Does Bayonetta 3 Star An Alternate Cereza? Platinum Responds To The Popular Fan Theory

When Bayonetta 3’s first gameplay trailer hit last year, her new braided hairstyle caught the attention of fans for its resemblance to the look of Cereza, the little girl who tagged along with players in the first game. Spoiler for Bayonetta 1: Cereza is the child version of Bayonetta, so perhaps our hero simply wanted to return to her adolescent roots. However, the third game’s focus on the multiverse has prompted some fans to consider a more tantalizing theory. 

First, to provide some context, here’s a (relatively) quick refresher of Bayonetta’s backstory for newcomers or lapsed fans. Five hundred years prior to the events of the first game, Bayonetta, whose real name is Cereza, was born the child of an Umbra Witch and a Lumen Sage. Because the light-worshipping, sage-like witches and the Umbra Witches were enemies, it was seen as an unnatural union. Rosa Cereza was the mother of Cereza and she was sentenced to prison. Thus, the witches treated Cereza as an outcast during her childhood and originally banned her from learning magic (but she does anyway), though Rosa does her best to raise Cereza regardless. 

Jeanne, a young witch, was Cereza’s only friend. She became a close friend and formed a lasting relationship. Twenty years later, the witch hunts that led to the Umbran order’s destruction began. Jeanne is selected to lead the coven into battle, and she chooses to duel Cereza as a final test of her abilities (much to the Umbran elders’ chagrin). Rosa is killed after angels attack her witches. Cereza loses her will to fight after this loss. Jeanne takes Cereza to the bottom of the lake and seals her, saving Cereza from the Umbran orders’ extinction. Centuries later, Cereza awakens in the modern day with her memory wiped, including her true name, which is why she adopts the Bayonetta alias.

Bayonetta and Young Cereza in the initial game.

Bayonetta 1’s story unfolds and she meets a young version of herself. Due to Bayonetta’s amnesia, neither one recognizes the other and young Cereza believes that adult Bayo is their mother due to the similarity. The two of them tag along during the majority of the game. Later, it is revealed that Baldur, their villain and father, took little Cereza from the past to bring her into the present. We’ll skip Baldur’s reason for doing this (it’s a lot), but the game concludes with child Cereza being returned to her proper timeline.

However, this act creates a new parallel universe where the once lonely and shy Cereza, now having experienced the love and bravery of her older self, gains the confidence to fight back during the witch hunts. Jeanne does not lock her up because she is part of the battle. The pair are able to defeat their attackers. Although there are other important elements, such as the Left Eye of Darkness, that is the main theme of the story. 

Now, all of that has led fans to speculate that the witch we’re playing as in Bayonetta 3 is this alternate version of Cereza and not “prime” Bayonetta. Which witch will we be playing? When I asked director Yusuke Miyata, he was cagey about giving an answer.

“I can neither confirm nor deny whether this is a grown-up version of Cereza,” says Miyata. “Since this game involves the multiverse concept, she could be Bayonetta from an alternate universe who happens to look just like Cereza, or it could be the grown-up Cereza. I’d like to leave this up to players’ imaginations as they enjoy the game.”

This is it. While it may not be a concrete answer, the fact that Miyata didn’t shut this rumor down outright means fans who believe in it can keep the hope alive. Or, at the very least, we’re still playing as the Bayonetta we know and love, and Miyata doesn’t want to rain on players’ parades. This is a fun way for Platinum to acknowledge the theory. 

Is the alternate Cereza theory plausible? Leave your conspiracy theories in the comments. 

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