The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I was talking with Aesa, and I ended up rambling about Silent Hill 2, and then Earthbound, because they were games I called “must plays.” Then I got to thinking that no, must play isn’t right. I tried “Flawless,” but as I started to make a list, I realized that wasn’t right either. Many of these games have flaws. I finally settled upon “Untouchables.” This list I was making was a list of games that, if I had the magical power to enact change on them however I wanted, I would not touch. They are something special, close to perfect, warts and all. Anything I’d do to adjust them would just ruin the magic, so I wouldn’t. These are likely games I love, yes, but many games I love have things I would fix. Take, for example, Space Channel 5. I love Space Channel 5 from the bottom of my heart, and if I was listing favorite games? It would be on there. But that game is messed up in so many ways. It’s got huge problems that could probably be fixed while keeping its charm and what I love about it! It isn’t an untouchable game.

Does that make sense? Anyway, I’m going to try this out as a series. We’ll see if I decide this is a stupid blog topic or not. I’ve made a long list, and I’ll just start writing thoughts about them, hm? We’ll see where this goes.

As I started writing down the list, one thing hopped into my head which shocked me. Bayonetta is a perfect game. I very much WOULD say that Bayonetta is a game without flaw. That surprised me. I’m still just not into that kind of combo-driven, perfection-demanding gameplay that Bayonetta has in spades. Why would I feel it so perfect? But dammit, it is. It is perfect.

Again, I am no expert at the combat in this game. I cannot do any sick combo videos or anything of the sort. I’ve seen them, and goddamn, are they a thing of beauty. The game clearly rewards that kind of play, which is fantastic. If you persevere, you will become badass. But normally these kinds of systems sacrifice accessibility for that. If you don’t put in that time, you’re useless. Bayonetta’s easy mode fixes that completely. Much like how Rock Band makes me feel like a skilled musician, the Bayonetta easy mode made me feel like someone making ridiculous combo videos to youtube. And while I’m sure the high you get from actually pulling that stuff off, and the much, much more complex stuff you can do if you’re in full control, feels much better, it let me have a taste that I never, ever would have had otherwise. That’s the mark of a great game.

Similarly, I stand by Bayonetta as being one of the best female characters this generation. She has depth, she’s a sexual being without being stereotypical eye candy for no reason, and you like her. She’s a fully realized person, and that is just so rare in games. On top of that, the game has an entertaining and batshit insane storyline that you feel like you could never follow, BUT YOU DO. Somehow, every fucked up thing in the world of Bayonetta quickly makes sense to you. Being that crazy, but somehow that grounded, is great storytelling.

I wouldn’t change anything about Bayonetta. This is a game that should be affecting how people design games. I don’t know if it truly is, which is a shame. Don’t make a sequel to Bayonetta now! It doesn’t need that, though I will fully admit I will play it. But it should shine as one of the high points of this long console generation. I truly think it should.