The Wonderful 101 is an action game that plays from an isometric view. The game is split into Operations, which is further split into individual levels. The goal of each level is to get from point A to point B, defeating any enemies in your way and rescuing helpless citizens to join your group.
As you go about levels, you can gain temporary allies by rescuing them, who stay with you until the end of the stage. There are also permanent allies, who are hidden in the stages and when found, will carry over to the next stage, allowing your attacks to be stronger than the beginning. It is only when the leader is attacked that your health gauge depletes, as allies are temporarily out of commission.
Combat
The most basic of functions for the player involves the use of the Wii U's Gamepad, which is used to draw glyphs to form each weapon you can use. Note that this can also be done with the right stick of the Gamepad or Pro Controller.
This drawing system doesn't just apply to the leader character, as your other teammates can also perform this maneuver. These Unite Morphs, both from your leader and teammates, consume the gauge underneath your health (looks like batteries). The following are the various Unite Morphs you can do, with pressing [A] making the leader perform it and [X] your teammates (always press the button after perform the motion below).
- Unite Fist - Draw a circle OR rotate the right stick
- Unite Sword - Draw a straight line OR hold stick in one direction
- Unite Gun - Draw a right angle OR tap up and then right
- Unite Whip - Draw a wavy line OR swivel the stick while holding in one direction
- Unite Hammer - Draw a straight line, then a circle OR hold the stick in one direction, then rotate 360 degrees
Unite Mix
Unite Mix is a way to go from one attack to the next, without dropping the combo, and letting the enemy recover. As you unleash one attack skill with a Unite weapon, then while that skill is being performed, input the next glyph and perform another skill to link them together. With this, you can chain together powerful combos to deal major damage to enemies.
Advanced Techniques
There are many more techniques available to the player in battle, some of which are advanced and will come with practice. Such advanced techniques include the Team Attack, the Climb Attack and even Throwing. The Climb Attack is especially useful, since it allows you to stun the tougher enemies.
Ranking System
At the end of stages and after completing various fights throughout those levels, you will get graded on your performance. You will be graded on the amount of time you spent, your combo score on enemies, and the amount of damage you take with your leader. The best possible score is Pure Platinum, with time and combo dependent on the fight/stage, but you can't take any damage with your leader.
Multiplayer Co-op
The multiplayer in The Wonderful 101 is separate from the single-player game, where it is a mode that is chosen. It can support up to five players, with one player using the Gamepad and four other players using the Pro Controller.
Each player is given a leader and some allies that follow their leader. Combat is the exact same as with the single player, except the players cannot use the Unite Mix aspect, meaning that all players will have to team up on enemies.
The stages for multiplayer are set in the locations that are present in single player, but they are separate missions all together. There is both a cooperative aspect, where you need to work together to defeat enemies, as well as a competitive aspect. At the end of the stages, the score for each player is tallied and the leaderboard is shown.
Wonderful Mart
As you defeat enemies and search levels, you will sometimes find O-Parts, which is currency that can be used at the Mart you find in between levels. Here, you can purchase new skills, Unite Morphs and even other items, such as an item that will convert excess Unite Gauge into Vitality and vice versa.
