The Wonderful 101 Review Thread

The example I've used before was the hammer, which I had a lot of trouble drawing at first. The hand, gun, sword and whip are all very easy to draw and I have no idea how the hell you'd ever have trouble with those after playing the game for 20 minutes, but I kept getting whips when drawing the hammer. Then I realized I was an idiot and I was drawing it like this:

jA9V6RCytFDmZ.png


when I should have been doing this:

jbzTch5d3w59BG.png



so yeah, instead of just blaming the game I tried something different and had consistent success with it. Now there might be other troublesome shapes in the full game, but every review I've looked at is just nonstop spoilers so I can't be sure if that's what they mean.
 
Mistouze said:
But no button press is going to give you access to a choice of 7 weapons. Right stick is the way, practice + slowdown will make reliable in the end I think.
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Or the GamePad could be leveraged to display the weapons as buttons on the screen, similar to the easy mode in Street Fighter 4 on 3DS. Clearly though, the game is designed to reward skills.
 
Mupod said:
The example I've used before was the hammer, which I had a lot of trouble drawing at first. The hand, gun, sword and whip are all very easy to draw and I have no idea how the hell you'd ever have trouble with those after playing the game for 20 minutes, but I kept getting whips when drawing the hammer. Then I realized I was an idiot and I was drawing it like this:

jA9V6RCytFDmZ.png


when I should have been doing this:

jbzTch5d3w59BG.png



so yeah, instead of just blaming the game I tried something different and had consistent success with it. Now there might be other troublesome shapes in the full game, but every review I've looked at is just nonstop spoilers so I can't be sure if that's what they mean.
Click to expand...
Hmm, I kept drawing the first picture as well. If I try the demo again, I'll have to try drawing more similar to the 2nd picture. Just seemed weird that the line would glow yellow while drawing something similar to the top pic, yet make the whip appear.
 
Echoenigma said:
You can't expect game reviewers to learn completely new control styles though, not everyone has time for that kind of trial and error nowadays.
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this has to be a joke.
they get paid as professionals to do that kind of thing,
and if anyone should be devoting the time to learn the controls it's them.

i can picture these reviews back when games first started.....
you mean i actually have to push forward and press a button as well to jump...
 
metalslimer said:
Well madworld was much shorter with much less content than i expect from them
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That's a fair complaint. I still really loved it, though. The mechanics were just really fun. It's sad it didn't sell well.

On that note, however, there's similar complaints being spoken about W101. While it obviously is not a perfect game, it seems novel and fun, and I trust platinum enough to trust that I'll like this.

For the record, my least favorite Platinum game is MGR, which is funny, because MGS is my favorite series ever.
 
Well reviews are reviews. Just like there are plenty of movies that get rated badly that I like, the same thing happens with games. I admit though that I found the controls in the demo to have a learning curve, and the fact that drawing shapes can trigger the non-drawing menu (at least in the demo) was frustrating. Thankfully the right stick works much better for certain shapes (like the sword for example).

I do think reviewers should invest the time in learning the intricacies of a game's controls, but you have to remember that the average consumer may not be willing to spend that much time either. Also, how much time a reviewer has to review a game often depends on the company they work for. If their boss says "get this review out in 2 days" and they only have that amount of time to play it, it may affect their reviews. Like someone said before, reviews are opinions. So read them and make an impression yourself as to whether you'd think you'd like it or not. Try out the demo, etc.

Meanwhile did no one see the news about Nintendo only shipping 30k copies of this to stores in Japan for its first week? Seems like their expectations are low...
 
ZSaberLink said:
Well reviews are reviews. Just like there are plenty of movies that get rated badly that I like, the same thing happens with games. I admit though that I found the controls in the demo to have a learning curve, and the fact that drawing shapes can trigger the non-drawing menu (at least in the demo) was frustrating. Thankfully the right stick works much better for certain shapes (like the sword for example).

I do think reviewers should invest the time in learning the intricacies of a game's controls, but you have to remember that the average consumer may not be willing to spend that much time either. Also, how much time a reviewer has to review a game often depends on the company they work for. If their boss says "get this review out in 2 days" and they only have that amount of time to play it, it may affect their reviews. Like someone said before, reviews are opinions. So read them and make an impression yourself as to whether you'd think you'd like it or not. Try out the demo, etc.

Meanwhile did no one see the news about Nintendo only shipping 30k copies of this to stores in Japan for its first week? Seems like their expectations are low...
Click to expand...

We need 101 fingers crossed! It doesn't look like Wii U owners in Japan are buying much of anything.
 
Mupod said:
The example I've used before was the hammer, which I had a lot of trouble drawing at first. The hand, gun, sword and whip are all very easy to draw and I have no idea how the hell you'd ever have trouble with those after playing the game for 20 minutes, but I kept getting whips when drawing the hammer. Then I realized I was an idiot and I was drawing it like this:

jA9V6RCytFDmZ.png


when I should have been doing this:

jbzTch5d3w59BG.png



so yeah, instead of just blaming the game I tried something different and had consistent success with it. Now there might be other troublesome shapes in the full game, but every review I've looked at is just nonstop spoilers so I can't be sure if that's what they mean.
Click to expand...


hSbE0.gif
 
Hiltz said:
We need 101 fingers crossed! It doesn't look like Wii U owners in Japan are buying much of anything.
Click to expand...

Well they are somewhat buying Pikmin 3 at least. And in all honesty, Japan is buying more Wii Us than folks in the US or like several times what the EU is buying...
 
Wow, this is certainly not getting as well reviewed as I expected from playing the Demo. I mean, I'll still get it since I fucking love Platinum games, but damn, maybe Metal Gear Rising will in fact be the best Platinum game this year...
 
The cock example raises a question.
Are the drawings handed? Can a mirror version of the knob be used?

I'm just thinking of left handers drawing the knob.
 
Mr E. said:
The cock example raises a question.
Are the drawings handed? Can a mirror version of the knob be used?

I'm just thinking of left handers drawing the knob.
Click to expand...

wouldn't surprise me, although I didn't try. I mean, my top example has the drawing rotated 90 degrees, which is what made me have difficulty in the first place.
 
Mupod said:
wouldn't surprise me, although I didn't try. I mean, my top example has the drawing rotated 90 degrees, which is what made me have difficulty in the first place.
Click to expand...
The horizontal example is how a lefty would draw it, well as a lefty myself that's how I would do it.
I imagine a righty would find the opposite easier.
 
mf luder said:
In the nintendo direct he said draw a 'right angle'.
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ha really? I cant seem to find any image of the shape on google images, and I am not at home, but I remember it to be a more obtuse angle than a straight right angle. But I dont recall having an issue drawing the gun ever. Perhaps I even drew right angles too. I was just making sure he draws the actual shape that the game shows you. So my memory could be wrong.
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
Well, some people really enjoyed RE6 controls and put crazy moves in you tube. Many others did not. In my case, I truly think the controls are far from perfect but they are serviciable, so I was having a lot of fun. Maybe I will get better, maybe there are sure bet patterns, maybe I do really need to take my time. But I dislike people judging people "lack of Skills" when is pretty known that alternative control inputs are not perfect or
even pragmactic at some genres. So maybe you can wait a little before using that argument? Maybe is like Kid Icarus and truly it is a "Get used to and is awesome" thng... maybe is a "serviciable but I prefer bottons" as Zelda... Just don't blame, yet, the player.
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I totally get what your saying. We will just have to wait and see, although the demo(for me) so far shows what they have works.

I feel that the people who like P*'s games(or action games in general) and commented in the demo thread at how well they used the gamepad (with even some of their kids having success) proves the control pad works.

I'm not saying it's easy for everyone. Some people are wired differently. Some can adapt to new things, while others take more time to get used to a brand new way to play that requires a little more hand eye coordination than they are used to giving.

I could never pull off the combo vids in a game like Bayonetta without some serious practice... and that is ALL buttons. But if you've played that game (and others like it) and tried some of those insane combos, you can't pull a 1/3 of them off just because you know the button order. It's all about the timing of those button presses (knowing when and when not to hit the button) which is where the skill comes into play. And I think timing and the speed of drawing out a morph (let alone learning the correct shape) are the main issue with those frustrated with the gamepad.

Mashing a button or the gamepad will get you the same results in a game that requires skill. A lot of frustration

It's up to the player to learn and master the moves given. They shouldn't expect the controls to do the hard work for them, especially in a game like this, that rewards skill.

But like I said, we will see if the other shapes fail to register once the main game teaches you how to draw them and no amount of patience, timing, or experience allows you to perform it consistently.


The main issue with RE6 wasn't the mercenary mode where a lot of people on youtube are pulling off the combos. It's the main game!
The story, the pacing, the minigame driving/shooting sections, the technical aspects, the whole vision of that entry is up for debate. But the controls for the regular standard gameplay worked fine especially if you learned or knew of the hidden moves that the game failed to tell you about.
 
majik13 said:
ha really? I cant seem to find any image of the shape on google images, and I am not at home, but I remember it to be a more obtuse angle than a straight right angle. But I dont recall having an issue drawing the gun ever. Perhaps I even drew right angles too. I was just making sure he draws the actual shape that the game shows you. So my memory could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Its at 4.50 in the direct.
 
My small and only input on drawing shapes was that I pretty much had it down after an hour with the demo. I dont really see why it needs to be so easy a baby can do it, but to each his own. I enjoy easy to learn hard to master mechanics like counterstrike etc.
 
Haines said:
My small and only input on drawing shapes was that I pretty much had it down after an hour with the demo. I dont really see why it needs to be so easy a baby can do it, but to each his own. I enjoy easy to learn hard to master mechanics like counterstrike etc.
Click to expand...

If I can't just press a single button to do every action in the game, then it's a bad game.
 
I have yet to read a review of Counter-Strike talking about how cumbersome the control and inputs are, and how they only work 75/90% of the time
 
ViewtifulJC said:
I have yet to read a review of Counter-Strike talking about how cumbersome the control and inputs are, and how they only work 75/90% of the time
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When I play Street Fighter, 30% of the times I try to make a Shouryuken I end up making a Hadouken or a single punch with some lateral movement.
 
Frodo said:
When I play Street Fighter, 30% of the times I try to make a Shouryuken I end up making a Hadouken or a single punch with some lateral movement.
Click to expand...
Quoted for the fucking truth. Its hard as hell for me to do a Shouryuken in SF. It don't say the game has "broken" controls because of it. I simply have not (and don't care to) put the time in to learn the mechanics.
 
PlatinumGamesJP said:
Wait a second... The concept looks interesting to you, you like non-traditional games, but suddenly W101 doesn't appeal to you because someone (and not even someone, but some unnamed member of an ever-changing editorial board) said something in a review?

You are under no obligation to buy, play, like our game or anything else for that matter... But I promise you that you are far more capable at making informed decisions about what you like/will like than anyone working at any review producing outlet anywhere.

--------------

I'd also like to add that I've read plenty of the reviews, and honestly, I'm far more interested in the impressions that will happen on the threads here and on our board than I am in reading any more of anything in a standard review format.

Just think of this. Games are about play. Play is about fun. Why don't reviews spend more time talking about that? In the IGN review, the word "fun" is used once. Edge once. Digitalspy twice. CVG twice. Gamesradar 3 times. Videogamer.com twice. In the Gamespot review, it appears 0 times. It doesn't show up in Eurogamer either. Nor in Nowgamer. Nintendolife used it 6 times.

If you play games to have fun, I don't think there is much use in paying attention to reviews, good and bad, that barely even broach the subject. You are better off making the decision yourself.
Click to expand...

"Fun" is a facile critique that says nothing about the mechanics, controls, or other presentation aspects of a game. It's as useless as saying "This game is awesome/amazing/super."

If you're truly interested in impressions from GAF though, I downloaded the demo (got Platinum rank on Normal). While I found the core gameplay to be addictive with in-depth combo and combat mechanics, I found the controls to be unwieldy. Both the touchscreen and the right stick.

Many reviews (even positive ones) have mentioned this. So you can ignore reviews, but when the majority agree on a single negative aspect, maybe it's worth paying attention to. Where there's smoke, there's often fire.
 
I figured the 'draw a shape of the weapon' would draw criticism. Couldn't it just be a weapon/power wheel like every other game?

If a lot of people think the game is too difficult, hard to control, or confusing, maybe there should have been some extra options to accommodate them.
 
tournanext said:
I figured the 'draw a shape of the weapon' would draw criticism. Couldn't it just be a weapon/power wheel like every other game?

If a lot of people think the game is too difficult, hard to control, or confusing, maybe there should have been some extra options to accommodate them.
Click to expand...

Well easy mode is there for them.
 
Mr E. said:
The cock example raises a question.
Are the drawings handed? Can a mirror version of the knob be used?

I'm just thinking of left handers drawing the knob.
Click to expand...

They can be drawn any way. Mirrored, upside down etc.

They only strict ones are hammer and, as a result, bomb I'm assuming since they're the same shape. For hammer you start with the line and for bomb you start with the circle.

Every thing else is really lenient. Gun still registers from acute angles and you can get whip from a McDonalds rounded m.
 
Riki said:
Personally, I like that it's draw shapes. It makes you feel more involved in the game and makes you focus a lot more.
Click to expand...

this. Some other person put it better but...

people seem to think that controls can only improve by making input faster and more efficient. But if controls ask you to do something differently, that they then suck, because they are not streamlined and efficient. They fail to realize that immersion and dynamic variation are other factors for control input.
 
Heavy said:
The demo isn't the full game. When there's a common complaint, almost across-the-board, more often than not it has merit. Controls and camera.
Click to expand...

A dude here who is playing through the full game said if you could control the demo, you will do just fine in the real game.

Sure, it might get more hectic and require even quicker reactions and moves but basically from what I have read, the demo will tell you whether the controls and camera will hamper your enjoyment.

It's a very brief but thorough offering of what's in store.

You get to use many of the Unite Morphs in the demo, it's not like you just have Unite Hand.

The camera part is annoying but it doesn't break the game for me, wish it wasn't so though.

The drawing of shapes is very responsive and in my mind, about as good as it could be considering it's not something quite as simple as a button press.
 
Just saying, an option to switch from drawing shapes to a standard wheel may have been a good idea.

As for whether the camera/action is too confusing? There may not be an easy way to address that. Maybe make things simpler on easy mode and if the player dies too many times suggest they go down in difficulty.

Do enemies not give any signs that their attacks are block/dodgeable without trial and error? Like a red/blue glow?
 
The controls seem to be the center of attention on this one. Guess this game will be divided upon how the controls are, or maybe some will find it difficult to control but still find the experience fun and worth it. When something new is tried out, most of the time it either gets bashed or ends having a mix result, which IMO is what is happening on the W101. I am referring to reviews, but by how the reactions from the demo went here, I expect even better reactions from the full game by the actual users.

IMO the game controls fine using both drawing and the stick, but I found the drawing to add to the hectic nature of the action, and actually like someone else said, felt empowering when you pull it off. I ended playing with a mix of both methods, but using the gamepad more.

Also part of the game is figuring out how to deal with the different types of enemies, there seems to be more than one strategy per enemy type.
 
tournanext said:
Just saying, an option to switch from drawing shapes to a standard wheel may have been a good idea.

As for whether the camera/action is too confusing? There may not be an easy way to address that. Maybe make things simpler on easy mode and if the player dies too many times suggest they go down in difficulty.

Do enemies not give any signs that their attacks are block/dodgeable without trial and error? Like a red/blue glow?
Click to expand...

They give both visual and audio cues as to what their attack will be, and you can figure out how to counter them all pretty easy.
Plus, the game tells you in the tutorial...
 
tournanext said:
Just saying, an option to switch from drawing shapes to a standard wheel may have been a good idea.

As for whether the camera/action is too confusing? There may not be an easy way to address that. Maybe make things simpler on easy mode and if the player dies too many times suggest they go down in difficulty.

Do enemies not give any signs that their attacks are block/dodgeable without trial and error? Like a red/blue glow?
Click to expand...

They give "tells" but the problem is that sometimes you lose them off the screen and they shoot projectiles or charge you from there.
 
I went ahead and added a screen protector to my pre-order. Seems like this game is gonna make me have at that poor screen like nothing else has yet.
 
tournanext said:
Just saying, an option to switch from drawing shapes to a standard wheel may have been a good idea.
Click to expand...
I think that would actually be incompatible with the mechanic where you can split off small teams to do little unites, since the length of your line appears to dictate how many heroes end up involved in it.
 
Riki said:
Uniiiiiiiiite Cock!
Click to expand...

Apologies but I properly laughed at that.


OT: I've "postponed" my preorder because I'm skint and it's right before I get paid. Will be buying on launch day though all the same, just have to wait a few days for delivery :( Reviews have only confirmed my need for this game :D
 
TheGreatMightyPoo said:
They give "tells" but the problem is that sometimes you lose them off the screen and they shoot projectiles or charge you from there.
Click to expand...

Try playing with sound off and see if that helps.

I always try that in platinum's games eventually. The audio cues in bayonetta and vanquish blew my mind and really opened my eyes to the importance of sound design in these games.
 
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