Written By Shaun McCracken
Just when I was beginning to think that the current video game climate was
wallowing in rehashed gameplay and the lack of innovation, Capcom comes busting
through my wall like the Kool-Aid man to bitch slap me different in the form of
Viewtiful Joe. Finally, a company who has the balls to bring back classic gameplay
design with the power of today's consoles. It's amazing how one game can be so
easy to get into, have such a great visual style, and have a suprising level of
difficulty. Am I gushing way too soon? It's hard not to. I have yet to see one
bad thing said about this game from critics, which means this has to be one
of the best games to come around in some time.
Funny how it seems like everytime someone tries to write Nintendo off, a game
like this shows up. Last year, we had Metroid Prime, which like VJ, had classic
gameplay mechanics with a new twist on design. This year, Capcom gives us the
classic with a twist in VJ. Just by looking at screenshots, you would think
this is a basic platform game. At first play, you may think it's a platform
game with a lot of visual style, but a rather simplified battle design. But once
you get into all the techniques used in the game, you start to do more with what you
have, and you realize that the design is ever so expanding, and that with each new
trick you learn has a use some point in the game. A long winded sentence, I know,
but really that's what the game is all about. Well that, and saving your lady.
VJ's premis is fairly simple, and pretty much done before in the simplest aspect.
You must save your girlfriend from a monster who has taken her away. Of course,
this happens ala "Last Action Hero", where not only she is taken through a movie
screen, but you go inside the movie to go after her. This movie they are in just
happens to be about Joe's favorite superhero, Captain Blue, who looks like an
over-the-hill Power Ranger with his gut hanging out of the costume (no doubt
played for satire). When Joe encounters Captain Blue early in the film (aka Stage 1-1),
and defeats him in a challenge, Joe acquires the powers his hero has and becomes
a superhero himself.
Each stage of the game takes place in a different location, be it the city street,
a sewer or even underwater. It's nice that Capcom gave us a unique and different
setting for each stage, so it never feels all that repetitious. Within the stages,
Joe (you) will encounter whordes of enemies, puzzles and mini-bosses. Getting through
the enemies may seem a bit simple at first, but they get so much tougher and aggressive
later on, that you will need to know your VFX powers well enough to defeat them.
Your VFX powers consist of Slow Motions, Mach Speed and Zoom-In, and are acquired
one by one as you move along in the beginning (I think you acquire all three in
the first chapter). Each power has effects of their own. When you use Slow Motion,
everything obvously slows down. But the power of your punches become more powerful,
bullets slow down, propellers slow down and bring platforms to the ground, and
that's to name a few things slow-mo can do. Mach Speed speeds everything up, allowing
you to raise platforms, let liquids rise (if they are pouring), and with rapid
punching and kicking, light on fire to set the fuses off on bombs. Zoom-in
allows for close-up attacks and extra evasive manuvers. All three have multiple purposes,
and the more you know about what each effect can do, the more help it is to you
to solve puzzles.
While some things in the game seem guided, there are some points where I got stuck
not knowing what to do next. Some puzzles are not as obvious as others, and
some objectives are never that clear (like the submarine). But it's never to
the point of impossible, it just takes a watchful eye. The other thing about VJ
is that you will die, a lot. I did not think this game would have a high level
of difficulty. It's not a bad thing, hell, more games need it. We need games such
as VJ and Ikaruga that tells even the most dedicated gamer that they suck. Puts
us in our place. But it never really seems difficult. I lose most of the time
because of carless mistakes or not using VFX powers to their full potential. So
far, I'm on Chapter 5, and have continued at least 25 times. But to help you
out, you can collect Viewtifuls (V-Marks) to buy extra abillities, life, mid-game
continue and special weapons. Collecting V-Marks is easy. Punching the crap out
of enemies is one sure way of earning the points. But using the VFX to form
combos gets you more points, and the best way to do this is by doing a dodge
correctly, and then using the slow-mo effect to deal the damage (when you see
an enemy targeted, you know you're on your way to combos and multipliers). Also,
collecting coins left by enemies raise your point level. In VJ, it's all about
strategy. Bet you thought you wouldn't need it in a platformer, did you?
The visual style of Viewtiful Joe is the best since Jet Grind Radio. The difference
here is that rather than making a 3-D world seem like a cartoon, Capcom wanted
this game to look like it took place on paper, like in a comic book. And it works
very well. The visuals are clean, crisp and done well enough to provide a convincing
world of a comic book come to life. You really need to see this game in motion
to appreciate what Capcom has done. The VFX powers are also presented well, and
does not detract from the overall look of the game. The framerate is constant almost
always. I only noticed a tad bit of slowdown during the Chapter 4 boss, but there
was so much going on, the framerate had to give in a little. The character animation
is also top notch. You will not find a game with this much visual impact on
any other system.
The sound is good most of the time. The music is good and never really gets to the
point of irritating, but it's not highly memorable or dressed to impress. Really, the
focus should be on the sound effects. A lot of crunching, punching, exploding and
everything in between. Plus, the effects react to the VFX powers. If you slow things
down, you hear things slowing down. The voices are pretty much intended to be comical,
so from that standpoint, you can't really criticize it for being poor like
Resident Evil. Some of the dialouge is kind of funny, and even makes a few jaunts
into satire country.
Final Thought
Let's face it, games such as this do not come around as often any more. It's
hard to find a game that stands out from a crowd of games that try to emulate
a popular series that has come before it, or just do not toss out many original
concepts. VJ brings us back to the 2-D era and reminds us that gaming was at one
time, fun and entertaining. Full of quirkiness only a Japaneese game can deliver,
VJ is one of the best games I have played this year, and it's visual impact will
be one to top for many a time to come. Don't be hesitant about this game. It's challenging,
yet intuitive. It's design is simple yet complex. Everything balances out almost
perfectly, and it's well enough reason to add this to your collection.
Is it just me, or does Joe oddly look like Quickman when he's in costume?
Just a thought.
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Viewtiful Joe
