Bayonetta 2 Preview

Possibly the most surprising of the latest set of titles announced for the Wii U is Bayonetta 2, sequel to the popular Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 action game. Even more surprising is that it will be a Wii U exclusive. Fans of the original games are already up-in-arms over the series’s move to a new system.

Reportedly Platinum Games, the developer of Bayonetta, might not have been able to make the game at all if not for Nintendo stepping in to back the production because SEGA was apparently not interested enough to publish another game. Hideki Kamiya–director of the original Bayonetta as well as Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami—even said that he “never thought we’d actually get the chance to announce a sequel to [Bayonetta's] story, so I am absolutely over the moon.”

As for Nintendo’s stack in the matter, a quick look at the Wii U’s game line-up seems to indicate that Nintendo is pushing to reclaim some of the hardcore gamer demographic it lost during this latest console cycle. With this in mind, the exclusivity agreement suddenly makes much more sense, though fans of the original Bayonetta that were not already planning on buying a Wii U will still feel justifiably upset. Also note that we do know the exact terms of the exclusivity agreement, so other console owners may still be able to get Bayonetta 2 except at a later date.

So far, information on the game itself is rather hard to come buy. The trailer itself is more of a teaser and does not actually give much concrete information. What we do see is stylized action shots of storms of bullets getting sliced and deflected by a blade and Bayonetta’s leg featuring her distinctive high-heel gun assembly facing off against a man clad in white robes wielding the aforementioned blade. Judging by his fighting ability and attire, he likely is a Lumen Sage of some sort, the antithesis to Umbra Witches such as Bayonetta. This scene appears to imply that Bayonetta will be fighting the forces of Paradiso once again. Developer comments suggest that this robed figure is in fact one of many new characters they are introducing to the story.

Supporting the idea of further conflict with Paradiso is the fact that we have not yet fought all of the Virtues. Anyone familiar with the Seven Heavenly Virtues will know that we did not actually fight all of them in the first game, which many people at the time took as a sign of a sequel. We have already fought Diligence, Temperance, Wisdom and Justice. That leaves three more still unaccounted for, though we cannot say with certainty which Virtues they will embody as two of the four we have already seen are not even typically considered part of the Seven. Of course, Bayonetta has also not yet fought against the forces of Inferno besides a certain bonus boss, so we may see some conflict there as well.

While we have not had a direct confirmation that Bayonetta and Paradiso will butt heads again, Yusuke Hashimoto, director of Bayonetta 2 and a producer and character designer on the original game, has confirmed that this new game “…Will further expand on the mythology of the Trinity of Realities— Inferno, Paradiso, and our human world.” Even though he has moved on up to the director’s seat, Hashimoto has stated that he will still be responsible for the enemy designs, meaning that players will still get to see the distinctive visual style of the first game.

The ending of the first Bayonetta certainly does not leave much room for escalation, but series creator Kamiya is known for his ability to push the action further and further than anyone expected. As he commonly does with the game series he creates, Kamiya is stepping back from the director’s chair to take a more hands-off role as creative supervisor. He still has an integral part in the process of creating the world, story and characters, so hopefully the fans will still see the same quality they have come to expect. Hopefully, Kamiya’s involvement will prevent another fiasco of Devil May Cry 2 proportions.

While information may be scarce at the moment and much of the story and gameplay can only be speculated upon, we can at least say that Bayonetta 2 looks to have all the right people involved in the design process at least. The main enemy designer now directs the game, and the series creator still has creative involvement in the development of the story and characters. The news of the game being a Wii U exclusive will certainly dishearten many fans of the original, but if the game manages to sell well, we may see a multi-platform release down-the-line. From the comments by the developers, perhaps fans should just be happy that to even be getting a sequel in the first place.