The Wii U has seen its fair share of late ports, with the likes of Mass Effect 3 and Batman: Arkham City criticised for giving Wii U owners old games at premium prices while owners of other consoles enjoy the latest versions. However, this criticism cannot be thrown towards Hideki Kamiya’s Platinum Games – this port is a pure bonus for Wii U gamers.

Due to technical limitations of the Wii, Bayonetta was originally released only on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in January 2010. When Nintendo announced in September 2012 that Bayonetta 2 was being developed exclusively for Wii U it caused shockwaves across Internet message boards, with cries of disappointment that a previously multi-platform game was only going to be available on a console whose predecessor did not even have the original. Bayonetta was not a big commercial success and original publishers Sega were unwilling to fund a sequel to what was one of the most critically acclaimed action games of the last generation. Thankfully, Platinum Games have created a port of the original for those who missed out, which will come in a special edition bundle with its sequel in Europe.

For those unfamiliar with Bayonetta, at its core it is a high-paced action title with gameplay not too dissimilar to Kamiya’s previous series, Devil May Cry. You take the titular role of Bayonetta, a voluptuous Umbran Witch who has woken up in the present day after a 500-year slumber and must battle the angels of Paradiso to discover the secrets of the Eyes of the World. If that sounds like nonsense to you, you’re in the same boat as I was – the story and much of the presentation is very ridiculous and cheesy. Cut-scenes are long, so it may test your patience to get through them to get to the excellent gameplay.

While most levels are set up in your typical ‘go from point A to B and beat some enemies’ format, the combat is where the game excels. Movement is fluid, with a vast array of combos and techniques available for you to battle your way to the secrets of Bayonetta’s past. Our protagonist does not use the traditional witches broomstick or cast spells, instead, she attaches a weapon to each limb. By experimenting with different choices of weapon and learning the quick button presses, you will soon become a master in pulling off some spectacular attacks to defeat the grotesque angels. Land enough hits on your foes to fill up your special bar and Bayonetta will be able to pull off gruesome, sometimes overtly sexual, torture attacks, which build up in power the quicker you mash a button, just like in Platinum’s other Wii U exclusive, The Wonderful 101.

What differentiates Bayonetta from other third-person action games is what Platinum has called ‘Witch Time’. When you pull off a last minute dodge, a slow motion effect will be initiated, giving you a chance to get some hits on your enemies with a speed advantage. This high-precision mechanic is crucial to have any chance of getting through the game, and especially in achieving a high ranking. Each chapter is separated into multiple verses for which you will be given a score depending on your speed, combos achieved and damage taken, with a final rank, going up from ‘Stone’ to ‘Pure Platinum’, given at the end of the level.

Where Bayonetta really excelled for me is the boss battles. They really are fantastic, with many bosses taking up most of the screen and offering a considerable challenge to defeat. While the battles essentially boil down to finding the weak spot and activating witch time to get in as many hits you can to bring down their health gauge, their designs are so fantastical each battle feels epic, climaxing in Bayonetta summoning giant demons of hell through her wicked weave of hair to deliver the final blow. While many games of the time were criticised for overuse of quick time events, those in Bayonetta feel appropriate to the action, but sometimes are thrown at you with little time to react, leading to death and a lower ranking.

In terms of difficulty, Normal will provide more than enough challenge for most seasoned gamers – I only achieved the lowest ranking for a considerable number of levels on my first play through. If you find it too much of a challenge, you can lower the challenge to Easy, or Very Easy, which have to option to pull off combos automatically with the push of only one button. Bayonetta’s story should take you between six and twelve hours to complete, depending on your skill level and how many of the cut scenes you end up skipping. Higher difficulties, the challenge to gain better ranks and secret verses that provide a range of combat trials increase the replayability beyond your initial play through.

Graphically, Bayonetta is visually very similar to its original version, and it is showing its age a little bit, with some character models in the cut scenes looking quite poor by today’s standards. However, it is a considerably much better port than the PS3 version, with very few frame rate drops. In terms of environments, levels are well designed, varying from classical to mythical to industrial, blending in a variety of heavenly and hellish features. Overall, it’s a joy in motion, but less so between levels.

The music of Bayonetta will not be to everyone’s taste, with a blend of cheesy Japanese pop blended with jazz and rock. It fits with the over the top style that Kamiya is well known for, but if you aren’t a fan of the overall presentation and story, it’s unlikely you’ll be a fan. The voice acting is adequate, but you may find like me that the character of Bayonetta is too annoying to appreciate what’s on offer.

In terms of Wii U exclusive features, there isn’t too much to shout home about, but there are some nice touches to make Nintendo fans smile. Right from the start a selection of themed costumes are available, allowing you to dress up Bayonetta as Link, Samus, Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. While the costumes would provide adequate fan service, you can fight with the Master Sword and collect Rupees when dressed as Link, charge up your arm cannon as Samus, and summon a certain spiked foe when dressed as one of the princesses.

Bayonetta on Wii U also features off-TV play, also providing touch screen input on top of the classic controls. However, I found these controls too fiddly to be worth using and the colours on the GamePad seemed very washed out compared to other games.

Whether you feel Bayonetta is a representation of a strong female character, or an overly sexualised caricature, the core gameplay is just as good as it was when it first gained praise almost five years ago. Get through the unashamedly camp presentation and you the kind of high quality action we’ve come to expect from Platinum Games.

If you have previously played Bayonetta on Xbox 360 or Playstation 3, it will depend on your liking of the Nintendo fan service and your desire for a special edition whether or not it is worth picking up what is essentially the same game again. In the USA, all copies of Bayonetta 2 come with the original bundled, so it really is a no brainer as to whether you should play it again. However, in Europe we will have to pay for the privilege. But for around £10 extra on top of the solo edition of Bayonetta 2, Nintendo-only gamers will experience an imaginative, challenging game that will get them up to speed for the sequel.