. Theories about her identity are still running rampant, however, especially since Luka seems to recognize her.
This trailer also confirms there are multiple worlds/timelines/universes in Bayonetta 3, including a character Nintendo strongly implied is an alternate Bayonetta.
The story description in the press release says “the unstoppable Umbra Witch must join forces with some familiar faces, the mysterious Viola and a multitude of other Bayonettas to stop human-made Homunculi from wreaking havoc” and that you’ll “meet a veritable coven of Bayonettas, each more fabulous than the last, while fighting through the streets of Tokyo, the mountains of China and beyond!”
In short, Bayonetta 3’s story sounds like it’ll be a crazy time.
Oh, and PlatinumGames also revealed “Naive Angel Mode,” aka the mode you turn on if you think someone might walk in and see you playing (or if you just want to avoid nudity). As shown in their comparison video, this essentially keeps Bayonetta’s clothes on during her special attacks and transformations.
(A few people are upset about this option existing for some reason, but most agree it’s great to have options.)
I’m so excited for Bayonetta 3, and I’m thrilled that we have a release date! I wish it wasn’t coming out right after Star Ocean (and the third Yomawari, which just got an October 25 release date), but it seems this will be another one of those years where the upcoming months are packed with excellent games!
It’s real, not just a collective hallucination we all had back in 2017! At yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, a new trailer was finally revealed along with a 2022 release window.
And we have a lot to talk about.
The Bayonetta 3 trailer has caused a lot of varied reactions, because on one hand it’s so exciting to finally see more from Bayonetta 3, but on the other hand, it looks quite different… in some suspicious ways.
Before we get into it, let’s discuss the 2017 teaser. That tiny teaser left fans with many theories about the possibility that the Bayonetta in the trailer was either a fake, a younger version, or a Bayonetta from an alternate timeline/universe.
She had her original hairstyle, new guns, no beauty mark, and no hair texture on her sleeves (suggesting her outfit could be real clothes, not magical), and the teaser ended with her seemingly cut in half.
That brings us to today’s trailer and our first look at Bayonetta 3 gameplay.
It begins with soldiers in Shibuya fighting giant monsters. This made me initially think the trailer wasn’t for Bayonetta 3 at all, but maybe Project G.G. (and then there was an Astral Chain fake-out, too).
But then Bayonetta appears! …With a new design that strangely resembles her child self.
In fact, a lot of things about this new Bayonetta design, such as her new outfit and dance moves, seem cuter, for lack of a better word. As if this isn’t the Bayonetta we’re familiar with, but a younger version of herself – or an alternate timeline version of Cereza trying to imitate her older self.
Madama Butterfly also has a different design. Was she redesigned for this game, or is she a different demon paired with a different Bayonetta?
And what’s up with Bayonetta’s medallion? The central medallion is familiar enough, but it has a new golden addition at the top set with a purple gem – which some fans think could be the Right Eye.
(Update: I don’t know how I missed that there’s actually multiple purple jewels, so maybe that’s meaningless.)
Bayonetta’s voice also sounds slightly different, and a recent tweet from her English voice actor, Hellena Taylor, had fans already wondering if she’d been recast… yet Taylor also seems to be under an NDA.
Could that mean this is a new Bayonetta/Cereza, but “our” Bayonetta will also appear?
Okay, let’s get back to the trailer. We see some traditional combat, Witch Time (stronger than usual, perhaps?), and what appears to be a torture attack that targets multiple enemies. At one point she also briefly transforms into the redesigned Madama Butterfly.
Then she dances, but instead of her clothes vanishing into hair to manifest a demon, a large red symbol appears on her back and the demon appears to beat up the monster. Following that, it shows a number of scenes in which the player is controlling demons directly to fight. A purple gauge decreasing during these fights suggests these demon summons are available until the gauge runs out.
(A popular candidate for the silhouetted figure right now is Jeanne.)
As I said before, a lot of this looks very different beyond just Bayonetta’s design. First, the human soldiers at the start seem like they can see the monsters, and the official website, describes the enemies as “mysterious life forms appearing to be neither angel nor demon.”
Her demon-summoning is different than anything she’s done before, and even the means of summoning them is new. Of course, since this is Bayonetta, the lack of nudity in the trailer has a lot of fans wondering if Bayonetta 3 is censored, but it seems much more likely that it’s either specifically for this trailer to avoid the Nintendo Direct getting a higher age rating, or is story-relevant considering the number of other differences in the character and her powers.
When asked if Cereza would get naked in Bayonetta 3, Kamiya responded with “Do not underestimate me.”
The website also names the two new gameplay mechanics as Demon Masquerade (fusing with a demon) and Demon Slave (directly controlling them).
The description ends with “The eyes of the world are on the mysterious Bayonetta 3, coming in 2022,” which could be just a cute way to tie in the lore, but makes me wonder if the Eyes will be important after all.
Except that’s not possible… if this is the same world/timeline.
In short, I do not think this is the Bayonetta we’re familiar with. Whether she’s an alternate timeline Cereza or something else, there are too many oddities. And I still don’t think the Bayonetta in the original teaser was the usual one, either. Alternate timelines or multiple universes – something strange is at work here. I’d believe a Bayonetta redesign if her appearance was all that changed, but too many differences are stacking up.
Who is she? Why is she fighting kaiju in Shibuya? Why are her powers so different? I have so many questions and some concerns, and I don’t know what to think, but I’m thrilled that we finally got to see Bayonetta 3.
What do you think about the new Bayonetta 3 trailer?
Bayonetta 3 is out, and I have a full review up over at MonsterVine.
