The story so far:
Planet Earth is under attack by the GEATHJERK Federation Supreme Armada. Mankind is on the brink of despair, and its fate lies in the hands of the “Wonderful One-Double-Oh,” a special combat unit comprised of heroes from all over the world. More and more of the heroes are gathering, but the enemy is also breaking through the planet’s defense lines. Go, Wonderful One-Double-Oh! Only one more day until the European release! ONLY ONE MORE DAY!

Hey, it’s Ichi!
That’s right: “The Wonderful 101” is hitting European stores tomorrow.
If you’ve been following this blog and reading all of the previews, and if you’ve even played the demo of the game, you’re sure to have become an outstanding Wonderful One cadet yourself by now.
And yet there is still something very important that I, as a member of the Wonderful One-Double-Oh, haven’t told you about.

So today, I will regale you with an introduction to all of the friends from CENTINELS that will provide our heroes with support during their arduous battle!

CENTINELS Commander
Laurence Nelson
(Japanese voice: Yasuhiro Mamiya, English voice: Gideon Emery)

Commander of the CENTINELS’ Blossom City field office.
Skilled at ship combat, Nelson pilots the CENTINELS’ state of the art warship, the Virgin Victory. He is a tested general who has won countless battles with his sharp instincts and precise judgment; his ability winning him not only the utmost of trust from his superiors, but also the unwavering respect of those who follow him.
20 years ago, during the Earth Defense War II, he fought on the front lines as a Wonderful One, leading the Earth Federation Army to victory. Through this experience he understands the harsh missions the current team must face, and watches over the Wonderful One-Double-Oh with a stern but kind stance.

A devoted lover of tea, the figure of Nelson with a teacup in his hand, regardless of how dire the situation may be, is a picture of reassurance and hope for the team.

Laurence Nelson, the Commander of the CENTINELS’ Blossom City field office, is trusted and respected by all of CENTINELS’ employees and all members of the Wonderful One-Double-Oh. During missions, he issues orders to the members from inside the flagship the Virgin Victory. When he was young, he was a dyed-in-the-wool fighter himself, and it is even said that he was such a hot-blooded and impulsive soldier that he dove into enemy territory straight away. However, now that he is more experienced and has faced death numerous times, more often than not it is he who chides the more foolhardy members of the team. Even Wonder-Blue, the most reckless of the bunch, is easily shut up when in Nelson’s intimidating presence.

Main operator to the Virgin Victory
Alice MacGregor
(Japanese voice: Tomo Nakamura, English voice: Laura Bailey)

Main operator to the CENTINELS’ state of the art warship, Virgin Victory.
Level-headed, cool and collected, Alice gained Nelson’s complete trust with her fast decision making skills and ability to act on her feet in the most pressing of situations.

Talented in ship controls and cannon warfare, the daring maneuvers Alice takes to save the ship from crisis often leave the rest of the team speechless. Alice works in a matter-of-fact style, her expressionless manner often mistaken by other members of the team as being cold. In actuality, she is trying the best she can to show emotion… But up until this point, no one has been able to grasp this fact.

Her hobby is collecting different types of tea. Well read in different flavors, new and old, from around the globe, Nelson is always impressed by her eye for making the right cup. Secretly, she also collects stuffed animals.

Miss Alice is the operator of the CENTINELS’ flying warship, the Virgin Victory. Commander Nelson trusts her unconditionally, and anyone who would see how she fulfills her tasks without getting her personal feelings involved would certainly agree that she’s a top-class worker. She never says more than is absolutely required and her expression never reveals her true emotions, which has the unfortunate side-effect of making her look hard to approach to others. On the other hand, it is said that she has quite a few secret admirers among the CENTINELS…
Those who have a soft spot for dear Alice would probably benefit from knowing that she likes collecting stuffed animals. To the toy store!!

Chief of the CENTINELS Central Science Research Center
James Shirogane
(Japanese voice: Kenichi Ogata, English voice: Fred Tatasciore)

James has contributed much to strategic defense aspects of the CENTINELS organization through his research in electrical engineering and applied action potential mechatronics, including contributing to the development of a central “mother computer” known as Mother Platinum, the development of the power enhanced CENTINEL-Suits,
and designing the flying warship Virgin Victory.
From his days as a research assistant, Shirogane distinguished himself with proposed applications of his new theoretical energy source, the Shirogane Drive. His success continued, as, after two Earth Defense Wars, he finally succeeded in finishing a third generation CENTINEL-Suit made from high density bio-metal fiber.

The prime example of someone whose hobby has become his work, Shirogane spends his
days shut-in his laboratory researching new technology. He hasn’t abandoned his hobby entirely though, as Shirogane also has created several peculiar inventions that have nothing to do with his work with the CENTINELS.

Among the team, his down home southern hospitality has earned him the affectionate nickname, “Jimmy”.

As the chief of the CENTINELS Central Science Research Center, Professor Shirogane is the developer of the CENTINEL-Suits that the Wonderful Ones wear and he has even had a hand in the design of the flagship the Virgin Victory. As a brilliant scientist, he is treated as a living legend by everyone within CENTINELS, with the exception of the insolent Wonder-Green, who prefers calling him “geezer.” He has been around since the start of the war 40 years ago, and he is still developing new technology to fend off the GEATHJERK. His expertise is sure to be of the utmost importance during the current battle as well.

Support Mech
P-Star

An autonomous information terminal robot with learning-type AI, designed by Professor Shirogane.
Equipped with an unfinished experimental P-Fieldcraft, making P-Star capable of traveling freely through the air.
Accompanying the Wonderful One-Double-Oh throughout their missions, P-Star provides aids in all situations: relaying messages from HQ, performing checks on each members’ condition, assisting in searches, scanning battle power, analyzing terrain, devising progression paths and combat strategies, etc.
Through linking with the database of the CENTINELS’ central computer Mother Platinum, P-Star can perform a data search to provide speedy advice to the Wonderful Ones on demand. Well, at least it should, but Mother Platinum seems to reflect the thought patterns of one of its designer, Professor Shirogane, and sometimes offers less than helpful advice.

P-Star was designed to have few if any combat functions, allowing it can focus on support and excel in expandability, including extensive bubble memory for multiple Unite Morph installations. It also has a spice bomb disrupter and BB guns, but its performance in combat should not be relied on.
P-Star was made from a scrapped video game console, an ode to Professor Shirogane’s appreciation of antiques. It is also a gifted conversationalist, able to have intelligent conversations with humans. These conversations have led the team to think P-Star is adorable, and it has achieved mascot-like status.

P-Star, as the Support Mech of the Wonderful One-Double-Oh, is always taken along on missions. His main duties are to analyze the environment, to notify the team of approaching enemies, and to indicate the route they need to follow during missions, but his reports tend to be slightly vague and unspecific. It is this disputable usefulness, however, that has earned him his unwavering position as a team mascot.

Keep a look out for hints!

Don’t let this fool you into thinking he serves no purpose at all, though! His analytical skills when it comes to geography are second to none.
If you ever find yourself stuck at a dead end during a mission, pay close attention to P-Star’s movements. He might show you a holographic depiction of the Unite Morph that is required to advance in such situations.

So, does this help put your mind at ease?
You will not be alone when setting forth on your mission: you’ll be putting your life in the capable hands of an experienced Commander and a professional Operator, and you’ll be assisted along the way by a brilliant professor and a Support Mech that… uh… at the very least can be considered cute.
They will all be of importance at some point, so keep them in the back of your mind.

Be that as it may, the Wonderful One-Double-Oh can never have enough help in the battle against the mighty GEATHJERK, and as it stands they are already severely undermanned.
In other words, they need more than just numbers: they need ways of improving the strength of each individual unit as well.

So next time, I will tell you about how the Wonderful Ones can level up.

Next episode:
“Be tough! Level up!”

Stay tuned!