If you’ve been on this site for the past week, you’ll know I’ve been beating the drums Angel Witch 3 It’s hard. Aside from some tidbits of story (who played this for the story!?), Bayonetta 3 is a near-perfect game. Action, combat, exaggerated humor – it all comes together to create a game that rivals Platinum’s best games.
But it’s not the easiest game in the world to play. You’d think that, released on Nintendo consoles as an exclusive game, maybe it would be more family friendly. Do not. As you’d expect from the studio behind Nier, Vanquish, and The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta 3 can be tough at times. To really excel in the game, you need to master positioning in combat, timing to dodge and parry, and develop a good sense of secrets.
However, if you want to get into the game and get ready for whatever Bayonetta’s collapsing multiverse throws at you, I’ve put together a quick list of tips that I wish I knew before I started the game might help ease any frustration Sensation you’ll feel when you’re living your wildest hair-powered, witch-centric fantasy and, on the contrary, let you enjoy the game to its fullest.
Unlock the inside of the bat as soon as possible
This skill (the first skill that can be unlocked when you visit the skill page from the menu) is essential if you want to get more platinum medals than you might already have in the battle scene.
If you hit the dodge button right after being hit, it basically gives you one last chance to avoid damage – removing the effect of the attack and letting you back away from the danger zone. In addition to keeping your ass safe from bosses that can take a lot of health with one hit, it also allows you to earn platinum bonuses, not just gold; one hit lowers the level of each encounter.
More platinum means more rewards. Play smart and dodge often. As a bonus, it also triggers witch time – which means you’ll get more chances on a boss and lower your encounter time.
Use your demon slaves freely
One of the main differences between Bayonetta 3 and its prequel is the ability to summon tons of demons to fight for you.
In the early stages of the game, you’ll only have a few. More to come soon as you progress to the end of the title. Make sure to hover your finger over the correct triggers on the Switch; the more you use them, the more damage you can deal and the faster you can take out enemies. Some enemies – mostly flying, or those with shields – more or less require you to summon slaves to defeat.
Experiment with them and get used to bringing them in at the end of the combo, as they are less likely to be massively attacked by enemies.
Don’t just stick to the default weapon
Similar to demons, you’ll get more weapons as you progress through the game. While your default gun is capable of flushing almost everything in the game, it is recommended that you switch it; some weapons have better range, or are easier to stun enemies.
As you go on, you’ll gain weapons that also act as shields, making later-game encounters easier. There’s also the challenge around the whip, for example, and you don’t want to be stuck there with a weapon you haven’t practiced with. Diversity is progress’s friend, and you should change your loadout often.
Weapons aren’t just for attacking
Many of Bayonetta 3’s secrets are hidden out of sight, and Lady Butterfly or Gomorrah don’t always get there.
Sometimes, you need to switch to your spider (which can walk on lava), your frog (which is resistant to poison), or your eagle (which can fly far without losing altitude). If something looks like it can interact with it, it probably can. Get used to switching between weapons to maximize your odds of uncovering a secret.
Don’t worry if you miss a verse
Each level in Bayonetta 3 has between 9 and 14 verses (give or take), and you probably won’t see all of them the first time you play the game.
I combed through the game for a guide, but still missed about four or five overall (mostly challenges hidden in some god-forsaken trails).
The game has a lot of replay value, and finding verses you missed in a level is fun in itself – don’t worry too much if you miss it, there are plenty of opportunities to go back (you might even want to play it again anyway… …)
Lock with R3
It sounds simple, but it can save you some trouble. Bayonetta 3 has a difference between targeting an enemy and locking on.
It’s not enough to swing the right stick between enemies; you need to tap that bad boy to lock on. This will allow Bayo’s attacks – and her demons – to hone selected enemies.
Given that demon slaves are often difficult to control (and target), this will be essential if you’re facing distant enemies or trying to complete certain challenges.
Strengthen your new character ASAP
There are moments in the game when control switches from Bayonetta to Viola and vice versa. At times, your arsenal can expand dramatically in one fell swoop.
When these moments occur, fire up the menu now and see what new skills you can unlock – the game doesn’t show you much about what (and when) you can use it, so you need to be explicit about unlocking new skills.
While nothing beats the Bat Within listed at the top of this page, combo expanders, parries, and other handy tools can often be unlocked. If you play the game as intended (explore, do your best), currency should never be an issue.
Crow, frog and cat in order
As you progress through the level, you’ll notice that each area has a crow, a frog, and a cat that you can find and “collect”. Although they do nothing by themselves, these creatures carry Umbran Blood Tears – special items that unlock a new level when you collect all three at the corresponding level.
You can see what has not been collected in the level, listed in order. Say, if you got the frog but noticed you missed the cat, it’s worth going back as much as you can and trying to find it. Alternatively, you can use our Bayonetta 3 Umbran Tears of Blood location guide.
Don’t Ignore Phenomenal Residues
Once you’ve picked up three tears per level, you’ll unlock an extra level called Phenomenal Remnant. These will be “remixes” of existing stages offering new missions; every second counts, platform trials, massive secret boss battles, or a combination of all three.
Most will reward you with upgrading your health or magic, but some will give you better rewards – for example, one of the earliest remnants will give you a brand new weapon and summon, others will give you accessories that allow you to Encounters are a bit easier later in the game. Basically, all of them are worth doing.
Watch out for bosses who can instantly kill summons
In the second half of the game, there will be many bosses trying to kill any of your demon slaves in one hit.
In fact, I’m pretty sure some bosses will automatically kill them when you summon them. To fix this, either practice your high damage melee combo (you can increase demon damage by hitting ZL at the end), or just bring in the big boys when you activate Witch Time.
There’s a certain boss you’ll run into a few times, and he likes to end your summons with one hit – but luckily it’s easy enough to trigger Witch Time. If you do lose your calling, don’t worry; they end up going back in time.
Use the Witch’s Heart to restore full health
There are some pretty tough bosses towards the end of the game with around 8000 different forms. If you need health, and a lot, you can use whatever witch heart you’ve been sitting on to give you a full recovery – it doesn’t count as using an item to complete the level score. Whoosh! Once you get them, you don’t need to use them right away, and if you’re going to unearth all the secrets, there’s plenty to find throughout the level as well.
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