Viewtiful Joe (Gamecube) Review
Introduction
A fairly new series by Capcom, Viewtiful Joe sees Silvia, Joes girlfriend, kidnapped by the evil King Blue and taken into a movie. Joe is then transported into the movie himself, where he becomes a superhero. Not the most inspired plot ever (its a very 80s idea) but Viewtiful Joe is a classy game, worthy of purchase by anyone who likes beat-em-ups.
Graphics
The graphics are cel-shaded. Some may whinge about this, but it suits the game really well. The character models are created well, and you can see expression on their faces well. Not quite as good as Wind Waker expressions but still very good. The effects accompanying the VFX powers and different attacks are also quite nice, like Joe lighting himself on fire and using the move Flaming Dragon Kick.
Sound
A weaker point in the game, but still good. Some of the level music is quite catchy, while some others are not good at all. You can also hear all the battle effects well, which is quite nice. Its always refreshing to hear you punch an enemy off screen to hear it collide with others that you cannot see.
Gameplay
Very retro. It is a side scrolling beat-em-up, akin to the Double Dragon series. A whole ton of enemies, and great special moves. Joe has 3 VFX powers Slow, Mach Speed, and Zoom. Slow increases punching power, Mach Speed lets you attack super quick, and Zoom lets you perform some great attacks as well as increasing power. You can also combine effects for special attacks like combining Slow and Mach Speed to move normally while the surroundings are slowed, and Slow and Zoom which gives you high power.
Value/Lastability
This game will last you a fair while. There are 4 difficulties Kids, Adult, V-Rated, and Ultra V-Rated. These are essentially easy, medium, hard and very hard. Kids is quite simple, you will breeze through it. Adult is a small step up enemies are harder to kill and your VFX bar drains faster. V-Rated is where things really start to change. You take double damage, the enemies are harder and you do less damage. Ultra V-Rated is a few giant steps up. You take quadruple damage, and the enemies are harder yet. There are also 3 extra characters to unlock Silvia, Alastor, and Blue. Each offers a different playing style to Joe. Silvia is fast, Alastors VFX is constantly draining, and Blue cant see attack skulls. By getting perfect ratings on every level as every character, you can unlock unlimited VFX with that character. Now if that wont take you awhile I dont know what will
Overall
For all the easy games out there today, Viewtiful Joe really shows them how hard they should be. It is very retro its a side scrolling beat-em-up, and one like this is very rare nowadays. I received this game as a present, and I remember being completely blown away. Everything is new, and ideas that havent been used in 10 years have made a comeback. This game is great, a worthy purchase for anyone.
