Viewtiful Joe - No Viewtiful cliches here!
Written: Dec 30 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Viewtiful graphics, quirky characters, fun fun fun.
Cons: It can be HARD at times.
The Bottom Line: The Bottom Line is not Viewtiful; Joe is.
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| rice75's Full Review: Viewtiful Joe for GameCube |
Viewtiful Joe came in at #2 on my Top 5 Gamecube games of 2003 (Coming Soon!). I am going to try as hard as I can to avoid all the “Viewtiful” cliches in this review, but this game really does have a “Beautiful View”. From fun graphics to the light hearted characters and soundtrack, this game can be described only using one word: “Viewtiful”.
There, I’m done, I promise I won’t do it again.
The story of Viewtiful Joe is somewhat confusing and disjointed. It starts with Joe (who starts out as an average guy) with his girlfriend at a movie of his favorite super hero, Captain Blue. Silvia, his girlfriend, isn’t too into the movie so she tries to get some lip action from Joe. He just wants to watch the movie and pushes off all her advances. Eventually, things get dicey when the movie villain comes alive, defeats the Captain and makes off with Silvia into the movie. Joe is also sucked in and he begins his quest to rescue his girlfriend from the bad guys. Along the way, he’ll uncover a plot hatched by the baddies in Movie Land and he’ll have to save the world from their evil designs before he can save the girl.
Joe starts off without any powers but he does seem to have some martial art skill because he can still kick some butt from the get-go. Throughout the first few stages he’ll encounter (and beat) his hero, Captain Blue. In reward he’ll receive powers from Blue: the ability to slow or speed up time and the ability to “zoom” in on the action. These three abilities will be the basis of everything Joe does. From slowing down time to rack up “Viewtifuls” to affecting his surroundings with his time altering powers, they become part of his arsenal. The time Joe can use these powers is determined by his “VFX” meter. Joe can collect movie reels to increase his VFX meter, so as he progresses through a level his powers are constantly increasing.
Gameplay in Viewtiful Joe is a paragon of excellent gaming design. I’ve stated a while ago that just because everything could be done in 3-D doesn’t mean it should be. While there is a 3-D feel to Viewtiful Joe, it is a 2-D side scroller. That isn’t a bad thing! It is suited perfectly for this type of game. Some of the levels are basic but there are a few levels that are just amazing! Being able to flip an entire level and still get anywhere you need to is a feat of excellent level design. Viewtiful Joe has that in spades.
All the side-scroller basics are here in Viewtiful Joe: Joe mows down the peons on the way to the level’s Main Boss. Along the way he’ll tangle with hordes of robot ballerinas, fast-ball throwing robots, tanks, and just about anything else. As he battles, he racks up points in the form of “Viewtifuls”, a reward for stringing together sweet combos. He can accumulate more of these by doing things like dodging enemy attacks, slowing down time and attacking multiple enemies or just by being beautiful. At the end of each stage Joe can buy powerups with his Viewtifuls. These powerups include extra health, new attack moves, and a VFX charger to make his VFX meter charge up faster (this should be Joe’s first purchase). Saves are few and far between so the game must be saved at every possible chance. The lack of saves could be a huge downer because there are times when Joe will traverse multiple levels without a save and then die right before he gets to one. Fortunately, it’s the journey, not the destination, that Viewtiful Joe is built upon, so the lack of saves doesn’t kill the game. Doing over a level isn’t a chore, it’s an new opportunity to unleash never-before-seen combos. I won’t lie, though, this is a tough game to beat. Joe will be using his Slow-ZRHOH move (Slow-Zoom Red Hot One Hundred) against as many bosses as he can and still come up short many times. (Master this move, it will serve you well.)
Controls are well implemented. For the most part, X and Y (punch and kick) are used the most, along with the trigger buttons for slowing down and speeding up time. This configuration is perfect for the simple reason that when Joe alters time, the other buttons still need to be accessible, so using the triggers for this purpose is perfect. The control stick is used for maneuvering Joe but can be touchy. Up isn’t jump, it’s for dodging low attacks but you’ll end up hitting up accidently anyway, and that can be troublesome. It isn’t a huge problem but it will annoy you more than once. Since there aren’t any directional/button combos to remember anyone can excel at Viewtiful Joe. The controls have become second nature to me now. There are also certain areas where Joe gets to fly a little ship and do some classic shoot-em-up action and the controls are pretty tight here, too.
Viewtiful Joe’s graphics are unique. They are in the cel-shaded style, but they have their own little flair. At the start of the game (and when Joe’s VFX runs out) the graphics take on a different style, making it look like a movie from an old reel, complete with scratches and hairline fractures. It is a cool little touch to remind you that you are, in fact, in Movie Land. The color pallette ranges from bright and colorful to dark and foreboding. Joe’s animations are sweet. With his exaggerated muscles and big head, he fits in perfectly with his disproportionate surroundings. The effects of speeding up time and Zooming give the perfect feel.
Music creates the perfect ambience, it really does give the game a movie feel to it. The music doesn’t stand out too much but I found myself humming along in a couple of places (probably because it was an area I did a hundred times before I got it right). The voice acting is a bit on the strange side but gives them character. You’ve got a boss that sounds like Randy Jackson (from American Idol) to a fallen super hero who wishes that “superheroness be with you”. Joe’s voice is done just how I would imagine it and his little quips and one-liners may be induce groaning but it’s all in good fun.
What more can be said about Viewtiful Joe? This is a definite “must-have” to anyone’s Gamecube collection. There is plenty of replay value here, with multiple difficulties and trying to score perfect “You are Viewtiful” scores in each stage so there will be plenty of time to pour into this beauty. It is one of the best of 2003. I gladly give it five stars Thanks to Capcom for releasing such a sweet game.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
rice75
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Member: Tony Rice
Location: Columbus, OH
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