is a series of
action-adventure games 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 ''Ō ...
and 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 o ...
. The franchise was introduced in 2009 with ''
Bayonetta''. Two sequels were released, ''
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, under ...
'' (2014) and ''
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), as well as a spinoff, ''Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon'' (2023). In the games, players control a witch nicknamed
Bayonetta as she wields dual pistols, shooters in her high heels, and long, magically transforming hair which becomes a deadly weapon.
Games
''Bayonetta'' (2009)
The first game in the series was directed 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 ''Ō ...
, who created the ''
Devil May Cry'' franchise when he was working at
Capcom. It was the third title in Platinum's four-game contract with
Sega. The game was released on October 29, 2009, in Japan,
and was released worldwide in January 2010 for
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...
and
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
. The game received generally positive reviews upon release.
More than 1.35 million units of the game were shipped. Although it was Platinum's most commercially successful game at that time, the company was disappointed with its sales. A remastered version for the game was released alongside ''
Vanquish'' for
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
in February 2020.
''Bayonetta 2'' (2014)
''Bayonetta 2'' was announced in 2012 during a
Nintendo Direct for the
Wii U. The decision received backlash from fans, since the game would not be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Platinum was initially working with Sega to create the sequel, but Sega decided to cancel the game during the game's development.
Nintendo subsequently revived the project. According to producer
Atsushi Inaba
is a Japanese video game producer and businessman. He was the former CEO and producer of the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio, who developed the games '' Viewtiful Joe'', ''Ōkami'', and '' God Hand''. He is currently the head producer at the dev ...
, the game would not have been possible if they did not get the funding and the support from
Nintendo.
Sega remained as the game's consultant.
The game was directed by Yusuke Hashimoto, and Kamiya has a supervision role. The game was released in 2014 to very positive reviews. While sales have not been fully disclosed, by March 2018,
Nintendo confirmed the
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
version had sold 400,000 copies during its first nine weeks, compared to the 300,000 copies the
Wii U version sold during the same period.
''Bayonetta 3'' (2022)
A third game in the series was announced by
Nintendo at
The Game Awards 2017
The Game Awards 2017 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2017, and took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 7, 2017. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, and was live streamed around the world across ...
. A gameplay trailer was shown at the September
Nintendo Direct 2021. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on October 28, 2022. The game also features a playable teaser for ''Cereza and the Lost Demon'' as a secret level.
''Bayonetta Origins:'' ''Cereza and the Lost Demon'' (2023)
A prequel companion game to ''Bayonetta 3'', focusing on Cereza as a young girl, was announced by Nintendo at
The Game Awards 2022
The Game Awards 2022 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2022. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on De ...
. It is set for release on Nintendo Switch on March 17, 2023.
Other media
An
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
film based on the first game, titled ''
Bayonetta: Bloody Fate'', was produced by
Gonzo and released in 2013.
Bayonetta 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 ...
''.
She also appears as a downloadable character in ''
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 ...
'', and as an unlockable character 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, succeed ...
''. Both games also feature a stage based on the falling Umbra Clock Tower which appeared in both ''Bayonetta'' games. Rodin was also added as an
Assist Trophy in ''Ultimate''.
The original Bayonetta was also used as a basis for a Pachislot and an 16-bit-style browser game.
Reception
''Bayonetta'', ''Bayonetta 2'' and ''Bayonetta 3'' all received generally positive reviews from critics, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. ''Bayonetta 2'' was nominated for
Game of the Year
Game of the Year (GotY) is an award given by various award events and media publications to a video game that they feel represented the pinnacle of gaming that year.
Events and ceremonies
British Academy Games Awards (BAFTA Games Awards)
...
at
The Game Awards 2014, though it ultimately lost to ''
Dragon Age: Inquisition''.
References
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Action-adventure video games by series
Hack and slash video games by series
PlatinumGames games
Sega Games franchises
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 2009
Video games about demons
Video games about witchcraft
Video games developed in Japan