The Wonderful 101
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'The Wonderful 101' remaster smashes Kickstarter goal in hours
If anything demonstrates that gamers love a bit of cult nostalgia, it's the eye-watering success of Kickstarter campaigns pledging to bring former hits back to life. And that's absolutely the case with former Wii U title The Wonderful 101, the remastering of which obliterated its Kickstarter goal in less than an hour.
Platinum wanted Miis in Wonderful 101, could be featured in a sequel
Platinum Games originally wanted to include playable Mii characters in its Wii U superhero action game The Wonderful 101, but the feature didn't make the cut in the final version of the game, director Hideki Kamiya revealed this week via Twitter. Kamiya hopes to feature player-made Miis in a potential sequel, however. Though a follow-up project has not been announced, Kamiya assures fans that he will direct The Wonderful 102, if it ever comes to fruition. The Wonderful 101 was one of the first games announced for Nintendo's Wii U console, and our own Ludwig Kietzmann named it as one of his favorites from last year. Platinum's current project, Bayonetta 2, is set for a Wii U release later this year.
Best of the Rest: Ludwig's picks of 2013
Team Joystiq has concluded its selection of last year's best games. Click here to see the complete assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs - until next year! The Wonderful 101 The boundless, ALL-CAPS exuberance of The Wonderful 101 may have been misread by its intended audience. Overseen by Mr. Devil May Cry himself, Hideki Kimaya, this vibrant action game conveys cuteness in its army of stout superheroes, but poses creative and razor-sharp challenges without taking a breath. The game's cartoonish antics and enormous bosses are beyond ridiculous, dwarfing the mechanical cleverness that lies beneath it all. The real novelty lies in drawing shapes and having your heroes congeal into corresponding mega-swords and huge hammers (also: puddings). It becomes a practiced analogue shorthand, not unlike your maneuvers in a fighting game, and the hard-earned rewards satisfy in much the same way.
Bayonetta creator: Building new game worlds is 'my purpose'
Hideki Kamiya is one of the most original, creative game directors in the industry today, yet fans are constantly infuriated by his general refusal to lead sequels to his earlier efforts. He realizes this of course, but as a new interview reveals, Kamiya feels his talents could be better used in building new worlds, rather than revisiting his old ones. "It's not that I don't want to make sequels - I really do! But considering the nature of my position, I don't really get a chance to," Kamiya told Famitsu (translated by Kotaku). "Somebody needs to offer new entertainment to gamers and do the work of sowing seeds that can later grow to be strong pillars. "It sounds a little overblown, but I've come to believe that is my purpose. If I had been involved with Devil May Cry 2, then Viewtiful Joe and Okami might never have been made. If I was directing Bayonetta 2, then I wouldn't have been able to make The Wonderful 101," he added. As Kamiya points out, he is currently working on a new project that has yet to be revealed to the public. If history is any indicator, expect it to be great fun, generate enough money to spawn a sequel, then be unceremoniously handed off to whichever development studio happens to be available.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Wonderful 101, Tecmo Bowl
Are you ready for some footbaaaaaaaall? That's what you'll get on the 3DS this week, thanks to the Virtual Console release of the nigh mythical Tecmo Bowl. The Wii U, meanwhile, picks up the often overlooked – but still great – The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. We also have a few sales going on: Toki Tori 2+ (Wii U) is $8.99 until 9am PT on September 19, Super Little Acorns 3D Turbo (3DS) is $3.99 until 9am PT on October 2, and Bike Rider DX is $2.99 until 9am PT on October 10. Finally, next week sees the Wii U eShop release of The Wonderful 101 (which we rather enjoyed), while the 3DS will get a demo of Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl.
The Wonderful 101 review: Barrel of superheroes
At some point in your life you've probably heard somebody say that video games are just toys. Perhaps you argued the issue, talking about how games are like interactive movies and that they're often made for adults and how the average gamer is in his or her thirties. And then maybe you went home, turned on your game box, stuck a Skylander figure onto your Portal of Power and zoned out for a few. Games may not be toys, but they often owe a lot to them. Whereas Skylanders and Disney Infinity require actual toys to play, the The Wonderful 101, an action-packed Wii U curiosity from Platinum Games, feels more like playing with toys than either of them. With dozens of costumed characters to control, most with no defined personality traits, and a rambling plot that makes little sense and shifts gears on a dime, Wonderful 101 has the same illogical bent and opportunity for imagination as a child playing with action figures.
The Wonderful 101 initially starred Nintendo characters
Despite its cast being wonderfully original, The Wonderful 101 was initially conceived as a way to unite "world famous characters" with Nintendo's iconic characters, Nintendo's Iwata Asks series revealed this week. Wonderful 101 Director Hideki Kamiya explained that the original concept stemmed from Platinum Games CEO and President Tatsuya Minami's order to "bring together world famous characters with Nintendo characters at its center, appearing all in one game." While working with the original idea, Kamiya wanted to find a way to "please everyone by letting them play the whole game as their favorite character." As one would imagine, the involved licensing sunk the original concept. Nintendo President Iwata said that the game's "cover certainly [had] impact to make even me think twice, and I was the producer working hard to gather all the characters in the first Smash Bros.!" Nintendo Producer Hitoshi Yamagami reacted similarly, noting that "the moment I saw the cover, I winced ..." Several months after Platinum Games' initial pitch, Nintendo's Licensing Department contacted Yamagami concerning a revamped build of the game without Nintendo's characters. Once Managing Director of Nintendo Shinya Takahashi showed him a demo of the new project, Yamagami "knew the moment [he] saw it that this was that idea from Platinum Games."
The Wonderful 101 demo soars onto EU eShop today [Update: NA too!]
European citizens looking to join up with The Wonderful 101 can give it a shot later today, when the demo arrives on the Wii U eShop. As revealed at the end of the European version of today's Wonderful 101 Nintendo Direct, the demo of Platinum Games' superheroic effort will be available on the continent as of 4PM BST/5PM CET. There was no mention of a demo in the North American stream, indicating it may take a bit more time to arrive on this side of the ocean; the game is out in Europe on August 23, and doesn't come to North America until three weeks later on September 15. Platinum Creative Producer JP Kellams tweeted the US version is due soon. At least this morning's Direct provided plenty of info on the game, including the various ways you can use the dozens of heroes around you to save the day. There's also a chunky new seven-minute trailer to tide you over until next month. Update: The Wonderful 101 demo is now also available on the North American Wii U eShop.
The Wonderful 101 prologue lends a hero's hand
In the Wonderful 101, characters go from Joe Shmoe to superhero in three billionths of a second. With that kind of speed, we could build a tree fort in an instant, adopt 437,812 puppies and set a world record for ice cream sundae speed-eating – wait, not that one. Superheroes get brain freeze too.
Wonderful 101 arrives on Wii U September 15 in NA, August 23 in EU
Nintendo has revealed that Wonderful 101 will land on the Wii U on September 15 in North America and on August 23 in Europe. Coming from Platinum Games, Wonderful 101 sees players wielding ordinary citizens as weapons. It's as nutty as it sounds.
Bayonetta 2, Wonderful 101 on other platforms is up to Nintendo, says Platinum
Outspoken Platinum Games designer Hideki Kamiya made it clear Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101 are staying Wii U-exclusive unless Nintendo says otherwise. Posting on Twitter, the Bayonetta director said that the games will be published on PS3 or Xbox 360 only if Nintendo says they will, and implored fans to stop asking Platinum Games about it."We are a developer. Nintendo are the ones kind enough to fund and publish our The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2 projects," said Kayima, according to a translation he retweeted later. "So if Nintendo says, 'We are publishing Bayonetta 2 on PS3/360,' then it will happen. So please go ask them, not us."The news follows a week which saw the formerly Wii U-exclusive Rayman Legends delayed until September for a multiplatform release on PS3 and Xbox 360 as well, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge being ported back from Wii U to the two rival consoles. Still more surprising than either piece of news was the announcement last year that Bayonetta 2 is coming to Wii U, and not, like its predecessor, PS3 and Xbox 360.[Thanks, Michael]
The Wonderful 101 slide into new trailer
Platinum Games' crowd-control action game, The Wonderful 101, is due in the first half of 2013. Here's a trailer of the super team protecting the city and having some fun on the side.
Game & Wario, Wonderful 101 in first half of 2013
There are more Wii U games coming, sometime early this year. Along with a reconfirmed "first half of 2013" date for Wii Fit U, Nintendo put minigame collection Game & Wario and Platinum's crowd-control action game The Wonderful 101 in the same release window today.Pikmin 3's release window became less specific. The last we heard, it was due sometime in the spring; now, it's also in the first half. That's functionally the same thing, we suppose.%Gallery-176613%
Project P-100 now 'The Wonderful 101' [Update: Now with trailer!]
The Wonderful 101, a Pikmin-esque action game from Platinum Games for the Wii U, was just announced during Nintendo's European Wii U event. As it so happens, The Wonderful 101 is actually the official name of Project P-100, which was originally announced back at E3.In the brief trailer shown, players were shown controlling a large group of superheroes via the WiiPad, which could then combine into larger creatures to wage war with a seemingly invading alien race. As it did back in June, the game had a distinctly Viewtiful Joe vibe to it and seemed quite lighthearted.Update: The official trailer has been added above for your viewing pleasure.%Gallery-165266%
