Viewtiful Joe

"So much style, so much fun; this game is a joy to play!"

INTRODUCTION
I must admit that I was skeptical of how good Viewtiful Joe really was. By all accounts, it had received good and even rave reviews. However, initially I thought that Viewtiful Joe, on paper, was far from stellar. How wrong I was. This game is simple by design and the story is not very deep, but nevertheless, Capcom have crafted a feel good action romp that is a joy to play. I'm not kidding.

GRAPHICS
Viewtiful Joe has a very good art style that could be said to be a cross between a comic and a movie. When Joe is just an ordinary bloke, the game takes on the look of being a damaged movie reel. However, when Joe becomes a super hero the game reverts to the normal, crystal clear view. It's a small thing but a nice touch nonetheless.
The games frame rate is silky smooth throughout and Joe animates in a suitably fluid and cool style. The enemies look quite cute and adorable as far as enemies go. If you have any children at home, you definitely won't have a problem with them playing this game. I don't really know, but when I play this game it's such a fun and happy experience it could almost be classed as soulful. Just to highlight how much thought went into the style of this game, when you damage most of the enemies they start to loose some of their padding. In other words, when an enemy is close to being destroyed they will literally just be a wooden body. It's quirky, but also makes the enemies seem more vulnerable and therefore, as mentioned before, more adorable.
As for the levels, each one has a theme to it, be it on a street or in a submarine and whatever the theme none of them are out of place.
The game also features some nice graphical effects when Joe uses his super powers. When Joe uses slow, movement of everything on screen slows down. When Joe uses Mach speed, he speeds up and residual images of Joe appear where Joe has just moved from. Of course, these effects aren't going to blow you away, but they do add to the “cool factor” of playing Joe the super hero, bashing the be-Jesus out of numerous hapless enemies.

GAME-PLAY
Ah, the area that can make or break a game. Just how well does a game play? Although simple by design, Viewtiful Joe has exceptional game-play. Let me elaborate by firstly saying Viewtiful Joe is difficult. However, it is not unfairly difficult and if you persevere, completing the game on adult difficulty is nowhere near as hard as most people make out. If you want a tough experience, try v-rated difficulty, in which Joe takes double damage and the enemies get tougher. If you can beat the game on this setting then why not try ultra v-rated difficulty. On this mode, you will get the absolute hell kicked out of you, namely because there is no visual indication of whether the enemies will hit you high or low. Trust me, this makes playing the game hellishly tough.
Here lies the main thrust of the game. Nearly all the enemies Joe encounters attack either high or low. Fortunately, just before an enemy strikes a visual skull appears to indicate whether the grunt will hit Joe high or low. If the enemy hits high, Joe will have to duck and if the enemy hits low, Joe will have to pull his legs up and avoid the blow. Of course, once you avoid an enemy's attack it is time to deal a devastating counter. You can do this because the enemy is made dizzy when Joe deftly evaded their strike. This is where Joe's “VFX” powers come into play. Once an enemy is dizzy, switch into slow mode and blast that enemy across the screen, hopefully taking out some other goons in the process. When you zoom in on Joe and he strikes a pose, you can scare the weaker enemies and when this happens, you can strike them in slow mode, at the same time, and deal some devastating damage. Once you play enough, you will realise that using slow mode at the same time as zooming in will always deal the maximum amount of damage to enemies; dizzy or not. Joe's VFX powers are not only limited to having an effect in combat. The developers also made the VFX powers crucial to solving many puzzles in the game. If you think laterally, you can also use the VFX powers, in less obvious ways, to bring down enemies. The other VFX power, I haven't mentioned is Mach speed. This power speeds Joe up so that he can let loose a barrage of attacks on his hapless rivals and maybe turn them on fire. This power is useful because the residual images of Joe that come with it actually deal damage and they can hit boxes containing power ups that are hidden out of view. You will find however that you'll use Slow and Zoom a lot more than you would Mach Speed.
Viewtiful Joe doesn't deviate from its roots. Let's face it; it's a side scrolling quasi-3D beat em up. Moreover, what's a good beat em up without some badass bosses to challenge? VJ is made up of 8 levels and at the end of each level is a fiendishly hard boss. Suffice to say, if you don't know the correct method of attacking a boss you will have a hard time beating them. It's all about working out the pattern of their attacks and sometimes, thinking a bit laterally. In my opinion, the final boss sequence, at the end of the game, is one of the best and most original concepts I've seen in a game.
Another pivotal concept behind this great game is the idea of being awarded V points when Joe bashes any enemy. The more damage you deal and the longer you can keep a combo going, will result in maximum V points awarded. At the end of each section (when you reach a checkpoint), a score will be displayed from D to V rated, Joe is scored on time taken, defense in combat and V points attained. In addition, if you are good, you can receive bonus points for example - for not receiving any damage. Anyway, at the end of a level, Joe's ranks for each section are tallied up and an overall ranking is awarded. Let me say this: At the start, your rank will mostly be B, C or the lowly D. You gotta be good to get that elusive V rating.
As well as the scoring dynamic, Viewtiful Joe features some collectibles to find throughout a level. Some of the collectibles give you more V points, or are power ups like a cheeseburger. However, the main items you want to be collecting throughout a level are the movie reels. If you collect 50 movie reels, Joe's VFX gauge increases by one bar up to a maximum of 5 additional bars. Once a new level is started, Joe's VFX gauge goes back to the stock single main bar and thus there are another 250 reels to collect. You see, when Joe uses his super powers – slow, Mach speed or zoom – his VFX gauge starts to decrease, obviously the longer your gauge is, the more ass kicking you can do.
Through out all the levels there are 2 spots you can save, once in roughly the middle of the level and once at the end. When you save, you can power Joe up by spending your V points on certain attributes. For instance you can increase the amount of life Joe has, you can increase the amount of images, of Joe that appear and also deal damage, when Joe uses Mach speed and you can purchase a few attacking moves that make Joe that little bit more sexy and powerful.

SOUND
This is the one area of VJ that isn't brilliant. I say this because the first level's music is genuinely fun, up beat and catchy. However, after the first level, most of the music is forgettable. The rest of the music isn't bad and it doesn't detract too much from the game. I just wish they could have made the first levels music more prevalent throughout the other levels. Not a big deal though.
The voices of the main characters are comic like and they suite the art style of the game. As well as this, the sound effects throughout are very effective. When in slow mode, it actually sounds like everything has slowed down. The narrator's voice is funny and annoying in a good way. If you pause, he'll say something smart that will occasionally bring a smile to your face. The numerous bosses also sound very individual and eccentric.

OVERALL
I must admit that I thought long and hard as to whether I should give this game a 10 and to tell you the truth I am still not sure. It may be difficult and you might consider it to be a tad short, but you can't hide from the fact that Viewtiful Joe is a great, fun and enjoyable romp. It's simple by design but because it's so well crafted, it's actually a blast to play. It's not easy, but it's also not impossible. It's one of those games that you can leave for a few days and then come back to when you feel like it. As well as this, it's very accessible to all ages; although I never played the game on kids difficulty, I can imagine that it would be accessible enough for a young child. Although there is no multi-player element to be found in this game, it is still one for the whole family.
If you want to enjoy yourself and be enchanted by the style that oozes from this game, go get it. VJ is one of those rare titles that are able to bring the player into a state of video gaming nirvana.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/04