Bayonetta

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Bayonetta
System(s): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Steam
Publisher: Sega, Nintendo
Developer: PlatinumGames, Nextech Bee Tribe
Genre: Action
Release Date RRP Code JP 2009-10-29 ¥7,600 (7,980)7,600 (7,980) JES1-00001 JP (Platinum) 2010-09-02 ¥3,800 (3,990)3,800 (3,990) JP ▼ 2011-09-06 US 2010-01-05 68032 EU 2010-01-08 AU 2010-01-07 CA 2010 KR 20xx JP 2009-10-29 ¥7,600 (7,980)7,600 (7,980) BLJM-60174 JP (The Best) 2010-09-02 ¥3,800 (3,990)3,800 (3,990) BLJM-55016 JP ▼ 2013-01-17 ¥3,429 (3,600)3,429 (3,600) NPJB-00246 US 2010-01-05 BLUS-30367 EU 2010-01-08 IT 2010 RU 201x AU 2010-01-07 CA 2010 KR 20xx KR (BigHit) 2010-09-03 TW 20xx JP 2014-09-20 US 2014-10-24 US ▼ 2014-10-24 $29.9929.99 EU 2014-10-24 EU ▼ 2014-10-24 €29.9929.99 AU 2014-10-25
ESRB PEGI BBFC USK OFLC CERO Missing Parameter! GRB DJCTQ GSRR

Bayonetta (ベヨネッタ) is an action game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Sega for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2009 (2010 internationally).

Story

Twenty years ago, from a coffin submerged beneath a gloomy lake, a mysterious woman awoke.

Unable to recall her past, or even her own name, only a single memory of her unknown origin was left impressed upon her: the horrifying "witches' power" to summon forth ferocious demons and annihilate the servants of heaven.

Returning to life in the modern world after centuries of absence, Bayonetta followed the clues of her hazy memories, eventually reaching the remote European city of Vigrid. Unimpeded by countless legions of angels assailing her...Fateful meetings drawing out lost memories...What lies ahead in wait for Bayonetta...?

Characters

Bayonetta: A mysterious witch returned to life in the modern world after hundreds of years of slumber. Wielding titanic magical powers, her battle against the forces of heaven continues, the reasons for doing so lost in the mists of her past. Armed with the Scarborough Fair, her favorite set of handguns equipped to both hands and feet, she practices the "bullet arts," a combination of gunfire and melee attacks. She can also perform the Wicked Weave - deadly attacks unleashed by summoning demonic entities through her magical hair that can easily devour entire hordes of angels.

Jeanne: A mysterious woman with a similar battle style and powers to Bayonetta. Often appearing along Bayonetta's course, she provokes her with an icy stare. She obviously holds some information about Bayonetta's past but her ultimate goal is unknown. Wielding her own set of four black handguns, she must be in pursuit of Bayonetta.

Luka: A journalist who is chasing Bayonetta to expose her true identity. His fate is tied closely to that of Bayonetta, which involves much ill feeling. Unlike most journalists, he has a special gadget under his sleeve which is capable of firing a grappling hook to access dangerous sites. His greater qualities derive from tremendous luck and an upbeat personality.

History

Legacy

The Bayonetta Original Soundtrack was released by Wavemaster in Japan on 4 November 2009.

In 2012, a sequel was announced exclusively for Nintendo's Wii U.

At E3 2014 it was revealed that Bayonetta would be getting an enhanced Wii U port and that there would be certain Nintendo costumes to wear that would affect the aesthetics of the game. The Wii U version also features the Japanese voice cast from Bayonetta: Bloody Fate as the original release only had spoken English dialogue worldwide. Later that year it was revealed that a physical version of Bayonetta would ship alongside physical copies of Bayonetta 2 worldwide with select European versions having Bayonetta packed in. Buying the Wii U version of the game digitally gives the purchaser a discount for Bayonetta 2.

On December 15th, 2015, it was announced that Bayonetta would be the final DLC character to be added to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U as the winner of a Fighter Ballot that was conducted from April 1st to October 3rd, 2015. Out of all negotiable and realizable characters, Bayonetta was the #1 choice in Europe and in the top 5 in the US, placing her as the #1 choice worldwide. She was then released among the final wave of DLC on February 3rd, 2016.

On April 1st, 2017, Sega Europe launched a Bayonetta-themed countdown site that ended on April 11th, 2017. At the end of the countdown it was revealed they were launching the game on PC via Steam that day.

Versions

In its original form, Bayonetta renders at a 1280x720 screen resolution, targeting 60 frames per second during gameplay. However, no console versions of the game can reach this target consistently - the Xbox 360 rendering between 50-60FPS (with tearing) in most action scenes (boosted very slightly if running in backwards compatibility mode on an Xbox One), and the later Wii U port suffering similar (and sometimes more noticeable) problems.

The PlayStation 3 port of Bayonetta is often cited as among one of the worst 360-to-PS3 conversions of the era, averaging between 20-30FPS at worst (i.e. half that of the Xbox 360) and exibiting almost constant screen tearing while under stress. In addition, no console versions offer any form of anti-aliasing.

The 2017 PC release, debuting a full seven years after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 builds, is capable at running in a number of arbitrary screen resolutions at a full 60FPS (higher frames rates not being supported), and expectedly allows users to adjust graphical features such as shadows and lighting. In all versions, cutscenes target 30FPS.

Downloadable content

Title and description	Links	Releases
BAYONETTA Premium Theme Premium Theme from BAYONETTA displaying her playful spirit. Customize your Xbox 360 with BAYONETTA-themed art assets. There are no refunds for this item.	Xbox 360: US	US 2009-11-26 320MSP320
Bayonetta Avatar Character Set (『BAYONETTA』アバター キャラクターセット) Includes 8 avatars.	PlayStation 3: JP

Magazine articles

Main article: Bayonetta/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

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  Platinum Games press release

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  Platinum Games team biogs

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  Shipping date press release

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  Steam press release

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  Horizontal banner

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  Square banner

Artwork

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• Bayo E3 0702 heroine.jpg
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• Collabo costume.png
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Physical scans

Xbox 360 version

Sega Retro Average

Publication Score Source Edge (UK) 100 Christmas 2009, p90 Famitsu (JP) 100 №1090, [1] Famitsu Xbox 360 (JP) 93 2009-12 Game Players (US) 100 January 12, 2010 Game Informer (US) 90 December 22, 2009 Game Zone (UK) 92 11.01.2010 Official Xbox Magazine (UK) 90 January 2010, p92 Xbox: The Official Magazine (US) 90 January 2010, p66 Pelit (FI) 85 January 2010 100 5 January 2010 100 4 January 2010 Xbox World (UK) 91 January 2010, p94

	94
Based on 12 reviews

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 100

	100
Based on 1 review

Bayonetta

Xbox 360, US
Cover
Disc

Xbox 360, JP
Cover
Disc

Xbox 360, JP (Platinum Collection)
Cover

Xbox 360, EU
Cover
Disc

Xbox 360, AU
Cover

Xbox 360, UK
Cover

Xbox 360, FR
Cover

Xbox 360, DE
Cover

PlayStation 3, KR
Cover

Xbox 360, CA

PlayStation 3 version

Sega Retro Average

Publication Score Source Computer & Video Games (UK) 90 2 December 2009 Dengeki PlayStation (JP) 85 Famitsu (JP) 95 №1090, [2] GamesMaster (UK) 93 Christmas 2009, p70 GamesTM (UK) 90 №91, p102 Game Informer (US) 90 December 22, 2009 Game Zone (UK) 85 11.01.2010 The Official PlayStation Magazine (UK) 90 Christmas 2009, p92 Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine (US) 90 February 2010, p68 Pelit (FI) 90 January 2010 95 10 December 2009 93 №187, p70 90 2 December 2009

	90
Based on 13 reviews

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 95

	95
Based on 1 review

Bayonetta

PlayStation 3, US
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 3, EU
Cover

PlayStation 3, JP
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 3, JP (PS3 the Best)
Cover

PlayStation 3, AU
Cover

PlayStation 3, UK
Cover

PlayStation 3, UK (alt)
Cover

PlayStation 3, DE
Cover

PlayStation 3, DE (Alt)
Cover

PlayStation 3, IT
Cover

PlayStation 3, KR
Cover

PlayStation 3, KR (Big Hit)
Cover

PlayStation 3, TW
Cover

PlayStation 3, RU
Cover

PlayStation 3, MX (Favoritos)

PlayStation 3, BR (Favoritos)

PlayStation 3, CA

External links

• Official website on Sega.com
• Official website (Japanese)
• Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
• Bayonetta on Xbox Marketplace: UK, US, JP, KR
• Bayonetta on PlayStation.com: JP, JP (PS3 the Best), JP (PSN), US, UK, KR (Big Hit)
• Bayonetta on PlayStation Store: JP, US, UK, AU
• Bayonetta on Steam

References

Games in the Bayonetta Series
	Bayonetta (2009) | Bayonetta/Forza Motorsport 3 (2010)
	Bayonetta (2009)
	Bayonetta (2014) | Bayonetta 2 (2014)
	8-Bit Bayonetta (2015)
	Pachislot Bayonetta (2015)
	8-Bit Bayonetta (2017) | Bayonetta (2017)
	Bayonetta (2018) | Bayonetta 2 (2018) | Bayonetta 3 (2022) | Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023)
	Bayonetta/Vanquish (2020)
Bayonetta Characters
Bayonetta
Bayonetta related media
	Rodin's Selection (2009) | Bayonetta Original Soundtrack (2009) | Bayonetta: Bloody Fate Original Soundtrack (2014) | Bayonetta 2 Original Soundtrack (2014) | Bayonetta 3 Original Soundtrack (2023) | Bayonetta Origins: Cereza o Maigo no Akuma Original Soundtrack (2023)
	Bayonetta: The Official Guide (2010) | The Eyes of Bayonetta (2010) | Bayonetta 2: Prima Official Game Guide (2014)
	The Eyes of Bayonetta (2010) | Bayonetta: Bloody Fate (2013) Unsorted: Bayonetta Anime Complete Series + Soundtrack (xxxx)
	Bayonetta (2017) | Bayonetta - Player 2 (2017)
Other	List of Bayonetta merchandise