Viewtiful Joe

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This article is about the first game in the series and the series in general. For the main character of the same name, see Viewtiful Joe (character) or for the anime see Viewtiful Joe (anime).
Viewtiful Joe
Viewtiful Joe box cover
Developer(s) Capcom Production Studio 4
Publisher(s) Capcom
Designer(s) Hideki Kamiya (director), Atsushi Inaba (producer)
Release date(s) October 7, 2003 (GC)
August 24, 2004 (PS2)
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) CERO: All Ages
ESRB: Teen (T)
PEGI: (12+)
Platform(s) Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2

Viewtiful Joe is a video game developed by Capcom's Capcom Production Studio 4 design team "Team Viewtiful". The other games in the series, including the PS2 port of the first game, have been made by Clover Studio. Atsushi Inaba headed the development of all the Viewtiful Joe games (first at Capcom Production Studio 4, then at Clover Studio). The first game was developed exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003 and was part of the Capcom Five, but was later ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2004 after Nintendo made a deal with Capcom to make Resident Evil 4 a GameCube exclusive (although it was later released on PlayStation 2). The Japanese version of the PlayStation 2 release is titled Viewtiful Joe: A New Hope, a reference to the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Viewtiful Joe 2 was released for both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in November 2004. An anime version of the game aired on the Japanese television station TV Tokyo during 2004 and was licensed for US distribution by Geneon in 2005. The anime used to air on Kids' WB! on Saturdays at 8:00 AM, and later 11:30 AM but was cancelled shortly before the network changed to The CW, leaving only half the series translated.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

Viewtiful Joe's gameplay is very unusual and draws inspiration from classic side-scrolling brawlers such as River City Ransom and Double Dragon. Joe has no blocking moves when fighting, he only can dodge by jumping or ducking. Usually, by successfully jumping or ducking, the foe that attacked him will be dazed, leaving the foe wide open for attack. Joe has three 'VFX' {Viewtiful Effects} powers, which are designed to emulate camera tricks seen in movies such as The Matrix:

  • Slow causes Joe's attacks to be more powerful, as well as increasing his reflexes and giving him the ability to dodge most attacks. While in Slow, striking a dazed foe sets up all enemies on the screen for a chain reaction, causing all points accrued during the duration of Slow to be multiplied by the number of enemies struck. If used deftly, Slow will accumulate a very large amount of points due to the multiplier effect. If Joe is attacked while in Slow, he will automatically do a dodge move, and will lose a large chunk of his remaining VFX power.
  • Mach speed allows Joe to run at incredible speed, create multiple after-images of himself when he unleashes a flurry of attacks, and can cause his attacks to envelop himself in a temporary heat shield, which will render him immune to flame attacks and set enemies on fire when struck. When used in tandem with Slow, Mach Speed only increases Joe's walking speed while in slow.
  • Zoom In gives Joe access to a new group of attacks and will power up his normal attacks, as well as "dazzling" all of the lesser foes in proximity to Joe into paralysis. Joe's punch is replaced with the "Red Hot One Hundred", a flurry of fists (different from Mach Speed). Joe's kick is replaced with an energetic spin kick, where he levitates in the air as he spins repeatedly. Jumping caused Joe to corkscrew into the air, damaging anything in his path. If the player zooms in while in the air, Joe will careen towards the ground feet first and send shockwaves out from the point of impact.

All of these are used in combat and to solve the game's puzzles. Two of Joe's attack powers can be used at the same time, either Slow and Zoom or Mach Speed and Zoom. The most powerful attacks in the game, the "Slow Zoom Red Hot One Hundred" (SlowZ-RHOH), is done by enabling Slow, Zooming, and then punching your enemy. All of the VFX powers are required to get past at least one area in the game. Joe has a VFX meter which empties as he uses his powers. If it runs out, Joe reverts to his normal state until the first bar of the meter refills. In his normal state, Joe takes double damage, has weaker attacks, loses the double jump ability and can no longer use his VFX powers. The bar can be extended by collecting various film cans scattered throughout the stages. For every fifty collected, a small extension a third the length of the initial VFX bar is added, up to five extensions. Picking up the small blue juice cans gives a small boost to the VFX bar (and can extend beyond the length of the VFX bar available), large blue bottles fill up a significantly larger portion, and red bottles give infinite VFX power for a limited time.

Several other moves and items can be "purchased" by using points accumulated in the stage. They are as follows:

  • Cheeseburger is just like in the actual levels: they refill one empty heart(sakura petal?) in the life bar.
  • Voomerang allows Joe to throw the crest on his helmet like a boomerang by holding the Punch button. He can also charge it to double power by holding Punch until the crest turns into an "X". Joe can only carry a limited supply.
  • Shocking Pink produces a bomb that can be manipulated like any other explosive in the game by VFX powers.
  • Slide Kick can be used when Joe is crouching and initiates a kick attack. It is useful for closing the distance to a foe and landing a quick blow while in Slow.
  • Red-Hot Kick is carried out when the player issues a kick attack and presses downward on the control stick while in the air. Joe darts towards the ground at an oblique angle. If the player subsequently uses the Zoom VFX power, Joe will do a Red Hot Dragon Kick, where he goes into a spin, and a flaming dragon shape erupts from his feet. He will then plow through all enemies in his path before he reaches the ground.
  • Mach Speed 2 and Mach Speed 3 will increase the rate in which Joe issues forth after-images when pummeling a foe while using the Mach Speed VFX power. Mach Speed 2 issues up to four after-images; Mach Speed 3 will issue up to six.
  • Viewtiful Forever will allow Joe to end a dodge move in Slow with a spectacular pose, which will deal heavy damage to all surrounding enemies. It becomes very useful if a dodge move consumes the remainder of Joe's VFX power, for it will cause him to revert to Normal Joe, but give him a few seconds of invincibility, thus giving the player a brief respite. It is activated by zooming in on Joe before he finishes the dodge.
  • Ukemi is a recovery move. If Joe is struck, it will detract from his Defense rating during a scene. To use Ukemi, Joe must zoom in right as he hits the ground. He will catch himself with his hands, and do a backflip to land back on his feet. In addition to preserving his defense rating, Joe will recover one heart in his life bar. Ukemi is easier to execute when using the Slow VFX power. Although it preserves the defense rating, the "no damage" bonus at the end of a scene is lost.
  • VFX Turbo Charger doubles the rate in which the VFX bar refills. It is highly recommended to forego purchasing any other moves until you have enough to acquire the VFX Turbo Charger.
  • Life adds one heart to the life bar. They increase in price for each subsequent purchase.
  • Take Two refills the life bar in the event it is emptied, allowing the player to get right back into the action without loss of a life or any progress from the last break. They are very valuable late in the game, but are very expensive. Joe can only carry one at a time.
  • Life Is Viewtiful (L.I.V.) is an easy way to acquire extra lives, but they gradually increase in price. The name is a reference to the Italian film La vita è bella, released in English as Life Is Beautiful.

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The premise of the game is inspired by, if not directly derived from, the movie Last Action Hero. However, it draws a huge amount of inspiration from the old Japanese tokusatsu superhero TV programs from the 1970s, such as Kamen Rider (and its many sequels) and Kaiketsu Zubat (both created by the late manga master Shotaro Ishinomori). (Just before a boss battle, Joe's helmet closes much like Zubat's.)

While Joe and his girlfriend Silvia are watching a tokusatsu drama during a date, Silvia is kidnapped by the movie's antagonist and taken into the world of the movies: Movieland. Joe is able to follow Silvia after being picked up and taken into Movieland by Captain Blue, the movie's protagonist, who is inside a giant robot. Inside the movie, Joe must rescue Silvia from the evil Jadow, the game's network of villains. To help him, Captain Blue entrusts him with a V-Watch, telling Joe to transform into Viewtiful Joe upon saying "Henshin", but Joe made it into his personal catchphrase, "Henshin a go-go, baby!"

[edit] Cast

  • Joe: The hero, a superhero fanboy who gets to live his dream as Viewtiful Joe while he saves Silvia from the Jadow. He turns into Viewtiful Joe by saying "Henshin a go-go, baby!".
  • Silvia: The heroine, she was abducted by the Jadow for their evil plan to succeed. She teams up with Joe in the sequel.
  • Captain Blue: He gave Joe the V-Watch which enables him to use his VFX powers. However, Captain Blue turned out to be King Blue, codenamed "The Omnipotent", who had taken control of the Jadow, making him the last person Joe ever expected to be a villain. As he revealed, Blue is the father of Silvia and ended up trapped in the movie world, losing touch with reality in the process. Joe freed him from his madness and Blue resumed his true place in the movie, as director to the "sequel".
  • Alastor: An agent of the Jadow that uses the nickname "The Midnight Thunderboy" and is codenamed "Blade Master". He first confronted Joe in the guise of Another Joe. Though he is with the Jadow, Alastor doesn't care about doing evil, but instead seeking out the ultimate battle, and can be considered an "anti-hero" to an extent. He considers himself Joe's rival. Alastor was the one who gave Joe the inspiration for his "hero name." This version of Alastor was derived from the spirit of the lightning sword from Devil May Cry, and uses the stylized sword in several of his attacks. His name is a reference to Alastor from Greek mythology.
  • Goldie: Silvia’s twin sister. She appears in Silvia’s and Alastor's story.
  • Ivory: Captain Blue's wife. She appears in Blue's movie.
  • Biancky: Foot soldiers of the Jadow forces. They come in many varieties, all with different strengths and weaknesses.
  • Charles the Third: A bat-like agent of the Jadow, codenamed "Dark Fiend". Arrogant and snobbish.
  • Hulk Davidson: A horned helmet-wearing rhino-like agent of the Jadow, codenamed "Iron Ogre". He scarred Capt. Blue during a previous battle they had. Wields a battle axe. Also sings ("Davidson is in the house! Hulk Davidson is born to be wild!") and collects motorcycles.
  • Gran Bruce: A shark-like agent of the Jadow, nicknamed "Aquatic Terror". Is considerably lower on the intelligence scale than most of the other characters in the game, accidentally revealing the location of the Jadow's hideout to Joe. He forgets his lines and has trouble finishing his sentences, which ticks Joe off to no end when he can't even finish a simple threat. His name is a play off of the name the cast had for the titular monster in the movie Jaws, "Bruce." One of his poses is similar to that of Racoom of the Ginyu Force. The Gran Bruce in the anime is the polar opposite of his video game incarnation. He is cool, calm, and reserved, and his accent was changed from that of a bumbling pirate to a stereotypical Australian (or a Kansai-ben accent in the Japanese version). When he was introduced in the anime, Gran Bruce was amazingly skilled. Joe barely managed to defeat him.
  • Fire Leo: The former leader of the Jadow and its most powerful member. Nicknamed "Inferno Lord". The robotic Metal Leos are modeled after him.
  • The Joker: A Zorro-esque mini-boss who centers around a slot-machine. He has a rapier and wields two revolvers. Upon defeating him, you get a token to put into the slots that usually helps you progress in the game upon getting three V's. In the anime, he is portrayed as being a little higher in the ranks of Jadow and has a Spanish-accent. He appears at least once in almost every stage.

[edit] Playable characters

In addition to Joe, the game has several other playable characters:

  • Silvia – Unlocked by clearing Adult mode. She is the fastest runner in the game but takes double damage when hit. Her attacks are slightly weaker than Joe's, but her VFX meter drains more slowly. She can also jump slightly higher than Joe, possibly because she is lighter. In Viewtiful Joe 2, Silvia is playable from the get-go along with Joe, but her abilities are drastically changed.
  • Alastor – Unlocked by clearing V-Rated mode, and has the ability to double jump in normal mode. You have to press a button to 'Devil Trigger' him into Viewtiful mode, in which he can use his VFX powers. However, being in Viewtiful mode causes an auto drain effect on his meter whether or not VFX powers are being used. The upside is that when you use his powers the drain carries on at the same rate (unlike the other characters where it speeds up if you combine powers). There is a rumor that Alastor does more damage than other characters, but this has been proven false.
  • Captain Blue – Unlocked by clearing Ultra V-Rated mode. He has the highest single jump in the game but he doesn't have a double jump. Instead, he has the ability to fly horizontally as long as the jump button is pressed, but he cannot see the skulls that indicate where an enemy is going to attack.
  • Dante – Unlocked only in PlayStation 2 version by playing any mode (Also Unlockable in the PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble). In addition to close range punches, kicks, and sword attacks, Dante can use his two handguns to attack faraway enemies. However, if the guns are used while in Slow, the bullets will be slowed down just like when enemies fire their guns. The finishing sword thrust of his ground attack combo (similar to his "Stinger" special move from Devil May Cry) does extreme damage when combined with VFX powers Slow and Zoom, actually enabling a one-hit kill on Fire Leo on Adults difficulty, making him arguably a contender for the strongest character in the game.

[edit] Voice-cast

[edit] English version

[edit] Japanese version


[edit] Development

  • The demo of Viewtiful Joe 2 for the PlayStation 2 contained an unnoticed bug that would erase all saved files on any memory card inserted when played. Players were advised to not play the demo, or remove the memory card at first before playing. Sony compensated gamers affected by this bug by offering them a free game, in exchange for the demo disk.

[edit] Reaction

Viewtiful Joe was one of the highest rated games of its console generation. IGN gave Viewtiful Joe a 9.5 (on GameCube), or "Outstanding" rating, citing the beautiful cell-shaded graphics and high intensity action made it one of the best action games on the GameCube and PlayStation 2.[1] Viewtiful Joe won the player's choice awards in Nintendo Power. The G4 television program X-Play named Viewtiful Joe the 9th best game of all time for the GameCube. In 2007, Viewtiful Joe was named 17th best Gamecube game of all time in IGN's feature reflecting on the Gamecube's long lifespan.[2]

[edit] Sequels and re-releases

Viewtiful Joe was originally to be a trilogy, as cited in-game by Captain Blue toward the end of the first game ("Three great evils will threaten the world") and at the end of Viewtiful Joe 2, when a third game is hinted at as revealing the secret of the Black V-Watch and Black Film, when a castle suddenly appears in the real world. Whether or not Double Trouble is meant to be the third game of the series is not exactly specified, although both the story and the endings of that game hint that it's not. Conversely, Red Hot Rumble may in fact be the third game, since the story conveys unexpected things happening in the studio. Since Clover Studios was shut down by Capcom, it seems highly unlikely a Viewtiful Joe 3 will be made, if it hasn't already.

[edit] References to other media

  • (Viewtiful) Joe wears a large scarf with his costume. This is a homage to Kamen Rider Ichi-go and Nii-go (as well as many other "Classic" Riders), which feature a large scarf as part of their costume.
  • The V-watch bears a slight resemblance to the original Kamen Rider Henshin-belt
  • The pose struck by Joe as he makes his transformation into Viewtiful Joe is almost exactly the same as the classic henshin pose from the Kamen Rider series.
  • One of Viewtiful Joe's moves - the Red Hot Kick - emulates the classic finishing move held by nearly every Kamen Rider: the Rider Kick.
  • "Who ever loses, has to change into a yellow outfit" (before the fight with Another Joe [In order to dissuade Another Joe from winning.]) This is a reference to the older series of Kamen Rider, in which the protagonist would often have to face an evil double (frequently several) that was (were) distinguished from the hero by the yellow scarf that it (they) wore. It could also be a reference to the Flash and Zoom (the reverse Flash) They both have the same high speed powers, but Zoom wears yellow and is evil, while the Flash wears red and is a hero.

A couple of references were also made in the Japanese dub of the Viewtiful Joe anime, such as the mention of a "Double Hero Kick" (an allusion to the Rider Double Kick performed simultaneously by the first two Kamen Riders, Kamen Rider Ichigô and Kamen Rider Nigô).

  • Joe yells "Toh!" when performing his double jump like early tokusatsu heroes such as the Kamen Riders when performing super-long or high jumps.
  • Joe's costume (especially his "Boss battle" visor and mouth piece) is a homage to the suit of 1977 Tokusatsu hero Kaiketsu Zubat
  • The hero costumes worn by Joe, Silvia, and Captain Blue (among others) are clearly based on the costumes worn by the various hero teams from the Super Sentai series.
  • King Blue strangely resembles the Chouriki Sentai Ohranger villain known as Emperor Bacchus-Rage, more commonly known as King Mondo from Power Rangers: Zeo
  • The penultimate battle in the game is set up much like a mecha battle, a prominent feature from the Super Sentai series.
  • Additionally, the V-shaped accesory in the helmet is very similar to the one that Quickman (an enemy robot from Mega Man 2) wears in his helmet.
  • Before the battle with Hulk Davidson, Joe is asked "So what's with the V-Watch on your arm? What, you think you're some kinda Mega Man or something?", referring to Capcom's most famous little blue robot.
  • Hold the kick button to take out a bomb, before Joe kicks it off, he whistles to the beginning parts of Super Mario Bros. theme. This gag, however, was removed from the PS2 version.
  • Next to be influenced by the mechas of the "Sentai" shows, the Six Machine's cockpit appears to be influenced by Mazinger Z's Pilder.
  • On the back of the original Viewtiful Joe box, you can see the classic Nintendo toy robot, R.O.B., in the showcase along with the Captain Blue model. R.O.B. also makes an appearance as an item-box holder at the start of the game's final stage. Surprisingly, it's still in the PS2 version.
  • If you look closely at Gran Bruce's mouth when he regurgitates trash, (during the fight with him) you can see a Nintendo Gamecube. This was taken out of the PS2 version for obvious reasons.
  • Sharp eyed viewers can recognize Joe's signature hand sign ( the one he uses when transforming into Viewtiful Joe, holding his pinkey, middle finger, and thumb out) as the same sign that Master Hand (of Super Smash Brothers) gives during one of it's attacks.
  • The posters that are shown during the ending credits are plays on several famous movie posters:
    • The movie poster for the second stage, Some Like it Red Hot, is a parody of the King Kong movie poster from 1933. The stage's name is a parody of Marilyn Monroe's 1959 movie Some Like it Hot.
    • The movie poster for the third stage, Two Million Leagues Under the Sea, is a parody of the movie poster for Jaws 2, with Sylvia water skiing and Gran Bruce coming up behind her.
    • The movie poster for the fifth stage, The Midnight Thunder Boy, is a bit of a play of Capcom's own Devil May Cry, with Sylvia in the logo instead of Trish.
    • The movie poster for the sixth stage, The Magnificent Five, is a parody of the movie poster for Russell Crowe's film Gladiator, with Fire Leo in place of Crowe.
    • The movie poster for the final stage, Joe & Sylvia, is an obvious homage to the classic Star Wars movie poster.
  • Many of the sound effects in the series are also used in the classic Ruby-Spears "Megaman" cartoon, as well as the character Jet Black, who is clearly an homage to the character Jet, from an episode of said cartoon. In the cartoon, at one point, Megaman is sent to a dark future where Dr. Wily has taken over the world, and one of the opressed citizens he meets (and is a main character in the episode) is named Jet, has red hair, and a similar suit to the Jet in Viewtiful Joe. His hair style and light amount of facial hair are also extremely similar. It should also be noted that his niece refers to him as "Uncle Jet" in a similar manner as Silvia does in the games (although in the cartoon he is an actual uncle).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (August 20th, 2004). Viewtiful Joe Review. ign.com. Retrieved on June 5, 2006.
  2. ^ IGN GameCube Team (2007-03-16). The Top 25 GameCube Games of All Time. IGN.com. Retrieved on March 18, 2007.

[edit] External links


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Viewtiful Joe video games

Viewtiful Joe • 2 • Double Trouble • Red Hot Rumble
Anime
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