Bayonetta 2 is an action-adventure game released in 2014. It was created by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game is a follow-up to Bayonetta, which came out in 2009. Yusuke Hashimoto directed the game, and Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda, and Hitoshi Yamagami helped produce it. Hideki Kamiya, the creator of the Bayonetta series, oversaw the project.
The game was first announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on September 13, 2012. Unlike the first Bayonetta, which was released on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by Sega, Bayonetta 2 was only available on the Wii U because of a deal with Nintendo. The main character, Bayonetta, has a new outfit and hairstyle. The game also includes a two-player mode. It is the second Bayonetta game to use Japanese voice actors, who also voiced the Bayonetta: Bloody Fate anime film. Bayonetta 2 was released in Japan in September 2014 and in other countries in October 2014. Special and First Print Editions of the game included a version of the original Bayonetta for the Wii U.
The game received many positive reviews, with praise for its fighting system, graphics, and improvements over the first game. A version for the Nintendo Switch was released in February 2018. A follow-up game, Bayonetta 3, was released on October 28, 2022.
Gameplay
Bayonetta 2 continues the fast-paced action gameplay from the first game, where players control Bayonetta as she battles angelic and demonic enemies using melee attacks and gunplay. When players dodge enemy attacks just in time, they activate a special ability called 'Witch Time,' which slows down nearby enemies and makes it easier to attack or solve puzzles. Players can also use special moves called Torture Attacks, which trap enemies in infernal devices for extra points. Weapon customization from the first game returns, allowing players to equip different weapons on Bayonetta’s hands and feet. Many types of weapons are available, including her signature guns, a bow, swords, and other projectile weapons. During combat, players earn grades based on their performance. The highest grade, 'Pure Platinum,' is achieved by completing many combos quickly and without taking damage. As in the first game, Bayonetta can use Torture Attacks to defeat enemies with gruesome effects and earn bonus points.
A new feature in Bayonetta 2 is called Umbran Climax, which activates when the player’s magic gauge is full. Similar to boss fights in the first game, this ability temporarily boosts Bayonetta’s attacks and combos with additional Wicked Weaves and Infernal Demon summons. This increases her attack range and damage while also restoring her health during use.
Story
Most of Bayonetta 2 takes place on the fictional sacred mountain of Fimbulventr and the nearby town of Noatun, both located in the Middle East. The main character, Bayonetta (voiced by Hellena Taylor / Atsuko Tanaka), travels to the mountain to find the Gates of Hell to save her friend Jeanne (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin / Mie Sonozaki).
Returning characters include Rodin (voiced by Dave Fennoy / Tesshō Genda), the bartender of the Gates of Hell who gives Bayonetta powerful weapons; Luka (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal / Daisuke Namikawa), a journalist who shares valuable information with Bayonetta; and Enzo (voiced by John Kassir / Wataru Takagi), an informant who provides comic relief. New characters include Loki (voiced by Mark Daugherty / Junko Minagawa), a boy who has forgotten his past and guides Bayonetta to the mountain; the Masked Lumen (voiced by Crispin Freeman / Takehito Koyasu), a powerful Sage and Bayonetta's new rival; and Loptr (voiced by TJ Ramini / Takumi Yamazaki), a mysterious Prophet who appears to be allied with the Masked Lumen.
A few months after the first Bayonetta, Bayonetta is shopping on Christmas Eve with Enzo when angels attack New York City. Teamwork with her friend Jeanne helps Bayonetta fight back, but a demon summoning goes wrong. Jeanne saves Bayonetta from the demon’s attack, but the attack causes Inferno to take Jeanne’s soul. Bayonetta destroys the demon and decides to save Jeanne. At the same time, a masked Lumen Sage is brought to the present by a mysterious figure called the Prophet, who promises him a chance for revenge.
After receiving a tip from Enzo, Bayonetta travels to the mountain of Fimbulventr in the city of Noatun, which has an entrance to Inferno. In Noatun, she meets Loki, a boy who is trying to reach Fimbulventr but cannot remember why. The two agree to travel together, as Loki believes his powers will be needed to reach Inferno. Along the way, they learn about some of Loki’s lost memories but are attacked by angels and demons. Loki is hunted by the Lumen Sage and the Prophet, who knows Loki. They meet Luka, Bayonetta’s acquaintance and a news journalist. Luka explains the Legend of Aesir: Aesir was once the ruler of the Chaos realm and created the Left Eye of Darkness and Right Eye of Light (also called the Eyes of the World) to give humans free will. The Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches were entrusted with one Eye each to protect them. After the death of the last Lumen Sage, Father Balder, by Bayonetta and Jeanne, the Right Eye of Light disappeared. This led Luka to investigate the effects on the planet and whether it is connected to recent natural disasters. Meanwhile, the Prophet shows Bayonetta a vision suggesting the Witch Hunts 500 years ago were not caused by Balder.
Bayonetta reaches Inferno and travels deep inside to save Jeanne. With help from Rodin, Bayonetta rescues Jeanne’s soul and brings her back to life. However, the Lumen Sage attacks Loki again and reveals himself to be a young Balder. Bayonetta saves Loki, but Loki loses control of his powers and sends Bayonetta and Balder back in time 500 years. In the past, during the Witch Hunts, Bayonetta meets her mother, Rosa, and they fight together against angels. When they are separated, Bayonetta encounters Loptr, a look-alike of Loki who is the Prophet in the present. Loptr claims the Eyes of the World, one of which Bayonetta possesses, belong to him. Later, Bayonetta meets young Balder and arrives too late to stop Loptr from killing Rosa. Bayonetta realizes Loptr tricked Balder into seeking revenge on Loki in the present. The two decide to work together and return to the present to stop Loptr. Meanwhile, in the present, Luka meets Loki, who now remembers everything, and asks Luka to take him to Fimbulventr.
With Jeanne’s help, Bayonetta and Balder reach the top of Fimbulventr and find Loptr, who has captured Loki. Loptr explains that he and Loki were once Aesir, the God of Chaos, who created the Eyes of the World. Aesir split his power among humans to make the Eyes but also split his soul into two parts: good and evil. Loki, the good half, was given the power to control the Eyes directly, which Loptr steals. Despite their efforts, Loptr takes both Eyes from Balder and Bayonetta and transforms into Aesir, aiming to rule humanity. Loki says Aesir’s power can erase anything from existence and uses it to destroy the Eyes, weakening Loptr. Bayonetta and Balder, with Jeanne’s help, destroy Loptr’s body. Loptr’s soul tries to escape to a time where the Eyes still exist to try his plan again. Balder stops him and absorbs his soul, even though Loki warns him it will corrupt him. Balder reveals he knows Bayonetta is his daughter and asks her to stop him if he becomes corrupted. He is returned to his time. With Loptr and the Eyes gone, Loki says he plans to take a break from the world but may meet Bayonetta again, and he fades away.
Some days later, Bayonetta and Jeanne
Development
After the release of Bayonetta, Hideki Kamiya talked with Yusuke Hashimoto about ideas for future games based on the title. Although they discussed these ideas, Kamiya thought a sequel would never happen. Later, Kamiya's Twitter account said a sequel might be made if Bayonetta sold well. Bayonetta 2 was announced during a Nintendo Direct on September 13, 2012. The game was exclusive to the Wii U because Nintendo provided extra funding after Sega put the project on hold. PlatinumGames producer Atsushi Inaba said Bayonetta 2 would not exist without Nintendo's help. Sega remained as the game's consultant. Work on Bayonetta 2 used feedback from the original game to improve features. Nintendo did not help create the game except as an "observer," and the staff were happy with their experience. One improvement was enemy movements: in the first game, enemies had one type of animation when attacked, while in Bayonetta 2, their animations changed based on the direction of Bayonetta's attack. The city of Noatun in the game was inspired by real places in Belgium and Italy, such as Bruges (churches), Brussels (large buildings), Florence (streets and homes), and Venice (canals).
In a Nintendo Direct from January 2013, PlatinumGames showed a development trailer for the game. They said development was going well but did not share many details about gameplay. A playable demo was shown at Nintendo's booth during E3 2013 after the first gameplay trailer was released. A multiplayer mode, touch-based controls, and support for Off-TV Play were also announced. In a February 2014 Nintendo Direct, another trailer showed new environments and basic story details. More gameplay was shared, including Japanese voice actors for the Japanese release, new weapons for Bayonetta, and a playable youth character. Bayonetta 2 was released in Japan on September 20, 2014, and worldwide in October 2014. At E3 2014, it was announced that the original Bayonetta would be included as a port with exclusive Nintendo costumes, dual audio tracks, and touch controls. The original game would be available as a digital download and on a physical disc. To promote the release, Nintendo partnered with Playboy for a photo shoot featuring Playmate Pamela Horton dressed as Bayonetta.
The music for Bayonetta 2 was composed by Masami Ueda and other members of the team, many of whom worked on the original game. Ueda said the score for Bayonetta 2 is more lively than the first game and that they used new instruments to create fresh sounds. A major difference is the use of dynamic music for boss fights that changes based on the player's progress. Ueda explained that the music is divided into sections that trigger based on animations and other cues, matching the action on screen. A similar method was used for stage music, with up to 10 short loops mixed together that change as the player moves through the level. Bayonetta 2 has 183 tracks, compared to 150 in the original game, with better audio quality.
Like the first game, Bayonetta 2 includes a remixed version of "Moon River" by Andy Williams, along with the original song. Both versions are included, similar to how "Fly Me to the Moon" was used as the main theme for Bayonetta. The game's battle theme, "Tomorrow is Mine," was one of the first songs fully revealed during promotion. Both songs were performed by Keeley Bumford. Bayonetta 2 also received a five-disc original soundtrack, released in Japan on October 29, 2014.
Reception
Bayonetta 2 received high praise from critics. It earned an aggregated score of 91 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 80 reviews. The Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the game a score of 38 out of 40 from its four reviewers. Edge magazine awarded it a perfect score of 10 out of 10. The reviewer described the game as "a lively and impressive work of high-quality entertainment" and praised its customisability and improvements over the first Bayonetta, including better pacing and the removal of "sudden, mid-cinematic, instafail QTEs." The reviewer concluded, "This is a game that can be completed in ten hours, but offers endless replay value. It is a masterclass in combat design, variety in video games, and the balance between being easy to learn and deep in skill." GameSpot reviewer Mark Walton called the game "an absolute classic" and gave it a perfect 10/10, the seventh game in the site's history to receive that score. Chris Carter from Destructoid also gave it a 10/10, calling it "one of the finest action games of all time," alongside Devil May Cry 3.
Many reviews noted that Bayonetta 2 improved on its predecessor, even though its combat mechanics remained largely the same. Eurogamer’s Martin Robinson said, "Bayonetta 2’s biggest disappointment may be that it is an iterative sequel, but it is not such a problem when it is improving on genius." IGN’s Jose Otero noted that the game’s art style and pacing made the first Bayonetta look less impressive by comparison. GameTrailers praised the game as "sharpened to a nearly flawless degree" compared to its predecessor, highlighting its variety, style, and gameplay. Chris Carter from Destructoid stated, "Four years later and Platinum hasn’t lost its edge with Bayonetta 2. It’s just as stylish and as fun as ever."
Regarding new features, the co-operative online Tag Climax mode was praised by GameSpot’s Mark Walton and Eurogamer’s Martin Robinson for requiring players to understand the combo scoring system. However, IGN’s Otero noted that the mode’s fun was limited to short bursts, and Polygon’s Arthur Gies found the co-operative mechanics clashed with the game’s focus on scoring. Otero and Robinson both criticized the optional touchscreen-based control system, which was intended to improve accessibility but was considered much less effective than the main control scheme.
In Japan, Bayonetta 2 sold about 39,000 units in its first week, fewer than the original Bayonetta sold in its debut week. After three weeks, it had sold approximately 50,000 units in Japan. The title was the seventh best-selling game in the UK in its first week of release but did not appear on the Top 40 best-seller list in its second week.
The Nintendo Switch version of Bayonetta 2 sold 9,532 copies in its first week in Japan, placing it at number 14 on the all-format sales chart. By March 2018, Nintendo confirmed the Switch version had sold 400,000 copies in its first nine weeks, compared to 300,000 copies sold by the Wii U version during the same period. By December 31, 2021, the Switch version had sold 1.04 million copies worldwide. As of December 31, 2022, the Switch version had sold 1.23 million copies.
Other media
Bayonetta became a playable character in the 2014 games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U through downloadable content. She was chosen after being one of the most requested characters in an official vote. She uses fighting techniques such as combos, Witch Time, and Bullet Arts from her first two games, and has alternate costumes based on her designs from Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2. She was officially announced on December 15, 2015, during the Super Smash Bros. Final Video Presentation, as the winner of the vote, with claims that she was the most requested character worldwide at that time. However, it was later discovered that Sora from Kingdom Hearts was actually the top choice, but this was revealed six years later. Bayonetta became available on February 3, 2016, along with a stage based on the Umbra Clock Tower from the original Bayonetta. All Bayonetta-related content from the franchise returned in the 2018 Nintendo Switch game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.