I think dual Scarborough Fair is the best weapon set to learn Dodge Offset. The "hold" attack is very straight forward and easy to use, and getting used to holding buttons instead of tapping them is the key to enabling Dodge Offset.
Having put about 22 hours into Bayonetta so far, I feel ready to finally offer a final opinion.
Bayonetta is awesome. Just awesome. In a generation that's been iffy with action games, Bayonetta clearly stands tall above the competition. But, when you compare it to previous generations? Then it's not so clear.
The core of Bayonetta is pretty flawless. There's a lot to like about the combat system. It has that Blizzard style easy to learn, hard to master thing going on. No phone book of dial-a-combos, and no need to juggle weapons/stances like a gangster clown. Obviously doesn't allow button mashing, but at the same time doesn't require printing out a FAQ or watching Youtubes to be effective.
Art is hot, music is hot. They're both kind of all over the place thematically, but the quality is uniformly high even without much cohesion.
Tons of enemy variety, every boss is fun, and a few are pretty memorable. All of the bosses are meant to be epic, but honestly, the game itself is so insane that free falling churches and doing battle under the sea kind of lose their grandeur.
Also, huge props for the shear amount of crap in this game. In the age of DLC, getting a game for $60 that has like 2 dozen costumes, a dozen weapons, a dozen items, three characters and who knows how many changes from normal mode -> hard mode. Bayonetta is bursting with content, and not just for an HD gen game. Maybe one of the most packed games ever.
So just a great, great game. But a classic? The closer a game gets to classic status, the more scrutiny it should endure. Great games are rare, but classics might only come along once or twice a generation, and a game has to earn that shit. There can be no rationalization - it's either genius, or it's not.
Bayonetta... may or may not be.
For a game that gets SO MUCH right, it gets enough wrong to keep it out of the top tier. The Outrun/Space Harrier levels are awful and long. So loooong. It's almost unbelievable how many minutes are spent on these janky, frustrating sequences. And what really grinds the knife is that they're required. They're scored segments. Either learn the awfulness, or accept a marred score.
Speaking of wretched bullshit hosing scores, quick time fucking events. Thank God that they seem to disappear after the first third of the game. But that's not good enough. What in the world are some broken, ugly, childish mechanics like QTEs doing in a game that so clearly nurtures and rewards player skill. Having a PP run torpedoed by a botched QTE is a sin against action gaming.
Platforming. Fuck that shit.
Shooting the turret. First Dead Space, now Bayonetta. What is the game developer boner for terrible turret sequences?
Technically, Bayonetta is not that great. 60 FPS is a noble goal, but it doesn't excuse the amount of screen tearing going on (which, btw, DOES appear to be worse if you install.) There's also quite a bit of slowdown, and mysterious slowdown at that. Seemingly quiet, simple sequences will flutter in the high 30s, while most combat situations hold a solid 60.
Finally, the Alfheims. At first, the idea of secret challenges being part of the level score seemed... off. But in effect, it works well. The challenges aren't as goofball as the ones in DMC and seem like things that could be in the level proper. What doesn't is the weird, abstract way they appear. One is hidden until a certain trash can is destroyed. Many of them don't appear until some random task is performed, but get this: they appear WAY BACK IN THE BEGINNING OF THE MAP. The hell. Is this something Japanese people expect? Just like totally random, weird secrets that offer no clues or hints?
So, there it is. I have to put some serious time into hard mode still, not to mention lost chapter and getting the last unlockables. Maybe some additional time with the core game will help offset the bad taste of the shitty parts. Maybe additional times will just make the shitty parts shittier. What's certain is that they're are some REALLY shitty parts, and they tarnish what's otherwise a flawless game.
Hopefully this doesn't come across as too harsh. I'm in love with Bayonetta, but that love just makes the ass parts all that more jarring. Still action game of the generation. Probably deserves a spot on the top tier. Definitely a must buy for anyone who values skill over mashing.
