M:B #7 Viewtiful Joe

For those that owned a Gamecube while games were being developed for the platform, it was painstakingly obvious that the system had very little third party support. Sure, the system saw the release of multi-platform games from other developers, but the system had very few games that were both exclusive and from a developer other than Nintendo. In response to this, Capcom decided to launch a 4 game plan for the platform designed to instill confidence in other 3rd party developers. They announced that the fourth Resident Evil game, along with three original properties, would be brought to the system and remain exclusive to the Gamecube. These three original games were P.N.03, Killer 7, and Viewtiful Joe. Killer 7 was the closest thing to a cult game had been released in awhile, as it received lukewarm reviews but a fervent fanbase defending its unique art style and bizarre story. P.N.03 didn't fair as well, as it was derided for its terrible controls and shallow gameplay.  

Viewtiful Joe was the closest that Capcom came to realizing its vision of a new franchise, as it offered a fresh take on a mostly dead genre. Viewtiful Joe attempted to make a modern 2D platformer that took advantage of a console's increased processing power, as new 2D platformers were being released constantly for the Game Boy Advance, but for the most part just looked like SNES era games. To this end, Viewtiful Joe sports a cel-shaded style that complements the superhero theme of the game well. At the same time, it was clearly a game that couldn't be played on a handheld (at least on the handhelds available when the game was first released). Viewtiful Joe featured an original protagonist in Joe, a guy obsessed with old superhero movies. In particular, he idolizes Captain Blue, and the game starts with Joe taking his girlfriend Sylvia to one of his movies. Sylvia gets pulled into the movie and Joe follows in an attempt to save her.

That's really about as deep as the storyline gets in the game, but story is almost always ancillary in platformers. Instead, the focus is placed on the gameplay, which brings a (relatively) old mechanic to platformers in a way that was pretty unique at the time. Joe gains control over time, with the ability to slow the action down or speed it up at will with the press of one of the shoulder buttons. The amount that he can control time is limited by a gauge at the top of the screen, but this refills quickly and the maximum size of the gauge can be increased throughout a level. There is also a "zoom in" power that increases the power of your attacks while also opening up a few new jump-based moves. The attacks in the game consist of punches and kicks, along with a boomerang and bombs that can be bought at the end of any level. The game also offers a few new attacks that can be purchased, such as a jump kick, but these really aren't ever required (I didn't end up using any of them).

The game itself is not that big quantitatively, with only six levels total. For the most part, the levels consist of beating up a bunch of generic robots while using the time powers to solve environmental puzzles. Minibosses are interspersed throughout the level, with one large boss at the end. The only exception to this is the fifth level, which is just a repeat of four of the previous bosses with one new boss at the end. There is also a light shoot-em-up at the beginning of the second level before it becomes platform based again, but this is meant to be a small break up in the action and the level style is never repeated. While the formula of the levels is common, the developers did a good job of offering up different environmental challenges within each level that keeps the game from feeling repetitive.

That doesn't mean that you won't be repeating sections, however. Viewtiful Joe is a fairly difficult game, and despite its low level count, it gains alot of its length from its difficulty. While the earlier stages are fairly easy one you become accustomed to the game mechanics, the later levels will need to be repeated many times before even reaching the end boss. Like most platformers, the bosses rely on pattern memorization and punish you heavily for missing a sequence. This makes fifth level especially difficult, as there are very few health powerups and if you run out of lives (of which you only have three), you have to start from the first boss. This would not seem nearly as frustrating were it not for the fact that the fifth boss in the level is an original boss and requires you to use your time powers in a way that was never required before and, to be honest, is fairly obtuse. You'll need your extra lives for him just to experiment how to beat him, and I felt Capcom dropped the ball here (I know Capcom loves "boss repeat" levels, but when one of the bosses requires you to use a certain visual cue as a guide that was purely aesthetic throughout the rest of the game, you have a problem).

Other than a few gripes with specific sections of the games, Viewtiful Joe is a solid 2D platformer that encourages repeating a level over and over until it is mastered, which may drive some people away. While the difficulty may be offputting, I rarely felt it was cheap, which always left the feeling that it was doable if I just tried it again. Viewtiful Joe become the largest franchise out of the three that were released "exclusively" for the Gamecube, spawning a sequel and a fighting game along with several guest appearances in other Capcom games. The premise was unique then, and even now is pretty unusual, and it wouldn't be surprising if Capcom revisited the franchise again.

Overall Score: 8.4
Recommended Price: $5.99