Viewtiful Joe
Video Game — Nintendo GameCube (1 player)
Capcom Entertainment, $39.99
Released in 2003, Viewtiful Joe is one of the most innovative games I’ve come across in years. This game mixes action, cartoon-style visuals, and movie-like elements into a classic side-scrolling game of unique proportions.
Action-style side-scrolling games have not been popular lately, partly because of the fact that most companies are making virtual 3D games instead. However, Capcom took a chance and designed a game with a 2D style and 3D elements thrown in to make the screen action look like a funky live-action comic book. In this game, you play “Joe,” an average person who acquires superhero powers when he gets sucked into the movie world while at a theater with his girlfriend. Once in this strange new world, his old comic book hero, Captain Blue, helps him along by showing him, from stage to stage, how to use his new powers as he acquires them. These special powers range from a Slow Down effect, in which time slows down and Joe’s attacks do more damage and can knock things aside before they hit him. On the other end, you have the Speed Up power, which make Joe move at lightning speed, bypassing many dangers and basically kicking the crap out of enemies as he speeds around them. There is a Zoom effect too, in which Joe literally zooms in on the action to help enhance his fighting experience.
Words don’t really do this game justice. Simply put, the unique cel shading style of animation used in the game, combined with 3D backgrounds and props, along with the special powers Joe has, make for one incredible visual feast. When I first started playing this game I was just blown away by the visuals, along with the interesting playing style. It was also kind of cool to see the way they added effects to the screen to make it seem like you were in a movie, such as scratch lines, bits of dust, and other things you might see on a movie screen. The controls themselves were fairly easy to learn, but do take a bit of practice. Once you get into it, though, you’ll really enjoy this superb game.
Capcom also did a good job at adding extra elements to this game to make it even more fun. There are various puzzles to solve on each level before you can move on to the next. You can purchase various fighting maneuvers by spending V-Points, which are collected while playing the game. These V-Points are like coins put in various places through each level, and you collect them as you move along. Plus, when you buy special moves, you can purchase them in any way you want, which gives you some choice in how the game will turn out as you progress from level to level. If you make some bad choices, you’ll get your butt kicked, but if you make some good ones, then you’ll be the one doing the kicking. There are also things in the game that can be “unlocked” when you finish them on the easier and even higher levels.
For a GameCube-only game, Viewtiful Joe is a must-have game. It’s nice to have something that Xbox and PlayStation folks can’t have. It may even make some folks want to get the system just for this game, and with the GameCube’s low price, that is not too bad of an idea. And this game, especially considering its overall quality, is at a lower cost than almost every game that comes to market. The usual new game price is around $50, not $40 or less like this game! Now, go out and be the superhero you’ve always wanted to be — just viewtiful!
(review (c) March 2004 / David Flemming)