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Hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day today. I'm writing this mini guide to help beginners get started into what I consider one of the finest character action games, if not one of the best games overall, in the history of video games. Bayonetta is having a third release this year (who would have known back then? It seemed impossible as far as Platinum Games' offerings sold back then) and so there's lots of interest from people who want to begin learning how to enjoy this game.
The first game in the series has been released in 5 different consoles by now, that's Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC and now the Switch. Differences between these games vary from additional costumes/Rodin Treasures for Nintendo offerings (Wii U & Switch) and performance (PC being clearly a better performer here, although the Backwards Compatible offering of Bayo on XB1 has what I believe the best performance without affecting the timing of some moves unlike the PC version which tends to do this).
If you've been here in this scene long enough you must know that Bayonetta has had an [Official Game Guide by Future Press](https://www.amazon.com/Bayonetta-Official-Guide-Future-Press/dp/3869930039) that runs for a collector's price of almost $400. There are several reasons for this high price. Future Press guides always go above and beyond of what is expected in a guide, including exclusive interviews with developers and a level of attention to detail that is quite frankly second to none. This particular guide was done entirely by [Saurian Dash](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIygi3xVEx3hGJXZo59eJQw), who you might have come up with if you watched old /v/'s Style Tournaments (VST for short) or if you've been looking for general mechanic analysis of Platinum Games.
Today I bring you a pdf link to the official guide (because it's really expensive nowadays and it's become hard to find by now).
* Here's a [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch1U73QXTsY) for the Future Press Guide
* This is the guide. [Bayonetta Official Guide by Future Press](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jCj6KnK8fVHDwtwwbG0lF_TvVHS5GCBb/view).
* [This is the companion Playlist on Youtube by Future Press](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3357AB4E9598D1F2). You'll find the visual references for everything explained in the guide. It really is an excellent companion piece and a great visual guide on its own.
* This is the [Bayonetta System Guide - Umbran Arts](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwWQGfD4d7F1-fXzodIL1LLARxFEQAhJ) by Saurian Dash (who created the guide) which intended to be a playlist summarizing the contents of the guide.
These content alone should be enough to get you to the highest level of gameplay in the shortest amount of time, but perhaps you want to consume content at a different pace or from a different person so I'll present you with a few videos that come under HEAVY recommendation to understand and enjoy this game.
* Here we have **Matthewmatosis**' ["How to enjoy Bayonetta"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwA5Hw3jC-0&index=33&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt). I'd recommend watching from the start if you're an absolute beginner, I'd recommend starting from 9:37 timestamp if you're a beginner player but you've played a bit.
* This is **lukusridley**'s beginner [guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJft0yKweZ8&index=41&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s) to start enjoying Bayonetta. He covers some info which isn't really clear and most people don't realize until hours upon hours of gameplay. Case in point: the flipping guns animation+sound guide to use as an audio/visual reference to do combos with pauses.
* This is **yoshesque**'s guide to understanding ["Dodge Offset"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOVVmm4KOm4&index=16&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s) (useful for ANY Platinum Games offering) this should be watched almost as an obligation as it is one of the most important mechanics in all of Platinum Games. She also has her [Bayonetta:Explained](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQeKbtsCa950sgzUWWrxLBQbDk_zpUhfB) series in which she covers the mechanics of how scoring/ranking Pure Platinum work. She is one of the bigger youtube personalities around Bayonetta on Youtube and /v/cuhrayzeegames (where all of our community started, basically). Her playthroughs are also a good source of info if you're having problems or want to learn some stuff about the game.
* This is **Broly2012** (one of the most respected members of the community ever since the VSTs of old, he is a god among DMC3 players) [Mechanical Guide to Bayonetta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozB_BUwyA5E&index=12&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s), accompanied with a writeup you can still access with wayback machine. This was one of the first videos covering the in-depth mechanics of the game around on Youtube.
I am now going to present you with one of the more unknown people around the gamers, but pretty well known guys around the *gamedev* community. This is **Ben Ruiz**. Ben is the developer of Aztez, a 2D character action game with an insane amount of depth. His research and devlog for developing this game is insane and gives a pretty good idea of how combat mechanics in these games work.
* Here you have his piece on [Bayonetta's Combat Design](https://aztez.com/blog/2012/02/08/combat-analysis-bayonetta/).
* Here you have a piece he wrote on ["The secret game inside Bayonetta 2"](https://aztez.com/blog/2014/11/04/on-bayonetta-2/), which highlights the intricacies and nuances of deeper game design in both Bayonetta games.
* Here is the companion [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smKojt_XMzw) for said article.
* Here is another [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OU4CoYkY6o) of him covering the in-depth mechanics and game design of these games. He was asked to go more in-depth by the Indie Megabooth after he was giving commentary about it.
Ben Ruiz went so in-depth when analyzing these games that he made a [career out of it](https://www.benruiz.net/). If you're interested in more in-depth game design/combat mechanics analysis by him I recommend you to check his [devblog](https://aztez.com/devblog-index/).
Now I'll present you with a more comedic set of videos you might enjoy. You might have heard of **SuperButterBuns** and her "X for Beginners" series which are a half a comedy and half actually informative. If you have even a passive interest in this game series she might be able to convince you to try them.
* This is her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAfFCd7QNNg) on Bayonetta 1.
* This is her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwp8P67iyOw) on Bayonetta 2.
Now to finish this long post I'll just add a [guide](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-mpnnXfvEJ0XFr_ok5M-u_bNntpYnB5a) to do Pure Platinum on NSIC difficulty by Zodiac Must Die (adding it for the commentary). I'd also recommend checking out people like [Ha0KuaiDeJian](https://www.youtube.com/user/Ha0KuaiDeJian) who makes insane guides for games like these. That goes without mentioning our king [donguri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ebzDdYd5g&index=21&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s). Finally this is Saurian's own Bayo [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwWQGfD4d7GM7h-xdyHlwb9idO1xmVgY) where he used to collect cool Bayo videos, absolutely worth a check. I'll leave [this](https://youtu.be/YnkoLGiF1K8?t=1) here.
I encourage any new player to understand the combos in this game as Wicked Weaves + buffer. Focus on the type of wicked weave you want and then add as many inputs you need before it as to rack up damage and points. There are 3 types of Wicked Weaves with an effect:
Upward - A WW that appears from the ground and smacks an opponent into the air. Its main use is for launching some of the bigger angels that are immune to non-WW launchers, such as P * P. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Uppercut or Wicked Punt depending if a punch or kick is used, respectively. Note that using a kick-based upward WW will have Bayonetta automatically follow the enemy into the air!
Downward - A WW that appears from the air and smashes an opponent into the ground. The downed enemy will immobilized for a short period of time and vulnerable to follow-up attacks. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Uppercut (not sure why) or Wicked Stomp respectively.
Forward - A WW that appears and hits an opponent across the stage. These WWs are useful for crowd control and creating space between you and your enemies. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Punch and Wicked Heel respectively.
There's also SWEEPS, which sweep down enemies to the floor and leaves them open for an attack (Think YYYBBB).
NOTE: This is an extra I'm adding right now for future reference, this is [Kamiya's Playthrough transcript]:(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wDRSdGLKmGaw8xGBjPIsFVY50s9QRF6TMXTvtososOw/edit)
The first game in the series has been released in 5 different consoles by now, that's Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC and now the Switch. Differences between these games vary from additional costumes/Rodin Treasures for Nintendo offerings (Wii U & Switch) and performance (PC being clearly a better performer here, although the Backwards Compatible offering of Bayo on XB1 has what I believe the best performance without affecting the timing of some moves unlike the PC version which tends to do this).
If you've been here in this scene long enough you must know that Bayonetta has had an [Official Game Guide by Future Press](https://www.amazon.com/Bayonetta-Official-Guide-Future-Press/dp/3869930039) that runs for a collector's price of almost $400. There are several reasons for this high price. Future Press guides always go above and beyond of what is expected in a guide, including exclusive interviews with developers and a level of attention to detail that is quite frankly second to none. This particular guide was done entirely by [Saurian Dash](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIygi3xVEx3hGJXZo59eJQw), who you might have come up with if you watched old /v/'s Style Tournaments (VST for short) or if you've been looking for general mechanic analysis of Platinum Games.
Today I bring you a pdf link to the official guide (because it's really expensive nowadays and it's become hard to find by now).
* Here's a [trailer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch1U73QXTsY) for the Future Press Guide
* This is the guide. [Bayonetta Official Guide by Future Press](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jCj6KnK8fVHDwtwwbG0lF_TvVHS5GCBb/view).
* [This is the companion Playlist on Youtube by Future Press](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3357AB4E9598D1F2). You'll find the visual references for everything explained in the guide. It really is an excellent companion piece and a great visual guide on its own.
* This is the [Bayonetta System Guide - Umbran Arts](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwWQGfD4d7F1-fXzodIL1LLARxFEQAhJ) by Saurian Dash (who created the guide) which intended to be a playlist summarizing the contents of the guide.
These content alone should be enough to get you to the highest level of gameplay in the shortest amount of time, but perhaps you want to consume content at a different pace or from a different person so I'll present you with a few videos that come under HEAVY recommendation to understand and enjoy this game.
* Here we have **Matthewmatosis**' ["How to enjoy Bayonetta"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwA5Hw3jC-0&index=33&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt). I'd recommend watching from the start if you're an absolute beginner, I'd recommend starting from 9:37 timestamp if you're a beginner player but you've played a bit.
* This is **lukusridley**'s beginner [guide](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJft0yKweZ8&index=41&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s) to start enjoying Bayonetta. He covers some info which isn't really clear and most people don't realize until hours upon hours of gameplay. Case in point: the flipping guns animation+sound guide to use as an audio/visual reference to do combos with pauses.
* This is **yoshesque**'s guide to understanding ["Dodge Offset"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOVVmm4KOm4&index=16&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s) (useful for ANY Platinum Games offering) this should be watched almost as an obligation as it is one of the most important mechanics in all of Platinum Games. She also has her [Bayonetta:Explained](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQeKbtsCa950sgzUWWrxLBQbDk_zpUhfB) series in which she covers the mechanics of how scoring/ranking Pure Platinum work. She is one of the bigger youtube personalities around Bayonetta on Youtube and /v/cuhrayzeegames (where all of our community started, basically). Her playthroughs are also a good source of info if you're having problems or want to learn some stuff about the game.
* This is **Broly2012** (one of the most respected members of the community ever since the VSTs of old, he is a god among DMC3 players) [Mechanical Guide to Bayonetta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozB_BUwyA5E&index=12&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s), accompanied with a writeup you can still access with wayback machine. This was one of the first videos covering the in-depth mechanics of the game around on Youtube.
I am now going to present you with one of the more unknown people around the gamers, but pretty well known guys around the *gamedev* community. This is **Ben Ruiz**. Ben is the developer of Aztez, a 2D character action game with an insane amount of depth. His research and devlog for developing this game is insane and gives a pretty good idea of how combat mechanics in these games work.
* Here you have his piece on [Bayonetta's Combat Design](https://aztez.com/blog/2012/02/08/combat-analysis-bayonetta/).
* Here you have a piece he wrote on ["The secret game inside Bayonetta 2"](https://aztez.com/blog/2014/11/04/on-bayonetta-2/), which highlights the intricacies and nuances of deeper game design in both Bayonetta games.
* Here is the companion [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smKojt_XMzw) for said article.
* Here is another [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OU4CoYkY6o) of him covering the in-depth mechanics and game design of these games. He was asked to go more in-depth by the Indie Megabooth after he was giving commentary about it.
Ben Ruiz went so in-depth when analyzing these games that he made a [career out of it](https://www.benruiz.net/). If you're interested in more in-depth game design/combat mechanics analysis by him I recommend you to check his [devblog](https://aztez.com/devblog-index/).
Now I'll present you with a more comedic set of videos you might enjoy. You might have heard of **SuperButterBuns** and her "X for Beginners" series which are a half a comedy and half actually informative. If you have even a passive interest in this game series she might be able to convince you to try them.
* This is her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAfFCd7QNNg) on Bayonetta 1.
* This is her [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwp8P67iyOw) on Bayonetta 2.
Now to finish this long post I'll just add a [guide](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-mpnnXfvEJ0XFr_ok5M-u_bNntpYnB5a) to do Pure Platinum on NSIC difficulty by Zodiac Must Die (adding it for the commentary). I'd also recommend checking out people like [Ha0KuaiDeJian](https://www.youtube.com/user/Ha0KuaiDeJian) who makes insane guides for games like these. That goes without mentioning our king [donguri](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9ebzDdYd5g&index=21&list=PLg1VoLcqsUFQJ8-jXZlWQWDqM8Gmi-yYt&t=0s). Finally this is Saurian's own Bayo [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrwWQGfD4d7GM7h-xdyHlwb9idO1xmVgY) where he used to collect cool Bayo videos, absolutely worth a check. I'll leave [this](https://youtu.be/YnkoLGiF1K8?t=1) here.
I encourage any new player to understand the combos in this game as Wicked Weaves + buffer. Focus on the type of wicked weave you want and then add as many inputs you need before it as to rack up damage and points. There are 3 types of Wicked Weaves with an effect:
Upward - A WW that appears from the ground and smacks an opponent into the air. Its main use is for launching some of the bigger angels that are immune to non-WW launchers, such as P * P. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Uppercut or Wicked Punt depending if a punch or kick is used, respectively. Note that using a kick-based upward WW will have Bayonetta automatically follow the enemy into the air!
Downward - A WW that appears from the air and smashes an opponent into the ground. The downed enemy will immobilized for a short period of time and vulnerable to follow-up attacks. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Uppercut (not sure why) or Wicked Stomp respectively.
Forward - A WW that appears and hits an opponent across the stage. These WWs are useful for crowd control and creating space between you and your enemies. In-game they are referred to as Wicked Punch and Wicked Heel respectively.
There's also SWEEPS, which sweep down enemies to the floor and leaves them open for an attack (Think YYYBBB).
NOTE: This is an extra I'm adding right now for future reference, this is [Kamiya's Playthrough transcript]:(https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wDRSdGLKmGaw8xGBjPIsFVY50s9QRF6TMXTvtososOw/edit)
