Hello, my name is Abebe Tinari. I am the director of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. After keeping it a secret for so long, it feels great to finally be able to say the title in public! I’ve been reading everyone’s reactions to our first trailer online, and I haven’t been able to wipe the grin off my face since.

I played the original Bayonetta back in high school. In fact, it was one of the games that made me decide to move to Japan in the first place. Years later, when I was looking for a job after university, development had just been announced on Bayonetta 2, prompting me to apply to PlatinumGames. When the third game entered production, I was champing at the bit to join the project as a game designer. However, Kamiya and Inaba had something else in store.

They had secretly begun work on a spin-off, showing a different side of Bayonetta, back when she had no guns, no infernal demons under her control, and was lacking even her signature swagger. Imagining the potential for new types of gameplay born from these limitations, I knew I had to be involved! I wrote a proposal for the game and after a couple nerve-wracking presentations, I became the director!

I envisioned a Cereza between the tiny child who appeared in the first game and Bayonetta, the formidable witch we know she grows up to become. What went through her mind the first time she tried to summon a demon? She must have learned the spell to control that infernal beast, but there’s no way the demon would sit idly by while being bossed around by a pipsqueak! How would Cereza grow over time, taking her first steps towards becoming a full-fledged witch?

The answers to those questions came in the form of Kamiya’s scenario. It is the tale of Cereza’s adventure as a fledgling witch together with Cheshire, the first demon she ever summoned. As the game director, it was my job to guide the development team to bring each aspect of the story and world to life, and make sure that every action players perform with their fingers works in harmony with the narrative beats.

In many ways Cereza and the Lost Demon is unlike any game PlatinumGames has made before, including all the past games in the series. In place of jaw-dropping Hollywood movie-esque spectacle and non-stop climax action, this time we are focused on telling an intimate story in a world inspired by the subtle lines and pastel colours of an illustrated fairytale. At times quiet. At times dark…I want the player to gradually grow attached to both Cereza and Cheshire as they (hopefully) guide them to the end of their adventure.

A good fairytale transcends age, and a story your parents read to you as a young child can stay with you your entire life. We did our best to make Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon an equally unforgettable experience. I hope you will crack the cover, and discover the magic that awaits on those pages…

>>A Message from Supervising Director Hideki Kamiya<<

Abebe Tinari Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Abebe Tinari moved to Japan in 2009 before joining PlatinumGames as a translator in 2013. After taking part in the localization of Bayonetta 2 , he moved to game design. Since then, he has worked on Star Fox: Guard as well as numerous other titles before making his directorial debut with Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.