"Heshin-a-go-go-baby!"
Written: Mar 22 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: combat system, interesting "old school" graphics, unique gameplay, good sound, replay
Cons: no multiplayer, limited replay, "Just Go For It" (see review for info.)
The Bottom Line: Viewtiful Joe is truly one viewtiful game. Beautiful with a capital V!
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| videogamzrulz's Full Review: Viewtiful Joe for GameCube |
Viewtiful Joe is possibly Game Of 2003 in my books. Of course, I haven't played Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, the real Game Of '03. So who am I to judge, right? Well, I guess I'll just say that Viewtiful Joe gets my vote for the Nintendo Power awards in the "Best GCN game" category.
What kind of game is Viewtiful Joe? This is an action/adventure game, but by no means is it typical. In fact, VJ is as un-typical as you can get. The graphics make the game look like it was one of those old movies with the countdown (3...2...1...) before it begins.
However, like many action games of today, VJ incorporates the idea to mess with the flow of time (inspired by Zelda). Joe can either speed up or slow down time, each to his advantage.
The Story
What is VJ all about, though? Well, the game starts out with Joe taking his girlfriend, Silvia (not siliva) on a nice romantic movie date. Silvia is trying to get some lip-to-lip action with Joe, but he shrugs her off (what's wrong with him) just to watch his dumb movie about his favorite super-hero Captain Blue. All of a sudden, Captain Blue gets defeated. Then Silvia gets captured by the movie's villian and sucked into the movie. Joe also gets sucked in.
Joe soon learns that Captain Blue is down, and he needs a replacement super-hero, which of course is Joe. Joe recieves special powers, but he needs to find a nickname for himself. Later in the game, he decides opon "Viewtiful Joe".
Gameplay
There are two modes: Kids and Adults, which are like difficulty levels. As Joe, you fight your way through enemies in a movie-like fashion. There are seven "episodes" you must complete, but each has more than one section. Episodes are named stuff like "Joe the Hero", "1,000,000 leagues under the sea", stuff like that.
Combat is definately where the game excels. At first, you have no crazy moves, and you can't mess with time, but as you meet up with Captain Blue (and beat him) you'll get new skills. There are three VFX moves you can get: VFX slow, VFX Mach Speed, and VFX Zoom. Hold "L" for VFX Slow, hold "R" for Mach Speed, and press "B" to Zoom In/Out. All three moves come in handy, and you'll need them to beat the game. It's not like Joe has unlimited power, though. You have a VFX meter that goes down when you are using a power. If you drain your meter, Viewtiful Joe loses his powers temporally and becomes average Joe.
Collecting VFX films will make your meter longer so you can use more powers before it runs out. Collect 50 films to get another section of the meter that can be used.
There are basic enemies that are scattered throughout "Movie World". You can beat these enemies with Joe's punchs and kicks, "Y" for punch, "X" for kick. Most of the time you can just fool around, punching ang kicking walls if so desired. However, sometimes "Just Go For It!" will pop up on your screen and you will be judged on how well you do on certain aspects of combat (i.e. defense, VFX, time). Sometimes I found it quite annoying that the game would time you because on puzzles you are supposed to be able to have time to figure them out, right?
Also, you will encounter mini-bosses throughout the game. Some of these were so da- um, frustrating, that I chucked my Wavebird (yeah, I know, I have crummy self-control). But anyway, mini-bosses were well made, but repeitive. For example, there would be this mini-boss helicopter, and then in the next level there would be two!
Graphics
Oh well, I had tons of fun playing VJ. The graphics were like none other: I'm sure some people didn't like 'em, but they gave off sort of an "old-school charm". I mean, they really gave the impression that you were "living a movie". Everything was movie-themed, for example, four extra lives would be called a "take two". I never got confused with what was what, it was all pretty straightforward.
Sound
There was no music in the game, but it is not the kind of game where you would want music. In fact, music would kind of ruin the playing experience. Anyway, you heard alot of Joe's "Heeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiyaaaa", "yaaa", karate-type stuff. The helicopter sounds were quite good as well.
Replay Value
Yeah, this is a game definately worth playing through twice, due to the fact that you unlock a harder difficulty when you play through the game on the "Adult" level. Then you can play through the game as Silvia, Cap. Blue, or some other guy (oh yeah, Joe). No multiplayer, though. :
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Recommended:
Yes
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videogamzrulz
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Reviews written: 32
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