421 reviews liked by LoneSpeedsterDX


Most iconic game of the 7th generation

This game rivals Shadow the Hedgehog in the absolute stupidity of its story, without any of the self-awareness that shadow had.
The game is also not very good.

To preface this, I picked this up a few years ago since I found it at my local game store for a good price and since I was gifted the first game on Steam I figured I would get around to that at some point, but since it took me a while to get around to playing the first game, by extension it also took me a while to get around to this lol.

Overall though, I think the bulk of what I can say about Bayonetta 2 is that it does what any sequel oughta do - take everything good from the first game, and further expand upon it while fixing any of the issues of the first game.

In terms of story, while I don't think Bayonetta 2 is quite as "quotable" as the first game, the overall narrative feels better structured and more straight-forward while building upon the lore and worldbuilding set forth by it's predecessor. While I still think Bayonetta 1's story was really good on it's own merits, I feel like Bayonetta 2 does a better job of raising the stakes and establishing your "goal" so to speak. In addition to the cast from the first game, there's also the character of Loki and his doppelganger representing "Good" and "Evil", and on that note, there's even more fun banter between Bayonetta and Loki throughout the game which is always good to see and listen to.

In terms of gameplay, the satisfying, fast-paced and in-depth combat from the first game remains here, but this game does build upon that with new enemies and boss fights (presenting new challenges) and also a few new gameplay mechanics/features. The 'Infernal Demons' basically add a new category of enemies that you fight with their own attack patterns and whatnot to spice up the game and challenge, on top of angel enemies returning from the first game. There's also the "Umbran Climax" mechanic added in this game which can be activated when your magic gauge is full, once again adding more to the gameplay as you can try to achieve a greater attack by building up the magic gauge through well-timed dodges and Witch Time. In addition to the already satisfying gameplay of the first game, it's even more satisfying when you manage to build up your gauge and can just go haywire on the enemies with the greater Umbran attacks lol.

Going back to my review of the first game, I mentioned that the only two "major" problems I had with it of any sort were that the other gameplay styles (like the motorcycle and Space Harrier sections) kinda overstayed their welcome and weren't really that fun to play, and that the ranking system did feel a bit 'harsh' for lack of a better word. I bring this up because... well, Bayonetta 2 definitely improves upon both these issues. There's still a few sections that deviate from the regular gameplay - mech sections, flight sections, and the horse(?) sections - and while I still wouldn't consider them to be particularly in-depth or anything, these sections are shorter than what it's predecessor had and even then have a bit more going on to where I didn't really feel like they dragged on or overstayed their welcome like the sections in the first game.

The ranking system too is more lenient compared to the first game while still being balanced in a way that rewards good gameplay and combos. In general I feel like the learning curve isn't quite as 'steep' as the first game was while still having a high skill ceiling that encourages the player to experiment with different techniques and combos. I still did get a few Stone Enzo statues as I played through this the first time, but as I further utilized the combos and techniques to a greater degree I actually got a few silver and bronze statues (even a gold one) on my first try at least. It does help that using items (particularly healing ones) don't give you a direct penalty that take away from your score and the only real thing close to that is having a lower damage award if you take too much of it regardless of whether you use an item or not which I think is a bit more fair.

The only real issue I can think of with Bayonetta 2 compared to the first game isn't even really so much an issue with the game itself but rather the Nintendo exclusivity. Whereas the first game has versions on PC, Xbox and PS3 in addition to the Wii U and Switch, this game's exclusive to the latter two platforms due to the development being funded by Nintendo. And while it is a good thing that Nintendo helped fund the game to prevent it from being cancelled, it does mean it's stuck to Nintendo platforms and as a result you're kinda stuck with the visual settings and whatnot of what's on the Nintendo platforms. I do think this game generally does look better and cleaner than the first game despite that, but the framerate is a bit more inconsistent at least on the Wii U version (which is what I played and can't really speak for the Switch, though I imagine it being better over there) while on PC the first game did manage to run at a consistent 60 in my experience (plus you had control over the resolution and whatnot). That is of course partially a result of the first game being made for less powerful hardware before being ported over but... still, when the framerate clearly dropped I couldn't help but kinda wish there was an official PC port of the game lol. Also it did kinda throw me off at first going from the Steam controller ABXY layout (which is the same as the Xbox's in case you're wondering) to Nintendo's.

But that's really about it as far as issues that particularly stood out to me go. Otherwise, Bayonetta 2 is really damn good, and if you liked the first game, you'll almost certainly like it's sequel.

"Peter, what are you playing?"

"Crack."

"Peter, what the fu-"

To this day, it is impossible to describe to someone why Bayonetta 1 and 2 are as good as they are without sounding like an absolute madman.

they put a checkpoint 10 seconds away from the goal post cuz the level design was ripped 1:1 from a level where the goal post is a boss fight instead. they just didnt bother to change it.

this game is an experience.

As someone who considers the console/PC game to be one of their favorites of all time (and their favorite in the series), the 3DS game is... serviceable but honestly not that great.

The visuals are pretty good for an early 3DS game, and the soundtrack is also nice, but the game offers very little in terms of actual gameplay content, and what's there isn't all that great either. The level design tends to feel pretty flat and dull with some pretty basic platforming (while still utilizing the Rush/Colors DS-style controls which honestly aren't very good for platforming), or in the case of Act 1 of each of the 'Classic' stages and Act 2 of Water Palace, are outright just ripped straight from their original counterparts. The levels just tend to feel like they carry over a lot of the lows of the first Rush games without any highs.

The controls also feel even more sluggish and clunky than in Colors DS and once again lack the "trick" system which I felt made a good and interesting addition to Rush and Rush Adventure's control scheme. And if you felt the amount of 2D in Gens HD's Modern stages was redundant with Classic being there... well, the modern stages in this game are pretty much entirely 2D. Plus, you end up unlocking the Homing Attack as Classic Sonic after the first few stages, so in the end, the differences between the two playstyles ends up feeling very slim.

Probably the only thing I feel this version does better than it's console counterpart is the final Time Eater boss, but even then I wouldn't consider it to be great in this game either.

Overall, Generations 3DS is a decent time-waster, and you could honestly do worse, but I would probably just recommend any of Dimps' DS titles let alone the console/PC version of Generations over this.

I kinda put off playing this game because 1. I had other games in my backlog and 2. I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it, but after playing it, it looks like I didn't need to worry about that after all.

Yeah I really liked this game. I admittedly haven't played a whole lot of beat 'em up/hack and slash games outside of the night/Werehog stages in Sonic Unleashed (which honestly kinda gave me a bad first impression of the genre lol) and Hi-Fi Rush (which I really enjoyed) but I can certainly say that Bayonetta really kept me invested in the gameplay pretty much the whole time (aside for a couple sections which I'll get to). There's a lot of depth here with the different techniques and combos you can pull off, even just at the start with even more you can unlock as you progress plus different weapons you can unlock and choose from. The game does have a bit of that traditional 'Sega learning curve' and can be hard at some points, but I didn't really ever feel 'frustrated' with the game and when you do learn to pull off techniques and combos well, it becomes extremely satisfying in just how 'powerful' you feel. The enemies, bosses and stages are all generally well designed in challenging the player, timing your dodge moves for Dodge Offset and Witch Time, with a few puzzle elements here and there, and the ranking system also adds further replay value with everything else I just talked about.

That of course isn't to mention the story and characters which, well, I also really liked. There's a lot of worldbuilding and lore here that I liked, and I was genuinely interested in just seeing whatever happened as I played through the game and uncovering the backstory of the different characters. Bayonetta herself is just a complete girlboss which I can always appreciate and her interactions with the other characters (both the supporting cast and antagonists/enemies) did get some laughs out of me. I really gotta appreciate how the game couples the overall serious tone of the story with a lot of humor in how the characters interact leaving the game to be pretty damn quotable. (the "You're much too ugly to not put out of your misery" is such a good roast lmao).

The only real things I took issue with was the "Space Harrier" section in Chapter XIV (and to a lesser extent the motorcycle sections in a couple other chapters) which was a neat novelty at first in reference to Sega's past but did... kinda go on for too long and didn't really offer much in terms of depth. The rank system is also a bit harsh here which wasn't too much of an issue for me since at least in my first playthrough was just playing through the main game and story but admittedly it did feel somewhat defeating (for lack of a better word) when I kept getting Stone Enzo statues in every chapter except for the prologue. Yeah I know it's a skill issue on my part but I have heard that the game is pretty tight with it's requirements in general (from what I looked up supposedly deaths will automatically take away a single rank and there's also penalties for using items) so, word of advice to anyone playing the game for the first time, don't feel too defeated if you keep getting those stone enzo statues lol.

Overall though, yeah this is definitely a game worth playing and one I liked even more than I was expecting.

bayonetta and jeanne didn't kiss though so 0/10.

For some time, Pokemon has had an issue with post-game. They still haven't brought back the Battle Tower (damn you, Game Freak), and while they've done a lot of quality of life fixes like Hyper Training and Nature Mints, there has been a distinct lack of content.
Indigo Disk definitely helps to ease the pain. Blueberry Academy feels lively and full of interesting things to do, including the ability to catch nearly EVERY start Pokemon from previous generations, which is... a very big deal, especially for shiny hunters. Every trainer battle within the DLC is a double battle, which is the current competitive format in Pokemon, further allowing newcomers to sink their teeth into the competitive scene easier. It introduces a system to catch most legendaries as well, and more interactions with characters from the main game. There's even a GACHA MACHINE.
It's truly jam-packed with stuff to do, and while the story is a little longer than Teal Mask, and the map is a little bigger, there doesn't feel like there's a whole lot to do in the main story for it. The post-game however, feels good. Finally, there is longevity to my Pokemon game. It's made me play consistently again, something I haven't done for some time!
Add on top of that another fantastic legendary design, the Stellar tera type, the Synchro mechanic, and the resolution to a certain character's crisis that was set up in Teal Mask, and Indigo Disk is up there as maybe one of my favorite DLC for any video game, not just a Pokemon game. Honestly just a blast front to back, and it made me realize how much I like using my Switch again.

It's a good game, but it does feel a lot like the white bread of video games. It's the most "Triple A" feeling game I've ever played, the only thing it's missing is microtransactions.