I mean, let’s face it, accent aside she’s still a very Japanese character, with her flowing locks, ornate pendant and quirks like shoes that are also guns. As you’d expect, since Bayonetta was a Japanese game!
So it’s interesting to see these images by concept artist Wesley Burt (who we featured yesterday), done as a rough little test with Sega (that obviously nothing came of) back when the game was still in development.
Seeing as the character was a hit with gamers regardless of how Japanese she was, a more Western take on her form wasn’t needed, but some of these designs are still great. I like how she’s a little less “stripper librarian” and more “queen of the badlands”. And how her hair is used a little more practically than in the actual game.
Bayonetta [Wesley Burt]
Femto
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:08 PMI saw bayonetta in bug W bargin bins in Melbourne for $15.00
Neil Williams
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 5:53 PMI hope you picked it up then. $15 for Bayonetta is an absolute steal.
Average
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 8:55 PMAnd you didn’t buy it?
Chazz
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:18 PMThey all appear rather masculine with the broad, straight shoulders and thick boots that detract from the curves. (The exception being the middle one in the second batch.)
thaum
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 10:04 PMYeah, boobs are totes masculine…
Fenixius
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 12:48 AMI actually think the left one in the first batch has lovely feminine curves… But I see what you mean.
GamePlayer
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:39 PMPersonally I think she would have been sexier if she was MORE japanese. That british accent really got old fast.
xWisp
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:42 PMtop left to bottom right, yes, no, no, no, yes, no.
MrTaco
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 6:50 AMThis. First one (yes, that is) reminds me of Ruby Mallone. Second one, kinda Wonder Woman.
Ryan
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 10:37 PMBlonde would not have worked for the character; but top left and bottom middle may have appealed to me.
James Mac
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:04 PMBayonetta would have been sexier if her head was less bizarre.
Jake
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:19 PMI think Bayonetta was pretty perfect, and didn’t need an overhaul. And I scoffed at the title of this article.
But to be honest, those concept drawings aren’t half bad, and would be cool as an unlockable skin.
Scott
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:20 PMThe Western look would have definitely made it less appealing to me.
VGP
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:36 PMIt only worked because it was Sega
Switch296
Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 11:43 PMShe looks ten times better like this.
I hate weeaboo’s.
Gorzilla
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 12:06 AMShe would’ve been sexier if she was more character and less caricature.
Otoha
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 12:15 AMHonestly Kotaku are you trolling me? Is this a serious article? Those designs are all terrible, but im a sucker for any article Bayonetta related so I forgive you guys =3
Effluvium Boy
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 9:40 AMBottom Left: David Bowie?
Bollo
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11:14 AMTo answer the title: “No.”. Western generally equals crass and dumb.
Cerzel
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 11:31 AMIf Bayonetta was made to go for western sex appeal she’d spend the entire game breathing through her teeth…
Doraiya
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 1:50 PMSooo, she would’ve looked like a cheesy rip-off of any adventure/action heroine from western games in the last decade?
I’ll stick with my loopy Japanese design thank you very much.
Dunnowhathuh
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 7:35 PMNah, I don’t think being more western would have made her more sexy. Those pictures there for example, the only one that looks good is the second one in the middle and that’s because it looks similar-ish to Bayonetta’s original look.
twiryn
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 8:35 PMI think the problem with them is that while definitely more western, and still kinda sexy (though only the middle one of the bottom row captures it properly for me), they’re also a lot more generic. Bayonetta’s design is more than sexy – it’s instantly recognizable, which is very important to consider in a main character of a game.
Snacuum
Saturday, July 2, 2011 at 5:27 PMHOLD THE PRESSES
When and where did we even manage to define a what a “western” and “eastern” look even is?
Moreover, who here even thinks Bayonetta falls into ANYBODY’S self-contained understanding of what styles make up east/west?
I think her actual chosen style is best because it’s NEITHER.