History VideoGame / Bayonetta2

* UnexplainedRecovery: Several of the Angels and Demons.
** Gomorrah. [[spoiler:His jaw snapped, his neck broken, it seemed it was all over for him after the last fight with Balder.]] Now, though? Hell, [[ArtEvolution he looks better than ever]]! [[spoiler:Which is unfortunate, seeing how he tries to eat Bayonetta and ends up killing Jeanne. Weirder still, Jeanne summons him at the end to eat Aesir.]] However, as explained above, this could just be a different Gomorrah being summoned.
** Fortitudo, Temperantia, and Sapientia are summoned by the Masked Lumen, despite Bayonetta handing his ass to him severely and getting DraggedOffToHell; they are shown fighting Labolas, Madama Butterfly, and Hydra respectively. However, the first game had [[DegradedBoss lesser versions of the Cardinal Virtues]] during chapters after their personal boss fights; it's possible the Lumen is simply summoning these angels rather than the Virtues proper.

* TravelMontage: Just like in the first game, the Chapter One opens with a travel montage following Bayonetta's trip from her hometown to Noatun with Enzo narrating the backstory simultaneously.

* ChainsawGood: One of Bayonetta's new weapons is Salamandra, a set of chainsaws that can be attached to the hands or feet, used to shred through enemies or to skate around like with Odette in the first game. Buy the retail version, and you get to ''[[BeyondTheImpossible quintuple weild]]'' chainsaws.

* ChainsawGood: One of Bayonetta's new weapons is Salamandra, a set of chainsaws that can be used to shred through enemies or to skate around like with Odette in the first game.

* {{Nerf}}: The overall damage output is noticeably much lower than it was in the first game, with boss and miniboss's health bars taking considerably longer to bring down, encouraging chaining together plenty of rapid combos to maintain the pain. [[spoiler:[[GlassCannon Rosa]]]] is the closest character to replicate the massive damage output of the first game.

* DifficultySpike: En route to the gates of Inferno, appropriately enough. After a boss fight with the Insidious, Chapter VII introduces common ''demonic'' enemies, with new patterns and harder tells, as well as a rematch with the Masked Lumen. The chapter after has an ambush by a Golem, who's significantly tougher than in the first game.

* ArtEvolution: Noatun and its environs are positively ''gorgeous'' compared to Vigrid and Isla del Sol, and grainy-film frame-slipping cutscenes from the previous game are replaced with clear shots seen between the rotating hands of a clock.

** You can unlock [[spoiler:Rodin]] as a playable character in multiplayer, and he kicks ass, but he's slow and doesn't have many combos. Since the object of multiplayer is to rack up combo points, it's difficult to win with him.

* GreyingMorality: [[spoiler:Turns out Balder wasn't always a bad guy (and didn't really have a choice in becoming evil either). Furthermore, the demons of Inferno are seen as pretty malevolent, as opposed to in the first game where they always helped Bayonetta.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:[[BigBad Loptr]] needs both of [[MacGuffin the Eyes of the World]] in order to [[AGodAmI attain godhood]]. The only problem is that Balder, who had the Right Eye, died at the end of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''. To get around this, he brings Balder from 500 years ago to the present day. After Loptr is defeated, his soul tries to escape, only for Balder to absorb it, return to his original time, become the villain that he was in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', and set in motion the events of both games. This leads to his death, which leads to Loptr bringing his past self to the present, and so on.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: {{Invoked}}, in-universe, with [[spoiler:Balder]].

* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Bayo 2'' axes some of the unforgiving aspects of the first game. Items can now be used without jeopardizing the chapter ranking, Witch Time is generally easier to trigger, there are no [[PressXToNotDie instant-death QTE's]], the endless boss rushes are gone, the portals are a lot less frustrating and there are less difficulty levels to choose from overall. The end result is an easier game than its predecessor, but certainly no less intense.
* SequelDifficultySpike: High-score hunters will find ''Bayo 2'' a greater challenge than its predecessor. There are much fewer single-Verse Chapters than before, there are many more Muspelheim challenges per Chapter than the Alfheim challenges of the first game (which means passing them will have a much greater impact on your score), Bullet Climax chews on your magic, and Umbran Climax trades infinite "Wicked Weaves on every swing" during boss fights for brief bouts of "Wicked Weaves on every swing, Infernal Weaves on finisher" activated on command.

* RealSongThemeTune: Henry Mancini's "Moon River" replaces "Fly Me to the Moon" for the second game.

** Averted, unlike the first Bayonetta. There are no cutscene [=QTEs=] that will result in instant death if you fail them.

* SizableSnowflakes: An easily missed example: when someone is trapped withing a block of ice, said ice block will emit several Sizable Snowflakes.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: {{Invoked}}, in-universe, with [[spoiler:Balder]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''"[[SavedByTheNetwork Miss me, baby?]]"'']]

''Bayonetta 2'' is a StylishAction game developed by Creator/PlatinumGames and published by Creator/{{Nintendo}} for the UsefulNotes/WiiU and [[UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch Switch]], with Creator/{{Sega}}, the franchise owners, serving as advisor. It is the sequel to the 2010 game, ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', and is directed by Yusuke Hashimoto and produced by Atsushi Inaba, under supervision by series creator Creator/HidekiKamiya. It was announced on September 13, 2012, and was made a Wii U exclusive due to Nintendo's financial backing of the game, even though the company did not request that it be exclusive. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIot0Otq7MA Check out the game's first teaser.]] At E3 2014's Nintendo Direct, it was announced that the release would also come bundled with an [[UpdatedRerelease updated version]] of the original ''Bayonetta'', although a standalone version was made available in February 2016. ''Bayonetta 2'', along with the original ''Bayonetta'', were released for the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch on February 16, 2018 with the additions of local co-op and Toys/{{Amiibo}} support.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: {{Invoked}}, in-universe, with [[spoiler: Balder]].

** Loki is a playable character for one verse in Chapter V. [[spoiler: You also get to control Loptr as he tumbles into Gomorrah's mouth during the final boss fight.]]
** In Chapter IV, [[spoiler: the final portion of the Masked Lumen boss fight has you controlling Madama Butterfly as she does battle with Temperantia.]]
** And in Chapter XVI, [[spoiler: there is a portion where you're flying a jet to Fimbulventr and simultaneously control 3 characters - Jeanne piloting the jet, and Bayonetta and Balder shooting and slashing from on top of the jet, respectively.]]

* ArcWords: One from the first game is brought up here, but with a much more poignant meaning to it. [[spoiler: "My dear, sweet child. Fear not, for I am always watching over you."]]

** You can unlock [[spoiler: Rodin]] as a playable character in multiplayer, and he kicks ass, but he's slow and doesn't have many combos. Since the object of multiplayer is to rack up combo points, it's difficult to win with him.

* BittersweetEnding: The BigBad is stopped and the world is saved, [[spoiler: but to keep him from escaping, Balder had to trap his soul within himself, which led to him becoming the evil man who would wipe out the Umbra Witches and nearly destroy the universe.]]

** [[spoiler: The platinum ticket returns in the game, and with it, Rodin: the Infinite One. However, instead of fighting you as Father Rodin the angel, he's fighting as Rodin the demon.]] It also happens to [[SNKBoss one of the most difficult fights]] in a Hack and Slash game.
** In Tag Climax, a few extra bosses can be fought. [[spoiler: Jeanne & Bayonetta and Rosa & Balder are fought as teams; and Labolas, one of the Infernal Demons that's normally summoned during Wicked Weaves, can also be fought.]]

** Just like the first game, the final ([[TheStinger non-stinger]]) cutscene takes place in the city from the prologue, and even ends with [[spoiler: Bayo and Jeanne about to have another battle on top of a fighter jet]].
** The first summon Bayonetta uses to perform the finishing blow on an angel miniboss is Gomorrah. [[spoiler: This is the same summon Jeanne uses for the final blow on the BigBad.]]

* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: The BigBad is defeated [[spoiler: but Balder has to trap his soul inside himself to keep him from escaping. He helped stop one monster, only to go on to become one himself.]]

-->'''Rodin (written):''' Bayonetta, something came in from that fight club of yours. Strange to think of you up there, mixing it up with all them all-stars. Bring me along next time, huh? [[AscendedExtra I could use the sparrin' practice.]]

* ClockTower: A big one shows up in Chapter XV. [[spoiler: It's the same clock tower from the first game's opening sequence.]]

** The Golem shows up again, with the same climax ending as before, only this time, the demons actually succeed in turning it into a volleyball. [[spoiler: It's actually what gets Bayonetta to Jeanne.]]

** Near the end, [[spoiler: Bayonetta describes 'her kind' to Balder as "The kind of witches you don't '''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck]]''' with. This harkens back to her PreMortemOneLiner against Father Balder in the first game, "Don't '''fuck''' with a witch".]]
* ControllableHelplessness: A rare inversion. [[spoiler: Enjoy guiding the FinalBoss to his well-deserved doom - there's no way he can escape it! (Well, OK, there is, but you really have to be trying to do so).]]

--> ''Whatever your friend did to get on the other side of these[[note]]The Gates to Inferno[[/note]], let's just say she's not having a good day."
--> ''You know, love, you've got to be the only person on the planet who says "go to hell" and means "take me there".

* DoubleEntendre: In a rare (well, rare for [[RuleOfSexy this game]] anyway) non-sexual example, Bayonetta's default long taunt line is "If you want to learn how to talk to a lady, ask [[YourMom your mum]]." It doubles as a reference to how Bayonetta learned everything she knew from her "Mummy" (aka [[spoiler: Bayonetta from the first game's original timeline]]), as well as an AscendedMeme reference to Creator/HidekiKamiya's infamous CatchPhrase on his English {{Website/Twitter}} account ("go ask YourMom").
* DownerBeginning: One of Bayonetta's demonic summons [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly wrong]] and [[DraggedOffTohell drags Jeanne's soul off to Inferno]], leaving Bayo to cradle her best friend's lifeless body in the rain...all before Chapter 1 even begins.

** An inversion appears in Tag Climax. [[spoiler: If all of Balder's health is depleted, then creepy heavenly hands appear out of a cloud and hold him in place, similarly to the Umbra Witches and the portal to Inferno. If time runs out or the other player dies, he is dragged up into the cloud]].

-->'''Bayonetta''': I guess not even a god can see him coming.

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: After beating the game, you unlock the ability to play Jeanne - except it doesn't change anything during cutscenes, leading to moments where Jeanne declares she's going to save Jeanne, or Jeanne fighting an infernal for Jeanne's soul. [[spoiler: The same thing happens after you beat the game on 3rd Climax and unlock Rosa, Bayonetta's mother and Balder's wife, leading to moments where Balder is trying to kill his wife to avenge his wife's death, or Rosa going back in time to fight with herself, and calling herself "mummy".]]

* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: Done repeatedly in the battles against [[spoiler: Loptr]]. Even though he must be defeated on every stage of each fight against him, the next cutscene always has Bayonetta barely on her feet while the boss laughs derisively.

* ImportantHaircut: SubvertedTrope. Bayonetta and Jeanne both sport new hairdos, but it's not important to the plot at all. According to WordOfGod, they just felt like having new hairstyles at the time the plot happens, like anybody else. However, her hair eventually plays a small role [[spoiler: when Bayonetta goes back in time and fights alongside her mother, removing the GenerationXerox effect from the first game]].

** Very soon after starting the game, the [[CoOpMultiplayer co-op]] CompetitiveMultiplayer, Tag Climax, is unlocked, allowing a player to fight with others online. This can spoil the [[SecretCharacter unlockable characters]] available in the game. While Jeanne is an obvious one, [[spoiler: it spoils Rodin, Balder, and Rosa, the last two being major spoilers for the game]].

* LateArrivalSpoiler: Make sure you play the first game all the way through, because the first ten minutes of this game spoils the big reveal of the first. Heck, even playing the ''demo'' will spoil part of the first game's story, namely [[spoiler: Jeanne survives the events of the first game and becomes Bayonetta's friend, and that Bayonetta is Cereza after SheIsAllGrownUp.]]

-->'''Masked Lumen''': ...you have ''disappointed'' me.
* NostalgiaLevel: Played with. Chapters XIII to XV take place in Vigrid, the first game's setting, and as such feature familiar locales, enemies, and music. [[spoiler: The twist is Bayonetta is revisiting these locations during the witch hunts from 500 years ago and fights alongside Rosa, who also adds to the nostalgia by using Bayonetta's animations from the first game and having a similar design]].

* {{Revision}}: [[spoiler: Balder wasn't the monster he appeared to be in the original game; he was originally a good man who became evil after he contained [[BigBad Loptr]]'s soul to keep him from escaping, which led to him being corrupted by Loptr's evil.]]

* SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by [[spoiler: Balder]], eventually along with TakingYouWithMe, to circumvent the BigBad's {{Immortality}}. [[spoiler: By trapping Aesir's soul inside him and ensuring it stayed there during his death, Balder was able to force the god to die with him.]]

* SequelHook: [[spoiler: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]]. In a bizarre twist, Balder is seen in the Sunrise and Crescent Valleys donning the mask that we see him wearing in the first game. At which point the logo for ''Bayonetta'' appears. More of a Prequel Hook, in this case]].

* TheStinger: [[spoiler: Loptr's symbol is briefly visible on Balder's forehead and he takes on the mask he wore in the original game, showing that the evil in Loptr's soul turned him into the monster he was in that game.]]

* SwordBeam: If Umbran Climax is performed [[spoiler: while riding [[HellishHorse Diomedes]], his horn]] shoots these when X or A is pressed.

* TimeShiftedActor: [[spoiler: Mark Daugherty voices Loptr (and, by proxy, Loki) in his young boy form, while adult Loptr is voiced by TJ Ramini. Conversely, Creator/CrispinFreeman voices the Lumen Sage, a younger version of Father Balder (who was voiced by Grant Albrecht).]]

* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler: Several of the generic mook angels from the first game have been upgraded with tougher defenses and more damaging attacks when you meet them in the past.]]

** Gomorrah. [[spoiler: His jaw snapped, his neck broken, it seemed it was all over for him after the last fight with Balder.]] Now, though? Hell, [[ArtEvolution he looks better than ever]]! [[spoiler: Which is unfortunate, seeing how he tries to eat Bayonetta and ends up killing Jeanne. Weirder still, Jeanne summons him at the end to eat Aesir.]] However, as explained above, this could just be a different Gomorrah being summoned.

** Somehow, the ''BossSubtitles'' manage to deliver one in a later chapter. [[spoiler: In Chapter XII, you fight the Masked Lumen for the third and final time. Only this time, he unmasks. If the appearance of the Right Eye didn't clue you in, then the game drives it home in the PastelChalkedFreezeFrame sequence. '''Lumen Sage: Balder'''. This also turns out to be a reference to the first game, seeing as this chapter has the same name as Balder's chapter in the first game: '''The Lumen Sage'''.]]
** The ''first level'' manages to deliver a WhamLine via BossSubtitles. [[spoiler: After beating the presumed boss of the level (Belief), he turns out to be a MiniBoss, as Bayonetta finishes him off with Gomorrah, but then loses control of the summon. For the first time, we get boss subtitles introducing a demon, complete with a darker-looking book and font. '''Devourer of the Divine: Gomorrah'''.]]

-> '''Bayonetta:''' If you want to learn how to read TV Tropes Wiki, ask your mum.

** As in the first game, the last cutscene before the credits has a character in the same situation as the the first cutscene of the Prologue, with extra company but sans a character who was there before. [[spoiler:Bayonetta goes shopping as she had with Enzo, only to realize too late that she left Enzo in Noatun with a broken plane.]]

* ClothingDamage: Just like in the first game, the clothes Bayonetta is wearing in the intro are ruined before the gameplay even begins, and at pretty suggestive places.

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: Forms one with the original. Balder is pulled from the past by Lotpr, and by the end of the game, traps Loptr's soul inside him to stop him, leading him to become the evil man he was in the original game, whose actions led to Bayonetta getting to where she was at the start of this game.]]

* [[TimeShiftedActor Time-Shifted Voice Actor]]: A few interesting and spoilery examples. [[spoiler: Mark Daugherty voices Loptr (and, by proxy, Loki) in his young boy form, while adult Loptr is voiced by TJ Ramini. Conversely, Creator/CrispinFreeman voices the Lumen Sage, a younger version of Father Balder (who was voiced by Grant Albrecht).]]

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: This time, the game takes place in Noatum, a town somewhere in Kazakhstan if the map cutscene in Chapter 1 is of any indiciation.