Thinkin Out Loud - Bayonetta 3

 Available on the Nintendo Switch

The Game

Okay so it's a Platinum Studios game and no one does action games quite like them. If you have played Bayonetta 1 and 2 you should know what to expect. I say "should" because right when you think you know what they are going to do the gameplay changes into something even more crazy and awesome. So do you need to have played Bayonetta 1 and 2 to understand this game? Short answer not exactly but it does help. The thing about these games is that they are standalone-ish. The second title was a sequel and a prequel at the same time, but you didn't have to play the first one to play and enjoy the second one. The same thing can be said in this one as there are a few characters that kinda sorta lay a little exposition. This is an action game in the same vein as Devil May Cry with this game being a little different than previous entries as there are some new game mechanics that expand the gameplay. There are levels in this game that are homages to other genres too, for example, there is one level that has a shump portion as well as a rhythm portion all in the same level. You really have to pay attention to what you are doing as it is easy to get caught off guard if you're not paying attention. Visually speaking, I think the game looks great, Platinum did add a photo mode it's not bad although I do think that Super Mario Odyssey did it a little better this one isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. There are different costumes you can acquire however, unlike Bayonetta 2 they are not any from Nintendo's other games (still hoping that they will appear somewhere down the line as DLC). 

 

On the story side of things, this game can be a bit of a mess at times. Pretty much like all of the other titles in the franchise. The short of it is as follows, ahem, Bayonetta saves the multiverse. I do like the alternate versions of France, Egypt, and Tokyo. Alternate China was great too from a visual perspective as well as a musical one too. Let me touch on this, the music in Bayonetta 3 is amazing the team did an awesome job making each area feel unique and appropriate for what was going on at that point.  Here's where I think people will start to have an issue and that's with the character of Viola and what they do with Jeanne in this game. Viola is the new character with a punk-inspired design,  she plays completely different from Bayonetta, which isn't a bad thing but sometimes when you get control of her it's easy to forget that important point. Witch-time for Viola is only activated when she blocks an attack with her sword, not by dodging. Also, her witch-time does NOT last long it is unrealistically short. The best advice I can give is to spend some time with her in practice mode. Once I started doing that I started getting a feel for the character and it started to become fun. Now as far as Jeanne is concerned her story is pretty much a side mission, where she is doing a spy-style infiltration into a facility. This may be the weakest part of the game, in my opinion, with that being said it is different and you just have to play it to understand it. I do wish that Jeanne's story felt more like a Bayonetta game but the reason it was handled in this way does make sense from a story standpoint. The cutscenes are also very well done in both handheld and in docked mode. I have an OLED Switch and the game is beautiful in handheld mode. 

Gameplay

This game incorporates a new element, the demon slave, this is where you can bring a demon you have a contract with, out in the open to help fight. It's a fun mechanic in-game to be sure that takes some strategy to use as for some of the harder fights you can run the risk of losing your demon for a time. You can choose up to three different demons to have at any one time and they all are unique with different attacks and abilities. Some are more fun than others, personally, I like Madame Butterfly and Phantasmarae and usually keep them in my rotation. There are a lot of weapons for most occasions and like the second game, you can only choose 2 at a time so choose wisely. There are also move trees for the weapons that you will have to purchase the moves for, which gives a level of strategy to the game and enhances replayability. The combo system is fun and engaging add in demon slave attacks at the end of combos and you have some of the best combo sequences in an action game. Don't be afraid to spend some time in practice mode learning combo strings with the different weapons as that does come in handy.

Overall Thoughts

This game is just fun. If you have played Bayonetta 1 & 2 there is simply no reason why you shouldn't pick this entry up. The variety of gameplay elements that are here is great and makes for an entertaining experience. This is a game I think should be in any action fans library as well as the Switch library. Now, this is an M-rated game it is not for the little ones as there are some gory scenes and partial nudity in this game. Personally, I give this game a FULL PRICE, and should be in your personal Game Of The Year category.

Fun Out of Context Clips

Trailer

Images via SwitchShare

Fresh Take: Black Panther Wakanda Forever (Spoiler-Free Thoughts)

 In Theatres

Synopsis (from IMDB): Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye, and the Dora Milaje fight to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T'Challa's death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross and forge a new path for their nation.

I'm gonna be real with y'all there have only been two movies I have teared up in before this one and that was The Lion King 1994 and The Green Mile. The first ten minutes of this movie is when the tribute takes place and it is very well done. The thing that I liked most about this movie is the acting. Especially, Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright, they straight up killed it and I thoroughly enjoyed every scene with them. This movie is very much about Shuri and her struggle with tradition, rage, grief, and her battles with all of these simultaneously. The movie deals heavily with grief and how people respond to that emotion. The new characters here are well done too. Riri Williams is a welcome addition to the MCU and I am looking forward to her series. This brings me to Tenoch Huerta's interpretation of Namor. I liked and agreed with the changes that Marvel made to Namor if those changes hadn't been made people would be complaining that he's a ripoff of Aquaman. This version of Namor makes the character more interesting, in my opinion, by giving the character a different background and culture works for the story as well. I like what they did with the visuals of Talokan and the visuals in general. They were way better than what it was in the first movie. I liked Shuri's workshop and the upgrades they made to it, it's always one of the fun things from both films. Also, the music is another thing that is done very well. There really isn't much that I found that was bad in the movie, to be honest. 

If there is something I want to address it is a lot of the criticisms I have found to be pretty ridiculous. Some people really need to familiarize themselves with the source material. I have been reading comics for a long time basically before it was cool. So yes there has been comic book runs where characters are put in leadership positions or when the main character "dies" they have to take the mantle. Some of those stories and character arcs are pretty good. This actually happens in comics a lot and for this movie, I think the story they were telling it just made sense. Going forward I think it will be interesting to see what they do Chadwick's death was unfortunate but I think they were able to make the best of the situation all things considered. 

For Parents

The movie clocks in at two hours and forty-five minutes, however, I thought it was paced well I didn't feel the time at all. No parts of the movie dragged on in my opinion and I thought the story was well done. This is a superhero movie so there is a lot of action and fighting but I think the movie strikes a good balance. This film can get emotional at times just due to the nature of what happened and the themes of the movie. There is only one post-credit scene so once that is over you don't have to stay until the very end. 

Overall Thoughts

This movie gets a FULL PRICE for me. I expected the film to have a tribute but I didn't expect to get it right out of the gate. Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright are amazing here and deserve all of the accolades for their performances. The movie is left in a good place and I am interested in seeing where they go with the story. Have you seen Wakanda Forever? What did you think? Leave a comment and let's talk about it.

Trailer

Just Thinkin: Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Arc 5 Episodes In

 Available on Hulu

Going to keep it real, I am a fan of Bleach. Needless to say, I have been wanting the last arc to get animated for a while now. As I have read the manga and there were a lot of things that happened that I would wonder what it would look like if it were animated. One thing that I am glad about it is that it is available on streaming and not on regular television. Why do you say that Jay? Easy they can do a better representation of the manga this way. On tv, a lot of things were censored which to me, was unfortunate. In the original animation, they would work around it by showing certain scenes in black and white or it would take place off-screen. Well, 5 episodes in, and needless to say the action (unmitigated violence) is turned all the way up. I had to go back and read the manga just to make sure but yeah the beginning of the arc is very brutal. I like that the animation team is not shying away from it as a matter of fact they are full-on embracing it.  Another thing that I think is helping is the strides in animation that have come in the 10 years since Bleach originally went off the air. The animation looks fantastic and it gives me a great feeling that some of those scenes from the manga will be adapted in very cool ways. Anyway next episode people will be in for a real treat as we finally get to see Genryuusai fight and unleash his Bankai. If you've read the manga you know what to expect, I am interested in seeing how it will be animated. Leave a comment and let's talk about it. Have you been watching the Thousand Year Blood War on Hulu? What are your thoughts so far? Thanks for reading if you like the content please share it and comment. 

Trailer

Just Thinkin - Indie World Direct Thoughts

 

Thoughts

Yesterday there was an Indie Direct, been a while since there was one. It went twenty-five minutes and to me, it wasn't horrible or great. I thought it was okay. The games that caught my attention were the ones with interesting art styles. For example, Sea of Rats and ONI were two that piqued my interest and I may be giving those two games a shot when they release next year. Personally, I think the Direct and Indies in general lean way to heavily in the rogue-like genre. The only rogue-like game that I truly enjoyed was Hades but for the most part, they just feel overdone at this point. There were a few slice-of-life/visual novel-style games in the presentation that I thought was okay and may be interesting. Overall I thought the presentation was decent with a few interesting titles, the time flew by for me. I also, liked the developer mini-interviews they did its always cool to hear the inspiration behind games straight from the devs. 

What did you think about the Indie World presentation? Is there anything you are looking forward to that was revealed? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. Also, check out the YouTube channel for my live reaction to the event and don't forget to check out the Wingin IT Podcast Sundays at 7pm EST.

Indie World Presentation

Fresh Take: One Piece Film Red (Spoiler Free Thoughts)

 Available in Theatres

Synopsis (from IMDB): Uta - the most beloved singer in the world. Her voice, which she sings with while concealing her true identity, has been described as "otherworldly." She will appear in public for the first time at a live concert. As the venue fills with all kinds of Uta fans - excited pirates, the Navy watching closely, and the Straw Hats led by Luffy who simply came to enjoy her sonorous performance - the voice that the whole world has been waiting for is about to resound. The story begins with the shocking fact that she is Shanks' daughter.

One Piece is a very long-running anime and manga with over 1000 issues of manga and 1000 episodes of anime out so it's understandable if you are a little intimidated going into this movie if you haven't been keeping up. The great thing about the One Piece movies is that they are great stand-alone stories that are also self-contained so you don't have to know what's going on in the main story. The main draw of this movie is we get to see the character of Uta who is the pirate Shank's daughter. One of the themes of this movie is how social media influence can be detrimental and they do a very good job of encapsulating that throughout the movie. From a visual standpoint the movie looks amazing they do a very good job of mixing the hand-drawn art and the CG to make Uta's performances stand out. The movie is both subbed and dubbed, I watched the dubbed version and the songs were still sung in Japanese with subtitles. This didn't bother me as I thought it worked well with the scenes they were portraying. The voice acting in the dubbed version is very good I think it's still the Funimation team that does the English dub. If you have seen any of the other One Piece movies like GOLD or Film Z it's more on the emotional side. The movie has a bittersweet ending, the last act of the film really pulls at the heartstrings. There wasn't anything I didn't like about the movie when I think about it. In my opinion, it's the best one they have done so far out of the films.

For Parents

The movie runs a little under two hours. It is paced very well, it didn't drag at any moment and there were a few tense moments in the movie too. It has a PG-13 rating but if they have seen any superhero movie there was nothing in there that was gratuitous and gory. It does have some of that trademark anime comedy bits and it does have a lot of action in it. 

Overall Thoughts

Personally, I think this is a FULL PRICE movie. I liked the themes in it, I even understand the character's motivation. The third act and ending do get very emotional and the ending is a bittersweet one. From the visuals to the story to the music the movie is just awesome in my opinion. If you are a fan of the series I think you will enjoy it and if you like movies I think you will like it as well. Have you seen One Piece Film RED? What did you think about it? Leave a comment and let's talk about it. Thanks for reading if you liked it share it and let people know it's greatly appreciated.

Trailer

Images via Wallpaper Cave