(Originally published to Glitchwave on 9/27/2024)
[Image from igdb.com]
Viewtiful Joe
Developer: Clover Studio/Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre(s): Beat 'em Up
Platforms: GCN, PS2
Release Date: June 26, 2003
Viewtiful Joe is also a power fantasy coming to fruition for all of the media-obsessed dweebs of the world. The dweeb in question is a man named Joe, an unflattering caricature of how the Japanese company Capcom perceived white American twenty-something men during the early 2000s. His backward baseball cap, goatee, and proneness to let his tongue wag out of his mouth while making “radical” hand gestures” makes him the archetypal guy from 2003 who drinks Red Bull by the gallon and plays bass in a third-rate nu-metal band. He’s technically the titular hero but as his everyday self, he’s just an excitable, immature spastic who adores the captivating glow of movie screens. Specifically, he enjoys the adrenalized spectacle of action films starring his film hero Captain Blue, who is unceremoniously defeated in the latest entry of his franchise. While Joe is bemoaning the fall of his idol, his girlfriend Silvia is groaning upon being subjected to another one of Joe’s cinematic excursions that she absolutely shares no interest in. Before she can mouth the choice words needed to dump this moron, the fourth wall is broken between the theater-goers as the sinister group “Jadow” snatches up Silvia into the realm of the movie screen. Joe then immediately warps into the celluloid to the dimension of “Movie Land” where he must simultaneously save his sweetheart and avenge Captain Blue’s demise. The fantastical realm of movies also grants Joe a bodaciously red superhero outfit complete with a cape and “V”-shaped visor on the helmet portion of the costume. Far before he becomes his superhero alter ego of “Viewtiful Joe,” this man’s life already seems far-fetched enough. By every stretch of reality, Silvia should’ve never even made a flattering passing glance at him and he should be either a pale basement dweller or slaving away at a fast food job. He’s either got the luck of the Irish on his side, or the game is totally unbounded by the standards of reality even outside of its entertainment.
One of Clover Studio's hallmarks was a captivating sense of style, and Viewtiful Joe’s alluring pizzazz is unmistakable. Given that the setting of Viewtiful Joe exists in the realm of fantasy, the developers were relatively uninhibited in flaunting a finesse oozing with personality. A recurring visual base used by Clover Studios to achieve their idealized stylistic pomp is cel-shaded graphics, which sacrifice realism in favor of a vivid buoyancy akin to animation. Viewtiful Joe’s specific direction with this graphical rendering leans towards emulating the vivacious artwork commonly found in comic books, a choice likely inspired by the fact that he’s teleported into a superhero movie. Not only do the cel-shaded visuals sparkle and burst like aesthetic Pop Rocks, but the outlines borrowed from comic book illustrations have a subtle, ulterior function to inject the polygonal cracks of sixth-generation graphics with a foundation like caulk. Cover the entire display in a grainy film reel for immersion and all of the graphical snags of Viewtiful Joe are masked like expensive botox. As a result of the developer’s attention to detail, Viewtiful Joe is one of the most visually fetching games of its era and has aged like a wax figure.
Viewtiful Joe is delicious eye candy, but the sugar-rush implications of this common idiom seep into other aspects of the game’s presentation that I’m not particularly fond of. In terms of its aura, Viewtiful Joe is reminiscent of a Saturday morning cartoon. It reminds me of a Japanese cartoon series specifically catered towards children with that sanitized anime style (Shaman King, Sonic X, that fucking Kirby cartoon). Like the animated Japanese exports I have to dig through the recesses of my memory banks to recall, Viewtiful Joe tends to be irritatingly hyperactive in an attempt to be humorous and lighthearted. So many sound bites are repeated on a nauseating loop, namely an alarm warning and the boisterous chant of a certain boss right before Joe confronts him in his domain. You goddamn better believe I muted my TV during these segments. Joe will vocally express his fondness for the burger health items by saying “MMM YUMMY” every single fucking time he obtains one. It’s grating enough to abstain from feeding him, but I’ll later delve into why it's wise to just tolerate his enthusiasm. Whenever the player presses pause, the “director” of the film that Joe has flown into will break the fourth wall to remind the player to flush the toilet, implying they’ve stepped away from the controller to empty their bowels. “T for Teen” my ass–these are the kinds of sophomoric shenanigans that would only resonate with a younger demographic who aren’t yet concerned with how members of the opposite sex perceive them.
Despite how annoying Viewtiful Joe’s general attitude can be at times, it’s an incredibly well-oiled machine underneath all of its antics. The beat 'em up genre that Viewtiful Joe falls under connotes that our plucky, spandex-wearing hero will be punching and kicking his way to the finish line. His combat repertoire hardly extends past the physical essentials of his own limbs, except for the subsidiary tools he pulls from his utility belt such as the boomerangs and bright pink bombs that he balances on his feet like a hacky sack. Even though Viewtiful Joe technically doesn’t stray away from the fundamentals of beat 'em up combat, its innovation lies in how the basics are conducted. Below the lengthy lines of heart units that Joe calls his health bar is the “VFX” bar, which essentially functions as a magic meter of sorts. The magic in question is the sorcery of film editing that manipulates the audience's sense of what is occurring on screen. In Viewtiful Joe’s case, the visual effects pertain to the rate of the action’s motion. Holding down the trigger buttons on the left and right side of the controller will either cause the action to slow like everyone is swimming in Jello or accelerate it to a speed so blisteringly fast that Joe will catch fire. I think it’s common knowledge that altering the motion to either extreme is a prevalent form of effects trickery implemented in action films for stylistic splendor. The way in which Viewtiful Joe utilizes this trope, however, is a vital facet of its combat mechanics. Either decelerating the screen to a glacial crawl or quickening it to a lightning pace where the celluloid might combust is imperative in defending oneself from the overwhelming throngs of enemies that a beat 'em up typically shovels onto the player. Joe’s lethargic state in the slowing mode even automatically voids any incoming damage at the cost of chopping off a sizable chunk of the VFX gauge greater than the standard rate of depletion. Combine the sedated momentum with the other gauge-draining move where the camera zooms on Joe to execute some seriously crippling damage. Conversely, large groups of grunt enemies can be swiftly dispatched in a matter of seconds by fast-forwarding the combat. Just be sure not to overindulge in this mechanic, for completely draining the meter will revert Joe back to his schmuck self and leave the player helpless for a brief period. The action film context of Viewtiful Joe’s premise allows the game to integrate the bombastic inclinations of the genre, adding a refreshing and helpful way to spice up the bare bones of beat 'em up combat. My only grievance is that the meter restarts after the player finishes a chapter, and they desperately need more juice to face the increasing difficulty curve in later levels. The amount of rings collected on the field that increase the meter should be accumulated across the entire game and increased incrementally like an RPG stat.
One might think that altering the pace of combat at any given point gives the player an advantage that renders the game totally facile. Viewtiful Joe should ideally be easier than its beat 'em up ancestors that were often working under an arcade ethos with cruel and uncongenial penalties for failure. The truth is that Viewtiful Joe is only marginally easier than the older games of its genre in that it features unlimited continues and a save system. In terms of pure gameplay, Viewtiful Joe is a brutal beat ‘em up title even by the standards of the genre as a whole. All of the time manipulation tools granted to Joe don’t make the combat a breeze–they serve to make the scenario of fighting a dozen enemies at a time with a myriad of different attack patterns and defenses manageable. The player might notice that even though their hide is perfectly unscathed by enemy offense using the time mechanics, their own damage input is not as impactful as they might have anticipated. Another prevalent mechanic in Viewtiful Joe’s combat is ducking and hopping over an enemy’s jabs and kicks, and successfully coordinating one’s dodges will leave the enemy in a disoriented state of vulnerability. This docile daze is the only opportunity to execute the ideal amount of damage, as attempting to strike them normally even with time alteration at the player’s disposal will amount to nothing if the enemy is still spry and alertly guarding themselves. Add the duress of a scorecard that grades the player’s performance in battle as Capcom’s properties have a habit of doing and the pressure of eliminating every enemy in a timely and concise fashion is a constant source of stress. Besides the staggering proficiency that the game expects of the player, Viewtiful Joe is also excruciatingly difficult due to the length of progress they must endure between the arbitrarily placed checkpoints with a shop and save points. Health items are also relatively scarce, so the player will be thankful for every burger they encounter, even if restoring one’s health with it will make Joe utter that godforsaken line.
Because the cavalcade of enemies in Viewtiful Joe are all built differently, finding their weaknesses and exploiting them almost verges the game into puzzle territory. I wish the guesswork-oriented aspects of puzzle solving were entirely condensed to Viewtiful Joe’s combat, for they increase the depth of combat tenfold. Unfortunately, Viewtiful Joe dedicates sizable swathes of its levels to brain teasers that are completely out of the game’s element. Joe feels far too energetic and excitable to halt his momentum to engage in bouts of methodical contemplation. Maybe I’d be willing to accept the momentary puzzles as genuine alternatives to the predominant beat ‘em up gameplay if they made a lick of sense. You know how we’re intended to distrust what you see in a movie because it barely holds any ground in reality? Viewtiful Joe subscribes to the opposite viewpoint, for its setting in the film world dictates that the game operates under the illogical realm of fiction. For example, I couldn’t figure out how to open a dungeon door at the initial moments of the first episode and felt embarrassed at the fact I was immediately stuck just as the game began. Believe it or not, the intended method of escape was to slow time down which would then cause the water droplets leaking out of a pipe to expand and slam onto the button below with the force of its newfound weight. C’mon, who taught these developers physics? Rick Sanchez? Alas, so many of the game’s puzzles are devised with this sort of faulty science in mind. The radius of an explosion will swell if the player elongates the time by slowing things down, and a rocket launch would blast off with greater acceleration if only the sequence was slackened as well. This also applies to speeding things up, which causes a propeller platform to move upwards and hasten the accumulation of liquid flowing underneath platforms. What absolute poppycock. I abhor any of these pace-breaking puzzle sections, for no one who exists in the realm of reality should ever conceive the solution to these nonsensical hurdles. While I’m at it, I also find it amusingly ironic that the game in which the narrator asks them if they’re going “number one or two” when they pause the game has this cerebral streak.
However, the sections of Viewtiful Joe I enjoy that require a bit of rumination are the boss fights. Like the enemies that proceed them, Viewtiful Joe’s episode-ending baddies are a varied assemblage of formidable foes. The puzzle aspects of these mighty movie monsters lie in their stark defenses that the player must crack open like a walnut. Even when the player has discovered the chink in their armor, it still may not be the optimal entry point in executing the maximum damage potential. The fiendish bat Charles the Third disseminates into a swarm of smaller bats upon being stricken by Joe, and hitting these tiny winged creatures does decrease a bit of his health bar. However, the player might get the impression that the dainty damage done to Charles when he disperses is not the optimal way to engage with him, so they’ll likely find that swiftly kicking him at an opportune moment and wailing on him while he’s flat on his back will trounce him in seconds. The green, Harley-riding dinosaur Hulk Davidson will inadvertently leave himself vulnerable in many ways, and they’re equally ripe for beating the fossil fuels out of him. The dullard shark Gran Bruce is liable to die in a flash when he’s out of the water, and both Joe’s doppelganger and anti-hero rival Alastor often mask their locations with a hail of dangerous distractions. The only way one would know this knowledge of the bosses is a process of trial and error, for sussing out their tender spots is anything but straightforward. This aspect of the bosses is greatly elevated when facing off against the so-called “Firelord Leo.” The list of tasks to perform before Joe can even scratch this sabretoothed brute is absurdly circuitous, and it’s no wonder that he and the “Magnificent Five” boss gauntlet that he’s the leader of was the point in the game that made a significant percentage of players throw in the towel.
After facing off against Leo and a series of stronger versions of previous bosses, there is only one member of Jadow left to confront: the director of the film himself. Who is this vile madman who gets his sick kicks from abducting flesh and bone women from the real world and holding them hostage in their own creation? In a “shocking” twist, the diabolical leader pulling the strings of this operation is none other than Captain Blue. Up until now, the cerulean superhero has been lionized by Joe, and his spiritual aid of teaching Joe the special maneuvers he’s been incorporating in his battle routine has only affirmed Joe of his idol’s righteousness. Alas, this reveal is yet another valuable example of the adage “Never meet your heroes”. What made this benevolent agent of justice digress to the villainous deeds of kidnapping and sour Joe’s high opinion of him? Well, the issue is that Captain Blue only seems to occupy a space in Joe’s mind and no one else's. The man behind the mask was once an esteemed director whose films were cherished by the public. After trends changed, Captain Blue became a bygone relic of his era of film, and the inspiration behind his heel turn was to break out of the celluloid and make the public remember his greatness, whatever that entails. Apparently, to enact this unfeasible feat, they needed Silvia’s DNA for some ritual because she’s the estranged daughter of Captain Blue. Just roll with it. After duking it out with Captain Blue in a two-phased kaiju mech battle of epic proportions, Captain Blue sees the error of his ways. Hold the phone, Capcom–do you expect us to swallow this contrived mess of exposition dumped on us at the very end? If this isn’t a meta-commentary on tired movie cliches, the developers have cooked up something idiotic to end their game on.
I’m conflicted on whether or not Viewtiful Joe agitates me enough to completely write it off. I’m not discounting the game because its high difficulty frustrated me and I became accustomed to hearing the “director” yell CUT at me for botching his vision with my collective failures. Plenty of other, less admirable aspects of Viewtiful Joe brought my blood to a boil in ways that I could barely stomach. The obnoxious levity of a third-rate children’s anime, the gall to incorporate puzzles in a beat ‘em up game with no basis in logical thinking, and the plot point rife with eye-rolling cliches are enough to lose my patience with this game. Viewtiful Joe is just as punishing in other aspects as its demanding gameplay. Maybe the game would’ve struck the desired cord in me if I had played it twenty years ago, but I dread the alternate timeline where I get my ass kicked at recess because I exclaimed “Henshin-A-Go-Go, baby!” while performing Joe’s hand gestures. Yet, I can’t honestly harbor too much vitriol for Viewtiful Joe because I sincerely admire its striking panache and (practical) efforts to spruce up such a simplistic genre as the beat ‘em up. Whatever score I ultimately decide to stamp onto this review, let it be known that Viewtiful Joe’s gameplay craft and attractive visuals are my reasons for being so charitable.
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