7 whole years may have passed, but NieR:Automata shows no sign of slowing down, with a worldwide orchestral tour underway, as well as a recent anime adaptation.
To celebrate this milestone, staff here at PlatinumGames have put together some anniversary art.

7th Anniversary Art

Tomoko Nishii

” Glory to this series’ future! ” (Click here for full-size)

Mai Ishimaru

” She’s seven! Congratulations on the 7th anniversary! ” (Click here for full-size)

Yuka Takahashi

” I’m so glad this came into my life. Congratulations on 7 years! ” (Click here for full-size)

Yukiya Sasaya

” Thank you so very, very much. ” (Click here for full-size)

Aoi Sawada

” Congrats on 7 years. ” (Click here for full-size)

Hayato Seki

” It’s been 7 years since the start of this operation. Let’s keep at it until completion! Over and out. ” (Click here for full-size)

daible

” This one is dedicated to this world. ” (Click here for full-size)

Product Information

NieR:Automata

[PlayStation 4]
Platform: PlayStation 4 | Genre: Action RPG | Release Date: March 7, 2017 (NA) / March 10, 2017 (EU) | ESRB Rating: Mature 17+ | Publisher: SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. | Developer: PlatinumGames Inc. | © SQUARE ENIX Developed by PlatinumGames Inc.

[Steam]
Platform: Steam | Genre: Action RPG | Release Date: March 18, 2017 | ESRB Rating: Mature 17+ | Publisher: SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. | Developer: PlatinumGames Inc. | © SQUARE ENIX Developed by PlatinumGames Inc.

NieR:Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition
Platform: Xbox One, Windows (download only) | Release Date: [ Xbox One] June 26, 2018 [Windows] March 18, 2021 | Price: $49.99 | © SQUARE ENIX Developed by PlatinumGames Inc.

[NieR:Automata Game of the YoRHa Edition]
Platform: PlayStation 4, Steam | Release Date: [PlayStation 4] February 26, 2017 [Steam] February 27, 2017 | Price: $39.99 | © SQUARE ENIX Developed by PlatinumGames Inc.

[NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition]
Platform: Nintendo Switch | Release Date: October 6, 2022 | Price: $39.99 | © SQUARE ENIX

NOTE 1/29/2024: There has been a change in date until which World of Demons can be played. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by the change.

January 18, 2024: No longer available to download on Apple Arcade.
February 1 January 31, 2024: Downloads of the game will become unavailable to play.

Hi there! Curie Baek here. I worked on Bayonetta 3 as a VFX artist. Following up on the previous blog posts for VFX, I would like to talk more about the VFX concept and some techniques we utilized in the production of the end credits dance scene in Bayonetta 3.

Visual Concept

In Bayonetta 3, players will come across a different version of Bayonetta in every world they visit in the game’s multiverse. We created the visual effects in the end credits dance scene to express the vastness of this unique game world and represent the image of the “universe”.

VFX Off

VFX On

Originally, we had no visual effects in the end credits dance scene. Bayonetta was dancing in a pitch-dark space. This felt a little too empty to us. For that reason, we went ahead and used about 90 textures to express the depth of the universe. I remember that we ended up layering so many textures that we couldn’t save and process them all, so we had to go back and make quite a few adjustments afterwards.

In addition to the concept of the universe, there is another point that we kept in mind for VFX production.

I once heard someone say that “Bayonetta’s VFX is like perfume,” which inspired us to conceptualize the image of a faint floral fragrance that one might smell just by looking at it. In order to express this fragrance in VFX, we referenced commercials for perfumes and several different treatment products. The sparkling particles, the mist in the air, and the aurora-like effects were all perfect for expressing Bayonetta’s glamorous and sexy side.

Bayonetta Transformation Scene

There is a special scene in the end credits dance where Bayonetta changes from her spirit form to her physical form.

If we had simply faded out the spirit form model by reducing the alpha (transparency), the dithering “grains” would have stood out way too much, and we would have had to resort to other VFX techniques to express this effect. This is why we used the “clip box” function where we were able to display only a portion of the physical form model that is contained within a specified box-shaped area.

Note: We overlaid aurora shell polygons on the surface for a more natural appearance when the form changes.

I hope this entry provided you some interesting insight into VFX that went into production of this special ending scene.

Thanks for stopping by!

Curie Baek Joined PlatinumGames in 2021 and worked on Bayonetta 3 as a VFX artist, mainly responsible for backgrounds, objects, and also the VFX in the end credits dance scene.

We referenced commercials for cosmetics and shampoos when coming up for the imagery for the VFX in the game. We were inspired by the tiny little sparkling particles and how they exude femininity. For the Witch Time and Demon Masquerade effects, we took on the challenge of generating something grander and somewhat more mature than what we saw in the previous games.

Sparkling crystals and particle expressions

The first thing I want to introduce is the sparkle we used to give off a slightly more mature feel. The image below shows a crystal model created in Houdini(*1) and colored with lights. The model is animated to rotate, and the color of the light makes the material sparkle and change color in a complex way, creating a comparatively robust effect.

(*1) Houdini: Software for 3D animation production.

Here is a scene where we used crystal-like materials.

Cutscene in the Prologue chapter where you get the Color My World guns

You’ll find the scattering of crystal particles happens as part of the Witch Time visuals. Triggering Witch Time generates particles and lines from both sides of the screen. This looks really cool, albeit only lasting for a brief moment.

Witch Time VFX

Below is a particle beam created by pasting a fine particle texture onto a model. Instead of simply creating many dots, a fine particle texture is created in advance and applied to the model. The model’s rotating animation and the texture’s UV scrolling(*2) are used to create complex particle movements.
(*2) UV scroll: When a single texture moves up, down, left, and right.

Demon Masquerade cutscene in the Prologue chapter

Destruction Visuals

Many of the environments in Bayonetta 3 appear destroyed as a result of the Homunculus invasion.  In addition, some areas are destroyed in real time during battles and in the cutscenes. We challenged the limits of processing load through trial and error to see how much we could show destroyed cityscapes in the game and how much we could create flashy destruction effects. Here are some of the things we did!

When a building gets destroyed, we needed to generate a great deal of rubble and glass shards. Doing this in a traditional way would have led to an increase in the number of debris models, which in turn would increase the polygon count and make it more difficult to process. As a workaround, we decided to produce many textures of the rubble and shards instead of using actual polygon models for these particles. Producing such a large number of these rubble textures required us to create multiple textures with different silhouettes so they would not all appear with the same silhouette.

Rubble and glass textures

This time we experimented with Houdini’s Impostor feature, which allows you to create textures to make an object appear 3D. We captured an object in a 360-degree Y-axis setting and created a texture sheet of glass shards. Although this was not an actual 3D model, we created a three-dimensional texture and randomly selected materials for the texture sheet to make the silhouette look different and stand out.

Next, using the above materials, we tested the destruction of these materials using GPU particles, which is a feature that displays a large number of textures at once, so we were able to produce a lot of debris with a low load. We also added light source calculation to the settings so that the particles would be affected by point lights. In the video below, an orange point light is placed in the center, so glass shards that enter the light’s range are affected and give off an orange hue. The VFX of the explosion is set up so that the shards are affected by the light and fly apart, which I think makes the effect a lot more realistic.

Testing in Imposter

An example of how we used glass shard materials and applied them can be seen in the train battle, as there are heaps of broken windows and glass shards scattered across the floor. The destruction of buildings was built with rubble and wood made using Impostor and GPU particles to make their destruction very dynamic.

On-train battle

Smoke and Haze

Here is how we used 3D textures with a file format for volumetric data known as VDB. We created and then output a VDB material with noise, etc. from a cube in Houdini, and created a 3D texture. We then converted the 3D texture to HDA(*3) and gave it all the necessary parameters so that it could be adjusted later.
(*3) (Houdini Digital Assets (HDAs): A networks of nodes that can be packaged up to simplify commonly used tasks in Houdini or to create tools that can be used in external software. – from houdinikitchen.net)

We then used the resulting 3D texture material in the engine to set the shape, amount of tiling(*4), UV scrolling speed, color, and alpha. We adjusted the VDB to produce smoke and other haze-like effects and placed these in each level. We covered the Shibuya level in a haze of smoke to accentuate the atmosphere.
(*4) Tiling: The same texture is repeatedly laid out in a tile-like style.

Testing smoke

Sea of Clouds

Sea of Clouds

This level featured a battle set within a sea of clouds reminiscent of a bubble bath, so we needed to create an extensive cloud cover with a low rendering load.

Tweaking the clouds

Since the number of polygons would increase if we were to create all models with the same density, we divided the model into near, middle, and far views and applied polygon reduction to each part accordingly. Another reason for dividing the model was to create a sense of perspective by making the inside of the model move faster and the outside move slower.

As with the models, we created the Normal Texture(*5) separately for the near, middle, and far views. We applied the Normal Texture to each model to express the shading of the clouds. Also, by scrolling the UV slowly, we were able to express the clouds as if they were flowing in the wind.
(*5) Normal Texture: Also known as normal mapping and Dot3 bump mapping. A special texture mapping technique that adds the bumps and dents to a model with fake lighting.

Expressing the collapse of portals

We used Houdini’s VAT(*6) to generate various effects in the game, and below is a sample of a VAT that we applied to a collapsing portal.
(*6) VAT: Abbreviation of “Vertex Animation Texture”. A texture that records the position and rotation of vertices.

A portal collapses each time a level is cleared in Bayonetta 3. I created a simulation in Houdini that shows the gradual collapse of the portal from the bottom and animated the falling debris to gradually decrease in scale and disappear. Based on this simulation, we added the GPU particle shards of glass and other objects as explained above to create the effect of the shards collapsing and breaking into pieces.

Collapsing portal

I hope you enjoyed this entry. I could talk for so much longer about many of the other VFX techniques we used in Bayonetta 3. We went through a lot of verification and testing for these VFX techniques, while paying close attention to every detail in creating the VFX for the game. I think we were able to create an experience that is overwhelmingly powerful and exhilarating, and that tests the processing load of the hardware to its limit. A year has already passed since the release of Bayonetta 3, and I am sure many of you have picked up the game and played it already. If you have a chance to go hands-on with Bayonetta 3 again, make sure you check out some of the areas I wrote about in this entry!

Takahiro Yasuda Joined PlatinumGames in 2010 as a VFX Artist and has created VFX for over 10 of their titles. He was the Lead VFX Artist for Bayonetta 3.

Soundtrack only available for sale in Japan but ships worldwide from some online retailers.

It’s not uncommon for soundtracks to only get released digitally, but we are happy to have been able to release the Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon Original Soundtrack as a physical release. With a massive 150 tracks, the physical release is made up of SIX discs! This lavish and comprehensive selection includes the theme song we recorded at Abbey Road Studios as well as numerous jingles and variations of some of the tracks that players come across during Cereza and Cheshire’s adventure.

We put our heart and soul into each and every piece, and there are liner note which let us take a little peek inside the composers’ heads along with the music. The notes are only in Japanese, but I can tell you that they go into some of the creative vision each composer had for each piece.

We were very particular with the design and the overall finish of the CD packaging. Our art director, Tomoko Nishii, supervised the package design and our game director, Abebe Tinari, was also involved in giving the final product the OK. You will see how the materials we used, the disc case, and the booklet are all finished in a wonderful picture book style. I am sure that both your eyes and your fingertips will feel appreciate this wonderful package.

Now that I’m done with the promotion, I’d like to post some comments from my fellow PlatinumGames composers who poured all their passion into the game music. We also received comments from two amazing external composers, Rei Kondoh and Ayana Tsujita. Many thanks to both of these wonderful, talented individuals! Be sure to read all the comments. ♪

From front-left: Hitomi Kurokawa, Aoba Nakanishi
From rear-left: Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Naoto Tanaka, Masahiro Miyauchi, Rina Yugi

My eldest daughter, born during my 5th year at PlatinumGames, actually sang in the Wisp song! Time sure does fly… In fact, this theme song was the first music I ever composed to actually use lyrics, so this soundtrack is an amazing commemorative piece for me personally!

The physical release is adorably made to resemble a picture book. You can even use it as an ornament if you’d like, it looks that good! Enjoy both the aesthetics and the content of this soundtrack which perfectly encompasses the world of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.

Hitomi Kurokawa (PlatinumGames)
Read Article＞

This was the very first game in which I was heavily involved as a composer, and I was truly honored to be a part of the whole effort. What we have here is a CD set that will satisfy you both as a musical piece and a game soundtrack CD. I really hope you enjoy it!

 Cereza and Cheshire, spread your wings and show the world just how lovely you are!

Masahiro Miyauchi (PlatinumGames)
Read Article＞

It’s finally out!

The music in the game is designed to best complement the overall game experience and the gorgeous packaging is like a picture book itself. The whole package will surely deepen your attachment to the game even further. We hope that this soundtrack will bring you even closer to the story of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.

Rina Yugi (PlatinumGames)
Read Article＞

X(twitter): @ReiKondoh
Rei Kondoh started to learn piano with classical music and music theory as his connoisseur at the age of 3. His area of work expands beyond traditional spheres of orchestra, electronic or rock music and is now active in the area of background music for visual products e.g. computer games, anime and cinemas.
Video games he has worked on include Ōkami, The Wonderful 101, Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3.

Rei Kondoh, here!
Congratulations on the long-awaited release of the original soundtrack! This soundtrack is like a jewelry box, filled with the team’s dedication, the rich tones of the instruments, and the delicate emotions conveyed.
The more you listen to the tunes, the more you’ll become just as lovely and strong as Cereza and Cheshire. I’ll definitely get my cat to listen to the album!

X(twitter): @ayamelodixxx
Ayana Tsujita specializes in works that make use of acoustic instruments and creates contemporary instrumental music. Some of her most well-known work includes the orchestral work Collectionism XI/Sidhe for NHK-FM, the music video N-papapa-pipipin broadcasted on TV Tokyo’s Synapusyu program, music for the movie ABYSS (directed by Ren Sudo) as well as music for the anime The Demon Prince of Momochi House.

I am so happy that players and fans out there have the opportunity to get their hands on this soundtrack that is so important to me. I’d say it’s something I can check off my bucket list. I hope you’ll listen to this little treasure as you read through the liner notes if you can!

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
Original Soundtrack

Release Date:
December 20, 2023
Label:
WAVE MASTER ENTERTAINMENT
Official Website (Japanese):
https://www.wave-master.com/ent/bayonetta-origins-ost/

Also available on streaming services worldwide:
https://nex-tone.link/A00134426_ww
Note: Should the links not work for you, please try searching Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon on your streaming service of choice.
Some services may not currently be available in your region.

Aoba Nakanishi Joined PlatinumGames in 2019. Worked as a composer on BABYLON’S FALL for the boss fight music and on Bayonetta 3 for the level music. Also played the Hichiriki instrument in the recording for the World of Demons game. Aoba was not only the lead composer, but also the overall musical director, performed some implementation of the music, and also played the saxophone for some of the music in Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.

But before we get into that, the release of the Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon official soundtrack is getting closer! The 6-disc set contains 150 songs in total! Read more about each song in the booklet provided and immerse yourself in the music of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon!

Soundtrack only available for sale in Japan but ships worldwide from some online retailers.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
Original Soundtrack

Release Date: December 20, 2023
Label: WAVE MASTER ENTERTAINMENT
Official Website (Japanese):
https://www.wave-master.com/ent/bayonetta-origins-ost/

Also available to download/stream worldwide:
https://nex-tone.link/A00134426_ww
Some services may not currently be available in your region.

That’s enough of that for now. In this entry I would like to delve deeper into some of the creative expression that we managed to bring out through piano, focusing on the jingles that you hear in the game.

As previously introduced in the Bayonetta Origins: The Concept behind the Music dev blog entry, our concept for the music was centered around delivering the delicate acoustic sound of a small ensemble, placing emphasis on the material feeling of the instruments themselves.

In line with our direction for the music, we treated the piano as the concept instrument for the game, as the piano is (probably) the most familiar acoustic instrument out there. We also chose to have the jingles mainly use piano, as we actively incorporated the use of the instrument into the music. That way we would be able to create a sense of unity in the overall sound.

I think it’s safe to say that the following factors can be cited as the reasons for our direction.

・The piano, which has been used extensively in the mainline Bayonetta games, already had an established presence as one of the musical instruments in the series, and we decided to continue this trend.
・The main visual concept for the game was that of a picture book, and picture books are something familiar and easy to relate to as they are for children. If you were to think of a musical instrument that has been familiar to you since childhood, the piano would surely be at the top of the list.

Dance has been a long-running theme throughout the Bayonetta series, and in Bayonetta Origins, Cereza’s movements incorporate aspects of classical ballet. One of the elements that showcases the connection with ballet can be seen in Cereza’s outfit, which was designed to resemble a leotard. I guess the connection between ballet and the piano stems from my own image of a ballet company practicing with a pianist by their side.

I already mentioned that we used the piano in the past Bayonetta series. However, Bayonetta Origins tells a story of a much younger Cereza. In addition, we placed emphasis on achieving a delicate and acoustic sound of a small ensemble and accentuating the ballet motif. While talking with lead composer Aoba Nakanishi, I sensed that although piano has been a common element in the series, this time it needed to fulfill its role with a different feel sound-wise compared to the previous Bayonetta games.

You hear it in so many types of media, including games and movies. Sometimes it’s there as one element among many instruments, and sometimes it’s there lyrically as a solo piece. The piano is one of those instruments that most people are very familiar with both as a musical instrument and as music itself.

To express the characteristics of Bayonetta Origins and further deepen the expression of the piano instrument that has been used in the previous Bayonetta games, I first went back to the following basic piano elements and explored areas that we wanted to bring out further.

・A wide range of notes, from bass to treble, which could be played on their own.
・Exquisite and fine-grained timbre/tone.
・The ability to produce complex harmony.

I believe that the ability to produce complex harmony comes from the chord part of the so-called “rhythm,” “chord,” and “melody” trio that make up a piece of music, and that this part has unlimited possibilities for artistic expression.

The Bayonetta series has always incorporated jazz-style music (i.e., stylish chords, moody atmosphere, etc.) as one of its main musical characteristics. I thought that a sophisticated and somewhat chill sound, such as that found in the recent jazz scene, including neo-soul and modern jazz, would help express the slightly more fantasy-oriented atmosphere of Bayonetta Origins. I was secretly planning to expand on the creative expression of the music by incorporating the essence and techniques of the music itself wherever and whenever possible. Ultimately, my experiment demonstrated that jingles were the solution!

Since the jingles play instantaneously at specific moments in the game, I placed the importance on the scenes created by the way the sound resonated. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce the various jingles that appear in Bayonetta Origins. Oh! Along with piano sheet music made specially for this blog, of course!

If you have the means to play these, then I urge you to give it a go using the sheet music! We have a variety of pieces ranging from easy-to-play to some challenging ones and I consciously composed the pieces with an acoustic feel to allow people to play these with physical instruments.

Perfect! ~Battle Victory Jingle 1~

This is a victory jingle for when you win a battle. I created this to match Cereza’s fist pump animation and to match the overall tone of the picture. The jingle runs through a wide range of notes and is intended to promote a sense of euphoria at the time of victory.

Showed ‘em Who’s Boss ~Battle Victory Jingle 2~

This is a simple battle victory performance jingle. This jingle was assembled from the last fine-grained part of the jingle to make it sound connected to the regular battle victory jingle. To make the jingle sound more refreshing, I included instances of the musical interval called the fourth for a dignified sound.

Hurry Up, Open It! ~Treasure Chest Jingle: Fancy~

This is a jingle for opening a treasure chest that can be obtained after defeating certain enemies. I wanted to give this jingle a twinkly feel, so I deepened the harmony by adding a few extra notes to each of the chords. These extra notes are called tension. The harmony hinges on the lowest note, and it also proceeds in a different way from the general chord progression, giving it that unique magical touch.

A Sight to Remember ~Remembrance Jingle 1~

This one is a jingle which plays when acquiring memories in various locations around the level. In order to recreate the warmth of the forest, I was conscious of the depth and harmony of the sound that is created after the 3 chimes. The interesting part of the harmony is that the way the sound resonates changes dramatically depending on the choice of sound placement used. This kind of composing function can be called “voicing”.

Let’s Make Camp ~Sanctuary Discovered Jingle~

This jingle plays when you discover sanctuaries in various parts of the forest. The visual expression is as if a torch were being lit, so we created the jingle to give a sense of momentary accomplishment and afterglow.

Good to the Last Bite ~Infernal Fruit Jingle 3~

This one plays as a sound effect of sorts when you get the power up materials for Cheshire. Definitely a cute one! I remember immediately excitedly asking Aoba Nakanishi to check out the song, thinking, “I have to make this a motion matching performance”. I can never play that 3-octave run at the end well, though…

Grant Me Your Courage ~Moon Pearl Jingle 3~

This one is also more of an effect jingle for when you get the power up materials for Cereza. This jingle was also created with keeping the visual expression in mind. It’s my favorite jingle, and I incorporated a lot of influence from jazz music, which I wrote about in the previous section. It has a sad, heart-wrenching feel to it. This is all thanks to the sound design team who did a great job of matching the sound effects.

You’re Safe Now! ~Wisp Rescued Jingle~

The last one is a thank-you jingle for rescuing Wisps from their peril. It’s a charming one-shot. It is actually a play on the opening vocals of the theme song “Le Chéile i bhForaois Sholas na Gealaí” (Together in the Moonlit Forest).

Just as in the previous entry where we shared some sheet music with everyone, Art Director Tomoko Nishii also helped us to put together the sheet music for these eight little jingles. We’re quite excited to  be able to share these treasures with all of you and hope that you’ll have as much fun with these as we did when making the game!

Short Pieces for the Little Witch and Demon

Download white version

Download color version

I’d love to know what you think of this entry. I often feel that it is difficult to put into words the role of game music, which makes us feel emotions, recollect all the scenes we experienced in the game, and visualize colors that had stimulated our senses through the overall gameplay journey. I hope you have been able to sense the possibilities of various colorful sounds through the jingles I have introduced here.

Thank you for reading to the end.

Masahiro Miyauchi Masahiro Miyauchi After graduating the Tokyo College of Music (TCM) Composer and Conductor Major – Composition (Music Media Course), Masahiro joined PlatinumGames in 2020. He worked on Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon as a composer, creating a variety of music, including in-game music.

It’s certainly been a while! Yuji Nakao, producer of Bayonetta 3, here.
It’s been a year since Bayonetta 3 was released/ It’s one year old. The series itself has been around for 14 years now! This is all thanks to you, the Bayonetta fans! Let me just say a huge thanks right here.

When I think of Bayonetta 3, Viola is the first thing that springs to mind. I hope she’s getting the recognition she deserves!

As we celebrate this first anniversary, let’s check out some artwork created to commemorate this wonderful occasion! Each artist really poured their love for the game into their pieces. We also made sure to include the cover illustration of the official character book “THE EYES OF BAYONETTA 3”, illustrated by the truly talented Mari Shimazaki. “THE EYES OF BAYONETTA 3” contains a variety of artwork and it’s truly amazing to browse through.

That’s it for now. Hope to see you all again soon!

Yuji Nakao After working on a number of games as director using character licenses, Nakao entered PlatinumGames and made the switch to producer. He worked as producer on PlatinumGames’ first self-published titles—having served as producer on The Wonderful 101: Remastered and as co-producer on SOL CRESTA. He supervised Bayonetta 3 as producer, and also undertakes the growth of new talent as manager of Development Division 1.

Hi everyone, it’s certainly been a while. Yusuke Miyata, Bayonetta 3 director here.
Time flies by quickly, doesn’t it? We’ve reached one year since the release of Bayonetta 3. I hope everyone is doing well. It’s so cool to still see everyone posting videos and comments about the game on social media. Our team at PlatinumGames is truly over the moon to see so many players enjoying the game, from those who have been playing for a while now, to those who are just getting started.

We wanted to express our gratitude to our players and fans by putting together this small compilation of anniversary art. We hope you enjoy these unique pieces that a few members of staff put together to commemorate this wonderful occasion. In the meantime, we’ll continue to update our Umbran Studies blog to give you further insight into the game’s development. We are also constantly contemplating ways to excite our players and provide new and unique gameplay experiences, as we repeat our daily trial and error process in game production. All of us here at PlatinumGames are really looking forward to providing you with more information about our upcoming projects. Your continued support and love for our games is truly appreciated.
Thank you so very much!

Yusuke Miyata Yusuke Miyata started his career as a game designer on several game adaptations of popular manga and anime series. He then joined PlatinumGames and contributed to titles like The Wonderful 101 and Astral Chain as Game Designer. Bayonetta 3 was his directorial debut. In his current role as Senior Game Designer, he is also responsible for driving the quality of all PlatinumGames titles.

First Anniversary Art

Mari Shimazaki

Happy 1st Anniversary. This game has much to offer, so try it if you haven’t already. For those of you who’ve cleared it, you may find some of the answers you’re looking for in the art book’s staff comments.

Follow @MariShimazaki

Makoto Hoshina (PlatinumGames)

The line from Bayonetta 3 that I really want to read out loud goes as follows!
DO O IA BAYONETTA. CNILA D COMSELHA ODO ANANAEL. IPAMIS NONCP FAFEN NIIS. AVAVAGO TLIOB VRAN.

Curie Baek (PlatinumGames)

WARNING: The following celebratory art has a version with a spoiler for Bayonetta 3. ☆CLICK HERE☆ to skip past the version with spoilers.

SPOILER BELOW
↓

SPOILER BELOW
↓

SPOILER BELOW
↓

☆

Viola, my dearest! Happy 1st birthday!
Our girl’s dream is to be a great witch and we’ll do our best to guide her on that path!
~From an anonymous fan somewhere in the multiverse~

Daible (PlatinumGames)

Simply kick-ass, mesmerizing, and cute as hell. Luv ya, Bayonetta!!!

Masami Ichikawa (PlatinumGames)

I’ve been with the series since the first game started development, handling PR and merch supervision. It’s incredible to see that the series has been around for this long… Oh, and this illustration was inspired by a bouquet!

Follow @PG_ICHI

Product Information

The Bayonetta 3 soundtrack is available to purchase and stream digitally right now! The biggest OST ever produced for the Bayonetta series, this humongous soundtrack consists of over 250 tracks! Look back on your journey with the beautiful melodies that helped shape it.

Link to digital services: https://lnk.to/bayonetta3

Wow, tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Bayonetta 3!

In this installment of Umbran Studies, I’m going to show you some of the Easter Eggs that we had a lot of fun incorporating into the game.

Let’s get right to it and touch on some of the little tidbits we’ll find as we tour Tokyo, the first level of Bayonetta 3. My name is Natsumi Satake, and it’s my pleasure to be your guide on this little Easter Egg Tour!

Our starting point is Shibuya.

In Bayonetta 3, we put a lot of effort into allowing players to use Infernal Demons to run around the city and destroy their surroundings (*1) in order to obtain currency and materials. My personal recommendation is to use Malphas’  Tornado ([Y] button) or Phantasmaraneae to walk around the outside walls of buildings and structures.

(*1) Read more about the environments of Bayonetta 3 HERE.

We wanted players to go crazy with this wanton destruction, so we placed an infinite magic fountain nearby. Knock yourselves out! Oh, and some of those destructible background objects have specific purposes.

The One, The Only… LAPPY!

OMG, it’s Lappy! The ASTRAL CHAIN mascot in front of the police station. Ladies and gentlemen, Lappy is UNBREAKABLE in Bayonetta 3. Slap him around or throw Infernal Demons at him, Lappy won’t budge… BUT! He will drop Halos. Thank you, Lappy… Good boy! One of the scenario writers for ASTRAL CHAIN also worked on Bayonetta 3. I will never forget how he quietly vented his anger and said, “This is outrageous… why would you hit Lappy?!”

Aside from Lappy-kun, we also have a little special object to get Halos out of.

Also, this is a teeny tiny Easter Egg, but when you destroy ATMs and real estate properties in Tokyo, you get a little more currency than usual…in the form of Seeds.

Yeah, this one is difficult to spot.

Speaking of destruction. We put a lot of effort into making destroying environments and objects feel genuinely exhilarating! This is all thanks to the environment, VFX and SFX teams who made it all possible. In a less obvious way, we also focused on making the destruction of each object feel convincing and adjusted the number of items they drop accordingly. We worked on balancing the two following elements as as well as possible: the exhilirating element and the convincing element of destruction. You can simply use a massive Infernal Demon to walk over an object and crush it instantly, or you can use a few powerful blows to destroy the object in style. The choice is yours.

Based on the principle of “if an Infernal Demon touches it, it will break”, we have set a “durability value” for all breakable objects according to their size and material. In addition, each fragile object has its own “wobble” or “crack” effect when hit. We did this to encourage players to destroy the object.

And there’s more! We also tweaked the amount of items that drop when you destroy an object, and the way they drop. This was done to make it fun to interact with the items! Since the number of breakable objects varies from level to level, we took into account balance-tweaks and other factors, and created a system that allows each of the 400 or so breakable objects to have its own durability and drop probability. This allowed us to make room for unique drops for each type of break. For example, a pharmacy will drop a healing item, or a hamburger shop will drop a hamburger when it’s destroyed.

The Shibuya level is synonymous with destruction. The China level is also at the top of the list when it comes to breakable items, so you’ll get just as much of a rush from destroying everything around you! Check out this video to see what we mean…

Flame Tornado!

Okay, next topic. Battles. I got a good one for you! When you control Malphas, rotate the Left Stick and press [Y] to perform the “Tempest” attack. This attack creates a large tornado that devours the enemy. However, if said tornado engulfs a car, the attack turns into a giant tornado of flames, dealing additional damage(*2).

(*2) You can also generate a flame tornado by combining and switching between Malphas and Phantasmaraneae. Check out more HERE about switching between Infernal Demons.

Many of you may be familiar with this, but if you shoot Gomorrah’s Dark Flame into the Tornado, a beautiful, powerful purple flame tornado will rise into the air.

The timing of Gomorrah’s [Y] Dark Flame right after Malphas’ [Rotate + Y] Tornado is a bit difficult to pull off, but it looks so damn powerful when you do it! And it deals a lot of damage!

This secret trick is a holdover from the very early stages of development when we were playing around with the idea of summoning multiple Infernal Demons into battle at once. The trick itself looks AWESOME, so we decided to keep it in.

Pt Says Hi

Quickly defeat the enemies and get to the landmark 101 building. Run up the stairs on the side of the building.

You will encounter the sign of our digital life form, Pt Shirogane! Hey there~.

We set up this special costume and pose for the shot above!

The sound effects when you hit the sign are also pretty cool. There are actually four of these Pt signs hidden around Tokyo. One of them appears in a cutscene. That one is the easiest to find. Have you seen any of the others?

A Familiar Stranger…

We’ll continue on our way to the 101 building, but since this is an Easter Egg Tour, we’ll make a little detour here. As per the achievement “Stand atop an iconic Shibuya landmark”, let’s visit the roof of the 101 building.

You can get to the top of 101 building by climbing up the nearby buildings and jumping across (the trains you see may come in use!) And while you’re at it, you might have noticed something!

Ta-da! A beetle! Yes, these little critters are a familiar element in our games, and Bayonetta 3 is no exception! I know that in Bayonetta 1 and 2, there was only one beetle hidden per game, but for some reason, we decided to hide a huge number of them in Bayonetta 3.

Wait, what?! More than 40 beetles?!!!

I thought there were like 10 of them in the whole game, so I checked with the person who implemented them into the game and freaked out when I heard the exact number. When I asked him, he said that they basically placed one beetle for each checkpoint in each chapter. However, there were times when they had to give up placement due to moving environments.

As we were reaching the freeze stage for the implemation of each section, I remember the conversations flying around the development team where everyone was shocked that we were still adding beetles on a daily basis. There are so many of these little desperados that even our director was unaware of their existence. There is no real in-game reward for finding them per se, but you can definitely pocket some bragging rights if you are able to find all of these little critters.

While I’m here, I’d like to show you a beetle that I was told you would have to use the debug menu to see. The beetle was apparently placed next to the Gates of Hell record player, but you can barely see it. Since the training room is connected to The Gates of Hell, I used the debug camera to look for the beetle, and it was indeed there!

The little guy is quietly watching over the record player. In case you didn’t know, you can see the beetle in the cutscene when you enter/exit The Gates of Hell.

Shorten Those Clear Times!

OK, so we made it to the top of the 101 building. When climbing, use Demon Masquerade to stick to the walls of the building, as this will make it easier to climb to the top.

This is actually somewhat easy to miss, but you don’t have to go back to the 101 entrance from the rooftop. From the right side of the rooftop, you can just go down to the ground in the next area and skip the battle inside 101.

Surprisingly, there are only a handful of mandatory battles in the game, and a lot of smaller battles can be skipped if you are clever enough, making it possible to shorten your level completion time. From the perspective of exploring a map that is much larger than in previous games, and with a ranking system for clear times, we deliberately included elements that can reduce clear times through discovery and ingenuity. These features may seem modest in comparison, but they were actually quite difficult for us to develop and required loading several large amounts of battle data.

After all this time, I can say that this battle skip feature helped us a lot when we had to do full playthroughs of the game during the crunch…

Our team got a kick out of seeing people skip battles at a certain speedrun competition, and the surprise reaction from the crowd was just fantastic! You’ll find skippable battles all over the place, so be sure to experiment and try it out for yourself.

More Beetles!

After the collapsing road, we now enter the underground section. There is another beetle here, but I’ll keep the details a secret! Use the screenshot as a clue to find it. Even though their locations are limited, these little critters are quite hard to find!

Witch’s “Dancing” Familiars

We are now in Shinjuku.

Near Shinjuku Station there is a second Pt sign. You’ll also come across the Midnight Crow and the Shadow Cat, one of the game’s collectibles. The Midnight Crow, Shadow Cat and Umbran Frog are the witch’s familiars that lurk in each chapter, and finding and catching them is the key to unlocking the hidden chapters.

They run away when you approach them, but did you know that they “dance” under certain conditions? If you summon the appropriate Infernal Demon near each of these companions, they will react in a certain way.

The Midnight Crow will flap its wings in worship when Malphas approaches.

The Shadow Cat jumps up in alarm when Labolas approaches. This is the relationship between cats and dogs, I suppose.

The Umbran Frog, of course, does a classical dance when you summon Baal. Interestingly enough, it might be easier to find these familiars in a Shinjuku full of cats or the desert level full of frogs…

Thoughts?

Tokyo’s Shibuya and Shinjuku areas only cover the first two levels of the game, but there is so much content here that I was surprised at how much information I was able to provide. One of the features of Bayonetta 3 is that it is a globe-trotting experience, but we were able to pack so many Easter Eggs into Tokyo alone! This building, which should be in Osaka rather than Shinjuku, is one such example. Let us say goodbye in front of this landmark.

Thanks so much for tagging along!

*Pt voice* BYE BYE~!

Natsumi Satake Natsumi Satake joined PlatinumGames in 2021 as a game designer. Bayonetta 3 is her first title with studio.She was responsible for side missions and side chapters as well as managing various game parameters, system builds and skill trees.

To start off with, let me introduce the VFX for summoning the Infernal Demons and the effects that you see when they vanish.

Visual Effects when Summoning and Dismissing the Infernal Demons

If you have played Bayonetta 3 then you may already know that, unlike in the previous Bayonetta games, players are now able to freely control the Infernal Demons during battle. Moreover, instead of activating the Infernal Demons with special moves, players can summon them at any time in large areas. The ability to summon these immense creations sounds like fun, but we needed to ensure that players would be able to control these demons without it feeling stressful or uncomfortable for the player. This was not an easy task… That said, I think we were able to make a decent landing after all the trial and error.

■Summoning

Let’s start with the summoning VFX.

VFX when summoning a demon

What do you think? As you can see, a hair-like effect is dynamically produced around the magic circle (*1), and the demon appears through a gate that looks like a hellish pond of blood. The pond and the columns of blood are all made using VAT (*2), which contributes to the sense of fluidity.

（*1）The effect appears gray in the above video, but it changes according to summoner’s hair color.
（※2）Vertex Animation Textures, a VFX modelling technique.

Gomorrah (the demon) appearing through a gate that looks like a pond of blood

Pond of blood-like VFX

We were sure to stop the VFX for the summoning of the Infernal Demons from interrupting the flow of the game. We also paid attention to the momentum and vigor during the summoning, making sure to accentuate the energy when they appear out of the magic circle. This overall direction allowed us to create the VFX accordingly, which in a sense helped us to have a clear idea of what we were going to do.

Gomorrah falls from above when summoned in the air

■Dismissing/Vanishing

Next, let’s talk about the VFX used when the demons vanish.

The way the demons vanish is different from their summons. Unlike summons, in which the demon appears with a fixed action, the vanishing does not have a fixed situation in which the demons disappear.
They may disappear in the middle of an attack, or during standby. No matter what state the demon is in, they have to vanish eventually.

Demon vanishing from the top down

It’s probably hard to tell just by looking at this footage alone, so let’s take a look at it in action in the actual game.

In-game footage of demon vanishing

Thoughts?

As you can see, Gomorrah will vanish properly no matter what. The effect used for the vanishing of the Infernal Demons is a dissolve function (the kind you often see in games where the model slowly disappears).
Instead of just erasing the entire body of the model, we had a special joint made at the feet of the demon, and based on this joint, we made the demon model disappear vigorously from the top. Therefore, particles are generated from the 2D mask of the demon so that it feels quite satisfying when the demon vanishes. Particles are also not all generated at the same time, and the generation of particles is adjusted as they disappear from top to bottom.

For Infernal Demon models which cannot be handled by simply disappearing from the top down, we created a pattern for them to disappear toward the center of the model.

Demon vanishing toward the center

Since the size of each Infernal Demon is different, it was very difficult to make adjustments for each one, but I think the VFX we came up with were pretty cool, thanks to the work of the team!

Homunculus Visual Effects

Let me show you some VFX we used on the Homunculi. The Homunculi are the main enemies in the game and are a collection of humanoids that appear in various form. You can see the way they are generated in real time when they appear in battle. Here goes.

VFX when Homunculus is hit with a severe blow

Did you catch it? When a humanoid Homunculus is severely damaged, its whole body scatters along with its bodily fluids. Moreover, these Homunculi fossilize and shatter when they hit the ground.
Director Yusuke Miyata’s passionate request allowed us to portray this creative setting through the VFX, which is also a characteristic (simple, but when you see it, it definitely has an impact!) of the Homunculi.

Here are the VFX on their own.

Homunculus VFX

In Closing

Okay, that’s all we have for you. Did you enjoy this entry?
I think VFX are not that easily noticed in the game, but they support the game’s environment and definitely provide extra depth to the overall game experience. Although we do tend to focus more on the character models and animations, let’s not forget that visual effects also play a crucial role in crafting an unforgettable gameplay experience!

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Kanata Sasaki After working on VFX for ‘tokusatsu’ style TV shows, he joined PlatinumGames in 2017, where he participated in “ASTRAL CHAIN” as a VFX artist, and in “Bayonetta 3”, he was mainly responsible for PL (player), demon and Enemy VFX.

(*1) Physical soundtrack only available for sale in Japan but ships worldwide from some online retailers. Avaialble to download/stream worldwide. 

We’ve been putting our all into this soundtrack, and it will be packed with over one hundred tracks!

The package design was supervised by the game’s art director, Tomoko Nishii (*2), and you can expect it to turn out very cute and picture book-like.♪ If you’re able to, I’d love for you to get your hands on this lovely little treasure filled to the brim with love from all the creators involved.

(*2) Read her blog post here.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
Original Soundtrack

Release Date: December 20, 2023
Label: WAVE MASTER ENTERTAINMENT
Official Website (Japanese):
https://www.wave-master.com/ent/bayonetta-origins-ost/
Download/stream worldwide: https://nex-tone.link/A00134426_ww
Some services may not currently be available in your region.

Listen to snippets of the soundtrack (Video in Japanese):
Contains some spoilers.

Okay enough of the sales pitch, let’s get onto the topic. In this blog entry, I’d like to introduce you to a few things regarding the memorable Picture Book Cutscenes in Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. My name is Rina Yugi and I mainly worked on the music implementation and overall musical supervision for this game, and I even made a few compositions of my own!

In the picture book cutscenes which you experience in the game, the scenes are portrayed as the pages of a picture book. Each page comes to life before your eyes, as beautiful illustrations with a soft touch emerge and the story unfolds right there on the “paper”. Most of the music that accompanies these pages was written by external composer Ayana Tsujita.

As introduced in the blog post “The Concept behind the Music“, the music for the picture book cutscenes is composed of a quintet consisting of violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, and piano, and was recorded live. It’s the kind of intimate ensemble that would perfectly accompany a live reading of a picture book!

Our approach to the music for the cutscenes was to first create general-purpose looped tunes that expressed the various circumstances and emotions of the characters. We would then edit and apply the music to each cutscene later, as directed by the music leads Aoba Nakanishi and Hiroshi Yamaguchi. For the opening and ending scenes, Ayana scored the music as a single piece rather than a loop to perfectly match each event being depicted.

She was also kind enough to send us the following message for the blog!

Ayana Tsujita

Ever since I first heard about this project, I was so excited to take part. Not only was I able to work with a motif I loved—Faeries and Witches—but I also got to work extensively with acoustic music, which further increased my enthusiasm.

Most of the music consists of a piano quintet formation. Since the nature of this composition tends to give off a somewhat old-fashioned flair, I focused on making sure that the music itself would not be merely a well-mannered, run-of-the mill, stereotypical classical score. To create an interesting yet unfamiliar sound with classical instrumentation, I focused on using some unique techniques, such as deliberately bowing the strings of the instruments with force, plucking the piano strings, etc., all of which I wrote onto the musical notation.

Incidentally, the musicians in the quintet all had experience playing in classical and contemporary music concerts! With the help of these talented experts, we believe that we managed to create music that can be described as otherworldly while staying true to the tenets of classical chamber music.

I received specific beat-by-beat instructions for some scenes at the end of the story, but even in scenes that were not specifically designated by the team, I gladly took the liberty of carefully reading the script and designing the music to be similar to a film score. Playing the game after it came out, I noticed that if you turn the page at different times during the cutscenes, the music transitions and escalates in different parts each time. This let me experience the music in a fresh new way, no matter how many times I played through the game.

Another important musical element is that many of the characters are represented by a specific melody or instrument. Some of these leitmotifs have been inherited from past Bayonetta games and were incorporated into the music in various ways.  These motifs may also act as clues to understanding parts of the story on a deeper level.

I once saw an analogy: “If you use electricity to boil water, you can’t impart the element of fire.” Digital technology has evolved greatly, and we can create wonderful music without being concerned about the method and tools of creation itself. I feel that in these cutscenes, which dared to go against modern trends and utilize acoustic sound, we created music that shares a certain affinity with the mysterious power of the natural “elements” that appear in the game.

The finished music you hear may not be directly determined by its method of production, but this idea, this focus on the physicality of music, is one of my obsessions as a creator, and I cannot thank PlatinumGames enough for entrusting me with the creation of the music in this way. I am honored to have been involved in a production in which I could feel the commitment and passion of each creator dwell in every corner of the game, including, of course, the music.

Like a witch’s spell, I hope that the invisible power that overflows from the sound will give some power to Cereza and Cheshire in their adventure!

―Ayana Tsujita

What a wonderful message!

As Ayana mentioned, when we asked her to create general-purpose tunes, we picked out the relevant scenes from the scenario, had her read them over, and asked her to compose her score based on her vision of each scene. We only specified a broad, general direction of the music we needed. For example, a “mischievous” tune or a tune that invokes a “sense of crisis”; we left the specifics to her amazing creativity. She was able to create music appropriate for each scene and I feel that she managed to convey Cereza’s feelings in such a rich manner that we were thrilled every time we listened to her demos!

Looping music is often designed to be somewhat subdued, so that it fades into the background and you don’t get tired of listening to it. However, the pieces written by Ayana are both flexible, able to be used in multiple scenes, while also containing a potent sense of drama within each composition which makes them enjoyable to listen to on their own. In fact, I listened to the cutscene tracks hundreds of times each while I implemented and checked them in-game. I enjoyed these tunes as a fresh experience every time, and there were times when I would stop working just to listen to them!

The cutscenes in the game are expressed through a picture book concept. Imagine reading a story book by turning the pages. Simple. Unlike the conventional cutscenes that show the entire story in one connected animation, the story in Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is shown as a picture book broken up into discrete scenes – i.e., pages. It is impressive how the colors gradually flow out of the pages and paint a beautiful picture as each page is turned and revealed.

In order to create the experience of reading a picture book, cutscenes were designed in such a way that the player can choose to wait and take in each page after it has finished being drawn in. The next page is turned at the touch of a button, and the following scene begins. Of course, an ”Auto-Play” function is also provided, where the page automatically moves forward each time the story on one page is finished. This is one of the best features and highlights of digital interactive media!

However, the fact that there are different ways of progressing through the pages means that the way the music is played must also be flexible. Since players may choose to manually advance the scenes page by page or choose to have the scenes progress automatically, it is impossible for us to know at what point in the playback of each track they will advance to the next page. In order to synchronize the music with the pictures and have it reach a climax on a particular page, we needed to implement it in a way that can accommodate either progression method.

To provide the same experience regardless of whether players choose to view cutscenes automatically or manually, we did not just use the music in its original form, but edited it in various ways, aiming for an implementation that does not spoil the sense of unity between the pictures and the music (*3). We used the music in a variety of ways, such as extracting only the intro, looping the music in the middle of the track, using only the piano part, and so on. Fortunately, Ayana gave us permission to freely edit and use her music, but we were able to use it in so many different ways that I think some of the scenes may have surprised even her.

(*3) Observant players may have noticed that cutscene “Auto-play” cannot be turned off when watching the opening and ending cutscenes. The score for these scenes is extremely intricate and could not be looped like the other tracks.

Here is a short excerpt of the actual way we implemented the picture book cutscene music when Cereza enters Avalon Forest, encounters the faeries, and summons Cheshire for the first time. You can see this cutscene in the demo version of the game, so make sure you give it a go!

♪Music leading from in-game to picture book cutscenes

Startled by a mysterious presence in the forest, Cereza tumbles off a cliff. Picking herself up, she proceeds fearfully deeper into the forest. What occurs there is a picture book cutscene in which she meets Cheshire.

The uneasy music from in-game continues into the picture book cutscene, and then fades out when the faerie suddenly appears. This piece, entitled “Heart Pounding”, was written by Ayana. In order to effectively show a series of scenes like this, we sometimes start playing the music in-game before transitioning it into the cutscene music, or continue playing the music from the end of a cutscene after the scene ends and players are back controlling the characters.

The reason the music halts so suddenly is because the stop command is linked to the timing (frame) when the faerie appears. This is quite a common technique with game cutscenes. The player is watching the cutscene at their own pace, and when the page progresses and passes this moment, the stop command is triggered to stop the track.

Let’s continue with the cutscene, shall we?

♪Loop in the middle of a track

The track “What Now!?” starts at the cut where the faerie appears, and its name is displayed on the screen. We asked Ayana to read the scenario section of this picture book cutscene and other similar scenes and compose a piece that could be used in this kind of danger-filled situation. The entire piece is a little over a minute long and builds up in tension as it approaches the end. As the piece reaches its climax, the player finds themselves on the edge of their seat, bracing for an incoming attack…And then the track loops back to the beginning.

Before explaining how we implemented this piece, let’s listen to the full version.

♪”What Now!?” full version

Now, if you look at the video again from 00:54, you will see that unlike the full version you just listened to, once you get to a certain part of the track, it begins a mini-loop right before the track builds to its peak. We wanted to time the most exciting climax to the moment when the faeries go in for the attack, so we edited and implemented the track to stay on a shorter loop at the previous phrase so that it does not progress to the climax until that page is turned.

The track is stopped again when Cereza tries to cast her summoning spell. Was the spell successful? Will something appear!? We left this part silent to build suspense.

Let’s look at what happens next.

♪Restarting playback from the middle of the track

We hold our breath…but nothing occurs.

Just as the faeries, who had been flinching for a moment, are about to start moving again, the track begins again from the looped part of the “What Now!?” track that had been playing earlier. The actual moment when the faeries are about to leap toward Cereza is a little further down the page, so the climax will take a little longer.

From 00:32 of the video, we finally reach the page where the faeries jump up and attack Cereza!

At the timing (frame) at the beginning of this page, we put in a command for the track to advance from the looped part of the track to the next climactic part. However, the looped part is not immediately stopped, and the next phrase is played after the command is given. The music is set to switch to the next phrase in one-beat increments so that it still sounds like a single connected piece of music. The rhythm is not broken, and the music proceeds from the loop to the climax of the piece.

Here is another example of how we processed Ayana’s cutscene music to the best of our ability.

♪Music with gradually increasing effects

Note: Voice and sound effects are muted.

Cereza and Cheshire, who are moving through the forest in search of the last Elemental Core, have a shocking encounter along the way. The track “Warmth” begins to play in the middle of that picture book cutscene and continues to play in the in-game portion of the game after the cutscene. The player needs to control Cereza to move forward, but she is in shock and is somewhat unstable as she stumbles forward.

To express Cereza’s emotions, her confusion, and the unbelievable nature of what stands before her, we applied an effect to the music that makes the sound distort as the player moves Cereza closer and closer. At the closest point, the melody is still audible, but the tone is now almost unrecognizable. What was originally a rather gentle and melancholic melody has turned into unsettling discordant noise. The gradual turn to darkness serves to amplify the tragedy of the scene.

We are pleased to release some of the scores in the form of sheet music for the picture book cutscenes we talked about this time! We hope that you will compare the tracks in the game with the music scores and find out how the original pieces were edited and adapted to each scene. We’re sure each of Ayana’s beautiful compositions will touch your heart!

“What Now!?”

Download white version

Download color version

♪Listen to the in-game version of “What Now!?”

“Warmth”

Download white version

Download color version

♪Listen to the in-game version of “Warmth”

But wait! There’s more!

We are also releasing the score for the track “Girl and Demon” which was introduced in the section “The music when a cutscene is playing” in our previous blog post “The Concept behind the Music“. This is one of the most important pieces of music in the game, as it expresses the relationship between Cereza and Cheshire. I hope you can compare this to the in-game version!

“Girl and Demon”

Download white version

Download color version

♪Listen to the in-game version of “Girl and Demon”

In addition to the cutscenes discussed in this entry, there are many other areas where the music was edited and implemented to fit the various in-game situations. The picture book cutscenes are not the only scenes in which parts of the music are processed or extracted, changing them from their original form.

Some of the music was written with the intention of being played interactively from the beginning, while others required a little bit (occasionally a lot) of creative editing and rejiggering after the fact to fit the needs of the game.

It can be a daunting task to modify an amazing creation that was composed as a single connected piece of music. But I am confident this approach to music implementation makes each scene resonate with players and creates memorable moments that leave a lasting impression.

I would be truly happy if Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon becomes an experience that stays with you for years to come.

Rina Yugi After graduating from California State University, Rina returned in Japan in 2009 and started working for a major game company, working in arcade games, consumer games, and mobile games. She came aboard PlatinumGames in 2020, and joined the production team for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.