Life is Viewtiful. So is Joe.
In my 12 years of playing video games (I started when I was 3), I’ve played some hard games. Some excruciatingly hard games. And some games, so frustrating, they made me want to kill anything even remotely resembling a 3D Pikachu. Thus, I’ve classed these games into 3 levels of difficulty.
Pac-Man (Hard)
The Sims (Very hard)
And Hey You, Pikachu! (So hard I wanted to break that yellow rat’s face)
Well, after playing Viewtiful Joe, I can add a new level of difficulty, known as “Viewtifully Hard”. One this level of difficulty, someone like me will lose, A LOT, during the second level, on KIDS MODE.
However, unspeakable difficulty aside, Viewtiful Joe is very cool game. In fact, I can only think of two words that are worthy of describing VJ, and those words are “Retro” and “Honortastic”.
Viewtiful Joe is a side-scrolling beat ‘em up. Thought they were dead? Yeah, they’re not. VJ is also cell-shaded, only it’s done in a style that is far better than Windwaker. It looks like a comic book come to life, which is awesome.
The fighting in VJ consists of punches and kicks, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can unlock abilities like Slow, which makes your punches and kicks stronger, as well as makes things fall. You can also get Mach Speed, where you fire flurries of punches and kicks at your opponents and can set things on fire. And finally, you can use Zoom, which can be combined with your other abilities to Zoom in on one enemy and beat the crap out of them.
The platforming aspects are decent, but not great. However, they become cool because you use your abilities to lower platforms, run across missiles, and Zoom in on things you need to kick.
Viewtiful Joe as a good plot. Not the best I’ve ever seen, but very original and very cool. It starts when an average Joe, named Joe, who takes his girlfriend to a superhero movie. She wants to make out, but he wants to watch the movie. Then, suddenly, the main character of the movie dies. Then Silvia, Joe’s girlfriend, is kidnapped. Of noes. Joe has to save her! So he jumps into the movie, where he meets Captain Blue, who gives him the ability of Slow and a new outfit. Say hello to Viewtiful Joe! Viewtiful Joe, with his new powers, must save Silvia.
VJ has some of the coolest bosses in all of gaming. They’re not menacing, huge, apocalyptic demons from the ninth layer of hell. Instead, they’re awesomely funny. You’ve got a giant bat who resembles Mr. T, a dinosaur with a large axe, and a Jaws rip-off with a speech problem and a jet-pack. Awesome, aren’t they?
The graphics are very good, especially for a GameCube exclusive. Whether you’re dodging a Red Leader’s blow and delivering a Viewtiful Forever (a pose that’s just too cool) or just running across an air-borne bus, you’ll be stunned by the great comic-style graphics.
Viewtiful Joe gets an 8 out of 10. It isn’t the best game around, but if you own a GameCube, you should pick it up. And hey, it costs twenty bucks!
Viewtiful Joe
Graphics: 10/10
Difficulty: 5/10
Game-Play: 9/10
Story: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Kenri of the Yuri is just this guy who writes silly things, sometimes. He is profoundly embarrassed about a good 60-70% of the stuff he's written. You might know him better as your friendly neighborhood Level 43: Editor. View his or her author page or author profile.
Rated 8 out of 10 by 1 users.