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The Wonderful 101 |OT| Diplomacy has failed

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THE OFFICIAL THREAD

From Hideki Kamiya, the director of Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami comes Platinum Games' newest console title.

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When does this game come out?! Surely a game from such seminal talent would be coming out everywhere on the same--

Release dates:
EU August 23, 2013
JP August 24, 2013
AU August 24, 2013
NA September 15, 2013

Do you live in Europe, Japan, or Australia? Then you can get The Wonderful 101 before the end of August. If you live in North America, then you are the victim of Nintendo's crazy U.S. scheduling and I am truly sorry. You will have to wait three weeks. Why?

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NOT EVEN KAMIYA KNOWS

Okay, the game comes out soon, but walking is terrible and Amazon would get me the game a few days after release. I might as well just give up on ever playing it.

Worry not! Like all Nintendo-published games, this game goes up on the eShop the day of release (usually at midnight, but sometimes twelve hours later at noon). You can download the game and launch it from your harddrive.

Wii U basic owners will need an external harddrive, because the game is 10GB.

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For Wii U Deluxe owners, let it ride, you probably have enough space! Also, since the game is $60, you will be getting a 10% eShop code back for the game, equating to 599 points. You can use that toward other Wii U games like

Or you could just buy retail and get that sweet boxart posted above because oh man look at that thing.

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Kamiya also makes a strong argument.

So, uh, what does this game look or play like?

ACTION GAMES!

As previously mentioned, Hideki Kamiya is one of, if not the single, top action game designer in the industry. So even though the isometric view and multiple heroes might look a little strange compared to, say, Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, the game is similar in many ways. There's still attacks of varying power, dodging, blocking, parrying, and multi-weapon combos!

How to Play
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Art by schlew

In The Wonderful 101, you are given dominion over a hundred characters at once, but it's probably better if you think of them all as a single unit. You can send your army at individiual enemies to make them fight them one-on-one for smaller enemies or do things like destroy shields on larger enemies. But the real benefit of all these mini-heroes is that you can combine them in to unite weapons like a giant fist, a giant sword, a giant gun, and more. The larger you draw the shape, the bigger--

Whoa wait, draw? I'm out.

You can use the right analog stick to do it! There will inevitably be some people that are way faster drawing on the Gamepad touchscreen, but if you dislike the idea, or want to use the pro controller (keep in mind, the Gamepad is still necessary as the game sometimes uses it as a secondary view), you can do that. Think of it more like Okami than The World Ends With You, unless you want to play it that way.

Though, screenshots and trailers might help, too.


IGN's Image Gallery

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There are so many that even Kamiya can't pick a favorite! But let's not forget the trailers.

Short Game Trailer (0:36) | Director's Trailer (7:34) | January 2013 Trailer (1:28) | The Wonderful 101 Direct (20:38)

The twenty-minute Nintendo Direct explains everything you need to know about this game, making archaic OTs like this pointless. The future.

Wait, this game looks like Pikmin. I won't be dissuaded it's not Pikmin, so how Pikmin is it?

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Kamiya's never even played Pikmin! But I suppose that there are some passing similarities that may be unintentional. So, let's examine it, how is this game not Pikmin?

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Art by Lissar

For one, there's no real finding or gathering mechanic here. There are some hidden things, but time management is not a big part of thise game. You don't defeat enemies by throwing people at them, but you do punch them in the face. Really, really hard. This game is to Pikmin what Bayonetta is to Gears of War, there are some similarities in camera, but they're not really comparable.

What's the story? As we all know, Kamiya games have serious, engaging stories that are really the main thrusts of his game, so I expect The Wonderful 101 to be the same.

Well, uh. Okay.

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I'll let Platinum Games' blog cover this one.

In order to oppose the alien invasion, a special combat unit consisting of 100 heroes was formed under the name of “The Wonderful One-Double-Oh,” whose primary weapon is their “Unite Morph” ability. Their leader, however, is a complete rookie, and several of the members do not bother to hide their discontent.

Earth responded by quickly gathering its greatest minds to establish the CENTINELS Planetary Secret Service. Fighting tooth and nail, Earth survived the GEATHJERK invasion not once, but twice. Yet, once again the aliens have launched a full-bore attack on humanity using the entire might of their main fleet.

To save the human race from this dire threat, the CENTINELS sent out an emergency distress call to the “Wonderful One” special combat agents secreted in 100 field offices around the world.

Working together, these brave soldiers are the brains and the brawn behind the defense of Earth; the stoic face of humanity standing up to an alien evil. Though born in different lands to different lives, the Wonderful Ones are tied together by their passion to protect the places they call home.

The Wonderful 100 will unite up and double down on the strength and courage they’ll need to defeat the aliens once and for all!

And the final hero to lead them all is… you!

Can you play the game Off-TV with the Gamepad in order to fulfill my personal destiny of being the final hero?!

You can! The game does use the gamepad for its normal gameplay, but you can also just sit around and play on the gamepad yourself. When you want to change from normal gameplay to Off-TV play, simply hit the Minus (-) button and soon you'll have 100 heroes in the palm of your hand.

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Art by Kyou

As for whether you should actually play it Off-TV, well...

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You're getting a smaller picture, which might make the game a bit harder to keep track of, but you can play in bed, so that's a thing.

100 characters sounds like a lot. Do any of them matter?

Do they ever. There's dozens of characters with names and individual designs, but here are the most important ones.

Wonder Red
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Wonder Blue
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Wonder Green
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Wonder Yellow
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Wonder Black
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Wonder Pink
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Wonder White
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And the mysterious villains...

Prince Vorkken
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Immorta
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Kamiya has answered this so many times that he doesn't even want to talk about it anymore, that must be a lot of characters!

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I heard this game got a 7.4 from IGN.

It did. Here are other reviews (including the IGN one) if you want to see the context for their score and others'.

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7.4 - IGN
I could never stay mad at the Wonderful 101 for very long. It's just immensely likeable, and so full of personality and verve that I couldn’t help but grow to love it. After that initial difficulty curve, there’s so much here that’s worth sticking around for – particularly the ending, which goes on for about two and a half hours and builds to a gloriously unpredictable crescendo of ridiculousness. The Wonderful 101 is both a showcase for the amazing potential of the Wii U’s GamePad and for its pitfalls. It’s amazingly inventive and full of color and bright-eyed character, but its control problems are so persistent they’re unignorable. Even that doesn’t ruin what is otherwise a clever and adventurous action game, but The Wonderful 101 is kept from being as truly wonderful as it might have been.

Gamespot - 8
With The Wonderful 101, game director Hideki Kamiya has made a game featuring a stumpy posse of cartoon heroes, with the stylish combo strings of Bayonetta, and the bouncy, vibrant style of Viewtiful Joe. This is an ambitious, funny, and inventive game that's keen to impress but slightly scrappy in its presentation, packed with ideas but is slightly confused about how to express all its abundant creativity. This might not be the Wii U's killer app, but it's a much-needed shot in the arm.

Eurogamer - 8
The Wonderful 101 has issues, especially with the gamepad, but it's also a beautifully engineered, original idea that looks gorgeous in motion. It's gigantic, too, with my first campaign run clocking in at 15 hours. Beyond that lie Hard difficulty, a long series of Wonderful Missions dedicated to the combat system, and such a depth of unlocks that I've barely scratched the surface. The Wonderful 101 makes you feel nostalgia, not so much for the TV shows or games it references as for memories of waking up at 7am on the weekends to watch shows and spending the rest of the day acting out the heroics. That's why the occasional intrusion of an adult tone is so discordant. This is a love letter to childhood innocence, to that age where truth and justice and awesome costumes seem almost real, as well as the coolest things in the world. In that light, picking at it seems churlish, because The Wonderful 101 doesn't make you feel like a hero; it makes you feel like hundreds.

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As if the regular combat wasn't already exciting enough, the boss fights are absolutely incredible. Each one is massive and puts everything the player has previously learned to the test. Thinking of counters for many of their attacks can prove to be quite tricky but it makes it all the more satisfying to finally figure them out and turn the tide of battle. They are also where most of the QuickTime-Events in the game show up. Surprisingly, they are a lot of fun to do and often require weapons to be drawn in 5-10 seconds, which are then used in cinematic attacks, manoeuvres and finishers. Failing to create them within the time limit usually results in an amusing sequence and a slight health loss before the QuickTime-Event starts over. Speaking of failure, there are a maximum of five allowed deaths in each chapter and they negatively affect the final award. Less skilled players shouldn't be discouraged, though, as bosses retain all inflicted damage and the fight continues right where it left off.

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Art by Kinvara

You can find these and the rest of the reviews in the The Wonderful 101 review thread kindly updated by Nirolak.

I'm not a high-score kinda person. Is there any reason for me to keep this game after I finish it?

There's multiplayer! Using a combination of a gamepad and pro controllers, you and local friends (the kind in front of your TV, not over the internet). You can find information about it in the aforementioned The Wonderful 101 Direct or read Polygon's writeup on the mode.

This information is hard to digest and I have an illness where I only click the latest page of any given GAF thread. Is there anywhere that drips the information at me a little more slowly?

You can try Platinum Games' blog where you can find all this information and more!

Are there any other things I should know? Any advice?

Yes.

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Art by InfiniteNine

Well. I never said it was good advice.
 

javac

Member
Beautiful thread :)

Super hyped for the game. It's going to be amazing Wii U sisters and bros! :)

Also I'm sure this thread would get the Kamiya sign of approval!
 
Also everyone thank the people that made the art specifically for this thread. I asked for an insane deadline and they worked really hard to get it done.
 

RoKKeR

Member
Not even all that interested in the game, (looks great) but the thread title (and the OT itself) is fantastic.
 

Neiteio

Member
Some quick tips for the uninitiated:

Tap B, then immediately tap A to launch an enemy into the air! Tap B again to double-jump and keep attacking to juggle higher! Draw a shape different than the weapon you've got equipped and hit X to have one of your partners help with the juggling! Do this up to five times, if you're fast!

Also...

You can bounce back missiles with the Jell-O. You can deflect lasers with the sword. You can gather up fire and throw it back as a fireball with the hand. You can gather up baddies and fire them with the gun.

You can cancel out of ANY move with Y (the dash button). You can keep your combo going in-between dodging with the spring -- hit one, hit two, dodge, continue on hit three (a.k.a. dodge offset).

By mobbing enemies with X, you slow them down... then stun them... perfect for a combo... or warping back to them with a subsequent attack.

You can recruit enemies -- best way is to equip the mine (dropped when dodging with the spring), because it instantly turns most baddies purple, at which point you can circle 'em to recruit 'em.

If you see an open window on the upper floor of a building, send your men up the wall -- they'll extract Wonder Figures, Geathjerk files, etc.

This is all just from the demo, but it's nice warm-up. :)
 

Ridley327

Member
How I wish that I was not a victim to NoA's stupidity. :(

Anyway, this game has come a long way from the demo from last year, and I'm eager to get my hands on it...eventually...
 
The art is fantastic. Big props to all the amazing artists who contributed. Love the use of different artists because of the unique styles seen and I liked the crossovers with other franchises. With Art Academy out on the Eshop this would be an awesome thing to be featured in every Wii U OT.

As for the game it remains in my the group of absolute must-haves for future game releases across all consoles with X and Smash. That should tell you how much I'm excited to play the Wonderful 101.
 

Bsigg12

Member
Why is this not coming out until September in the US? I know its no where near the same game but Nintendo is sending this to die against GTA 5.


Also, great OT Alberto.
 
K

kittens

Unconfirmed Member
I hope this game does well. It looks awesome, and while it sounds like it has some kinks, that's cool with me. Let's see it sell well and get an improved sequel in a few years.

BELIEVE.
 
Release dates:
EU August 23, 2013
JP August 24, 2013
AU August 24, 2013
NA September 15, 2013

This is news to me. Way to go noa! Always on top of things!

Still, I'm hoping for good things. The demo was kind of confusing, but platinum usually makes it so you'll want to play through their games more than once. First time through is just a trial run.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
This is amazing. Can't believe Kamiya actually replied to all of that, he's that awesome.
 
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