One of the reasons that certain video game franchises make an impact on gamers and the industry at large is because of how the main characters (or even their villains) look. Their designs are just as iconic as anything else. Think about Mario, Sonic, Cloud Strife, Dante, Master Chief, Samus Aran, Lara Croft, and others, and their looks truly stand out. Another that can easily be added to that list is Bayonetta. The “Umbra Witch” from the mind of Hideki Kamiya is iconic not just because of her looks, but because her looks shifted from game to game.
However, when it came to her glasses, she always wore them. It’s a key part of her look, and it helps separate her from numerous other protagonists out there. So, why did the glasses stay? On Twitter, Hideki Kamiya answered that in hilarious fashion. Here’s the translated version:
“When I was designing Bayonetta, clients requested that I remove her glasses, and it’s true that I kept refusing to do so… Apart from that, it’s also true that Shimomura-san, who directed the cutscene, said the famous line, ‘Bayonetta’s glasses are practically her underwear, so don’t ever take them off.’”
Yep, that’s Kamiya for you! But, it gets even better, for character designer Mari Shimazaki joined in on Twitter and noted:
“During the development of Bayonetta 1, I was drawing rough designs when, out of nowhere, Kamiya-san was standing behind me and muttered, ‘I want you to add glasses to that design.’ That’s how it all started. After that, no matter which rough draft I drew, he would say, ‘Shall we try adding glasses?’ So I started preparing a glasses layer. There were a lot of ups and downs until we decided on the final design, but the glasses layer was always on standby. However, even that one moment when she took off her glasses was a Bayonetta moment, and I think that’s what makes her so Bayonetta.”
For me? That’s hilarious. It seems like such a simple addition, but it’s one that made her look more pronounced, and thinking about her without them is almost sacrilege. As someone who wears glasses, I’m glad she wears them.
Source: Twitter 1, 2, Nintendo Everything
