Trivia / Bayonetta 2

• Acclaimed Flop: Although it was better reviewed than the first game, Bayonetta 2 being exclusive to the poor-selling Wii U meant it sold nowhere near as well as its multi-platform predecessor, selling less than 500,000 copies over the system's lifetime (by comparison, the first game sold over a million copies in less than three months). However, Nintendo would later report that they were content with the game's sales and greenlit a third installment; in addition, the Nintendo Switch re-release of the title saw better sales at launch and went on to sell one million copies worldwide after three years.
• Acting for Two:
  • Both Bayonetta and her mother Rosa are voiced by Hellena Taylor.
  • Mark Daugherty plays both Loki and the younger version of Loptr, alongside some additional voices.
  • J. Grant Albercht voices the Older Father Balder and Justitia.
  • Yuri Lowenthal does double duty as Luka and Temperantia.
  • Tara Platt plays both Glamor and Alarune.
• Adored by the Network: Not by Sega, mind you, but Nintendo, who published the game. Not only did they fund the game in the first place, but they would also release it alongside a port of the first Bayonetta, complete with a Japanese dub (the first game only had English voice acting). Nintendo would go on to announce a port of both games to the Nintendo Switch alongside their announcement of Bayonetta 3 as well.
• Colbert Bump:
  • Upon the lifting of the review embargo, the game shot up to the Top 10 of the Amazon charts, from its previous 49th place, within hours.
  • Her unexpected inclusion as the last DLC character for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS was a big one. The announcement made the game actually sell out in multiple stores, with copies being extremely hard to find in stores and online (except on eBay). Its increased popularity prompted Nintendo to re-release it as a discounted standalone game.
  • Within days of the announcement of her inclusion in Super Smash Bros., it was announced Bayonetta would be featured in the popular web series DEATH BATTLE! in their Season 3 premier episode, fighting Hideki Kamiya's other popular gunslinger, Dante.
• Executive Meddling:
  • The box art for the Wii U release. Kamiya's infamously reacted negatively Nintendo changing the game's box art without his permission, calling it "shit"; the changes in question were the crescent moon being swapped out for a full moon, and the color of the "2" in the title from gold to red. For the Switch re-release, the box art was changed back to what Kamiya had wanted.
  • On a more positive spin, Bayonetta's Link costume. Platinum was originally more conservative in designing it, anticipating that Nintendo wouldn't want any of the costumes based on their characters to be too sexualized. Nintendo ended up requesting for the design to be more provocative, hence why her Link outfit shows off her chest, believing it would have been out-of-character otherwise.
• Network to the Rescue:
  • Originally, there wasn't going to be a Bayonetta 2, until Nintendo decided to fund it. Compared to Nintendo's last collaboration with Platinum, they provided a lot of advertising for Bayonetta 2, even holding a promotion with Playboy.
  • Despite the game flopping the first time around, Nintendo put Bayonetta in the public spotlight again, not only by re-releasing the game on the Switch alongside the first game, but also greenlighting a third game; all of this being announced at The Game Awards 2017.
• No Port For You: Platinum has made it a point that this game will only be available on Nintendo platforms, due to Nintendo funding the game when Sega wouldn't and no other publisher was willing to do so.
• The Other Darrin: John Kassir replaces Chick Vennera as the voice of Enzo.
• Real Song Theme Tune: Henry Mancini's "Moon River" replaces "Fly Me to the Moon" for the second game.
• Recycled Script: Quite a few character tropes and plot elements were reused from the first game, and a lot of cinematography was echoed. Fortunately, the game manages to combine them in new ways, so it doesn't feel stale. Given the Time Travel themes in both games, it actually works fairly well.
• Refitted for Sequel: Enemies like Valiance and Enrapture were going to be in the first game but were cut for budget restraints and time.
• Saved from Development Hell: Sega began funding development of Bayonetta 2, but after a corporate restructuring driven by financial difficulties, the project was shelved. Platinum was allowed to seek out another publisher to help complete production, with Nintendo being the only one willing to do so.
• Un-Cancelled: This game was originally cancelled by Sega due to restructuring. Nintendo then approached Sega to fund Bayonetta 2 as a Wii U exclusive, with them publishing it.

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