Viewtiful Joe 2

"The good, the bad and the Viewtiful?"

When I first heard of Viewtiful Joe, all those long months ago, I hadn't a clue what it was about. Then a friend clued me in about some of the nifty things one could do in it. After reading the back of the box for myself, I was compelled to buy it, and boy do I not regret it. Viewtiful Joe was probably the game that saw the most use on my Gamecube, with the possible exception of SSBM. And after playing through it over and over and over again, I was left with a sense of...need. The game had grown a mite stale. It was still good, but because I had played it so much, I needed something fresh. Something new.

This is where Viewtiful Joe 2 comes along. When information about this game (and trailers besides) came onto the 'net, I jumped for joy and did a little dance (the neighbours still laugh at me) because I would finally get to play a new game featuring that red-caped, spandex-clad hero. And when it was revealed (at the time) that there would be a two-player feature, I was overjoyed. They would take Viewtiful Joe to the next level (so to speak)!

Well, after months of waiting (that's a few months longer than US or Japan residents, me being a lowly Brit), I finally managed to get a hold of this gem of a game. I had learned beforehand about some of the changes (no two-player after all, only 3/4 VFX powers per character) but I was not discouraged. The one thing I kept telling myself was, "It's a new VJ game. It has new levels" because that was what I wanted; new levels to play in. The other stuff would be a bonus.

Now for the actual review, so you can just put away the tar and feathers. I don't need that happening -again-.

Gameplay - What to say about the gameplay of VJ2? Well, for a start, it has pretty much everything from VJ1. That's about it, really. There are very few changes in the gameplay, save for the addition of Sylvia. But for those of you who have not played either game (shame on you!) I shall explain the basics;

The game has a rather basic platforming element to it, wherin your character can jump rather freely around the levels collecting some powerups and such. However, it is in the combat and puzzle area of this game that it shines. In both games, your opponents (all wacky-looking robots) give a warning before attacking you, indicated by a skull-marker. By tilting the control stick up or down (depending on the position of the marker), your character dodges the incoming attack, leaving your opponent dizzy. This leaves your opponent vunerable to attack. Some enemies take multiple dodges to make dizzy, but otherwise it's pretty simple, albeit difficult in some situations. Is that all, you cry? Why, heavens, no! The major addition to the game is VFX: Viewtiful Effects, according to the manual. With the powers of Slow, Mach Speed, Zoom and Replay (the fourth being in the sequel only) you can manipulate time and such, allowing you to dodge bullets (or even send them back!), outrun everyone or stun them with your dazzling looks. The intracies of the VFX in these two games is completely astounding and too numerous to all mention in this review, save the examples above.

Now for the differences.

VJ2 has the addition of a second playable character, Joe's girlfriend Sylvia (what does she see in him anyway?). Joe has not changed from the first game, but those of you who had unlocked Sylvia in VJ1 will notice that she has changed quite a lot. Now, instead of fighting like Joe, she is more of a ranged attacker than a close combatant, making use of her guns to blast enemies from a distance. That said, however, most people will not be using her much. Aside from a few puzzles that make use of Replay (She gets Replay, while Joe gets Mach Speed), you'll probably stick to Joe (I know I did).

Whether it's just me having played VJ1 over and over, or the actual game itself, VJ2 seems quite easy to me on the first two difficulties. That said, V-Rated seems extra hard (I'm still having problems with it). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and veteran VJ players will probably welcome the challenge.

Speaking of challenge, one unlockable feature of VJ2 is the Chambers. These 23 (I think it's 23) missions are very, -very- hard, but are not integral to the game. This way, those that don't want to play them don't have to to complete the game's story.

Overall, the gameplay is as good as the first game, and that was pretty darn good. I give gameplay 9/10

Visuals - Again, there is little change here. The graphical style has remained the same, with the funky cell-shading and 2-D backgrounds, thick outlines and chibi-fied characters. VJ1 has always been a graphical treat, and VJ2 does not disappoint, looking pretty much the same, with one exception; VJ2 has more variation in the backgrounds, considering the levels you play in. This makes the graphics that much more of a treat. I give visuals 10/10

Audio - Nothing lost, nothing gained. VJ2's sound is exellent. The music is OK in most places, excellent in others (I love the third level's music), and the voice acting is so over to top and corny it works. One problem from the first game that carries over is the boss voices. Because of the digital alterations to their voices to make them sound more monstrous, they can be a little tricky to understand sometimes. Because of this, I'll say audio gets 6/10

Replay Value - The higher difficulties are certainly a challenge to play through, but alas, aside from the higher difficulties, the chambers are the only real unlockable in this game, and this is a major disappointment to me. In VJ1 you could unlock up to 3 secret characters. In VJ2, you get no such thing. Joe and Sylvia are the only playable characters in the game. New players will feel a mite disappointed, but veterans will really feel the sting of this one, knowing what VJ1 had to offer. Because of this, Replay Value only gets 4/10

I do not regret buying VJ2, but considering I finished both Easy and Hard mode in a day each, I'm not so sure if VJ2 is worth buying to every veteran VJ player.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/06/05