The Wonderful 101 Review Thread

Consolewars (German)
8.5/10

Pros:
- Great action
- Varied battle system
- Well animated
- Nice atmosphere
- Unlockable heroes and powers

Cons:
- Can be confusing.
- Occasionally too hectic.
- Character models a bit rough from the near.
 
KingSnake said:
When everything around you is exploding your finger could easily tremble.
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but thats on the gamer...

Just like other's have said, you don't blame the controls in games like Street Fighter or Tekken if a move doesn't work in the heat of battle. You know it can be done, it's just your, timing/reaction/motion that is off. Skilled players on youtube have proven that the controls work fine.

But that's not to say you can criticize for the learning curve.
 
If reviewers think there are problems with the game, then fine, but what is it about the Wii U that reviewers are saying that this game is wasted on? Is it the gamepad? I don't understand. Sorry I'm weary of reading reviews for potential spoilers.
 
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.
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True, but the demo has most of the moves and you get the idea for the camera. The best advice is to play the Demo, that sold me on the game, plus reviews so far are good, they seem solid with exceptions being the minority.

Very long ago I decided not to judge a game by the reviews, but how fun it is to play. Reviewers have structured so much "reviews" that in the end some dumb stuff ends up detracting the score. I would prefer a score on certain things like

Value (how long the game is? replayability)
Fun factor (simple, is it fun?) This should be the main source of the score.
Graphics and Sound
 
Reading through these comments and criticisms of the reviews (priceless) reminds me so much of SSX Blur back in 2007. The exact same types of all over the place review scores and the same exact story of broken controls and such.

Yet it turned out that after the unusually long learning curve that the controls worked just as well as any SSX game before it and there were tons on YouTube videos to prove it. In retrospect considering that later we found out the technical shortcomings of the remote and nunchuck it's a miracle that game played like it did.
 
FlashbladeGAF said:
but thats on the gamer...

Just like other's have said, you don't blame the controls in games like Street Fighter or Tekken if a move doesn't work in the heat of battle. You know it can be done, it's just your, timing/reaction/motion that is off. Skilled players on youtube have proven that the controls work fine
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Dude, there is a reason why the figures that you need to draw are sticks, lines or circles (and not that much for "speed and reactions" reasons). Even the best games that uses Wii motes tend to have moments of lack of recognizion
 
More to the topic, I think this is going towards a 79-80. And my opinion on that is that this is not because it is average overall, but rather that someone playing it is either loving it or hating it and rarely feeling like "meh".
 
Heavy said:
It's ironic the exact features Nintendo based its platform on (Gamepad functionality, intuitive controls) was 101's undoing.
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It's UNDOING! All hope is lost. The game has now taken to crack. Roaming the streets, begging for pocket change, searching dumpsters for food.

Heavy... I... oh, nevermind.
 
Jailer of Hope said:
If reviewers think there are problems with the game, then fine, but what is it about the Wii U that reviewers are saying that this game is wasted on? Is it the gamepad? I don't understand. Sorry I'm weary of reading reviews for potential spoilers.
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That it's exclusive to and on the Wii-U


I mean, hear I thought they wanted the Wii-U to have more exclusive games, and here they go and criticize a fun and unique game for being ONLY on the Wii-U

respect!
 
I haven't played the game but I have a hard time picturing a Platinum game that has controls that don't work exactly as intended. Their games are practically defined by the learning curve. Mastering the controls means being able to pull off the necessary moves that subsequently elevate the gameplay to its intended heights.
 
I think W101 is gonna be like learning an instrument; hand someone a guitar for the first time and they'll get cramps, their fingers are gonna hurt, the sound is gonna be crap and they might get frustrated and give up. If you're not a quitter though, you'll get through that initial learning curve and gradually get better until you can make the damn thing sing. All it takes is practice.
 
To all the people that liked the demo but are considering not to buy the game due to review scores.

There was a game called gotcha force on GC. i played the demoand loved it but then the reviews came along and were downright bad (1 out of 10 bad). Nowadays its called a cult classic ahd due to bad sales it costs a lot for a used copy (may happen to this game as well). So yeah i probably should have believed my tastes.
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
Dude, there is a reason why the figures that you need to draw are sticks, lines or circles (and not that much for "speed and reactions" reasons). Even the best games that uses Wii motes tend to have moments of lack of recognizion
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dude it happens in all games with any controller.
under pressure we mess up, and blame the controller by throwing it against the wall.

When we get comfortable with the controls and are able to play calmly the less errors we make.
Not once did the pad not recognize my touch. Sure I screwed up on the shapes, but that was my fault, not the pads.

The negative gamepad reviews make it seem like your using the power glove, where the shit you draw works 20% of the time.
Once you figure out how fast or slow (and how far on the pad) you need to draw your shapes without any errors, and then once you carry that over to how you handle the stress mid battle, you will end up pulling off some of the more flashier moves like some of the youtube Let's Plays
 
FlashbladeGAF said:
dude it happens in all games with any controller.

under pressure we mess up, and blame the controller by throwing it against the wall.

When we get comfortable with the controls and are able to play calmly the less errors we make.
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Really, you are going that way of thinking? Ugh, well we will see after the launch. I liked the demo and I think it works more often than not, but I can see being a issue for many people letter on. In any case, I'm already sold to the game.
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
I was talking of the PS2 version, where it worked most of the time... and not so much in others... but had the advantage of TimeStop and move the camera to adjust were to draw.



Well, dunno if a L being is interpreted as l its failure from my part of the detection. But yeah, I way better experience with the analogue.
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its maybe nothing, and perhaps you are just saying L for easy text representation, but it is not necessarily an L shape, its not a 90 turn but more an obtuse angle.

I haven't had any trouble drawing it, as long as you know what the shape is and not drawing what you assume the shape is.
 
majik13 said:
its maybe nothing, and perhaps you are just saying L for easy text representation, but it is not necessarily an L shape, its not a 90 turn but more an obtuse angle.

I haven't had any trouble drawing it, as long as you know what the shape is and not drawing what you assume the shape is.
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This.
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
Because is a 7 and is tecnichally a "good score".
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The reviewer felt the need to comment on the 14/20 because it's not consistent with what good games usually score on the site (it is a VERY generous site). Maybe he thought w101 deserved 14.5 and not 15 ;-), or more likely based on the review that he would have scored it higher himself, but thought it was too difficult for a part of their audience.
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
Really, you are going that way of thinking? Ugh, well we will see after the launch. I liked the demo and I think it works more often than not, but I can see being a issue for many people letter on. In any case, I'm already sold to the game.
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When someone can show me they can pull off a double air combo, when I have trouble doing it myself.

I don't blame the controls.

Like I said earlier, you can criticize the learning curve, the camera, even the configuration of the controls, but the pad works fine once you take the time to learn what you can and cant do with it. Taking the time to find out how fast or slow or how wide you can draw something will help out in the long run when using that knowledge in mid battle.

It's basically all comes down to self control when it comes to the touch pad. Once you learn what you can do, you have to force yourself not to go crazy all over the gamepad in mid battle
 
Reminds me of the "unreliable" controls in Skyward Sword and Kid Icarus.

So, user error.

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. I mean, I certainly didn't expect the reviews to be amazing.
 
FlashbladeGAF said:
When someone can show me they can pull off a double air combo, when I have trouble doing it myself.

I don't blame the controls.

Like I said earlier, you can criticize the learning curve, the camera, even the configuration of the controls, but the pad works fine once you take the time to learn what you can and cant do with it. Taking the time to find out how fast or slow or how wide you can draw something will help out in the long run when using that knowledge in mid battle.

It's basically all comes down to self control when it comes to the touch pad.
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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.
 
marc^o^ said:
The reviewer felt the need to comment on the 14/20 because it's not consistent with what good games usually score on the site (it is a VERY generous site). Maybe he thought w101 deserved 14.5 and not 15 ;-), or more likely based on the review that he would have scored it higher himself, but thought it was too difficult for a part of their audience.
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Yeah I noticed that even if a game is really good, if it "doesn't appeal to everyone" jv.com won't give it a top score. Also, they have been marking games quite harshly lately, they don't hand out 18's and 19's like they did before.
 
Echoenigma said:
Reminds me of the "unreliable" controls in Skyward Sword and Kid Icarus.

So, user error.

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. I mean, I certainly didn't expect the reviews to be amazing.
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Guys, there's one button to attack, one to speed, one to jump and one to confirm your weapon after drawing it. FIFA is 10k time more complex to handle and my 10 years old son can deal with it. He just learnt.

He did the same with the 101 demo. If I was reviewers father I would expect the same from them. ^^

Heavy said:
It's ironic the exact features Nintendo based its platform on (Gamepad functionality, intuitive controls) was 101's undoing.
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My lol.
 
GetemMa said:
Once I got used to the controls and how the enemies attack and basically figured out what the game wanted me to do, the game got a lot more fun and overall I still enjoyed the demo, but that leads me to another complaint: This game wants you to play a certain way for each stage. It isn't a game where you can be creative and beat the enemies anyway you want with the provided game mechanics. W101 wants you to beat these enemies in a very specific manner with regards to using which method and where. I found this pretty disappointing considering the gameplay proposition.
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Not true.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtmqNaeI84M&feature=player_detailpage&t=122

He made a point of emphasizing this for a reason.

Zemm said:
This is the best review in the thread.
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Except it's not accurate.
 
I'm liking what I've read in the IGN review, sounds like a fantastic game with some control "issues" that may affect the enjoyment, but at the same time were risky because they dared to use the WiiU's features. But it's a unique game that took risks. I remember back at the launch of the WiiU I read IGN's review of ZombiU and decided not to buy that game, but over time actual players were giving their opinions on the game and I eventually bought it recently. When I bought the game at Gamestop, I told the cashier "It's a game with review scores all over the place. It has to be interesting and unique to have that happen and I want to see for myself what the fuss is about." I will get Wonderful 101 because of these reviews that are all over the place (that skew to the upper levels of scores though, thankfully, unlike with ZombiU).
 
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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Um, yes you can. It is their job, as professionals, to review the game properly to inform consumers. Just one of many reasons why I don't look to reviews when purchasing a game.
 
One thing a lot of people are overlooking is how satisfying it is to draw shapes, either through the gamepad or the right stick. Draw a circle and seeing a huge bright red fist appear, or a huge sword after drawing a line feels empowering.
 
Well, I did a short video with the gun drawing. I did the drawing fast (actually faster than when usual playing) and you can judge yourselves. You can see clearly when I failed why that did happen. If this means controls broken, so be it.

https://vimeo.com/72678148
 
Lumyst said:
I'm liking what I've read in the IGN review, sounds like a fantastic game with some control "issues" that may affect the enjoyment, but at the same time were risky because they dared to use the WiiU's features. But it's a unique game that took risks. I remember back at the launch of the WiiU I read IGN's review of ZombiU and decided not to buy that game, but over time actual players were giving their opinions on the game and I eventually bought it recently. When I bought the game at Gamestop, I told the cashier "It's a game with review scores all over the place. It has to be interesting and unique to have that happen and I want to see for myself what the fuss is about." I will get Wonderful 101 because of these reviews that are all over the place (that skew to the upper levels of scores though, thankfully, unlike with ZombiU).
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That's exactly the way to go. I get even more interested if a game is being bashed but there's someone passionately speaking up for it, that usually overshadows all the naysayers. I remember that sort of happening with Alpha Protocol when I noticed that the first time.
 
Bronetta said:
One thing a lot of people are overlooking is how satisfying it is to draw shapes, either through the gamepad or the right stick. Draw a circle and seeing a huge bright red fist appear, or a huge sword after drawing a line feels empowering.
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I thought it would be, but the game is so fast that even taking one second to draw a shape felt like somewhat of a momentum breaker to me. This is just judging from the demo though, perhaps after I master the controls I will prefer it but as it was I felt myself wishing for a button press.
 
TheSpaceBetween said:
I thought it would be, but the game is so fast that even taking one second to draw a shape felt like somewhat of a momentum breaker to me. This is just judging from the demo though, perhaps after I master the controls I will prefer it but as it was I felt myself wishing for a button press.
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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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