Viewtiful Joe 2

When Viewtiful Joe was released last year the gaming community was taken by surprise. Capcom proved that 2-D still had the goods to compete with the 3-D juggernauts that dominate consoles today. VJ gave us a warm feeling of nostalgia. It reminded us just how much damn fun side-scrolling fighters are. Joe was considered by many to be one the best games of 2003 and now its sequel has arrived. Does Joe still have it in him? Yes, but you can’t help but feel “I’ve been there and I’ve done that.”

In the first game, movie fanatic Joe has to rescue his girlfriend Sylvia. This time around Joe’s significant other joins the fray. The story, which is just as outlandish as the first game, has Joe and Sylvia going through various movie settings with the ultimate goal of acquiring “Rainbow Oscars”. This is undeniably weird and I could explain it, but the games B-movie cinemas will do a much better job.

The addition of Sylvia adds an entirely new spin to the gameplay. You can switch between Joe and Sylvia any time during the game. This tag-team ability is called “Viewtiful Touch”. Each character has exclusive VFX powers that are required to solve relatively simple puzzles. Joe has all of his old tricks such as slow, where you enter a Matrix-like state dodging bullets and unleashing devastating combos on enemy hordes. Then there’s Mach Speed, a VFX power available only to Joe. In this mode Joe becomes ridiculously fast, so much so that he combusts into flames doing an enormous amount of damage with each hit. Joe’s final VFX power is Zoom. A new selection of moves becomes available to Joe in this mode, moves such as spinning kick and rapid punch.

Sylvia has the exclusive VFX power of replay. This allows Sylvia to replay her last move. This power is a double-edged sword of sorts. If Sylvia manages to avoid all attacks while in replay mode she can triple her damage. This also applies to the enemy. If Sylvia is hit by one of the grunts she will take three times the damage. Sylvia also becomes supercharged with electricity when in replay mode. This isn’t some cool effect that serves no purpose. Like Joe’s fire in Mach speed, the electricity is necessary to solve puzzles and conquer obstacles.

A majority of the puzzles have Joe and Sylvia putting their VFX powers to more practical use. While pummeling foes into submission is pure mindless fun, it would be nice to do something different. Capcom did an excellent job incorporating puzzles to break up any potential monotony of just simply going through each stage beating enemies senseless. For instance, one puzzle requires Joe to use his Mach Speed to raise the water level. Once the water has been completely raised, Joe must use his Slow power to move one half of a statue to the complete the statue. Once that’s done, a new puzzle presents itself. Only this time Sylvia has to use her replay mode to finally solve the puzzle. It’s puzzles like these that offer an extra layer of depth to the game.

It Takes Two Baby…

The tag-team concept is very well executed, but why in all that is holy, is there no two player action? It would have been nice to have some sort of co-op gameplay. The only real problem with the tag-team action is that you often find yourself playing more with one character than the other. I found myself playing as Joe more often than Sylvia. Although Sylvia does play an integral role in terms of puzzle solving, you will find Joe is the muscle that gets the job done.

VJ2 also feels and plays much like the first. I thought I was playing an expansion pack of the first game. These are all nitpicky gripes that really don’t detract from the ferocity of the action or the fun factor for that matter. However, Capcom did make some major oversights. In the next title (which is inevitable) they should implement a two-player mode and make an effort to give the title a look and feel that sets it apart from its predecessor.