The Wonderful 101 (Game)

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This article is about the game. For the titular team, see The Wonderful Ones.

The Wonderful 101
North American Wii U box art
North American Switch box art (Remastered)
North American PS4 box art (Remastered)
Information
Developer(s)	PlatinumGames
Publishers(s)	Nintendo (Wii U) PlatinumGames (Remaster)
Director(s)	Hideki Kamiya Takanori Sato (Remaster)
Producer(s)	Atsushi Inaba Hitoshi Yamagami Yuji Nakao (Remaster)
Designer(s)	Hiroshi Shibata Noriaki Nagano (Remaster)
Artist(s)	Mai Ohkura Yuka Kotaki Ryo Koizumi
Writers(s)	Hideki Kamiya
Composers(s)	Norihiko Hibino Hiroshi Yamaguchi Rei Kondoh Akira Takizawa Hitomi Kurokawa Masato Kouda
Platforms(s)	Wii U Nintendo Switch Windows (Steam) PlayStation 4
Release Date	Wii U EU: August 23, 2013 JP/AU: August 24, 2013 NA: September 15, 2013 Remaster Backers: May 7, 2020 NA: May 19, 2020 EU: May 22, 2020 JP: June 11, 2020

The Wonderful 101 (ザ・ワンダフル ワン・オー・ワン) is a tokusatsu superhero hack and slash video game developed by PlatinumGames and directed by Hideki Kamiya. Originally published by Nintendo in 2013 as a Wii U exclusive, the game was remastered in 2020 by PlatinumGames and released for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Windows (Steam) in a self-publishing effort financed through a Kickstarter campaign.

The Wonderful 101 is set during Earth Defense War III, the third conflict between humanity and the invading GEATHJERK Federation. To protect Earth, the CENTINELS, a Planetary Secret Service founded after the first Earth Defense War, created the Wonderful 100 (One-Double-Oh): a team of 100 special combat agents from 100 cities around the world with the technology to combine together in an ability known as the Unite Morph, allowing them to create giant weapons to battle the invaders with.

Gameplay

Core Concepts

The Wonderful 101's main form of gameplay involves controlling the entire team of Wonderful Ones together, done by directly controlling a single character as the team leader (a role that dynamically changes to different characters automatically) that the rest of the team follows. Other members of the team are controlled using Team Attacks, which launches the team in a direction to attack, and the Wonder-Liner, which allows you to extend a single-file line of members that can be used to draw shapes and interact with the environment in various ways.
Using the Wonder-Liner to draw specific shapes, such as a circle or a straight line, you can use your team members to create a Unite Morph that corresponds to that shape, such as Unite Hand or Unite Sword, that the player-controlled leader can use to attack enemies.

In addition to attacking using Unite Morphs drawn using the Wonder-Liner, there are other Unite Morphs with special effects such as blocking or dodging attacks and even traversing levels, special attacks called Skills, equipable Custom Blocks that provide new abilities and effects, and a variety of other single-use items.
Unite Morph weapons can only be created by Wonderful Ones that possess an appropriate weapon, meaning that the variety of Unite Morphs available to use is limited at first, but as Wonderful Ones with new weapons are recruited, more Unite Morphs become available. Likewise, special Unite Morphs and other abilities that can be used by any Wonderful One must first be purchased from the Wonderful Mart or unlocked by leveling up individual Wonderful Ones.

Due to the unique nature of controlling upwards of one hundred characters in an action game, a major element of The Wonderful 101's gameplay involves protecting your team from harm:
When attacked, only hits on the leader deplete your health: when other members are hit, they're instead knocked out. Team members can also be knocked out any time they're inside a Unite Morph that breaks, which can happen if used at the wrong time. Knocked out team members can't be used in the Wonder-Liner or Unite Morphs until they recover, meaning that you can only use your abilities if you can keep your team safe.
Enemies in The Wonderful 101 also follow a formula that differs from other action games: every enemy in the game possesses a wide variety of distinct attacks, many of which can be countered in some way to the stun the enemy, creating an opening that allows you to safely deal damage and earn the most combo points. This means that, rather than using brute force or constant evasion, the best way to fight enemies in The Wonderful 101 is to find openings by learning all of their attacks and weaknesses.

Gameplay is normally viewed from an aerial quarter view that follows the team through levels. Entering enclosed areas instead switches to a third person camera presented on the Subscreen (a major interface element based on the Wii U GamePad that is literally a second screen within the game) that follows the team up close, while the main screen continues to show an overhead view of your surroundings. This type of "Subscreen gameplay" often involves finding or reacting to puzzle elements and hazards on the main screen aerial view so that they can be dealt with on the Subscreen.

General Gameplay

Levels in The Wonderful 101's story mode, called Operations, mainly consist of traversing linear environments on foot while using Unite Morphs to battle enemies and solve progress-blocking puzzles, all in an effort to reach the level's end goal. The Wonderful 101 also features several boss levels: entire Operations dedicated to fighting a single powerful enemy with unique mechanics.

In addition to its normal style of gameplay, The Wonderful 101 also includes a variety of alternate gameplay types, ranging from simply controlling a single solo character, to piloting a vehicle to shoot down or avoid enemies, and even giant-robot boxing matches.
Regardless of the type of gameplay involved, every major gameplay sequence within an Operation is called a Mission. Every completed Mission in the game is scored based on your time, damage, and combo, with better scores recognized with Awards and O-Parts bonuses, rewarding player improvement and skilled gameplay.

The Wonderful 101's story mode also makes heavy use of Quick Time Event (QTE) prompts. These QTEs require you to draw a specific Unite Morph or make other inputs within a time limit in order to perform a contextual action during cutscenes and gameplay. (The game also very notably features Easter eggs for failing almost every QTE in the game.)

Apart from combat and puzzles, The Wonderful 101 also features exploration elements: a wide variety of hidden collectibles are hidden in every level of the game, and they can only be found by using your abilities to interact with the environment in various ways.
Most important among these hidden collectibles are new Wonderful Ones: at the start of the game your team consists of only 20 Wonderful Ones, and while the number of members in your team can be temporarily increased by using the Wonder-Liner to recruit citizens, it can only be permanently increased by finding the remaining Wonderful Ones hidden throughout the game.

All versions of The Wonderful 101 also include an in-game achievement system known as the Bottle-Cap Collection: Bottle-Caps are unlocked by completing the game, replaying it on higher difficulty levels, finding hidden collectibles, and by performing other special actions. Bottle-Caps are required to unlock Secret Characters.

Game Modes

The Wonderful 101's main game mode is a single-player story mode taking place over the course of 28 Operations. However, the game also features additional game modes, most of which are downloadable add-on content exclusive to The Wonderful 101: Remastered.

• Multiplayer Missions/Wonderful Missions: Up to four players can play together in special levels that are based on various Operations in the game's story mode that have been modified for multiplayer. In multiplayer, the team is split into smaller independently controlled groups that are each led by its own player-controlled leader. Though the goal is to cooperate to defeat every enemy, Multiplayer Missions also include competitive elements, as players are scored separately and it's possible to steal members from the groups of other players to gain an advantage.
  Multiplayer Missions can also be played single-player. In the Wii U version of the game only, a fifth player can join using the Wii U GamePad as an additional controller.
• Time Attack: A free downloadable add-on exclusive to The Wonderful 101: Remastered. Time Attack is a time trial game mode designed to allow players to compete at completing any Operation in the game's story mode as quickly as possible. Time Attack includes an online leaderboard that personal bests can be uploaded to.
• The Prince Vorkken (DLC): A paid downloadable add-on exclusive to The Wonderful 101: Remastered. The Prince Vorkken is a special game mode that can be enabled in story mode to allow you to play through the game as Prince Vorkken, not as a mere team member, but as the sole leader of the Wonderful Ones, and with access to the full range of abilities seen in Vorkken's boss fights. The Prince Vorkken can also be used in Time Attack.
• The Wonderful One: After School Hero: A free downloadable story expansion exclusive to The Wonderful 101: Remastered. The Wonderful One: After School Hero is a side-scrolling run and gun platformer focused around 360° shooting. Set between The Wonderful 101's final boss and its Epilogue, this story expansion focuses on Luka's training to become a Wonderful One. Much like the main game's 28 story Operations and other game modes, this expansion includes 12 levels of story content, 4 extra bonus levels, and alternate game modes, all of which include online leaderboards.
  The Wonderful One: After School Hero is also available to purchase as a standalone game, with minor differences from its add-on version.

Story

The Wonderful 101's story mode begins with an attack on Blossom City: the start of Earth Defense War III, the third conflict between humanity and the invading GEATHJERK Federation. Wonder-Red, a new member of the Wonderful 100 (One-Double-Oh), is tasked by the CENTINELS Commander with leading the team in the immediate defense of the city, despite the complaints of other Wonderful Ones such as Wonder-Blue.

As the Wonderful 100 battle the alien invaders, the majority of the GEATHJERK invasion force is held at bay by Earth's Hyper Plasma Shield while humanity awaits the arrival of the Shirogane Comet: an anti-matter particle weapon expected to vaporize the entire GEATHJERK Armada when it returns from its concealment in outer space. However, when the earthbound invaders discover the Super Reactors powering Earth's shield, the Wonderful 100 are now tasked with the defense of all five Super Reactors located around the world.

In their travels to protect Earth, the Wonderful 100 meet up with the remaining members of the team, encounter mysterious alien agents, join forces with various new allies, and uncover the truth behind the GEATHJERK invasion.

See Operations for brief summaries of the game's level-to-level story

Characters

Main Article: Characters

Voice Cast and Credits

Main Article: Credits

Development

Main Article: The History of The Wonderful 101

Localization Differences

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Though the plot is the same in all versions of the game, some differences exist between The Wonderful 101's English script and its Japanese script, largely concerning minor traits of certain characters

• Some scenes in the Japanese version of THE WONDERFUL 101 Director's Edition Trailer were removed from the English Version of the trailer for censorship reasons, though the scenes were not removed from the game.
• Wonder-Green ends almost all of his sentences with the verbal tic "チ (chi)" in the Japanese version of his dialogue.
• In Operation 002-B's first Unite Whip QTE, Wonder-Pink's panties are flashed to the camera on Japanese language settings, whereas she instead winks at the camera on English settings.
• Wonder-White makes heavy use of Japanese wordplay in the Japanese version of his dialogue, a character trait which is not reflected in the English version of his dialogue.
• The Japanese script contains some instances of stronger language compared to the English script, such as Wonder-Blue saying "貴様 (kisama)".

Appearances in Other Media

Later PlatinumGames Titles

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Bayonetta 2

• The Wonderful 101's roll out jingle is heard at the end of a news program in the Prologue.
• Wonder-Red's "Diplomacy fails again!" catchphrase is referenced by Bayonetta in Chapter XII, when she responds to a threat from the Lumen Sage with "So you're saying diplomacy has failed then?" It is also referenced by one of Rodin's possible shop quotes "Diplomacy has failed. Thank goodness capitalism still has its place in hell. Let's do business."
• Wonder-Blue's weapon, the Valiantium Blade, appears in Bayonetta 2 wielded by the angels Valiance and Valor. Although this version of the Valiantium Blade has a completely different appearance, Valiance's in-game description suggests that it and Wonder-Blue's sword are one and the same.
• Wonder-Rodin's weapon, Yagyu, appears in Bayonetta 2 as a weapon used by Jeanne with the same name. Yagyu's in-game description references Rodin's usage of the weapon in The Wonderful 101.
• The Platinum Code, a cheat code present in all versions of The Wonderful 101 that makes it possible to unlock secret characters early, returned in Bayonetta 2 with a similar function.

Super Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Wonder-Red's Trophy

The seven Main Wonderful Ones appear as trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Two tracks from The Wonderful 101 are also included in the game as unlockable stage music: ST01 Roll Out, Wonderful 100! Battle in the Blossom City Burbs (shortened to "ST01 Roll Out, Wonderful 100!") which plays on the Pilotwings stage, and JERGINGHA - PLANET DESTRUCTION FORM which plays on the Mario Galaxy stage.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Wonder-Red and Wonder-Blue return as spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The two tracks, ST01 Roll Out, Wonderful 100! and JERGINGHA - PLANET DESTRUCTION FORM, also return as stage music for stages with music listed in the "Other" and "Super Smash Bros." categories.

Reception

The Wonderful 101 received generally positive reviews. The Wii U version has an aggregate critic score of 78/100 on Metacritic, similar scores for the Remastered Versions, and generally slightly higher user scores for all versions of the game.
The PC Version of The Wonderful 101: Remastered has a "Very Positive" rating on its Steam Store page, though some negative user reviews notably criticized it over technical issues and insufficient keyboard and mouse support.

The Wonderful 101 received praise for its unique gameplay and over-the-top style of humor and action, as well as for its characters. However, the game's unusual controls and harsh learning curve received a more mixed response: some reviewers found the game's controls and combat to be unwieldy, whereas others appreciated the high skill level required by the game.

Sales

In its first week of release in Europe, The Wonderful 101 ranked poorly at No.22 in UK sales charts. In Japan, the game sold 5,258 physical copies during its first week and went on to sell 27,028 physical copies in its lifetime. The Wonderful 101 performed marginally better in the Unite States, selling 49,000 copies by the end of 2013.
The Wii U Version of The Wonderful 101 was not considered a commercial success by PlatinumGames. Prior to release, Hideki Kamiya expressed concerns that insufficient marketing and consumer uncertainty towards original games would result in poor sales for The Wonderful 101, despite its positive pre-release reviews.

Remastered Version

A teaser image circulated by PlatinumGames
(original Twitter post)

Despite The Wonderful 101's poor sales on the Nintendo Wii U, PlatinumGames expressed interest in porting The Wonderful 101 to the Nintendo Switch as early as 2018,, and teased such a rerelease on social media as early as 2017.

On February 3, 2020, PlatinumGames launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund an enhanced rerelease titled The Wonderful 101: Remastered, targeting a Nintendo Switch release as its first stretch goal and, surprisingly, a Windows (Steam) and Playstation 4 version as the second and third stretch goals, respectively. The campaign almost immediately secured funding for all three proposed versions, and within 24 hours the campaign crossed $1 million dollars in funding. The campaign concluded on March 6, 2020 with a final total of 33,199 backers pledging ¥235,320,528 — successfully reaching the $2.25 million dollar stretch goal.
PlatinumGames expressed that the intention of the campaign was to gauge the popularity of The Wonderful 101 and to reunite fans of the game.

The Wonderful 101: Remastered originally targeted a release in April 2020, but was delayed due complications arising from the starting COVID-19 pandemic. The Wonderful 101: Remastered was digitally released early to backers on May 7, 2020, roughly two weeks before its first official releases on May 19th in North America and May 22nd in Europe, and a month before its release in Japan on June 11th. Physical copies were planned to be distributed early to backers as well, but this was not possible due the aforementioned complications. Backers affected by shipping delays were issued a free Steam download code for the Windows version of the game as compensation. Likewise, the physical retail release of The Wonderful 101: Remastered was delayed to June 30th in North America and July 3rd for Europe.

Main Article: The Wonderful 101: Remastered

Gallery

Gameplay

Physical Media

Disc Art (European Wii U)

Nintendo Switch Cartridge

Trivia

• The Wonderful 101 first released in Europe on the same day that the first Devil May Cry game released in Japan (August 23rd.)

External Links

• PlatinumGames Official The Wonderful 101 Blog
• Nintendo Official The Wonderful 101 Website (Archive)
• The Wonderful 101 Wikipedia Article