Bayonetta 3

[BrawlMan]

The visual presentation for the combat and gameplay, though, leaves something to be desired. There is definitely something off about this game as a Bayonetta tittle. The backgrounds, the presentation, the visuals. Most prominent is the new dash which looks, well, silly. I miss the panther, that sh** was metal. The Madama Butterfly thing just doesn't compare. I won't brush it all off since I've seen what P+ can do and have played all of the games they drew from and I'm hoping they'll pull off something great but I can't deny I'm less than excited about some of the presentation.

Looks great to me. I will admit the city portions look slightly muted and generic, but it obviously won't stay that way for long. I did not notice the panther missing until you mentioned it. It still might show up, but with the new summons they probably had to change it. The new dash I do not have a problem with, but I do miss Panther Within, if it is completely gone.

 

[berto]

Looks great to me. I will admit the city portions look slightly muted and generic, but it obviously won't stay that way for long. I did notice the panther missing until you mentioned it. It still might show up, but with the new summons they probably had to change it. The new dash I do not have a problem with, but I do miss Panther Within, if it is completely gone.

I don’t like Madama Buttterfly’s dash thing’s look, but I have to admit, the other that was showcased and the concept behind this new mechanic is bloody brilliant. I love it.
Overall, I’m super split over the new visual presentation. I miss the old look, for both the game and Bayonetta herself, but I like what they’re doing and I will venture to say that the reason they’re going with an alternative universe B is so that they can do all these new things without an attachment to the old. New look, very different mechanics and a very different visual presentation.

 

[BrawlMan]

I miss the old look, for both the game and Bayonetta herself

This is nothing new for Platinum, they always like to change it up, and I would not have it any other way. Her old looks will probably be available as unlockables again.

Overall, I’m super split over the new visual presentation.

My opinion might change after playing through the whole game, but I still say Bayonetta 2 has the best presentation. The game is more colorful and livelier. Not that the original didn't, yet it too suffered from 7th genitis. Bayonetta 1, while more colorful than most of its cotemporaries, still has a muted color palette I did not care much for, and Bayonetta 2 only highlights it further. Bayonetta 3 definitely gets more colorful the further you get into the game, so the muted beginning is done for thematic reasons.

 

[BrawlMan]

Bayonetta 3's outrageous action has already cast a spell on me | Digital Trends

During an impressive hands-on preview of Bayonetta 3, we fought a giant fish, beat the hell out of monsters, and wore literal boat as shoes.

www.digitaltrends.com

Bayonetta 3 Feels Bigger, Faster, and Better Than Ever

We got our hands on the Bayonetta 3 preview demo, and so far, it’s shaping up to be game full of stylish, over-the-top action.

techraptor.net

Bayonetta 3: The Final Preview - IGN

www.ign.com

Bayonetta 3 Gameplay Breakdown

 

[BrawlMan]

 

[berto]

The new actress for Bayonetta has been revealed as Jennifer Hale. There's also this huge expose from Platinum. There's an article in GameInformer but I can't seem to find it.

PlatinumGames confirms Jennifer Hale is the new voice actress for Bayonetta in Bayonetta 3

Bayonetta 3 developer PlatinumGames confirms Jennifer Hale as the new voice actress and explains why Hellena Taylor isn't returning.

nintendoeverything.com

【魔女の解体新書】キャラクターデザイン①ベヨネッタとヴィオラ | Bayonetta 3 開発ブログ

こんにちは、デザイナーの島崎麻里です。 今作『Bayonetta3』でもキャラクターデザインとキャラクターアートディレクションを担当させていただいております。 前回からスタートしましたこの連載「魔女の解体新書」！宮田ディ […]

www.platinumgames.co.jp

 

[berto]

Ok. Finally got my hands on the stupid game informer. What a pain in the ass that was.
Here's the highlights.
The new voice belongs to Jennifer Hale because Hellena Taylor had too many conflicts of schedule but they can neither confirm or deny her being not the Bayonetta we are familiar with, however, dot dot dot, Kamiya did say that that first trailer was important to the story and to revisit it once one beats the game.
The new currency is called Embryos and it's not the only kind. Halos are still around but are far, far more rare.
Embryos can be used to buy consumables and items.
You no longer buy the skills at the Gates of Hell but rather the game now has a skill tree for every weapon.
There are now almost 10 times as many acquirable skills for Bayonetta as either of the previous games which can be equipped and removed at the player's whims making the game as simple or complex as you want it to be.
Your demons can die and will be unavailable for a time. If they take too much damage they can also rampage and attack anything near them, including Bayonetta. You also can't summon them in small spaces.
Tears are not just limited to crows. There are also cats and frogs that carry the tears of blood.
Each weapon and, subsequently, each transformation is going to allow the player to discover hidden places.
There seems to be a central area that will take you to multiple realities.
Viola only uses one weapon, thus far.

 

[BrawlMan]

 

[berto]

Well, now.

Seems like P+ has lifted some restrictions on previews.

 

[BrawlMan]

 

[berto]

There is one thing I most DEFINITELY don't like about this whole thing and that is infuriating the lock on to a stick. Oh, I don't like that at all. Launchers and stingers are attached to those and I don't much like the idea of them being relegated to double forward only.

 

[BrawlMan]

 

[berto]

I'm at work so I can't post it but there are some news on Helena Taylor.
She took to Twitter to talk about the real reason she's not playing Bayonetta this time around. Certainly feeling a sense of dissolution here.

 

[V's patron]

Bayonetta Voice Actor Hellena Taylor Says She Didn't Reprise the Role in Bayonetta 3 as She Was Only Offered $4,000 - IGN

Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor has shared that she didn't reprise the role for Bayonetta 3 as she was offered only $4,000 to do so. Furthermore, she has asked fans to boycott the game and donate to charity instead.

www.ign.com

Here's what @berto was referring to.

 

[Sparda's rejected son]

I had a war on another website about this topic. I thought 4,000 for the job was adequate. The internet disagreed and proceeded to mock me. Honestly it was really rude and hurtful.

 

[Morgan]

No idea whether the Bayonetta series is a union job or not. Nintendo notoriously does mostly non-union VA projects. It might be union, judging by the participation of certain voice actors like Grey DeLisle and Crispin Freeman under those names. SAG/AFTRA would be all over it if it wasn't, and they absolutely should be if it is. Helena Taylor's voiced the eponymous main character of the Bayonetta series for 2/3 of the games and the movie and Smash if they required new voice lines. She's not voicing some random NPC that would be in and out in a day.

$4000 only covers just around 66 copies of the game if it were sold for $60 apiece. It's Bayonetta. It's going to sell more than that. It's niche but not that niche. She would have to give an incredibly rushed performance for that amount of money to make sense.

SAG/AFTRA's rates are visible: -- for video games, one voice an hour is $478.50. Additional voices are $319 each, for a maximum of $956.75 for a four-hour session of up to three voices. Any lower than that, and the union gets involved. $4K is $250/hr for 16 hours at a flat rate which doesn't scratch the rates they have posted on the site.

All that, and $4000 was the renegotiated amount she heard from Kamiya, meaning they were actually offering her less than that originally. Big yikes. Jennifer Hale is voicing Bayonetta now and she's a more recognizable name. Highly doubt that they're paying her just $4K for her work. It's possible they wanted Hale the whole time but could've been obligated to offer to Taylor first and so lowballed Taylor to get her to decline, which makes David Hayter getting replaced in MGSV look quaint.

 

[BrawlMan]

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah, it's pretty much Nintendo's fault and low-balling Helena. This is not even the first time Nintendo has done this and explains why they don't use voice acting much in most of their 1st party games. F#ck off Nintendo. BTW Simmons (YoVideoGames), Bayonett 2 sold 345k copies on Switch and more than what was on the Wii U. Nintendo was satisfied with those numbers, and Switch copies of the game broke to 1.04 million as of December 31, 2021. His point still stands on being a niche franchise.

 

[berto]

I am seeing so many people making fresh takes in this it's ridiculous. People who I'd never guess would even know how to spell Bayonetta are giving their 2 cents and it's weird. Even TMZ did a segment on it.
Apparently B3 sky rocketted to the top of the sales charts on Amazon over night, most likely from all this attention.
There are a lot of different opinions as to wether or not Helena is in the right or not with some people being outraged on her behalf while others think she's just being a cry baby demanding more money, which she doesn't deserve, $4000's plenty, they say, and others with opinions that vary somewhere in between our adjacent to those. The funny thing is people are looking to be divided in their opinion based on where they post. 4chan, Twitter and YouTube all seem to have a near collective take on the situation.
4chan is full of people who don't think she deserves more and that 4k is plenty of money, showing an almost complete lack of understanding of how the professional world operates, leading me to believe that no one there has ever been involved in the professional world and have probably only worked low responsibility positions. Twitter are just a reactionary collective seemingly more interested in being angry at an injustice and eager to prove it by pushing the boycott. Honestly? YouTube just feels like they're cashing in on it. I've seen the most varied opinions here but only a few that are thoughtful. I saw one response saying he'd believe no one without receipts nor will he just believe Helena simply because she's a woman, like most people are. He also made the argument that no one is irreplaceable, just look at MGS5, showing a tremendous simplicity in his thinking. Others are making positions to change the choice acting back to Helena, some are just reacting almost blindly while one or two are commenting that they rather not get involved because they don't know what's going on enough nor do they want to know and one guy who mentioned that he's seen in both his comments and other places that people are going to buy multiple copies to counter those who are boycotting the game.
It's ridiculous. With this I am again and again that people are dumb.

 

[Sparda's rejected son]

@berto I liked your post but I must admit one part triggered me. The part how the pro world works. I'm in the camp that 4,000 is fine, a opinion that has gotten me attacked online. So what exactly is wrong with 4,000 flat rate for voice acting? Also what is your example of a "low responsibility position?"