Back in 2013, PlatinumGames released The Wonderful 101, an action-adventure game that follows the exploits of the Wonderful Ones as they work to save the planet from the invading aliens of the Geathjerk Federation. It was generally well-received by the gaming community, with critics and players giving it mostly-favorable reviews, including a Metacritic score of 78/100. Saleswise, it managed to hold its own as well, not quite setting any records but certainly selling decently enough.
Now, PlatinumGames is back with plans to remaster the title, as well as adding a bit of content. PlatinumGames released the title for the Wii U and worked with Nintendo to do so, but are flying mostly solo this time around with a bit of help from Nighthawk Interactive. Instead of getting support from Nintendo as their publisher, they’ve turned to Kickstarter for a crowdfunding effort.
Within only a few hours of launching the Kickstarter, the fans absolutely annihilated the goal. Asking for just shy of USD $50,000, they’ve currently funded USD $926,892 as of writing this – a number that is still rising so fast that we’ve had to update that number four times as we write this. Currently, there are a little under 13,884 backers.
So it’s safe to say that they’ve met their goal and secured funding. As of now, they’ve raised more than 18 times the amount they asked for, and they still have an entire month to continue raising funds.
The stretch goals listed anticipated being overfunded (though likely not quite so swiftly), which will bring us a Steam and PS4 version of the title. If they reach $1,000,000, which it certainly seems they will, they’ll also add in a Time Attack mode for speedrunners or challengers. If they make it to $1,500,000, the team will add in a new 2D side-scrolling adventure titled Luka’s First Mission.
Backers are eligible to receive a good handful of rewards, stretching from a few physical goodies like comic books, shirts, and sticker sets. Included to those that pledge to the eighth tier (about $183) or higher is the esteem of being blocked on Twitter by Hideki Kamiya, the director of the title. There’re even tiers that climb as high as $1,844, where backers are rewarded with a limited edition Wonder-Red Replica Jacket, as well as all the goodies from the previous tiers (yes, including being blocked by Hideki Kamiya).
It’s always fantastic to see the gaming community celebrating games and supporting the creators. While this year has already been a bit rough for remasters, it could be up to The Wonderful 101 to bring faith back into the remaster scene.
