KickStarter The Wonderful 101: Remastered for Switch, PS4, and PC

[karoliner]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/platinumgames/the-wonderful-101-remastered

https://www.gematsu.com/2020/02/the...r-switch-ps4-and-pc-with-kickstarter-campaign

Platinum Games has launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring a remastered version of the August 2013-released Wii U title The Wonderful 101 to multiple platforms.

At the base funding goal of $50,000, The Wonderful 101: Remastered will release for Switch, and at $250,000 and $500,000, it will release for PC via Steam and PlayStation 4, respectively. An Xbox One version is not a visible stretch goal, but director Hideki Kamiya suggested that it will be in an interview with Gematsu.

The Kickstarter campaign will run from February 3 to March 6 at 12:00 p.m. PT / 3:00 p.m. ET. If successfully funded, The Wonderful 101: Remastered will launch this April.

In a press release, Platinum Games said it will be able to self-publish The Wonderful 101: Remastered, which was originally published by Nintendo, as well as bring the title to other platforms, “thanks to the kindness of Nintendo.”

In a message to supporters, Platinum Games said, “It has been a goal of Platinum Games to own and self-publish the IPs that we create. With your support, we hope that we can make this dream a reality and bring The Wonderful 101: Remastered to a wide variety of platforms and make The Wonderful 101 a part of everyone’s gaming history! This Kickstarter is our chance to UNITE UP, take destiny into our own hands, and bring the best version of The Wonderful 101 to everyone.”

Gematsu interviewed The Wonderful 101: Remastered director Hideki Kamiya back in September 2019 regarding the launch of the then-upcoming Kickstarter campaign. Find our full interview with Kamiya below.
Interview with Hideki Kamiya

—Cory Arnold (Gematsu): Considering The Wonderful 101 was originally published by Nintendo and released for Wii U, is it safe to assume The Wonderful 101 Remastered will only release for Switch, or will it be possible to bring to other platforms?

Hideki Kamiya (Platinum Games): “The initial goal is Switch. Depending on stretch goals, we will be porting it to more and more consoles like PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. That is the goal right now.”

—You mentioned Steam, so is the Epic Games Store not in consideration?

Kamiya: “We are focusing on where the biggest user base is, so while we are open to other things right now we are thinking about Steam.”

—Why did you decide to bring The Wonderful 101 to new platforms? Did you talk to Nintendo about a port?

Kamiya: “We felt it did not quite reach the audience that it deserved. As creators we are very confident in the game. This project is a unique opportunity to bring the fans together and see how far the game can go, which is why we went the crowdfunding route. We did speak with Nintendo about it initially, but they said, ‘you either do it only with us or do it yourselves.’ But speaking with them they allowed us to cut a deal, so we took upon ourselves to start this project. Dangen Entertainment is helping us. We have seen successful campaigns in the past, Bloodstained in particular, so we saw it as a very unique and interesting opportunity.”

—I read that you all didn’t feel the original game needed any downloadable content, but for this port are you considering adding any additional content over the original game?

Kamiya: “In terms of the base game content, we are still very happy with the amount of content in the game and we feel it has a lot of content. So there is nothing in particular that we want to add, but the biggest thing we want to change is tweaking the game’s interface to make it more user-friendly. It’s possible we could add some aspects to Unite Morph, new game modes, maybe new characters through stretch goals, but for now expect the same base game. Anything content met through stretch goals will be in the base game at release, not in downloadable content later down the line.”

—Could you speak specifically about some of the things you want to tweak? Have you considered any feedback from users, or reviews? I have seen some people have issues with the camera for example.
Kamiya: “I don’t those people are talking about (laughs). We are making tweaks or changes based on our own ideas rather than outside parties. We don’t necessarily see things as bad and improving them, instead we are taking things that are already good and trying to make them even better.”

—What do you think the main reason was for the original release not reaching as many people as you had hoped? Do you think it was due to Wii U hardware sales or perhaps people being unsure about what the game is?

Kamiya: “It’s attributed to both I think. The Wii U didn’t sell very well, that’s just the fact of the matter. In terms of the game itself, I consider The Wonderful 101 to be a unique title. Games like Bayonetta or Devil May Cry are easier to identify. I have confidence in the game, but there may have been the case where users couldn’t quite tell what The Wonderful 101 was. That’s another reason we want to do this campaign; with modern platforms and audience we think it will be well-received. We want to let people know what kind of game this is, why they need to play it, and why they may want to back it.”

—Will users still be able to activate Unite Morph both through touchscreen gestures and using the right analog stick?

Kamiya: “Since the Switch has a touchscreen, both options will still be available. Obviously for something like PlayStation 4 the only option will be the stick. I myself prefer using the stick.”

—Will multiplayer return and could there potentially be any online functionality?

Kamiya: “The original had the multiplayer mini-game. We don’t have any set plans for it nor online at this point, but it is something we are very interested in doing. With modern days users, everyone likes to play online so if that is possible it would also be cool.”

—OK, so I probably know the answer to this, but since you have brought Bayonetta 2 from Wii U to Switch and are now working on bringing The Wonderful 101 to other platforms, is there any possibility that Star Fox Zero will come to Switch?

Kamiya: “Star Fox is a Nintendo IP, so while we helped make it, we are not in a position to say we want to do this. It is up to Nintendo.”

—It always seems like Platinum is working on a million things at once. Some people wonder if there are multiple teams working on different projects in a similar way to how Square Enix has a team in Tokyo and a team in Osaka.

Kamiya: “We don’t have any specially divided teams per se. We have about 220 people in our Osaka office and we may divide people up to work on different tasks or projects.”

—Thanks for your time, Kamiya-san! Is there anything else you would like to say before we sign off?

Kamiya: “We really appreciate the support of the fans, we think The Wonderful 101 is a great title and really want the fans to ‘unite’ together and make this a wonderful campaign to help it reach a lot of players. We need your help to make this great game reach a lot of platforms.”

Watch the Kickstarter campaign trailer below. View the first screenshots of The Wonderful 101: Remastered at the gallery.

 

[Ivan]

 

[Lyre Mors]

Whoa, hell yeah! I thought I'd never get a chance to play this because I don't buy consoles.

 

[sullynathan]

Already passed the goal for STEAM version. Seems Nov 2020 is to be expected for release.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

They are doing a KickStarter to port their own game?
This is either a scam for a quick buck, or it means Platinum's financial status isn't in a very good place...

Whoa, hell yeah! I thought I'd never get a chance to play this because I don't buy consoles.

You know, you can simply download CemU and the game's ISO to play it...

 

[Garbage]

They are doing a KickStarter to port their own game?
This is either a scam for a quick buck, or it means Platinum's financial status isn't in a very good place...

Whoa, hell yeah! I thought I'd never get a chance to play this because I don't buy consoles.

You know, you can simply download CemU and the game's ISO to play it...

Platinum have never been extremely financially stable, I'm pretty sure Nier Automata got them out of a lot of trouble.

 

[Ivan]

 

[Wunderbar]

They are doing a KickStarter to port their own game?
This is either a scam for a quick buck, or it means Platinum's financial status isn't in a very good place...

free advertising + preorders.

 

[agentorange]

They are doing a KickStarter to port their own game?
This is either a scam for a quick buck, or it means Platinum's financial status isn't in a very good place...

Or they don't want to deal with the hassle of working through a third-party publisher when it can be avoided.

Whoa, hell yeah! I thought I'd never get a chance to play this because I don't buy consoles.

You know, you can simply download CemU and the game's ISO to play it...

Or I can buy an interesting looking game from a developer that I like so they can keep making more games I like.

 

[sullynathan]

You know, you can simply download CemU and the game's ISO to play it...

9/10 Native>emulation. We can wait

 

[HoboForEternity]

You know, you can simply download CemU and the game's ISO to play it...

9/10 Native>emulation. We can wait

plus the game seems perfect for mouse control. mouse > touchscreen emulators are usually wonky (correct me if i am wrong, but it seems you can use touchscreen for this game)

 

[Rahdulan]

—OK, so I probably know the answer to this, but since you have brought Bayonetta 2 from Wii U to Switch and are now working on bringing The Wonderful 101 to other platforms, is there any possibility that Star Fox Zero will come to Switch?

Kamiya: “Star Fox is a Nintendo IP, so while we helped make it, we are not in a position to say we want to do this. It is up to Nintendo.”

Yeah, I'm sure people are dying to have Star Fox Zero on Switch. I would have rather he answered whether Bayonetta 2 is coming to PC.

 

[Garbage]

Imagine asking for a fucking Star Fox Zero switch port over Vanquish or God Hand

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Vanquish is already on Steam since 2017 and God Hand doesn't belong to Platinum...

 

[Garbage]

Vanquish is already on Steam since 2017 and God Hand doesn't belong to Platinum...

Vanquish isn't on Switch and there's an upcoming Bayonetta/Vanquish bundle coming out for PS4/Xbone.

Meanwhile God Hand was made by Clover, which most staff left to form Platinum Games when it shut down. This includes both designers for the game, Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba; the latter of which still works at Platinum as the head producer.
Although Platinum won't own the God Hand IP, apparently they didn't even 100% own the W101 IP either with Nintendo having co-ownership.

...And with crapcom not touching the IP since its inception, it's not unreasonable to think up a potential Kickstarter for them to buy the IP.

 

[crakkie]

Final Ultimate Legendary Earth Power Super Max Justice Future Miracle Dream Beautiful Galaxy Big Bang Little Bang Sunrise Starlight Infinite Fabulous Totally Final Wonderful Arrow FIRE

 

[d1r]

Vanquish is already on Steam since 2017 and God Hand doesn't belong to Platinum...

Vanquish isn't on Switch and there's an upcoming Bayonetta/Vanquish bundle coming out for PS4/Xbone.

Meanwhile God Hand was made by Clover, which most staff left to form Platinum Games when it shut down. This includes both designers for the game, Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba; the latter of which still works at Platinum as the head producer.
Although Platinum won't own the God Hand IP, apparently they didn't even 100% own the W101 IP either with Nintendo having co-ownership.

...And with crapcom not touching the IP since its inception, it's not unreasonable to think up a potential Kickstarter for them to buy the IP.

Platinum Games needs another kickstarter for buying back the God Hand IP from Capcom.

 

[Maggot]

Vanquish is already on Steam since 2017 and God Hand doesn't belong to Platinum...

Vanquish isn't on Switch and there's an upcoming Bayonetta/Vanquish bundle coming out for PS4/Xbone.

Meanwhile God Hand was made by Clover, which most staff left to form Platinum Games when it shut down. This includes both designers for the game, Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba; the latter of which still works at Platinum as the head producer.
Although Platinum won't own the God Hand IP, apparently they didn't even 100% own the W101 IP either with Nintendo having co-ownership.

...And with crapcom not touching the IP since its inception, it's not unreasonable to think up a potential Kickstarter for them to buy the IP.

Platinum Games needs another kickstarter for buying back the God Hand IP from Capcom.

There is nothing noteworthy about the plot or setting of God Hand that would warrant acquiring the IP. They could just make a spiritual successor to it with the same gameplay.

 

[d1r]

Vanquish is already on Steam since 2017 and God Hand doesn't belong to Platinum...

Vanquish isn't on Switch and there's an upcoming Bayonetta/Vanquish bundle coming out for PS4/Xbone.

Meanwhile God Hand was made by Clover, which most staff left to form Platinum Games when it shut down. This includes both designers for the game, Shinji Mikami and Atsushi Inaba; the latter of which still works at Platinum as the head producer.
Although Platinum won't own the God Hand IP, apparently they didn't even 100% own the W101 IP either with Nintendo having co-ownership.

...And with crapcom not touching the IP since its inception, it's not unreasonable to think up a potential Kickstarter for them to buy the IP.

Platinum Games needs another kickstarter for buying back the God Hand IP from Capcom.

There is nothing noteworthy about the plot or setting of God Hand that would warrant acquiring the IP. They could just make a spiritual successor to it with the same gameplay.

Gene is absolutely noteworthy.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Nah, Gene is just a cheerful and devil-may-care version of Kenshiro
Creating a similarly fun character isn't hard

 

[Talby]

Godspeed, Kamiya-san. The Wonderful 101 is a great action game and deserved more success than it got thanks to being a Weewoo exclusive.

 

[karoliner]

There are still 3 announcements left: https://four.platinumgames.com/

 

[Ivan]

 

[Deflowerer]

Could be just them publishing some external games.

 

[Rahdulan]

Holy shit they absolutely smashed that $50 000.

Time to extend the scope of the game, add a ton of physical rewards they don't know how to manufacture, and increase the development time by 12 years.

It's rather interesting how going by their stretch goals they don't really know WHAT tangible things to add.