Wii U fans won’t have to wait much longer for one of the most hotly anticipated Wii U titles of the year, as The Wonderful 101 hits the shelves (and the Nintendo eShop) this Friday 23rd August.
Developed by Platinum Games, The Wonderful 101 puts you in control of a group of superheroes to defeat alien invaders known as the Geathjerk and save the world from domination. As they combat the Geathjerk, players can discover new members of the ‘Wonderful 100’ and convert endangered civilians into temporary superheroes for you, the 101st member, to control.
The player is initially given control of just a few superheroes – Wonder-Red, Wonder-Blue, Wonder-Green and Wonder-Pink – but there are many more heroes to be discovered, including some unlikely characters like Wonder-Toilet and Wonder-Painter.
Each member of the Wonderful 100 has a special power called a Unite Morph power. These powers use Wonder energy to transform the team of heroes into a variety of objects to combat the Geathjerk. For example, Wonder-Red can transform the group into the Unite Hand, whilst Wonder-Blue can become the Unite Sword. All it takes to unleash these powers is a simply motion on the Wii U GamePad, such as a wavy line to unleash Wonder-Pink’s Unite Morph power, the Unite Whip.
Wonder-Blue’s power Unite Sword being used against a group of Geathjerk.
As discussed by Hideki Kamiya, director of the game, at a Nintendo Direct conference dedicated to The Wonderful 101, each of these Unite Morph powers has its own benefits, adding a tactical edge to the gameplay. Whilst Unite Hand is very powerful and can be useful when fighting a sole powerful enemy, the player is better using the Unite Sword when fighting a larger group of enemies due to its much greater attack range. As players progress and unlock new heroes, even more Unite Morph powers are unlocked adding even more tactical variety to the player’s arsenal, including Wonder-White’s Unite Claw, and Wonder-Black’s Unite Bomb. Players can even unlock the opportunity to use up to five Unite Morph powers at once, leading to endless possibilities for the player.
Keen to emphasis the tactical aspects of the game, Kamiya also discussed the weaknesses of Unite Morph powers. Unite Morph powers may be powerful, but they also slow the heroes down considerably. Therefore it’s important for players to use the weaker Team Attack, which can slow down, or even immobilise enemies, allowing players to Morph into their much more powerful forms. It seems that this game is not quite as simplistic as it first seems.
Whilst the Unite Morph powers can be game-changing during battle, they can also be used in a variety of other ways to help players overcome obstacles. The team can morph into a ladder to climb large obstacles, or a hang glider to fly across wide chasms. Even the powers that look like they’d only be useful in battle can be used in many other ways. The Unite Sword, for example, can be used as a key to open locked doors and gates.
Players also have the opportunity to expand their repertoire of skills at Wonderful Marts, where O-Parts, the in-game currency, can be used to buy extra Morph powers, or upgrade those that you’ve already got. Players can purchase the Unite Guts, which can deflect enemy attacks, or the Unite Spring, which lets players dodge and jump over enemies. O-Parts are given as rewards for completing mission, with the player given a score based on the amount of damage that they received, the amount of combos they unleashed and the time that it took to complete the mission. For those perfectionists out there, this could mean a whole lot of replaying.
See the director’s extended trailer below:
Players can already download a demo from the Nintendo eShop, and the entire game will be available for download or purchase this Friday (23rd August), exclusively for the Wii U.
