Viewtiful Joe (JPN) Review

Developer	Capcom
Publisher	Capcom
Genre	Action

Beat ‘em ups are a rare sight in 2003. When one does come along, it’s usually mediocre at best. Squaresoft’s The Bouncer was disappointing, as was Sega’s Zombie Revenge. Even Treasure’s recently released Wario World doesn’t amount to much more than an enjoyable rental. Enter Viewtiful Joe, the new king of the beat ‘em up. With Joe, Capcom has done the impossible - perfectly blending classic old-school gameplay with today’s demand for special effects and lengthy, but also replayable, adventures. The end result is one of the most enjoyable games in years.

Beat ‘em ups generally aren’t heavy on the storyline, and Joe is no exception. Basically, Joe’s girlfriend is sucked into the movies and he goes off to rescue her. It’s cheesy, yes, but fortunately the game doesn’t take itself very seriously. Each cut scene is brief and enjoyable, with a fair amount of laughs scattered throughout Joe’s quest. Soon after he hops into Movie Land, Joe runs into Captain Blue - a super hero. He teaches Joe how to transform into Viewtiful Joe and use his new super powers - Slow, Mach Speed and Zoom.

At first glance, Viewtiful Joe is a beat ‘em up like any other. Joe moves through each area, punching and kicking dozens of “bad guys” until they die. Within each level, there are a few different types of goals. Some segments demand that you kill a certain amount of bad guys within a time limit or solve a simple puzzle, but basically the entire game consists of beating up the enemy. There is a boss at the end of each level, and then the next one begins. What makes Viewtiful Joe such a treat is his special powers.

At the top of the screen is the Viewtiful FX bar. Using VFX powers drains the power, which quickly replenishes itself when not in use. If the bar drains completely, Viewtiful Joe turns into regular Joe until the first segment of the bar refills. As regular Joe, the player can’t use any VFX powers or special moves. Collecting Viewtiful Film Reels allows Joe to expand the size of the VFX bar for the remainder of the level.

It isn’t enough to simply defeat the enemies in Viewtiful Joe; one must defeat them with style. That’s where Joe’s powers come in. The first of which, Slow, brings time to a crawl. When Slow is active, Joe can dodge bullets and other attacks Matrix-style, as well as deliver extra-powerful punches and kicks. Chaining attacks together is easy while Slow, and incredibly satisfying.

Mach Speed, as the name implies, gives Joe super-human speed. Among other things, it allows Joe to deliver a flurry of kicks or punches so fast it would make Chun-Li jealous. Joe’s final power, Zoom, has a less obvious function. Naturally, it zooms the camera in quite a bit, actually making it a bit difficult to see Joe’s surroundings. This is a small price to pay, as Zoom allows Joe to dish out some incredibly powerful attacks. While active, it enhances all of Joe’s moves. His standard kick becomes a whirling helicopter kick, and his regular jumps become dangerous attacks. Joe can even combine some VFXs for different results.

Extra stylish attacks earn Joe bonus points, which are used at the checkpoint item shops. There, Joe can refill his health, buy extra lives, expand his initially small health meter, and even learn new moves. Once Joe has purchased all the extras at the shop, he has access to an extremely wide range of moves. Learning to chain these attacks together for the most viewtiful results is half the fun, and players will still be learning new ways to attack the enemy after hours of play.

There are about a dozen different enemies, mostly robots, with several variations of each. Each type has different attack patterns and weaknesses, so players need to change up their battle strategies frequently. Some are more vulnerable to slow attacks, while others will fall quickly to a hail of Mach Speed attacks.

The first run-through on the normal difficult setting, Adult, should take the average gamer between 13 and 15 hours. After that, extras such as additional characters and new difficulty settings open up. The new characters have different strengths and weaknesses, but the basic super powers are the same. Even so, they handle differently enough to warrant additional play-throughs. They also have slightly different storylines. The extra difficulty settings get really difficult, even though characters can keep all of their upgrades from one play-through to the next. Finally, the game ranks the player after each segment based on damage taken, score, and time.

Visually, Viewtiful Joe is a work of art. The cel shading fits the game perfectly, making the game look like a comic book come to life. The special effects, which come into play when using VFX, are like icing on the cake. Pieces of robot will shatter in a hail of glass and metal when Slow, and the air whizzing past Joe during Mach Speed is impressive. Best of all, though, is when Viewtiful Joe turns into regular Joe. The entire game goes slightly out of focus, and little bits of distortion appear randomly on the screen, as if the player was watching an old reel-to-reel film. The frame rate, of course, is rock solid the whole time, no matter how many enemies are on screen.

Joe’s audio is equally impressive. Hard-hitting Slow punches have a great “oomph” quality to them, and the voice acting, especially for Joe, is top notch. The music is up-beat and helps set the mood for an action game such as this. Audio clues given by the enemies also help the player predict when and where they will strike.

Overall Value - Viewtiful Joe is a rare gem. It somehow manages to capture the essence of what made classic beat ‘em ups like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage so enjoyable, while still delivering a lengthy and varied enough experience for today’s gamer. This is one of the best games on the GameCube, if not the very best, and it belongs on every gamer’s shelf.

Review by “Viewtiful” Joe Mackie