50 Fun Facts About Bayonetta

Bayonetta's skintight outfit is magically formed from what, which strips away whenever she summons a giant attack?

Her own hair forms Bayonetta's clothes and is also the conduit for the demons she calls up, so every big summon briefly leaves the witch with less to wear.

In the Bayonetta series, which ability slows enemies to a crawl after a dodge made at the last second?

Witch Time is the series' signature reward for a well-timed dodge: enemies appear to move in slow motion while Bayonetta counterattacks at full speed.

Before the first Bayonetta begins, the amnesiac witch spent 500 years sealed in a coffin resting where?

At the bottom of a lake is where a childhood friend hid the coffin after erasing Bayonetta's memory, to keep her from those who would exploit her power.

Which accessory did Bayonetta's director insist on, to set the witch apart from other female characters?

Glasses were meant to give Bayonetta a sense of mystery and intelligence, though her designer suspected the director simply liked women who wear them.

Bayonetta's combat system resembles which earlier action series by the same director, whose hero is named Dante?

Devil May Cry came from the same director, and Bayonetta's developers called themselves Team Little Angels as a wink at Team Little Devils, who made that game.

Which company stepped in to fund Bayonetta 2 after the sequel was shelved by its original publisher?

Nintendo revived the cancelled sequel, which is why it launched only on Wii U; the game's producer said Bayonetta 2 would not exist without that backing.

Bayonetta fights with four guns at once: one in each hand and the other two mounted where?

On her heels sit the other two pistols, so Bayonetta can fire mid-kick; the designers considered holsters for her feet but dropped them as not feminine enough.

To fit the game's theme of femininity, what did Bayonetta's developers make the witch shed instead of blood when hit?

Rose petals fall from Bayonetta when she takes damage, and when the player targets an enemy a pair of red lips marks its chest.

Which red-clad Umbra Witch, Bayonetta's childhood friend and rival, sealed the heroine away to protect her?

Jeanne spends most of the first game fighting Bayonetta under mind control, yet the development team ended up liking the rival more than the heroine.

Which demonic weaponsmith runs the Gates of Hell, the bar where Bayonetta buys her weapons and items?

Rodin tends bar at the Gates of Hell, a name that alludes to a monumental sculpture by the artist Auguste Rodin.

Which journalist trails Bayonetta through the first game, blaming the witch for the death of his father?

Luka watched Bayonetta awaken when he was a boy, on the day angels killed his father, and he grows up determined to expose her to the world.

What is Bayonetta's birth name, also used by the lost little girl who follows her in the first game?

Cereza is Spanish for cherry, and the child is Bayonetta's younger self, pulled out of the past to stir the amnesiac witch's memories.

Which villain of the first Bayonetta, the last of the Lumen Sages, reveals that he is the heroine's father?

Balder plans to revive the creator of Paradiso and reunite the three realms, and he brings his daughter's younger self forward in time to awaken her power.

Which demon, first bound to a stuffed toy in Bayonetta Origins, later fights beside the trainee witch Viola?

Cheshire is the reluctant partner of Bayonetta Origins, and in Bayonetta 3 he is the only demon Viola can call, swapping her sword style for fists when he appears.

Bayonetta's shadow and the Infernal Demon she is contracted to both take the shape of which insect?

A butterfly is Bayonetta's emblem: her demon partner Madama Butterfly, the Mistress of Atrocity, lends the giant limbs that land the witch's Wicked Weave blows.

Which creator deity, the final boss of the first Bayonetta, ends the game with her soul punched into the sun?

Jubileus, the ruler of Paradiso, is finished off when Bayonetta summons Queen Sheba, the demon who governs Inferno, to throw the knockout punch.

In Bayonetta 3, which artificial entity commands the Homunculi as they destroy one universe after another?

Singularity wipes out alternate universes to strengthen itself, and it spends much of the game disguised as a scientist who is helping the heroes.

Which fictional European city, the heroine's birthplace, is the main setting of the first Bayonetta game?

Vigrid shares its name with the field in Norse myth where the gods' last battle is foretold, and the only way into the secluded city is a single railway.

Paradiso, Purgatorio and Inferno, the realms of the Bayonetta games, take their names from which classic epic poem?

The Divine Comedy supplies all three names, though the first game never lets Bayonetta visit Inferno: its demons come to her when she summons them.

In Bayonetta lore, the Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages each guarded one half of which pair of treasures?

Eyes of the World is the shared name of the Left Eye of Darkness and the Right Eye of Light, which the two clans used to oversee the just passage of time.

With Beast Within, the first animal form she learns, Bayonetta can sprint and leap great distances as which big cat?

A panther is the first of the Beast Within forms, and finishing its tutorial in the first game puts the other transformations on sale at the Gates of Hell.

Which sweets heal Bayonetta or refill her magic, at the cost of a lower score for the chapter?

Lollipops can also boost her strength or make her invincible, and a model dressed as Bayonetta posed with one in the game's Japanese commercial.

What do defeated enemies drop in the Bayonetta games that serves as currency at the Gates of Hell shop?

Halos fall from many enemies and breakable objects, and they pay for items, techniques and weapon upgrades alike.

Which Bayonetta finishing moves summon devices such as iron maidens and chainsaws to dispatch a single enemy?

Torture Attacks trap one enemy in a conjured device for a gruesome finish, and each kill made this way pays the player a bonus.

Bayonetta 2 opens with angels attacking which real city while the witch is out shopping on Christmas Eve?

New York is under attack within minutes of the sequel's opening, and the same city is hit again by the Homunculi at the start of Bayonetta 3.

Which dragon-like Infernal Demon, a favourite summon of Bayonetta, turns on the witch early in Bayonetta 2?

Gomorrah, a territorial beast that treats anything that moves as prey, breaks loose when a summoning goes wrong and has to be fought as a boss.

In the Route 666 chapter of the first Bayonetta, the witch tears along a highway riding what?

A motorcycle carries Bayonetta through Route 666's bridges and tunnels, where she can fire only her signature handguns and must powerslide under lowered barriers.

Which game designer, who earlier directed Viewtiful Joe and Okami, created and directed the first Bayonetta?

Hideki Kamiya began the project in January 2007 and has called the witch his ideal woman; he stayed on as supervisor for both numbered sequels.

Which Japanese studio, founded by former Clover Studio staff, has developed every game in the Bayonetta series?

PlatinumGames released Bayonetta as only its third project, and the witch went on to become the studio's flagship series.

Which Japanese publisher released the original Bayonetta and owns the rights to the series?

Sega published Bayonetta as the third title of a four-game deal with its developer, and stayed on as a consultant when another company funded the sequel.

Reflecting the director's love of folk music, Bayonetta's four main handguns share a name with which old ballad?

Scarborough Fair names the set of four, and each individual pistol is called after one of the herbs the ballad is famous for.

Which old standard, with lead vocals by Helena Noguerra, became the main theme song of the first Bayonetta?

Fly Me to the Moon started a tradition: Bayonetta 2 followed it with another remixed oldie, Moon River, as that game's theme.

Which Mass Effect voice actress took over the title role in Bayonetta 3 after the original star's pay dispute?

Jennifer Hale replaced Hellena Taylor, who had urged fans to boycott the game over her fee; the studio publicly gave the new voice of Bayonetta its full support.

Which colour became the key shade of Bayonetta's redesigned outfit in Bayonetta 2?

Blue replaced the red of the first game because water was a key theme of the sequel, and the designer called making it stand out against a black outfit a nightmare.

Although it was made in Japan, the original release of Bayonetta featured voice acting in only which language?

English was the only voice track because the director felt that speaking Japanese would not suit the character; a Japanese cast arrived later with the anime film.

What is the subtitle of the Bayonetta anime film that the studio Gonzo released in Japanese cinemas?

Bloody Fate retells the first game with small changes to locales and details, and its dub for North America reunited most of the game's original voice cast.

Which artist designed Bayonetta, working through about a hundred drafts over a full year to fix the witch's look?

Mari Shimazaki gave the heroine longer arms and legs than was usual for women in action games, and she returned to design the character for both sequels.

Which car-shaped angels, met only on the Route 666 highway in the first Bayonetta, drop obstacles in her path?

Irenic are weakly armoured and fall after a few hits, but they can carry another angel perched on the roof for support.

The angels and summoned demons of Bayonetta speak which occult language, described by John Dee and Edward Kelley?

Enochian is heard in every Infernal summoning chant as well as from the angels, so Bayonetta's demons and her heavenly enemies share one tongue.

Bayonetta 2 was nominated for Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2014 but lost the prize to which rival?

Dragon Age: Inquisition took the prize, in a year when the magazine Edge and the website GameSpot had each given Bayonetta 2 a perfect 10.

A minigame in the first Bayonetta pays tribute to which classic arcade shooter, one of several nods to older games?

Space Harrier is one of many winks in the game, which also references earlier work by its director and other series from the same publisher.

Noatun, the main town of Bayonetta 2, borrows its architecture from real cities in which two countries?

Belgium and Italy supplied the models: Bruges for church interiors, Brussels for the grand buildings, Florence for streets and houses, and Venice for the canals.

On April Fools' Day 2017, a free 8-bit Bayonetta minigame hid clues that the original was coming to which platform?

Windows PC got the port days later, after players found achievements pointing to a countdown on the publisher's website that ran out on April 11.

In Bayonetta 3, which island serves as a gateway between universes in the witches' hunt for the Chaos Gears?

Thule is the hub from which Bayonetta and Viola cross into other universes to win the Chaos Gears, which together open the way to the Alphaverse, the home of the game's villain.

What did Bayonetta's director jokingly call Very Easy Automatic, the setting that plays out combos at one button press?

Mommy Mode got its nickname in a video on the game's official website, in which the game's character designer demonstrated the one-button setting.

Which Bayonetta 3 mechanic lets the player take direct control of one of the witch's Infernal summons in battle?

Demon Slave hands over a demon's attacks and special abilities, while the game's other new mechanic, Demon Masquerade, fuses the witch with one instead.

In Bayonetta Origins, the young witch defies her teacher to enter which forbidden forest, home of the faeries?

Avalon Forest draws her in through dreams of a mysterious boy, and it is there that a desperate ritual binds a demon to her stuffed toy.

The four Auditio bosses of the first Bayonetta, such as Fortitudo and Sapientia, embody which set of ideals?

The Cardinal Virtues give the four their Latin names: Fortitudo for courage, Temperantia for temperance, Iustitia for justice and Sapientia for prudence.

Bayonetta 3 added which optional display setting that covers up nudity during gameplay and cutscenes?

Naive Angel Mode keeps Bayonetta covered during her summoning dances and also tones down the more graphic designs of certain enemies.

Which Japanese gaming magazine awarded one version of the first Bayonetta a perfect score of 40 out of 40?

Famitsu gave the perfect score a few days before release, but marked the other console version slightly lower for its weaker visuals and frame rate.