SPOILERS FOR ALL BAYONETTA GAMES
Song: Attention by Kennie JD
Game: Bayonetta 1, 2 & 3

I've been meaning to get this finished since Bayo 3 came out but God of War Ragnarok distracted me... and the holidays

So Bayonetta 3 came out. Honestly? As a long time Bayonetta fan I enjoyed playing through it. The music is phenomenal as always, and the gameplay is excellent. The added masquerade ability and demon slave is an interesting addition that spiced up already fun gameplay

The story is where I have to give this a 3/10

First thing first, I don't mind her getting with Luka. I wished they would have built it up more and made it make more sense. Like a lot of others I think her and Jeanne were the obvious end game, but I'm fine with him if the ending would have done it better. Let Luka have stayed a human, not a stained glass butterfly werewolf. Let him be the malewife to her girl boss husband a la Roger and Jessica Rabbit, and the threat of the world collapsing was a lot worse for him since he was a human and couldn't DO anything.

I liked Viola a lot. I think the game wasted most of her potential but I did really like her. She's fun, a great slapstick and an emotional heart. It felt like they threw in the towel for her gameplay though.

The story felt sloppy. These games aren't known for their stories but usually I enjoy them and get excited for the cutscenes between fighting. This game I was just kind of thinking "okay let's see if something interesting happens now." Which I have to give credit, Chapter 12 is probably one of my favorite chapters in this and all of Bayonetta. The Baal boss was *mwaah*

And the villain. Holy shit the enemies in this game are ugly as sin. And the main villain? One of the worst I've seen in ANY video game. The final fight is fun, and that is only thankful to the callbacks and the actual gameplay. The lead up to him? Nonexistent. Bland. The enemies? Absolutely nothing but cannon fodder and cyberpunk Kingdom Hearts nobody rejects. Speaking of cyberpunk, I hate their looks.

One of the better things about the original Bayonetta games were the enemies. The subversion of angels as horrifying beings was brilliant. Their intricate and opulent designs that as they were hurt broke away to show a bloody, fleshy, horror underneath? Stunning. The demons too? So much love and thought was put into the design. The locations had an abandoned Catholicism vibe, and it was amazing to look at. You got pulled into the world and everything worked perfectly together. This game shot themselves in the foot with this multiverse plot line. The Homunculi clashed with everything, which made sense in concept, but none of the worlds felt lived in, and none made me want to explore them. Cool in theory, not good in practice. Bayonetta is a witch; she's an angel hunter. Why do we have these weird ass enemies and completely throw away angels except for the optional hidden fights? They at least gave us fun new demons.

Then there is Bayonetta herself.

It feels like they took away what made Bayonetta "Bayonetta." Shes sexy to an obnoxious degree in everything she does. She's confident, she flaunts, she's camp, she's great. But they toned it down significantly in this game. So many cutscenes are her in distress and looking scared and confused. She goes into situations taking them so seriously. That isn't the Cereza I know.

Consider the opening fights where we reveal the fight themes and the tutorials. All three games have the obligatory "slow mo clothes being cut off to reveal the Bayo outfit." In all games but 3 the ensuing fight cutscene is full of closeups of her doing overly sexual things, saying innuendos, and being confident as all hell. In three you don't get ANY of that. She shows off like a dancer, sure, and kind of sensual if we are pushing it. But not really? It's like they turned an R rated movie to a PG one, I wouldn't even call it PG-13. She acts more like a kid, which does fit into the "this is an alternate universe where this is little Cereza from Bayonetta 1 all grown up." She's playful and childish without the distinct Bayonetta edge. She isn't that grown adult woman that I looked up to and saw as a role model. Even her dancing for the demon slave mechanic, while I really enjoyed watching her boogie down, was more childlike and silly then trying to be anything close to sexy.

The trailers, specifically the Nintendo Direct ones, explained the games as "the first one she fought for herself, the second one she fought for Jeanne, this one she fights for everyone." Okay. She sacrifices herself for others. But could they like... not end the game IMMEDIATELY after she died? Sure there is an after credit scene with Viola but other than that NOTHING. Like come on, we've been with Bayonetta for 3 games, give her some respect.

I still love Bayonetta, and the first two games are two of my favorite games of all time, I just think I'll be revisiting this one a lot less.

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