Wonderful 101 blog shares new details on exploration, items, and difficulty settings

On the latest blog posts for Wonderful 101, Ichi shares fresh details on game exploration, the difficulty settings, and the items you will find.

OK, so to alleviate the worries of players who are interested in the scenario but may not be ready for the high difficulty Platinum Games are known for, the game's easy and very easy settings lower the bar so that even kids can enjoy the game. Both difficulty settings will allow you to autocombo so that the combat design did not have to be compromised for accessibility. All the settings have infinite continues, so whichever skill level you are, Platinum hopes to minimize potential frustration.

As an aside, I think this may be Platinum's first sincere attempt at a wider audience, and so they may hope for the game to sell not just among loyal fans, but to a new generation discovering Platinum for the first time. The game is bright and colorful, and immediately evokes shows like Power Rangers and Ben 10 (with alien invaders), thanks to the use of universal tropes, so I do hope they're onto something there.

Now, when exploring each city, one objective you'll want to keep in mind is to look for supplies left behind by the CENTINELS. It turns out this is another area where the Gamepad is used, giving you a direct view of what surrounds your team. Combine that to the broader view on the big screen, and you should be able to seek out well hidden items very well.

Among the things you can find are symbols left behind by the GEATHJERK Armada. Ichi explains you can draw a circle around these symbols, although he does not explain what this action will actually do.

Now, among the items you will find in the game are food, such as CENTINELS supplied Wonderful Cake and Wonderful Noodle Soup, space vegetables, Hero Heart fragments, and the previously mentioned O-Parts.

Wonderful Cake raises your Vitality Gauge (aka lifebar), while Wonderful Noodle Soup raises your Unite Gauge. While your Unite Gauge will replenish automatically, it will become a factor later in the game when you start using multiple Unite Morphs. The Hero Heart fragments will extend your Vitality Gauge, aka your max lifebar.

Believe it or not, the space vegetables are the mechanism for crafting in the game, or at least one of them. You're encouraged to mix and match them to create something new, perhaps more food for the two gauges. Ichi rounds this off with previous information on O-Parts, leading to tomorrow's post on the game's shop system, the Wonderful Mart.

Source: Platinum Games Blog