Perhaps I should have been hostile instead.

So... There's this user. ZeroJinKui. Been on GFAQs for quite a while (he's Lv.37), and was asking for some help. Too bad he sounds like a whiny brat while he's at it. We were trying to help, but it seemed like he had his ears plugged, or at least blinded to the point that he can't recognize a decent post. He was asking about farming weapons, specifically the Tier 4 and Tier 5 ones (elemental activation 10% and joke weapons). He had already gotten a few of them because of having a second player with him, but preferred to play alone. So, we suggested that the best places for weapon farming are any of the Sekigahara stages, Tedorigawa (Maeda), Ujou (Tenkai), Osaka Summer Blue (if he can handle it) and Kawanakajima (4 equips). I even gave him Kubota as a starting point to get the character's HP up so that they won't die that easily. Tenkai's stage pretty easy because he's so slow. The only real problem in the stage is the bombers running around, which is pretty easy to deal with if you keep moving. Too bad it seems like he's not good enough (what) to outrun the bombers, so he's not using that stage. He also doesn't seem to have enough DEF, which is perfectly normal if you're starting with a Lv.1 character. Said character would only have 1 slot to work with, and you would need to use a Gold Turtle (DEF+400) to soften blows on Extreme. He would probably have one if he had bothered to farm the materials from Kawanakajima and the Noshima Ocean stages. I took a jab at him, saying that he could make up for his (serious) lack of skill with a DEF boost.

Seriously, Extreme isn't that hard for most characters. I have difficulty playing on Extreme with some characters because of their movement speed and play style required. Just need some practice, that's all. And just because we're good at a game doesn't mean that we don't have a life. Some of us are naturally good at gaming. And I'm pretty sure that we don't have to hold your hand when it comes to strategy against certain bosses. The most basic one is to hit-and-run, unless you can't outrun them. Mix up blocking and dodging. Just because you can't seem to block against attacks doesn't mean that others shouldn't be able to either. Oh, and the guy who had trouble with over 2000 DEF? I ran into that problem too. Why? Kanbei at Sekigahara Plot vs. Mouri. It's that damn Akatsukimaru that really puts a dent in things because of its ridiculous attack power, mostly because it's the completed version and not the one that most people would remember from Nakatomigawa.

Really, quit complaining and learn to play the game. It really sounds like you're a rather impatient brat who wants to get all the weapons ASAP. The weapons aren't going to make much of a difference if you don't know how to play it well. At least they're not forcing you to go through a tournament in order to get their best weapons. Those challenges from SB2H? Pretty damn hard with some characters.

I hate people.

I seriously don't understand the problem here. What is there to get? Bayo's a female protagonist. You're a guy. I would've thought that you would PREFER to play as a girl because it's eye candy. And why do boards get into such an uproar whenever there's a main female lead? WolfeyesVIII made a mention of FFXIII's unveiling, but I don't remember any of the backdraft. I just remember excitement from the announcement. I can understand some people being a little upset about Dissidia's cast (Tina, CoD, Ultimecia and Shantotto) though. Both sexes end up over-sexualized in all sorts of media, yet there's only outcry if it's the female. Very rarely the males. And about connecting to the characters? If you want to connect to them, fine. I have no problem connecting to a character whether they're human or not, male or female, or a robot. It just doesn't matter as long as said character was interesting.

Take Bayo, since that's one of the newer games. At first, in 2007, I just didn't care. OK, a gun on foot (heels = 99% sure it's a girl). Woo. 2008. Really didn't keep up with the news, no developer blog to really read. E3 '09. Still didn't really care that much until seeing gameplay. Loved how the game flowed. Didn't care that main was female. Oct 29th. Started playing the game. Yep, just like a female Dante, only with a bigger mouth. Did I connect with her immediately? Nope. It took until about Chapter 14 to understand her, why she does what she does. Started connecting there and appreciating the effort to create her and her world. Have to admit though, I still prefer Antonio Redgrave, even though he's dead, because of his journal entries. Maybe it's just my geeky tendencies taking over. OK, not really. I'm usually like this. What if Bayo was male? I really don't think it would have changed how I felt about the game. Why? Because it's damn fun to play. The narrative and interesting characters were an extra to give the game some more depth. For games like Bayonetta, it's all about the gameplay. But I guess some people have problems with a witch going around sending angels into iron maidens or cutting them in half with a massive chainsaw. If the character fits, there's no reason to get upset about it. It's a design choice. If you don't like it, just try to ignore it. Don't go online (or to your friends) complaining about how the main is a girl. Complaining about game mechanics is perfectly fine though. I have a complaint of my own: she's too floaty. There's others, but that's a moot point.

Taking a look at Demon's Souls. I created a female avatar. Why? Because I'm a girl. I could have easily created a male avatar if I wished to do so. In fact, I was going to start a new file with a male character (if I hadn't lent it out to someone) after finishing my original scenario. There's no difference between the 2 sexes other than some gender-specific equipment. Just like how Last Remnant has some RACE-specific equipment. You don't see people screaming racism against LasuRemu, now do you? ... I'm actually kinda upset that I can't make a guy run around in a dress though.

P3P? Didn't really feel anything when they announced that there was an option to play as a female. Actually, that's a lie. I felt "yay, we have a choice!" Then, "wait, that means that the girl's ending is non-canon." But yeah, I happen to like the choice. SenBASA is another one. I like playing as Kojuurou and Matsu.

tl;dr I hate people. People are stupid. And why didn't I go into game journalism?! Other than the fact that I hate writing most of the time.

*insert extreme annoyance*

So... I've clocked about 4 hours of Bayonetta already. It was apparent within the first few minutes of play that this game was not seriously optimized for the PS3's architecture. WHAT THE HELL WAS SEGA THINKING?! Not saying that it's completely unplayable, but it's just a disappointment knowing that it's not up to par with the 360 version. It's a good game, but could be MUCH better. Like... I was hoping for an HD install to cut down on load times because of the Blu-Ray's lower peak read speed. Did we get one? Nope. Loading times like that are completely unacceptable. Not even Tales of the Abyss was that bad, and it was ripped pretty badly for the load times. The Ryu Ga Gotoku team would have been PERFECT for this if they weren't so busy working on the 5th game, which I can't blame them for and damn if I'm not intrigued by the series now. BUT NO, THEY JUST HAD TO HAND IT OFF TO A THIRD-RATE TEAM (or so I heard).

This also reflects quite badly on Platinum. Pretty sure that they're not very proud of the port, and they should have taken the reins earlier to ensure quality or at least demanded that a better team to take charge. Or better yet... delay the game to polish it up. A LOT. Going between the 360 and PS3 is not a simply matter of conversion. I have no idea how to program, and even I understand this concept. The PS3's CPU is a complete monster compared to typical processors. One main core with 6 split mini-cores, while the 360's is a triple-core system IIRC. There's no need to even get technical with this. Just looking at that already presents a HUGE number of complications. Now, if they had something like Capcom's MT Framework, which they used for Lost Plant, biohazard 5 and Devil May Cry 4, it would have been easier to go back and forth AND have the flexibility to optimize for each system. And even maybe even port it to the PC for fanatics. That being said...

...

THIS GAME IS AWESOME!
Yeah, could be (well, should be) a lot better because of technical issues plaguing it, but for what it is, it's a really well made game. Thoroughly amused by the Ookami, Viewtiful Joe, Mad World, biohazard, and Devil May Cry references I've caught so far. There may be quite a few I've missed because of visual cues or I haven't played the game that's being referenced before. But I'm only up to the 4th chapter, so I'm not that far into it. Actually, I'm kinda stuck. Mostly because I REALLY suck at this game and my pride is just refusing to let me go to a lower difficulty level. And mostly because I don't want to spend 20 hours on Easy Automatic learning how to play the game. But hey, at least I'm getting better at using Witch Time! I just need to learn how to use everything else now! ... Yeah, I suck at this. It's like learning how to play a completely different game from DMC. Yes, some experience would be helpful, but it's quite literally a completely different beast to tame. If it ran a little faster, maybe I wouldn't be having this much trouble...?

Dante turned into a historian/journalist/paranormal investigator! Actually, that's incidentally what Kamiya wanted him to be in the first place: a paranormal investigator. Also laughed at Bayo insulting the black and white guns, calling them toys. Ebony&Ivory are also black and white, but are specially made for Dante. One for quick drawing and fire, the other for accuracy. "Antonio Redgrave" was the name of the guy who left a bunch of notes all over Vigrid. "Tony" is a nickname for someone named "Antonio." Incidentally, I know someone who's named Antonio but goes by Tony. So... Tony Redgrave, AKA Dante, is in the game. The name is also on Dante's guns, but it was never really elaborated upon, other than the now retconned to non-canon novel. Bayo also shouts "HENSHIN A-GO-GO BABY!" during a rather amusing sequence. Enemy surfing on lava! Also insults a flying enemy... with "Flock-off, featherface!" Gee, I wonder who said that... Right! Dante to Gryphon! There's also the 20 year thing... Dante lost his remaining family 20 years before DMC1 started. Bayo was woken up 20 years before her game starts. Bayo falling to the ground produces butterflies. Ammy (Amaterasu) moving sprouts flowers. Both are girls~

I think that's enough gushing for now. I wouldn't be too surprised if both Bayonetta and Devil May Cry took place in the same universe, just that events are happening at different time periods, or just on different continents. Of course, this is just wild mass guessing on my part. This IS Kamiya after all.