TDLink
Member
I would say that Wonderful 101 is a poor fit for most gamers.
Its certainly not just the press that doesn't "have time" to devote months to mastering a single game. I imagine most people will finish a game and retire it to a shelf until its time to resell or stick it in a box to make room for new consoles. Thats not to say anything disparaging about the average gamer, I count myself among them...
I'm all growed up. Between work, family, and all the forced social interactions because of those first two things I don't have the time for games that I use to. I also have a lot more disposable income. The result is a massive backlog that puts constant pressure on me to finish one game and move on to the next. Its the reason I don't enjoy fighting or racing games the way I use to; I'm just not willing to invest any time in them.
I'm an adult too and I beat the game over the course of a week. I spent a few hours the Sunday it came out and then after work on normal mode for a couple of hours a night, beating it Friday. I didn't completely know what I was doing until probably a third of the way through but that didn't stop me. The story and characters were good enough to keep me motivated even when I was getting consolation prizes. And since other than score there is no real penalty for death (boss health stays the same if you continue) it is a pretty easy game to get through. If low scores really bug you then you can also play on Easy or Very Easy mode.
It definitely doesn't take a month to learn how to play the game. A couple sessions/a few hours tops. Mastering it may take longer, but not everyone is required to do that.
I seriously don't know how anyone can play to the end of the game and still be confused about some of the basic mechanics such as how to draw some of the weapons without getting it confused with another. The game basically goes out of its way with colour-coding and over-explaining of shapes, not to mention leniency to draw them. It's even worse with the people who don't realize that the right analog stick can draw in addition to the touch screen, and it's the preferred way at that. I read some reviews who thought it was touch only drawing and it literally boggles my mind. How do people not even see what all the buttons and knobs on the controller do when they first start the game?
I own 101 and I'm sorry but it's about 7 in my books. There's just too much gimmicky shit in most levels, the camera is sometimes lacking and the controls, although very interesting and fun, are often unreliable.
Get over it gaf, it's not a game of bayonettas caliber.
Genre shifts are not "gimmicky shit" and they all work pretty well and with enough explanation to figure it out on the fly. I admit some people don't like when a game suddenly changes playstyles on them but personally I love it. Not everything you can do in any given game's normal play style can be applied to every situation you might want to put the characters in or take the story to. With Kamiya's style in Wonderful 101 no matter what happens you get to play it. I think that only adds to the fun and "awesome" factor.
You're also implying Bayonetta didn't do the exact same thing (but worse), or are you forgetting the lengthy Space Harrier and Motorcycle sections? It's a matter of opinion which game you think is better but I definitely think Wonderful 101 at the very least stands side by side with Bayonetta.