I'm definitely getting my hands on this game as soon as it comes out and not just because my Wii U is starving for attention. From what I remember of the demo I played at PAX East, the controls were a little bit difficult to grasp at first, but I fell in love with the style and the action for me to really care. It's been a must-buy for me ever since.

I don't really see it as make it or break it in that sense because this is a new IP, and new IPs can be hit or miss; particularly when they're as esoteric as this. And it is for all intents and purposes a Nintendo game, seeing as they're doing the publishing and marketing for it.

As far as its relation to Viewtiful Joe, the game really doesn't play anything like those games despite the visual similarity. That being said, Kamiya did let slip during the PAX panel that Sylvia's voice actress plays a character in the game. Not Sylvia, but...well, people will just have to play and see.

I still have no idea what this game is.

When it comes to the combat getting the best scores will require you to use more than one unite morph at a time. I've found that four is too many unless you're an expert, but by always having a second one out whether it be the sword, fist or gun is a good starting point as they're easy shapes to draw with the stick or pad. then work your way up to three whenever you're feeling confident.

I suggest the stick to draw a sword in the middle of using another one just to get the hang of having two at once and then work your way up from there. The pad is nice, but the combat only really shines when using the stick. I fought against this for the longest time because it seemed absurd that its unique selling point is kinda bad for expert play.

You will eventually unlock Bayonetta's witch time and remember to add mods, something the game never tells you can do. getting used to the jelly for physical attacks and sword/dodge for lasers is something you really need to get the hang of quickly. The game has some problems and you'll probably come up against a bunch of frustration in later parts of the game where it seems you need unfair reaction times against some of the attacks.

As I wrote in my write up, the game is not perfect and its faults are something that cannot really be ignored. It is a truly, truly fantastic experience and knowing how badly it bombed in both Japan and Europe is truly saddening.

It's my understanding that The Wonderful 101 is essentially a character action game. I've heard that the poor reviews have come from people that didn't get the combat. Is this true? It wouldn't be the first time a game got dinged for being too complex and not explaining itself properly.

Essentially, yes, it is that type of game. You might run around with a whole crowd of guys, but this isn't Pikmin, it's an action game, and you need to play it like one. That means learning offensive and defensive techniques, learning which techniques work best against which enemies, and so on. But there's also a fair bit of puzzle-solving that needs to get done as well.

This is pretty much the case. I mean, the game does have a couple of issues that you could ding it for, like a couple of moments of large framerate dips, sections that use the gamepad to control the camera (though you can hold a button to use the right stick instead, still, it's clumsy) and issues drawing unite shapes and not getting what you want on occasion (I particularly had trouble drawing Unite Gun during QTEs), but it seems that the low reviews are a result of reviewers not quite getting it.

It's weird, I don't even think the game does a poor job explaining and introducing elements of the combat, it's just a difficult game on Normal difficulty (I personally found playing through it the first time on Easy was just right). Combat has a learning curve, but it doesn't really take long to come to grips with and if you've played Bayonetta there are a lot of elements that'll have you feeling right at home.

I honestly believe The Wonderful 101 is Platinum's next best game after Bayonetta. Not that I put any stock in Metacritic, but I can't help but notice that the general critical consensus leaves it ranked lower than MadWorld and that seems just completely bizarre to me.

Do you have any advice on the unite morphs? I'm stuck on mission 001-C on that eyeball unite morph. I don't know what it is I'm doing wrong and it seems like every Youtube playthrough of that stage I've seen so far completes it by dumb luck.

@hailinel: Just pull into the direction of the eye with the right stick. It's one of those things that can be fiddly about where you are standing, it happens a bunch with the WC's and a glass tunnel later in the game.

Yeah. It's just weird because I can get everyone else on the team in there, but then the one I'm controlling doesn't jump in after them and the eye doesn't activate. Doesn't make it any easier with that head trying to laser, burn, and chomp me.

Allright, putting it on my "to buy" list.

@hailinel: Yeah, that boss is the first time the game asks a hell of a lot of the player, there is almost no warning that it's going to laser you the first time you fight it. The Hand is fireproof , but I don't think they tell you until mission 4 or something.

Definitely at the top of my "To Buy if I ever Buy a Wii-U" list. Right under Pikmin and... actually that's it. Pikmin at number one and W101 at number two.

Did you get a chance to stop by the Nintendo handheld booth and play Shantae or the portable Batman? Both were great.

I didn't play either of those games, though I did play Summer Carnival '92. Oh man, that game is insane.

I like the fact that you can use either the GamePad or Pro Controller. I love it when developers go the extra mile to let you decide what you're comfortable with. Seriously, just because the system comes with a touch screen doesn't mean it should be mandatory.

Not that the gamepad isn't cool with this game, but I thought it'd be nice to give Platinum props for not skimping on options.