Jump to content

The Wonderful 101

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 173.71.216.59 (talk) at 16:23, 23 August 2013. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Wonderful 101
North American boxart
Developer(s)Platinum Games
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Hideki Kamiya
Producer(s)Atsushi Inaba
Hitoshi Yamagami
Composer(s)Masami Ueda
Platform(s)Wii U
Release
  • EU: August 23, 2013[1]
  • JP: August 24, 2013
  • AU: August 24, 2013[2]
  • NA: September 15, 2013[1]
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Wonderful 101 is a “mass-hero action” game developed by Platinum Games and published by Nintendo exclusively for the Wii U. The game is being directed by Hideki Kamiya and produced by Atsushi Inaba, who worked on the Viewtiful Joe series together. It was initially set to release during the Wii U's launch window (which lasted from the console's launch until the end of March 2013) in North America and Japan,[3] but instead was released at the end of August 2013 in all territories except North America, where it will be released on September 15.

Gameplay

In The Wonderful 101, players control a horde of superheroes from an isometric viewpoint and can turn them into various objects called "Unite Morphs". As levels progress, players must explore each stage to find helpless citizens and recruit them to join their army of heroes. The more heroes gathered, the greater the special morph powers can be. Players can use "Unite Morph" forms to battle off enemies, solve puzzles or traverse the environment at the cost of depleting the player's battery meter. The meter can be recharged by performing normal attacks or by picking up batteries dropped by a defeated enemy. Enemies will also drop "O parts", the in-game currency used to buy upgrades, new "Unite Morph" abilities and items. To transform the horde of heroes, shapes are drawn on the Wii U GamePad's touchscreen or right analog stick the corresponding symbol of a form, such as an “L” for a gun or a squiggly line for a whip. The GamePad can also be used to see things from a traditional third person angle and explore tighter environments better, such as indoors.[4][5][6]

Modes

The singleplayer campaign is broken between levels. Each level ends with a grade depending on a number of factors, such as how long it took you to complete and how much damage you took. In addition to a singleplayer mode, The Wonderful 101 has a cooperative mode that supports up to five players, with one person utilizing the GamePad and the four others using their own Wii U Pro Controller.[5][7]

Plot

In The Wonderful 101, Earth becomes under attack from an invasion of enormous aliens called the "GEATHJERK", and the only thing that can protect the planet is the titular group of superheroes. Unfortunately, the aliens are too powerful to fight individually, so the heroes must work together. These uniquely different heroes can morph together into powerful weapons to crush their invaders or get through the environment.

Much like Hideki Kamiya’s Viewtiful Joe, the Wonderful 101 is inspired by tokusatsu -- Japanese live-action films or television drama with a heavy emphasis on special effects. The main heroes’ outfits resemble those found in tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai or Kamen Rider, while the enemies resemble the giant monsters found in kaiju films, such as Godzilla and Gamera.

Characters

Each main playable character has a citizen appearance, while their hero alter egos are all named Wonder, followed by their corresponding color, job, or noun. To transform into their hero counterpart, each character calls out "Wonder-Eyes", followed by their color, in a manner similar to henshin calls. Each character has their own unique morph as well.

  • Wonder Red: The Leader of the Wonderful 101, The events of the game are his very first experience in combat. He enjoys describing his partners with great enthusiasm. His Unite Morph is Unite Fist, which can be used to brawl enemies and interact with objects in the environment. As a citizen, he's a teacher who goes by the name William Wedgewood. He is known as "The Crimson Fist". Wonder Red is voiced by Charlie Schlatter.
  • Wonder Blue: His Unite Morph is Unite Sword, which can be used to slash at enemies, as well as doubles as a bridge or ladder. The more heroes that are used for Unite Sword, the longer and more durable it becomes. His real name is Eliot Hooker, a Los Angeles police officer known for being impulsive and hotheaded and bragging about how sharp his Valiantium Sword is. He dislikes teamwork and often comes to blows with Wonder Red. He is known as "The Supersonic Blade". Wonder Blue is voiced by Roger Craig Smith.
  • Wonder Green: His Unite Morph is Unite Gun, which can be used to shoot at enemies from a distance. The more heroes that make up the gun, the more efficient the gun becomes. With a few heroes, the gun acts a pistol, but when you use a lot of them, you can morph into a machine gun. Heroes are also used as ammunition, meaning you will have to sacrifice one each time you fire the weapon. His real name is Jean-Sebastian Renaud, a gifted marksman (despite being only in middle school) from Bordeaux, France, whose only been on The Wonderful 100 for a month. He is known as "Le Sniper Supérieur". Wonder Green is voiced by Kari Wahlgren.
  • Wonder Pink: Her Unite Morph is Unite Whip, a more uncontrolled melee weapon which can grab objects and enemies from far away. Her real name is Mariana Cristescu, an high school age Olympic gymnast from Transylvania with an infamously short temper. She is known as the "Queen of Rage".[8] Wonder Pink is voiced by Tara Strong.
  • Wonder Yellow: Revealed in the August 9, 2013 Wonderful 101 Direct. His real name is Ivan Esgenikoff, who is from Russia and is generally portrayed as incredibly shy and easily embarrassed, which contrasts his large, muscular physique. His Unite Morph is Unite Hammer. He is called "The Hammering Russkie". Wonder Yellow is voiced by J. B. Blanc.
  • Wonder White: Revealed in Wonder Red's trailer, his real name is Momoe Byakouin, an agent from the Japanese office of The Wonderful 100. He is depicted as cool and collected, but quite talkative. His Unite Morph is Unite Claws. He is called "The Claws of Calamity". Wonder White is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal.
  • Wonder Black: Revealed in the August 9, 2013 Wonderful 101 Direct. His Unite Morph is Unite Bomb. He is an 11 year-old university student with an IQ of over 300 from New Delhi and is shown to be good with electronic gadgets and technology, always being sucked into a video game. He is portrayed as a breakdancer and seems quieter compared to his teammates. He is called "The 8-Bit Enchanter". Wonder Black is voiced by Kris Zimmerman.

The game also features a cast of supporting characters:

  • Commander Laurence Nelson, CENTINELS Planetary Secret Services Commander. Laurence Nelson is voiced by Gideon Emery.
  • Alice MacGregor, operator of the main CENTINELS spaceship, Virgin Victory. Alice MacGregor is voiced by Laura Bailey.
  • James Shirogane, a CENTINELS research professor. James Shirogane is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
  • P-Star, a CENTINELS support mech who has achieved mascot status within The Wonderful 100.
  • Luka Alan Smithee, a student in Wedgewood's elementary school class who despises both the Geathjerk (who killed his parents) and the Wonderful 100. However, he tags along with the main characters in an attempt to fight for justice. Luka is voiced by Debi Derryberry.
  • Immorta, a mysterious woman with unclear allegiances. Immorta is voiced by Stephanie Lemelin.

Antagonists:

  • GEATHJERK, a alien armada that first invaded the earth 40 years prior to the game's events, which prompted the formation of the CENTINELS, they invaded 20 years later, resulting in the death of Wonder Reds father. They have returned for a 3rd time with an even bigger army than ever before.
  • Prince Vorrken, leader of the space pirates known as the Guyzoch, whose suit allows him to use his crew to create structures similar to Unite Morphs called Unify Morphs. Vorrken is voiced by Quinton Flynn.
  • Chewgi, Vorrken's second-in-command. Chewgi is voiced by Fred Tatasciore.

Development

Marketing

The Wonderful 101 was revealed at E3 2012 on the conference floor, codenamed Project P-100. On July 3rd, 2013, Nintendo introduced their "Wonderful Wednesday" social networking campaign to promote The Wonderful 101, where each Wednesday leading up to the game, they release a new character portrait. However, two days later, Kamiya posted how he worried about the lack of marketing for The Wonderful 101 on Twitter, mostly referring to the lack of information in magazines or websites, and claiming that the game took almost 1.5 times the resources and manpower as Platinum’s biggest game, Bayonetta. During the August 7, 2013 Nintendo Direct, Satoru Iwata announced that on August 9, 2013 a Nintendo Direct presentation would be made exclusively for The Wonderful 101.

Reception

The Wonderful 101 received positive reviews from critics. It has an aggregate score of 76.73% on GameRankings[9] and 79/100 on Metacritic.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Luke Karmali (May 17, 2013). "The Wonderful 101 Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved 17-05-2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ "NINTENDO ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE PARTNERSHIP WITH SEGA FOR UPCOMING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG GAMES". Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd. May 18, 2013. Retrieved 18-05-2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "We try to make sense out of Nintendo's launch windows. But it got delayed". Nintendo World Report. 2012-09-19.
  4. ^ "Nintendo All-Access @ E3 2012 - Games". E3.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  5. ^ a b Meyer, Lee (June 26, 2013). "Hands On: The Wonderful 101". nintendolife. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  6. ^ "The Wonderful 101". nintendo.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
  7. ^ "The Wonderful 101 : Nintendo @ E3 2013". E3.nintendo.com. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
  8. ^ http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wiiu/acmj/index.html#/character/
  9. ^ a b "The Wonderful 101 for Wii U". GameRankings. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "The Wonderful 101 Reviews for Wii U". Metacritic. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=The_Wonderful_101&oldid=569881083"