Ultra-creative PlatinumGames action game using GamePad to draw superhero formations. Difficult to grasp at first but immensely satisfying once mastered. One of WiiU's most original and underrated games. Absolute gem.
Your verdict
Category
Action4 players12+
Co-op
Description
A hundred ordinary super heroes unite as a strike force to defend Earth against the Geathjerk invasion in this large-scale action game with unique art direction. Published by Nintendo, released in 2013 in Japan, the United States and Europe. PlatinumGames Wii U exclusive featuring the GamePad for drawing Unite Morph formations, local co-op mode, multiple heroes, and spectacular anime humor.
Wonderful 101, The review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Seen from high above, a swarm of tiny heroes draws giant shapes in a deluge of pop colours. The tokusatsu aesthetic and anime humour irrigate every second with a jubilant abundance. This graphic madness, dense and virtuosic, has no equivalent and rewards the attentive eye.
The score embraces the register of the Japanese superhero serial, triumphant brass, mixed choir, marches in the major, with a sung song returning at decisive moments like a title theme. That grandiloquence is perfectly matched to a game in which a hundred characters assemble to form a giant fist.
The story belongs to the children's television serial taken at face value: a worldwide organisation of costumed heroes repels an alien invasion, with a secret headquarters, transformations and announced sacrifices. The tone stays frankly heroic, but the sheer number of protagonists shifts the subject towards the question of the collective rather than of the chosen one.
A mass-action game by Hideki Kamiya and PlatinumGames, a commercial flop at launch turned cult object, where dozens of heroes merge into shapes drawn on the GamePad. Its collector interest lies in this critical rehabilitation and its status as the original version designed for the touch screen, predating the multiplatform remaster. Sought by Platinum fans who favour the Wii U cut and its specific play gesture.
Memorable bosses
Leading an army of a hundred heroes who assemble into a giant fist, sword or gun gives this action game a joyous excess. Against the alien colossi of the Geathjerk invasion, drawing the right weapon on the fly and dodging their cataclysmic assaults taxes the brain as much as the reflexes. This blend of collective strategy and kaiju-scale battles makes for a furiously original work.
Is Wonderful 101, The still worth playing in 2026?
An action game from PlatinumGames and Hideki Kamiya, The Wonderful 101 directs a swarm of little heroes you gather to form giant weapons by drawing shapes on the stick or the GamePad. The mass hero concept, the overflowing energy and the teeming action make it a unique, ambitious title. The sometimes confused readability and a steep learning curve put off at first. An excellent action game for fans of rich gameplay, wild staging and challenge to master on Wii U.
