It's good to see you guys here. People talk the MOST bollocks about this game, it's refreshing to be able to talk about it without having to justify each and every fucking thing. I can't get over people bitching about an action game like this receiving such high review scores, the reason this game got a 10 from EDGE is because the reviewer has PLAYED IT. I don't mean the usual quick aimless blundering through, this guy has played through every difficulty, got his grades and completed Nonstop Climax, he's RINSED Bayonetta and has a complete understanding and appreciation of the system. Why people can't get their heads around games being genius because of their mechanics rather than their narrative or visuals is beyond me.

VITAL piece of equipment this! When I played through Normal I repeated the Temperantia fight a couple of times to gain enough Halos to buy this, it's incredible! It's a very different beast to Royal Guard, the parry itself does not give you any points and you run the risk of losing your combo if you concentrate too hard of defence. The upside of this is that it's really easy to parry, and the parry action is completely independent of Bayonetta's current animation status, on top of this the execution window is HUGE! Work this into your game asap, parrying with perfect timing activates an automatic counter-attack (like Dante's Just Release) - scores points AND activates an extended instance of Witch Time.

Much appreciated man, Im actually raelly excited, the game is still really fresh and there are a lot of familiar faces. Once things get going, and people start progressing through hard to get to Climax im sure things will get relaly interesting here. This is 1 of those games with almost limitless possibilities and applications, so Im interested to see how boss strategies and enemy specific weapon layouts/combos begin to unravel and progress as times goes on.

Regarding the parry system, just as Saur said its really dam useful, especially for bosses, but since simple standing there is bad for your scoer, im starting to use it more and more for option selecting. For example, since the last few frames of Bayo's ground evade are vulnerable (especially if you roll too early) you can quickly tap a direction to give yourself some added defense, since there's a slight recovery after finishing a roll that prevents your from instantly rolling again (at least i think). And since there is no parry animation (unlike Dante's RG) it doesnt interupt the flow of whatever you were doing, so there's no drawback if nothing attacks you.

Saur, I alrdy commented on that vid, your such a fiend guy XD it is brilliant play though, watching it like the 10th time I started to notice all the various techniques you employ and it motivated me to scoop up the remaining ones once I finsihed normal. talk about setting the bar high though, your dodge-offset is so fine tuned, I can barely do PkP combo while dodge offsetting.

Right now thats my biggest turn off, unlike DMC3, even the Abyss nights which are one of the strongest enemies in DMC3 can be stunned by simple weapon attacks (until the DT and get their shields of course), but on Bayo's hard mode, even the simple enemies cant be stunned, you can trip them of course (ala PPPK combo) but you need to get 3 punches off first which is hard unless you use the offset system. So right now, this is my main focus and something i NEED to work on, dodge-offset is practically bread and butter.

Dodge Offset is really important in the higher modes, but you don't have to rely on it exclusively. There are loads of nuances to take advantage off, look at what happens when you parry an enemy attack (a stagger), throw a single kick at an Affinity, Applaud or Ardor and you'll stagger them. After a parry against one of these angels you've got time to cue up PP . P which will launch them. Also, unlike DMC; the direction of attack makes a difference here - attacking enemies from behind has the same effect as it would in a technical beat em up.

Like you say, there's a million different ways to do everything. It's like God Hand; you just mess about with everything and more and more uses present themselves to you as you go. There isn't a single technique or ability which doesn't have a hidden depth, even bread and butter things you take for granted you'll find have another level. Like Dodge Offset in it's basic form is not the whole story; there are many different types of Offset.

true enough. Im approaching the game very linearly right now, I have almost no appreciation of any of the depth of each of the techniques.

I was being dramatic though, its not so much of a turn off, but more of a concern. Im not too familiar with this site cause I actually tried to go back and edit my post but im guessing the edit window is pretty small cause my changes didnt save...qq XD

Neway, my main thing is that Im trying to play the game the same way as I would play DMC3 (do a cool combo into launcher, sick air combo, finisher, flow into next combo, launcher, etc.) which i think is the wrong approach. Like you say, its about using all teh techniques, which even though I have bought, I havent played around with very much. What I need to do is find an Alfeim that I can totally abuse for hours on end and practice my combos and tactics.

1 thing im messing around with is the Durga gauntlets, they're slow when in 'fire' mode but I love the Electricity setting, its so dam fast and it has this really cool uppercut launcher/rising attack reminscent of Beowulf's Rising Dragon (minus the extra hits though).

Another thing that I purchased, but I didnt save it, is that item that allows you to make shadow clones of yourself (costs 100k, and of course I have no idea what the name is). That thing is insane, I love activating it and tri-attacking some poor bugger after activating witch time. ANyone know off hand if it can be turned off though? I only messed around with it for a cpl minutes, but it seemed impossible to turn off, aside from opening up the inventory screen and unequiping it, or running out of magic.

Yeah you can turn off Accessories the same way you activate them, just hold P+K and she'll deactivate the ability. That one is really good fun, it becomes a race to build the Magic Gauge as quickly (or quicker) than it's being depleted so you can keep it going for a whole Verse.

Durga is an incredible weapon, you won't believe how much there is to it - infact it's 2 weapons! Seriously you'll end up going back to everything you've already bought and tried out all over again the more you delve into the system.

What you mention about DMC3 is EXACTLY what I went through. It took about 2 months to completely shake it off and start playing Bayonetta style instead of trying to approximate DMC3. Once you break out of that mindset the movement totally changes and you see a whole new dynamic which is unique to this game. The scoring system does not allow for the sort of thing you're used to in DMC3 and Bayonetta's movement is light years ahead of everything else before it.

Just following up what you said about Durga Saur... that video you posted you have Durga equipped to Bayos feet dont ya?? That disgusting man!! How does that work with the combos on the kicks, do they change to a slower move set than if you had Scarborough fair still equipped?

Possibilities... endless!!

Finished on Normal, 10 hours of just pure messing about and having fun. Loved it.

Now the work begins, I got to learn how to kick some heads in if I'm gonna handle Hard. Need some dodge offset wicked weave training. I was alright at it on the PS3, but seem to have complete forgotten how to pull it off now. Something about holding down a K or P while dodging but I'll be damned if I can do it tonight...

Whens that guide out again!XD

Whichever weapon you have equipped to feet will dictate the combo animation for kicks. Scarborough Fair and Onyx Roses for example share the same animation set, but Durga and all other foot weapons are unique. With Durga, the two different modes change the animation of her kicks (fire is slow and strong, lightning is fast but weaker).

All attack properties are different too. The effect the fire and lightning kicks with Durga have on the enemy are different between modes, this is the case with all weapons - it's not just the animation and damage which is different; the hit effect is different too.

Saur: true enuf man, I remember u mentioning the process of unlearning everything from DMC3. I will say 1 thing, this game is like crack, even though certain things frustrate me right now, all I wanna do is play it, ALOT!!!

decided to go back and redo the Jeanne fight at the beginning of chapter 3, man is that fight ever different on hard. 1 thing is that witch time doesnt last as long, so PPPPK (spam kciks to wicked weave) is not a good punish combo when you dodge one of her attakcs, so I started using PPPKP (which ends with a wicked weave Launcher), and that worked nicely, the back-forward P/K wicked weaves that consume magic gauge are useful too, big damage.

Im gonna try PPKK next, cause it ends with a vertical wicked weave that stomps downward, so I dont have to jump into the air and chase her.

Also went back to the first two chapters to upgrade the medals, although Im saving the Pure Plat runs until Post-climax Mode, Im placing more emphasis on avoiding any stone awards cause I despise those things so much.

Playing through Hard again tonight, and I've some how managed to get myself into the mindset of not leaving a level untill I've Platinum'd it both on Normal and Hard. I'm still on the Prologue for Hard!

The Parry Accessory WRECKS enemies like Fearless. Heck, remember the first time Fortitudo appears in the first proper level? Where it's him just firing fireballs? I used the parry to deflect 4 of his shots, DEAD! If you take it to the other stage of the fight where he tries to bite you, two charged Durga attacks and a slice from the swords sends him packing.

Just need to get the balance right in not taking damage, not getting greedy for parries and combos and trying to do all that while finishing in a speedy time. Grace and Glory seem to hate the opposite attack from Durga. Fire hates Electricity and Electricity hates fire. The Samurai sword full charge destroys them too. Just have to use the panther to run to a safe place, begin the charge and evade untill it's safe to unleash. Not always fool proof although I've been standing in the open charging and just parrying their attacks. Got greedy, got killed.

Amazing how you can parry during ANYTHING. Nothing stops her...wonder if it will work during a taunt? I tried to buy it Saur when I first got the game, but I was struggling by Chapter 6 on Bayonetta's vanilla moveset. Fortitudo in the church got me a good couple of times and then I decided to splash out on her moveset. Got everything for just over 120,000. So I was good for half of the cash of Parry!

Can't wait to take my powered up Bayonetta to some of the other characters. Any character with a projectile is instant bait for the parry. Beloved, Fortitudo, Grace and Glory, Fearless are a push over when I've got my mind right.

Also, to balance out the praise, that Outrun and Space Harrier Homage levels are AWFUL. Didn't mind the fight with x3 Joys, just the enemies on cars, jump and attack them bit.

Did the "Juunen hayaindayo!" a few times today too. XD

Singho spits his tea, develps a nosebleed and jumps out his window.

Still watching the vid...crazy man, Crazy. lol

Any advise in regards to what I should have for my 3rd accessory?

I've got Mahaa Kalaa, the taunt\energy revivie and an empty slot.

LOL!

Blasphemy though. My head exploded into candy floss when Space Harrier kicked in! That's the stuff of LEGEND!

PS - The empty slot is only for Easy-Auto mode, you can't have a true 3rd Accessory. I only use two of them (I should use others but I can't find the need for them) - Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa and Gaze of Despair. When I want to mess about I use the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa only, but when it's serious tings I equip the Gaze too.

I managed to score 26th overall worldwide on Iustitia on Hard! This was without the Kilgore skank though, I refuse to use it so I don't think I'll ever get any higher.

I am not gonna say anything more on the matter! It was nice fan thing when the muzak kicked in, same with the Outrun stage, BUT, they could've had Bayonetta with Cereza on her back actually in the Space Harrier pose shooting stuff. THEN, my head would've exploded into NANDOS, nevermind candyfloss. ACTUAL MEAT...CHICKEN with Peri Peri sauce fountain.

Preferred the final motorbike section with Jeanne, THAT WAS EPIC. Just watching the cutscene after the end of prologue with Bayonetta and Jeanne. The slow motion winks, nods and sultry looks at the camera is making me crease. Music is THUMPING on that bit too. xD
Bassline...

...

Errr...lol

3rd accessory tips then?

Edit...oh right. On easy only then. Nevermind then.

I had no idea what this kilgore thing was all about so I did a quick search on youtube and found this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ2p5JQjxos

the PPPP(switch to Kilgore)KKKKK combo is a glitch Suar mentioned before, but I had no idea what the glitch was about up til now. Its surpringly simple, yet it broadly has loads of application, epsecially on pretty much any enemy once Witch time is activated. Im curious to see what it does to enemies like Pride and Glory, or Joy, once Witch Time is activated.

speaking of Pride and Glory, what Singho said before regarding alternating between Lightning and fire Durga's vs. the Pride and Glory is very interesting. I tested it out a bit but not thoroughly enough to make any sound conclsuions. I have loads of trouble fighitng them so I'll definately experiment more. 2 things i kno though, 1 is that Odette works wonders against them and pretty much all the larger enemies, as it can freezes certain enemies after landing a number of hits (its a great trick I learned from Saur) Basically u hit them enuf times and she encases them entirely in ice, which is essentially the same as witch time as you can just lay in some big damage while they're totally defenseless. In fact, I think Odette is my favourite Leg weapon thus far simply because attacking a giant ball of ice and even chucking the ice ball at other enemies is great fun. 2nd, the Shotgun blasts that come out when holding Punch, ala PPPP (where you hold each succsessive press to get a blast) stuns them and can even interupt their combo, and the damage is very nice too.

Went toe to toe with Jeanne 1 all night and finally managed to pull off a platinum run against her on the first attempt. Parrying is so invaluable in that fight, and I was definately on to something before, if you can activate witch time, PPKKK is THE Combo for damage. Most of the time Witch time will wear off by the time u hit PPKK (ends with vertical downward wicked weave), but thanks to the dodge offset system, u can input that last kick and dodge/parry straight away as witch time ends and she recovers. Whether that last kick hits is a 50/50 but its really really safe to get it out and it does HUGE damage if it hits.

also wandered around the rest of the chapter (Chapter 2 i think? Vigrid) and I found that 1 hidden Alfheim that Saur used in his most recent gameplay vid. I would've thought that particular stage would be much farther in the game, but low and behold its smack in the middle (and very well hidden) of Vigrid. Fought my way to chapter 4 and am on to the first main boss (2 headed dragon). Chapter 3 is a nightmare, I missed so many areas so I definately need to go back. Im almost to the point where I wanna grab a pen and some paper and record my progression through the level verse by verse, especially when some of the larger levels have in excess of 12-15.

1 thing I wanna ask though is can you skip over a verse (be it a fight you dont HAVE to do or an Alfheim) and still get a Pure Plat rating? Assuming you get a Pure Plat grade on every verse you DO finish?

I'm sorry, is this actual enthusiasm?

Anyways, I just wondered if people were umm y'know, using the items and mapping them to the d-pad? And even concocting items...

I had a go but it felt wrong, I bought the revive syringe and is that better or worse than just continuing, by the time that syringe has been used your usually well past competency anyways.

Also, I am developing a hatred of the twin red and blue claw dudes, they do a earth shattering uppercut to general pwnage that keeps getting me like the NOOB THAT I AM.

Still, its all good, everytime I start playing its 2 hours later.

Nope - as long as you have a few Pure Platinums in the bank, you can miss a couple of Verses and still get a Platinum overall. But if you want a Pure Platinum overall then you have to Pure Platinum every Verse. You can reset back to the title menu and use the Continue function during a Verse if you mess it up - it doesn't count as a death or continue.

Also RT+BACK/SELECT skips cutscenes instantly, not many people clocked that! XD

I refuse to have any part of the Kilgore Glitch (Hundred Kilgore - is what the guys who found it called it). You can bypass just about every other technique in the game and just use this, if you are so inclined. The scores people are putting up are ridiculous and can only be achieved with this exploit, it's F-Zero GX snaking all over again!

Once you learn how they work you'll LOVE Grace & Glory! They scare the hell out of you at first but give it time and you'll start to see how they've been programmed. Every enemy follows a very strict behaviour routine, they follow it to the letter. Also the large numbers of attacks these guys do will all activate Witch Time, so if you're having problems try evading the Grace's flame spin attack as the hit box is huge so all you have to do is evade anywhere you like within close range and you'll get a Witch Time.

Then they throw Gracious & Glorious at you - which don't allow Witch Time! You'll have a heart attack the first time you fight them! XD - but the brillaint thing is that it forces you to learn them and you'll eventually be able to batter them and forget the need for Witch Time.

Wow, it is very good isn't it

I finished it on normal yesterday, some amazing enemy and level design towards the end. The Sega call backs blew my mind too

The controls have hooked me, very fluid, so I never feel like I'm dialling them in, which is really impressive given how many options the combo system has.

I'm pretty bad at it though, my brain just isn't tuned in to thinking around so many different combo opportunities, it is pretty bewildering. I can understand what most of the options are, but can't react quickly enough to really take advantage, and end up falling back on a few basic moves to get through when things become strained (pp.k).

I am very slowly improving, the timing of the combo system itself has clicked, and so has the evade/witch time set up. Some of the later enemies are so fast I can't properly judge when to evade though, and some don't seem to trigger witch time at all (Gracious & Glorious from what you just said there - total bastards, what do you do with that?).

Correctly using wicked weave is beyond me, as is making best use of the torture attacks, and keeping the combo going. I've made enough halos for all of the techniques and the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa, but only just equipped that and not used it yet. I have played with the Scarborough Fair and the Katana so far, not tried the whip or Durga. How do the different weapons change the combo system, just different moves? I used the whip for a while, and it seemed much harder to quickly string combos together.

The story is really good fun, as well as confusing and insane, and Bayonetta herself manages to seem less ridiculous and embarrassing as the game goes on, thank god. The demo makes her seem a bit too ridiculous I think, the full game manages to balance that with back story.

Yeah, really good stuff, need to get back in there on Hard

I LOVE Bayonetta to bits - her past is actually very painful, you saw how she always used to wear a mask, how she was never allowed direct contact with her mother? Now she's never seen without glasses (even though she doesn't need glasses), there's reasoning behind all of this which they touch upon but have cleverly left it at that.

This is where they're forcing you to realise that you don't need Witch Time. It's a nasty lesson to learn but once you do, you game improves dramatically as you gain an appreciation of the attack properties of Bayonetta's moves as opposed to the damage properties within Witch Time. You need to learn the enemy behaviour pattern and how to dictate their actions, you can do this - you can totally dictate everythign these enemies do. I want to expand upon it here but I've already written TONS about this exact thing in the guide so I'm not going to post anything about it.

The weapon you equip to each limb set changes the animation for the limbs in question while retaining Bayonetta's basic combo chart. The basic chart is the Handguns, Scarborough Fair, Onyx Roses combo list - when you equip another weapon it's like fitting an overlay on top of this chart. Some things are retained while others are replaced. Shuraba for example has it's own specific combo chains which replace certain ones from the original chart (PP.PPP for example). Same goes for foot equipped weapons, each weapon applies an overlay to the basic kick chart and changes the animation and properties accordingly. Certain foot weapons wildly change Bayonetta's kick attacks animation, Odette for example also completely changes Bayonetta's movement and you'll need to learn a whole new style.

There was me thinking I was TEH SICKN3ZZ because I can rock the WT with my eyes closed and now you saying that WT aint shit and its only for little girls and their Grannies?

DAMN.

ROFLDILE - but it's true! XD - You've got two different games here, on one hand you've got standard Bayonetta where "the hook" is the evade into Witch Time. Then you've got a whole new game with Nonstop Climax where you don't have Witch Time so you MUST learn every nuance of the combat in order to make the magic happen.

It's like Level Die in God Hand but 10x more of a marked effect.

I used SLOW all the time in Joe, I like slow, slow is good...Bayonetta may be hawt enough to pull me out of my comfort zone tho.

I was afraid of that...thats just plain mean! I think what Im going to do is start taking my laptop through each level and record verse by verse where it is and what I can find there so I know what I have to do/fight in order to pure plat it. I think I played DMC3 for at least 2 years before I ever fathomed getting all SS ranks, but Im planning this out with Bayo right from the start.

yeah I got that ages ago, found that accidently while mashing every button like a madman during a cutscene XD

at first i thought it was pretty cool gimmick, but I found a cpl other videos showing it in practice and it is really broken! So I might mess around with it to make some money but I wont do any serious Plat/Boss runs using it. It sort of defeats the purpose of EVERYTHING else she has, forget techniques, forget equipment slots, forget skill, use the glitch and its easy mode.

wee double post! Love eh? I can think of a cpl other emotions these guys can conjure out of me but love is not 1 of em!!!

@Papercut - the whip is a really sick weapon, the first punch when starting a fresh combo can be held to do 1 of three things

first - hold P and leave the stick at neutral, u grab and pull an enemy towards you and then any followup Punch that you do is different from the regular whip attacks that you get with PPP, the animation changes to a slap move with the whip coiled in her hand.

2nd - hold P and press towards the opponent, she grabs them and pulls herself to the enemy or slightly above them and then u can attack them from the air

3rd - hold P and back, she grabs them and starts spinning them around in a 360 which hits all other ajacent enemies and then you can hit Punch whenever to release and throw them.

this 1 I really love to bits and its very handy for some of the more annoying enemies that fly around, plus you can jump and grab+pull an enemy into the air where you can air combo them to your hearts content.

The whip and the skates are my favs so far...and turning into the crow when its all kicking off (that crow is the most chilled out animal in the whole entire world).

Whip sounds awazing. My copy has not turned up yet and my 360 is still in bits. Right now I'm emerald green with envy.

This thread makes wonderful reading... just pure untouched enthusiasm, awesome!! Couple of chapters out from finishing my first run on Normal and going back through some early levels for halo farmge. Racking up about 20,000 Halos per run on The Vestibule and thought I had a Pure Platinum in the bag overall but only got a Platinum, even though I had pure platinums for the 2 verses, whats up with that, have I missed an Alfheim or something?

thats really strange, i would've thought u'd nail the pure plat for sure. Im sure there are only 2 verses in the Vestibule, was it time maybe? I'll let Saur tackle that 1. He must have encountered that before.

Im loving the threads as well, although i wish it was possible to create subcategories for various bosses cause I kno there'll be lots of information being exchanged, especially once everyone gets on the same page. Speaking of which, sry to hear about your copy Madbury, I had to wait about a week to get my jap ps3 copy so I kno how u feel.

@Spagmaster - I love the crow, although there really isnt anyplace where its all that useful, especially compared to the beast within, but 1 thing that I really love, and am slowly starting to use more and more, is the additional technique that becomes available once the crow is purchased, basically hitting Lock-on x2 teleports you almost instantly. It has so much application (like everything she has I guess) but I've barely scartched the surface.

Instant teleport sounds like a good way of keeping the combo going without having to tick with the guns or taunt. Will it teleport you into the air if you double lock-on to a launched enemy?

My copy was waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday. No 360 to play it on yet... >_<

Yeah I don't think we have that funtionality enabled (Papercut is your man for this). If you think a boss deserves its own thread then by all means create a new topic. Open Senses is a no nonsence place where you're not going to be bitch slapped for going off topic, bumping or starting a new thread. We credit our posters with enough intelligence to moderate themselves and behave responsibly. In some respects it's more like a multiperson blog than a forum

Snowing like a bitch here. How many of you are taking a snow *cough* Bayonetta day?

There was NOTHING when I left this morning and was amazed to find London covered, I'm in now tho so work it is

Mardigan: did you use an item? This will reduce your grade even if you score Pure Platinums. Other than that I can't think of why you didn't get the grade. Another great way to farm Halos is the fight against Temperantia, it takes around 4 or 5 minutes to beat him and you can get score millions of combo points. The Gaze of Despair also makes Halo farming much better due to the x2 gain in Combo Points you get while using the item. During giant boss fights you should make it a habit to always have this equipped.

Regarding the teleport (Umbran Spear) - I use this a lot in the last video I posted on Youtube, it's an excellent little trick to have up your sleeve and it's range of use is huge.

Yes that works fine. But it's not just for aerial combos either; it can also be "Offset" in the same way as dodge - THAT'S how mad this game is!

You're shitting me? So you can teleport offset a combo! I'm struggling to come to terms with the magnitude of that as a concept, and I've not even played the full game yet.

You can offset Dodge, Teleport, Taunt and Beast in any and all combinations - the system is totally free. There's nothing you can't do, if there's something in the game you think (might) be possible, you'll find it is and has another 4 or 5 layers beyond that.

So suppose you've got PPPKKK as a combo example (3 punches, into 2 sweeps, ending with a big kick). As an example you can Taunt between all of the opening punches, throw the first K, then enter Beast form and run to a completely different area, throw the 2nd K, then teleport somewhere else to deliver the final K.

I feel this game is like a giant mansion (stay with me on this) and on my first play through I was running around the main hall going weeeeeee, but last night I started opening up loads of doors that lead into other huge halls and its possible that I'm getting a little lost in here and will need to start making a map soon. Basically I bought a few accessories and my mind exploded!XD Knowing which accessories to use for each section is pretty important as I made the mistake of taking the Beads into a portal where enemies can only be killed using Witch Time or started trying to return the giant flying head's fireballs forgetting I had unequipped the Moon. Seems I'll be ducking in and out of the Select screen on the hop a lot, at least until I've memorised all the encounters.

Just as I was putting my head back together I saw a vid of some brer set a fireball explosion in the sky and then wicked weave punch an enemy up into it - BOOM!

What's the meth for taking down Sausage Fingers for huge Halo gains? I must admit using AutoEasy with Despair equipped for some farming, but even then I'm only seeing around 60K halos each time from this boss encounter...faster than the station bench meth tho I guess.

I use Onyx Roses, Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa and Gaze of Despair for halo farming against Temperantia. Should score you over 100k Halos each run, you can bump this up even further if you keep the combo going.

Bomb setups are just MENTAL! I really need to work on this, the possibilities are endless. I'm still at the stage where I'm not getting the spacing right and the bomb ends up detonating before the setup completes, their range is much wider than it seems!

Onyx Roses - the most neglected weapon in my arsenal, will give that a pump and see how I get on!

Dude, your my hero XD snow day ftw!

thanks for filling me in, Im not usually a big poster on forums but Im always constantly reading about ppl getting flamed for making new threads. Its true though, you guys are relaxed here, and Im sure, especially considering the popularity of this game, that w/e threads go up regarding bayonetta you guys will jump on board as well. Things are just heating up now, but once everyone's in Climax mode, I think bosses will on everyone's mind, so I'll hold off until then XD

Saur!! Did I use an item?? I'm offended you asked that, hehe Nah mate, not sure why. Think one of my verse ratings is platinum and one pure platinum so must be that? Guessing you need pure platinum across the board to get pure platinum for the mission? This is me assuming you can get pure platinum for the full mission by the way

Aye, I noticed that teleport thing in your vid Saur and didnt think much about it as I gathered I must get it later in the game plus it just looked to disgusting to even contemplate at the moment. But then I came across it by accident while testing a new technique for something else in the shop, haha. Used it A LOT on Jubileus to move between the planted tentacles and tore her to pieces after a couple of tries, nice. Def gonna be working the teleport into my stuff now, especially the aerial stuff as it gets you right up there pronto when you buss it. If you teleport while in the air but you move to the enemy you are already attacking does it reset your airtime?? IE. Can you use the teleport like an enemy step and keep yourself tuned to the same enemy for maximum beatdown?? Will test it myself later aswell.

I am sure this has been covered but has anyone else been using the dodge offset for the sword charge slash. I accidentally realised you can dodge WHILST still keeping the sword in the charge animation so you dont lose it my head fell off before I could actually use it properly though, hehe. It seems to kick in after you charge level 1 and then you can dodge while doing the remaining charge so you avoid getting nailed while you get to level 2... fantastic!!

I also need to confirm this ridiculous glitch that is present as I think I may have been using it last night because I was doing a move that was actually raping anyting it came near compared to what other moves were doing... basically, PPPPK then repeated K with Onyx Rose equipped to your feet is illegal, yeah??? Shame!! What a fucken mess it makes!!

Nah the Onyx Roses PPPPK is totally legit, so is Kilgore. It's only when you switch from Durga (feet) to Onyx Roses/Kilgore (feet) during the rapid kick when the glitch occurs. It should be 4 shots fired during the rapid kick, but the glitch fires countless shots.

Regarding Pure Platinum; yeah you have to Pure Platinum the entire stage to get this grade overall. You must complete all Alfheim portals too with Pure Platinums, miss one and you won't get the grade even if you get nothing but Pure Platinums for the rest.

Jump count reset is the same as DMC3, you have to enemy step to reset the jump count - but this is easy as you can use the Umbran Spear/teleport to get yourself into position for it at any time.

Shuraba's charge techniques are disgustingly good. You can hold your combo position and evade as you like while storing/charging the drawn slash, it's so naughty!
There's more to it too - but I'm not telling you! I want to see how long it takes you guys to suss out what else it's doing XD

I hear you about items! I've never used them either, I'm sorry I asked but it was all I could think of

Haha, nah mate, the items was the first thing I checked aswell in case I somehow used one by accident but not sure what caused it. I will sort it out tonight. Gonna try get a few normal missions Pure Platinum rated and then hit up Hard. I LOVE how completing the normal run is you just getting started with what the game has to offer. How many games can you genuinely say that about these days??!! Very few and certainly none to the extent that it applies here.

Awh SAAAAAAWEEEEEEEET!! I couldn't believe the damage the Onyx Rose (feet) was doing when it nailed the 4 shot and wicked weave finish off the kicks, I instantly fell in love with it then I remebered the glitch and thought the dream was over, hehe, guess not!! I know I aint gonna get away with using it as much as I currently can when I move to hard but when I work out what enemies have windows for it I will be ripping it wide open.

Need to check about weapons aswell. At the moment I only have Onyx Rose, Sharuba and Durga unlocked but I know there are a good few others. When do you unlock these or when do they become available to buy? I'm guessing there are Song segments I still need to collect but not sure what ones I have missed. Guide needed for that schizzle man, hehe.

Once I get a few pure platinums sorted on normal I'm sticking on some Durga trainers and going for a run

you need to finish 3 more song sets to get Sgt. Kilgore (the bazooka), Odette (the skates), and Kulshedra (the whip). Ur definately missing 1 disc shard from chapter 3 (its hidden in a chest in that little bit where you travel to Paradiso, Im pretty sure thats the 1 for Kulshedra). As for the other 2, I know that all the shards for each LP are all on the same level, so once you find 1 shard, u know that the others are in the same chapter.

Been working my way through chapters 2 and 3 with a fine tooth comb. I basically beat it on hard and then go back on normal and proceed verse by verse thru the level. Im actually recording down where each verse is and whats in it (for pure plat runs in the future). Im amazed how many things I missed the first time around, I've found 3 Alfheims that I missed in chapters 2 and 3 using this method, and Im now 4 moon pearl shards away from 3 complete bars of magic (so hype!!!) Perfect example though, try finding verse 2 on chapter 3, the Inferno City, its arguably the easiest Alfheim yet, "Stay in the Air for 20 secs" and the enemies on the map are all flyers, at least on normal anyway. With Kulshedra in hand its an easy win.

funny you mention getting such high damage from Onyx attached to your feet, I should retry those again cause I didnt think it was anything special. 1 thing I like though, double Durga (attached to both hands and feet) and doing the PPPPK combo. Instead of a wicked weave finsiher, she goes into a flurry like barrage with her arms. Not sure about the damage output but it looks wicked.

Aye man, get them stuck on her pins. I aint messed about with much of the other charged kick stuff or flurry into weave finishes but using the PPPPK with Durga on the feet must be an Angels worst nightmare, it certainly does the trick on bosses when you have an opening for serious damage!! Its only problem is the time it needs to get the kick flurry ripped in.

Thanks man, I will go back through the missions where I got the LP shards and find the rest. Cant remember what ones they were but will have a wee scan of them later. I WANT those skates!!

if I remeber correctly, the shards for Odette can be found in chapter 6 - the gates of paradise, there is one tricky one located in the 2nd room (its very large and where u fight the giant flying serpents), there is a bunch of rocks located on the left side of the room that have to be broken and the shard is behind there.

And Kilgore can be found in Chapter 9. Sry i couldnt get those to you earlier, had to leave and make dinner. Cant remember specificially where the shards are, but Im sure they`re there. Hope that helps.

Was toying with doing a Platinum run on Normal or battling through Hard last night when I found myself in the limited kicks and punches portal and it forced something out of me. Using Durga Electrical Charge on the Big Axe dudes is PURE WIN!!1 I love the way straight after that portal they throw two of these giants at you so you can try out the meth again. I'm now sold on doing a portal run, seems like the best way to fill in the blanks than my current experimentation.

Ok chaps, I'm up & running on Bayonetta now & obviously I'm shit at it but just need a bit of advice on the same thing that gets me on all of these type of games - what should I buy first? Healing items? Air dodge sounds good?

I never know what to get & sit in a constant state of 'wondering whether I've spent all my halos on something useless' :/

Don't ever buy any healing items, as the game is greade based it's pointless getting into a habit of using them.

Get yourself Air Dodge first, followed by Tetsuzanko. Air dodge completes Bayonetta's basic movement and Tetsuzanko is an instant Wicked Punch which will help you out loads. I always suggest ignoring all accessories until you buy the Moon Of Mahaa-Kalaa, I cannot stress how vital this thing is! You should aim to buy it before you hit chapter 3.

The best thing to do at this point is camp out on the "Vestibule" tutorial section. You know the first Punch and Kick Tutorial? Sit there, skip past the Punch Tutorial so you can camp out on the Kick Tutorial. Use that angel as a punching bag and get yourself accustomed to how Bayonetta's moves work. Make absolutely sure you familiarise yourself with what the single press of K does to the enemy - this is important. Try to memorise as much of her combo chart as you can and train yourself up on landing Aerial Combos against this training dummy.

Cool, thanks Saur - Air dodge it is first then

Are the concoctions important?

I was getting the hang of dodge-offsetting the wicked weave attack last night (punch, kick - dodge - massive hair fist!!!11); seems like a nice bread & butter this early in the game.

@Geoff Saur's totally right about Tetsuzanko, its a great impact move that serves as a great tool to deal quick damage or finish a combo, but its range is surprisingly good! There are loads of applicatins, boss fights included, where its useful for getting in a few extra hits while the boss is doing something in the distance or if ur in a situation here a close range attack is not a good idea. There's even an enemy which is hella annoying to fight, its a flying Serpent called Inspired, and u can use Tetsuzanko to knock it out of the air and stun it, giving you all the time you need to close some distance and get a combo off. You'll run into them in the latter half of chapter 5.

I would also recomend picking up the Moon hearts. They're 30K a piece but magic is so vital in this game that they're definately worth it.

Aside from that, the other techniques, although useful, arent necessarily vital, and you can easily get along fine without them, so it really comes down to personal choice. WHat I love is the ability to Try out each technique before you commit the halos to grab it.

Managed to pull off a half decent grade on chapter 4, first time around I had no idea how long it was, 12 verses in total, and some of them are really dam hard. There's 1 in particular, verse 10, its an Alfheim where WT is disabled and is located through the portal u have to take into Paradiso to grab the hour glass, and in Hard they throw about 8-10 Braves (smaller, faster versions of the Beloved) at you, so if your not fast enuf to kill off a cpl of them, 3 of them fuse into a bigger one and then 2 more pop out, which is really tricky to fight without WT. And to make it worse, I hear Saur mention how good the Gaze of Despair is, so I pick that up with some extra cash. Now every enemy I face is instantly turning Red and being enraged, and Im thinking its a feature of the Alfheim so I just carry on not knowing its the equipment thats doing it. Man on man was that LOADS of fun, lol.

@Spagmaster - 1 thing I would recomend is holding off on the portal run until your going through hard. Im doing each chapter verse by verse and finding tons of Alfheims and some of them are really challenging (like the one I mentioned above), but they are wonderful tools for developing a strategical mindset. There was one last nite, enemies only take damage during witch time, verse 3 of chapter 5. Ok, so you got 3 waves, first has 2 Ardors (those big brutes with sword and shields, basically upgraded Applauds), 2nd wave is Fairness and Fearless, and then, then...once you're dead and got nothing left, they throw 2 Joys at you for the third! This is on hard mode mind you. I think it took me about 45 mins of trying out different methods to finally beat it, but though it took awhile, what I gained is very valuable. 1 thing is Im much more confident about fighting all of these enemies now, but I started to bring a lot of techniques together. For instance, vs. the Ardors, I would dodge one's attack, activate WT, punish with PPPPK (flurry into Wicked weave) and then use beast form to charge the other Ardor just before WT ended, so WT would ware off and the 2nd would instantly try to attack me, and I've got another WT activated straight away. Little things like that go a long way, and the Alfheims are challenging enuf that you are forced to up your game in order to beat them.

regarding the limited Punch and kicks portals, try the durga on the fire setting, the fire bombs do twice the amount of damage as the lightning version, and wats cool is that the instant parry counter attacks (when your timing is perfect) that activate witch time do a nice bit of damage and does require a punch/kick to be used. U can actually beat the whole Alfheim doing perfect parries if ur timing is good enuf...mine isnt XD

ok, epic post, but I just wanted to add that the Onyx Roses on the feet using the PPPPK combo works wonders!!! I was doing a comparison using Odette vs. Onyx and doing that combo duding WT on Grace and Glory and its a huge difference.

oh, lol, 1 last thing, my fight vs. Fortitudo last nite (chapter 4 boss) was disgusting. 2nd time around I did an almost flawless fight, took 1 hit from an attack I SWEAR I parried, but I got the platinum for it so Im happy. Double onyx equip and PPPPK during witch time is THE SHIT!!!!

Told you it was the shit man I couldn't beleive the beatdown it was dishing out when I was using it either on bosses or right at the start of a witch time window. My next purchase is the Onyx alternate so I can see how that affects the attacks, looking forward to it!! Durga gloves with Onyx on your sandals man, get it DONE!!!!!

Thanks for the shouts on the LP shards Broly, I will give them a check just now and seeif I can find the ones I need

Yeah dude it blew me away how much damage it did. You'd think Durga would do more damage but I think because Onyx fires a cpl shots during the combo it ups the damage. gl finding the shards, hope that small info is enuf to help yuo grab the rest.

Was messing around with the costumes earlier. Whats really cool is if you check out the Extra option from the main menu, there's a option called "3D models" which allows u to cehck out all the different characters and enemies, but wats cool is that Bayonetta's has a model for each of the different costumes, and it updates as each costume is purchased, but it functions independently from your actual save data. So u can buy a costume, the model in the Extra option will unlock, and then you can go back to the title screen, and re-load to a time before the costume was purchased. Its a small feature, but its a great way to cehck out what each of the costumes look like without committing the money.

1 thing though, the "perfume bottles" yuo can buy from Rodin, which make slight changes to Bayo's outfit depending on which weapon is equipped, i.e. the perfume for Durga adds a tail that matches the setting of the weapon (regardless of whether its equipped to hands or legs), so if the wpn's set to fire, she gets a fire tail, etc., and for Kulshedra, she gets these really riske leather boots and gloves that go up to her thighs and above her elbows. Wat sux though is that the changes only affect the main costume, so you cant get the PE outfit for example, which is a japanese schoolgirl gym uniform I think (Japs have such dirty midns), and combine it with the perfume bottles, the bottles can be equipped but the changes dont physically apply...QQ Still though, 2 different ways to mix up the costumes.