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Viewtiful Joe - A retrospective and plea to Capcom

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Capcom has been on fire lately. Really, for the better part of the last decade. They clearly have no problem digging into their backlog to make some fat stacks on old, established IPs. And I’m not complaining at all.

But… where the hell is Joe?

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Viewtiful Joe is still, to date, one of the greatest action side-scrollers of all-time. It absolutely oozes style and character, but that’s merely surface level. The gameplay is where the game shines brightest, with some of the unquestionably best and most creative beat ‘em up 2D combat ever released, made possible with the 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁 of the 6th gen consoles. Slow-mo, fast-forward, zoom-in; these were unique gameplay elements that were elevated by excellent enemy and environment design, coupled with frenetic and exhilarating gameplay. Frankly, we just don’t get many games with this amount of creativity and polish anymore.

Also, for some reason, this game even had a fucking music video. I’m not sure why, but the early 2000s were unhinged, and I love it.

If you’re still with me, and somehow you’ve still never played this game, do yourself a favor and grab a copy now. It’s not even expensive on eBay. It’s worth it. Money back guarantee.

But yeah, back in the 2010s, there was a brief period of time where there was hope for a new VJ game due to his inclusion in Marvel vs Capcom 3. But alas… it was Henshin a no-go. We haven’t seen anything beyond a couple of cameos and references of our coral-caped crusader.

But that dickhead Father Time can’t take away what we already have. The first Viewtiful Joe game will always be on the GameCube and PS2 for us to enjoy. And the second game is just as good, if not more refined in some ways.

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Viewtiful Joe is Hideki Kamiya at his finest, and if you’ve played his other games (like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and Okami) then you already know what kind of unhinged gameplay and quality to expect.

Perhaps if the good lord looks fondly on us mortals, we’ll someday get modern ports of VJ 1 and 2, and—dare I say—a proper Viewtiful Joe 3. After Kamiya’s departure from Platinum, he’s a free agent, which means he might just be available to revive this revered franchise. (Feel free to Tweet at him and get yourself blocked.)

But in the meantime, not a single person can take away the two masterpieces we already have (plus the DS game, which is… alright). So go bust out your GameCube or PS2 and treat yourself to one of the greatest 2D action side-scrollers of all time.

Henshin-A-Go-Go Baby!

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Hudo

Member
Look, man. It's not I am against this. But Capcom needs to get my man, MegaMan, off the moon first before they resurrect Joe.

I want Mega Man Legends 3.
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
Totally missed this thread. I fucking love that first game, easily one of my fav 2D action games ever.

In an ocean of remakes and remasters its weird Joe hasn't been resuscitated. Is it a rights issue between whatever scraps of Clover are left and Capcom?
 

Miyazaki’s Slave

Gold Member
Totally missed this thread. I fucking love that first game, easily one of my fav 2D action games ever.

In an ocean of remakes and remasters its weird Joe hasn't been resuscitated. Is it a rights issue between whatever scraps of Clover are left and Capcom?
Capcom own(ed)/founded team Clover so I doubt that is the problem.

Guessing VJ2 didn't move many copies and since then "MoDeRn GaMeRz" have moved on from side scrolling beat'em ups.
 

Astral Dog

Member
I never played Viewful Joe,only Wonderful 101 and Okami but Hideki Kamiya is a great game designer i would like to play these games in HD ports if Capcom wanted.

i don't see them ever reviving the series though, Okami HD sold millions but they won't make a sequel without Kamiya, the DS games are the closest we will get

The idea that Kamiya would be willing to work with Capcom is nice, but unlikely unless they offered him creative freedom and a big budget lol
 

Chuck Berry

Gold Member
Why is VJ2 considered "bad?"

I never played it, but I remember when it released it felt like the reception was tepid at best
 

Xellos

Member
Nintendo will eventually get to Gamecube on NSO and I think that will be the best chance to see this again. I doubt we ever get a proper sequel, though.
 

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
Why is VJ2 considered "bad?"

I never played it, but I remember when it released it felt like the reception was tepid at best
It’s definitely not bad, it’s just not quite as good as the first game. I feel like there are a few reasons why. First off, it didn’t really innovate in any significant way, so it’s kind of more of the same. Secondly, the story wasn’t nearly as cool or unique (especially considering the twist in the first game). Finally, it was hard as shit at parts. The first game had a great difficulty curve, but there are spikes in VJ2 that end up being frustrating in a retro gaming sort of way.

None of those aspects really took much away from the experience for me, though. It still had amazing gameplay, awesome style and visuals, and a great soundtrack. It’s still definitely worth playing. It just doesn’t make as much of an impact as the first game, which was so wildly creative in almost every way.
 
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