Before Platinum games became Platinum games, they started out as Clover Studios, a part of Capcom. They made some interesting games, like Okami and the weird jank fest that is Godhand. But there is one game that I really want to talk about, and I think that, you read the title, so you can already tell what the game is. That’s right, it’s the Gamecube classic, Viewtiful Joe.
Viewtiful Joe follows the protagonist, Joe, a huge movie nerd who is getting more than I am right now as his girlfriend Sylvia is kidnapped by the villain in a movie before pulling Joe in along with him. Within the movies, Joe is able to become the superhero, Viewtiful Joe, and with his powers of fast forward and rewind, he is able to go through the crazy action movie to get his girl and save the world. It’s a typical story for an action game, nothing special. But this is Clover Studios were are talking about, so you know that there is more to it than just that. The game is a lot of fun to play. You got your basic combos and attacks, like punches and kicks, as well as special weapons like a boomerang and bombs that you can use on enemies or for secret paths. But the real kicker here is the powers. You can use these powers to get some crazy things to happen. You have slow down, speed up, and Cinematic or whatever it was called, I don’t remember. Sorry I am a failure of a professional reviewer. Anyway, when you fast forward, you move faster and are able to dish out way more combos while also being able to run through areas faster. When slowing down, you can hit enemies for harder punches, as well as allow explosions on enemies to last much longer and hurt more. And cinematic is just a big amount of damage, as well as allowing you to kick items back all across the area, yes, including the missles. Another thing about Viewtiful Joe is how hard it can get later on. The game starts out simple enough, but before you know it, your getting your ass kicked by everything in the area. Fire Leo is a real wake up call of a boss, and if you aren’t ready, he’ll fuck you up. But it feels so damn worth it to fight and beat these bosses that give you so much trouble. I really like the bosses here, honestly, and I am fine with fighting them again (Even if dying to one resets the whole thing). And the unlockable characters are a ton of fun too, from playing as Sylvia to Captain Blue and even getting to play as Dante in the PS2 version. It’s all a lot of fun
Viewtiful Joe is a game that I really wish Capcom would give more love to. It’s not exactly a hot seller of a franchise, but he was at least decent enough to bring back into Marvel Vs. Capcom, which I guess is a step in the right direction. But, hey, at least we were able to get three games afterward. Even if they varied in quality.