Well it is difficult to compare two games without generalizing. Are all the weapons "actual" re-skins? Of course not. I was only trying to emphasize the lack of individuality between them compared to DMC3. Compared to other games, Bayo trumps the vast majority of the wannabes. Against NG, there is some argument even though I give the edge to some NG titles. And you are only saying I'm favoring my known intricate areas with DMC3 since I use those examples. That's just tone though. How much of a disparity can you get between Nevan and Cerberus? Even novice players can notice things like Nevan providing aerial defense with air play. The same can be said for Cerberus with it's rapid hit stun. Yet both of those can't do what the other does nearly the same in those regards. You can also just take a quick gander at E&I vs. Kalina Ann. Artemis against any other weapon is also an easy choice. Those are not intricate examples that only hundreds of hours of study reveal.
There is also misinterpretation with my playing of Bayo. I beat it on all difficulties and only casually picked it up since a few times. However, I didn't mention that I played Bayo the ENTIRE TIME trying to unlock combat potential. I literally gave two shits about anything else in the game including the story, most bosses, and platforming. Once I saw how easy normal was, that's all I did. I was trying to figure out combos, toying in the training arena, opening up new skills, trying to weave them in (pun intended), etc... I say you can abuse wicked weave and it lowers combat reward for styling. This is true. That doesn't mean that's what I did. When I spend that many hours simply focused on exploiting the combat, I don't believe I shortchanged trying to learn about the game. I saw differences in the weapons but just felt that they were so negligible that I wasn't favoring one over the other. I started to focus on specific sets trying to see if I could exploit them individually and just kind of kept the status quo. Most of the styling is just extended aerials anyway or maybe some witch time vertical shenanigans. Which also leads me to a gripe I have about Bayo that I didn't bring up but loathe; mash finishers. Talk about breaking the combat flow. It needs to die or something yet it's now a staple in these titles... It's just awful.
So I really don't see how intricate knowledge of one title is leading me to exaggerate anything. The weapon system is great but not even close to as balanced/polished as DMC3. That's all I've been saying. And since I literally spent 15+ hours trying to disprove my theory, I don't think I'm being unreasonable. I think you are just reading too much into it.
1) In Bayonetta, Combat Reward is the visual awesomeness that is on the screen when you are using insane variations of attacks. If one cant appreciate the visual feedback part of a game - especially when it is tied to interactive parts, not just background flavors, then we might as well go back a generation or two.
I find combat reward for visual awesomeness to be only part of the equation. In fact, I think it is the lesser of what is possible. Combat reward, if done right, should be applicable to gameplay. This is especially true if the visual flair has a low learning curve. Might as well push it to cinematic finishers.
2) Now, I start to feel where you are coming from, and it is fine. You should not have to search for depth, you say, yet, why is "hidden" depth something developers should avoid? I am glad that there is a masterpiece in the market that allows that as well.
Titles of different flavors is always great. However, I find the best action games to have depth on the surface and allow you to travel down the rabbit hole. DMC3 does this extremely well, far better then DMC4. And NG also has a knack for giving the player strong options without making them dig too deep. Bayo as well but I find that it is too lopsided. I feel most casual players are likely playing very similarly, though this of course is totally unfounded. You have this toolkit but do players even have time typically to even find this depth? Should depth be reserved only for those that have oodles of time to blow or expert action gamers?
I am not saying Bayo does a bad job of presenting combat depth. It even has tutorials. But maybe even that is a bad thing? The most intricate things I have found in DMC3 do not exist on any FAQ. And I don't even find Bayo to be an FAQ type title as it is more free-flow. It just isn't as good as DMC3 in this regard. Call me bias but I'm just calling it like it is.
Anyway, back to Bayonetta vs DMC: my point is: it is clear that you do not prefer the things Bayonetta offers to you. But that still should not matter in a clear comparison, imho. The less biased outcome is one that puts them next to each other, as they both allow drastically different experiences, even though they share a genre.
I prefer Bayo for what it does right. Dodge offset and the forms are fantastic. I wish they were elsewhere and implemented as well. However, I find most other areas fall short of the rest of the trinity. It isn't about not understanding that there are different experiences to these titles. Hell, NG is way different then this pair and I could go on forever about that. Just how you traverse both combat axis is leagues different.
I see DMC3 as the set standard in action game combat. Maybe you can think of 3rd Strike as an easy comparison. Many love it for the depth but others just don't like the flavor of it. Or maybe it isn't punishing enough like Super Turbo. Yet subsequent fighters can be said to be better mostly since they are simply newer, expanded on the old. DMC4 would be a game that expanded on the past but completely fucked up what DMC3 set as a standard. Bayo is more of an extension of these past titles adding great things. It did not have gaping holes like DMC4 did, and DMC4 did in spades with simple things like enemy balance to a damn character (Dante), but it just wasn't as well done in many areas. It felt like a title that bloated itself a bit too much and really sold itself short embracing some flawed modern ideas. I'm not a fan of the massive RPG farming to fill your inventory up. It's cumbersome and again only rewards those with oodles of time. I'm not a fan of just having so many of these weapons feeling like they are more variations when a lower count with more care would have been better. I'm also not a particular fan of all the simple combat strings with all the variations. I'd rather there be more disparity between them. Like a grouping that feels more charge based or another that is based on just inputs. Bayo has this but it's spread all over the place.
I'm not saying Bayo is a bloated title. It isn't. It offers a ton which is great for players. But I will say it is spread too thin in many regards which hurts its overall design. I can't imagine the amount of care involved to tweak Nevan in DMC3 or Dante's style system in DMC4. Even NG's environmental/stage design deserves serious bonus points. In order to make up for this IMO, dodge offset and forms are there. This gives the player the ability to segment the combat system themselves, leading to some seriously crazy free-form shit. Yet wouldn't it be even better if the move list held strong enough as is? Dodge offset with what I imagine to be a better constructed system would be unbelievably awesome. I'd be playing Bayo way way more then I have or do. This of course pretty much hinges on more weapon design care but that's just what comes with the territory.
I'm delving into more of a wishlist now but I only feel Bayo could be so much more. And it is mainly enough for players who enjoy different things about action games then I do. That's why I heavily stress that I am bias towards playing action games how I like. This is not the same as bias towards DMC3 or other titles. DMC3 just allows me to pretty much enjoy an action game how I prefer because it is designed that way. Bayo just teases the opportunity. It was frustrating to put it down when I realized that the rabbit hole hit bottom way quicker then I expected. And I wasn't about to reinvent what I enjoyed about action games to continue.
the variety comes in the form of hold actions, dodge offset utility, special attack modifiers and even just what limb its on.
I agree with this.
This strikes me as odd as hell coming from a high level DMC player
I addressed this above.
I appreciate the weapons in Bayonetta more than Gunbo does, but from a general view point, I personally felt - that if you became proficient with one weapon you can pretty much wreck town with them all instantly. Durga felt like a nice change of pace that really required you to take a seat back and analyze it a bit, but everything else just felt similar.
Well I was a bit harsh (as usual) on the weapons. They are great but I'm comparing them to the title that I believe has the best weapon balance in action gaming. So I'm going to say it is a lot to definitely a little less. I think Bayo is a great title and it shits on pretty much all other games with it's weapon system. So I really don't want to give the impression that I dislike it. That's far from the truth, it's really well done overall. It just is outclassed by DMC3 and with some argument DMC4, NGB, etc...
Great point about wrecking town and one I didn't bring up. Just give me Shuraba + anything. I'll coast to the finish line. I'd probably take Odette along with it. I was unhappy that I wasn't drawn to other weapon sets based on gameplay. The other titles make this mandatory. But this is also related to the difficulty curve which is skewed. Did I also mention that it is ridiculous that you can't start Bayo on hard!?!?! That's actually my BIGGEST complain with the title. Like for real, I have to dredge through this cake walk, enemies dying so fast I can't explore options? Guh. Yea, that I can say I unanimously hate without accord. It fucking sucks.
Where have you been sir?! Been MIA for quite a while everywhere. Great post though.
Real life shit. But now I really want to play more of Bayo. lol Time to make some time! Maybe... My opinion won't change though.
Though my 360 really works like shit.