Viewtiful Joe
Webpages concerning "Viewtiful Joe"
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Wikipedia-Article "Viewtiful Joe"
| Viewtiful Joe | |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom Production Studio 4 |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Designer(s) | Hideki Kamiya (director), Atsushi Inaba (producer) |
| Engine | |
| Latest version | {{{version}}} |
| Release date(s) | October 7, 2003 (GC) August 24, 2004 (PS2) |
| Genre | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo GameCube, PS2 |
| Media | |
| System requirements | |
| Input | |
Viewtiful Joe is a video game developed by Capcom's Capcom Production Studio 4 design team "Team Viewtiful". The other games in the series, including the PS2 port of the first game, have been made by Clover Studio. Atsushi Inaba headed the development of all the Viewtiful Joe games (first at Capcom Production Studio 4, then at Clover Studio). The first game was developed exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003 and was part of the Capcom Five, but was later ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2004 after Nintendo made a deal with Capcom to make Resident Evil 4 a GameCube exclusive (which, ironically, has also been released on PlayStation 2). The Japanese version of the PlayStation 2 release is titled Viewtiful Joe: A New Hope, a reference to the movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Viewtiful Joe 2 was released for both the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in November 2004. An anime version of the game is currently airing on the Japanese television station TV Tokyo and has been licensed for US distribution by Geneon. The anime airs on Kids WB on Saturdays at 8:00 Eastern time.
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Story
The premise of the game is inspired by, if not directly derived from, the movie Last Action Hero. However, it draws a huge amount of inspiration from the old Japanese "Henshin" (Japanese for "transform") superhero TV programs from the 1970s, such as Kamen Rider (and its many sequels) and Kaiketsu Zubat (both created by the late manga master Shotaro Ishinomori). (Just before a boss battle, Joe's helmet closes much like Zubat's.)
While Joe and his girlfriend Silvia are watching a henshin drama during a date, Silvia is kidnapped by the movie's antagonist and taken into the world of the movies: Movieland. Joe is able to follow Silvia after being picked up and taken into Movieland by Captain Blue, the movie's protagonist, who has taken the form of a giant robot. Inside the movie, Joe must rescue Silvia from the evil Jadow, the game's network of villains. To help him, Captain Blue entrusts him with a V-Watch, telling Joe to transform into Viewtiful Joe upon saying "Henshin", but Joe made it into his personal catchphrase, "Henshin a go-go, baby!"
Gameplay
Viewtiful Joe's gameplay is very unusual and draws inspiration from classic side-scrolling brawlers such as River City Ransom and Double Dragon. Joe has three 'VFX' {Viewtiful Effects} powers, which are designed to emulate camera tricks seen in movies such as The Matrix:
- Slow causes Joe's attacks to be more powerful, as well as increasing his reflexes and giving him the ability to dodge most attacks.
- Mach speed allows Joe to run at incredible speed, create multiple images of himself and can cause his attacks to light a foe on fire.
- Zoom gives Joe access to a new group of attacks and will power up his normal attacks.
All of these are used in combat and to solve the game's puzzles. Two of Joe's attack powers can be used at the same time, either Slow and Zoom or Mach Speed and Zoom. One of the most powerful attacks in the game, the "SlowZ-RHOH" (Slow Zoom Red Hot One Hundred), is done by enabling Slow, Zooming, and then punching your enemy. All of the VFX powers are required to get past at least one area in the game. Joe has a VFX meter which empties as he uses his powers. If it runs out, Joe reverts to his normal state until the first bar of the meter refills. In his normal state, Joe takes double damage, has weaker attacks,loses the double jump ability and can no longer use his VFX powers.
Cast
- Joe: The hero, a superhero fanboy who gets to live his dream as Viewtiful Joe while he saves Silvia from the Jadow.
- Silvia: The heroine, she was abducted by the Jadow for their evil plan to succeed. She teams up with Joe in the sequel.
- Captain Blue: Joe's idol and guru. He gave Joe the V-Watch which enables him to use his VFX powers. However, Captain Blue turned to be King Blue, codenamed "The Omnipotent", who had taken control of the Jadow, making him the last person Joe EVER expected to be a villain. As he revealed, Blue is the father of Silvia and ended up trapped in the movie world, losing touch with reality in the process. Joe freed him from his maddness and Blue resumed his true place in the movie, as director to the "sequel".
- Alastor: An agent of the Jadow that uses the nickname "The Midnight Thunderboy" and is codenamed "Blade Master". He first confonted Joe in the guise of Another Joe. Though he is with the Jadow, Alastor doesn't care about doing evil, but instead seeking out the ultimate battle, and can be considered an "anti-hero" to an extent. He considers himself Joe's rival. Alastor was the one who gave Joe the inspiration for his "hero name."
- Goldie: Silvia’s twin sister. She appears in Silvia’s story.
- Ivory: Captin Blue's wife. She appears in Blue's movie.
- Charles the Third: A bat-like agent of the Jadow, codenamed "Dark Fiend". Arrogant and snobbish.
- Hulk Davidson: A rhino-like agent of the Jadow, codenamed "Iron Ogre". He scarred Capt. Blue during a previous battle they had. Wields a battle axe. Also sings ("Davidson is in the house! Hulk Davidson is born to be wild!") and collects motorcycles (thus he is named after the Harley-Davidson motorcycle company). His green skin suggests he may have also been named after the American superhero The Incredible Hulk.
- Gran Bruce: A shark-like agent of the Jadow, nicknamed "Aquatic Terror". Is considerably lower on the intelligence scale than most of the other characters in the game, accidentially revealing the location of the Jadow's hideout to Joe. He forgets his lines and has trouble finishing his sentences. His name is a play off of the name the cast had for the titular monster in the movie "Jaws," Bruce. The Gran Bruce in the anime is the polar opposite of his video game incarnation. He is cool, calm, and reserved, and his accent was changed from that of a bumbling pirate to a stereotypical Australian. When he was introduced in the anime, Gran Bruce was amazingly skilled. Joe barely managed to defeat him, and even that was a fluke.
- Fire Leo: The former leader of the Jadow and its most powerful member. Nicknamed "Inferno Lord". The robotic Metal Leos are modeled after him.
- The Joker: A Zorro-esque mini-boss who centers around a slot-machine. He has a rapier and wields two revolvers. Upon defeating him, you get a token to put into the slots that usually helps you progress in the game upon getting three V's. In the anime, he is portrayed as being a little higher in the ranks of Jadow and has a Spanish-accent. He appears at least once in almost every stage.
Playable characters
In addition to Joe, the game has several other playable characters:
- Silvia – Unlocked by clearing Adult mode. She is the fastest runner in the game but takes double damage when hit. Her attacks are slightly weaker than Joe's, but her VFX meter drains more slowly. She can also jump slightly higher than Joe, possibly because she is lighter. In Viewtiful Joe 2, Silvia is playable from the get-go along with Joe.
- Alastor – Unlocked by clearing V-Rated mode. He has the strongest attacks in the game and has the ability to double jump in normal mode. You have to press a button to 'Devil Trigger' him into Viewtiful mode, in which he can use his VFX powers. However, being in Viewtiful mode causes an auto drain effect on his meter whether or not VFX powers are being used. The upside is that when you use his powers the drain carries on at the same rate (unlike the other characters where it speeds up if you combine powers).
- Captain Blue – Unlocked by clearing Ultra V-Rated mode. He has the highest single jump in the game but he doesn't have a double jump. He also has the ability to fly horizontally as long as the jump button is pressed, but he cannot see the skulls that indicate where an enemy is going to attack.
- Dante – Unlocked only in PlayStation 2 version by playing any mode. In addition to close range punches, kicks, and sword attacks, Dante can use his two handguns to attack faraway enemies. However, if the guns are used while in Slow, the bullets will be slowed down just like when enemies fire their guns.
Sequels and re-releases
- Viewtiful Joe - PlayStation 2 re-release (aka Viewtiful Joe: A New Hope in Japan) has a new playable character: Dante from Capcom's Devil May Cry series. It also has an easier "Sweet Mode" difficulty option.
- Viewtiful Joe Revival - This Japan-only re-release for the Nintendo GameCube also has an added "Sweet Mode" for decreased difficulty.
- Viewtiful Joe 2 - Released for both PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube.
- Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble (known in Japan as " Viewtiful Joe : Battle Carnival", and orignally titled "Viewtiful Joe : VFX Battle") is available for the Nintendo GameCube and will soon be released on the PlayStation Portable. The game features a total of 20 characters, from not only the game series but from the anime series as well.
- Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble (known in Japan as Viewtiful Joe Scratch!) is available for the Nintendo DS The game features a level of innovation that wasn't seen in Viewtiful Joe 2 thanks to the use of the DS's touchscreen.
Kamen Rider References
- (Viewtiful) Joe wears a large scarf with his costume , this is a homage to how Kamen Rider Ichi-go and Nii-go (as well as many other "Classic" Riders ,) feature a large scarf as part of their costume.
- The V-watch bears a slight resemblance to the orignal Kamen Rider Henshin-belt
- The pose struck by Joe as he makes his transformation into Viewtiful Joe is almost exactly the same as the classic henshin pose from the Kamen Rider series.
- One of Viewtiful Joe's moves - the Red Hot Kick - emulates the classic finishing move held by nearly every Kamen Rider: the Rider Kick.
- "The loser has to dress in yellow." (before the fight with Another Joe [In order to dissuade Another Joe from winning, however, Joe actually says "The winner has to dress in yellow]) This is a reference to the older series of Kamen Rider, in which the protagonist would often have to face an evil double (frequently several) that was (were) distinguished from the hero by the yellow scarf that it (they) wore.
A couple of references were also made in the Japanese dub of the Viewtiful Joe anime, such as the mention of a "Double Hero Kick" (an allusion to the Rider Double Kick performed simultaneously by the first two Kamen Riders, Kamen Rider Ichigô and Kamen Rider Nigô).
Super Sentai/Power Ranger References
- The hero costumes worn by Joe, Silvia, and Captain Blue (among others) are clearly based on the costumes worn by the various hero teams from the Super Sentai and Power Ranger series.
- King Blue strangely resembles the Chouriki Sentai Ohranger villain known as Emperor Bacchus-Rage. For Power Rangers ZEO fans the villain would be better known as King Mondo.
- The penultimate battle in the game is set up much like a mecha battle, a prominent feature from Super Sentai and Power Rangers.
Voice-cast
English Version
- Dee Bradley Baker — Joe/Viewtiful Joe
- Gregg Berger — Captain Blue/King Blue, Narrator
- Christina Puccelli — Silvia
- Mikey Kelley — Alastor
- Roger Rose — Charles the 3rd, Gran Bruce
- Kevin Michael Richardson — Hulk Davidson, Fire Leo
- Hideki Kamiya — Six Machine
Japanese Version
- Tomokazu Seki — Joe/Viewtiful Joe
- Banjou Ginga — Captain Blue/King Blue
- Natsuko Kuwatani — Silvia
- Shinichiro Miki — Alastor
- Mitsuru Ogata — Charles the 3rd
- Akimitsu Takase — Hulk Davidson
- Shouto Kashii — Gran Bruce
- Yuji Ueda — Fire Leo
- Hideki Kamiya — Six Machine