This review contains spoilers
Once upon a time, Hideki Kamiya had the resumé to back up his ego.
The Wonderful 101 is not only a pastiche of superhero comics and old tokusatsu shows, but also a celebration of PlatinumGames's achievements up to its initial Wii U release, coming off of a near-perfect streak of four beloved action games.
The story wears camp on its sleeve, with an amusing cast of characters and over-the-top setpieces. Overall, it's decent, but it's bloated by some unhinged plot twists, inappropriate tonal shifts, and the most pathetic antagonist you'll ever meet.
The combat is finely crafted, with extra-versatile weapons and highly intricate enemy design. Only one enemy forces you to play by its rules, but even that one will give up on gating you eventually. Even just standing still with certain weapons will auto-block some attacks, making your arsenal feel like much more than just strength and speed.
The actual gameplay, however, seems to value spectacle above anything else.
Although W101 has great combat, about 1/3 of the game plays in entirely different genres. There are so many shoot 'em up sections, it made me wonder if Kamiya would rather be directing that instead of action games; and there are entire ten-minute segments that mimic Zaxxon and Space Harrier, severely disrupting the flow of their levels and making the game a poor replay. And that's a shame, because in spite of its obnoxious pacing, W101 is probably the most passionate game in Platinum's library.
The Wonderful 101 is the end of an era in many ways. It is the last game directed by Hideki Kamiya before he atrophied his frontal lobe rage-baiting randoms on Twitter, and the last great game from PlatinumGames. It is absolutely worth your time.
The Wonderful 101 is not only a pastiche of superhero comics and old tokusatsu shows, but also a celebration of PlatinumGames's achievements up to its initial Wii U release, coming off of a near-perfect streak of four beloved action games.
The story wears camp on its sleeve, with an amusing cast of characters and over-the-top setpieces. Overall, it's decent, but it's bloated by some unhinged plot twists, inappropriate tonal shifts, and the most pathetic antagonist you'll ever meet.
The combat is finely crafted, with extra-versatile weapons and highly intricate enemy design. Only one enemy forces you to play by its rules, but even that one will give up on gating you eventually. Even just standing still with certain weapons will auto-block some attacks, making your arsenal feel like much more than just strength and speed.
The actual gameplay, however, seems to value spectacle above anything else.
Although W101 has great combat, about 1/3 of the game plays in entirely different genres. There are so many shoot 'em up sections, it made me wonder if Kamiya would rather be directing that instead of action games; and there are entire ten-minute segments that mimic Zaxxon and Space Harrier, severely disrupting the flow of their levels and making the game a poor replay. And that's a shame, because in spite of its obnoxious pacing, W101 is probably the most passionate game in Platinum's library.
The Wonderful 101 is the end of an era in many ways. It is the last game directed by Hideki Kamiya before he atrophied his frontal lobe rage-baiting randoms on Twitter, and the last great game from PlatinumGames. It is absolutely worth your time.