W101 is my favourite Platinum game and perhaps my favourite character action game. It’s colourful has a deep fighting system which takes some time and fine tuning, but boooi I am always excited to play this again and hone my skills. Hard difficulty is fine but I’m working on the tougher missions now.
And man do I love the theme song.
🎼Danger's coming, looming large
So who's gonna make a stand?
One-hundred rangers are taking charge
The line is drawn in the sand
Knuckles crack
In two-hundred very different ways
But each and every one has got
The same thing to say...🎼

It's a damn shame this game can't seem to find any success. It sold poorly on the Wii U even by that console's dismal standards and the wider release on a number of systems that people actually own and it again feeling like a bit of a dud. Granted, I'm probably part of the problem since I didn't buy it a second time and only played this remaster on PS+ Extra. All this is to say that this game is incredible and deserves more love. The Wonderful 101 is a very unique game and offers all the things people usually love about Platinum games.

It's a character-action game where you control a team rather than a character. The main combat technique is the unite formation which gather your team together to take the form of a weapon. The main unite formations are fist, sword, gun, whip, hammer, claws and bomb. Rather than learning a long list of combos, it's more about picking the right formation for the particular scenario. The more teammates you shove into a unite formation, the bigger and more powerful it is. You can combo the different unites in interesting ways and it's fun to figure out which weapons are best to counter certain enemies. You also have a dodge into slow motion from Bayonetta and an attack counter from Metal Gear Rising which are fun to use.

The boss fights are fantastic which isn't surprising considering the developer. There's a lot to discover with these fights as some weapons are more effective against some bosses or are used to counter certain moves. The game generally leaves you to figure this out. The finishers on these boss fights are all really satisfying and the quick time events work really well in this game. A lot of the QTEs are using a unite formation at the designated time which wonderfully utilises the main game mechanic in the cinematics rather than just tapping a random button. There are some regular button tapping QTEs but this game has the singular best one in all of video games. The set pieces are really great and keep you surprised about what's coming next. Whether it be a boss fight turning into Punch-Out or a bullet hell.

It nails the Satuday morning cartoon vibe it's going for which kept me smiling and it has deep and interesting gameplay which kept me replaying in quick succession. It only comes second to Metal Gear Rising in my favourite Platinum game. Clearly not enough people have played it. We're never going to get The Wonderful 102 so I'll just have to appreciate this for the unique gem that it is.

I wanted to LOVE this game, but instead I just really liked it. I love it in a conceptual level. Aesthethic, dialogue, setpieces, but... I am usually more interested in the ideas, the style and the vibes of games more than their mechanics; one of my favorite games ever is Nier and the combat in that is barely better than average. However I truly did not enjoy the gameplay here, at least not nearly as much as Bayonetta or MGS Rising Revengeance. It is good, I think, but to me it's more annoying than it is compelling. The camera always feels like it is too close or too far away, getting hit is a drag because it makes all your little dudes go flying all over and you have to pick them up like rings in Sonic and you're left completely unable to defend or attack too. Past a certain point I was forcing myself to slog through the levels just to get to the amazing story setpieces.

Really good game though, I liked it, it was worth it.

this is a terrible review tbh

The game Platinum Games was always destined to make. Maybe the most interesting action game I've ever played, and the ultimate Platinum package. It's such a bombastic journey from start to finish, and finally allows the over-the-top set pieces and genre-bending mechanics and levels to be the meat of the game rather than a distraction. It's by no means perfect, but it may be the perfect Platinum Game's game. Also, the finale is probably Platinum's best final act in any of their games. Thank you Kamiya for making really weird games.

101/10

Who said QTEs were bad game design?

This game has some of the best combat I have ever played in an action game, at first because you only have a few moves at your disposal and also needing to utilise a drawing mechanic to switch between weapons, it can feel a bit clunky, especially with this remastered version which uses the right stick to draw, but the more you play, the more moves you unlock and the more you get the hang of it, and soon you will be juggling and destroying these enemies like there’s no tomorrow and constantly switching weapons to fit with your current situation. The game is also really challenging as the enemies can hit like a truck, one hit from them can cause all of your wonderful ones to scatter, leaving you very vulnerable as you can’t unite morph or attack back until you picked them back up, it encourages the players to observe the enemies closely as well as their surroundings in order to leave the battle mostly unscathed, and though it might feel a bit punishing at times, there is nothing more satisfying and awesome then successfully timing a parry and walloping the enemies into shreds.

This game is also paced really well with many brilliant set pieces, you will go from the city to an underwater base, then to a volcano and many more with action packed events sprinkled all over, you will be all over the place and the energy never slows down, which compliments extremely well with the simple and cheesy tokusatsu story and cast, making for an immensely engaging experience.

However I do have one minor complaint, and it’s the multiple gameplay styles this game throws at you from time to time during a couple of levels. The Space Harrier segments are pretty fun and I really enjoyed the Punch-Out boss fights but I didn’t quite like those 3D isometric shooter segments, it always felt a bit slow with enemies coming at you from every corner, making you lose a ton of health.

But overall, if you’re a fan of action games, there is no excuse for you not to play this absolutely wonderful game! It needs way more attention than it is currently getting.

Before growing up and having to embrace adulthood, and all the reality that came with it, there was a time where you could turn on your television and be whisked away into a world of colorful heroes, giant robots, cheesy fights and enough transformation poses to guarantee that you accidentally break at least something in your house when you mimicked them. But, just for that half an hour, you could imagine yourself as a hero, a stalwart defender of justice and peace, fighting monsters, aliens, mutated creatures and really anything that seems evil. It's a wonderful feeling, and the Wonderful 101 wants you to relive the days of doing silly poses to the rainbow adorned heroes taking on the bad of the week.

Here, alien invaders, the GEATHJERK, have launched their assault on our great planet Earth. And here, you take control of not one, not two, but an legion of 100 heroes united to take them on.

Essentially, imagine Pikmin, Super Sentai, and Kamen Rider were blended together into a wonderful, over the top, challenging, but obtuse action game. Don't let it's appearance fool you: this is a Platinum Games game, and as such, it's all about the frenetic, stylish, and challenging action gameplay.

The main attraction here is the system known as the Wonder Liner. By drawing a shape(in the case of this remaster, using the right stick), you can form a specific weapon called a Unite Morph such as a fist, a sword, a gun, and much more. The bigger the shape, the bigger the damage and the bigger the morph. But this comes at a cost: the 100 heroes in your group are essentially your resources, and by drawing a circle around helpless civilians on each level, you can recruit more and more to your ranks, including unique heroes. The Liner also uses the Unite Gauge, your battery level, as the size of the morph is also determined as such.

The Wonderful 101 is a hard game to get into at times. Something that likely precedes it's own reputation as an underlooked gem, and something indicative of Platinum's brand of game. However, W101 can be obtuse for the wrong reasons. The game at times simply does not clue the player into enough information to make judgments on what they encounter. While this allows players to discover new techniques and ways to play on their own, certain info feels it should be divulged. For example, the block ability of the game, Unite Guts, is only effective against specific types of attacks. Guts is shaped like a pudding, so it gives you a clue as to what it can block, but it still feels as if the game's logic is overriding what the player expects. The Guts, since the game doesn't say this outright, can be bigger or smaller depending on how big the current Unite Morph is, and as such can deflect bigger attacks. There's certain illogical aspects throughout the game that can make it frustrating at times. The game's learning curve is also notoriously high, but, when this game clicks, it becomes an wonderful classic.

More than just the satisfying and intricate gameplay, is the pure spectacle, passion and heroic spirit emanating from every piece of W101. From results screens for each fight taking the form of a newspaper congratulating our great heroes for their valiance, to the insane presentation of boss fights through(a rare sight) fun quick time events that endow the heroic action unfolding before you.

The characters are also fun and surprisingly likable despite being essentially parodies. The game is also really, really funny with Platinum's goofy and earnest sense of humor that shines even beyond character interactions and to the gameplay itself in many surprising ways.

Passion is in it's purest form in this game. It's a passion project from Platinum, and it feels as such that you can't help but love it. If you can surpass the game's learning curve and ride with the game instead of fighting it, there's a truly unforgettable experience here.

Most of all, the game whisks you back to that innocent time, where you with all your heart cheered on the great heroes to defeat the cartoon bad guy. Wonderful indeed, and a wonderful game of pure heroic passion. Give it a try, you may just be surprised.

Team, diplomacy has failed, remove half a star from Bayonetta for not being as fun.

I cannot see my character. He is very small. His hitbox is very big. When I get hit I run around in circles on the floor. I cannot comprehend this. I try to make a whip, they turn into claws. I try to make a hammer, it turns into a whip. My character is behind a 50 gigaton robot. Where is he. I cannot imagine trying to 100% this and having to master the shooter sections. I hit a giant turtle with a big weapon. It works. I hit it again. This time it doesn't, and my amorphous blob is spread over an area the size of DMC 1's map.

A metallic clang reverberates inside my skull.

My Platinum™ damage metal instantly goes to a silver. By the time I finish mopping the floor, the giant turtle has already hit me again. The Kamiyagamers sit in the audience and they laugh at me - "You should have already played it when you do your first playthrough" - my smile turns into a frown. I wish I was playing Ōkami. Where is my character. I do a jumping action by pressing the A button. My character is instantly thrown into the isometric pit between two cliffs that looked like they were 1 nanometer apart. The turtle hits me again - it looked like this attack could be blocked, but unfortunately I either didn't properly understand the physics of jelly or I misjudged the weight of the attack to be 80 megatons instead of 120 megatons, which everyone knows is the lethal limit for cartoon gelatine. Except when it isn't. "I should have already played it" I think to myself.

I cannot find my character.

I have a lot of issues with this, but ultimately once you get past those comboing enemies is in fact really enjoyable (especially when you get several morphs going at once) and the setpieces are by far the best Kamiya has ever stood for, and probably some of the best in any character action game. The plot is fun, I laughed several times and the characters are all both enjoyable and cool. The wonderline is a Wonderful™ mechanic (the 90% of the time where it works as expected). I had a good amount of fun with this despite the admittedly pretty frequent frustrations. Where is Wonder Red. I cannot see him on my screen

It's easily one of the most charming action games for the visuals and aesthetic alone, this game easily has some of the best and over the top quick time events I've ever seen. The Saturday morning superhero cartoon style is so fun even though at some points it can make some weird tonal clashes with Green especially trying to hard to be funny during a tragic backstory for example.

It took me a while to get comfortable with this game though. The mouse controls are dogshit when it comes to drawing shapes so I had to resort to controlling a Switch controller to my PC. Even then the learning curve to get adjusted to the combat wasn't the most fun with some enemies being way too annoying to deal with and took too long to figure even bordering on getting repetitive fighting the same enemies all the time. The zoomed out top down perspective sometimes even confused me as it got hard to tell where my character is and some enemy attacks being hard to telegraph (especially with multiple enemies when they even attacked you when they were out of view).

Regardless when this game clicks it really clicks and it's pretty satisfying switching between the different powers and learning how to make bigger shapes to plus countering and dodging enemies started to feel more understandable later on which made it smoother.