After having tried a route that involves farming 2.5 million halos in the prologue as Jeanne in a New Game to buy the Climax Brace from the hidden shop in the first chapter and seeing that this route’s time is able to compete (video link see below) with the traditional New Game route I would like to voice my opinion on the matter brought up by Arismaotle.

One of the central questions that was discussed is whether the use of the hidden shops is considered using a “cheat code” since those are disallowed by the General Gameplay Rules of this website. Defining a cheat code as “a code […] that activates a hidden feature or capability in a computer or video game” (Merriam Webster) the use of the hidden shops is to be considered a cheat code since the required Platinum Code activates various hidden shops. The shops are a feature, they are hidden, and they are activated by said code. After giving this a good deal of thought I have come to agree with this interpretation.

Furthermore moderation has already stated unambiguously on the Discord that the use of hidden shops will not be permitted in New Game or New Game+ runs. Therefore the matter can indeed be considered closed in my opinion. Whether this route should be formed into a separate category is to be decided by the interest of runners. My goal was to contribute to this matter and the community by showing that the route is feasible.

However, I would also like to show some appreciation to Arismaotle’s counterarguments and overall thought process which in my opinion have not been valued enough. I agree that the Platinum Code is not a cheat code in the traditional sense. Definitions of cheat codes while usually being vague and general and therefore applicable to many variations including the Platinum Code were in my opinion formulated with the traditional concept of a cheat code in mind. These concepts originated from games that are 20 or more years old. Input of an intentionally programmed code would grant an immediate benefit bypassing the general gameplay rules. The Platinum Code if anything is an evolution of that concept since the thing that the codes grants is not immediate but rather, in case of the Climax Brace, locked behind 2.5 million halos. This is the significant difference between traditional cheat codes and the Platinum Code.

In a true New Game it is impossible to easily get that many halos since Bayonetta if anything can only reasonably farm halos in later chapters. Farming 2.5 million halos in the prologue in a, for a speedrun, reasonable amount of time is only possible as either Jeanne or Rosa. In fact, Jeanne and Rosa themselves need to be unlocked by meeting certain requirements in a New Game. Consequently, runs as Jeanne or Rosa should not be considered New Game runs since they require the existence of a save file (next to the empty New Game file) where they are already unlocked. Nevertheless they are listed in the New Game categories. It could therefore be considered a kind of a double standard where in one case the rules are interpreted more liberal (considering a run as Jeanne or Rosa a New Game run) and in the other case the interpretation is stricter (applying the definition of a traditional cheat code to the Platinum Code, an evolution of said traditional code).

It is not my intention to stir up the debate on this matter since I accept the legitimate decision of the moderation. But I believe that progressive thinking deserves recognition.

Thanks for reading.

Video: Speedrun, NG, Jeanne, Hard, Hidden Shop route in 1:41:37