Bayonetta (SSB4)

Bayonetta in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Bayonetta
Availability	Downloadable
Final Smash	Infernal Climax
Tier	A (11)

“	Bayonetta Gets Wicked!	”
—Introduction Tagline

Bayonetta (ベヨネッタ, Bayonetta) is a character and newcomer in Super Smash Bros. 4, and is the seventh and final downloadable character. She was announced alongside Corrin during the Super Smash Bros. - Final Video Presentation on December 15th, 2015 and both were released on February 3rd, 2016. She is the sixth third party character to be introduced in SSB4, following fellow SEGA character Sonic, Capcom's Mega Man and Ryu, Bandai Namco's Pac-Man and Square Enix's Cloud. Bayonetta was added to the game as the winner of the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot, being the highest-voted character in Europe and among the top 5 in North America, making her the overall #1 worldwide among realizable characters. Her appearance is based on her redesign for Bayonetta 2, but with slightly modified proportions, most notably in her height. Bayonetta's English voice actress, Hellena Taylor, and her Japanese voice actress, Atsuko Tanaka, both reprise their roles in Super Smash Bros. 4.

Bayonetta currently ranks 11th out of 58 on the tier list, placing her at the bottom of A tier. This makes her the fourth highest ranked DLC character, newcomer, and third-party character. Being a combo-heavy character, her moves reliably chain into each other, leading to good 50/50 mixups at high percentages and even creating zero-to-death combos. Bayonetta has relatively good range and possesses decent zoning options in Bullet Climax and her unique Bullet Arts on almost all of her attacks. Her recovery is among the best in the game; it covers a significant distance, has directional flexibility, and possesses enormous hitboxes, rendering her virtually immune to edge-guards, while she herself is capable of edge-guarding many characters with her strong aerials and Witch Twist. Despite her fast faller status, Witch Time and Bat Within at the beginning of her dodges make it difficult to land a combo on her, as the slightest mistake could allow Bayonetta to intercept and even land a KO.

However, her mobility and frame data are below average, making many of her attacks weak against shields, and her smash attacks are difficult to land without Witch Time activated, due to their low priority, slow startup, and even slower endlag. Bayonetta is lightweight and has a tall hurtbox, which makes her easier to KO than most characters. Bat Within is a double-edged sword, as it does not work on grabs, and to further compensate for its effect, Bayonetta's dodges have the longest overall animations of all characters (only Samus's roll is longer) and the most endlag after their intangibility frames. Finally, due to a recent nerf, her combos are not consistent enough to be a huge threat past high percents due to increased SDI modifiers, which further limits her reliable KO options.

Regardless of her weaknesses, Bayonetta has achieved above average tournament results and tournament representation despite her nerfs in 1.1.6, most notably including Pink Fresh winning 2GGT: KTAR Saga along with players like Saj, Salem, and Wonf placing high in nationals such as CEO 2016, KTAR XVIII, and Smash Factor 5 respectively. Salem in particular is making a progressively stronger impression in tournaments, defeating many of the best players in the world with Bayonetta, including ZeRo and Nairo. Her increasing success in the tournament scene is causing some to put her current placing into question, with many believing that she is at least a top 10 character or even higher.

Attributes

Bayonetta, much like in her home series, is a combo-heavy fighter, with many multi-hitting attacks and chainable moves. Unlike Ryu, Bayonetta specializes in aerial combos, with her special moves being a main component in many of them. However, she shares a similar problem with Ryu in that her overall mobility is only passable with a slow walking speed, average dashing and below average air speed, but she has high air acceleration, jump force, falling speed (the ninth fastest), and gravity, attributes unlike most other combo-based characters. Similar to Sheik, she is also tall and light, which when combined with her fast falling speed and high gravity makes her a rather frail fighter overall.

She has a special mechanic, Bullet Arts, where holding the attack/special button during many of her attacks extends the ending animation to allow her to shoot. Depending on how long the relevant button is held, Bayonetta will fire up to five (with some exceptions) invisible bullets from each used gun with no hitstun and medium range as a way to rack up damage. Most of these bullets are arced in the direction that her attack faces her, while many shoot bullets in separate directions, such as her down tilt (forward and backwards). With this in effect, Bayonetta has the potential to deal more than standard damage should her Bullet Arts connect. Tapping the attack button again during Bullet Arts transitions to the next move in her attack chain (if applicable), but she must do this before she twirls her guns to put them to rest (signifying the end of her combo). With this ability, she has a very good damage racking game, and because her Bullet Arts have moderate range (about the size of half of Final Destination), she can force approaches by dealing chip damage at a distance, or simply hold down the attack button after a whiffed aerial attack to pelt opponents with minor damage, making a missed attack less of a detriment for her compared to other fighters. Bayonetta also has a more traditional projectile variant in her neutral special Bullet Climax, which unlike Bullet Arts, has visible bullets that cause hitstun and can be used to edgeguard recovering opponents.

As aforementioned, Bayonetta's strengths are in her combos, with up tilt, down tilt, up throw, and Heel Slide being good starters. These all launch opponents into the air, where from there she can mix and match her aerials, such as multiple forward airs, Witch Twist, and After Burner Kick, which can result in massive damage and can wall of pain or even zero-death opponents. This also gives her a good edge-guarding game, especially with a powerful back air, a neutral and up air that can frame-trap recovering opponents, and a meteor smash in down air that is surprisingly powerful and recoverable for a stall-then-fall. Her flexible recovery is among the best in the game, as After Burner Kick gives her fair horizontal distance, and while Witch Twist comes up vertically short, she can re-use it after a midair jump. She can also use Witch Twist, double jump, Witch Twist again one frame after, and use her double jump again as a mix-up to her somewhat linear recovery, although this difficult to execute due to the frame precision needed. Using her Witch Time counterattack wisely is also crucial to victory, as the slowdown renders targets wide open to her combos or to one of her powerful smash attacks. She also benefits from her unique safety net in Bat Within, which negates all knockback and reduces damage for attacks that would have hit her if her counter activates too late or during the starting frames of any of her dodging methods. The latter essentially gives Bayonetta a frame 1 air dodge and sidestep, and a frame 3 roll, breaking many combos that would otherwise be true on other characters, such as Charizard's down throw to forward aerial. Furthermore, Bat Within enables Bayonetta to teleport in a given (usually more favorable) position, enabling her to punish her attacker.

However, Bayonetta has weaknesses that are quite exploitable. Being tall and light makes her rather easy to combo and KO (though it is worth mentioning she technically has a frame 1 air dodge, making her harder to combo by characters whose combo ability isn't perfectly linear). She is also quite polarized: while her aerial attacks have very low ending lag, many of her grounded attacks have notable start-up and ending lag, especially her smash attacks, making them relatively unsafe on shield (sans up and down tilt, which have low range) and leaves her vulnerable to opponents that have better frame data than her while grounded, like Pikachu. Her smash attacks also have low priority, rendering them unable to hit any character with an active hitbox, while being unable to trade with most attacks if they make contact with her. Her position after performing her up special, or side special in the air can be exploitable too, as the more of these moves she uses in the air, the longer landing lag she will receive at the end, leaving Bayonetta punishable if they are whiffed and if she is forced to land on the ground. Her neutral game is also poor, as her few approach options are easily telegraphed. Her KOing options are lacking outside of back and down aerials, zero-death combos and smashes and her zero-deaths usually getting staled and escapable if the opponent uses DI and smash DI effectively. Her smashes are somewhat slow to land and are easy to cancel out due to their low priority, enforcing the use of Witch Time or her forward throw (which does not kill until very high percents) to score KOs. In addition, Witch Time can be a double-edged sword as it does not negate lingering hitboxes that can interrupt her attempt to counterattack. Her rolls, sidestep, and air dodge all have noticeable ending lag (though her rolls end three frames earlier than Samus's), and the former two also have among the slowest start-ups out of all the characters in terms of invincibility. Furthermore, despite functioning like a counterattack, Bat Within sometimes moves Bayonetta too far to exploit her opponent's vulnerability, enforcing strict timing for Witch Time and her dodges or to use the move for other purposes. As stated earlier, Witch Twist doesn't travel much vertical distance on its own, making her recovery arguably on par with Little Mac's if she doesn't utilize her second jump or her After Burner Kick. She also suffers against characters that can camp and zone well against her such as Villager, Toon Link and R.O.B. as they give her little room to act against them due to not possessing a reliable projectile to defend against them, and they can capitalize on a misused Witch Time to punish her if she tries to use it against a stray projectile. Finally, she lacks customs specials, like the other DLC characters, though due to the utility her special moveset has, it is more of a nuisance to her.

Overall, Bayonetta's strengths noticeably outweigh her weaknesses. She can dish out large amounts of punishing damage in her combos once she reads her opponents and exploits their vulnerabilities, but must also be careful not to let her foe take advantage of her own weaknesses, though due to the surprisingly high range and priority her attacks have (with the exception being her smash attacks for the latter), doing so is a somewhat difficult task to begin with. Perhaps the only characters that she has problems against are those who can camp well against her, such as Rosalina & Luma (due to their puppet-fighter playstyle), but outside of that, she can easily dominate and punish characters who cannot properly capitalize on her weaknesses.

Bayonetta commands a large playerbase, with smashers including 9B, Pink Fresh, Salem, Saj and Wonf having used her with consistently strong results in regional and national tournaments. However, while Bayonetta was considered one of the best characters in the game upon release, opinions varied on how dominating she was in tournaments; while some regions had gone as far as to ban her from tournaments due to her overpowering potential, others claimed that Bayonetta's supposed potential did not yield the overwhelming success other characters had previously attained, such as Sheik and Diddy Kong. Version 1.1.6 ultimately nerfed a variety of Bayonetta's attributes, putting her more in line with the rest of the cast; while not significantly crippled, her tournament representation and results both fell in response. Despite these nerfs, she is still widely seen as a very strong character, with top player Mr. R ranking her as no. 3 in his personal tier list.

Update history

Bayonetta has been noticeably nerfed in game updates since her debut. She was at first slightly nerfed in 1.1.5: her up and forward smash are slightly weaker, her down aerial's animation has more ending lag, her Heel Slide has more ending lag, and her infamous Witch Time has more ending lag, shorter duration, decays more with each use, and has a slower regeneration rate after usage. However, these changes did not reduce her effectiveness as she was still widely perceived as the best character in the game due to her immense strengths, while the effectiveness of other top tier characters, notably Sheik and Zero Suit Samus, being toned down in the same patch further exacerbated her dominance.

However, 1.1.6 significantly nerfed Bayonetta by directly worsening her combo game, with the effectiveness of her combo starters being weakened and her combos becoming easier in general to escape: her down tilt and forward aerial both have slightly more ending lag, while the former has less range and the latter is less powerful, both versions of After Burner Kick and Witch Twist have doubled SDI multipliers that make it easier to escape her combos, non-input ABK has increased knockback scaling that renders it worse for comboing at high percents, input ABK has a much worse launch angle that outright removes nearly all of her zero-to-death combos and makes it easier to DI (now only works if the opponent has poor DI towards her), and Witch Twist has altered knockback values that limit its combo ability at higher percentages. Despite these changes, however, people have compared her to Diddy Kong in that while she initially seemed to be much less effective after her nerfs, her greatest strengths have remained intact. As a result, while she is no longer the best character in the game by a considerable margin, she is still a very popular and successful character in competitive play.

1.1.5

• Bayonetta's shielding animation has been changed so her legs are not spaced as far apart, which could cause thin grabs (e.g. most tethers) to miss.
• Forward smash deals less knockback (25 base/105 scaling → 26/102), hindering its KO potential.
• Up smash has less knockback scaling (92 → 90), slightly hindering its KO potential.
• Down aerial has more ending lag (FAF 43 → 48), making it considerably riskier to use off stage.
• Heel Slide's second hit has more startup (frame 53 → 54) and ending lag (FAF 68 → 73).
• Heel Slide's second hit has a longer duration (frames 53-57 → 54-59).
• Witch Twist deals less damage (4% (hit 1 grounded)/3% (hit 1 aerial)/0.3% (loop hits)/8.5%/7.5% (total grounded/aerial) → 3%/2%/0.2%/7%/6%).
• Witch Time has more ending lag (FAF 45 → 50).
• Witch Time's slowdown duration scales less as the opponent's percent increase (0.2 → 0.1), reducing its slowdown time at higher percents.
• Witch Time's minimum slowdown time is shorter (30 frames → 20).
• Witch Time decays more with each use (50 frames → 75 frames).
• Witch Time regenerates slower (0.08 frames per frame → 0.06 frames per frame).

Technical changelist

Comparison of Bayonetta's shielding animation between 1.1.4 and 1.1.5. The original version could have grabs miss between her separated legs.

Change	Old value	New value
Heel slide (button held) duration	72 frames	77 frames
Witch Time total frames	44 frames	49 frames
Witch Time (standard) slowdown duration	INT(180+Opponent's %/5)	INT(180+Opponent's %/10)
Witch Time (Bat Within) slowdown duration	INT(120+Opponent's %/5)	INT(120+Opponent's %/10)
Witch Time duration penalty per use	50F/50F	75F/50F
Witch Time duration recovery per frame	0.08F/0.08F	0.06F/0.041F

1.1.6

• Forward aerial's first two hits deal less damage (3.8%/2.8% → 3%/2.2%), while the third hit has lower knockback scaling (82 → 68). In addition, a frame speed multiplier of 1.2x has been added to frame 29. This makes the move autocancel on frame 35 and be interruptible on frame 40.
• Upward After Burner Kick has higher knockback scaling (40/30/100 → 50/38/112), which makes it more difficult to combo at high percentages.
• Downward After Burner Kick deals less damage (8% → 6.5%), has a different launch angle (80° → 60°), less range (6.5 → 4.5) and a higher SDI multiplier (1x → 2x). This makes the move much worse at comboing, even if the opponent applies no DI.
• Down tilt has less range (3.5 → 2.8) and slightly more ending lag (FAF: 26 → 27).
• Down aerial's landing hit has lower knockback scaling (140 → 135).
• Witch Twist has a higher SDI multiplier (1x → 2x), allowing opponents to escape her combos and KO confirms. The upper part of the middle hit also deals less knockback (160 fixed/100 scaling → 140/97) and all have less range (Y offset: 24 → 21, radius: 8 → 7).
  • Due to Witch Twist's autolink angle knockback, the change in SDI multiplier allows opponents to be KO'd easily at early percent near close to the upper blast line.
• Last hit of first Witch Twist deals less knockback (50 base/105 scaling → 55/80), allowing for more follow-ups at higher percentages.
• Last hits of first and second Witch Twist has a smaller hitbox (radius: 9 → 8.5) and lower vertical positioning (Y offset: 20 → 19). The last hit of second Witch Twist has increased base knockback (30 → 50).

Moveset

• Bayonetta can wall jump and wall cling.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	A three-hit punch combo. If the standard button is mashed, it is followed by a barrage of punches, with a big punch for her finisher. Deals massive damage for a jab, with the ability to do 19% if all hits connect. It is also very hard to SDI out of- but it is the third slowest jab in the game, behind King Dedede and Zelda, being active on frame 9. All hits of the combo shoots her guns forward, with the exception of the third hit, which shoots forward and upward in a diagonal direction behind her. Based on the standard punch combo in Bayonetta 2. She may sometimes shout, "Get out!" when the move is executed.
			1.5%
			2%
			0.5% (loop), 1% (penultimate hit) 6% (last)
Forward tilt			3% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 8% (hit 3)	A forward kick, which can be pressed again for up to three hits total. Her slowest tilt, with the first hitbox active on frame 12. The second hit is a roundhouse kick. The last hit is an upwards kick that sends the opponent upwards. The standard attack button can be held down on any part of the attack to fire her guns at different angles, first forward, then slightly upward, then diagonally upwards. Based on the standard Kick combo with Love is Blue.
Up tilt			5% (early), 6% (clean)	An upward pistol whip. One of her faster tilts, though it can only hit opponents in front of and above her. Can lead into aerial combos. The Bullet Art version fires both guns upwards. Based on the delayed punch launcher.
Down tilt			7% (heel), 6% (leg)	A sweeping kick that launches opponents upwards. Her most reliable "get-off-me" and combo ground move due to its range and speed. The Bullet Art version fires two guns in front, and one behind her. Based on the Punch Punch Kick combo with Love is Blue.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 8% (late)	Lunges toward the enemy with an extended gun. Noticeable startup. The Bullet Art version fires both guns in front of her. Based on the Stiletto technique.
Forward smash			14% (wrist), 16% (fist)	Summons Madama Butterfly for an enormous punch. Has great horizontal range, but high ending lag, and low priority, making it fairly easy to cancel out. The punch can also be dodged by fighters with low crouches, like the Wii Fit Trainer. If the button is held, Bayonetta will also fire in front of her. KOs at 104% from the center of Final Destination when not charged. Based on the final hit of Love is Blue's punch combo.
Up smash			17%	Summons Madama Butterfly for an enormous uppercut. It hits directly in front of her and leaves Bayonetta vulnerable from behind and directly above. Somewhat comparable to Palutena's up smash, but its range is wider and shorter, plus it has no sourspot. Rather noticeable startup, high ending lag and low priority, but it is her strongest launching attack, capable of KOing middleweight characters at around 100% uncharged. The Bullet Arts version fires one gun forward and one upwards. Based on the delayed punch Wicked Weave launcher.
Down smash			5% (Bayonetta), 15% (Madama Butterfly)	Bayonetta stomps the floor with her heel while summoning Madama Butterfly, who stomps downward as well. Has a hitbox on Bayonetta's leg that leads into the main hitbox. This move can meteor smash opponents on the ledge and in the air, making it a potent edgeguarding move. It only hits in front of her, but has a large vertical range. High ending lag and low priority. KOs at 146% anywhere on the stage. Humorously, the Bullet Art version fires the guns on her feet downwards into the ground, making it useless except for opponents directly touching her back. Inspired by the Heel Stomp maneuver from her home series, in which Madama Butterfly's foot comes from above and stomps on the ground.
Neutral aerial			8% (clean), 5% (late)	A spinning kick that hits both sides. Continuing the input for the Bullet Arts version has her continue to spin for an extended period of a few seconds. Hitting an opponent with the kick during this time deals less damage. Very good coverage, striking opponents adjacent and/or below her. Inspired by the aerial version of Bullet Climax in Bayonetta.
Forward aerial			3% (hit 1), 2.2% (hit 2), 6% (hit 3)	A pistol thrust followed by another thrust when used again, then an arcing kick if used thrice. Each hit on an opponent will make Bayonetta float slightly, allowing all hits to connect easily. A superb option for comboing in the air and offstage. The Bullet Art version fires in front of her for the first two hits, while the third hit fires two guns downward, one slightly diagonally, and one upwards. Based on the aerial Punch Punch Kick combo with Love is Blue.
Back aerial			13% (heel), 10% (leg)	An extended kick behind her, similar to Zero Suit Samus's back aerial. High knockback and can KO starting at 110% near the ledge, along with low cooldown. The Bullet Art version fires one gun behind her at an upward angle.
Up aerial			9% (kick), 5% (late)	An arcing kick that starts behind her and curves forward, similar to Falco's up aerial. Very fast with little cooldown, along with decent knockback, making it a good juggling and finishing move near the upper blast line. The Bullet Arts version has her spin around while kicking, which makes the kick deal less damage. Very good Bullet Arts coverage that covers wide areas around her, making it useful for chip damage and edgeguarding. Based on the kick launcher in Bayonetta.
Down aerial			7% (leg), 8% (heel), 5% (landing)	Bayonetta extends her leg and falls straight down. A stall-then-fall with low duration and end lag, which allows her to safely recover afterwards. Hitting the opponent with the heel causes a meteor smash. For a stall-then-fall, the secondary landing hit has extremely high knockback, making a viable but punishable finishing move on grounded opponents. The Bullet Art version fires one gun from her heel forwards, but only upon landing. Based on the standard aerial kick in Bayonetta.
Grab			—	Reaches out with her right hand. The standing grab has slightly above average range for a non tether grab, but the dash grab has surprisingly high range.
Pummel			1.5% each hit	Slaps the grabbed opponent on the face twice, with a standard slap followed by a backhand. Average speed. This pummel is unique as Bayonetta will hit twice each time the pummel is inputted. It is possible for the opponent to break free in the middle of a slap pair, avoiding the second entirely. Based on the Slap Punishment Attack, a move that can be performed on downed opponents in Bayonetta.
Forward throw			7% (slam), 3% (throw)	Performs the Tetsuzanko technique (鉄山靠, Iron Mountain Leaning) shared by a majority of other video game martial artist characters, slamming into the opponent to knock them away. She occasionally says "十年早いんだよ! (Ten years too early!)", even by Hellena Taylor in the English version of the game, a reference to Akira Yuki's famous quote in the Virtua Fighter series, as well as an homage to an Easter egg in Bayonetta where she would do the same thing. It is her strongest and most versatile throw, as it puts opponents in a dangerous situation in which she can easily edge-guard. It otherwise KOs at 155% near the ledge.
Back throw			3% (kick), 6% (throw)	Jumps behind the opponent and kicks it away.
Up throw			3% (kick), 4% (throw)	Kicks the opponent upwards. A good combo starter that can lead into Witch Twist or up aerial until mid-high percents. The pose she assumes afterwords is based on the third hit of Scarborough Fair's PPK attack.
Down throw			3% (stomp), 5% (throw)	Stomps on the opponent. Can lead into her Heel Slide at mid-low percents. Based on the final hit of Love is Blue's PPPKKK attack.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Does a breakdancing kick while getting up. Based on the Break Dance move.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Same as front floor attack.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Same as other floor attacks.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Climbs up and kicks forward.
Neutral special	Default	Bullet Climax	1.34% (uncharged), 2.5% (charged)	Fires bullets forward at a slight angle. When held, the attack charges up and fires a stronger barrage of bullets during the first few shots, similar to the Charge Bullet upgrade from Bayonetta 2. While holding the charge, it can be cancelled out of with a roll.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Side special	Default	Heel Slide	8% (Heel Slide, kick), 6% (Heel Slide, followup), 6% (After Burner Kick, normal), 6.5% (After Burner Kick, angled)	A move that works differently when used on the ground or midair. On the ground, she performs Heel Slide, which has her slide forward. If the button is held, Bayonetta will perform a launching kick that sends the opponent upward. This is her primary combo starter, and while it is unsafe on shield, it is difficult to punish nonetheless due to its speed and duration. The Heel Slide kick itself can be used to bait an air dodge from opponents who anticipate the flip kick, then punish with a smash attack. In the air, she alternately performs After Burner Kick, which is a flying kick that can be performed twice in a row as long as the first kick connects, and can also be angled downwards by holding down before attacking. Both versions of After Burner Kick are her primary followups in the air.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Up special	Default	Witch Twist	4% (hit 1), 0.3% (hits 2-6), 3% (hit 6)	Bayonetta spirals upwards through the air attacking multiple times, similar to Rising Uppercut. Though the distance traveled upwards is short, Witch Twist can be used again following a double jump. Holding the button lets her fire bullets as well. It is Bayonetta's fastest move, coming out on frame 4. The move also has a disjointed hitbox on the very end.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Down special	Default	Witch Time	—	A counterattack that tremendously slows the opponent down when activated. Its duration increases with the damage of the opponent and decreases with how frequently it is used (the latter similarly to Vision). It is the only counterattack that is capable of working on some unblockable attacks (with the exception of grabs). One of the main mechanics from her home series. However if Witch Time is activated too late, then Bat Within comes into play, which halves damage taken and teleports Bayonetta in any direction, and is based on the technique of the same name, but without the original's damage nullification and extended Witch Time. Bat Within can also be triggered by Bayonetta's standard dodge.
	Custom 1	N/A
	Custom 2	N/A
Final Smash		Infernal Climax	30% (Gomorrah), 15% (spell bonus)	Bayonetta announces "Smashing!" ("Showtime!" in the Japanese version) and activates a stage-wide Witch Time effect which slows down everything on the screen. While this effect is active, Bayonetta has a limited time to deal damage to her opponents in order to fill up a spell circle on the screen, and once it is filled, she has to deal knockback to any opponent before a cutscene occurs. Using her hair as a conduit, Gomorrah is summoned which damages any opponents suffering hitstun from Bayonetta's attacks, chomping onto them four times before they are sent flying with set knockback. The attack button can be mashed during the attack to fill a second spell circle that deals 15% more damage after the cutscene. If an opponent has 100% or more, they are instantly KO'd once the cutscene ends, regardless of position. They can be KO'd under 100%, if they are closer to the blast lines.

Bullet Arts

Bullet Arts (バレットアーツ, Bullet Arts) is a unique mechanic in the Bayonetta games where holding the attack button during an attack will fire bullets from Bayonetta's guns that deal 0.5% each.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, this can be done after the initial animation of almost every attack. The rapid firing can be held for a few seconds. These bullets have moderate range, and in stark comparison to the Bayonetta games, the bullets themselves are very difficult to see, similarly to Sheik's Needles. The bullets cause flinching at point-blank range, but otherwise deal no hitstun like Fox's Blaster. Thus, they can also be used to steal KOs in Time matches.

Technically, the bullets are not projectiles, but rather indirect attacks with large disjointed hitboxes. As such, they cannot be reflected or blocked by Link's shield, and can be slowed down by another Bayonetta using Witch Time. Bullet Arts are also capable of traveling through multiple characters at once, and so will hit anyone or anything in its line of fire.

Bat Within

Bat Within (バットウィズイン, Bat Within) is a defensive technique in the Bayonetta games that is normally executed by dodging right as an attack will hit Bayonetta, negating all damage from the incoming attack and immediately triggering Witch Time.

In Super Smash Bros. 4, this activates when hit by an attack early during rolls, sidesteps, or air dodges, or late during Witch Time. Nimble/Dodgy Dodger Equipment does not affect this window. When this happens, Bayonetta transforms into a swarm of bats, halves the amount of damage inflicted, and continues moving in the direction she was travelling; for a roll, she will advance in the same direction, and for a sidestep or after Witch Time, she will stay in place. She can travel in any direction if done during her air dodge, but needs to have jumped prior if she wants to rise with it. When Bat Within is activated, she has some ending lag, meaning that it is possible to extend a combo on her if it was activated by a faster attack or a long-lasting multi-hitting attack. While Bat Within may make her dodges seem like the best in the game, her dodges possess a lot of ending lag, and several characters, such as Duck Hunt and Mewtwo, have dodges that start up just a frame later without being nearly as vulnerable at the end. Additionally, Bat Within is treated as a counterattack that does not strike back; therefore, it does not trigger against grabs, Final Smashes, or unblockable attacks. Both Witch Time and Bat Within activate simultaneously if she is struck precisely when their activation windows overlap, though she will still take half damage, and the slowdown time on the opponent is reduced, making it disadvantageous to have Bat Within trigger in Witch Time.

On-screen appearance

• Emerges from Bat Within form and produces a purple symbol that represents the Umbra magical circle she uses to exit Purgatorio. She then proceeds to take out her hand guns.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Twirls around like a ballet dancer, moves both arms around her in a graceful manner, then strikes a pose with both arms over her head, saying, "If you need to learn how to talk to a lady, ask your mum." The ending is slightly different depending on the direction Bayonetta faces. Based on her long taunt from Bayonetta 2.
• Side taunt: Gracefully spins around, then points both guns directly in front of her, saying, "New 'do, dead you." The quote comes from her short taunt while wielding Salamandra in Bayonetta 2.
• Down taunt: Poses with her guns around her head in multiple ways, framing her head and torso with her guns, performs a broad back step, looking away from her opponent one moment, then looking back, glasses glinting as she does so. Based on the dances she performs prior to fighting a Joy for the first time.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

*Due to the length of her taunts, players are capable of canceling out of them halfway through.

Idle poses

• Waves one of her guns in a "let's get going" motion.
• Holds her left gun in front of her, and her right gun upwards beside her head. This idle pose only occurs once she ends any ground attack, and returns to her standard idle animation after a few seconds.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Bay-o!	Bayo-nett-a!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

Bayonetta's victory theme: the first few notes of "Let's Hit the Climax", followed by the jingle that plays upon completing a verse in Bayonetta.

• Steps back and sticks up her guns, pirouettes like a ballerina, then aims her guns to the right with a pose, saying, "That all you got?" (全力を見せてよ, Show me your full power.) or "You're making it easy." (楽勝ね, Too easy.)
• Performs the Break Dance move then poses similar to her crouch while winking, saying, "Dreadful," (退屈だわ, Boring.) or "Don't make me beg." The quote comes from her short taunt while wielding Takemikazuchi in Bayonetta 2.
• Dances similar to her down taunt, with a slightly altered end pose, and says, "Miss me, baby?" (私はここよ, I'm right here.)

In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  9B - Ranked 8th on the JAPAN Power Rankings. Placed 3rd at BAM 8, 4th at Sumabato 14, 5th at Shots Fired 2 and 9th at Sumabato 12.
•  AeroLink
•  Aphro
•  Badr
•  Black Yoshi
•  Captain Zack - Ranked 2nd on the Louisiana Power Rankings. Placed 5th at Clutch City Clash, 7th at UGC Smash Open, and 9th at 2GGT: Abadango Saga.
• DC
•  Griffith
•  ikep - Ranked 22nd on the JAPAN Power Rankings.
•  JK
•  NinjaLink
•  Nyanko
•  Pink Fresh - Ranked 1st on the MD/VA Power Rankings. Placed 1st at 2GGT: KTAR Saga, 7th at Pound 2016, and 9th at KTAR XVIII.
•  RiotLettuce
•  Rydle
•  Saj - Ranked 1st on the Gainesville Power Rankings. Placed 9th at CEO 2016, and 13th at Pound 2016 and Super Smash Con 2016.
•  Salem - Considered by many to be the world's best Bayonetta player. First person to double-eliminate ZeRo outside of grand finals, doing so at Collision XIV while also winning the event.
•  Tyroy
•  Wonf - Ranked 3rd on the Mexican Smash 4 Power Rankings.

Inactive

•  Glutonny
•  Komorikiri
•  Le Troof
•  RAIN
•  Shu

Tournament bans in various regions

Beginning in late March following the release of the 1.1.5 patch, people had stated that Bayonetta was too good for tournament play and compared her to Brawl's Meta Knight. Certain regions had officially or had considered banning the character from their tournaments. Regions stated that unlike 1.1.4 Sheik, "she is very simple to pick up". Following update 1.1.6, after the tremendous nerfs she received, all of the regions that had banned have removed the ban since then, while any region that had considered her ban also desisted after said update.

Officially banned

• St. Louis, Missouri had confirmed Bayonetta's ban
• Tampa, Florida had confirmed Bayonetta's ban

In consideration

• Spain was considering a ban on Bayonetta

Reveal trailer

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Trophies

In addition to the normal three fighter trophies, Bayonetta has an additional trophy of her design from the original Bayonetta game.

Bayonetta

Bayonetta is one of the last of the near-extinct Umbra Witches clan. She's a master of the Bullet Arts and can use her hair as a conduit to bring forth Infernal Demons. She brings all these skills and more to Smash, where she'll unleash additional damage if you hold the attack button. Damage and distract your foes with this move!

Bayonetta is one of the last of the long-extinct Umbra Witches clan. She's a master of the Bullet Arts, and can use her hair as a conduit to bring forth Infernal Demons. She brings all these skills and more to Smash, where if you hold down the attack button, she'll fire bullets at the enemy. They don't just do damage; they even work as a feint!

Bayonetta (01/2010)

: Bayonetta 2 (10/2014)

Bayonetta (Alt.)

If you use Bayonetta's side special in midair, she'll do a diagonal kick upward that goes through platforms. If you press down just before doing the move, it'll turn into a downward attack! Plus, if you hit an enemy in midair, you can use the attack again before you hit the ground–great for combos and recoveries!

Bayonetta (01/2010)

: Bayonetta 2 (10/2014)

Infernal Climax

Before her Final Smash, Bayonetta enters Witch Time, during which she can attack the enemy to fill her magic gauge. If it fills up, she summons the demon Gomorrah, who chomps down on the unfortunate foe! Keep pressing the button during during Gomorrah's attack to increase damage. If it hits 100%, the enemy will be instantly KO'd!

Bayonetta (Original)

This Umbra Witch awakens after hundreds of years without any memories of her past life. Usually Bayonetta spends her days pretending to be a nun to lure out angels, until a witch with the same powers as her starts to slowly bring her memories back. She ends up embroiled in a battle to save the world.

This Umbra Witch awakens after hundreds of years without any memories of her past life. She spends her days with shenanigans like dressing as a nun to lure out angels to fight, until a witch with the same powers as her starts to slowly bring her memories back. As her memories return, she ends up embroiled in a battle to save the world!

Bayonetta (01/2010)

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  Classic (3DS)

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  Alt. (3DS)

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  Original (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  Infernal Climax

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  Original (Wii U)

Alternate costumes

Bayonetta's default outfit is based on her appearance in Bayonetta 2 and is equipped with Love is Blue. She has an alternate outfit based on her appearance in the original Bayonetta, known as "A Witch With No Memories", and is equipped with Scarborough Fair. Depending on the costume, various visual effects will be one of two colors (which directly correlates to the aesthetic theme of both Bayonetta games): Blue for Bayonetta 2 and red for Bayonetta. One of Bayonetta's alternate outfit color schemes is based on Jeanne, her childhood friend and friendly rival. While using Jeanne's color scheme, Bayonetta's Smash attacks as well as her final smash will have the hair surrounding Madama Butterfly's limbs and Gomorrah colored white.

Her appearance while doing Wicked Weaves (summoning Madama Butterfly in her smash attacks and summoning Gomorrah in Infernal Climax) is less revealing than in the Bayonetta games, as she retains most of her clothing while performing them.

In the Japanese version of the game, Bayonetta is voiced in Japanese by Atsuko Tanaka while wearing her Bayonetta 2 outfit and in English by Hellena Taylor while wearing her original outfit, making her the the only character who speaks a different language depending on the costume. This references the fact that Bayonetta did not have Japanese voice acting in its initial release; Japanese dubbing was introduced for the Wii U version after Hideki Kamiya was impressed with the Japanese voice-acting done for the animated movie: Bayonetta: Bloody Fate.

Gallery

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  Bayonetta's poster used on the official website.

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  Splash art of Bayonetta.

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  Bayonetta's "A Witch With No Memories" costume from the original Bayonetta.

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  Madama Butterfly's wings.

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  Bayonetta with Kirby.

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  On Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Using her guns in the air.

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  Using her up smash on Donkey Kong.

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  Bat Within.

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  Both of her alternate costumes.

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  Her original Bayonetta costume.

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  Using her Final Smash on Duck Hunt.

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  With Mario and Luigi, recreating the opening scene in Bayonetta 2.

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  In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Her original Bayonetta costume in the 3DS version.

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  Bullet Climax with Wii Fit Trainer

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  Attacking in the 3DS version.

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  Some of Bayonetta's costumes.

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  On the Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Bayonetta attacking Samus.

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  Her Jeanne recolor.

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  With Mii Fighters.

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  With Corrin and Mii fighters.

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  With Mii Fighters.

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  With Lucas, Cloud, and Corrin.

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  Punting Corrin in the face with Cloud and Roy watching.

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  Bayonetta alongside the other DLC fighters.

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  Bayonetta alongside the other DLC fighters on Umbra Clock Tower.

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  Bayonetta alongside the other DLC fighters on Suzaku Castle.

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  A Bayonetta using Witch Time against another Bayonetta whom is using neutral air Bullet Arts; this demonstrates its unique properties.

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  Bayonetta using Bullet Arts on Fox, whose Reflector is ineffective on Bayonetta's Bullet Arts.

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  Bayonetta using Witch Walk

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  Bayonetta floating on a ladder

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  Bayonetta's unique teetering pose

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  Bayonetta's sidestep pose

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  Bayonetta's interrupted attack pose

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  Bayonetta plucking grass

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  Bayonetta blowing a kiss

Trivia

• Bayonetta is the only female third-party playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series.
• Bayonetta and Cloud are the only characters to change weapons as part of their alternate costumes. Along with Wario in Brawl, they are also the only characters who pose differently in their artwork when wearing alternate costumes that change their outfits.
• Bayonetta's pose in her artwork for her "A Witch With No Memories" costume is based on her artwork for her appearance in Anarchy Reigns.
• If the match ends while Bayonetta is speaking through a taunt, it can still be heard, even over the announcer. This also happens with Wii Fit Trainer.
• If Bayonetta grabs a Hammer (or Golden Hammer) with her forward aerial and stops the attack in midair without performing all three hits, the hammer's music will not play.

Magic Crests that appear when Bayonetta jumps,
and when she lands

• Some of Bayonetta's animations outside of her attacks reference the Bayonetta games:
  • When Bayonetta jumps, she leaves behind a Blue Umbra Magic Crest as she does in her games. When she lands she creates a Magenta Magic Crest, just as in her home series. However it is lacking the crest that appears in her mid-air double jump.
  • Her on-screen appearance is a reference to when she enters Purgatorio, as she appears within the realm through an Umbra magic glyph.
  • Her crouch is a reference to the Break Dance technique, where she strikes a similar pose at the end of the attack.
  • Her ability to wall cling references the Witch Walk ability usable by Umbra Witches during a full moon.
  • When she plucks Grass, she'll uproot the item with a kick and then grab it in midair, referencing how she picked up weapons from the ground in the Bayonetta games.
  • Bayonetta's sidestep pose is based off her Love is Blue Weapon taunt from Bayonetta 2.
  • The pose Bayonetta takes when having her attacks interrupted with another attack is based off her Kafka Weapon Taunt from Bayonetta 2.
  • She has a special idle pose once she stops any ground attack, which returns to her standard idle pose after a few seconds pass. This is based on her 'attack pose' from her home franchise. Her arms down position is used when traversing open areas with no enemies, while holding her arms up with her guns, and placing one foot on its toe, is the pose she takes when enemies are near by. Players performing attack animations in her home series without enemies near by will have her take her 'attack pose' for a few seconds, before going into her 'relaxed pose'.
  • After using an Assist Trophy and the Special Flag items Bayonetta will blow a kiss. This has two possible references: the Infernal Kiss ability which enables her to break down heavenly barriers, as well as her target lock on animation, where if the player holds the lock-on button while standing still she will blow a kiss sending a heart darting across the field to the locked on enemy, some times stunning them for a few seconds when the heart impacts them.
  • When damaged, roses appear around her body where damage sparks would normally appear. This references how, in the Bayonetta universe, those who are damaged and have blood drawn will have it turn into something different before being blown away. In Bayonetta's case, rose petals fly off of where she would normally bleed. This makes her the only character in the Super Smash Bros. series to bleed when damaged, unless Little Mac's bruising is counted as internal bleeding.
• Bayonetta is the only newcomer in SSB4 with one voice clip for getting KO'd past the blast lines.
• Bayonetta, Mr. Game & Watch, and Wii Fit Trainer are the only three characters in SSB4 with unique sound effects for charging their smash attacks.
• Bayonetta possesses unique technical data:
  • She is the first character in the Super Smash Bros. series to have a smash attack that is also a meteor smash that works on aerial targets, and isn't part of an automatic combo that negates the downward knockback.
  • She is the only character that can affect opponents who have invincibility frames (such as those from the Super Star item or from dismounting a revival platform) via usage of Witch Time.
  • She is one of two characters whose jab requires multiple taps of the button, as merely holding it triggers her Bullet Arts; the other is Ryu, as his attacks change depending on whether the button is tapped or held.
• If one listens closely, Bayonetta's gun shooting noises will change depending on the alternate being used. The "A Witch With No Memories" costume with Scarborough Fair uses their gun shooting noises from Bayonetta, while her default uses Love Is Blue's shooting noises.