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Bayonetta (Wii U): COMPLETED!

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I’ve played the odd Platinum game before, so it shouldn’t have surprised me, but the final few stages of Bayonetta just went nuts. From the riding a missile Space Harrier homage (complete with “Welcome to My Fantasy Zone” and “Get Ready!”, and a remix of that games theme), to running up the wall of an external lift shaft, controlling Jeanne on her motorbike in space, to eventually taking on Jubileus: God in the form of a giant naked woman with elemental powers. And that’s just what happens before the end credits.

Click to view slideshow.

When I reached the tower that makes up the penultimate level of the game, I was fully expecting a SuckySuck(TM) bit – a boss rush, fighting all the previous bosses again. Which of course, is what happened. They were much easier this time around, and some were somewhat abridged, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Part way up the tower there was a frustrating platforming section where Bayonetta had to run up some wall panels, but was only able to stick to those with patterns on. Oh, and the panels kept disappearing. The camera angle didn’t assist much, sometimes rotating so after a while I realised I had somehow started moving back down the wall instead of up it, much to my annoyance.

Blood
It’s blood, isn’t it.

Like other Platinum games, though, it’s all about the fight, the pomp and the increasing levels of ludicrousness and focussing on the small minuses such as the camera or the asset reuse seems rather missing the point. After all, you’re a witch with sentient hair and guns on your feet who can summon demons and has to take down the creator of the universe. I don’t think slight quirks of the game engine really matter.

David Bowie
David Bowie

That said, fighting Jubileus was an exercise in acceptance. She/he/it was enormous, and fought you inside an even bigger sphere. Up and down had no meaning for much of the fight but navigating even short distances within the space was confusing, especially while avoiding attacks and trying to repel bullets-with-faces back at the boss. With her finally down, another nonsensical sequence played off with you flying after her into the sun, avoiding the planets on the way. The reason for doing this was not clear, as then the end credits rolled and after that there was another section of game where the statue of Jubileus needed to be destroyed as it plummeted to Earth.

Jubileus
Jubileus

More credits then, which went on for some time, with more lunacy. Some more fighting (for which you’re scored, so you’d better not have put the controller down!), a long sequence showing Bayonetta pole dancing, what seemed to be a music video with Bayonetta and chums (and foes) dancing in formation, and a bit where Jeanne cosplays as a nun. Erm.

What I’m trying to say, is that the game has lots of great fighting and is also one of the maddest titles you can (or rather, can’t) imagine. I’ve no idea if Bayonetta 2 can raise the bar, as I can’t see where else there is to go. It’s still Platinum though, so I expect it can.

Congratulations_

The post Bayonetta (Wii U): COMPLETED! appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Bayonetta (Wii U)

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Manneken Pis
Um. What.

There’s a plot? Well obviously there is a plot about Bayonetta somehow losing her memory then meeting Jeanne and realising she has something to do with her past, but apparently there’s a lot more to it than that. Firstly there’s the guy she keeps calling Cheshire who can’t always see her (something about there being three dimensions that are laid on top of each other that Bayonetta can travel between yada yada), who says she killed his parents and then some little girl (with magic dimension-crossing glasses on) turns up and starts calling her Mummy? I have no idea what’s going on with the story.

Or with the fighting most of the time, truth be told. I’ve tried doing the combo training during the loading sections, but I don’t understand what a white dot in the combo chain means, and I’m not sure why when I press Punch Punch Punch Punch Punch I actually get a Punch Punch Punch Punch Kick combo. Who knows? It doesn’t seem to matter.

Motorbike
It’s just like that bit in Grease 2.

There was a level on the world’s longest road (it reminds me of that terrible driving level on Sonic Adventure 2, actually) which I rode a motorbike. It was quite good fun, sliding under closing fire doors in the tunnels and jumping exploding tankers and doing loop-the-loops up and around bridges, but it went on. And on and on and on. Forever, or at least an approximation of it. Finally I blacked out or something and when I came to I was on the next level.

Some interesting boss fights have occurred, including a giant ball with loads of heads and those heads have tentacles coming out of their mouths. As you do. There have been a few platforming sections as well, which were a mixed bag, and for some reason I ended up in Vigrid yet again. And supposedly Nintendo are the kings of asset reuse.

Victoria
Victoria from Life is Strange makes an ill-fitting cameo.

Still, it is a lot of fun. The bonkers fighting and guns and the over the top punishments and demon executions are excellent and some parts of the game look utterly gorgeous. I have, however, been warned the final boss is a bit of a git though, and as such you will have to wait for a proper judgement.

The post Bayonetta (Wii U) appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Bayonetta (Wii U)

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There are a lot of cut scenes in this, aren’t there? I’m almost certain more time is spent watching the game than playing it, and it isn’t all just so you get gratuitous bum shots without all that silly fighting. I say silly fighting, but it’s obviously very good fighting – there just hasn’t yet been enough of it. Maybe it isn’t the game I was expecting?

Bayonetta
Axe to see you, to see you, Axe.

That isn’t really a complaint, I should  stress, and I’m enjoying it a lot. It is completely nuts and typical Platinum nonsense. Today I had to outrun a lava flow, kill a two headed dragon in a church, and carry a giant egg timer out of heaven and into the middle of a volcano. As you do. Then I handed in some golden LPs and exchanged them for some guns, which is just like real life.

Oh yes, and I visited Balamory then watched it burn.

What's the story in Balamory, Wouldn't you like to know?
What’s the story in Balamory, Wouldn’t you like to know?

The post Bayonetta (Wii U) appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Bayonetta (Wii U)

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Bayonetta: Demon Angels. No, really.
Demon Angels. No, really.

I bought this as part of the Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 twin pack ages ago, but never got round to actually playing it. I have played demos of both games in the past, and quite enjoyed them, so I was pretty sure I’d like the full games. A naked Sue Perkins with magic hair with guns on her shoes shooting demons from heaven? What’s not to love?

Bayonetta: Naked Sue Perkins.
Naked Sue Perkins.

I’m not very far in yet. I’ve played the prologue (well, I say “play” – most of it is cutscenes with gratuitous ladybottom-centred camera work, and guns) and then the first level? Chapter? The bit until just after the train station, anyway. The fighting is fluid and intuitive, with virtually any button combination seemingly being a pre-programmed fighting combo. Aside from watching for the “tells” necessary in order to dodge, mashing A and X seems almost as good as actually doing the punching and kicking properly.

Bayonetta: Literally kicking bottom
Literally kicking bottom.

Apart from that, the graphics look really good and the music is astounding (I loved Magical Sound Shower kicking in when in the car) and it’s really a lot of mostly mindless fun. Apart from the almost-puzzles which require a sliver of thought, of course.

The post Bayonetta (Wii U) appeared first on deKay's Gaming Diary.

Super Mario Maker (Wii U)

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Impossible (1)I got Super Mario Maker for Christmas, and soon set about creating some utterly fantastic levels with it. Sadly, they were all lost in the New Year’s Eve Mario Level Fire, so you’ll have to make do with the other creations instead. I’ve some listed in this blog post over here.

Mostly, though, I’ve been playing other peoples’ levels, which is frankly the only other thing you can do with the game. There’s no “story mode” or anything, so it’s user generated content or create user generated content. There is a set of levels collected together to become a sort of “new” Mario game, but it’s actually just user levels randomly picked that you play one after another.

Ice_ClimbersEach level has a difficulty rating, seemingly applied based on the number of people who managed to complete it, and there are three levels of difficulty you can play through in this random level story mode thing, with a set number of lives with which to try and make it to the end. It’s fun, but invariably due to the random nature of it, you’ll get some terrible levels thrown in. Thankfully, you can skip them and they’re swapped out for another level instead.

You can also just pick and choose other players’ levels, either by using a code to look them up, or following some of your friends or favourite creators. It’s this second option that I’ve mainly been doing when playing rather than creating.

tumblr_nzzmy80qj81svmpf2o1_400The actual creation side of things is as simple as you’d expect from Nintendo. Drag items from the toolbox onto the play area, and that’s it. Shake items to modify them (e.g. green koopas become red) or feed items mushrooms to make them larger. Add wings to things to make them fly, put them in pipes to make the pipes spit them out, and combine or stack items, blocks or baddies for other, sometimes unexpected, stuff. You can change the theme of the level, swapping between Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World and New Super Mario Bros U tilesets, and configure it to be a grassy level, underground, an airship level, and so on just by clicking a button. It’s very easy.

Sadly, to actually get to do all these things, you have to unlock all the modes and items, and doing that is a combination of using everything already available and placing lots of items. You have to spend a couple of hours just placing objects in order for the game to allow you the full freedom it can. I understand Nintendo trying to ease you in, but why there’s no “OK, I’ve played Mario games before – skip to the end?” option, I don’t know.

This_is_stupid.A minor complaint, but understandable when you consider how easy it is to flip between game types, is the physics. Mario jumps around like he does in New Super Mario Bros U, which is great. Only his physics are the same in a Super Mario Bros level too, and a Mario 3 level, and in the original games they didn’t all handle the same at all. I realise why this is done – you’d probably have to redesign a level to accommodate different jump heights or run-up distances every time you swap theme – but it’s a shame you can’t have “original physics” as a choice. After all, each Mario in each theme has other differences anyway, as Mario U call wall jump, and Mario 3 can pick up feathers to fly.

Worst_episode_of_Fort_Boyard_everThat aside, it’s a great little package. Something “create your own levels” games often become is tiresome as your imagination fades, but when you upload levels for others to play – and get feedback from – this adds something, and coupled with the breadth of ideas from other creators (you’d think by now Mario ideas had been exhausted: It would appear not) you’re constantly exposed to new gimmicks, set pieces and ideas to add, modify or combine for your own levels.

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