, or Cereza, is the titular protagonist of the ''
Bayonetta
is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya and developed by PlatinumGames. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with ''Bayonetta''. Two sequels were released, ''Bayonetta 2'' (2014) and ''Bayonetta 3'' (2022), as well as a s ...
'' video game series developed by
PlatinumGames
PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer that was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between two companies, Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after the closure of ...
. She was created by
Hideki Kamiya
is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), ''Devil May Cry'' (2001), ''Viewtiful Joe'' (2003), and ''Ōkami' ...
and designed by Mari Shimazaki. Hellena Taylor voiced the character in English for the first two games and several appearances outside the series from 2009 to 2018, while
Jennifer Hale
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Metal Gear Solid'', ''BioShock Infinite'', ''Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Star Wa ...
voiced her in ''
Bayonetta 3
is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was directed by Yusuke Miyata and produced by Yuji Nakao, with the ''Bayonetta'' creator Hideki Kamiya as supervising director. It ...
'' (2022). She is voiced by
Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese.
Bayonetta is one of only two surviving Umbra Witches, being the child of a Witch and a Lumen Sage. During the events of
the first game
''The First Game'' is a painting by Arnold Friberg, and was commissioned in 1968 by Chevrolet Motor Division as one of four paintings to commemorate the then-upcoming centennial celebration of college football in the United States. It depicts ...
, she goes in search of her forgotten past, heading for her old home of Vigrid and fighting the angelic forces of Paradiso on the way. In ''
Bayonetta 2
is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo. It is the sequel to the 2009 game ''Bayonetta'', and was directed by Yusuke Hashimoto and produced by Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda, and Hitoshi Yamagami, unde ...
'', she becomes a
demon hunter
Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...
confronting her own literal demons. She appears as a
guest character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, in ...
in other games such as ''
Anarchy Reigns
''Anarchy Reigns'', known in Japan as is an open world beat 'em up video game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega. It is the spiritual successor to the Wii video game ''MadWorld'' (2009), and was released in Japan on July 5, 2012, in ...
'', ''
The Wonderful 101
is an action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was directed by Hideki Kamiya and produced by Atsushi Inaba; the pair also worked together on the ''Viewtiful Joe'' series and ''Ōkami''. It ...
'', and the ''
Super Smash Bros.
''Super Smash Bros.'' is a Crossover (fiction), crossover fighting game series published by Nintendo. The series was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who has directed every game in the series. The series is known for its unique gameplay objectiv ...
'' series.
Reception of the character has been positive overall, with the common point of praise being her highly feminine image, which makes her both stand out among
female characters in video games
Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
and go against several set conventions.
Conception and design
Given the suggestion to create another action game by producer Yusuke Hashimoto, project director
Hideki Kamiya
is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed ''Resident Evil 2'' (1998), ''Devil May Cry'' (2001), ''Viewtiful Joe'' (2003), and ''Ōkami' ...
decided to create a female lead, having felt he had already done all that could be done with male protagonists. To this end, he told character designer Mari Shimazaki to create her with three traits: a female lead, a modern witch, and to use four guns.
Her name was inspired by a
bayonet
A bayonet (from French ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit on the end of the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar firearm, allowing it to be used as a spear-like weapon.Brayley, Martin, ''Bayonets: An Illustr ...
, meant to imply there was "more to her than meets the eye",
while her four guns were named
parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
''Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme'' is the third studio album by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album was released on October 24, 1966, in the United States by Columbia Records. Following the success of the ...
after the old English ballad, "
Scarborough Fair", due to Kamiya's love of
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
. The process, which took a full year, went through a hundred character designs and alterations, with early appearances resembling a traditional witch, with a frayed black outfit and a "veil-like look" on her head.
The outfit color persisted, described by Shimazaki as being her "theme color" due to being a witch. She was given longer legs and arms to make her more appealing as an action-game character, countering what Shimazaki felt was a trend of female characters in such games having short and thin limbs.
Her limbs and the rest of her design were appealing to Kamiya,
and development proceeded on the character's attire.
Bayonetta's
beehive hairstyle
The beehive is a hairstyle in which long hair is piled up in a conical shape on the top of the head and slightly backwards pointing, giving some resemblance to the shape of a traditional Beehive (beekeeping)#Skeps, beehive. It is also known as th ...
in the first game was an aspect Shimazaki insisted on, using it as an alternative to the usual pointed hat seen on witches. However, despite concerns, Kamiya had no qualms about the hairstyle one way or another. She was additionally given glasses at Kamiya's insistence, intended to differentiate her from other female characters as well as give her a "sense of mystery and intelligence", though Shimazaki attributed it to possibly his preference for women with glasses.
Her guns were modeled after a
derringer
A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver nor a semi/ fully automatic pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. ...
pistol, in order to remain convincing and familiar, as well as to make her weapons "capable of rapid fire; a simple, rugged gun". Kamiya approved the idea, on the grounds that he felt the weapon would look "hot" in a female hand. Holsters were additionally considered for her feet, however the developers discarded the idea after feeling it wasn't feminine.
The concept of creating her outfit out of her hair was intended to fit into her design as a witch, which the development team felt meant she derived power from her hair.
It was designed to both be a "means of adornment and protection" while also giving her appear "fashionable" and accentuate the movement of her limbs. During this process it was decided that as she summoned creatures to attack her enemies during the game she would lose partial control of her hair and end up in more "comfortable" attire; Shimazaki noted this as one of the aspects of the character she loved.
Kamiya in addition wanted to avoid giving her large breasts and cleavage, feeling that normal sized breasts were adequate and that being mysterious was more attractive than "baring it all". The character's model was created by Kenichiro Yoshimura, who observed non-Japanese models to keep her proportions authentic, giving particular focus to her backside which, as a result, led to it being made wider and more rounded than the typically slim-hipped female characters designed by Japanese artists. While the character Jeanne came to be better liked by most of the team, Bayonetta was Shimazaki's favorite character, while Kamiya referred to her as his "ideal woman".
Her outfit in ''
Bayonetta 2
is a 2014 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo. It is the sequel to the 2009 game ''Bayonetta'', and was directed by Yusuke Hashimoto and produced by Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda, and Hitoshi Yamagami, unde ...
'' was again designed by Shimazaki. It was generally designed more around straight lines than curves. All her jewelry and accessories were designed around this initiative apart from her glasses. There was debate about where to show skin, but when it was decided to create a cape at the front of the outfit, the front of her outfit was closed and instead they opted to show a large area of her back. For her new look, blue became a key color as opposed to the first game, where it was red: this was because water was a key theme for the second game and Hashimoto requested blue to become the design's key color. This eventually proved difficult as, combined with the black and silver incorporated into her outfit and the game's general color palette, it did not have the sharp qualities of her former appearance. Shimazaki described trying to make her stand out in her black outfit as "a nightmare". Her overall design theme was "solid".
The character's hairstyle underwent a major redesign. Hashimoto's main reason behind this was that "
ayonetta'spersonality is the type that would not want to remain stagnant. She would want to change her style, taste in fashion, and her costumes. Down the line in the series, she may make further changes to her appearance."
The texture of her outfit was designed to appear similar to leather, despite it still being made from her hair.
Her new guns, Love is Blue, were also difficult to design, as making them too large or too similar in color to other elements of Bayonetta's outfit would not have fitted her. In the end, they were made a more striking shade of blue, as well as being given some gold to match Bayonetta's chestpiece and a silver sheen. Each of the guns, Toccata, Prelude, Nocturne and Minuet, were given antique charms adorned with flower designs and named according to their color and the ideas they evoked to further promote and augment the new look.
Portrayal
Bayonetta is voiced by Hellena Taylor in English and
Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese.
For the original game, despite production being based in Japan, Kamiya was particular to insist that the character have an English voice actor, and had no Japanese voice actor assigned due to his belief that speaking Japanese would not suit the character. Tanaka first voiced the character in the anime ''
Bayonetta: Bloody Fate'', an adaptation of the original ''Bayonetta'', and subsequently assumed the role in ''Bayonetta 2'' and the re-release of the original game on
Wii U
The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4.
The W ...
.
Tanaka also voiced the character in commercials for the original game in 2009. She was chosen due to the fact that her name kept cropping up when the team asked who could best portray the character in Japanese.
For ''Bayonetta 3'', the character's English voice was recast, a decision originally attributed by co-director Yusuke Miyata to "various overlapping circumstances"; Tanaka returned to reprise her role in Japanese.
Taylor contested Miyata's statement on Twitter, alleging that the reason for leaving the role was Platinum offering her a flat rate of $4,000 for the role; an amount she found "insulting" given the series' commercial success. Her statements, combined with responses to it, prompted online controversy. However, several investigative reports disputed the story, with sources claiming that Taylor was offered a rate of $4,000 per session, for a total of 5 sessions. The role was given to
Jennifer Hale
Jennifer Hale is a Canadian-American voice actress. She is best known for her work in video game franchises such as ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Mass Effect'', ''Metal Gear Solid'', ''BioShock Infinite'', ''Metroid Prime'', ''Overwatch'', and '' Star Wa ...
, a veteran voice actress known for her work in the ''
Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known univers ...
'' and ''
Metal Gear
is a series of techno-thriller stealth games created by Hideo Kojima. Developed and published by Konami, the first game, ''Metal Gear'', was released in 1987 for MSX home computers. The player often takes control of a special forces operativ ...
'' series. Commenting on fan concerns surrounding the change, Miyata stated that Hale's performance was "way beyond what we could have imagined."
Appearances
''Bayonetta'' series
Bayonetta was born in Vigrid from the forbidden union of Lumen Sage Balder and Umbra Witch Rosa: the Witch was imprisoned and the Sage exiled from his clan. Bayonetta's birth caused a rift between the formally peaceful clans and eventually led to them engaging in a war.
Bayonetta became a black sheep among the Umbran Witches, and during the war, Jeanne, her former childhood friend and rival, sealed her away and wiped her memory to protect her from those who would exploit her power.
For the next five hundred years, Bayonetta was sealed in a coffin at the bottom of a lake until she finally awakens from her sleep. A journalist, Antonio Redgrave, happens to be at the lake and is then murdered by Balder's angels who later got killed by Bayonetta as his son, Luka, looks on.
In ''Bayonetta'', the witch sets out for her hometown Vigrid, where Balder is preparing to awaken the creator Jubileus and trigger the creation of a new world at the cost of the old one. She is followed there by a now grown-up Luka, who has become a journalist and has set out to show Bayonetta to the world, as an act of vengeance for her supposed part in his father's death.
She also encounters Jeanne, who is under Balder's control, and Cereza, Bayonetta's younger self sent through time by the Lumen Sage. Cereza and Bayonetta become close, with Cereza thinking Bayonetta was her mother and Bayonetta eventually telling Cereza that she should keep things she treasured close to her heart (referring specifically to a charm Cereza's mother had given her as a birthday present).
Eventually, Bayonetta learns the truth of recent events after defeating Balder and sending Cereza back to her own era: the "Left Eye" is actually Bayonetta herself, and regaining her memories allowed her to awaken her latent power. By bringing Cereza into the present, Balder set events into motion that would prevent Bayonetta from forgetting her past when Jeanne sealed her away.
Knocked unconscious by the awakening of her power, Bayonetta is sealed within Jubileus by Balder, only to be rescued by Jeanne, newly freed from the Lumen Sage's control. Together, the two destroy Jubileus and save the entire universe from the Second Armageddon.
In ''Bayonetta 2'', a few months after the events of the first game, Bayonetta and Jeanne are fighting an angel outbreak when a supernatural summoning goes wrong and Gomarrah kills Jeanne. Bayonetta then sets out to rescue Jeanne's soul from the realm Inferno, heading to the sacred mountain Fimbulventr to find the Gates of Hell.
Arriving at the town of Noatun, she encounters a mysterious boy named Loki who serves as her guide to the mountain. She also reunites with Luka, who tells her about the legend of the deity Aesir, who created and ruled the Chaos Realm (Human Realm). During their journey, the pair is attacked by a masked Lumen Sage who targets Loki. When they reach the Gates of Hell, Bayonetta meets Loptr, who is apparently working with the Masked Lumen and knows Loki very well. Through a vision, he reveals to her that her father Balder was not responsible for the witch hunts and tried to save her mother, who was killed by an unknown assailant who looks like Loki. To escape their attackers, Bayonetta and Loki flee into Hell, but the Masked Lumen follows them. Separated from the boy, Bayonetta fights through hordes of demons and successfully rescues Jeanne but finds Loki being attacked again by the Masked Lumen. Intervening, Bayonetta fights the Sage, revealed to be a younger version of her father Balder who had been targeting Loki for Rosa's murder. Suddenly, Loki unwillingly sends both Bayonetta and Balder back into the past during the Witch Hunts. Bayonetta meets her mother Rosa, and the two of them fight against the angels. During the battle, she fights a younger version of Loptr, and she realizes that he murdered Rosa and framed Loki for the crime. Later encountering Balder, the pair enter the Umbra Witch sanctuary to find that Loptr had killed Rosa. When he escapes, Bayonetta tells Balder that the killer was not Loki. She then opens a time portal and the two of them return to the present. With the help of Jeanne flying a fighter jet, Bayonetta and Balder set out for Fimbulventr to confront Loptr, who has captured Loki. He reveals that he and Loki are the two halves of Aesir. When Aesir divided his power into the Eyes of the World, he split his soul into two: Loki being the good half and Loptr being the evil half. But Loptr decided to take back his power and become Aesir once again. Draining Loki of his power, Loptr takes the Eyes from both Bayonetta and Balder and transforms into Aesir. While the Witch and the Sage team up to fight Aesir, Loki erases the Eyes and weaken Loptr. Bayonetta and Balder defeat Loptr and split his soul from his body. When he tries to escape into the past to be reborn, Balder stops him by sealing the soul inside his body, despite Loki warning that it will corrupt him. Bayonetta tearfully bids farewell to her father as he is transported back into the past and becomes the corrupted Balder. As Loki begins to fade, he promises to Bayonetta that they will meet again when he is reborn.
Other appearances
![Penny Drake dressed as Bayonetta - E3 2009 (4980795423)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Penny_Drake_dressed_as_Bayonetta_-_E3_2009_%284980795423%29.jpg)
At the 2009
Electronic Entertainment Expo
E3 (short for Electronic Entertainment Expo or Electronic Entertainment Experience in 2021) is a trade event for the video game industry. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) organizes and presents E3, which many developers, publisher ...
(E3), Sega chose
Penny Drake
Penny Vital (born July 20, 1977), better known as Penny Drake, is an American independent film actress and model. Her modelling career since 2008 has included work for Herra Couture, Flora Zeta and Ed Hardy. In June 2009 she appeared as the vide ...
to model as Bayonetta after auditioning 100 women.
To promote the character and the game, ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'' featured several models dressed as her for viewers to vote which they considered the best. Sega also joined men's lifestyle website
Maxim.com to run a contest to find women who looked like Bayonetta; the grand prize winner was Andrea Bonaccorso.
A Spanish cosplayer known as "Judy Helsing" portrayed Bayonetta as she appeared in ''Bayonetta 2'' for ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
''.
Bayonetta starred in the anime film ''
Bayonetta: Bloody Fate'', an adaptation of the first ''Bayonetta'' game.
She also appears as a downloadable character in Sega's multiplayer fighting game ''
Anarchy Reigns
''Anarchy Reigns'', known in Japan as is an open world beat 'em up video game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega. It is the spiritual successor to the Wii video game ''MadWorld'' (2009), and was released in Japan on July 5, 2012, in ...
'', and as a special guest character alongside Jeanne and Rodin in Nintendo's action game ''
The Wonderful 101
is an action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was directed by Hideki Kamiya and produced by Atsushi Inaba; the pair also worked together on the ''Viewtiful Joe'' series and ''Ōkami''. It ...
''.
On December 15, 2015, Bayonetta was announced as the final
downloadable character for ''
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS a ...
''. Following a Nintendo-sponsored fan poll asking for character suggestions for the game, Bayonetta was the most popular choice among "negotiable" characters worldwide, placing among the top five vote-getters in the United States and placing first in the polls in Europe. She sports her primary character designs from both ''Bayonetta'' and ''Bayonetta 2'' with her design from the second game being her default appearance, and retains many of her abilities from both games, such as extended combos, Witch Time, and Infernal Climax. She was released alongside a stage based on the falling Umbra Clock Tower from ''Bayonetta'' on February 3, 2016, in North America and on February 4, 2016, in Europe. Both the character and stage return in the sequel ''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ...
'', this time in the initial release.
Hideki Kamiya was approached about having Bayonetta included in ''
Project X Zone 2
''Project X Zone 2'' is a crossover tactical role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS developed by Monolith Soft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Despite the game being the sequel to ''Project X Zone'', the plot is a homage to the event ...
'', to which he refused as he wanted Bayonetta and
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
from ''
Devil May Cry
is a series of action-adventure games created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invasions of Earth. Its gameplay consists o ...
'' to meet "on his own terms". However, he has stated that he has come to regret this decision due to realizing how the fans would have loved the two interacting, and that if there is a ''Project X Zone 3'' he would be all for Bayonetta's inclusion.
Bayonetta also appears in ''
8-Bit Bayonetta'', a free game that SEGA released on 1 April 2017 on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. The game's achievements led players to a "coming soon" page, with a countdown that ended with the release of the first game on PC.
Reception
Critical response to Bayonetta's character has been mainly positive. ''
Computer and Video Games
''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...
'' praised her as more interesting than the game's storyline, describing her as the "sexiest collection of pixels
hey'veever seen", though not a character they considered a sex object. They further compared her to "
Lara Croft
Lara Croft is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the video game franchise ''Tomb Raider''. She is presented as a highly intelligent and athletic British archaeologist who ventures into ancient tombs and hazardous ruins around th ...
without the prudishness, Rubi from ''
Wet'' played with honest sexuality", and one of the most memorable characters they'd seen.
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
stated the character deserved plenty of respect, describing her as "sexy, witty and can certainly handle herself in a fight" and further named her one of the game's most positive points as she "kicks all sorts of ass and is funny too." ''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' felt that the character's "overt sexuality and frantic anime-inspired shenanigans" hampered the game's presentation, adding they would have enjoyed the character more if less focus had been put on her sexuality.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Ryan Clements described the character as a "hardcore badass" that was also "brimming with sexual energy", further describing her as an "immensely powerful protagonist". However, associate editor Nicole Tanner disagreed, noting she did not find the character's sexuality at all empowering as "just because you give a girl an attitude and guns isn't enough to offset what she looks like". Other members of IGN's staff named her their favorite video game character, describing her as "the playfulness and versatility of
Dante
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
" combined with "visually inventive combat". They cited her constant nudity as a point of appeal, calling the mechanic of her hair serving as her clothing both one of the stupidest and one of the coolest elements of a character. ''
Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
History
...
''s Ash Parrish commended her design at ''
Bayonetta 3
is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It was directed by Yusuke Miyata and produced by Yuji Nakao, with the ''Bayonetta'' creator Hideki Kamiya as supervising director. It ...
'' and remarked on her braids.
In 2012, the staff of
GamesRadar
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', ''Edge'' and '' Computer ...
ranked her as the 100th best hero in video games.
The same site later listed her as the 17th best character from her generation. Larry Hester of ''
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' ranked her as the 19th hottest video game character in 2012, and as the 20th "most badass" video game character of all time in 2013.
Lisa Foiles
Lisa Renee Foiles Cloninger (born September 29, 1986) is an American actress, presenter, video game journalist, model and author, who first came to prominence as a cast member of the Nickelodeon series ''All That''.
Career
Foiles was one of the ...
of ''
The Escapist'' named Bayonetta's boots as the craziest footwear in video games, saying she was "totally okay with the absurdity of these." In 2014, ''
La Nueva España
''La Nueva España'' is a daily newspaper in Spain. Published in Oviedo, it serves Asturias. The publisher of the paper is Editoral Prensa Asturiana. It is published in tabloid format. The paper has an independent political stance.
Letizia Orti ...
'' included the "as beautiful as lethal" Bayonetta among the top ten sexiest video game characters of both genders. ''
Thanh Niên
''Thanh Niên'' (Vietnamese: ''Báo Thanh Niên'' "Young People's Newspaper") is a Ho Chi Minh City-based newspaper in Vietnam. It was the second most circulated newspaper in Vietnam in 2009, with an average circulation of 300,000. ''Thanh Niên N ...
'' ranked her in 2015 as the 18th most sexy female character.
Upon the release of ''Bayonetta 2'' in 2014, Bayonetta's design received both widespread approval but also criticism from some reviewers.
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
's Arthur Gies praised the developers for giving Bayonetta "some much-needed development as a human being who cares about things other than herself; her motivations go beyond the agonizingly trope-y amnesia setup of the first game", he was significantly concerned about other aspects of her depiction, such as gratuitous camera angles that were "frequently provided as an implicit reward for doing well. … It's sexist, gross pandering, and it's totally unnecessary." He felt that such issues "cause
an otherwise great game to require a much bigger mental compromise to enjoy".
''
Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' stated that although "Bayonetta's default design shows how to walk the tightrope between sexy and sexualised", certain optional costumes "range from the respectable to the cringeworthy."
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
review by Mark Walton found the character praiseworthy: "
spite suffering crotch shots and blatant innuendos …
ayonettaremains one of the most charismatic and powerful heroines in the medium. There are none of the sleazy moments that peppered the likes of ''
Lollipop Chainsaw
is a 2012 hack-and-slash video game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles. It features Juliet Starling (voiced by Tara Strong in English and by both Eri Kitamura in the PlayStation 3 version a ...
'' and ''
Killer Is Dead''; the sexualisation here serves to empower, not to belittle."
In an editorial for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' on female characterization, Ria Jenkins praised Bayonetta as a character who is "unapologetically feminine, sexual and confident. Dismissed by many as an objectified fantasy, she is a woman without compromise who refuses to be ashamed of her body."
In 2018,
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
expressed her love of the character, referring to her as "tough." In 2020, Lady Gaga released a music video for "
Rain On Me" containing several references to Bayonetta.
See also
*
List of female action heroes
The following is a list of female action heroes and villains who appear in action films, television shows, comic books, and video games and who are "thrust into a series of challenges requiring physical feats, extended fights, extensive stunts ...
*
List of fictional witches
This is the list of fictional witches.
Comics
A
* Adrazelle ('' Mélusine'')
* Alwina (Good witch in the '' Suske en Wiske'' story "Het Spaanse Spook")
* Alwina (Evil witch in the '' Suske en Wiske'' story "De Schat van Beersel")
* Antanneke ( ...
*
Gender representation in video games
The portrayal of men and women in video games, as in other media, is a subject of research in gender studies and is discussed in the context of sexism in video gaming.
Although women make up about half of video game players, they are significant ...
References
{{Super Smash Bros.
Bayonetta
Action-adventure game characters
Dancer characters in video games
Female characters in video games
Fictional deicides
Fictional demon hunters
Fictional female martial artists
Fictional humanoids
Fictional gunfighters
Fictional martial artists in video games
Fictional whip users
Fictional witches
Science fantasy video game characters
Sega protagonists
Shapeshifter characters in video games
Super Smash Bros. fighters
Video game characters introduced in 2009
Video game characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Video game characters who use magic
Video game characters with superhuman strength
Woman soldier and warrior characters in video games