Bayonetta 3 is still a real thing that is happening, just like PlatinumGames promised. During today's Nintendo Direct, the PlatinumGames action heroine showed off her brand new do and 2022 release window.
You've seen her with a wicked-good beehive before swapping things up to a stylish, short cut in the 2014 sequel, but now Bayo's magic hair is taking shape as fancy braided pigtails that loop around her outfit. Of course, her long locks are part of her witchy skills, but this new look has got to be the most powerful yet.
In today's Direct, Bayonetta returns with a new trailer that finally confirms a launch window four years after the project's initial reveal. There's a lot of familiar, gunslinging action as Bayo blasts through kaiju-like enemies. She finally conjures up a monster of her own, and if you're familiar with her adventures, you know her hair is a conduit for that. That's why her hair is so big. It's full of secrets.
Pay close attention, if you've played some of Kamiya's other games then you may notice a wink and a nod to previous work. The new footage starts with a bit of a bait and switch with the Astral Chain pup mascot, and at the very end, you may notice a little Devil May Cry imagery—I loudly announced that was Vergil before realizing it was not Vergil.
Incredible hair-outfit powers aside, this all lines up with an earlier leak from Nintendo Japan's official website. Kamiya did try to warn us that Bayonetta would show up eventually, urging folks to wait until Platinum was ready, but fans did begin to panic after she didn't turn up during this year's E3.
Recently, Bayonetta's voice actor, Hellena Taylor, also raised concerns around the status of the project—or at least worries regarding her involvement—after comments made on Twitter. "The greatest gift of doing Bayonetta are my lovely fans," Taylor said. When a fan replied they could not imagine Bayonetta without Taylor's voice, she responded, “Well you might have to.”