[Wii U] The Wonderful 101

[G-Force]

Are we absolutely sure Sega owns Bayonetta?  Personally, I wouldn't have any chance of knowing for sure.  Is it possible that people just assumed "Sega funded it, so it belongs to Sega," kind of like what's going on now with Wonderful 101 and Nintendo, actually?

Edited September 2, 2013 by G-Force

[SuperLink]

Are we absolutely sure Sega owns Bayonetta?  Personally, I wouldn't have any chance of knowing for sure.  Is it possible that people just assumed "Sega funded it, so it belongs to Sega," kind of like what's going on now with Wonderful 101 and Nintendo, actually?

It's possible, but I'm pretty sure SEGA own Bayonetta.

 

I mean, they had to licence it to Nintendo for Bayo2 right? There would be no need for SEGA's involvement in Bayo2 at all if SEGA weren't the rights holders.

Edited September 3, 2013 by SuperLink

[G-Force]

I just realized I spaced out and didn't use spoilers when I should have.

[SuperLink]

I just realized I spaced out and didn't use spoilers when I should have.

Whoops, me too x( fixed now.

 

Sorry to anyone who saw that before it was too late.

[Carbo]

I'm confused too.

As far as I know, SEGA aren't credited anywhere in the credits. They're appearing in a Nintendo IP without any mention of SEGA.

 

Unless I've missed something, anyone else?

They're credited in the manual I believe.

[SuperLink]

They're credited in the manual I believe.

Darn spoily spoilers in the game manual.

 

I wonder if that'll cause people to think that SEGA own W101 too?

[Blue Blood]

They're credited in the manual I believe.

 

There we have it then. Sneakily hidden away. You wouldn't be able to do me a favour and take a picture of that, would you? I'd like to see it and keep it for the records.

[Doctor MK]

Regarding Operation 005-C...

Holy crap, a Punch-Out!! themed boss battle? Complete with KO animations and P-Star taking on Mario's role as the referee? Oh my god, SO MUCH WIN.

I love this game.

[Doctor MK]

Excuse the double post, but you can check out some W101 fan-art on Platinum Games' blog!

 

http://www.platinumgames.co.jp/#!/item_?post_type=from-users

 

Introducing... Wonder-Iwata! UNIIIIIIIITE DIRECT!

 

[KrazyBean]

I finally finished this game, and all I have to say is...WOW, 10 out of FLIPPIN' 10! I just can't comprehend how amazing that final battle was! I got some intense Gurren Lagann vibes from it too.

 

This game is brilliant.

[BlueTidalGamer]

I too have beat the game today. OMFG that final boss was freaking EPIC!!! Platinum knows how to end their games and by god they just did their best one with this game. Overall this is my favourite title from Platinum to date. The concept feels fresh, the story and characters were really enjoyable and the presentation was fab (That soundtrack....)

 

You enjoy Platinum games? Then pick this gem of a title up. It's the best Wii U exclusive so far.

Edited September 3, 2013 by BlueTidalGamer

[Doctor MK]

So I just beat Operation 008...

 

A giant Platinum logo being the source of the Earth's defenses? A motherhumpin' PLATINUM ROBO? And 

another Punch-Out!!-style boss fight? Oh god, this just gets better and better.

 

Roll on Operation 009 and the final boss. Everyone seems to be saying how epic it is, so I can't wait to get stuck in!

[KrazyBean]

So I just beat Operation 008...

 

A giant Platinum logo being the source of the Earth's defenses? A motherhumpin' PLATINUM ROBO? And 

another Punch-Out!!-style boss fight? Oh god, this just gets better and better.

 

Roll on Operation 009 and the final boss. Everyone seems to be saying how epic it is, so I can't wait to get stuck in!

 

OHOHOHOHOHO YES, the final boss. OMFG. Enjoy.

[SenEDDtor Missile]

OHOHOHOHOHO YES, the final boss. OMFG. Enjoy.

BUTTON MASHING SAVES THE EARTH! It was quite funny the first time I saw it XD!

[SilentDoom]

Okay so I just started the game and for some reason I can't use the touch screen for...well basically anything.  I can't draw Unite Morphs with the touch screen for example.  I'm forced to use the right stick which isn't too much of an issue but nonetheless it's a little annoying.  Furthermore, both screens (TV and Gamepad) are pretty much always showing the same thing when this wasn't the case in the demo.  The TV had the action, and the Gamepad had a radar like thing.  Anyone else had this issue or know how to fix it?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, found out it was because I had pressed the Select/- button without realising.  

Edited September 4, 2013 by SiLeNtDo0m

[-Mark-]

Okay, so whilst I was already sort-of enjoying this game quite a lot, after the 6-8 hour mark, suddenly the fun-frustration ration has shifted drastically more toward the former. 

 

It's not so much that anything has changed in-game (although admittedly I do think it's starting to make much cleverer use of puzzles and moved the focus away from continuous combat somewhat). More than anything though, it's that I've been playing enough for the game to really 'click'. 

 

Early on, the game throws so much at you and gives you so little time to get to grips with what you've been given before throwing yet another new play mechanic at you that much of the time earlier on I ended up getting stuck purely because I couldn't remember a particular ability or how to do it. Now I've been playing for long enough that I actually feel comfortably familiar with most of what the game's introduced me to, I can actually remember these things when needed.

 

It's still awkward though. I'm not going to say the game is suddenly excused of the insane difficulty curve or the fact it explains itself so poorly for the most part. It's a bit of an odd case. It's not 'it takes 6-8 hours for the game to get good'; If I went back to the earlier stuff that had annoyed me now, I'm sure I'd have far less issues with them- it's more 'it takes this long for you to get good enough at the game to actually really start to enjoy it without constant frustration'.

 

It's a real shame, because if the game actually took its opening quarter/ third a little more leisurely and held you hand/ explained things just a little more clearly, this would really be an overall amazing game. As it stands, it's an amazing game buried beneath a ridiculously huge barrier to entry that drags it down and will put a lot of people off before it gets to the really good stuff. 

[Doctor MK]

Beat the game earlier. According to my Wii U's daily log, I've invested 15 hours into playing it.

 

The verdict?

It was 

awesome. The grand finale was absolutely epic and full of moments that could easily have stood alone as the ending - yet, just when you think it's all over, something else comes along and you've got a whole new scenario to play through before reaching the credits. And then you get to play during the credits too - wasn't expecting that! I'd put my GamePad down to have a drink and suddenly realised I was being pummeled by GEATHJERK mooks! Platinum just piled on the fun right until the bitter end and then... that last piece of artwork with all the heroes and enemies... simply beautiful. I want that as my desktop wallpaper and I want it now!

 

Looking forward to going back to play through it again with the skills I've honed throughout the course of the game. I imagine the first few stages will be even more enjoyable now that the initial learning curve won't be present.

 

If you've got a Wii U, you seriously need to give The Wonderful 101 a try. Or at least give it some attention. It deserves way more love than it's currently getting.

 

On an unrelated topic - which of the Wonderful Ones is your favourite, be it due to their personality or their gameplay style? I'm torn between Wonder Blue and Wonder Pink. I definitely use the Unite Sword more than any other Unite Morph for offensive purposes so by that virtue I use Blue a lot... but then again, Wonder Pink is just, well, Wonder Pink! What's not to like?

[SilentDoom]

Just beat the Operation 005 boss

Dat Punch Out homage hnnnngggggg. Being quite a big fan of the Wii Punch Out game I was so happy and surprised to see this.

This game just keeps on giving. The amount of hype this game has given me is absolutely incredible. And I'm only about half way through.

[SilentDoom]

Sorry for double posting, but ONM released their review yesterday

 

http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/54163/reviews/the-wonderful-101-review-review/

 

93%

 

The sheer, idea-packed throb of the thing means this game will never be revolutionary in the way that Mario was, a king that invites pretenders. It's too weird, too postmodern and perhaps too packed for its own good in places, but that's not to say it won't be copied. The Wonderful 101 is a perfect example of how to turn tens, even hundreds of ideas into a single cohesive whole, a mass of interlocking parts spinning around the player like the group they're controlling onscreen, working together and strengthening each other. It's a beautiful thing and one you rarely see on any console, never mind the Wii U. This is a brilliant action game. This is a brilliant superhero story. This is a brilliant Platinum title. This is game design, united. 

 

Overall Metascore is 80% at the moment.  Personally, I feel it deserves higher.  I'm at the final boss at the moment.  I'll give some impressions once I've completed the game.

[KrazyBean]

The final boss bumped my rating from 9 to 11/10...I mean it. It's just excellent.

[SilentDoom]

Just beat the final boss today so as said here are some impressions overall of the game.

 

First of all, let me get the negatives out the way.  There were a few moments of sheer frustration, moments where I felt I took a hit from something that felt out of my control such as getting hit by an off screen projectile or the game declaring Wonder Jump in a QTE section without actually giving me the button prompt of where to do it.  However most of the moments of frustration I had were due to me not timing something correctly or me just not being quite good at the game and the aforementioned moments were few and far between.  The control scheme takes quite a while to adjust to, and at points it felt a little finicky.  However, despite what some may say I think this is a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things.  I stand by the view that if controls are a little awkward or finicky, but the game at its core is super fun and worth investing my time in, I can try my best get over any control issues (for example with Kid Icarus Uprising).

 

The most notable complaint I have with the game is that there are some mechanics in the game it doesn't do a particularly great job of teaching you.  Wonder Build for example, whilst it doesn't come up too often, is really poorly explained (namely the point where it requires ALL your characters to be a part of the Morph) and to some it may feel like it throws you in the deep end a little too early. 

 

Though honestly that's where the significant negatives end for me.

 

This game is just bursting with charm.  From its zany characters, location and enemy designs (it was pretty amazing how every enemy looked very distinct and was wicked memorable despite the fact that they all used the same black colour scheme), the dialogue and interactions, the wealth of hidden content and extras and of course the super bright art style that achieves a comic feel despite the fact that it isn't cel-shaded and for the most part lacks the visual onomatopoeia that you see in a game such as Viewtiful Joe.  Not to mention the various references made not only to games in Platinum's past history but also a couple of Nintendo's (namely Starfox and one other that I shan't explicitly say in the post as I want to keep it spoiler free but it made me fangasm).

Then there's the incredibly robust battle system.  As I said before, I can look past control niggles if the game is at its core worth investing time into, and this game most certainly is.  Once elements finally start to click, you start tying together your combos, start learning the enemy types and which Unite Morph is most efficient for taking them down as well.  In addition to this there's various elements such as learning when to time your Unite Guts to counter attacks (and which attacks can be countered), making proper use of the Climb Attack and targetting system and proper distribution of Battery Charge to add yet another layer to strategizing your battle plan.  Anyone who thinks this game is repetitive evidently is playing it incorrectly.  There's an incredible amount of variety in this game.

 

Though the biggest thing for me that made me love it so much was just how much it empowers the player and how much genuine hype it generates, much like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance released earlier this year.  A large element of this is in the boss battles, which serve as (in my opinion) the highlights of the game.  They're so grandiose and insane in design and are incredibly heart-pumping and each one gets progressively more insane than the last.  The game not only makes the player feel like a super hero, but truly a whole collective of heroes.  The whole concept of strength in numbers, and how this carries through both the story and gameplay really helps to accentuate times of strength and weakness throughout the game (right to the final boss, which serves as the most potent example of this).  The occasional moment where you're stuck by yourself to tackle a mission/part of a mission feel almost incorrect.  Not only does your character become rather feeble but the way they control in general feels almost off.  And yet this isn't a bad thing, as it only really help drive the aforementioned point and theme home.

 

It's a real shame this game has been selling poorly.  A real travesty.  The gaming industry needs more games like this and needs more studios like Platinum games.  Truly daring developers willing to experiment with insane ideas whilst keeping the fundamentals of what constitute to an incredible game with so much depth.  Whilst inexcessible, The Wonderful 101 is truly a masterclass game and definitely my favourite game this year.

 

Edited September 9, 2013 by SiLeNtDo0m

[SenEDDtor Missile]

Okay, major plot point that sorta nags at me:

It is established that Luka is the son of the scientist who made Earth's Defense System, and he had the key to said defense system...

 

SO WHY IS IT THAT MANY OF THE MAJOR OFFICERS WHO COMMAND THE TEAM TO DEFEND SAID SYSTEM HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA THAT HE EVEN EXISTS!? Wouldn't it be pragmatic, hell SMART, to actually make sure that there weren't any potential breaches in security such as THIS? Heck, while they're at it, why not just tell the kid that his mom did the heroic sacrifice thing to him from the get-go, so that the GEATHJERK WOULDN'T have been able to get through period!?

 

Speaking of our favorite invaders, I have to ask this: If they were so concerned for the future of their race against the apparently evil Wonderful 101 of the future, WHY GO FOR AN ALL OUT ASSAULT ON EARTH not ONCE, but TWICE!? Why not explain the situation to the pre-evil empire Wonderful 101 in the past instead of going in guns blazing? Hell, for all we know, GEATHJERK doing this crap might be the reason they get attacked in the future in the first place! Stable Time Loop and all that junk.

[Badnik Mechanic]

And now, Hideki Kamiya

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nuUJcsQ6xU

[Lady Soniko]

Hahahaha... "Hello America, especially the hot babes"

 

Oh Hideki-kun! *bashful hand wave* 

[canderson]

So, this is game is finally out in the US.............if anyone cares. =P

Any WiiU owners that actually plan on giving this game a try?

Edited September 15, 2013 by canderson