Review of Vietiful Joe 2 (GC)
The Viewtiful Joe series is hard to place into a specific genre as it borrows many elements from many genres. At heart it seems like a regular Beat-em-up, but it also has elements of Platforming, RPGs, and the kind of puzzle solving one would see in Action-Adventure games. All these different elements come together to create what is Viewtiful Joe, a hero traveling through classic films and fighting hilarious bosses to save the world from world domination.
Viewtiful Joe 2 takes place immediately after Viewtiful Joe. Joe has saved his girlfriend Silvia from being kidnapped inside of a movie screen, and now a new threat has turned her father (Captain Blue) into a statue. Now Joe and Silvia must work together to save Captain Blue from the clutches of evil. With Joe and Silvia working together, the player will only be able to use one at a time, so switching between the two will become necessary to solve certain puzzles. Between the two of them, they posses a total of four VFX powers, one that is unique to each other. Both characters have the ability to slow down time as a way to unleash more combos, as well as zoom in for a close up which increases their power. However, Joe also has the ability to speed up time which allows him to move rapidly eventually catching fire and doing more damage. While Silvia has the power of triple replay, this allows her to repeat a motion three times, this power in particular is used to solve many puzzles throughout the game.
The fighting is smooth and fast paced. With most ever enemy that appears, Joe or Silvia will be able to make quick work of them. Joe mixes in a variety of different kicks and punches with his different VFX powers to defeat each enemy. Silvia replaces punches with a gun while still having her kicks; because of this she fights much differently and takes a different strategy in order to fight back enemies.
After each level, Joe and Silvia earn a certain amount of V-Points which can be used to buy more special powers, life extension, or other abilities to help you out in the next level. In between each level it is also possible to save, unlike the original Viewtiful Joe where saves were only possibly every few levels. In each level of VJ2 there are many enemies that will try and stand in your way; these enemies don't normally take very much to defeat, but tougher enemies do come along that can be very difficult if the proper method of defeating them is not immediately obvious. If the level is not immediately jam packed with enemies, there is a good chance a boss is coming, and if it is be prepared. Each boss requires special strategies and memorization of their patterns in order to defeat. However at the same time, each boss has their own hilarious dialogue reminiscent of some old movie villains (in which they are based off of)
The graphics of Viewtiful Joe 2 are very stylized, not the same cell shading as in most cell shaded games. Each character has a very grainy look to them that goes along nicely with the movie environment. The different particle effects and graphical touches lend very well to the otherwise bland environments. Most worlds are fairly unexciting with little to nothing going on inside the background. This was most likely done to keep the frame rate high, which it does, but there could have been a little more in the background to add detail.
Sound quality in Viewtiful Joe 2 is like none other, each sound effect sounds perfectly placed and occur when they are supposed to happen. Voice acting is huge in VJ; both heroes and each boss have a lot of unique character to each individual. From some insane, wacky bosses that sound just like an insane villain would to Joe and Silvia who have their own unique character traits; such as Joe's carefree joking nature, and Silvia's serious nature. No character goes without voice acting, and no action goes without some kind of sound effect to complement it.
Viewtiful Joe 2 is a magnificent game, but without playing the first Joe it can be hard to pick up on. If you played the original Joe, VJ2 is more of the same. Just like in the movies when a sequel is made, it can be hard to pick up on it without seeing the first one; Viewtiful Joe 2 is just like that. Without playing the first Joe it can have a fairly confusing first few minutes, but it all comes to light quickly. VJ2 is worth picking up for its unique gameplay and story that cannot be found in any other game.
