Switch now, and possibly on PC and PS4 too
Platinum’s beloved-yet-overlooked Wonderful 101 is being remastered on Switch. That statement is technically a little presumptuous, but it’ll probably end up accurate before I’m done writing this article.
Originally published by Nintendo and released on the Wii U in 2013, Platinum is now turning to crowdfunding for a Switch remaster. The bar is super low, though. Platinum is only asking for $50,000 to make it happen; mere minutes after the campaign went up, it’s already sitting at $26,000 as of time of writing. So yeah, The Wonderful 101 is coming to Switch. [Update: It’s already well over $50,000.]
Other platforms are in the mix too. The Kickstarter’s stretch goals include a PC release on Steam if $250,000 is raised, and a PS4 port if it hits $500,000. The Wonderful 101 is a strong cult classic, and this campaign is off to a blazing start; both of these stretch goals are a good bet. [Update 2: It hit $250,000 within an hour, meaning the PC port is officially going to happen.] [Update 3: And…it has now passed $500,000, so we officially have a PS4 port too. That clears out all the current stretch goals, but Platinum has added a time attack mode at $1 million, and Luka’s First Mission which is “a brand new 2D side-scrolling adventure starring a young hero” at $1.5 million.]
In terms of contribution tiers, $36 will net you a digital copy when it releases; bumping it up to $41 will get you a physical copy. There are many tiers, all the way up to $5,000, but one of the more eye-popping rewards comes at $102. That’s where Platinum’s famed director Hideki Kamiya will block you on Twitter.
Also of note, the Kickstarter pegs the reward delivery date as April 2020. If this is accurate, that’d mean the remaster is already nearly finished. In that sense, this campaign serves more as an elaborate pre-order venture for the Switch version, while drumming up funding for the eventual ports.
The Wonderful 101‘s remaster also clears up a bit of other Platinum-tinged mystery from this morning. Platinum’s “4” website turns out to be referencing some sort of four-pronged initiative. The Switch remaster of Wonderful 101 is merely part one. Stay tuned for the other three.
The Wonderful 101: Remastered [Kickstarter]