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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.
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.
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%
E3 2012's secret trend: crowd-control strategy
A few trends have been identified at E3 this year, based on the trailers shown and games announced: shocking violence, scripted shooting, helicopters and bows. I noticed another one that has randomly bubbled up among Japanese companies: crowd-control strategy games.Of course, the most noticeable exemplar of this sudden trend is Pikmin 3, but it's not the only game to show up this E3 that is about guiding a swarm of little critters around to fight big enemies and destroy obstacles. XSEED showed off Acquire's rhythm-based Orgarhythm, in which a strutting god is surrounded by element-based troops, and Konami brought the Vita sequel to Little King's Story.Platinum Games sort of got into the act as well with its Wii U launch window game Project P-100, which is still about recruiting and controlling a bunch of random citizens; however, you have less individual control of them than in the other games, and instead you use their pure mass to form a weapon. It still totally counts for the purpose of an informal article, though.
Using the power of the people in Wii U's 'Project P-100'
Among the Wii U's minigame collection-heavy E3 lineup was a weird, weird surprise: an original action game by Platinum Games. Project P-100 isn't just an anomaly among Wii U games, it stands out among Platinum's lineup. It's very cartoony and cute, adjectives I won't see applied to Bayonetta or Anarchy Reigns anytime soon. The main character does bear a resemblance to Viewtiful Joe by pre-Platinum Clover Studio, but he's way too tiny on screen to really make the connection.It also abandons the "character action" style most associated with the studio in favor of, well, more characters. Your superhero protagonist can recruit a coterie of random citizens (by drawing a circle around them with the right analog stick) sort of Pikmin-style. However, instead of simply directing them toward the giant robot enemies, you wield your crew as weapons. You can hit a button to do basic "team attacks" that essentially use them as a bludgeon.%Gallery-157137%
