Yes.
It isn't. Yes Hideki Kamiya is credited as the director for both games and there are some of the original engineers who have made their way from Capcom->Clover->Platinum, but Platinum isn't in the same league with the original development team for DMC.
DMC for the PS2 was both a technical and game play marvel when it was released.
The Clover games were amazing with God Hand, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami. But they were less technical marvels and more meta in gameplay for the two fighting games.
Platinum is an utterly mediocre technical developer. They put out crap like Metal Gear Rising and other forgettable titles other than the Nier sequel which was pretty and filled with whimsy but very outdated technically with a meh combat system. Bayonetta is likewise unremarkable other than the pretty package the game is wrapped in.
If Bayonetta didn't have the 'guy who made DMC' hype going for it, it would be just another nameless game in the fighting genre.
If you have never played any of the above games, play DMC1&3, God Hand first. Viewtiful Joe if you want more. Skip the crap like Metal Gear Rising. Play Nier for the whimsy not the fighting system. There is no reason to waste time on something like Bayonetta if you haven't played the much better original material when Hideki Kamiya was teamed up with better teams and not just rehashing what he did before.