Platinum peaked with this game and it’s been downhill ever since.
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Okay quick proper review below since I went through both this and Bayo 2 again now:
Bayonetta 1 was my first taste of the character action/spectacle fighter/hack-and-slash/stylish action game genre many years ago when I picked up a switch and at the time I finished it for the first time, along with the second game, I fell in love with the series. So much that I ended up playing the second one more than this one for... obvious reasons. Bayo's design appealed to me more in 2 than 1 but also I liked 2 at the time more for various reasons like better levels and more weapon options, though today I can say the first game makes a better long term impression overall, especially with the combat.
The combat in Bayonetta 1 to me stands as the best in the series as it is not weighed down by unnecessary gimmicks/mechanics added in the later two games. Just focusing on pulling off quick and stylishly sick combos with dodge offsets, wicked weaves, and witch-timing to make the score go brrrr. This exercise can be very thrilling in most of the regular enemy encounters as they provide a good amount of challenge without going too far, sometimes. Telegraphing is pretty smooth with light flashes and sounds indicating when an attack is about to connect, though the camera can still be a pain in keeping an eye out on everyone. This wasn't an issue with the boss fights except Jeanne's sometimes, but I also think the boss fights aren't too thrilling outside of Jeanne's and I didn't feel that kinetic energy of the combat when taking them on. They're incredible as set pieces and spectacle, but I never really connected to them, which is mostly something I feel towards the series in general and not just Bayo 1.
Even with that said, the first attempt at the combat here is excellent and opens up to so much variety with weapons throughout further replays and playing the game on harder difficulties if you like pain. Normal kicked my ass originally and still does on some stages but it becomes very manageable after finishing the game for the first time and accessing more gear and having all the health and magic upgrades. While I don't think it succeeds the heights of its obvious genre influence of DMC, the combat in Bayonetta is so damn fun and enticing that I kinda prefer it more than the other at times. If the game was mostly only the combat and the characters, it would be a perfect game, and yet there is quite a lot of things attached to it that slightly bring the game down to me.
So this game can be brutal. Enemies launch attacks right at the end of cutscenes, numerous instant death qtes plague the beginning of the game, enemies are hyper aggressive and hit hard while still coming to grips with the controls, the drab environment itself is fucking deadly to you, two levels in particular are notorious for awful gimmick sections that do not belong at all here, you get points off in normal difficulty if you use any sort of items even with the game being stingy with healing, and Bayonetta 1 in general is very rough around the edges with its platforming and design in general, except for the combat. Even when used to all of this, it can still be pretty aggravating when the game randomly throws these curveballs that fuck up my score or health, and having to restart all the way from the beginning every single time. It's not the worst but considering how much this game apparently was taking influence from DMC4 during its development, the lack of polish in some areas of Bayonetta come off a little bizarre.
Even with these gripes, I still can't knock this game too hard as it introduced me to a genre I know and love today. I love the Bayonetta series and still really enjoy the first entry and some of the later two to certain degrees. Looking back retrospectively, it is a bit sad that the first game still remains the best in the series as the later games add many elements that fundamentally improve and smooth out the experience, and even make it more exciting and fun to play without being interrupted with some of the shit Bayo 1 pulls. Yet, Bayo 1 to me still feels like the only game where the combat mechanics, enemy design, and (sometimes fair) difficulty coalescence so neatly together even when other areas fall apart a bit. Bayo 1 is no DMC 3 or 5 and I'm still hoping the series finally gets a game of that quality, especially after the catastrophe that is Bayo 3, but even if it doesn't I can say the series stands tall with a wonderful entry in the action game genre.
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Okay quick proper review below since I went through both this and Bayo 2 again now:
Bayonetta 1 was my first taste of the character action/spectacle fighter/hack-and-slash/stylish action game genre many years ago when I picked up a switch and at the time I finished it for the first time, along with the second game, I fell in love with the series. So much that I ended up playing the second one more than this one for... obvious reasons. Bayo's design appealed to me more in 2 than 1 but also I liked 2 at the time more for various reasons like better levels and more weapon options, though today I can say the first game makes a better long term impression overall, especially with the combat.
The combat in Bayonetta 1 to me stands as the best in the series as it is not weighed down by unnecessary gimmicks/mechanics added in the later two games. Just focusing on pulling off quick and stylishly sick combos with dodge offsets, wicked weaves, and witch-timing to make the score go brrrr. This exercise can be very thrilling in most of the regular enemy encounters as they provide a good amount of challenge without going too far, sometimes. Telegraphing is pretty smooth with light flashes and sounds indicating when an attack is about to connect, though the camera can still be a pain in keeping an eye out on everyone. This wasn't an issue with the boss fights except Jeanne's sometimes, but I also think the boss fights aren't too thrilling outside of Jeanne's and I didn't feel that kinetic energy of the combat when taking them on. They're incredible as set pieces and spectacle, but I never really connected to them, which is mostly something I feel towards the series in general and not just Bayo 1.
Even with that said, the first attempt at the combat here is excellent and opens up to so much variety with weapons throughout further replays and playing the game on harder difficulties if you like pain. Normal kicked my ass originally and still does on some stages but it becomes very manageable after finishing the game for the first time and accessing more gear and having all the health and magic upgrades. While I don't think it succeeds the heights of its obvious genre influence of DMC, the combat in Bayonetta is so damn fun and enticing that I kinda prefer it more than the other at times. If the game was mostly only the combat and the characters, it would be a perfect game, and yet there is quite a lot of things attached to it that slightly bring the game down to me.
So this game can be brutal. Enemies launch attacks right at the end of cutscenes, numerous instant death qtes plague the beginning of the game, enemies are hyper aggressive and hit hard while still coming to grips with the controls, the drab environment itself is fucking deadly to you, two levels in particular are notorious for awful gimmick sections that do not belong at all here, you get points off in normal difficulty if you use any sort of items even with the game being stingy with healing, and Bayonetta 1 in general is very rough around the edges with its platforming and design in general, except for the combat. Even when used to all of this, it can still be pretty aggravating when the game randomly throws these curveballs that fuck up my score or health, and having to restart all the way from the beginning every single time. It's not the worst but considering how much this game apparently was taking influence from DMC4 during its development, the lack of polish in some areas of Bayonetta come off a little bizarre.
Even with these gripes, I still can't knock this game too hard as it introduced me to a genre I know and love today. I love the Bayonetta series and still really enjoy the first entry and some of the later two to certain degrees. Looking back retrospectively, it is a bit sad that the first game still remains the best in the series as the later games add many elements that fundamentally improve and smooth out the experience, and even make it more exciting and fun to play without being interrupted with some of the shit Bayo 1 pulls. Yet, Bayo 1 to me still feels like the only game where the combat mechanics, enemy design, and (sometimes fair) difficulty coalescence so neatly together even when other areas fall apart a bit. Bayo 1 is no DMC 3 or 5 and I'm still hoping the series finally gets a game of that quality, especially after the catastrophe that is Bayo 3, but even if it doesn't I can say the series stands tall with a wonderful entry in the action game genre.