History YMMV / Bayonetta

** Another franchise-wide example. The franchise becoming Creator/{{Nintendo}}[=-=]exclusive starting with ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' has been a sore spot for fans. Some don't mind and are happy to see more Bayonetta games at all, since Nintendo funding them is the reason why there are even new games to begin with, while others dislike that the sequels are effectively locked on Nintendo systems, while fans who played the first game on other platformers are left out of the rest of the franchise unless they have or buy a Nintendo system. Part of the backlash also has to do with the long-outdated, but still reinforced stereotype that Nintendo is "[[AnimationAgeGhetto kiddy]]", feeling Bayonetta's more mature image is a terrible fit for Nintendo's brand and that her games are better suited on the more "mature" platforms instead.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out and has only become more controversial over time. Many don't take issue with it and feels the over the top fanservice forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity, with many regarding it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness. However, many feel Bayonetta and her sexual nature is problematic and objectifiying, seeing it as yet another case of a female protagonist being over-sexaulized and objectified in order to appeal to horny men as opposed to being a well developed heroine that woman can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features" throughout the games. The reveal of Naive Angel mode in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', which allows you to [[AdjustableCensorship disable some of the more risqué content]] has only added fuel to the fire.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out and has only become more controversial over time. Many (including woman) don't take issue with it and feels the over the top fanservice forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity, with many regarding it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness. However, many feel Bayonetta and her sexual nature is problematic and objectifiying, seeing it as yet another case of a female protagonist being over-sexaulized and objectified in order to appeal to horny men as opposed to being a well developed heroine that woman can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features" throughout the games. The reveal of Naive Angel mode in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', which allows you to [[AdjustableCensorship disable some of the more risqué content]] has only added fuel to the fire.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out and has only become moreso over time. Many (including woman) don't take issue with it and feels the over the top fanservice forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity, with many regarding it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness. However, many feel Bayonetta and her sexual nature is problematic and objectifiying, seeing it as yet another case of a female protagonist being over-sexaulized and objectified in order to appeal to horny men as opposed to being a well developed heroine that woman can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features" throughout the games. The reveal of Naive Angel mode in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', which allows you to [[AdjustableCensorship disable some of the more risqué content]] has only added fuel to the fire.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out. Especially in TheNewTens, with views on female sexualization in media becoming more critical. Some don't take issue with it and feels it forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity and sees it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness (there's also the fact that Bayonetta was designed by a woman). However, many feel Bayonetta and her over-sexualized nature, as badass as she is, is still problematic and objectifiying, arguing that she is little more than a shallow and over-sexualized stereotype who is meant to appeal to horny men than to be a badass heroine that women can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features". The reveal of Naive Angel mode in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', which allows you to [[AdjustableCensorship disable the nudity]] has only increased this divide.

* LGBTFanbase: With her levels of {{Camp}}, hypersexuality, crazy fighting gimmicks, and delightfully bitchy attitude, Bayonetta became something of an icon among gay gamers. There's also the LesYay between her and Jeanne. Plenty of fans compared her level of over-the-topness to that of a DragQueen.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out. Especially in TheNewTens, with views on female sexualization in media becoming more critical. Some don't take issue with it and feels it forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity and sees it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness (there's also the fact that Bayonetta was designed by a woman). However, many feel Bayonetta and her over-sexualized nature, as badass as she is, is still problematic and objectifiying, arguing that she is little more than a shallow and over-sexualized stereotype who is meant to appeal to horny men than to be a badass heroine that women can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features". The reveal of Naive Angel mode in ''VideoGame/Bayonetta3'', which allows you to [[AdjustableCensorship disable the more adult aspects]] has only increased this divide.

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out. Especially in TheNewTens, with views on female sexualization in media becoming more critical. Some don't take issue with it and feels it forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity and sees it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness (there's also the fact that Bayonetta was designed by a woman). However, many feel Bayonetta and her over-sexualized nature, as badass as she is, is still problematic and objectifiying, arguing that she is little more than a shallow and over-sexualized stereotype who is meant to appeal to horny men than to be a badass heroine that women can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features".

** One that applies to the franchise as a whole. The excessive amount of fanservice (particularly in regards to Bayonetta) has become a hot-botton topic from the moment the first game came out. Especially in TheNewTens, with views on female oversexualization becoming more critical. Some don't take issue with it and feels it forms a big part of Bayonetta's identity and sees it as a positive case since Bayonetta is still a badass and empowering heroine who owns her sexuality and uses it as a weapon, using it as a strength instead of a weakness (there's also the fact that Bayonetta was designed by a woman). However, many feel Bayonetta and her over-sexualized nature, as badass as she is, is still problematic and objectifiying, arguing that she is little more than a over-sexualized stereotype meant to appeal to horny men than a badass heroine that women can look up to. It doesn't help that the games are often prone to MaleGaze, with the camera frequently ogling on Bayonetta and her "features".

* BrokenBase: The motionless models and still images used in certain cutscenes. Some argue that it was a creative way to make the game stand-out, and likely a way to save large amounts of the budget for actual gameplay sections, or a great way to slow down the pace to allow the over-the-top fight scenes to seem even more impressive. Others argue that it comes off as a lazy choice more than a stylistic choice.

** For some, the rocket ride section at the beginning of Chapter XIV goes on just a ''bit'' [[MarathonLevel too long]] or tedious. It doesn't help that [[GuideDangIt the game never tells you how to un-invert the camera]]. The entire screen also spins every time you DoABarrelRoll, which can be nauseating when you have to dodge the enemies' projectiles, and it gets worse on harder difficulties where this segment turns into a BulletHell. To top it off, after you complete the segment, you have to fight [[spoiler:Jeanne for the last time, and she's harder than ever]]. Others, especially those who like ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'', feel that the main segment of the level is fine and should've been its own chapter rather than having an extremely hard boss fight tacked on at the end.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Luka's humorous YouKilledMyFather accusation that he throws at Bayonetta and then gets dropped for most of the game becomes a lot less funny when Balder shows up [[spoiler:and reveals that it was actually his doing, and that as a child, Luka saw his own father torn to pieces.]]

* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: Some female gamers strongly dislike the appearance of Bayonetta, finding her highly sexualized design to be objectifying and demeaning. However, Bayonetta's character design was made by a woman, Mari Shimazaki, and her creator, Creator/HidekiKamiya, has stated that "only a woman could have made Bayonetta look like she does."

* FanPreferredCouple:
** [[MayflyDecemberRomance Bayonetta/Luka]] is fairly popular, [[WordOfGod despite Hideki Kamiya saying]] that Bayonetta would never actually commit to a relationship with someone she would outlive.
** [[LesYay Bayonetta and Jeanne]] appears to be a popular pairing as well, thanks to their FoeYayShipping. It doesn't help that Jeanne ''resembles Dante.''

* OlderThanTheyThink: According to its [[FlavorText description]], the Eternal Testimony accessory is said to be made by a witch queen named "Aizen". Anime and Manga fans might easily remember the [[ViewerNameConfusion male]] ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' villain and think that it might be a [[ShoutOut reference]] to that manga, but there's actually a Buddhist deity named Aizen Myō'ō, and the Aizen of ''Bleach'' is even named after that deity.

** The PC version doesn't have any of the Nintendo-centric content (for obvious reasons), but has enhanced visuals, and support for ultra-wide resolutions. This version's optimization also allows the game to run smoothly even on mid-to-lower end machines. On top of that, modding possibilities are also open[[note]]Which could mean that the Nintendo-centric content such as costumes could be made manually for this version[[/note]].

%%* DemonicSpiders: Fairness & Fearless. Grace & Glory. Inspired. Joys. Braves. Kinships. This game is a giant nest of DemonicSpiders that have a shameless disdain for MookChivalry.

** Most, if not all, of the cutscenes will have you saying 'Holy shit' about as often as you say "What the HELL is going on? And why is it so AWESOME?" The first ten minutes of the game in particular will lock the visual cortex of your brain into overload, but it's [[CrazyAwesome so awesome you won't care]].

** The Records of Time level for serving as an excellent introduction to the game's extremely epic scope; Bayonetta and Jeanne fighting together against a legion of angels on the rotating pieces of a shattered clock tower as it plummets hundreds of miles down an obscenely tall cliff. It's the definition of CrazyAwesome and perfectly sets the tone of the experience that follows. This intro was so iconic that ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' made it her stage [[spoiler:and the sequel revisits the scenario midway through the game]].

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The game is beloved in the West and the titular heroine got her place in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' thanks to her Western fans, especially in Europe where she surprisingly ranked number one in an official poll organized by Nintendo itself. (She also was in the US top 5, and no word has been said about her place in Japan, so it has to be assumed she didn't place very well there. Some Japanese fan polls did place her in the top 20, but in a game with a very large roster, that's not saying a whole lot). The same could be said about ''VideoGame/PunchOut''[='=]s Little Mac (and moreover his original game), to the point where the most recent game was mostly made ''by'' Americans (Canadian Creator/NextLevelGames) ''for'' Americans.

** For some, the rocket ride section at the beginning of Chapter XIV goes on just a ''bit'' [[MarathonLevel too long]] or tedious. It doesn't help that [[GuideDangIt the game never tells you how to un-invert the camera]]. To top it off, after you complete the segment, you have to fight [[spoiler:Jeanne for the last time, and she's harder than ever]]. Others, especially those who like ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'', feel that the main segment of the level is fine and should've been its own chapter rather than having an extremely hard boss fight tacked on at the end.

* {{Squick}}: Joy's Torture Attack. Completely gratuitous and kind of unsettling.

** Jeanne's ''goddamn'' missile during the fourth fight! The QTE requires a hyper-fast reaction time and failure causes ''a lot'' of damage.
** Jeanne's Wicked Weaves from her second fight onward, especially in Hard and Infinite Climax where the tell happens almost instantly before the attack itself, giving a fraction of a second to prepare for it. Her Madama Styx heels and fists appear near you no matter where you are in relation to Jeanne, and they don't hit lightly either. The one upside to the Weaves is that they're one of the few ways to get Witch Time while fighting Jeanne, but in Non-Stop Infinite Climax, that no longer becomes an option.

** Anyone thinking they have the hang of the game after beating Fortitudo could easily get hit hard in Chapter V right after. It's a MarathonLevel (second-longest in the game) that introduces several DemonicSpiders (Grace, Glory, Fearless, Harmony, ''and'' Inspired) and has rough platforming segments with instant-kills. Topping it all off is the second Jeanne fight at the end, and she follows up her WakeUpCallBoss status from Chapter II in the exact way one might expect.
** For some, the rocket ride section at the beginning of Chapter XIV goes on just a ''bit'' too long. It doesn't help that [[GuideDangIt the game never tells you how to un-invert the camera.]] To top it all off, after you complete the segment, you have to fight [[spoiler:Jeanne for the last time, and harder than ever.]] Others, especially those who like ''VideoGame/SpaceHarrier'', feel that the main body of the level is fine and should've been its own chapter rather than having an extremely hard normal-controls boss fight tacked on at the end.
** The double Kinship fight. Dear God, those fuckers take BulletHell to a whole new level. It takes a good level of Witch Time skill if you don't wanna be pelted by ''a dozen missiles at the same time''. This is somewhat alleviated by the fact that you can actually board the kinships and smash their wheelhouses, and their corpses remain as a platform to board the others.
** The beginning of chapter 8 and the "disappearing platforms" part in chapter 15 also qualify on [=PS3=], mainly because [[GameBreakingBug the framerate operates a breathtaking drop in these two specific parts]].
* ThatOneSidequest: Getting a Pure Platinum Medal requires you to finish the Verse with a Platinum-grade score and time...''and'' [[FlawlessVictory take zero damage]]. Getting a Pure Platinum ''Award'' for the Chapter requires you to get a PP on every Verse, and yes this means you cannot take a single hit throughout the entire Chapter. It's entirely possible to 100% everything else, but never get a Pure Platinum Award ever. Good luck!

** There's something wrong with the way Balder looks compared to the other characters; his skin's pale and waxy and...and he looks sick. [[spoiler:The events of ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'' reveal that he actually is sick; he looks normal enough until he comes down with a bad case of Loptr, at which point he starts looking really unwell due to the evil god eating away at him from the inside.]]

** [[spoiler:Balder's dead white peacock stole, single glove, and golden quarter-mask with piercing-attached monocle]] is even worse. For [[spoiler:Balder]], though, this trope probably was intentional.

* FriendlyFandoms: With ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', another Hack and Slash game made by Creator/HidekiKamiya which also stars a snarky and badass protagonist.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The game is beloved in the West and the titular heroine got her place in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' thanks to her Western fans, especially in Europe, where she surprisingly ranked number one in an official poll organized by Nintendo itself. (She also was in the US top 5, and no word has been said about her place in Japan, so it has to be assumed she didn't place very well there. Some Japanese fan polls did place her in the top 20, but in a game with a very large roster, that's not saying a whole lot). The same could be said about ''VideoGame/PunchOut''[='=]s Little Mac (and moreover his original game), to the point where the most recent game was mostly made ''by'' Americans (Canadian Creator/NextLevelGames) ''for'' Americans.

** Enemies that are on fire can only be hit by ranged attacks, select fire-immune weapons, or during Witch Time. Rather annoying as-is to be forced to switch from a preferred weapon set just to damage them, it's worse in Non-Stop Infinite Climax, since the option to get Witch Time off of another enemy and then whale on them is no longer given to you. Despite this, they are not that threatening, just mildly annoying to fight if your main weapon set does not involve Fire Durga (which is also very slow) or Odette.

** One of the things Luka accuses Bayonetta after she meets with Cereza is that Bayonetta might have killed Cereza's parent. [[spoiler:Cereza ''is'' Bayonetta, and by the end of the game she really does kill her father, Balder, and even though her first attempt fails, it still counts.]]
** Nintendo was the only console company whose console at the time ''didn't'' have a port of the first game at the time it came out. Flash forward 5 years later, and the franchise has effectively become a Nintendo-exclusive franchise, not only having her sequels be Wii U and Switch exclusive, but the titular character herself appearing in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. The fact that Nintendo themselves funded the sequels also means that they effectively own and have control over more than half of the franchise. One wonders why Creator/{{Sega}} hasn't bothered to sell them the rights to the IP at this point.
** [[spoiler:Balder]] orders his angels to [[spoiler:kill Luka]] with a fingersnap that sounds strangely like the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch click sound, a good 8 years before that console was even released, what makes this even better is that the Bayonetta series got released on Nintendo Switch.
* LesYay: Between Bayonetta and Jeanne, thanks to some rather... ''[[HoYay close quarters]]'' [[HoYay style fighting.]]
* LGBTFanbase: With her levels of {{Camp}}, hypersexuality, crazy fighting gimmicks, and delightfully bitchy attitude, Bayonetta has become something of an icon among gay gamers. Plus there's the LesYay between her and Jeanne. Plenty of fans have compared her level of over-the-topness to that of a DragQueen.

** The sequence of sounds in a successful Witch Twist: time slowing down, then speeding up, then the meaty impact of a Wicked Uppercut putting the monster ''right'' where it needs to be for a combo.
** The choir that plays before Fortitudo's fight, named "Fortitudo Again." It's really uplifting when that's the first thing you hear when you continue after dying.

** "Biblically-accurate Angels" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Since late 2020, there are videos and articles (such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40KcrrfbJ6o this one]]) comparing the oldest Abrahamic depictions of angels ([[EldritchAbomination/MythologyAndReligion traditional Eldritch Abominations]]) to the modern Christianity depictions (beautiful and [[FluffyCloudHeaven fluffly cloud angels]]). ''Bayonetta'' fans would usually be reminded of how the game depicted the Angels of Paradiso just like those early Abrahamic depictions, and thus comment using quotes from the game, or mention that ''Bayonetta'' has Biblically-accurate Angels.[[/labelnote]]

* NarmCharm: It's incredibly campy, to the point where spotlights appear out of nowhere when the title character reveals herself. Like it's spiritual predecessor, it's done in a way that gives it a lot of charm and appeal.

* OffendingTheCreatorsOwn: Some female gamers strongly dislike the appearance of Bayonetta, finding her highly sexualized design to be objectifying and demeaning. However, Bayonetta's character design was made by a woman, Mari Shimazaki, and her creator, Creator/HidekiKamiya, has stated that "only a woman could have made Bayonetta look like she does.''

* PortingDisaster: From a performance standpoint, the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 port of the game is inferior to the Xbox 360 version. Platinum Games developed the game using 360 hardware and handed over the code to Sega for the finalization process on the [=PS3=], which lead to noticeably reduced frame rates, poor textures, extremely intrusive and long loading times, and other technical issues without offering any kind of advantage over the 360 version. Because of this, Platinum now flat-out refuses to outsource their games to outside studios for porting ever again. The [=PS3=] version later received a patch that allows you to install the game to the [=PS3=]'s hard drive, cutting the length (but not frequency) of loading times. However, the other most glaring issues with frame rates and textures remain unaddressed.

** Out-of-body fights. They're tolerable in the story mode, where you're given tools to whale on angels with and Cereza isn't constantly in danger, but when they're made an Alfheim challenge, you have to leave your body behind to fight; that won't stop the angels from going after it anyway (which will hurt your regular lifebar), unless you waste one of your two accessory slots on an item that forces Angels to attack you... but also makes them ''stronger''. That very mechanic forces you to use a ''lightpole'' to fight Affinities while protecting Cereza, since they are not in the same dimension. Not only is the "weapon" painfully slow, it slips out of your hands if you stop to dodge an attack. Granted, you can use [[spoiler:[[SwissArmyWeapon Rodin]]]] to attack them directly but the thing is [[BonusBoss not exactly]] [[NintendoHard easy]] to get...
** The mini-game to send Jubileus into the sun isn't so bad in Normal mode. In Hard and Climax mode however the planets are much harder to avoid, and failure is counted as a death, which can completely ruin an otherwise perfect score. Considering how long and difficult this fight can be, this is frustrating to say the least.

** The MookDebutCutscene of almost every Angel type ends with them sending an attack towards the player. While this trick may be innovative for a hack-and-slash game allowing seamless transitions between cutscene and gameplay, others dislike this idea as you'll have to react quickly as possible as soon as the cutscene ends. This is especially notorious in harder difficulties as your enemies will technically have an easy chance to shatter a large portion of your HP.
** Hidden encounters and Alfheims being included in your level ranking means it's easy to get a bad grade due to an encounter you never even saw. This is compounded by the fact that some Alfheims are very well-hidden, often requiring retracing your steps to a previous section of the level, and you'll have to repeat the walk plus the fight (which can be challenging in itself) every time you replay the level if you're after a higher ranking.

** Most, if not all, of the cutscenes will have you saying 'Holy shit' about as often as you say 'What the HELL is going on? And why is it so AWESOME?' The first ten minutes of the game in particular will lock the visual cortex of your brain into overload, but it's [[CrazyAwesome so awesome you won't care.]]
** The new motion controls that the Switch port adds to the Space Harrier level really make it feel like you're handling a joystick on an old arcade cabinet... by which we mean they're ''extremely'' sensitive and responsive, and, for some reason, come with a rate of auto-fire that human fingers cannot replicate. If you're trying them for the first time after being used to the regular button-and-stick setup, you better be ready for things to get intense.

** The Records of Time level for serving as an excellent introduction to the game's extremely epic scope: Bayonetta and Jeanne fighting together against a legion of angels on the rotating pieces of a shattered clock tower as it plummets hundreds of miles down an obscenely tall cliff. It's the definition of CrazyAwesome and perfectly sets the tone of the experience that follows. This intro was so iconic that ''{{VideoGame/Super Smash Bros}}'' made it her stage [[spoiler: and the sequel revisits the scenario midway through the game]]

** Given that Bayonetta made a DealWithTheDevil and ''accepted'' eternal damnation in exchange for her powers, many fans like to interpret her confidence and cocky attitude as her [[StepfordSmiler coping mechanism]] to deal with the fact she doomed herself to Hell. The lyrics to her theme song, "Mysterious Destiny," support this, claiming that she buries her loneliness deep down in her eyes and that sadness lies in her smile.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Bayonetta herself. Is her sexy and fanservice-y nature badass and empowering? or problematic and objectifying? She's particularly incredibly divisive amongst feminist gamers, with her sexual nature being frequently and hotly debated in those circles.
* BestBossEver: The last three bosses of the game, [[spoiler: Jeanne (for the final time), Balder and Jubileus]] are widely considered to be the best bosses in the entire game, and considering that one of the earliest bosses is a 2-headed, ginormous fire-controlling angelic dragon with a face on its chest that speaks in Enochian, you KNOW that they are gonna be freaking awesome. And they '''are.'''
* BestKnownForTheFanservice: The game is an extremely fluid, highly-refined BeatEmUp with some of the deepest combat mechanics ever put in a StylishAction game, and a distinctly over-the-top, gloriously {{Camp}} style that, between it and ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'', has earned an array of accolades, awards, and even a few coveted perfect scores. But the eponymous Bayonetta's SpyCatsuit is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Or the fact that her boss-slaying cutscenes leave her temporarily wearing nothing but GodivaHair. That and her extremely sensual and teasing personality just pushed the 'fanservice' factor even bigger.
* BrokenBase: The motionless models used in certain cut-scenes. Some argue that it was a creative way to make the game stand-out, as well as likely a way to save large amounts of the budget for actual gameplay sections, not to mention a great way to slow down the pace to allow the over-the-top fight scenes to seem even more impressive. Others, however, argue that it comes off as more lazy than a style choice.
* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Despite the wide variety of weapons and accessories this game has, there are some that are commonly used by the players for specific purposes, such as situational recommended builds:
** Due to its general usefulness and added defensive and counter-attack mechanics, the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa is very popular that players label it as a "must-have" accessory.
** Do you want to farm Halos in the most efficient way possible? Take advantage of the Durga-Kilgore glitch to rack up lots of combo points every Verse. Others even use the Gaze of Despair to increase the outputs even further.
** Since Witch Time is disabled in Non-Stop Climax difficulty, a lot of players and game guides would recommend the Evil Harvest Rosary so that dodging will still have offensive benefits.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Asides from...everything else in the game, there's:

** The first time we meet Joy, cue the gentle laughter when there's a little impromptu dance off. Drop your jaw in shock/horror/hilarity when Joy chooses to finally... ''reveal'' herself. Then the line is tossed out of the window when you perform the torture attack on her.
** At one point, Bayonetta starts a motorcycle by [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything jamming her middle finger into the ignition switch.]]

** Bayonetta is occasionally paired up with [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]] and [[VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw Juliet Starling]] as well. The latter is expected, seeing as how Juliet shares so many similarities with Bayonetta it's not even funny.
** After her reveal trailer in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', Bayonetta is getting a FoeYayShipping with [[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Pit]], usually with her teasing him but ultimately deciding he's too 'cute' to kill despite him being an angel. This also tends to extend to/include Pit's boss, the Goddess Palutena.

* CultClassic: Even with the low sales across all platforms, its got enough of a fanbase to give it a 3rd game in the series.

* NightmareFuel:
** Contrasting with most of the game, [[spoiler:the flashback to the death of Luka's father, where we see four angels grabbing him by the arms and legs, and GoryDiscretionShot as they tear him apart.]]
** Iustitia, the third Auditio, is frankly one of the most disturbing angels due to his [[EldritchAbomination chaotic]] [[http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110813214756/bayonetta/images/thumb/8/8a/IustitiaBoss.jpg/500px-IustitiaBoss.jpg appearance]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx4CL4Y2Cx0 overpowering theme]] and bizarre high-pitched voice as opposed to the other much deeper-toned Auditio.
** The research halls of the Ithavoll building feature racks of many giant test tubes filled with blood, which also happen to be shaped like iron maidens and have a giant needle piercing through where the person's chest would be. Concept art confirms [[https://lpix.org/334392/iron%20maiden%20capsule.jpg that they have corpses inside them]]. [[spoiler:Presuming that these corpses are Umbra Witches, how does this factor into Father Balder's plan for the resurrection of Jubileus?]]
** Did you crash the FinalBoss into [[spoiler:a planet]]? [[spoiler:The planet explodes with her perfectly intact, and then she glares at the camera with a NightmareFace and lunges at it]], [[NonStandardGameOver followed immediately by "THE WITCH HUNTS ARE OVER"]].

** "Biblically-accurate Angels" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Since late 2020, there are videos and articles (such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40KcrrfbJ6o this one]]) comparing the oldest Abrahamic depictions of angels ([[EldritchAbomination/MythologyAndReligion traditional Eldritch Abominations]]) to the modern Christianity depictions (beautiful and [[FluffyCloudHeaven fluffly cloud angels]]). ''Bayonetta'' fans would usually be reminded of how the game depicted the Angels of Paradiso just like those early Abrahamic depictions, and thus comment using quotes from the game.[[/labelnote]]