Author: James Slater
One of my favorite games of all time is Viewtiful Joe, a game released in 2003, developed and published by Capcom. Beginning as one game, it stemmed into a fully dedicated sequel, a smash bros inspired spin off, a game for the Nintendo DS, and even an anime series.
It is a 2D style beat em up, partially mixed with platforming elements, and sporting a cell shaded art style. As a whole, the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, with the game being set inside of a movie, and going through most cliches you can think of. However, it works in the games favor, as it keeps at a breakneck speed, keeping younger players engaged, and being cheeky enough for older players to find enjoyment as well.
One of my first ever gaming memories revolves around playing this game repeatedly, finishing nearly every day after school, and being excited to come back home the next day and repeat the cycle. Almost everything about the game enthralled me. The beautiful cell shaded graphics, the quick and slow mix of gameplay, and especially, the boss fights and the amazing soundtrack.
The soundtrack for the game remains one of my all time favorites. It is one of the only soundtracks I can say there is not a single bad song, or song I would skip if it came on my playlist. Every stage has its own dedicated song, sometimes multiple. Each menu comes with a song that either sets an engaging or calming feeling as a respite between stages. However, the real heavy hitters come with the boss fights, of which there are eight (not counting mini bosses or the boss rush stage). Every single theme matches the fights perfectly, oftentimes just causing me to prolong the fights specifically to enjoy the music.
Accompanying each 10/10 song, is a stage. Each stage takes you to a completely different backdrop, going from a city, to a submarine 10,000 feet under the sea, and eventually leading to space. The 2D style keeps the stages relatively straightforward, although some stages have hidden areas and off the beaten path routes to secure extra coins and film reels. The game’s cinema theme allows you to speed up and slow down the gameplay as you like, each having its own benefit. Using these abilities you make your way through each stage, defeating common goons and completing the occasional puzzle to lead yourself to the final boss of the stage, repeating this style for each stage, other than the flying stage, which is a direct copy of most shoot ‘em ups.
Connecting each stage is a story. A rather straightforward story, involving your girlfriend getting pulled through your theater screen and kidnapped by one of the movie’s characters. You follow, gaining powers from the film’s main character, and using these to fight your way to save your girlfriend. The game makes several references to the fact it is a movie, with characters sometimes directly mentioning the script. Though the story is perhaps the weakest part of the game for me, the dialogue in the cutscenes and the self awareness from the cast are funny enough to keep you entertained throughout.
Recently I began another playthrough on my Steam Deck, not having played for a couple years at this point. This game has always been squarely in my top 5 games of all time, and I had began to think maybe it was because of my childhood memories clouding my judgement, but I realize I don’t necessarily care. There are definitely better 2D beat em ups on the market, but none will ever reach to the levels of this game for me. Simply listening to the soundtrack while I work out or shop for groceries puts me on a different level of reality. It’s unfortunate this series was ended too soon, and after my current playthrough it may be time for me to finally finish Viewtiful Joe 2, and replay the DS game as well.
If you’re able, be it on the GameCube, the PlayStation 2, or other completely legal ways, you owe it to yourself to experience this game at least once. Depending on how good you are at games, this can be wrapped up in under 3-4 hours, but between the masterpiece of a soundtrack, the engaging boss fights and even the silliness of the story, I personally guarantee you will have a great time with this game.
Also, this game has possibly my favorite credits of any piece of media ever, so you even have a reward for playing, so go play it.
Kommentare