[Interview] PlatinumGames on returning to The Wonderful 101, Kickstarter, butts, and more

If successful, how long after the campaign ends do you expect the game to be in development until release?

Inaba: We’ve seen Kickstarters in the past where development post-campaign took a really long time and then fans and backers were quite disappointed in that. We’re aware of this and we fully intend to have as quick of a turnaround as possible for release.

The base game is already complete, and The Wonderful 101 already has an extraordinary amount of content. I can’t even imagine where else you could add things in.

Kamiya: Yeah, we have a lot of secrets, extra characters and unlockables in the original version already. So we’re really not aiming to add more and more content on top of that to the game. Like I said earlier, not many people even played the game when it first came out. So we’re focusing on touching things up that weren’t user-friendly, and preserving the core experience of the game to port over. If we add more and more characters and stages and story and stuff… it’s just going to be way too much and not a balanced experienced. But you know, if there are a lot of people who support this campaign, it’d be awesome to create some new gameplay elements.

For those who don’t support the Kickstarter, but want to purchase the game regularly upon release, have you decided on a price?

Inaba: We’re still working things out, but we aren’t planning on making this an expensive release.

Is this going to be a digital-only release, or do you have plans for a physical version?

Inaba: We do want to do a physical version. We’re in the midst of looking into all of that right now. Digital downloads are becoming more and more frequent these days, but we’re also very aware that there are a lot of gamers who are adamant about physical versions, too. So we fully intend to satisfy both sides for this release.

Do you have a favorite character or any character you want players to enjoy with this new opportunity to experience the game?

Kamiya: Oh, man… That’s a tough one. I really love the whole cast. The heroes are great, the villains are great. Even the supporting characters have their moments. We really worked hard on their personalities and dialogue. I think players will get a strong sense for each character’s individual qualities, so I hope players will appreciate that.

Along those lines, how do you feel about the differences in the characters’ personalities between the English voice acting and the Japanese voice acting?

Kamiya: I think this was the first game I worked on where the voice cast started off in Japanese. With Bayonetta, the Japanese came later, but Wonderful 101 started with Japanese. So I wrote some scenarios from my perspective as a Japanese person, but I think they really put in a ton of effort into the English version. For instance, these are heroes from around the world, right? So with Wonder Yellow, he speaks with a Russian accent. And Wonder Green speaks with a French accent. So I really enjoy the English versions.

Is Wonderful 101 a brand that you want to grow? Perhaps with a sequel?

Inaba: We always think about how we can expand on all our games. We want to revisit it now because we’ve always felt it was a high-quality game that didn’t get a fair chance. In regards to a sequel or something, we can’t make one if there aren’t any fans for the series in the first place. So if fans support this and things go really well for Wonderful 101, then I’d say it’s pretty natural that we’d want to make another game in the series! (Laughs)

Kamiya: Back when we were making the Wii U original, I had a lot of hopes for the game before its release. I knew we made a really incredible game, so I felt confident that a lot of people would play it and it’d be a big hit. I was dreaming things up left and right – I had ideas like, “Oh, what would it be like if we did a sequel where Wonder Blue was the leader?” All of these creative and exciting ideas were flowing, and then the game released and I saw the numbers and was like, “Wait, what?!” (Laughs) So, I hope I get to have those aspirations again in the future.

So if fans want a sequel, they better support this Kickstarter, right?

Inaba: Damn right!

One final question, and it’s a fun one: In a lot of Platinum’s IPs we’ve seen some pretty excellent butts, most recently with Astral Chain. Do you think this revisit to Wonderful 101 might get some extra treatment in that department?

Kamiya: How the hell can players see it from that far away? (Laughs) Maybe Wonder Pink. Actually, that reminds me: back when we were working on The Wonderful 101 we had some extra regulations on the overseas version.

Inaba: Oh, that’s right!

Kamiya: We had some scenes where we showcased Wonder Pink’s butt, however we had to pull the camera back for the overseas versions.

That’s fascinating!

Kamiya: I don’t think The Wonderful 101 can handle the “power” that comes with the butt.

Inaba: That was during development… I forgot all about that.

Kamiya: Yeah, I guess our reputation for butts precedes us.

Yes, I recall in a recent Famitsu interview that Takahisa Taura (director of Astral Chain) said PlatinumGames is fated to show off a good butt.

Kamiya: (Laughs) That’s thanks to the 3D modelers. For example when we made Bayonetta, we created her model to be really sexy and have a good butt. And on Astral Chain we had a totally different team, right? It’s not like the director ordered the 3D modeler, “You make the best butt I’ve ever seen!” or something like that. That modeler decided independently to make a good one.

Inaba: It’s a reputation of ours that’s been well-received.

Perhaps there’ll be some sort of butt-related Kickstarter stretch goal for The Wonderful 101.

Kamiya & Inaba: (Laughs)