History VideoGame / Bayonetta

In 2014, Nintendo published the sequel ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' as an exclusive for the UsefulNotes/WiiU (Sega still owns the property). For Wii U owners who never played the first game, initial copies of ''Bayonetta 2'' came with an UpdatedRerelease of the original ''Bayonetta'', effectively giving two games for the price of one, though later copies only have ''Bayonetta 2'' on its own.[[note]]The retail version has it on a separate disk, while the digital version has it as a digital download from the eShop, available at a discount if you buy it with the sequel.[[/note]] This partnership with Nintendo and a fan-poll lead to Bayonetta being announced as the last DLC fighter for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', and she would go on to return in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. [[VideoGame/Bayonetta3 A third game]] is currently in development exclusively for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and will release in 2022.

In 2014, Nintendo published the sequel ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' as an exclusive for the UsefulNotes/WiiU (Sega still owns the property). For Wii U owners who never played the first game, initial copies of ''Bayonetta 2'' came with an UpdatedRerelease of the original ''Bayonetta'', effectively giving two games for the price of one, though later copies only have ''Bayonetta 2'' on its own.[[note]]The retail version has it on a separate disk, while the digital version has it as a digital download from the eShop, available at a discount if you buy it with the sequel.[[/note]] This partnership with Nintendo and a fan-poll lead to Bayonetta being announced as the last DLC fighter for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU''. [[VideoGame/Bayonetta3 A third game]] is currently in development exclusively for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and will release in 2022, and she returns in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' as well.

In 2014, Nintendo published the sequel ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' as an exclusive for the UsefulNotes/WiiU (Sega still owns the property). For Wii U owners who never played the first game, initial copies of ''Bayonetta 2'' came with an UpdatedRerelease of the original ''Bayonetta'', effectively giving two games for the price of one, though later copies only have ''Bayonetta 2'' on its own.[[note]]The retail version has it on a separate disk, while the digital version has it as a digital download from the eShop, available at a discount if you buy it with the sequel.[[/note]] This partnership with Nintendo and a fan-poll lead to Bayonetta being announced as the last DLC fighter for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU''. [[VideoGame/Bayonetta3 A third game]] is currently in development exclusively for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and she returns in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' as well.

!!The video game features the following tropes:

* FamousLastWords: "May Jubileus, the Creator, grace you!" [[spoiler:Said in Enochian by the four Cardinal Virtues during each of their deaths. Balder also says it in English when faking his death.]]

* RealityEnsues: You ride a motorcycle during Chapter VIII. It's possible to end up in the oncoming lane, and taking a head-on collision will give you an instant death.

** The flashback encounter with Fortitudo in Chapter 1 can become this once you get the Moon of Mahaa-Kaala (which allows you to deflect attacks). If you send all his fireballs back at him instead of just shooting him your guns, the fight can be won in a few seconds, and with high combo points. Doing so will guarantee a Pure Platinum medal for that Verse.

* PlayingTennisWithTheBoss:
** During the final round between Bayonetta and Jeanne, you can evade and throw a freaking ''missile'' back at Jeanne with the right ActionCommands. Of course, Jeanne catches it and sends it right back at you just as easily. It would take several successful throws before the boss fails to keep up and take damage.
** A similiar sequence can play out with a skyscraper when fighting Balder.

** The flashback encounter with Fortitudo in Chapter 1 can become this once you get the Moon of Mahaa-Kaala (which allows you to deflect attacks) on a NewGamePlus playthrough. If you send his fireballs back at him instead of using your bullets, the fight can be won in a few seconds, and with high combo points. Doing so will guarantee a Pure Platinum medal for that Verse.
** The last fight with Jeanne makes you play hot potato with [[spoiler:a missile in this fashion]].
** [[spoiler:Father Balder makes you play hot potato with a satellite that he forces to fall from space.]]

* WhipItGood: The game has both real whips and [[PrehensileHair hair whips]].

* FlawlessVictory: Taking zero damage in a given Verse will award a Pure Platinum rank for damage taken, which in turn, is required alongside high ranks for the combo score and completion time criteria to get a Pure Platinum Medal. In the bigger scheme of things, this means that several flawless victories are required for every Verse if you want to get a Pure Platinum award.

* NumberOfTheBeast: Route 666, a dangerous highway where the playable character can be flattened by oncoming traffic if they aren't careful.

* SuperMode: During some plot-specific sequences against bosses, Bayonetta will let her hair down, entering a state called Serious Mode. This will turn all of her attacks into Wicked Weaves, which are normally finishers to her combos. Jeanne can also do this in her mode, while the Climax Brace accessory passively activates Super Mode when equipped.

* ThirdPersonSeductress: Quite possibly a parody of this trope since ''anything'' Bayonetta does that is supposed to be sexy usually comes off as completely hilarious instead.
* TortureTechnician: Bayonetta is a rare heroic example who uses Torture Attacks to slay her foes (although technically, this is payback, slaying them with the same methods they used to kill witches). They're hard to pull off and you can only use some of them against specific angels (or a few) but they [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment can be downright cool if you do.]]

* UnexpectedGameplayChange: Chapters 8 and 14, the former is a freeway chase, the latter is a ShoutOut to ''Space Harrier''. The boss battle of Chapter 12 also takes place entirely on open water, with your only platform being a scrap of metal that you ride around like a surfboard (and much faster than your usual movement or evasion speed, at that).

* UnflinchingWalk: Unless you purposely make her run, Bayonetta constantly acts like she's on a catwalk, even after a massive amount of destruction took place.

** While you can't directly interact with generic human [=NPCs=] due to Bayonetta being on the Puragotrio plane, you can still make them freak out by destroying objects near them.

** The "Witch Walk" ability allows Bayonetta to walk on walls, ceilings, and some bosses; but it can only be used during a full moon (which is fortunately active during every boss fight).
** Bayonetta can also Witch Walk on the halo platforms found in Chapter XV, even if there's no full moon present. The only explanation is that the entire building is powered by the residual magic leftover in dead witches (you can see a few of the capsules in early parts of the level), so it may give Bayonetta her powers to walk on walls.

* WhamShot: After defeating the Beloved, Cereza falls into Bayonetta's arms, [[spoiler:and the camera pans upward to reveal that this woman [[ImposterForgotOneDetail has a halo on her head]]. Who would have though that there is an angel that can copy the appearance of others?]]

* MetronomicManMashing: Bayonetta can perform this as a follow-up attack after uppercutting mooks, slamming halos out of them.
* MiniGame: "Angel Attack!" is a shooting gallery that Bayonetta can play between chapters, aiming at targets to earn points and get rewards like Lollipops and other {{Power Up}}s. By collecting Arcade Bullets during the actual chapter, you earn more shots in the game.

* MoreDakka: Bayonetta has guns on her feet, allowing her to equip up to four guns at once. This is also {{lampshaded}} in the opening, as Rodin is tossing her pistols:

** Zig-zagged with Jeanne. Outfits initially unique to her, like her d'Arc outfit and her biker suit, are quite conservative. When playable, though, Jeanne has access to the same fanservicey outfits as Bayonetta.

* MysteriousAnimalSenses: It's implied that animals can see into Purgatorio, or at least sense the presence of someone in Purgatorio. Cats understandably don't seem too spooked by Bayonetta (because she's a witch). Crows and doves, on the other hand, will flee if you get too close.

* NoSell: Angels are capable of countering the time-slowing effect of Witch Time, allowing them to face you at "normal" speed while the rest of the world around you is virtually frozen. Remember the opening chapter where you first face Angels during an extended Witch Time moment? The angels are initially trapped in slow-motion, but after torturing two of them, a short cutscene depicts one angel breaking free of its effect. There are also few enemies that are immune to Witch Time entirely (evading their attacks won't trigger it).

* NumberOfTheBeast: Route 666, a dangerous highway where the heroine can be flattened by oncoming traffic if she isn't careful.

* OutsideRide: Throughout the game, Bayonetta rides atop moving cars, planes and even ''missiles''. She also shares the latter "vehicle" missile with Cereza near its tip, while Luka hangs near the engines.

** Jeanne comes fairly close as she can fire remote-controlled missiles at you during her last boss fight.

* PlatinumMakesEverythingShinier: The ranking system measures the halos you collect, the speed in which you finish the stage, combo scores, damage taken, and ultimately awards you with a character trophy based on the outcome. The highest-ranking trophy is a Platinum Award of Bayonetta, followed by a Gold Award of Rodin, a Silver Award of Luka, a Copper Award of Cereza and finally a Stone Award of Enzo.

** During the final round between Bayonetta and Jeanne, you can evade and throw a freaking ''missile'' back at Jeanne with the right ActionCommands. Of course, Jeanne catches it and sends it right back at you just as easily.
** The same sequence can play out with a skyscraper when fighting Balder.

** While Bayonetta doesn't precisely [[GoshDangItToHeck avoid profanity]], her vocabulary remains clean more often than not relative to Jeanne and Luka, especially around Cereza. However, she swears in two notable instances, one to Temperantia ("I feel like a fucking celebrity in this town."), and of course, one of the most memorable lines near the end of the game ("Don't fuck with a witch!").

* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Bayonetta's Durga and Rakshasa weapons, as well as Jeanne's equivalents, are references to Myth/HinduMythology.

* SexyBacklessOutfit: Of the backless dress made of hair variety.

* SexyWalk: Bayonetta swings her hips and arches her back a little when she walks normally.

** In a rather bizarre moment, [[SlapstickKnowsNoGender Bayonetta can be flattened like a cartoon character]] when she is crushed by round objects. It is most likely that the Umbran Witches have the ability to flatten themselves so they can reduce the pain and impact, because if the angels are crushed by the Golem, they still stay three-dimensional, and take lots of damage in the process.
** Temperentia gets his face squashed flat after receiving a punch from Bayonetta's Climax finisher. Even if it reforms back to normal proportions a few seconds later, it's still brutally maimed.

* StalactiteSpite: During the FinalBoss fight's icy arena phase, several stalactites fall at regular intervals from above, threatening to freeze Bayonetta for a small period of time.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Bayonetta uses her hair as clothing and to summon demons. And since she cannot do both at the same time, her clothing vanishes during her summons.
* SummonBiggerFish: Story-wise, most boss fights are really spent just softening the angel up for a proper mauling by whatever ravenous hellbeast Bayonetta summons with her hair. She averts the danger of the demon turning on her by the fact that [[DealWithTheDevil she's as good as theirs anyway]].
* SummonMagic: Forms a major part of Bayonetta's and Jeanne's attacks, both as Torture Attacks (where they can conjure up iron maidens, chainsaws, guillotines, and the like), and as a FinishingMove to take out particularly strong angels and boss fights (by summoning up higher demons and [[EldritchAbomination eldritch abomination-like creatures]]).

* SuperMode: During some plot-specific sequences against bosses, Bayonetta will let her hair down, entering a state called Serious Mode. This will turn all of her attacks into Wicked Weaves, which are normally finishers to her combos. [[spoiler:Jeanne can also do this in her mode]]. The Climax Brace accessory passively activates Super Mode when equipped.
* SuperNotDrowningSkills: You can stay indefinitely underwater in the few sections of the game requiring it. But compared to her other abilities, that one seems almost mundane.

* ATasteOfPower: Zigzagged. If one is paying attention to how [[SuperMode Serious Mode]] works (i.e. all of Bayonetta and [[spoiler:Jeanne]]'s attacks turn into Wicked Weaves whenever they fight the four Auditos plus [[spoiler:Jubileus]]), there's quite an interesting application of this gameplay mechanic in the Epilogue's final Verse. [[spoiler:In the cemetery scene of the CreativeClosingCredits, all of the Umbran Witch's normal attacks turn into Wicked Weaves even against the lesser Affinities and Braves, turning the fight into a cakewalk.]] This is actually the game's subtle way of telling you that Bayonetta and [[spoiler:Jeanne]] can use Serious Mode anytime, using the Climax Brace accessory which can be unlocked by collecting 101 Umbran Tears of Blood across multiple playthroughs on the same file.

** "Fly Me To The Moon" starts playing whenever Bayonetta commences with her angel ass-kicking.

* LuckBasedMission: A minor example, but getting the "Touch it and it will really hurt" Tear of Blood (counter-attacking 3 times in a row with the Moon of Mahaa-Kaala) is basically this since there is no indication on how counter-attacks work in either the game or the manual. You actually have to counter with frame-perfect timing, just like when you activate the bat form, but most people will just succeed by chance, without knowing how the hell they did it.
* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:Balder]] reveals himself as [[spoiler:Bayonetta]]'s father before their climatic confrontation.

* MadeOfIron: Bayonetta, Jeanne, and Rodin understandably have SuperToughness given their super-natural origins, but Luka takes the cake as the prime example of this trope. The guy suffers copious amounts of abuse throughout the game, up to and including [[spoiler:getting nearly ripped apart by angels shortly before being blasted through multiple stone pillars and out the window of a ''skyscraper'']]. The next time you see him, he's not only perfectly fine, but even snarks about how beat up Bayonetta looks. BadassNormal ''indeed''.

* MaleGaze: Practically the entire freakin' game. In some cases, [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/58319.html literally]].

* MarathonBoss: [[spoiler:Jubileus]]. You fight her for a while and take away a bit of health, then avoid fire orbs in a lava field, then ice orbs in an ice field, then thunder orbs in the middle of a freaking ''hurricane'', then fight her directly again for a while, then bond her with your hair and take away the last of her health, then punch her from Pluto to the sun while avoiding to [[EarthShatteringKaboom crash her into a planet]]. And ''finally'' you have to destroy what remains of her body. The whole process will take a good ten minutes even for the best or fully-upgraded players, and likely twice as much on the first playthrough.

** Chapter [[spoiler:[[ThatOneLevel XV]]]] takes place inside a huge building, is littered with Grace and Glory, Fairness and Fearless, Ardors, and Joys, you fight [[spoiler:[[RecurringBoss Courage, Temperance, Justice and Prudence (weak knockoff versions of the bosses Fortitudo, Temperantia, Iustitia and Sapientia)]]]], and it even has a [[spoiler:''[[UnexpectedGameplayChange platforming segment along with a turret control segment]]'']]. Don't be surprised if it takes you 45 minutes on your first attempt. And the best part? It's not just the ones mentioned above, but ''every single enemy in the game'' returns in this level (with the exception of Irenic, which is never fought on foot).

* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Bayonetta is "The Left Eye of Darkness." Her father is "The Right Eye of Light." Together they make up "The Eyes of the World".]]
* CirclingBirdies: Stunned enemies (be it {{Mooks}} or gigantic EldritchAbomination) have stylized stars circling around them, usually indicating that they're vulnerable to a Punish attack.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The bosses' deaths and just about all the Torture Combos, but especially on the Joys. Taunt one, then finish with a Torture Combo. See where the spike on the horse is sticking in?

* DarkMagicalGirl: Bayonetta tends to feel like this with her TransformationSequence at the start of the game when she goes from a sexy nun to a gun-toting action witch. Jeanne also counts because she's also an Umbra Witch, but it's played with because she's associated with the angels for most of the game's plot due to her [[spoiler:brainwashing]].

* EvilIsBigger: The bosses in this game are ''enormous'' and so are the demons that Bayonetta or Jeanne summon while fighting them.

** The final boss is a huge statue that represents God and comes to life by absorbing someone, just like [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry4 The Savior]].

* FullContactMagic: Umbra Witches incorporate this to their fighting style in order to shoot with both hands and feet, summon demons with their hair, summon Wicked Weaves to take their enemies down during {{combos}}, all while kicking angel ass stylishly.

* TheGoomba: The Affinity angels. Bayonetta can wipe out a small platoon of them with just some handguns before she gets the Scarborough Fair.

* GravityScrew: The Witch Walk mechanic allows you to WallRun on walls or ceilings, though it's only present in certain {{Scripted Event}}s when there's a full moon. One collectible note explains that this power of defying is granted to Umbra Witches by a particularly powerful demon.

** Good luck trying to obtain all the weapons, by cheating or otherwise. One of them, the Sai Fung, can't even be obtained through the cheat phone that you could normally use.

* GunFu: Not only can you equip guns on your hands, you can also equip guns or your ''feet'', including [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotguns]] on feet, or rocket launcher tonfa on feet. The Umbra Witches surely know how to do gun-fu with all four limbs. Sometimes, you can do this while ''poledancing''.

* HitStop: The combat system uses this a lot; Wicked Weaves and the Evil Harvest Rosary's orbs briefly slow down the action for dramatic effect, while killing the last enemy in a Verse will freeze the action in a "camera shot" style. The game will also pause briefly if the playable character suffers massive damage from a single attack.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: [[spoiler:Bayonetta's Pillow Talk and Jeanne's Bloody Moon, which are basically giant {{Laser Blade}}s]], are the strongest weapons in the game. You can only acquire it after completing the game on its highest difficulty, Non-Stop Infinite Climax Mode. [[spoiler:Alternatively, you can enter [[KonamiCode Up, Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A]] at a certain area to unlock it for a million halos.]]

* InstrumentOfMurder: The Magic Flute, which looks like a golden conch shell that used to be played by the mythical Sirens and can be used by the player for a powerful AreaOfEffect attack. In the first game, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Affinity angels]] can also sometimes drop ExclusiveEnemyEquipment Trumpets that are actually a WaveMotionGun, and in [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 the sequel]] [[OurCentaursAreDifferent Acceptance angels]] sometimes drop Harps that are actually bows that fire a RainOfArrows.

* KaizoTrap: The last three verses in the Epilogue are hidden ''in the credits''. Failing to take out the enemies present in those verses not only fails to earn you a medal, but ''adds a death'' to knock down your final score for the Epilogue.

* LivingOnBorrowedTime: When playing as Bayonetta or Jeanne, there's an InUniverse reason you're dragged kicking and screaming to Hell if you choose ''not'' to continue after being killed.

* AIBreaker: In Chapter 16, there is an exploit that makes the artillery fight against Temperentia easier than it should be. The green missiles that he launches will only damage your character if you are using the artillery gun (regardless of the missiles ''actually hitting the walls'' or not), due to the hitbox being re-positioned in the front of the guns. But if you press the Jump button while Temperentia fires the green missiles, the hitbox returns to your character and you won't take damage unless you forcefully collide her with one of them. Repeating this strategy several times until you can get clear potshots at Temperentia works wonders even at higher difficulties. Making you think that you have to shoot down all the missiles is also likely intended to fool the player because you can just dodge the missiles when they get close to avoid them and get Witch Time off of them.

* AlternateHistory: A number of historical events played out differently due to the presences of the witches, sages, and angels. For instance Cleopatra was actually an Umbra Witch and a very odd species of angel, while the Irenic which looks like an automobile, apparently visited the human world once and its presence inspired the industrial revolution.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Part of how you defeat [[spoiler:Jubileus. To put it into perspective, the demon you summon, Queen Sheba, is larger than Jubileus just as Jubileus is larger than Bayonetta]].

** You can also unlock [[spoiler:Jeanne]] and [[spoiler:Little King Zero]] as playable characters. The former can't activate Witch Time as easily but hits considerably harder with Wicked Weaves, and has no dodge limit. Skilled players who do not rely on Witch Time find the former to be stronger than Bayonetta. The latter is a [[OneHitPointWonder Two Hit Point Wonder]] who moves a bit faster and has faster magic gain, but also has a permanently-equipped Infernal Communicator accessory, which directly interferes with the game's best accessory, Pulley's Butterfly, and makes the latter considerably tougher to get Pure Platinums with, assuming you're using Pulley's Butterfly which is generally recommended due to its shielding capabilities aiding in both defense and offense.

* AwesomenessMeter: After completing each verse in a chapter, you're given a grade, from Stone to Platinum, on each of three categories: combo, time, and damage received. Based on your grades for these categories, you are then given an overall grade for that verse, which ranges from Stone, to Pure Platinum (the latter can only be received by getting a Platinum in each category). At the end of a level, you are also given a final grade on each chapter as a whole (taking into account the number of deaths and items used), ranging again from Stone to Pure Platinum (the latter is only awarded if each verse grade is Pure Platinum). Each chapter grade is accompanied by an appropriate statue (a Stone [[ButtMonkey Enzo]], Bronze [[MoralityPet Cereza]], Silver [[BadassNormal Luka]], Gold [[ScaryBlackMan Rodin]], Platinum [[PlayerCharacter Bayonetta]], or [[RankInflation Pure Platinum]] Bayonetta holding a moon).
* BadPowersGoodPeople: The entire [[HotWitch Umbra Witches]], including Bayonetta, [[DealWithTheDevil make contracts with the demons]], basically selling their souls to go to Inferno when they die, but in turn, gain the ability to summon the demons to slaughter their enemies (normally angels). They can [[BulletTime slow down time]] with the express purpose of using this ability to combo and kill their foes while they can't defend themselves, and can even [[ColdBloodedTorture summon horrible torture devices]] to kill their opponents as brutally as possible. Even so, they are never depicted as evil for a couple of reasons. First, they're needed to represent TheSacredDarkness opposite of their counterparts and fellow guardians of [[MacGuffin the Eyes of the World]], the Lumen Sages, who possess [[LightEmUp light-themed]] versions of their powers. Second, [[LightIsNotGood the angels are decisively not on the side of humanity]], while a few demons (but far from all) are suggested to be [[DarkIsNotEvil much nicer than you'd think]].

* BossRush: Or rather, a mini-boss rush occurs in Chapter XV, with Bayonetta facing different groups of mini-bosses in different stages, and along the way, she fights weaker forms of the previous bosses.

** Every time a new type of enemy appears (except Gracious and Glorious, whose intro got cut out simply because the developers didn't have time to get it in), they're accompanied with a short cut scene and a PastelChalkedFreezeFrame that displays the name and class of the enemy. It's also used to remind the player to put on an appropriate OhCrap face when [[spoiler:'''Umbra Witch: Jeanne''' finally gets her subtitles after you've already fought her three times, and '''[[PhysicalGod Dea:]] Jubileus''' heralds the FinalBoss battle]]. Also, all the enemies in the game show up in alphabetical order, with the exception of "Ardor," who doesn't show up until Chapter V, and "Irenic," which is only in Chapter VIII. They start with "Affinity" and "Applaud" and go all the way up to "Kinship."

* BossWarningSiren: Chapter 14 has the music stop and a siren resounding just before you fight {{Mini Boss}}es Courage and Temperance. Comes along with this entire ShootEmUp section being an homage to ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier''. Even said siren is a ''Space Harrier'' reference; check the soundtrack listing and you'll see it identified as "Wiwi Jumbo (Heaven Sent Mix)". "Wiwi Jumbo" was the name of the boss of ''Space Harrier'''s seventeenth (and penultimate) level, Nark.

** She actually says the trope-naming line if you do a taunt while she's wielding [[KatanasAreJustBetter 修羅刃 -Shuraba-]].
** Equip Durga on her hands and feet and she lies back and says "Come on!" while ''spreading her legs wide open''!
** Think Bayonetta's got some good ones? Play as Jeanne. [[spoiler:"You muthaFUCKAH!" Then for shits and giggles, equip Angel Slayer]].

** Any "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1mdp6CbN8 Witch Time]]" sequence. Some of these are strictly timed affairs, with the "clock" measuring things not in minutes and seconds, but ''seconds and fractions of a second''. That scene in the prologue where you have to execute three Torture attacks? It all happened within five (non-bullet-time) seconds.

** The two other playable characters (Jeanne and Zero) simply reuse Bayonetta's animations in cutscenes, which throws story integration out of the window. It gets more jarring for Zero because his model doesn't interact properly with the other objects in the cutscene, so for example, you can see the Scarborough Fair floating near him when Rodin gives said weapons in the Gates of Hell.

** The most common weapons are guns. Therefore, your character usually has guns on her feet.

* InfinityPlusOneSword: [[spoiler:Pillow Talk, which is basically a giant LaserBlade]], is the strongest weapon in the game. You can only acquire it after completing the game on its highest difficulty, Non-Stop Infinite Climax Mode. [[spoiler:Alternatively, you can enter [[KonamiCode Up, Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A]] at a certain area to unlock it for a million halos.]]

* InstrumentOfMurder: The Magic Flute, which looks like a golden conch shell that used to be played by the mythical Sirens and can be used by the titular character for a powerful AreaOfEffect attack. In the first game, [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Affinity angels]] can also sometimes drop ExclusiveEnemyEquipment Trumpets that are actually a WaveMotionGun, and in [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 the sequel]] [[OurCentaursAreDifferent Acceptance angels]] sometimes drop Harps that are actually bows that fire a RainOfArrows.
* InterfaceScrew: When Bayonetta is close to dying, spectral claws appear around the screen to emphasize her impending fate in Inferno should she perish. [[spoiler:This also applies to Jeanne when you unlock her as a playable character, which makes sense because she also shares the same fate of the Umbra Witches.]]

* JigglePhysics: Just look at the Joys' chests during the Torture Attacks against them. The game only indulges in the jiggle-closeup if the Joys haven't been significantly ''flayed'' by Bayonetta's attacks.

* KarmicDeath: When Bayonetta or Jeanne use a Torture Attack on an angel, they summon a deadly device from Hell that was once used to torture and execute witches; in fact, [[AllThereInTheManual these spells are powered by the rage of witches slain by them.]]
* KillEnemiesToOpen: Verses will lock down the current area until you have defeated all enemies. Afterwards, Bayonetta can then blow a magical flying kiss that breaks the seal.
* KillItWithFire: This is how Bayonetta finishes off [[spoiler:Temperantia]].

* LastChanceHitPoint: If the playable character is getting low on HP, then taking an attack will leave them with an apparently empty LifeMeter yet they can still keep on fighting; the next hit is guaranteed to kill them if she doesn't recover.

* LightningFireJuxtaposition: A recurring trope in the game. Several pairs of angels follow it; the Grace and Glory angels and their much tougher counterparts Gracious and Glorious (the red angel wields fire, the blue angel wields lightning), as well as Fairness and Fearless. Bayonetta can also obtain Durga, elemental WolverineClaws which can switch between a lightning-fast electric mode and a slow, fiery one.
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: When playing as Bayonetta or Jeanne, there's a reason you're dragged kicking and screaming to Hell if you choose ''not'' to continue after being killed.

** If you equip Lt. Col. Kilgore on your legs and do the combo YYYYB (Xbox) or ΔΔΔΔΟ ([=PS3=]), you will unleash one of these. [[GuideDangIt And]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill for an even bigger one]], you can [[spoiler:first equip Durga on both hands and feet, do the aforementioned combo, and switch to Lt. Col. Kilgore with LT/L2 the instant you hit B/O]]. God only knows if this is a [[GoodBadBugs bug]] or a secret combo, but it can pulverize all but the toughest angels instantly.

* AIBreaker: In Chapter 16, there is an exploit that makes the artillery fight against Temperentia easier than it should be. The green missiles that he launches will only damage Bayonetta if you are using the artillery gun (regardless of the missiles ''actually hitting the walls'' or not), due to the hitbox being re-positioned in the front of the guns. But if you press the Jump button while Temperentia fires the green missiles, the hitbox returns to Bayonetta and you won't take damage unless you forcefully collide her with one of them. Repeating this strategy several times until you can get clear potshots at Temperentia works wonders even at higher difficulties. Making you think that you have to shoot down all the missiles is also likely intended to fool the player because you can just dodge the missiles when they get close to avoid them and get Witch Time off of them.

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Part of how Bayonetta defeats [[spoiler:Jubileus. To put it into perspective, the demon she summons, Queen Sheba, is larger than Jubileus just as Jubileus is larger than Bayonetta]].

* ArmedLegs: The game allows you to equip weapons on Bayonetta's or Jeanne's legs, so this comes naturally, albeit with variations depending on the weapons:
** The most common weapons are guns. Therefore, Bayonetta and Jeanne usually has guns on her feet.

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Moonlight Massacre, a special technique for the katana weapons (修羅刃 -Shuraba-, Pillow Talk, Angel Slayer and Bloody Moon). It is one of Bayonetta's and Jeanne's most powerful attacks, but it takes a long time to charge up while they stand still, and the red beam of energy can often miss the enemy.

* ChainsawGood: The Torture Attack animations against Harmony-class angels makes Bayonetta or Jeanne whip out a chainsaw three times their size from {{Hammerspace}}. And unlike other torture devices, you get to keep it afterward, mostly because it's the only device that's an actual melee weapon and because the said enemy doesn't have any weapons to drop. This is both referenced and lampshaded by one of Rodin's quotes when entering his bar: "I don't care how many times you ask. I'm not putting a [[Franchise/EvilDead chainsaw on]] [[VideoGame/MadWorld your arm]]."

* CombatPragmatist: Bayonetta fights ''dirty''. When she stuns an angel, she can use one of her Punish attacks; all are different (she can Slam, Slap, Stomp, Stab, Punch, or even ''Spank'' the angel) but they all amount to dealing damage while the angel is helpless. She can also use a Punish attack to set one up for a Wicked Weave or Torture Attack. From a gameplay perspective, this also applies to Jeanne once she's PromotedToPlayable, because she will share the same mechanics that Bayonetta has.

* ContractualBossImmunity: Torture attacks are very powerful, able to kill some rank-and-file angels instantly and inflict a great deal of damage to stronger ones. However, they don't work on bosses at all or even on some of the more powerful non-bosses. This is why Bayonetta and Jeanne have other stuff that they ''only'' use in {{Boss Battle}}s; that's where the demon summoning comes in.

** The "Breakdance" move has Bayonetta and Jeanne perform a dozen windmills while shooting their feet-guns, then they finish in a super sexy pose.

* DoubleJump: Bayonetta and Jeanne do it by temporarily [[GrowingWings growing butterfly and moth wings]], respectively.
* DraggedOffToHell: It happens to any boss that you kill; it gets dragged to Hell by a bunch of clawing red arms. The same thing happens to Bayonetta or Jeanne on the game over screen if you choose not to continue. It turns out that ''all'' Umbra Witches experience this when they die, not just the playable Umbra Witches.

** Bayonetta spins her guns after every attack if she has them equipped in her hands. The Breakdance attack also makes her perform multiple windmills while firing off any guns on her feet in every direction. There's also the Witch Twist, wherein Bayonetta dodges an attack by spinning, before spiralling into the air and summoning a Wicked Weave.

** The rocket [[DoABarrelRoll does a 360-degree turn]] whenever you push either of the evade buttons. You can also pick up an Enchant and spin it around before flinging it like an angelic frisbee.

* EvilIsBigger: The bosses in this game are ''enormous'' and so are the demons that Bayonetta summons while fighting them.

* EvilKnockoff: The shapeshifting Golem can mimic the demons Bayonetta summons throughout the game.

* FinishingMove: A prompt to unleash a "Climax" attack occurs at the end of any boss fight, wherein Bayonetta and [[spoiler:Jeanne (when she becomes playable)]] summon a large demon to finish the enemy off.

* FlawlessVictory: Taking zero damage in a given Verse will award a Platinum rank for damage taken, which in turn, is required alongside Platinum ranks for the combo score and completion time criteria to get a Pure Platinum Medal. In the bigger scheme of things, this means that several flawless victories are required for every Verse if you want to get a Pure Platinum award.

* GiantFootOfStomping: Bayonetta and Jeanne can summon these as combo finishers.

** If you use a Torture Attack on a Joy (a female angel), Bayonetta will summon a massive wooden horse with spikes along its spine. The Joy will attempt to run away in fear upon seeing it, but Bayonetta will capture her with a chain, pull her onto the horse and slam her crotch down onto the horse's spikes.
** A more minor example, but it happens when the player doesn't continue on the game over screen. With all the hands that drag Bayonetta down, two of them go over each breast, and one goes right on her privates.

** Midway through Chapter VI, Bayonetta has to escort young Cereza through a battle Verse. But in order to escort this [[spoiler:assumed]] ordinary human child, Bayonetta has to be in the human world, which means she can't directly interact with the angels in Purgatorio. The section of Antonio's notebook that mentions the surrounding terrain exists in all three worlds simultaneously (which means that picking up a lamppost [[ImprobableWeaponUser and whacking the angels to death with it]] is a viable strategy) is actually found ''after'' that battle Verse.

* GuiltBasedGaming: Choosing "No" on the Game Over/Continue screen causes Bayonetta to be dragged screaming down to Hell by multiple demonic hands. This scene always happens every time you fail the Angel Slayer Mode, as you are not given the chance to continue.
* GunFu: Not only can you equip guns on your hands, you can also equip guns or your ''feet'', including [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotguns]] on feet, or rocket launcher tonfa on feet. The Umbra Witches surely know how to do gun-fu with all four limbs. Sometimes, Bayonetta and Jeanne do this while ''poledancing''.
* GunsAkimbo: Bayonetta and Jeanne do this with both guns in their hands and guns strapped to their feet, just to screw with the trope even more.

* HurlItIntoTheSun: This is how Bayonetta gets rid of [[spoiler:Jubileus. She has the goddess of Inferno punch her soul into the Sun all the way from ''Pluto''.]]
* HyperspaceArsenal: Bayonetta is dressed in outfit that has even less space than a SpyCatsuit to carry things, given's it's made out of her ''hair''. Yet by the end of the game, she can amass enough weaponry to become a virtual [[OneManArmy one-woman army]]. When you unlock [[spoiler:Jeanne as a playable character, she has a counterpart for every weapon that Bayonetta can wield]].

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Moonlight Massacre, a special technique for the katana weapons (修羅刃 -Shuraba-, Pillow Talk, Angel Slayer and Bloody Moon). It is one of Bayonetta's most powerful attacks, but it takes a long time to charge up while she stands still, and the red beam of energy can often miss the enemy.

* BarehandedBladeBlock: Execute a torture attack on Harmony angels and watch them attempt to barehandedly block Bayonetta's chainsaw.

* {{BFG}}: Lt. Col. Kilgore. A set of ROCKET LAUNCHER TONFAS. Quadruple wielded, of course!

* BlockingStopsAllDamage: Bayonetta can equip the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa accessory that allows her to block enemy attacks and counter if done well, much like Dante's Royal Guard style from the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series. Her MirrorBoss Jeanne has the ability to block attacks too, even in the middle of a combo.
* BondageIsBad: Bayonetta hits all the DarkActionGirl points; she's a witch who sold her soul to hell for awesome magical power, summons demons to finish off her foes, and has some definite {{dominatrix}} elements. Her "Torture Attacks" are odd combinations of medieval torture devices and some BDSM elements (some more than the others), and she uses these to obliterate actual angels [[BlackAndGreyMorality who are gigantic assholes in their own right.]]

* ByTheHair: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. Bayonetta can use things made of her hair to grab enemies.

* CatGirl: When equipped with the Umbran Elegance #5 perfume, Durga causes Bayonetta to gain a tail and/or a pair of cat ears [[IncendiaryExponent made of flames or lightning]]. The precise piece you get depends on where you have Durga equipped; hands gives Bayonetta cat ears, feet gives her a cat's tail. You need to have bought the second pair and equip them to both slots to get both the ears and tail.

* ChainsawGood: Bayonetta's Torture Attack against Harmony-class angels makes her whip out a chainsaw three times her size from {{Hammerspace}}. And unlike other torture devices, she gets to keep it afterward, mostly because it's the only device that's an actual melee weapon and because the said enemy doesn't have any weapons to drop. This is both referenced and lampshaded by one of Rodin's quotes when entering his bar: "I don't care how many times you ask. I'm not putting a [[Franchise/EvilDead chainsaw on]] [[VideoGame/MadWorld your arm]]."

* ClimaxBoss: The CEO of the Ithavoll Corporation, [[spoiler:Father Balder, the last of the Lumen Sages and Bayonetta's father. You fight him while falling from a 500+ story-tall building on pieces of exploding rubble while the entire building detonates and you play tennis with buildings and catch with [[KillSat Satellite Lasers]] while he violently murders your demonic summons one by one. To finish him, you steer a bullet made of lipstick into his forehead while Bayonetta says "Don't fuck with a witch."]]

* CombatPragmatist: Bayonetta fights ''dirty''. When she stuns an angel, she can use one of her Punish attacks; all are different (she can Slam, Slap, Stomp, Stab, Punch, or even ''Spank'' the angel) but they all amount to dealing damage while the angel is helpless. She can also use a Punish attack to set one up for a Wicked Weave or Torture Attack.

* ContractualBossImmunity: Bayonetta's Torture attacks are very powerful, able to kill some rank-and-file angels instantly and inflict a great deal of damage to stronger ones. However, they don't work on bosses at all or even on some of the more powerful non-bosses. This is why she has other stuff that she ''only'' uses in {{Boss Battle}}s; that's where the demon summoning comes in.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The bosses' deaths and just about all the Torture Combos, but especially on the Joys. Taunt her, then finish with a Torture Combo. See where the spike on the horse is sticking in?

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In cutscenes, Bayonetta always performs amazing aerial maneuvers, one-shots enemies with her handguns, and performs moves that would put ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' to shame. Naturally, actual gameplay isn't so acrobatic, and her guns aren't so powerful. There are also few cutscenes where Bayonetta uses the "Bat Within" evasion technique even if you haven't purchased it from Rodin's shop yet.

** Bayonetta's "Breakdance" move has her do a dozen windmills while shooting her feet-guns, then she finishes in a super sexy pose.

* DancingTheme: Several of Bayonetta's attacks involve ''poledancing'' and ''breakdancing''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvgW2LpEfc The game finishes itself off with one.]]

* DealWithTheDevil: The Umbra Witches, including Bayonetta, make pacts with the demons of Inferno in exchange for magical powers. As a consequence, their souls are DraggedOffToHell when they die. Like the Lumen Sages though, souls trapped in Inferno can eventually become demons or even demon lords, which is actually loosely implied to be a (slightly) better fate than becoming an angel.

* DoABarrelRoll: In Chapter 14 where Bayonetta is piloting a missile, hitting the Evade button makes the ''entire screen'' spiral as she evades attacks.

* DraggedOffToHell: It happens to any boss that you kill; it gets dragged to Hell by a bunch of clawing red arms. The same thing happens to Bayonetta on the game over screen if you choose not to continue. It turns out that ''all'' Umbra Witches experience this when they die, not just Bayonetta.

* DualWield: Guns. Melee weapons. Chainsaws. You name it, she can double wield it. She can also dual wield twice - once for her hand weapons and once for her leg weapons. Perhaps this mechanic can be called Quadruple Wielding?

* ArmedLegs: The game allows you to equip weapons on Bayonetta's legs, so this comes naturally, albeit with variations depending on the weapons:
** The most common weapons are guns. Therefore, Bayonetta usually has guns on her feet.
** The Durga set become greave-like claws when equipped to the legs.
** The Odette ice skates cleave closer to the usual examples of this trope.

* AstralFinale: Bayonetta fights [[spoiler:Jubileus the Creator in the confines of the solar system. After defeating her, you have to punch her soul from Pluto to the Sun]].

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Moonlight Massacre, a special technique for the Shuraba katana. It is one of Bayonetta's most powerful attacks, but it takes a long time to charge up while she stands still, and the red beam of energy can often miss the enemy.

** She actually says the trope-naming line if you do a taunt while she's wielding [[KatanasAreJustBetter Shuraba]].

* VersionExclusiveContent: The Wii U and Switch ports add in Nintendo-themed costumes for Bayonetta to wear, which also adjust her attacks to match their theme, such as making Bowser the source of her Wicked Weaves or using the Master Sword to attack instead of Shuraba.

** Jeanne is either this, or a straight-up {{superhero}} when she dons the "Cutie J" costume, complete with a cute mask and dorky [[BadassCreed creed]]. A loving reference to ''Anime/CuteyHoney''.

* InterfaceScrew: When Bayonetta is close to dying, spectral claws appear around the screen to emphasize her impending fate in Inferno should she perish. [[spoiler:This also applies to Jeanne when you unlock her as a playable character, which makes sense because she also share the same fate of the Umbra Witches.]]

* AdvancingWallOfDoom: In the final WallRun section of Chapter 16, the ground below (behind Bayonetta from the camera's perspective) rapidly starts burning upwards, and you are expected to run towards the other side. Problem is, Sapienta blocks your path, and you'll have to damage him enough to make way. It's like pushing a wall in front of you while the other wall of doom is coming at you from behind.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: Lava won't hurt Bayonetta unless it's directly touching her. She can even walk on it with Fire Durga or Odette equipped to her feet!

* DarkReprise: "Blood & Darkness" is one to "Red & Black", signifying that Jeanne's not fucking around anymore.

* ShutUpHannibal: Bayonetta really isn't a fan of long villain monologues. Her attitude is basically a "[[BigShutUp Shut up and FIGHT!]]"

* SophisticatedAsHell: As Bayonetta says it, "If you get in my way, I will... how do the Americans put it? Oh yes. ''Bust a cap in yo' ass''."

* SummonMagic: Forms a major part of Bayonetta's attacks, both as Torture Attacks (where she can conjure up iron maidens, chainsaws, guillotines, and the like), and as a FinishingMove to take out particularly strong angels and boss fights (by summoning up higher demons and [[EldritchAbomination eldritch abomination-like creatures]]).
* SuperheroPackingHeat: Bayonetta with her witch powers as well as her pistols.

* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Bayonetta can stay indefinitely underwater in the few sections of the game requiring it. But compared to her other abilities, that one seems almost mundane.
* SuplexFinisher: In the opening cutscene, Bayonetta slams about five or six angels into each other, then ''suplexes all of them simultaneously'', causing their [[YourHeadAsplode heads to explode]].

* TalkToTheFist: Bayonetta LOVES doing this to the Cardinal Virtues... sometimes multiple times in one conversation!
-->'''Bayonetta:''' Ugh, ''another'' talkative type...

* TelephonePolearm: Bayonetta has to use a streetlamp to kill several angels during one verse from Chapter 6.

* TooDumbToLive: Y'know, Luka, it's a really good thing that Bayonetta likes you. Otherwise, calling out the person you ''accuse'' as your father's killer, while she's armed and you're not, in an isolated area with no potential witnesses for ''miles'' around, would have shortened your lifespan considerably.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Bayonetta is ''obsessed'' with lollipops. She's usually sucking on one in cutscenes, and almost all of the expendable power-ups that players can craft or win in Angel Attack are magical lollipops.

* {{Underboobs}}: Bayonetta's "Queen" [[AndYourRewardIsClothes outfit]] shows these.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Bayonetta quips a variant of this:
-->'''Bayonetta:''' "Tentacles! Why did it have to be ''tentacles''?"

* OutsideRide: Throughout the game, Bayonetta rides atop moving cars, planes and even ''missiles''.

* PersonOfMassDestruction: Bayonetta. Nothing can withstand a visit of the titular witch. Gaze at what remains of both Vigrid and Noatun after the witch's strolls through them to convince yourself. Jeanne comes fairly close too.

* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Bayonetta says this before [[spoiler:shooting Father Balder with a "lipstick bullet"]].
-->'''Bayonetta:''' "Don't fuck with a witch."

* PunnyName: Bayonetta's name is a combination of two words associated with guns: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta Beretta]], a well known gun manufacturer, and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonet Bayonet]], a knife attached to a rifle.

* PurpleProse: Balder's introduction monologue would be half as long if he expressed himself with ''simple words''. It's even lampshaded by Bayonetta.
-->'''Bayonetta:''' Could you dispose with the riddles and tell me what these sodding Eyes actually are?

* RazorSharpHand: She uses this to cut Iustitia's tentacles, [[CutscenePowerToTheMax something you can't do during normal gameplay.]]
* RealityEnsues: Bayonetta rides a motorcycle during Chapter VIII. It's possible to end up in the oncoming lane, and taking a head-on collision will give you an instant death.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Played with ''repeatedly'' in Jeanne's case as the game tries to show her supposedly dying after being freed from Balder's brainwashing. It's ultimately averted because she survives in the end.]]

* ScaryBlackMan: Rodin. This is a guy who can do Badass Drink Mixing and make it look awesome, take down the nastiest of demons to make into weapons of dark magic, and even hit angels for home runs. And if you give him a special item, he becomes [[spoiler:Father Rodin. In this form, he is considered to be so powerful that even JUBILEUS HERSELF feared him]].

* SheFu: Expect to be doing acrobatic backflips a lot since it's the standard dodge and it triggers Witch Time! She can even do this in ''mid-air''.
* ShesGotLegs: UpToEleven. Bayonetta's legs are longer than her torso and head combined (yes, even with that hairdo!)

* HotWitch: Bayonetta is an Umbra Witch with SexySpectacles and {{Sexy Backless|Outfit}} SpyCatsuit. In fact, the entire game almost revolves around this concept, with her constantly getting naked after every combo or summoning demons to finish off a boss (partly because her clothes are made from her {{Prehensile|Hair}} RapunzelHair, which she uses for her most powerful spells), and doing sexy victory poses to the sound of a camera shot.

* HyperspaceArsenal: Bayonetta is dressed in outfit that has even less space than a SpyCatsuit to carry things, given's it's made out of her ''hair''. Yet by the end of the game, she can amass enough weaponry to become a virtual [[OneManArmy one-woman army]].

* InformedFlaw: For someone so afraid of her fate, Bayonetta surely doesn't show it.

* InterfaceScrew: When Bayonetta is close to dying, spectral claws appear around the screen to emphasize her impending fate in Inferno should she perish.
* ItemCrafting: Bayonetta can find ingredients in the environment and mix them up to make healing and attack/defense buff items.

* KarmicDeath: When Bayonetta uses a Torture Attack on an angel, she summons a deadly device from Hell that was once used to torture and execute witches; in fact, [[AllThereInTheManual these spells are powered by the rage of witches slain by them.]]

* LastChanceHitPoint: If Bayonetta is getting low on HP, then taking an attack will leave her with an apparently empty LifeMeter yet she can still keep on fighting; the next hit is guaranteed to kill her if she doesn't recover.

* LivingOnBorrowedTime: There's a reason you're dragged kicking and screaming to Hell if you choose ''not'' to continue after being killed.

** If you equip Lt. Col. Kilgore on Bayonetta's legs and do the combo YYYYB (Xbox) or ΔΔΔΔΟ ([=PS3=]), you will unleash one of these. [[GuideDangIt And]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill for an even bigger one]], you can [[spoiler:first equip Durga on both hands and feet, do the aforementionned combo, and switch to Lt. Col. Kilgore with LT/L2 the instant you hit B/O]]. God only knows if this is a [[GoodBadBugs bug]] or a secret combo, but it can pulverize all but the toughest angels instantly.

* MagicalGirlWarrior: Bayonetta is essentially one herself, complete with a TransformationSequence at the beginning.

* MamaBear: Bayonetta to Cereza, even though Cereza is not her actual daughter.

* MurderousThighs: In an early cinematic cutscene, Bayonetta uses her thighs to catch a ride on an Affinity, while shooting countless numbers of them out of the air, then using said thighs to spin the Affinity she rides on into the ground.
* MsFanservice: Bayonetta's the head of the National Organization of Ms. Fanservices. Subverted in that much like Varla from ''Film/FasterPussycatKillKill'', it's all "look, don't touch - or you'll pull back a stump."

* NearMissGroinAttack: The ButtMonkey and ChewToy Enzo gets this twice.
** The first game has his groin very nearly smashed by a gravestone during the first graveyard battle.
** ''Bayonetta 2'' has Enzo's groin very nearly run over, complete with scooting back, when Jeanne makes her entrance via motorcycle.
--->'''Enzo:''' MOTHERFUCKER!

* NoodlePeople: Bayonetta, especially notable in scenes with Cereza copying her cool pose, the latter having proportions of a porcelain doll. In one scene where the two are standing side-by-side, it is made clear that Cereza's height goes up to Bayonetta's ''knees''.

* OneToMillionToOne: Bayonetta can shatter her form into bats upon getting hit, negating the attack.

* OrgasmicCombat: Practically the TropeCodifier. Bayonetta enjoys fighting a little ''too'' much, particularly during the boss battles.

* DarkMagicalGirl: Bayonetta tends to feel like this with her TransformationSequence at the start of the game when she goes from a sexy nun to a gun-toting action witch.

* DistaffCounterpart: Bayonetta to Dante and Nero of ''Devil May Cry'', Gene from ''VideoGame/GodHand'', and possibly even the titular character from ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe''.
* DistractedByTheSexy: Luka seeks revenge against the titular protagonist. However, every time he meets her, he alternates between swearing revenge, and making clumsy, awkward sexual overtures. Presumably, it's kinda hard to remember what you were doing when you have... well, [[MsFanservice freaking Bayonetta]] standing in front of you.

* DoubleJump: Bayonetta does it by temporarily [[GrowingWings growing butterfly wings]].

* DressedLikeADominatrix: Bayonetta is an AntiHero witch who wears a black SexyBacklessOutfit with gloves and high-heels ([[ArmedLegs which double as her guns]]), and can use whips to attack. The only catch is that the whole costume is actually made out of her hair, and whips are usually hair as well.

* EroticEating: Bayonetta's TrademarkFavoriteFood are lollipops. In the intro, we even get a slow-mo close-up of her sucking on one.

* FallenAngel: [[spoiler:Aside from encouraging the player to unlock more stuff, Rodin wants Bayonetta to collect angel halos so that he can restore his true angel form if he gets enough of them. His powers are restored for his OptionalBoss fight.]]

* FinishingMove: A prompt to unleash a "Climax" attack occurs at the end of any boss fight, wherein Bayonetta summons a large demon to finish the enemy off.

* FutureBadass: [[spoiler:Cereza, who's actually Bayonetta as a child.]]

* GiantFootOfStomping: Bayonetta can summon these as combo finishers.

* GodivaHair: Bayonetta's SexyBacklessOutfit is actually made of her PrehensileHair.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Jeanne]] starts out evil, but [[spoiler:once her brainwashing at Balder's hands is undone]], she goes through hell and high water for Bayonetta.
* HellBentForLeather: Bayonetta's leather catsuit is not (technically speaking) leather, it's actually her own hair and witch magic, which dramatically damages the sexiness for those who think too much about what clothing made of tightly-wound human hair would actually feel like.

* CompressedAdaptation: The animated movie, obviously. More strangely though, some of the crucial plot twists [[spoiler:like Bayonetta being Balder's daughter]] are revealed in the first minutes of the film. Some expositions are also skipped (like the reason why Jeanne sides with the angels).