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[The Infectious Paradox]

I'll never forget what changed my outlook on gaming. It was 2019 and I randomly decided to play GoW 2018 on Hard mode. It made me addicted to challenging games and it's really become the main reason I play games. I went back to the Dark Souls series and I constantly am looking for a new way to test my skills.

Honestly, I always thought Bayonetta was only on Nintendo. I had no idea that the original came out on the Xbox 360. Ever since I saw short clips of the game I wanted to give it a try, but I thought it was out of reach because I did not have the system for it. But a week ago I was browsing the Xbox discount section and to my surprise I saw Bayonetta. I jumped at the opportunity and bought it.

It really surprised me how much I fell in love with this game. Bayonetta, the character has so much charisma and is also hilarious. All of the side characters and bosses have depth. It's a pretty simple story, but it keeps you engaged and ready to see what's going to happen next.

One of the best games I've played in the last few years was It Takes Two. This actually reminded me of it a lot. There was so much variety in the gameplay. Riding on the missile was one of the highlights, thought it really pissed me off at times

The bosses have more variety than I've ever seen. Even the QTE moments were actually fun, because I feel like I was being kept on my toes. The game also really holds up on the newer systems! Idk if it had a patch, but I was pretty amazed by the art style and performance.

All-in-all this was one of the best experiences I've had in gaming in a while. I'm glad I picked this up and I would love more recommendations of games like this. I definitely see why people praise Platinum games now.

 

[Deerock71]

Bayonetta 2 and 3.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Bayonetta 2 and 3.

Yeah those two are pretty obvious haha. I may have to borrow a switch or get one for myself. I hear B2 is even better.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Play the sequels too when you get the chance.

And Astral Chain too.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Play the sequels too when you get the chance.

And Astral Chain too.

Thank you for reminding me of atrial chain! Def want to check it out

 

[The_hunter]

Yeah those two are pretty obvious haha. I may have to borrow a switch or get one for myself. I hear B2 is even better.

Can confirm Bayo 2 is awesome.

 

[MagnesD3]

Bayonetta 2 is good but imo not as good as the original, haven't played 3 yet but I've heard it's the worst one sadly but I do agree the Original Bayonetta is one if the best action games ever made.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

Can confirm Bayo 2 is awesome.

Did you think bayo 3 was good? At this point I may buy a switch to play, but I've heard that one is polarizing

 

[The_hunter]

Did you think bayo 3 was good? At this point I may buy a switch to play, but I've heard that one is polarizing

I haven't played Bayo 3 enough to recommend it, but I liked the demon summoning mechanic. It's fun to summon a giant demon and karate chop an enemy. The only issue I had was the game runs at really low resolutions, it's a bit blurry.

Bayonetta 2 is 1080p locked 60 FPS in docked mode, great experience.

 

[Punished Miku]

Nice write up. I had fun just reading it and remembering the series.

 

[Punished Miku]

Did you think bayo 3 was good? At this point I may buy a switch to play, but I've heard that one is polarizing

Its awesome. And introduces a lot of new stuff.

I wouldn't recommend playing all 3 back to back though since a lot of elements are similar and you get burned out.

But when they were released I think I argued part 2 was GOTY. And part 3 is like a 9.5 for me. Some messy art at times but the game is a ton of fun.

 

[Astral Dog]

Did you think bayo 3 was good? At this point I may buy a switch to play, but I've heard that one is polarizing

there are people who really like Bayonetta 3 as well and consider it the best in terms of combat options, the thing with the sequels is very few people have played them, and just go off what they hear, each have their flaws but also are worth playing imo(and two Bayonettas, soon 3 +Astral Chain are worth buying a Switch for)

With Bayonetta 3 i can say its the "worst" in some ways for me but also a game i really like, the presentation suffers because they made a lot of game design changes that strain the hardware, its just not optimized well, but had it been released for other consoles it would not have been nearly as polarizing also some people really despise minigames and Bayonetta 3 is full of them and there is a ton of hate for the ending (i thought it was amazing)

 

[Punished Miku]

Did you think bayo 3 was good? At this point I may buy a switch to play, but I've heard that one is polarizing

And if you like Bayonetta and have an Xbox, play Hi Fi Rush. Its very loosely similar in terms of the combat. Both based on Devil May Cry, but went in very different directions.

 

[RaduN]

The trifecta of action games:

Devil May Cry (1,3,4,5)
Ninja Gaiden (sigma1/black, vanilla 2, not fucking Sigma2)
Bayonetta (1,2,3)

 

[kunonabi]

Love the first Bayonetta but didn't like B2 much. No interest in B3 without Taylor, even if it was her fault, and honestly after seeing the story I'd have hated it even if she was in it.

I should get back to 100%ing B1 on the Wii U now that I think of it.

 

[TransTrender]

This game is soo damn cool

 

[Solarstrike]

No

 

[Robb]

It’s a fantastic series. Imo Bayo 2 is the best one, but they’re all fantastic. Hopefully we’ll get a 4th game at some point.

 

[Labolas]

Some of the best action the genre can offer. Not only that cutscenes are great as well.

 

[cireza]

You should play 2 as well. I would avoid 3 as long as you can't play it in proper conditions.

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

The trifecta of action games:

Devil May Cry (1,3,4,5)
Ninja Gaiden (sigma1/black, vanilla 2, not fucking Sigma2)
Bayonetta (1,2,3)

This is kind of what I've been wondering. I never played any of the Devil May Cry games. So all the ones that you listed are worth playing in order?

 

[RaduN]

This is kind of what I've been wondering. I never played any of the Devil May Cry games. So all the ones that you listed are worth playing in order?

Absolutely.

Start with 1, but If it doesn't click with you, (fixed camera might be a turn off for some) jump to 3 (arguably the best hack and slash action game ever made).
I recommend to play it either via original ps2 (prefferable on a crt), or emulation via pcsx2 (check pcsx2 wiki for proper settings).
Use the HD remasters only as a last resort, as they have tons of missing graphical effects. They simply look bad in comparison sadly.

 

[Ar¢tos]

I only played the first one on ps3, and it was a traumatic vomit inducing experience (for whatever reason heavy screen tear gives me motion sickness, more than narrow fov 1st person 30fps games).
What are the modern ways to play the Bayonetta games?

 

[The Infectious Paradox]

I only played the first one on ps3, and it was a traumatic vomit inducing experience (for whatever reason heavy screen tear gives me motion sickness, more than narrow fov 1st person 30fps games).
What are the modern ways to play the Bayonetta games?

I played on series X and it was really smooth. I'm pretty sure the other 2 can be played on switch. Definitely 3 bc I came out recently.

 

[Neff]

Legitimately one of the finest action games of all time. Kamiya and PG really took it to the next level and managed to create something which stood out on its own alongside DMC.

I hear B2 is even better.

Depends on who you talk to but I'd say it's not. Bayo 1 has a lot more thought put into combat strategy and balance than Bayo 2. There's also a lot more situational/environmental variety in Bayo 1 than the sequel. Both Bayo 2 and 3 are fine games and worth a play, but Bayo 1 has got it all.

I'd say The Wonderful 101 is Bayo's strongest post-DMC1 contender. Kamiya basically has the genre stitched up.

I only played the first one on ps3, and it was a traumatic vomit inducing experience (for whatever reason heavy screen tear gives me motion sickness, more than narrow fov 1st person 30fps games).

Yeah the PS3 version is garbage. It was the first version I beat and I really enjoyed it, but going to the 360 version a year or two later was just night and day difference. It's practically a different game and you can tell it was made for it.

To answer your question, all modern platforms have very good versions of Bayo 1, you really can't go wrong with any of them. Bayo 2 and 3 are (and almost certainly will remain due to the fact that they co-own them) exclusive to Nintendo.

 

[Punished Miku]

This is kind of what I've been wondering. I never played any of the Devil May Cry games. So all the ones that you listed are worth playing in order?

DMC 1 and 3 are getting a whole gen older. They're still really good, but older. DMC 4 and 5 are newer and may be easier to get into.
Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 fully hold up. Since you have an Xbox you can play the correct versions.

 

[RaduN]

DMC 1 and 3 are getting a whole gen older. They're still really good, but older. DMC 4 and 5 are newer and may be easier to get into.
Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2 fully hold up. Since you have an Xbox you can play the correct versions.

As someone that had over 200 hours in each DMC game (except 2) and finished all of them numerous times on DMD (except 5, which i only completed on VH before getting a bit burned out) i can strongly argue that except for graphic fidelity, 3 is the best of them all, in all aspects.
It's by far the most homogenous and easily the most balanced in terms of complexity vs finesse.
4 and 5 were obviously super good as well, but they became more and more bloated and fragmented, losing a lot of the consistency of the 3rd one.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

One of the greatest games of all time and my personal overall favourite; jeanne's sequence at the end of the game is the GOAT and thematically one of the wildest, hypest and beautiful things ever made story wise.

 

[Northeastmonk]

The final boss looks really cool. All three games are great. The Cereza game looks so-so. I wasn’t having an amazing experience with that short teaser DLC they had. I’d like to see impressions before getting it. I played Bayo 1 on PS3 back when the 360 version was the superior port. I’ve got it for my Steam Deck for another playthrough some day.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

when the 360 version was the superior port.

Because it wasn't a port? The ps3 version was the port.

 

[Neff]

finished all of them numerous times on DMD (except 5, which i only completed on VH before getting a bit burned out)

Same, except I got halfway through SoS on 5 and gave up, even though it wasn't challenging in the slightest. Game's boring as hell and massively overrated imo.

 

[Bragr]

Bayonetta 1 and 2 are great and unique games. You will hear a lot more different opinions on Bayonetta 3 since they do story and level design a bit differently in that game. It was supposed to be an open-world game, but they changed it back, but because of that initial direction it got more open sections and more cutscenes when you enter new areas. Personally, though, I loved it.

Getting a Switch for the entire Bayonetta trilogy and Astral Chain is a good idea if you love Bayonetta 1.

 

[Kabelly]

The best Bayonetta.
Combat just feels way more weighty and free. Enemy design and enemy tells are a lot more refined than the last two installments. You feel a lot more control.

I don't mind the Kaiju moves in 3 but man that game is so damn ugly. I guess the tradeoff for those big summons to run decently well was visuals because Bayo 2 looks better.

 

[stn]

OP - if you like it that much, you should get a Switch for Bayo 2, 3, and Astral Chain. In terms of just gameplay, I think Bayo 2 is my favorite so far, but as a total package I like Bayo 1 the most.

 

[Punished Miku]

OP - if you like it that much, you should get a Switch for Bayo 2, 3, and Astral Chain. In terms of just gameplay, I think Bayo 2 is my favorite so far, but as a total package I like Bayo 1 the most.

I still need to play Astral Chain. Can't believe I've put it off this long.

 

[The_hunter]

If you're getting into DMC, DMC3 on the switch is the best version of that game, as they added style switching with the DPAD.