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GoNintendo 'End of Day' thought - Reader Review: The Wonderful 101

by rawmeatcowboy
03 September 2013
GN Version 4.0


Man, all the craziness last night really sucked the life out of me for Monday. I had to catch a nap inbetween rounds! I think I'll need another tomorrow. Let's hope tonight's sleep does the trick. See you in a few, short hours!

You guys are kicking ass lately with the reader reviews. I am so happy you asked for the feature to return. It's clear you had a lot to say! Speaking of having a lot to say, reader Bellboy let loose with his review of The Wonderful 101. With the game still a few days away from release in North America, this review couldn't be more handy!

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You NEED this game in your life.

You owe it to yourself.

I've just recently completed The Wonderful 101 on Easy. Today in fact and I'm reeling on the coat-tails of my own enthusiasm. I'll say it again: You. NEED. This. Game.

As far action games go I'm iffy. I can hold my own for the most part. I can charge on through with tenacity and lots of luck. It's not a genre I've been particularly comfortable with. I wasn't even that sure of what I was getting into with 101. But I wasn't even sold completely until the Nintendo Direct told me why I should buy this game.

But I wasn't expecting the epic journey I got out of it. It's not an overall long game but by the end I was exhausted. Really.


The game is so much more than what it seems. The missions you see from the trailers and footage barely scratch the surface. "Defeat(ing) the Enemy" may take far longer than you anticipate. To "Go Forward" may take you places you could scarcely believe is happening. They may and they DO. And you'll be thrilled to see them to end! For lack of a better word, you'll feel like a real hero.

The Wonderful 101 is a game of great depth. What appears to be a mashy affair with kooky characters is not doing the title justice. And Wonder-Red, the main hero of our tale is all about that (and by the end those Jerks are gonna know it)!

[My Skyward Sword rant/review lacked structure that in hindsight I should've utilised so I'm gonna break this review down for you.]

GRAPHICS:
This is funnily enough the last thing I cared about in this game. Most games nowadays are about spectacle. 101 is a party.
That being said the graphics are pretty...well, wonderful. Part of me wants to pick apart all the grainy textures and jagged character models but as a package overall it doesn't matter at all. It's a brilliant and lively world with soul and colour... when the GeathJERKS aren't putting holes in it. And partway through you really get the high-octane thrill of a technicolor battle-royales with the games crazy boss-fights.
The set-pieces are so crazy it makes Dragon Ball Z look tame. JOY!

CHARACTERS:
You need to make your decision about the characters upon meeting them. Because they're the ones your gonna spend the rest of the journey with. If you find them irritating, try and block 'em out.
What I'm basically saying is most of the characters are fine. The annoying whiny ones won't shut their traps though and get far more dialogue than they rightly deserve. "Comedy". What you gonna do? Some of them will make you question how in the hell they became a superhero. You'll know who I'm talking about when you see them. But I digress.
The problem Wonderful Ones* are only annoying periodically. Their heads are in the game for the most part.

Much like my initial comments about the game itself, the main cast of Wonderful 101 have more depth than you realise. The ones who get screen-time anyway. Red and Blue have nice character arcs and quirks. Even the tag-along brat, Luka is an interesting character. (In hindsight- you'll hate for more reasons than one at first)
Though everyone else much like the optional Wonderful Ones are just kinda there. They have moments but they're few and far between. They pop up during boss fights and what-not but they don't scream for attention like Pink and Green* do. (Screw it. I'll say it.)

The villains are a mixed bag. The recurring rival alien character, Vorkken is lots of fun despite being a bad guy. The boss characters are mostly throwaway but man. They LO-OOOVE the fact they're evil! Borderline obsessive about it. They've got a kind of bully dynamic. They're the kid with the magnifying glass and humanity's the ant. They could crush 'em but where's the fun in that? They're so oppressive and unrelenting it almost feels like a hopeless struggle at times.
You'll learn to hate them (especially the token female, for story reasons)- and be veerry satisfied when you crush them instead!

STORY:
The heart of TW101. Going in I thought I knew what I was in for. I couldn't be more wrong. There was plenty of times where I was certain I knew what was going to happen but was pleasantly and constantly wrong. So many big twists. Flashbacks used to great effect.

I'm wary of what to say but I'll just say this. It's a short game in general but it's massive. Chapter go on forever and you'll be taken on a journey of such foolhardy and brilliant heroics. The dire moments feel so dire and it only makes you feel that much better when get a second-wind.
It's a real journey. Leave your expectations at the door as they'll do you no good here and let Platinum Games take you for a rollercoaster ride!

GAMEPLAY:
As I said before, action games... not my forte. It's the reason I played on Easy. It can and will kick your ass if you let it. Pay attention and you'll have fun. I give you this warning as this game is for the hardcore. And that's the honest to god truth. But if I can beat it you can.
The meat of it all is the brawler-type action platforming. It's a great mix of satisfying combo-bashing and challenge. When to attack and when to dodge or defend. It's pretty deep for what looked at first like a Pikmin Super-Sentai.

The Wonderful 101 is unique. You get up to a hundred little dudes but you fight like one. You start a stage with only so many to begin with and you can only pull so meager kinds of attacks so that inspires you get more till you're a swarm of guys when before you were just a group. And when misjudge something or get side-lined by an enemy and they go flying you'll often find your self having to dash about to "collect" some or all of them before you can try another attack. Which I recommend. For all Blue's hype about his Valiantium Blade it's not so much a sting when he's solo as it is a tickle.

You'll be very familiar with Wonderful Mart before the end too. Those juicy upgrades won't buy 'emselves! (A little tip from me. Get the "Dodge Mine" Custom part. You can thank me later. Or not. The game is super-customizable. :D)

But even all this isn't the most surprising thing. Remember all that stuff I said about the Missions in the opening paragraphs? Not everything's on-foot y'know... Starfox, eat your heart out. (...For example)

IN SUMMARY:
The Wonderful 101 is brilliant. The first game I've really taken a shine to on the Wii U. It's deserves your love and attention and you owe to yourself to try it out, if not get a copy yourself. I did. And I'm all the happier for it.
If you love Power Rangers, Super Sentai, absurd action, insane set-pieces, in-jokes or even just Platinum Games in general buy The Wonderful 101. I implore you. You will LOVE it!

(The score is for my overall satisfaction of the game. 9 is usually the go-to score for a mostly perfect game but screw it. The Wonderful 101 is more than deserving.)

EDIT: Forgot to mention music! It's really inspiring and awesome.
It's bombastic and hype. (Especially during appropriate sections) Not much more to say about it.