Retro|Spective 096: Viewtiful Joe

[Neon Ignition]

Stop the film it's time for action time with...





Mainline Entry 01 - Viewtiful Joe
Formats: Playstation 2, Gamecube
One of the intended Capcom Five for the Gamecube, this walk a long beat em up made use a stylish cel-shaded visuals and pause, rewind etc features to affect the flow of combat and open up various combo potential approaches and encounter scenarios. Playing on the movie theme, the game carried a grain filter to evoke that cinematic feel. It was a well received game but the Gamecube limited its audience causing Capcom to later port the game to the PS2 in an effort to widen the audience.



Mainline Entry 02 - Viewtiful Joe 2
Formats: Playstation 2, Gamecube
The first and only direct sequel followed on very closely to the events and action of the first game. The key difference this time was that Joe's just rescued girlfriend was a selectable hero and the two could perform combo moves together. As is always the case, the game set up a cliffhanger setting Joe and Silvia against one final threat but overly modest sales meant Capcom never moved forward on it's trilogy closer and the core series ended here.



Spin Off Entry 01 - Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble
Formats: Gamecube, Playstation Portable
Inspired by Nintendo's Smash Bros games, this brawler repurposed the world of Viewtiful Joe into a combat title. The GC saw the only home version produced but the handheld version contains some exclusive content to compensate. The game was only; considered to be middling and was an odd move from Capcom considering the limited appeal of the series and how Nintendo had been working its cross franchise itself as a template to copy.



Spin Off Entry 02 - Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble
Formats: Nintendo DS
This handheld title is as close to a third entry as fans got. Recreating the home main series gameplay, it used the touchscreen to add a move in called Scratch. By sliding the stylus over the screen players could split the stage in two, using this move to save Joe from things like falling objects and enemy attacks. The adaptation was largely successful, attracting positive reviews, but sales stalled hard on the portable and the two spin-offs helped Capcom to cut the reel on Joe's adventures barring a few cameo's here and there.



Share your thoughts and memories of Viewtiful Joe

[Atticus]

I wanted to like and be good at Viewtiful Joe but it never happened. Tried it a couple of times but just couldn't make that connection.

Henshin a No Go Baby

[QualityChimp]

I wanted to like and be good at Viewtiful Joe but it never happened. Tried it a couple of times but just couldn't make that connection.

Henshin a No Go Baby

This - exactly this.

dataDave is a demon at stuff like this, but I can never click with solid games like God Hand, Revengeance, Transformers: Devastation and the like.

I have the first game on PS2 and should probably persevere a bit more, but my reactions have been further dulled with old age!

[Team Andromeda]

Loved the style and look of the game, but the game was simply too hard for its own good, which killed the fun for me.

[Dogg Thang]

I only ever had the DS one and I didn't rate it very highly at all. It was very average but I always imagined the full console games were probably a lot better.

[Mayhem]

Played the first two GC titles... I know I got to the final set on the original, but the boss rush (especially facing Fire Leo again) was one step too far for me to be able to defeat.

[Anpanman]

Me too, looked good but after the first level or so I was hopelessly out of my depth.

[doodledude]

Loved the first 2 on Gamecube. I don't think I struggled that much from my memories, however I was probably more dedicated 15 years ago to complete my games!
I remember Saurian loving the games back in the NTSC UK days.
Still would love remastered versions of the games on PS4.

[Nu-Eclipse]

Loved the original and the sequel, though I do feel that the original is superior.

Could care less for the spin-offs.

Tbh, I found the platforming to be more trickier than the actual fighting. If you took the time to learn and study the CPU timing of attacks then they became a cinch to dodge effectively imo.

Sadly, I don’t think Capcom will be putting a VJ3 out any time soon but I would love an HD remastering of VJ and VJ2 and I’m saying that as somebody who doesn’t often go in for HD remasterings of already-played games.

[Tetsuo]

I dropped £80 on Viewtiful Joe and F-Zero GX at HMV (RIP) for the GameCube when they both came out towards Christmas 2003.

As part of the famous "Capcom Five" announcement, I was eager to support, and love, Viewtiful Joe. It looked gorgeous. But sadly, try as I might, I just didn't like it. It was slow, overly fiddly, and frustratingly punishing.

At the time, I came to the conclusion that I just wasn't enjoying play the game as much as I was telling myself I wanted to, and felt there were other side-scrolling beat-em-ups on older formats that were simply much more fun to play. F-Zero GX took its place in my GameCube, and that was that. Admittedly I just gave up on it, which is something I very rarely do, so I do wonder if I should go back and give it a second chance.

[ZipZap]

I can't help feeling this benefitted a bit by being a good 2D game at a time when *everything* was 3D. Today, when there are lots of good 2D games, I'm not sure it would've been quite as highly rated. That said, I did enjoy it at the time and it looked great! It highlighted how awful the Gamecube's d-pad was though.

[charlesr]

So much fun to start with, but I got bored of it very quickly. I think the graphics were beautiful

[_SD_]

I tried the original on Gamecube when it came out, but I just didn’t get on with it at the time. Maybe it’s worth giving it another go?

[Leon Retro]

I played the sequel first, which really grabbed me. I loved the design and how it played. The first game is also really nice. I see them as 'GameCube' games, so I didn't bother with the PS2 versions. I'd love a modern sequel.

[Brad]

Like someone else commented, I never usually get these games. Ninja gaiden, bayonetta, revengance. I play them, I enjoy them but I never really feel like I’m playing them right. This was different though. I felt like a proper basass playing the original!