Crow Within

"Unleash the Crow Within, transforming yourself into a crow and temporarily gaining the power of flight."

- Gates of Hell description

Crow Within is a technique introduced in the first Bayonetta game. It is one of the four abilities able to temporarily transform Umbra Witches into animals.

In Bayonetta
Along with Bat Within, Crow Within is an ability that can be purchased from The Gates of Hell for 20000 Halos after unlocking the Panther Within ability in Chapter VII. It can be activated by successfully tapping the right trigger twice while midair. The Crow model is available to view in the gallery after the game is defeated. When activated, Bayonetta will instantly transform into a black crow wearing a hat with a red ribbon. This allows her to fly over large areas and shoot quilled feathers at her enemies. While transformed, a small circular gauge will appear in the top-left corner of the screen indicating how long Bayonetta can stay in Crow Within. Once the gauge is empty, she will change back automatically. She can also change back by pressing the right trigger button again or by firing her basic gun. Crow Within will also be ended if Bayonetta gets too close to the ground.

In Bayonetta 2
The functionality of Crow Within remains the same from the first game, however, it is available for purchase immediately after the Prologue chapter. It can be purchased for 20000 Halos like the first game. The visual aesthetic of the crow has changed from a red ribbon to a blue ribbon on its hat.

Owl Within
Jeanne's variant of Crow Within is called Owl Within, and it gives her the exact same abilities as Crow Within. Instead of a crow, Jeanne transforms into a red owl wearing a crown.

Phantom Within
Little King Zero's variant of Bat Within is called Phantom Within. It functions identically to Crow Within and does not change the appearance of the Crow.

Falcon Within
Falcon Within is the name of Rosa's variant of Crow Within, only appearing in Bayonetta 2. With the same functionality as Crow Within, Rosa appears as a large black falcon with two red ribbons.

Gameplay
Crow Within primarily is used to access secret areas that cannot be accessed by regular jumping, such as hidden chests and Alfheim or Muspelheim portals. Crow Within does not allow the character affected to ascend nor descend. However, Crow Within can also be used to attack enemies whilst in the air. This is rarely required in-game, but useful when combating enemies in flight. Pressing will summon a pack of feathers that can be used to stab enemies. Pressing again will release the sharp feathers directly at an enemy. By pressing, feathers will encircle Bayonetta, and by pressing again the feathers will be released in all directions. While the feathers encircle Bayonetta, any enemy that comes within close range will automatically be hit by them.

In battle, Crow Within is typically used in combination with the Umbran Spear technique. For the Umbran Spear technique to be used in either game, the player must first enter Crow Within.

Trivia

 * Along with the After Burner Kick, Heel Slide, and Panther Within, it is one of the few techniques that change the red color scheme to blue for Bayonetta 2.
 * It is one of the four techniques that Umbra Witches can use to transform into different animals, along with Bat Within, Beast Within, and Snake Within.

Forme du corbeau