Nintendo Switch Thread

[Supermanisdead]

I thought Bayonetta 2 was better than 1. A 10/10 vs a 9.5/10. Depending on how Viola plays, Bayonetta 3 might be better than both of them. I love the videos, but I need to feel how the block witch-time works.

[bork]

Bayonetta 3 ending spoilers:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

100% confirmed now.  No bullshit:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Jeanne dies.  Again.  Bayonetta meets what are essentially the versions of herself from Bayo 1 and Bayo 2, combines with them, and fights the bad guy, but 'dies' after taking him down because her link to the summoned Gommorah demon is severed and it kills her- IIRC this is the beginning of Bayonetta 2 and is how Jeanne dies in that game-  She is in the same state as Jeanne was in Bayo 2 and both her and Luka get taken down into hell. 

It also appears that Bayo 1 and Bayo 2 unfuse with Bayo 3 so they may still be around.  None of this is explained.

After the credits, there's a fight scene where Viola has to fight a kind of dark shadow of Bayonetta.  She wins and then Bayonetta's spirit bestow on her the name "Bayonetta."  It then cuts to Rodin's bar and she's now got Luka's scarf and Bayoneta's glasses on and has taken over for her, but is kind of a clumsy goof because she can't see shit with Bayo's glasses on.


There is also a "To be continued in a new generation...." screen.

[close]

[close]

Some people have said that the ending ruins the game or brings it down for them.  Can definitely see why, but it all seems to be setting up for a sequel.

My guess is that if we get a fourth game, the plot will center around Bayonetta

spoiler (click to show/hide)

As in, Viola, going to retrieve her parents' souls back from Inferno. Jeanne too? 

There is also some speculation that the O.G. Bayo is not in this game and could be the main character of the likely sequel, along with that version of Jeanne.

[close]

[Rahxephon91]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kind of reminds me of Devil May Cry 5

[close]

[Bebpo]

Ending doesn't matter if you skip every cutscene

[bork]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Kind of reminds me of Devil May Cry 5

[close]

Sounds like it's almost exactly the same?   

Ending doesn't matter if you skip every cutscene

This, coming from the guy who plays RPGs for 100+ hours while talking to every NPC?

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[Bebpo]

Digital Foundry review of Bayo3 tech is really awful.

From the era thread:

textures can be low res and muddy
the enemy scale is much bigger with more frequent large enemies
battle arenas are much larger and the camera is zoomed out
due to such, the camera clips through walls
to save on fillrate, lots of dithered geometry
dynamic 810p docked
dynamic 480p portable
environment detail really breaks down at close range
a good bit of pop-in for small option and low resolution alphas for effects
cutscenes are 30fps, no still frames from Bayonetta 1
however some videos are videos
transitions are seamless though
large set-piece scenes are 30fps with solid frame pacing
on-foot, the frame rate would rarely hit 60fps, even in non-combat moments
similar to Wonderful 101 on Wii U in performance, better than Bayonetta 1 on PS3
loading times are fast, as long as 12 seconds
great game, but very ambitious, too ambitious for Switch
Platinum tools might be seeing some age

Game can't get anywhere near 60fps and generally hovers around 40fps. Just what you want in your reaction timing-based character action game :|

Still gonna play it though. Decided to get the RE8 Expansion first and will get to Bayo3 next week.
I would say that Devs should just drop their resolution until they can hit 60fps but this game is already almost at 720p docked and 480p portable  and still performing like that, not really anywhere lower to go. I think people would rage if the game was 480p docked haha.

I just hope that whenever we get Switch 2/Super Switch in 2025+ that it runs these unlocked framerate games at 60fps constant. Though it won't help the 810p resolution.

[bork]

Digital Foundry review of Bayo3 tech is really awful.

From the era thread:

textures can be low res and muddy
the enemy scale is much bigger with more frequent large enemies
battle arenas are much larger and the camera is zoomed out
due to such, the camera clips through walls
to save on fillrate, lots of dithered geometry
dynamic 810p docked
dynamic 480p portable
environment detail really breaks down at close range
a good bit of pop-in for small option and low resolution alphas for effects
cutscenes are 30fps, no still frames from Bayonetta 1
however some videos are videos
transitions are seamless though
large set-piece scenes are 30fps with solid frame pacing
on-foot, the frame rate would rarely hit 60fps, even in non-combat moments
similar to Wonderful 101 on Wii U in performance, better than Bayonetta 1 on PS3
loading times are fast, as long as 12 seconds
great game, but very ambitious, too ambitious for Switch
Platinum tools might be seeing some age

Game can't get anywhere near 60fps and generally hovers around 40fps. Just what you want in your reaction timing-based character action game :|

Still gonna play it though. Decided to get the RE8 Expansion first and will get to Bayo3 next week.
I would say that Devs should just drop their resolution until they can hit 60fps but this game is already almost at 720p docked and 480p portable  and still performing like that, not really anywhere lower to go. I think people would rage if the game was 480p docked haha.

I just hope that whenever we get Switch 2/Super Switch in 2025+ that it runs these unlocked framerate games at 60fps constant. Though it won't help the 810p resolution.

The mClassic comes in handy for this game for sure.  You're also probably not going to care about any of this stuff when you're playing it- the one big thing that I get from playing it is that while the character models generally look good, the environments don't look so great at times.

[Tasty]

When's the mClassic: 60 FPS Edition coming? That's what gaming really needs.

With some cutting-edge frame interpolation tech, it could be possible...

[Nintex]

In the few clips I've seen the dithering was really distracting.

[Tasty]

Dithering (and screen tearing) are my two technical pet peeves.

Nearly ruins the splendor of SMG in HD, the one bad thing with the Galaxy port.

[Bebpo]

Dithering doesn't bother me too much since it was so prevalent during PS1 and I grew to like the look of those games. Janky framerate bugs me the most out of everything in games. Like I'd rather have 30fps games than choppy fps that jumps around.

The upside to those choppy games that jump around because they don't have a framerate limiter is they're the ones that actually improve with emulators and BC.

[HardcoreRetro]

I was playing it in handheld mode. It's really rough.

At this point just give me a 30fps lock with higher resolution. I had no problems playing Astral Chain.

[Supermanisdead]

game is incredible. will be perfect when it gets ported to switch 2

[Bebpo]

Played some of this. It's easily the best looking game on Switch. I was pretty blown away that this is basically a modern PS5/XSX/Geforce 3080 AAA visuals game running on the Switch just at a very low resolution and iffy framerate to get there.

I'm playing it portable and with the low resolution and zoomed out camera half the time I can't even see what's going on 
I definitely won't be going for golds and all the higher difficulties on this version, at least not in portable mode.

Even Switch 2 BC won't help this game too much, since at least in portable the main issue is purely the resolution. Whenever Switch 2 comes out, game needs a re-release/remaster at a higher resolution and framerate.

But otherwise pretty cool. The monster summoning is a lot snappier than I expected and flows pretty well with the combat. Think I'll enjoy this one a lot more than Bayonetta 2. The writing is still trashy, and cutscenes are still jrpg long which I still don't think has any place in an action game, but the cutscene direction is stellar and far better than Bayonetta 2's cutscenes so it's tolerable watching them on this first run.

[Svejk]

PC port when?

[Pissy F Benny]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

you could play it on pc now if you wanna be naughty

[close]

[Bebpo]

Yeah, I wish I knew how to get emulators to work for modern stuff.

With SMTV I can just wait it out for the PC port that was leaked, but Bayo3 I gotta wait for the Switch 2 remaster so might as well play it now.

[Bebpo]

Also definitely depends on the base assets/visuals with how much you can improve.

I've watched vids of Xenoblade 3 at 4k/60fps/injected AA and...it doesn't look much better imo because the base assets are all low-res low-poly stuff outside the main characters.

On the other hand, something like Bayo 3 where the base stuff looks good should look crazy if you can internally render it at 4k with 60fps on an emulator.

[bork]

spoiler (click to show/hide)

you could play it on pc now if you wanna be naughty

[close]

I watched footage of someone playing it emulated at 4K "60 FPS"- It still has an unstable framerate.

[Nintex]

Interesting that the Memory bandwith is the issue.

I remember the GameCube having the same problem. It had a very limited pool of very fast embedded RAM but the system RAM was too slow so if you didn't fully utilize the fast RAM (and later third party ports didn't) you'd get awful performance.
This was especially the case in bigger open-world type games like Need for Speed Underground 2.

[MMaRsu]

Good Idea bork i like the cut of your gib

[james]

Bought the N64 controller.

I resisted buying it, because $50 is a ripoff, but I like N64 games and some of the button layouts on the switch controller dont work great. I know some folks hate it, but I always enjoyed the N64 controller.

I found out you can buy it in person at the Nintendo store so I did.

Played some last night, and man, Nintendo really fucked me over with their buttons.

I feel like a geezer that has to look at the buttons every time theres a prompt because the fuckers keep moving A and B.

On the N64, A is the bottom, and B is above/left

Thats B/Y on the switch. And on the GOAT, the Gamecube, X is to the right of A, not above.

Also since the N64 controller has no X, you apparently cant close the software from the home menu?

 

[Bebpo]

Man, Bayonetta 3 is pretty damn great. I never thought Platinum Games would make another great game again. I'm not an MG:R fan so their last hit for me was uhhh...Vanquish in 2010? Bayo 2 was alright, W101 didn't click with me and I never finished it. Never got around to playing Astral Chain. I basically only really loved Bayonetta 1 and Vanquish and didn't think they had it in them to make another game on the quality of those early Kamiya and Mikami titles.

But Bayonetta 3 is ridiculously good. Tons of variety, combat is excellent, some good quality of life stuff like being able to start at various points in a stage (otherwise the long stage length would be a negative for replaying to find missing stuff).

My only real complaint so far outside graphical stuff is the platforming is still pretty iffy so platforming challenges are kinda annoying. But even DMCV platforming sucks ass. Character action games and terrible platforming have always gone hand in hand.

This game feels like it has an insane budget, which is surprising tbh. Bayonetta 2 felt kind of budget and this does not at all. Game is a nice surprise.

[Supermanisdead]

Check out Astral Chain, I think it's one of their best. I disliked it when it first came out because there's too much investigation gameplay, but it's got really good combat mechanics.

[Nintex]

Astral Chain is a great game, very underrated. Don't forget NIER: Automata too. I hear the Switch port is legit if you haven't played it on PS4 or elsewhere.

Is Bravely Default II any good? I've seen it discounted a few times but reviews seem mixed.
Same for Daemon Ex Machina.

[BIONIC]

Not really feeling Bayonetta 3 brehs 

Each level is just a massive fucking slog of empty space and shitty collectibles (it’s like a disease, I can’t ignore them). The combat is super messy with the demons fucking up the flow of everything and just atrocious new enemies. The story and characters are boring even by previous game standards, and the super obvious twist of the identity of a certain character is so obvious that the only thing that can save this meandering around is if there’s a swerve at the end. Oh, and Jennifer Hale fucking sucks ass as Bayonetta. Wish Hellena Taylor didn’t go scorched earth.

I could’ve finished it twice already, but I’m still on chapter 11 I think. Maybe I’d enjoy it more on replays after reading up on combat system analysis/tips or something. This just feels like a Bayonetta game for people who didn’t like Bayonetta games.

[Beezy]

Is Bravely Default II any good? I've seen it discounted a few times but reviews seem mixed.
Same for Daemon Ex Machina.

Daemon X Machina is a good, but kinda basic mech game. Not much mission variety, but you unlock a lot of customization options and find a lot of different parts for your mech as you progress. Combat was fun as hell from what I remember when facing bosses, but most missions leading up to them have you destroying certain objectives and cannon fodder enemies. Story is whatever.

I had a lot of fun with it, but I can tell that it's not for everyone. If you're gonna get it, it probably makes more sense to go for the PC version at this point.

[bork]

Yeah- Definitely get Daemon X Machina on PC if you're gonna check that out- it runs at a much better framerate.

[paprikastaude]

Daemon was among the free Epic Store games, but I have yet to touch my library there Whenever I do, it will be among the first games to try.

[james]

 

Mario Party 1 and 2 are out!

[Nintex]

Not really feeling Bayonetta 3 brehs 

Each level is just a massive fucking slog of empty space and shitty collectibles (it’s like a disease, I can’t ignore them). The combat is super messy with the demons fucking up the flow of everything and just atrocious new enemies. The story and characters are boring even by previous game standards, and the super obvious twist of the identity of a certain character is so obvious that the only thing that can save this meandering around is if there’s a swerve at the end. Oh, and Jennifer Hale fucking sucks ass as Bayonetta. Wish Hellena Taylor didn’t go scorched earth.

I could’ve finished it twice already, but I’m still on chapter 11 I think. Maybe I’d enjoy it more on replays after reading up on combat system analysis/tips or something. This just feels like a Bayonetta game for people who didn’t like Bayonetta games.

What I've seen of Bayonetta 3 doesn't really excite me so I ain't getting it for full price.

- Summons make it look more like an action RPG than a character action game
- The color scheme is garish. Bayonetta 2 was already a step back from 1 and this continues down that path
- The dithering, I cannot unsee it.
- More scripted platforming and playable cutscenes than actual battles

It seems like it's all about the style (almost like an animated movie) and less about the gameplay.
Almost like this game wasn't "Bayonetta 3" just a retooled/gimped Scalebound and they used the Bayonetta IP.

[Bebpo]

I mean, I'm still early in Bayo3 but I basically just use the demons as big hit combo finishers which really isn't much different than the normal big slow finishers of a lot of Bayonetta combos.

And using them to break shields.

They don't really seem to mess up the standard character action combo pace so far.
Also don't mind the enemies so far, after a bit of practice they've been pretty easy to dodge their stuff regularly and counter during witch time.

[bork]

The summons pop right out and can be switched between (up to three at a time).  There's nothing "RPG-like" about the battle system- you can use them to do crazy combos and stuff. 

If there's anything bad about Bayonetta 3, it's that it can just get too chaotic for its own good.  But it's also INSANE (in a good way).  I'm still in the beginning, too, but there's already been one segment on the Tokyo level* that was jaw-dropping visually.  So much crazy shit going on.  Probably one of the most impressive things on the hardware.

*

spoiler (click to show/hide)

The "kaiju surfing" segment where you're riding a demon while buildings are twisting and falling around you

[close]

[BIONIC]

Finished it. Honestly, might’ve liked the gimmick sections better than the regular combat. They’re actually pretty good this time around!

Story is beyond ass. Genuinely feels like it has zero connection with the previous games. Both from a plot and tonal standpoint. It’s also very dour and depressing. The aesthetics and music were pretty wack as well for the most part. I miss the art design and sound of the old games. Bayonetta is a shell of her former self here. Feels supremely weak and just straight dumb throughout. She’s also weirdly smug, but not the fun kind of smug like before.

Gameplay never clicked. Just so much visual noise with super annoying and overly aggressive enemies. I just could not find a good flow, and the game does basically nothing to onboard you. Though I suppose that’s standard for the genre.

Overall, I didn’t hate it and had some fun with it, but I’m supremely disappointed, especially after all this time. I platinumed B1 and unlocked almost everything in B2, but I’m not sure I care to even do another playthrough here. Feels bad man 

E:
Oh, and the cutscenes here lost all artistry from the last two. The framing and lightning feel like amateur hour. There’s some good choreography here, but it’s shot in such an atrocious way. Only saving grace is the game generally doesn’t have the crappy stop-motion cutscenes from the previous games except the Bayo variant flashback scenes.

[MMaRsu]

Sold my Switch  I need money and Im not playing this console at all. It's literally sitting in front of the tv for months.

Better just to emulate it :shrug

[james]

Sold my Switch  I need money and Im not playing this console at all. It's literally sitting in front of the tv for months.

Better just to emulate it :shrug

Ban this sick fuck

[Supermanisdead]

Finished Bayo 3:

Gameplay is 9/10
The weapons are all so fun this time rather than picking the 2 or 3 good ones and sticking to them. I used all of them pretty equally throughout except the G-hammer or whatever, it's just too slow. Demon slave stuff is amazing with Madama Butterfly, but the other ones are just so-so. I really only used them for the combo finishers. Only thing I hated was the giant Gomorrah sections. Platinum is always doing these slow ass punchout mega bosses.

Story is 0/10
Trash, horrible, disgusting.

Ending spoilers:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Story completely shits itself towards the end. Literally what the hell does the main villain want? Why does Luka have those powers? Why the hell did Bayonetta die even after fusing with the other 2 versions in some triumphant victory??? I do not want a whole game with Viola omfg....

[close]

[Svejk]

Sold my Switch  I need money and Im not playing this console at all. It's literally sitting in front of the tv for months.

Better just to emulate it :shrug

[Tasty]

Finished Bayo 3:

Gameplay is 9/10
The weapons are all so fun this time rather than picking the 2 or 3 good ones and sticking to them. I used all of them pretty equally throughout except the G-hammer or whatever, it's just too slow. Demon slave stuff is amazing with Madama Butterfly, but the other ones are just so-so. I really only used them for the combo finishers. Only thing I hated was the giant Gomorrah sections. Platinum is always doing these slow ass punchout mega bosses.

Story is 0/10
Trash, horrible, disgusting.

Ending spoilers:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Story completely shits itself towards the end. Literally what the hell does the main villain want? Why does Luka have those powers? Why the hell did Bayonetta die even after fusing with the other 2 versions in some triumphant victory??? I do not want a whole game with Viola omfg....

[close]

Ending spoilers have a KH3 whiffiness about them...

[Pissy F Benny]

what was so bad about KH3, i beat it and it sucked, but i thought that was par for the course with Kingdom Hearts.

[Nintex]

[bork]

Good ending analysis of Bayonetta 3.  Puts a pretty positive spin on everything.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

[close]

[paprikastaude]

Finished Bayo 3:

Gameplay is 9/10
The weapons are all so fun this time rather than picking the 2 or 3 good ones and sticking to them. I used all of them pretty equally throughout except the G-hammer or whatever, it's just too slow. Demon slave stuff is amazing with Madama Butterfly, but the other ones are just so-so. I really only used them for the combo finishers. Only thing I hated was the giant Gomorrah sections. Platinum is always doing these slow ass punchout mega bosses.

Story is 0/10
Trash, horrible, disgusting.

Ending spoilers:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Story completely shits itself towards the end. Literally what the hell does the main villain want? Why does Luka have those powers? Why the hell did Bayonetta die even after fusing with the other 2 versions in some triumphant victory??? I do not want a whole game with Viola omfg....

[close]

That ending

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Ok, I remember being positively surprised by how well connected the stories of 1 and 2 turned out to be, despite not recalling all details. So it makes no sense at all that Bayonetta 2 took place in a different dimension than the first game. Not to mention that the whole multiverse plot was redundant to begin with, this was merely a trip to different countries... Also since they apparantly didn't have enough characters, Luka now had to be the chosen one? I barely remember this character apart from being comic relief. But yeah, most importantly, miss me with another game if it had Viola as a protag. I did not like her playstyle and I didn't care for her comedy

[close]

[Potato]

For those interested in the indie lineup

[Bebpo]

So I got distracted by Signalis and got back to Bayo 3 tonight. Yeah, this game has a lot of dumb crap. I think it's falling into how I felt about Bayo 2 where it was ok, but a mixed bag of a lot of crap between the good stuff compared to Bayo 1 which was all good outside the panzer dragoon stages.

The giant monster parts suuuuuck and the fact that if you want to replay stages to get missed verses or missed umbra tears items or bewitchments or just better scores you have to go through the rest of the whole level to the end so that means redoing these monster platformer parts is awful. Definitely going to make me not want to replay these chapters much.

And then also these cutscenes that aren't cutscenes so you can't skip them when doing replays of stages? I assume it's because the game is loading in the next part of the level during them?

And these clouds that disappear you on all the boundaries really sour the fun of platforming around these environments and just having a good time. Very obnoxious getting constantly reset.

And then the camera fucking sucks and makes the platforming worse and keeping track of larger enemies a pain. I haven't seen a camera this bad in a while. I just can't control it.

Feels like there's a lot of scripted big flash nonsense and big large enemies when my favorite parts of Bayonetta 1 and most character action games are just the tight fast arena combat vs smaller enemies. I don't want all this flashy casual action popcorn shit, just give me arenas and enemies to fight. At least DMCV got this part right since most of the stages were just arenas with human sized enemies.

But then even DMCV had the V sections.

Why can't character action games just give me arenas to fight various enemies with different weapons without being constantly interrupted.

I'm also kinda mixed on the summons. I don't dislike them, but I feel like they do so much damage you're really nerfing yourself if you aren't constantly using them and trying to control them while also doing your own combos is difficult? I haven't really figured that out yet. I mostly just do a combo -> monster combo -> double tap R1 to dash attack into the enemy that's been knocked back by the monster combo and finish with my own personal combo finisher or link it back to another monster combo. Idk, it's weird. I need to fuck around with practice mode and stage 1 and watching some combo vids to get a better hang of this stuff.

But man, there should at least be an option to replay stages skipping monster platforming verses.

Game is still fun, but for me these types of games are all about first run just being exploration and getting the hang of it and then the meat of the game is the 2nd or 3rd run on higher difficulties skipping cutscenes and I'm just not looking forward to that here with a lot of the stuff I'm playing through in the stages.

[BIONIC]

Nvm, misread.

[Bebpo]

I'm bad at paying attention. Every time I can't beat one of the option trial verses and give up and move on and finish the level, I look it up and I was missing something.

Ch.2 verse 3 - you're not supposed to kill the enemies, just set them on fire
Ch.3 verse 4 - you're not supposed to kill the enemies while avoiding being sucked in, just avoid them until the time is over

 

[bork]

Sifu is looking really good- another awesome port!

[Potato]

Sports Story releasing in December!!!!
 

[tiesto]

That indie direct was a whole whopping world of nothing, as someone not into "wholesome" life-sim type games or roguelikes. Though I did think the Indian cooking game looked neat, as someone who loves Indian food, though it's definitely a really niche title. And I guess there was one blatant Drill Dozer ripoff that was ok looking.

[Bebpo]

I'm stuck on this train part wtf

[Potato]

That indie direct was a whole whopping world of nothing, as someone not into "wholesome" life-sim type games or roguelikes. Though I did think the Indian cooking game looked neat, as someone who loves Indian food, though it's definitely a really niche title. And I guess there was one blatant Drill Dozer ripoff that was ok looking.

Yeah, I was watching it while working and only the Indian migrant cooking thing caught my interest outside of Sports Story.

[Bebpo]

On ch.5 now in Bayonetta 3. I've been going really slow, exploring every inch of the level on my first run, getting all 3 umbran animals, getting all the treasures, finding and doing every single verse even if some of the optional ones are annoyingly frustrating. Takes me like 1-2 hours to get through each stage.

Honestly I think this is a shitty way to play this. The upside is on NG+ on the next difficulty you can ignore all this shit and just action action action which is the fun part of the game.

But this first run is getting to be a bit of a chore and I'm getting burnt out already. I think from Ch.5 onwards I'll just run the main route and ignore all the side stuff and clear the game. Then can do a 2nd run of exploring and grabbing all this stuff with a guide before doing the next difficulty level.


Also I'm not feeling a lot of these weapons or demons. Base guns and demon gal is great. Hammer is kind of too slow even though I like big slow powerful weapons. Yo-yo seems kind of iffy. I'm mostly using whip and base guns. The 360 + P with whip has massive range and pretty much crowd controls everything and you can do some fun stuff with whip grabs. For single big enemies just stick to base guns.

Wish you could equip more than 2 weapons at a time. Feels kind of limiting. Like I'd like to be able to quick switch into the heavy weapon for big enemies but I don't want to use the heavy hammer for other enemies. If I could slot 3 weapons for balanced -> heavy -> crowd control that would be nice.

[bork]

Honestly I think this is a shitty way to play this.

So don't? 

Why not just go through it at a normal pace and stop worrying about getting everything in one go?  As I understand it, there are some things you can't get until you clear the game once anyway.

[paprikastaude]

So I got distracted by Signalis and got back to Bayo 3 tonight. Yeah, this game has a lot of dumb crap. I think it's falling into how I felt about Bayo 2 where it was ok, but a mixed bag of a lot of crap between the good stuff compared to Bayo 1 which was all good outside the panzer dragoon stages.

The giant monster parts suuuuuck and the fact that if you want to replay stages to get missed verses or missed umbra tears items or bewitchments or just better scores you have to go through the rest of the whole level to the end so that means redoing these monster platformer parts is awful. Definitely going to make me not want to replay these chapters much.

And then also these cutscenes that aren't cutscenes so you can't skip them when doing replays of stages? I assume it's because the game is loading in the next part of the level during them?

And these clouds that disappear you on all the boundaries really sour the fun of platforming around these environments and just having a good time. Very obnoxious getting constantly reset.

And then the camera fucking sucks and makes the platforming worse and keeping track of larger enemies a pain. I haven't seen a camera this bad in a while. I just can't control it.

Feels like there's a lot of scripted big flash nonsense and big large enemies when my favorite parts of Bayonetta 1 and most character action games are just the tight fast arena combat vs smaller enemies. I don't want all this flashy casual action popcorn shit, just give me arenas and enemies to fight. At least DMCV got this part right since most of the stages were just arenas with human sized enemies.

But then even DMCV had the V sections.

Why can't character action games just give me arenas to fight various enemies with different weapons without being constantly interrupted.

I'm also kinda mixed on the summons. I don't dislike them, but I feel like they do so much damage you're really nerfing yourself if you aren't constantly using them and trying to control them while also doing your own combos is difficult? I haven't really figured that out yet. I mostly just do a combo -> monster combo -> double tap R1 to dash attack into the enemy that's been knocked back by the monster combo and finish with my own personal combo finisher or link it back to another monster combo. Idk, it's weird. I need to fuck around with practice mode and stage 1 and watching some combo vids to get a better hang of this stuff.

But man, there should at least be an option to replay stages skipping monster platforming verses.

Game is still fun, but for me these types of games are all about first run just being exploration and getting the hang of it and then the meat of the game is the 2nd or 3rd run on higher difficulties skipping cutscenes and I'm just not looking forward to that here with a lot of the stuff I'm playing through in the stages.

B2 was easily the most "pure" though.  I remember, because it's the only one I did Pure Platinum for. While I sure as hell would never try to memorize those awful QTEs or turret sections in B1, nor any of the new gimmicks in B3.

[Bebpo]

Honestly I think this is a shitty way to play this.

So don't? 

Why not just go through it at a normal pace and stop worrying about getting everything in one go?  As I understand it, there are some things you can't get until you clear the game once anyway.

That's why I said I'm gonna change up my pace from now on

It's not worrying about getting everything in one go. It's more like getting all the exploration stuff over with so that I can just skip cutscenes and enjoy the combat better on the 2nd run at a higher difficulty level.

B2 was easily the most "pure" though.  I remember, because it's the only one I did Pure Platinum for. While I sure as hell would never try to memorize those awful QTEs or turret sections in B1, nor any of the new gimmicks in B3.

Yeah, I should replay B2 one of these days. When B1 came out I loved it and put tons of hours into it and got really good at it. When B2 came out I beat it like once or twice and then dropped it. I don't really remember it outside running through the city.

Most likely B3 will end up in the same boat for me. I bet I beat it twice and then shelve it. With other stuff to play and what the game is like so far, I don't see myself sticking around for 3-5 runs or anything. But could happen if the new combat stuff clicks more by the end.

[Bebpo]

Surprisingly enjoying Viola combat even if it's less flashy. Getting way more pure platinums.

The only thing I really don't like is putting the witch time parry on the same button that double taps dash you to the next enemy. A lot of time I'm trying to parry and I accidently end up dashing. Also just for muscle memory putting it on a different button than Bayonetta is kind of lame.

Also that Viola uses her own life bar/magic bar sucks. Now I gotta decide where to spend these orbs. Just gonna max out Bayonetta first and use stock Viola.

[Bebpo]

Viola is so much better with the Moon amulet for toward parries. No more unintentional dashes. Just combo it up and tap forward. I forgot how much I loved this accessory in B1 (and probably used it in B2). Just really makes the game flow so much better.

Got to ch.8. Putting GoW Ragnorak on the backburner so I can finish this run up and then do a second, more enjoyable cutscene skipping run before getting back to GoW.

This game is fucking long too for a character action game. Ch.1-7 took me about 14 hours so far but I've replayed the stages a few times along the way.

[HardcoreRetro]

Seems Tactics Ogre: Reborn is doing well with reviewers on the Switch. (PS5 version as well.) Good stuff. Should be a good game to close out the year with.

[Potato]

I do like a turn-based war game. Not sure if I have the patience for a long campaign these days though.