This Week’s Purchase: Bayonetta 2: First Print Edition

This week I purchased Bayonetta 2: First Print Edition for the Wii U, an item that has gained notoriety for its small production run and quick sell out time. In total 15,300 copies were produced, and whilst this wouldn’t be too unusual for a more niche game, Bayonetta 2 is the most exciting title to grace the Wii U in quite a long time. I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy myself, and today I’m going to open it up and go through what’s inside.

What I bought

So Banoyetta 2: First Print comes inside a pretty massive box. This is not the usual cardboard packaging used by all of Nintendo’s other limited edition releases for the Wii U. Instead the cardboard box has been reserved for the Premium Edition of the game, which also includes the original Bayonetta alongside Bayonetta 2 but doesn’t have the fancy packaging. First Print instead looks like a giant Wii U box, and it is impressive in both look and feel.

This is good, because other than the nice box the First Print edition offers little more than the standard Premium Edition (sold for £15 cheaper). Still, £59.99 is a relatively fair price for two games, and Platinum Games has succeeded in delivering a collectible product. At the time of writing the price for a new copy on eBay is over £100 (you can have a look for one here).

It’s also worth taking into account that First Print was exclusive to Europe, so unlike many ‘limited’ releases, quantities weren’t doubled up by releasing in multiple regions. The Tales of Symphonia: Chronicles Collectors Edition for instance saw only 10,000 copies in Europe, but there was another 18,000 in the USA, and therefore 28,000 in total. Likewise the Chotto Nintendo 3DS consoles were marketed as a limited edition of 1,000 consoles per colour variation. However the promotion was run in both Europe and Japan, meaning in total there were 2,000 of each manufactured.

Inside the box

Inside the plastic case you have a pretty luxurious housing unit for you two Bayonetta games. This is a box styled like The Book of Angels from the game, and features shiny gold embossing on the outside and leather lining on the inside. There’s also a small art book detailing the enemies within the game. This is attached to the case, and although pretty, it’s certainly not the most impressive art book I’ve seen in a limited edition.

Then you’ve got the games themselves, which (as will all of Nintendo’s big box editions) are let down by the seriously nasty USK age ratings. USK classifies games for release in Germany, and their ratings are included so the same version of an item can be sold across Europe. It’s a shame as they let down the game’s cover designs, although in this case it’s only Bayonetta 2 that can be purchased separately and without this eyesore of a logo on its cover.

The verdict

Perhaps what’s most important is that as a game, Bayonetta 2 is awesome. It’s a huge step up from the first game in terms of both action as well as presentation, and currently stands out as one of the best games available for the Wii U. Because of this I’m really happy to own this luxurious, and ever so slightly excessive version of the game. I can’t deny that it essentially cost an extra £15 for additional packaging, but it’s already proving to be a desirable item and one I’m excited to have in my collection.