Viewtiful Joe Review

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Viewtiful Joe

Review by Greg “gf_ripper” FrankNovember 2003

Joe—the man, the legend, the hero? Joe—just your average young man who loves the fictional Captain Blue and his girlfriend Silvia—almost equally! One day, while on a most unusual date for a Captain Blue movie, Joe witnesses not only the apparent death of his hero, but also the kidnapping of his girlfriend. Unbelievably, the onscreen villain reaches out and nabs Silvia! And, just as incredibly, Joe is able to follow her into movieland in order rescue the damsel.  Captain Blue even returns from the afterlife to help Joe learn how to be a hero.

“You Must Take My Place as the New Action Hero!” —Captain Blue

Now the game really begins. Joe gains his very own V watch—the power of which transforms ordinary Joe into Viewtiful Joe! Being a superhero gives Joe powers beyond his belief. He becomes stronger, faster and better able to control his actions through his VFX abilities.  With these skills, Joe is able to slow down the action (in a Matrix-like effect), speed up time (making multiple versions of himself appear), or strike a pose that will freeze his enemies in place. With his newfound powers, Joe is prepared to find his girlfriend Silvia and the reasons for her dreadful kidnapping.

This is where the player comes in. Viewtiful Joe resembles old beat-’em-up classics like Double Dragon or Final Fight.  The main objective is to punch and kick your way through seven episodes in order to find and save your girlfriend. However, this game stands out from the rest of them because of Joe’s ability to use VFX powers. When these powers are used appropriately, they give the player a huge advantage over his enemies. The only catch is, Joe has to go through a few hurdles in order to receive these abilities—the first of which is VFX Slow. This allows Joe to slow down the action, which can cause multiple effects in the game environment. First, it prevents propellers from spinning, leading flying objects and enemies to fall to the ground, then bullets and bombs are made to slow down as they head toward Joe. This is the most critical VFX skill of all three, and it can make the difference in battle as well as solving puzzles. Joe’s second ability is VFX Match Speed.  This allows him to move super fast and speed up time. Here he can hit enemies from multiple angles by making himself appear multiple times, speed up propellers, thereby making flying objects go higher in the air, and use other effects. The third, and last, ability that Joe receives is VFX Zoom-In. This forces all enemies on screen freeze in their place, allowing Joe to do spin kicks that hurt bad guys on both sides of him.

“Cut! Cut! Cut! … Ready? … Action!” —Director

Of course, there’s always the “fine print.” All three of these abilities drain Joe’s VFX gauge, and if it runs out, he loses all of his abilities until it recharges. Once the meter has been drained, Joe will return to his regular self, able to do much less damage, as well as not being able to jump as high and generally being more vulnerable. Each effect can be interchanged back and forth very fluidly. They can also be used in combination. However, this does lead your VFX gauge to drain much more quickly.  The controls in Viewtiful Joe are amazingly responsive and fluid. They give the player precise control over Joe even when using his VFX abilities. The player, while selecting buttons for particular abilities, should have no problem in fighting. Options are available for three different control schemes, allowing game personalization.

“It’s a Viewtiful Day in the Neighborhood”

The graphics for the game are very original and like nothing I’ve seen before. They are cel-shaded and look hand-drawn. It seems very much like playing a comic book, as opposed to a movie cartoon. The depictions are very colorful and sharp. However, when Joe returns to his human form, the screen becomes grainy looking, like an old film; but when he transforms into Viewtiful Joe, the image is again sharp and clear. The game also has progressive scan support, which gives a much sharper and clearer picture if you have the right TV and cables to use that option. The bosses and all the action never slow down (unless you use VFX Slow), no matter how many bad guys are on the screen.

The sound effects are also really fine; with the music fitting nicely with the action, the voices able to be heard clearly, and all in-game effects realistic. The voice acting is very well done and fits with the overall cartoony and over-the-top feel of the game. The impression is of action heroes and villains from various superhero cartoons. The game even comes across well on mono speakers, and you can tell were the enemies are coming from. Unfortunately, the sound is only ordinary stereo without any true surround sound support, but it is still very clear and sharp.

The game is quite long, depending on your personal ability level.  With three secret characters to unlock, four levels of difficulty, and upgrades for your characters, you’ll be playing for a long time.  The difficulty of the game is high, even on the easiest level, and the bosses are extremely hard. However, Viewtiful Joe is, by far, one of the most addictive games on the market today.

The only real negative side of the game relates to save points, accompanied by the difficulty. If you lose all of your lives, you have to start at the very beginning of the level. This can become very frustrating, especially with the high difficulty and long levels.  There is nothing more annoying than getting to the boss of the level with zero additional lives and then having to start over again when you fail to beat him. Also, you can only save after you’ve beaten an episode, which is frustrating as well, since there are three levels per episode and they are all very long. However, if you do lose all of your lives, you get the option to save your game if you choose not to continue.

“Just Go for It!” —Silvia

Overall, Viewtiful Joe comes highly recommended. If you can overlook the annoying aspect of having to start over and only being able to save at the beginning of a new episode or when you quit the game, you will experience an amazingly hard but also wonderfully fun game. I highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of fighting games or who just wants to have an unusual and very good time for a few hours. Just be forewarned, though: given the addictiveness of Viewtiful Joe, do not play it if you have any plans for the evening, because you’ll cancel them and will most likely still be playing until you pass out from exhaustion in the middle of the night! It’s that good. The End

The Verdict

The Lowdown

Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Release Date: October 7, 2003

Available for: Game Cube

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Where to Find It

GoGamer 37.90

Prices/links current as of 11/02/03Links provided for informational purposes only.  FFC makes no warranty with regard to any transaction entered into by any party(ies).

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14 Responses to Fear Factor

  • Fear Factor | Tap-Repeatedly.com | Reality Topics Blog

    […] nobody@flickr.com (graftedno1) wrote a very interesting post today.   Here’s a quick excerpt:My greatest fear is to be trapped alone in a confined space with a blind human, in total darkness. They have a heightened sense of smell and hearing, and. […]

  • Matt "Steerpike" Sakey

    Lewis, you made me think of the scariest moments I’ve experienced in gaming, and we’re very similar people.

    Bioshock had two moments – the dentist and the flooded room filled with mannequins.

    Thief had Return to the Cathedral, which was terrifying to me. Thief 3 had Shalebridge Cradle, which is so scary it ought to be fined.

    System Shock 2 kept me on the edge of my seat, but it was more lonely panic than true fear.

    Korsakovia was so scary that I uninstalled it.

    And STALKER. Oh, god, the haunted labs in STALKER. The latter two games don’t have scares like that. Few games do.

    It’s especially rare for a game to have more than mere “moments” – for a game to be scary from beginning to end, that’s a triumph.

    Wonderful article. As if Gregg’s review wasn’t enough to convince me that Penumbra is not something I have the courage to play!

  • DPenn

    I’m with you Lewis … I’m a bit of a puss. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of dread as entertainment.

    Still, I’m drawn to dark stories when they have something interesting to say, whether it’s a game like Thief or a film like, say, Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. So I’ll push through, sometimes peering through my fingers.

    The trouble with games, though, is that if you look through your fingers, you’re probably just going to have to play through the scenario again. :~)

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    I wanted to play this game. I downloaded the demo but the controls were just too wonky for me to get my head around. I liked the atmospheric vibe a lot. I think I’m a bit desensitized from an overdose of horror movies in my youth so I don’t so much get the dread thing from these games as a nice creepy vibration. If only the controls were better…

  • Lewis B

    @ Mike, what’s wrong with the controls bud? As someone who despises poor control schemes, Penumbra’s is just like any other FPS, except to examine things you right click on them.  To use things you left click.  I’m not sure that can be considered difficult 🙂

  • Gregg B

    @Steerpike: Yeah my greatest shit-scared moments were with those games too. A few spoilers below people, so beware.

    Bioshock – Haha, I remember the dentist. I didn’t really find the game that scary overall but the bit where you go into the wine cellar and notice a mannequin facing the wall and after upgrading your weapon it’s stood directly behind you motionless and quiet just for a moment before attacking you. I shat a brick. I also missed that bit originally until Lew told me about it.

    System Shock 2 – same as you really, more unremitting tension all the way through rather than specific terrifying moments. Oh actually, theres a bit where you call a lift and it breaks then you realise a service droid is coming to fix it… I do remember having sleep issues after my first encounter with the cyborg ninjas though.

    Thief: The Dark Project – The Sword and Return to the Cathedral and Down in the Bonehoard and well, loads of them. The Sword made me break out into goosebumps though because there was a bit where you could hear this creepy giggling which seemed like it was following me about then it suddenly changed to this horrible throaty noise. What made matters worse was that the EAX (bless you Creative) made my foot steps sound like somebody else was there with me. That level was incredible, a bit too incredible as it seems I missed great chunks of it because I was so eager to leave.

    Thief II: The Metal Age – Trail of Blood where you end up in that opening with those damn tree beasts. God the first time I saw one of those hurtling towards me I actually died shortly afterward. Do you remember that Mechanist child walking around on one of the levels? That was a little creepy.

    Then there’s Penumbra: Overture – quite a few bits but I’m not mentioning them here.

    Oh and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. – The brain scorcher lab just because it was so damn quiet. My imagination seriously got the better of me there. Those stuffed animals and heads I’d seen in various buildings led me to believe that those creatures were lurking somewhere in the Zone, specifically that lab.

    @Mike: My control setup was perfect after some tweaking (as well as the simple weapon swing fix). If you ever fancy giving it another go, give me a shout and I’ll let you know my setup.

  • Lewis B

    I’m not sure why guys, but one of my starting paragraphs had gone missing, even though I copied it straight from the original source, and It was fine earlier. 

    Incase you missed it due to some technical issue you might want to re-read just after “Well no she wouldn’t in truth, but in Penumbra: Overture you don’t want to move anyway.” at the very start for those who’ve already read the article. Apologies 🙂

  • Mike "Scout" Gust

    Lewis, it was the weapon swing. It had this terrible, unresponsive feel to it, like trying to hit through molasses. I couldn’t stand using it. I tried the .ini fix as mentioned in the review but it didn’t seem to help. Of course this was the demo…but that shouldn’t have made any difference. I might try the second game instead as I guess they did away with the weapons thing.

    I’m see your first paragraph just fine. It’s the dialogue, right?

  • jdeuel

    I like the argument that weapons can remove fear, but even loaded to the teeth with ammo in AVP’99 the Marine missions were frightful because the enemy was anywhere at any time.

    As for Penumbra Overture, if the controls are anything like the original Penumbra they need to hack in some Wii-Remote 3d controls. I did not like using my mouse for 3d movements.

  • Gregg B

    @Mike: I’ve read that many people avoided conflict altogether in Overture which incidentally is something forced upon you in Black Plague. As somebody who has been renovating a house over the last 6 months with no DIY experience I can safely say that swinging a hammer is significantly easier in real life than it is in Overture without the fix. The fix balanced that for me.

    I’d highly recommend completing the first Penumbra because it’s one big build up to Black Plague which spoils the ending to Overture in the intro. And it’s a great ending too. Just so you know!

  • Lewis B

    @ Steerpike, those moments you mention are all my worst too!!  Do you remember the Robot labs in SS2? Absolutely terrifying, waiting for robots to burst out on you! 🙁 oh and have you ever player Condemned?

    @ Mike, The use of weapons in Penumbra is different to say HL2, where the player is physically holding the weapon, as in Penumbra it floats slightly infront of you.  However, if you change the control method to normal weapon swing, it’s no different!  Speak to Greggi and he’ll tell you what to do 🙂

    @ jdeuel, AVP the original and its sequal were scary however what type of fear do you think it is? I don’t think it’s anything more than sheer tension.  Having a Smart Gun makes you feel incredibly powerful.  I can honestly say in Penumbra the fear is sheer unrivalled terror, where you actually have to force yourself to play on.  It genuinly is that scary! 🙂

  • Jason Dobry

    It’s so true, an arsenal of weapons and ammo rapidly deflates any sense of horror or uneasiness in any game for reasons you already mentioned. Sakey, I thought Bioshock was more “lonely panic,” while I was pretty much always terrified in System Shock 2. I really, really, REALLY did not want to enter The Many’s nursery, and my weapons were so unreliable and ammo so scarce that I never felt safe.

    Silent Hill was terrifying for the same reasons. Ammo was rare and I frequently had to rely on my pipe for self-defense.  Even when I had ammo, the game mechanics prevented my character from being anything other than marginal with any firearm.

    Fear had one moment for me: I was climbing up a ladder, and as I reached the upper platform, my guy briefly looked down as he climbed off. As my perspective looked up again, that Ring-esque little girl was RIGHT THERE, reaching for me. I screamed and she was gone.

    What else…the original Aliens vs. Predator sent me into a locker room and I could only hear the facehuggers scurrying about somewhere within. I had to go in there. I advanced about three steps before the damn thing screamed and filled up my screen with its repulsive underside as it implanted me with its spawn. My roommate made fun of me for weeks for screaming like a girl child.

    Korsakovia–meh.  I was too annoyed and frustrated by the box rearrangement/jumping puzzles to be scared. I uninstalled it after an hour of play, I think. Maybe the scary parts were later, but I doubt it.

    As for Penumbra, I did play through about half of it before other games distracted me. I remember unease and creepiness, but no sweaty fear. I think I’m to blame here, or, more precisely, my daughter, who was still an infant at the time and generally allowed me only to play during the day for 45 minutes at a time. I was denied total immersion and the fear effect suffered. Maybe I should give it another go after I finish Call of Pripyat since she sleeps through the night now. With any luck, Penumbra will keep me from doing the same.

  • Gregg B

    I played the demo of F.E.A.R. but that ladder scare is the only bit I remember. Christ, that made me jump. I’m not too good with cat scares.

    Also I felt exactly the same about Korsakovia. It was creepy at first but then it began to irritate me far too much and it just soured the experience. I stopped playing as a result. Not to mention, when I realised I could bash those smoke-things with my crowbar they didn’t bother me nearly as much.

  • Online Up

    Great article. I look forward to reading more in the future.

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