Tag Climax

Tag Climax is the multiplayer game mode featured in Bayonetta 2. An online and local mode for the Switch, while online-only for Wii U, players team up as a selection of playable characters to fight against angelic and demonic hordes, featuring levels from the game's Story Mode.

Tag Climax players can choose to play with friends, in random matches with strangers, or with a computer-controlled partner.

Gameplay[]

Players battle through 6 chosen Verses in sequence through the use of Verse Cards. Each card is unlocked through the progression of Story Mode and features a set wave of enemies based on the particular card. An overall winner is declared at the end of the 6 battles depending on the score of each player and overall medal ranking.

During Tag Climax, players share a HUD and are able to see their partner's current health, magic, and score based on their current combo rank. Abilities such as Witch Time are shared, with a successful use from one player triggering the effect for both, though other techniques such as Torture Attacks are not available. A meter in the centre of the screen acts a shared magic gauge that fills when both players attack the same enemy as one another. When it is full, Umbran Climax is automatically triggered for both players for a set duration, though the ability can also be activated independently depending on available magic.

If a player loses all of their health, they will be unable to continue fighting and are rendered immobile. The other player then has a short amount of time to revive their partner to get them back into the fray. If both players die from both losing all their health, or one fails to save their partner, the match is over and they must start again from the beginning of the 6 Verses.

After choosing the stage they wish to fight, players have the ability to wager Halos against one another and can receive a large sum back on their wager if they obtain a better rank than their counterpart. The chosen difficulty for each stage adds a multiplier, allowing players to earn larger amounts of Halos for completing the stage on a harder difficulty than they would on easier ones. The Halos won in Tag Climax can be traded in the single-player shop to unlock new techniques, accessories, costumes, and weapons, all of which can then be used afterward in Tag Climax.

Playable Characters[]

Bayonetta[]

TagClimax2 — Bayonetta on the character selection screen

Unlock Condition: Unlocked by default.

Bayonetta plays identically to the Story Mode of the game and has access to all possible unlockable weapons and techniques to use against opponents. Players can also choose different costumes for Bayonetta based on the ones they have purchased in the main game.

Jeanne[]

TagClimax3 — Jeanne on the character selection screen.

Unlock Condition: Complete Story Mode on any difficulty.

Like her status as a playable character in the Story Mode of the first and second games, Jeanne has some unique traits which differentiate her from Bayonetta. While she is able to dodge an infinite amount of times in comparison to Bayonetta's limit of five, Jeanne can only trigger Witch Time via the Moth Within ability and takes 1.5x the damage compared to normal. To compensate for this, her Wicked Weaves do 1.5x more damage and she earns a bonus multiplier to attacks during Witch Time.

When using her signature All 4 One, Jeanne uses the same combat animations as in the first game. She also still has access to all the weapons that act as alternate sets to Bayonetta's arsenal and is able to equip any of her unique unlockable costumes as well.

Rosa[]

Unlock Condition: Complete Story Mode on 3rd Climax/Hard difficulty.

While Rosa is controlled the same to Bayonetta in terms of dodge limits and triggering Witch Time, she also has some unique traits. All her attacks do 3x the damage compared to normal and her variation of Umbran Climax summons the Umbran Armor instead of summoning Infernal Weaves. However, Rosa also takes 3x the damage from enemy attacks, meaning she can easily be taken out if players are not careful.

The only weapons Rosa is able to use are the Unforgiven set of revolver pistols, where she shares her moveset with Bayonetta's Scarborough Fair and Jeanne. Rosa is able to use accessories (with the exception of the Earrings of Ruin), but she has no alternate costumes.

Balder[]

Unlock Condition: Complete Verse Card No. 13.

Balder uses a mixture of melee strikes using his Holy Glaive () combined with magical attacks of energy projectiles and columns of fire (). He uses Light Speed as a variation of Witch Time to slow down his opponents through dodging, and throws sets of feather shurikens in place of shooting (). His version of Umbran Climax gives him feathered wings and allows him to summon giant sweeping blade attacks and summon the Cardinal Virtues as combo finishers in this state. In aerial battles, he flies via levitation.

Balder is unable to use any accessories or any other weapon besides his Holy Glaive. He can be played either with or without his mask, but does not have any other costumes.

Rodin[]

TagClimax4 — Rodin on the character selection screen.

Unlock Condition: Complete Verse Card No. 53.

Rodin sports the most unique playstyle out of the roster. His normal are more powerful than either Bayonetta or Jeanne and inflict more damage through area of effect explosions and melee hits, but he is not as agile or fast in delivering them. He is unable to dodge attacks, and subsequently trigger Witch Time, but conjures a demonic shield around himself to block enemy attacks in a parry if timed correctly. When shooting (), Rodin fires laser beams from his eyes. He transforms into his demonic state as The Infinite One as his variation of Umbran Climax and all of his standard attacks receive a massive damage boost.

Rodin cannot equip accessories, but does have access to his costume from the first game to play with. Similar to Balder, he flies with his telekinesis in aerial fights.

Unlike the Platinum Ticket battle in the main campaign, the enemy Rodin in the Tag Climax Verse Card uses the moveset of the playable Rodin.

Verse Cards[]

The Verse Cards in Tag Climax are unlocked primarily through the completion of stages in the Story Mode of the game. There are a total of 52 Verse Cards to unlock, some of which feature battles that are unique to this mode. While playing Tag Climax, players may encounter secret Verse Cards that appear at random. In order to unlock those cards to choose from in subsequent sessions, players must successfully win the battle corresponding to those cards and complete the round of six Verses.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

When playable characters lose all their health in battle, their immobile state changes depending on who is being controlled. Bayonetta, Jeanne and Rosa are all held in place by demonic hands reaching up from a portal to Inferno, reflecting their status as Umbra Witches. As a Lumen Sage, Balder has the opposite, with angelic hands seizing him from a portal above to Paradiso. Rodin, meanwhile is encased inside a block of ice, a reference to Satan in "The Divine Comedy".

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