In the times when there are no games for the WII U, there is always a gem to justify the purchase of Nintendo’s newest console. That game is The Wonderful 101. A great over the top action game from Platinum Games that will leave you blown away from fun,excitement, and overall ride.
Platform: Wii U
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Platinum Games
Genre(s): Action
Release Dates: (US) September 15, 2013
Price: $59.99
Gameplay
When you get your first real mission, it will be fast and intense. Maybe a bit too much for some players. The learning curve is steep, but manageable. Enemies will be merciless and will attack you if you let your guard down. The enemy types are varied throughout the entire game, so you will need to think on the fly how to dispatch them with your wonderful powers. Ranging from small foot soldiers, agile claw leopards, tanks, to massive crabs, golems and dragons. Yes dragons. Once, you figure out the pattern for each type, they can be easily taken care off. Which then leads me to the powers. Using your game pad, you draw specific shapes to get a certain power. Line for sword, circle for Hand, Z-shape for claws and so on. This is one part that is questionable. You are allowed to use the stylus to draw the shapes to get your powers, however, with both hands on the game pad and enemies coming at you at every direction you can’t afford to draw manually. Also, when drawing a whip, the game can mistake you for drawing a claw and other shapes. It gives you a bomb, when you meant to draw a hammer. Slightly infuriating in times of combat.
Fortunately, the right control stick does the same thing so you don’t have to use the stylus. Another complaint is that there simply isn’t enough canvas on the pad to draw the lines to connect bridges or between cars, so therefore having to resort to the right stick regardless. For the Wii U that specializes in the game pads touch screen, it doesn’t get utilized as much in actual play. Another complaint is the enemies themselves and the camera. It is absolutely necessary to have a camera in an action game like this to show all enemies to see where they are coming from. While it does its job well at times, there will be times when you get struck by an enemy from off screen, and that will cause frustration for many. Especially if you are going for the coveted Pure Platinum ranking. Each section will rank you from combat, defense, and style – ala Bayonetta and Viewtiful Joe. This adds replay value for those who want to get 100% completion. There is an in-game achievement system as a bottle cap collection, ranging from completing story mission of certain difficulty to hidden secrets. Needless to say, there is a lot packed into this game.
Visual
Needless to say, the game is beautiful. If you know Team Wonderful’s other games like Okami, then it is no different. Each model glistens with a plastic feel, like when you play with action figures during your youth. The amount of detail is just absolutely amazing.
The small heroes help give you the sense of the scale of how big the enemies are.
Simply put, it’s a feast for the eye, and a rainbow overload on your senses. Of course, there are many explosions. From cities, to jungles, to outer space, it only invokes nostalgia of times when you played Power Rangers with your friends in your childhood . The cartoon aesthetic may put some off, but it is anything but childish. Do not judge a book by it’s cover.
Sound
When you hear the personal anthem of the Wonderful 101, you will get a feeling of cheesiness but nostalgic memories. I mean just listen to it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Y_bGyck1E
And when you play in game, the background composition will simply scream super hero and will motivate you even more. And the voice cast is just icing on the cake, and a delight on the ears. From Charlie Schlatter, Roger Craig Smith (Ezio of Assassins Creed 2, Chris Redfield of Resident Evil), Steve Blum (Jack from Madworld and Anarchy Reigns), Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke of Naruto), Tara Strong (Bubbles of Power Puff Girls, Raven of Teen Titans) and much more. The cast is full of star power if you play videos games or listen to any other other media. And if you don’t like the English Dub, the Japanese voices are in this game if you want to switch. From composers Rei Kondoh, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, and many more, they created great music scenes from dramatic, and ominous to humor and empowering. Nevertheless, music, voice acting and sound is just amazing.
So what is my judgement for this game?
A Wonderful Time!
Summary
This game is an absolute must for any Wii U owner. People have asked for a hardcore game to tie them down and this is one you should not miss. It may be frustrating for some due to its questionable design choice and unfair of enemies that attack off screen. This is understandable. However if you manage to stick through it, learn the tricks and keep at it, you will enjoy the game even more. This is just about its only detriment in an otherwise and awesome experience that no one should miss. It’s packed with little details and Easter eggs to make you enjoy the game more. From its cast to it’s story, its a tale you have to see and play for yourself. Hard in the beginning, but overall worth it.
Pros:
Colorful Cast
+ Feast for the Eyes
+ Great Music/Voice acting
+ Fun Factor
Cons:
– Unfair Enemies
– Some Camera issues
– Not clear at times where to go in levels
-
Great - 8.7/108.7/10
