TheBayonettafranchise from PlatinumGames isn’t exactly known for its award-winning narratives, but there are still those who find themselves invested in the games, their characters, and narratives.Bayonetta 3has proven to be a hugely controversial game with fans because of certain story developments, but it does a lot to set up a very interesting plot forBayonetta 4, assuming such a game is ever made.
WARNING: This article will have major spoilers for Bayonetta 3If PlatinumGames has its way,Bayonetta 4will certainly be made, though fans may have to wait quite a long time to play it. EachBayonettagame has had significant time gaps between releases. There were five years between the launch of the originalBayonettagame and the release ofBayonetta 2, while fans had to wait a whopping eight years betweenBayonetta 2and the recently-releasedBayonetta 3. The ending ofBayonetta 3says that the franchise will return “next generation,” presumably meaning the next-gen Nintendo console, and so it’s safe to say that a potentialBayonetta 4is many years away.
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And that’s assuming thatBayonetta 4happens at all, of course. It’s no secret that theBayonettafranchise has struggled with sales despite consistently earning rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Sega was ready to give up on theBayonettaIP entirely, butNintendo stepped in to help fund the development ofBayonetta 2and3and publish the games itself. Presumably,Bayonetta 4’s existence will depend entirely on if Nintendo decides to continue funding the games or not.
If Nintendo decides to fundBayonetta 4, Platinum already has ideas for where it could go story-wise. In fact, it’s been said thatBayonettawill need at least nine gamesto tell the complete story. While it’s anyone’s guess as to what those later games may entail,Bayonetta 3’s story putsBayonetta 4on three possible paths.
Viola as the New Bayonetta
Thehugely controversialBayonetta 3endingsets up Viola as the new “Bayonetta,” complete with Bayonetta’s glasses and Luka’s scarf. It’s established in the game that Viola is the child of Luka and Bayonetta from another dimension, and so she has all kinds of special powers that she can utilize. The end ofBayonetta 3leaves Viola with a powerful katana that she can use to parry enemy attacks and her Cheshire cat summon, though she’s significantly under-equipped compared to the original Bayonetta.
Viola sets off on a missionasBayonetta 3comes to a close to investigate a supposedly haunted mansion. This by itself could make for an intriguing narrative forBayonetta 4, as it would be exploring territory that the series hasn’t really explored in the past. It would be interesting to see a story with stakes that aren’t quite universe-ending, and it would give Viola the opportunity to come into her own as the new Bayonetta.
Saving Bayonetta and Luka from Inferno
Then again, Platinum may want to rethink its apparent choice to promote Viola to the role of the new Bayonetta. The end ofBayonetta 4sawLuka and Bayonettadragged to Inferno, but who’s to say they can’t be retrieved from there. Gates of Hell shopkeeper Rodin makes it clear that he is in contact with Luka, and so he still exists, and one has to imagine Bayonetta does, too. PerhapsBayonetta 4could be about Viola traveling to Inferno to rescue her dead parent figures, maybe to deal with some kind of cataclysmic threat that’s beyond her powers.
Alternate Universe Bayonetta
Bayonetta 3’s ending gives Platinum another option when it comes toBayonetta 4, and that is starting fresh with a brand-new version of the character. One of the bigger twists inBayonetta 3is that all three games have starred alternate versions of the title character. Thanks to theBayonettamultiverse, The Bayonetta from the firstBayonettagame is one person, and the Bayonettas fromBayonetta 2and3are completely separate characters. This opens the door wide open for Platinum to move forward withBayonetta 4starring all the characters that fans have come to know and love without being held back by the events ofBayonetta 3. In this way, theBayonettaseries is more like Nintendo’sSuper MarioorLegend of Zeldafranchises. Each story is basicalliy independent of one another.
Basically,Bayonetta 4has three options: it can move forward with Viola as the new Bayonetta and focus on her solo mission, it can be about Viola reuniting with her parents, or it can be about a Bayonetta from an alternate universe. Fans of theBayonettafranchisewill likely have to wait years to find out what Platinum does with the new game, but it will definitely be interesting to see what happens.
